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Post by Gold on Apr 6, 2016 2:06:27 GMT -5
Hi gang, sorry this is super late, but better late than never as they say. Here's the review for the Soul of Chogokin Gx-34R Gunbuster (2015 Reissue Version) Buster Machines Buster Machine 1 Buster Machine 2 Gunbuster! Optional "Anime-Accurate" feet parts swapping. Even though the optional feet parts look better, I do recommend just going with the default legs when displaying this on the shelf, to prevent the springs of the tank treads on the under side of the "Anime-Accurate" feet from wearing out. "Coach's Gunbuster isn't just for show!" To do the "arms-folded" pose, you still have to remove the top 2 forearm panels on each arm. Gunbuster in Action! Buster Shield! Buster Missiles! Buster Double Collider! Buster Home Run, Buster Tomahawk, Buster Missile Might are Super Robot Wars games exclusive attacks. Telescoping baseball bat Buster Home Run! Buster Tomahawk! The Double Tomahawk is connected via a diecast shaft. Buster Missile Might! Rx-7 (the "receiving palm" still doesn't come with any "landing strip" paint apps. Darn..) Super Inazuma Kick! Detonating the Degeneracy Reactor. Display base There are 2 extra pieces for the accessory rack. They plug in here: Proper layout of the tower platforms (the manual is a bit fuzzy on this). Extending/foldable walkways Alternate setup for the display base for the individual vehicle modes. Remember to plug in Buster Machine 1 into the posts. Comparison with the original Gx-34 Gunbuster Interestingly, they modified one of the accessory trays trays a bit from the original. It locks in better now. With the SRC Gunbuster Quick Notes (since this is just a repaint, I'll go over things briefly) -Weigh in: --Buster Machine 1 - 321 Grams --Buster Machine 2 - 434 Grams --Gunbuster - 724 Grams(default feet) ; feet weight 48 Grams --Gunbuster - 749 Grams (Anime-accurate feet) ; feet weight 56 grams -Gunbuster stands roughly 11.5" tall (counting the tips of the shoulders). -Attaching the underside cover for Buster Machine 1 is still a pain... -This is how Gunbuster's back is supposed to look like (you can remove the panel/ Buster Machine 2's underside here if you like) -Watch out for the bottom of the display base, there still doesn't seem to be any locking mechanisms for keeping the bottom attached to the rest of the base, so the whole bottom comes apart whenever you lift up the upper half of the base. Overall, for better or for worse, it's still the same SOC Gunbuster, with zero improvements on the toy itself and no added accessories. The colors are nice, but personally, I think the original version is still more Anime accurate, so given the choice of having to pick only one of the two, the first one gets my vote. I think Bandai should've just done collectors a solid and reissued the toy straight up, same colors and all. Gold
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Post by Mechanical Flesh on Apr 6, 2016 3:59:07 GMT -5
Great review Gold.
Heh, that folding arms pose.. it is practically impossible to pull of nicely, despite how good it looks in the anime. Sadly. Also, I wonder if the team took inspiration from Venus A's Finger Missile attack for Gunbuster's Buster Missile. They look very similar. Even sound similar.
It looks good, but this is yet another reissue/recolor. I wonder what Bandai is planning for this toy line. GX-68 and 69 came out quite some time ago, already.. we could count the Star GGG parts set as a regular release, sure, but no "major" release has been announced as of now.
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Post by Gold on Apr 6, 2016 4:22:47 GMT -5
Thanks Mechanical Flesh. Yeah, it's a shame they didn't add anything new to this figure, I was hoping for at least some effects parts or something. Supposedly Bandai's supposed to drop some hints in May regarding the next SOC (?), I hope it's true and we get something worthy. The line seems to have run it's course with the slowdown now... Gold
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Post by greengetterguy on Apr 6, 2016 13:43:39 GMT -5
Always such an awesome review.....much respect.
I also hope Bandai has something special for GX-70(?). Cant wait till next month for the reveal. Very excited.
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Post by S_Gokin on Apr 6, 2016 17:00:03 GMT -5
Always such an awesome review.....much respect. I also hope Bandai has something special for GX-70(?). Cant wait till next month for the reveal. Very excited. they will reveal the GX-70 next month ! Golion , AstroGanger , Bismark , Albegas and Zanda Cross are in my top list and the most welcome in my collection lets just hope its not SOC Spongebob
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Post by Vendetta on Apr 6, 2016 18:01:17 GMT -5
Great review as always, Gold! I'm hoping for SRX for GX-70, which is a remote possibility as it's the 25th anniversary of the SRW series. An updated Andromeda based on the recently announced Yamato 2202 series is also a possibility. I didn't care for the ships in the SoC line initially, but I watched Yamato 2199 recently and loved it; I picked up a GX-64 shortly afterward and will be getting the updated Andromeda if / when it's announced to go with it.
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Post by Gold on Apr 6, 2016 22:19:14 GMT -5
Thanks Greengetterguy and Vendetta. Let's hope the Gx-70 is something worthwhile. It would really suck if we waited for almost a year for news just to get a lackluster figure announcement. Thanks Vendetta, I loved the 2199 series too, but I didn't know we're getting a sequel. Thanks for the headsup! Gold
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Post by chogokinabdul on Apr 7, 2016 0:49:19 GMT -5
again , outdid yourself Gold ... but now I miss your Old logo (the SOC style GOLD)
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Post by Gold on Apr 7, 2016 7:00:10 GMT -5
Thanks Chogokinadbul, sorry this one took so long (more or less, 6 months? Yikes). Hehe, yeah, I'm going to miss that logo too, but the new logo will help promote the site (I hope). BTW the old logo was actually an acronym - GJLC (Gold and Jan's Little Collection) Gold
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Post by supergetterv on Apr 7, 2016 10:40:52 GMT -5
Always such an awesome review.....much respect. I also hope Bandai has something special for GX-70(?). Cant wait till next month for the reveal. Very excited. they will reveal the GX-70 next month ! Golion , AstroGanger , Bismark , Albegas and Zanda Cross are in my top list and the most welcome in my collection lets just hope its not SOC Spongebob I had to look up 3 of the 5 bots you listed. Golion and Albegas I know as Voltrons. Aside from Golion Voltron, I have no interest in the rest. Always hated Albegas and was glad to have not seen it as a Voltron cartoon in American. Just flat out ugly in design. Bismarck, I couldn't google what it look like cause you wrote Bismark. Urban dictionary had a funny definition on that word. Anyway, at first glance, it looks like Bioman robot but then it has that ugly lookin face. Astroganger, I have to be brutally honest here, it is by far the worst. It's got a face only its mother can love. Piss poor design and looks more like a badly drawn man in wrestling suit. Nothing super about it and doesn't not look like a robot. Why Bandai would consider this as a SoC? Is it super popular in Japan or something? Zanda Cross, they made a Robot Damashii out of it and it's got designs similar to the Hyaku Shiki Gundam. SoC wise, it may not be much bigger in size versus the Damashii so really no point in making this one too. SRX from SRWOG would be a good choice. The line needs newer robots from the 90's on forward. GaoGaiGar was a step in the right direction. The popular bots from the 70-80's have mostly been made. What is left isn't really marketable.
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Post by faelon on Apr 7, 2016 11:36:03 GMT -5
Always such an awesome review.....much respect. I also hope Bandai has something special for GX-70(?). Cant wait till next month for the reveal. Very excited. they will reveal the GX-70 next month ! Golion , AstroGanger , Bismark , Albegas and Zanda Cross are in my top list and the most welcome in my collection lets just hope its not SOC Spongebob My money's on Hello Kitty DX
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Post by S_Gokin on Apr 7, 2016 14:11:11 GMT -5
I had to look up 3 of the 5 bots you listed. Golion and Albegas I know as Voltrons. Aside from Golion Voltron, I have no interest in the rest. Always hated Albegas and was glad to have not seen it as a Voltron cartoon in American. Just flat out ugly in design. Bismarck, I couldn't google what it look like cause you wrote Bismark. Urban dictionary had a funny definition on that word. Anyway, at first glance, it looks like Bioman robot but then it has that ugly lookin face. Astroganger, I have to be brutally honest here, it is by far the worst. It's got a face only its mother can love. Piss poor design and looks more like a badly drawn man in wrestling suit. Nothing super about it and doesn't not look like a robot. Why Bandai would consider this as a SoC? Is it super popular in Japan or something? Zanda Cross, they made a Robot Damashii out of it and it's got designs similar to the Hyaku Shiki Gundam. SoC wise, it may not be much bigger in size versus the Damashii so really no point in making this one too. SRX from SRWOG would be a good choice. The line needs newer robots from the 90's on forward. GaoGaiGar was a step in the right direction. The popular bots from the 70-80's have mostly been made. What is left isn't really marketable. well its my list man , i also have more in this thread here robotjapan.proboards.com/thread/24074/list-bandai as for Albegas some figures were actually released back in the days under the name of Voltron 2, so its kinda unknown robot for some, in my region it was called The Defender, for me personally i find it cool in every way and the ET version don't give it its full justice BismarCk is consider one of the last classic super robots and here again i disagree you with, the show was a hit and the robot it self was and still awesome, just google Bismarck DX GC-22 to get the full idea of what im talking about and for Astroganger i also have to be brutally honest too , did you watch the show ? do you even know whats the story about ? i dont think so the reason why Astroganger is not looking like a robot because he is NOT a robot he is a living metal (a creature) they just sculpt him using the heat of the lava and he use the high temperature from volcanoes as his source of power it also repair him if he got damaged, and for me i like his classic design, its also super popular in my region even the HL Pro vinyl version with it QCs sold out every where, whats that telling you ? last but not least Zanda Cross i know about the Damashii release but its feel so childish for me not to mention the lack of diecast so i dont see why not making it, GaoGaiGar was in the SRC line before it got into the SOC at the end its a matter of tastes and personal opinions, so im sure for some what left is what going to complete their collection faelon said: My money's on Hello Kitty DX lol i wonder whats they are going to use for the internal parts
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Post by supergetterv on Apr 7, 2016 16:28:17 GMT -5
It's all a matter of personal taste and opinions and I'm not attacking your taste or anything like that. You have your collecting criteria and those are robots you need. I saw your post and was a little curious as to who those robots are. With Albegas, I've don't know why but he feels like an accessory type collectible to me. Kinda like, oh, I got DairiggerXV and GoLion so I need Albegas. I have never like the design and I am not the type to buy something just to accessorize what I have. Anyway, after my google search, my opinion on the other 3 robots is, 1 of them I find ugly and the other 2, the designs don't wow me one bit. Put it this way, if I walked into a Collectible Toy Store, and there are products associated with these 3 robots, I would likely just walk past them. Wouldn't ask about them cause I just don't care. Nothing about the designs grabs my attention. These aren't characters I grew up with or have any knowledge of. Unlike MazingerZ or Getter which have some modern Anime cartoons and is somewhat modernized, Bismarck and Astroganger have not gotten any modern media attention. Not that I know of, and even if it did I wouldn't care cause aesthetically, I don't find them appealing. To answer your question on the Astroganger Vinyl, what it means is that it highly popular in a small region. If the goal for this product is to make a single production run and sell it out, then this product succeeded. But that kinda aiming too low. Most successful products have multiple production runs and multiple releases. Additionally the product still has nothing to do with or associated analytical data that shows it will be successful in the Japanese market. SoC main market is still Japan as I believe that a high amount of the production units are distributed and allocated to the local markets.
In regards to GaoGaiGar SoC, this one made sense. The series has a huge fan base. The SRC was highly successful in testing the market. So much so that it had a reissue release with improved QC and not to mention that the other Robots from the series also sold well. GaoGaiGar is a combining type robot. The SRC didn't have this feature. So it made total sense to make it as a SoC.
Finally when it comes to Zanda Cross, making it a SoC just because the Robot Damashii lack die cast? If that's the case, it would make more sense for them to make it a SRC. And how many characters in the Robot Damashii gets a SRC release? Probably none cause it'll feel redundant. There's got to be more to it. Does it transform? Any gimmick or what kind of engineering upgrade can they do with this?
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Post by krimpov on Apr 7, 2016 17:54:55 GMT -5
Looks more like a "I ate too much chili again" pose. I don't remember, are Gunbuster's forearms removable? I saw removable panels on your pics, but I can't tell if you could remove the whole forearms (like the SOC Mazingers, Grendizer, Getters, etc.). That's one improvement they could have done on this re-release : a crossed arms accessory (and new elbow joints, if necessary), like the Armageddon Getter Dragon SOC.
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Post by Mechanical Flesh on Apr 7, 2016 18:06:44 GMT -5
are Gunbuster's forearms removable? Nope, don't think they are.. Funny you mention Getter Dragon. You probably already know this, but it was the first super robot to do a crossed arms pose. And Gunbuster paid homage to that scene, well, really it paid homage to Getter Dragon in general, with things like the Buster Beam and the Buster Tomahawks. And if robot forearms were less thick, figures could cross arms easily.. heh, imagine trying to do so with your forearms stuck inside beer barrels, yeah.
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Post by S_Gokin on Apr 7, 2016 18:10:45 GMT -5
me too i didn't attack your taste its just i find odd when you didn't watch the show and yet you judge it its exactly like judging a book by its title in reality Golion and Dairigger XV (Vehicle Voltron) are not related at all but WEP decided to make Dairigger XV a Voltron sequel that's why every one with a Voltron figure want to get Dairigger XV figure but since i never liked the Dairigger XV i don't find it a must for me, and Albegas is also not related to them at all its just dubbing, editing and milking Voltron success they call that the nostalgia factor but sometimes you get something you never watched or know just because it have an awesome design, for me that was Voltes V and Getter Robo i watched Voltes v a while before Bandai did the 40th anniversary like Voltron Bismarck is under WEP copyrights and they are holding it, i remember back in the day there was a video game for Bismarck but somehow the project got shutdown, most of the classic robots / super robot shows didn't get a modern release but that doesn't mean they are awful by any chance and they are still remembered till this day you think Asia a small region ? one of the reason Voltes V 40th anniversary got a reissue is Asia to be specific Philippine, the collectors there bought it by 3 units per person that's an insane demand on a figure, Astroganger is not only famous in Asia its Also famous in Europe specially Italy just like Gattaiger its a knowing fact for Japanese people Japan always come first but still they listen to other customers ideas, and from what i understand most of those orders you are talking about are for the Japanese stores to sell over seas and its not necessary that a successful product get a multiple production runs, look to the DX Mazinger for example combining robots always sell out well, look to God Sigma its not a famous robot but it got a classic design and its a combining robot so that will sell by default knowing the quality of Bandai SOC but the GX-69 Goldymarg didn't sell well you can get for $100 and he is related to GaoGaiGar same question again did you watch the show ? they actually had to build Zanda Cross so that's an idea, the cockpit is in his chest does open in the Damachii version but its not detailed at all like the show so here is another idea, also he have some laser shooting guns in his stomach so that's another idea and that's me talking im sure Bandai will have more to give if they decide to do it if you want to continue this discussion lets go to the thread i mentioned in my earlier post so we dont spam this thread and keep it on topic
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Post by Gold on Apr 7, 2016 22:40:27 GMT -5
krimpov, nope, you can't pull out the whole forearms, just the panels. But I do agree, I wish they had some sort of alternate option for the folded arms pose. lol.. "I ate too much Chili" . Gold
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Post by chogokinabdul on Apr 7, 2016 23:58:43 GMT -5
Thanks Chogokinadbul, sorry this one took so long (more or less, 6 months? Yikes). Hehe, yeah, I'm going to miss that logo too, but the new logo will help promote the site (I hope). BTW the old logo was actually an acronym - GJLC (Gold and Jan's Little Collection) Gold Yeah I noticed the gjlc but never new what it stands for now I know. The old one is part of the robot Japan family When ever I open a thread and I find it I feel happy because I know I am about to read a great enjoyable and informative review. I get similar feeling when Charles from rocket punch army release a video review
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Post by greengetterguy on Sept 20, 2019 14:56:44 GMT -5
Hi Guys! Sorry to resurrect the old Gunbuster!! Bought it YEARS ago, But 8 just opened him up today and just had to write up MY first impression. First, if you dont have one, please, get him especially if you see him for around $250. Second, I'm not going to lie...the original color does look better... Still, this figure, which I snagged as soon as it was available for preo since I didnt own the original, is a monster of of gokin. So glad i didnt oass him up. I wont go into full review on this as my bros here did phenomenal job at that. But here is my quick procon. Pros 1.just Crap ton of metal...this is Bandai I used to love. Just Metal EVERYWHERE!! EVEN in place you dont need it...e in his head! His ribcage is metal!!! Parts of His shoulder pads' joints are metal...insane. 2.Clickie joints everywhere, just everywhere!! 3.Tons of accessories, looks great in reboot and in ship form. 4.Transforming him wasnt as bad as I imagined...(I'm a baby when it comes to transforming anything.) Cons 1. The most glaring con, The hollowed out lower legs is one place that's lacking metal...yes they did it for the ship mode but how many of us bought him to display in ship mode ...it would have balanced him out better in robot form. 2.Part of transforming instruction were bit hard to figure out for me. I gave up trying to put all those covers for perfect anime look in ship mode.. 3. I'm not a fan of candy apple or metal foil paint job...not on a gokin. Environmental notes: He has Bendy PVC antenna along with usual PVC hands, he Came in styro coffin, but surprisingly didnt smell toxic...( prob my lungs filtered out all the fumes over the years tee) some areas were covered in grease..a nice little supplement to the toxic fume to get my body drying faster hee. Wish list: LED gimmick on his eyes and his heart would have been a real killer!!! The final Verdict. Highly recommend him. Please Get one if you dont have one. Maybe Bandai will do a REAL reengineered one someday, till then. this old robot still can outshine many new ones that are double the price.
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Post by S_Gokin on Sept 20, 2019 18:06:58 GMT -5
one more opinion, is always welcome bro
thanks for your time and for you info
its in my list but not high priority
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