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Post by moleman on Sept 24, 2010 22:04:51 GMT -5
Gamu's review of Blastor Tekkaman! gamu-toys.info/gangu/ap/ap03/ap03.htmlI'm really digging that pearl finish and the added articulation in the neck. I think I read this release also has much better stability than Evil so I guess that's also a plus!
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Post by moleman on Sept 22, 2010 9:15:59 GMT -5
So is this a model kit or a fully assembled toy? Either way color me interested.
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Post by moleman on Sept 7, 2010 1:36:52 GMT -5
Man oh man those kits look beautiful when completed, but daunting to complete. Kudos to the folks who have the time and skills to put together such brilliant pieces.
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Post by moleman on Sept 5, 2010 21:56:58 GMT -5
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Post by moleman on Sept 5, 2010 0:33:07 GMT -5
Pictures are now up. Sorry for the eye candy delay. Enjoy!!!!
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Post by moleman on Sept 4, 2010 22:55:58 GMT -5
Here's my review of the Bandai Web shop exclusive Tekkaman Evil armor plus figure. First of all this figure is an online exclusive that can only be bought from Bandai's website in Japan. In other words, if you happen to know someone in Japan or if you know a good middle man service your going to be need them to purchase this figure. In addition, if your uncomfortable with a middle man service a few normal toy retailers such as anime export and toy wave also have some limited stock of this figure ( for a marked up price of course). Anyways, on to the figure itself! Packaging and accessories: Tekkaman Evil's package comes in a box similar to previous armor plus figures with the exception of the opening lid to see the figure's layout. It's a pointless omission and it doesn't hurt the coolness of the packaging. In retrospect, its just a standard box with some neat photo shop work of the armored figure in its entirety. For accessories he comes with five pairs of interchangeable hands, his normal lance, his unarmored head, a four split lance and two blades for this pop off shoulder weapons. You pretty much get everything you need for Tekkaman Evil and the only accessory I think they could of included would be the tekka-crystal, but that will be coming with the Blastor Tekkaman (another web shop exclusive ). Sculpt and Detail: The sculpt on this figure like the rest of the armor plus figures is really sharp. Thanks to the help of CAD renderings Bandai was really able to capture the look and feel of how Tekkaman Evil appeared in the anime. Proportions look fantastic and I don't see any wonky limbs or heads when fully armored up. Furthermore, the paint job on my sample is very clean with little to no slop. Additionally, in the paint department this figure shines because all of the armor is fully painted and when put together gives the appearance of a professionally completed kit. What's also sweet is the amount of clear blue parts used around the figure's chest and back area to once again achieve a very sharp outlook. Gimmicks and weaponry: As noted before Tekkaman Evil comes with some badass weaponry and one of his interesting gimmicks is that part of this shoulder armor can be removed and attached to his forearms to make a striking armored blade. Everything fits pretty well together, but getting the blades on can be a little tough so just be a little patient with them until they're nice snug. It's also worth noting that his normal lance doesn't fit as snuggly in the hands as Tekkaman Blade's does. Sure, it's not like the lance will fall out, but it kind of slides around a bit. Anyways, TE also features the same sculpted eyes and face under the helmet and it makes for a pretty wicked effect. . In addition, what's equally sweet is the opening boosters on his back feature multiple levels of spreading armor and looks pretty sharp (both literally and figuratively). Finally, if you want to shed TE into his Pre-Tekkaman mode you can do so, but after looking at the armored mode, why would you? ;D Articulation: Like the armor plus Blade, Evil is pretty much the same in terms of possibility:( double jointed neck, double jointed hips and elbows, ball jointed and hinged shoulders, bicep swivel, mid torso ball joint, ball jointed waist, double jointed hinged knees, hinged ankles and neat toe joint). Even though the articulation is similar I've noticed that the neck on TE is much more free and pose able for looking up and down. Another difference I found is that the inner hip joint that allows the hip to move down is a bit looser on TE and while it does help with posing the figure in more dynamic poses it also takes away some stability in holding the pose itself . Furthermore, when all of the armor is on some of the articulation gets limited and because TE is so spiky posing him needs to have some care involved so be careful. Die cast content: TE's feet are metal. The chest, inner shoulders, forearms, crouch, and calve armor is all made out of metal. With all of the metal TE feels very heavy and while it does make posing a little harder it really feels solid. Durablity and Build: Even though joints are tight now, all of them are friction joints and hinges so they can loosen up over time. The plastic quality feels pretty tough and since most of the armor is made out of metal I don't see too many collectors breaking anything. However, I've noticed that on TE some of the armor parts such as the forearm and leg armor don't attach as snuggly as Blade's. I don't know if that has anything to do with the way Bandai designed the new armor or if there's already mold deterioration on the base figure's mold . Final Thoughts: When I first discovered that Bandai was making these Tekkaman figures my head exploded and I immediately pre-ordered them as soon as the ordering page came up. Its a true sight to behold that these Tekkaman figures exist and I hope Bandai continues to bring out a few more of the armored suits in this line ( come on Sol Tekkaman come on)! Anyways, bottom line this figure is sweet, it looks great, poses pretty decently, and blows my mind to have one of the very few Tekkaman Evil toys ever made . Despite, a few problems and a jump in price Tekkaman fans won't be disappointed. Tekkaman fans have waited too long for awesome Tekkaman toys and now the wait is finally over so do yourself a favor and buy this toy. Enjoy some pics! IMAGES NOW UP. Flickr is kinda screwing with me.
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Post by moleman on Aug 29, 2010 23:48:28 GMT -5
I gotta say I definitely agree with points 1, 2 and 6. Oh and yes the plastic quality does feel like a step down from Defender and the City Commander armors. I've discovered that the back cannons for Bruticus mode can be firmly attached if you unlock the left arm on onslaught. This allows for Onslaught's arm pegs to be straightened out and capable of having the pegs pushed in. About point 2 yes the socket where Bruticus' hands attach are fragile! The plastic is a bit thin ( transparent in the sun) around the socket and so even if your careful I think you'll be seeing stress marks soon. Hell on day 1 I had this set I got stress marks where the socket is for the hands and I wasn't even being rough with it. On mine the crouch armor seems to attach pretty firmly and is held on with an audible click! Aside from the bad stuff, Blast off and Swindle are fun little dudes that look pretty sharp and makes me wish we had a Bruticus set made from the ground up. Combined mode is huge and imposing, definitely the way a combiner should be. I happy with my set, but I guess with the hype and the praise I gave FP for this set I was expecting something a little more durable and fiddling friendly, but now I'm kinda left with two completed model kits that I have to handle with a good amount of care.
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Post by moleman on Aug 4, 2010 23:14:14 GMT -5
Since Tekkaman toys are almost as rare as a blue moon and a frozen hell I think I have to pick this up and quick before he becomes another web exclusive that commands scary prices.
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Post by moleman on Aug 3, 2010 3:49:17 GMT -5
So I read a few reports that Tekkaman Evil while nicely sculpted with sharp paint apps, doesn't have strong enough joints to support all of weight. In fact I've read that Evil's armor is a little looser fitting than Blade's armor and needs a stand for posing. Xiombarg how is Evil compared to Blade? Should I pursue this piece for the extra chunk of change?
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Post by moleman on Jul 30, 2010 21:44:06 GMT -5
I lowered the price, I'm still willing to take offers before it gets put up and Evilbay
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Post by moleman on Jul 26, 2010 17:45:05 GMT -5
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Post by moleman on Jul 25, 2010 21:44:04 GMT -5
I'm not sure if this guy is by Hot Toys. I think I read this is coming from a newer toy company in China. Personally I think this guy is lacking detail and the head sculpt looks really really off and bug eyed.
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Post by moleman on Jul 13, 2010 0:05:50 GMT -5
Well I've had mine for about a week now and I think this figure is really growing on me. Thankfully I got a sample with fairly neat paint apps and tight joints so display wise and fiddling with this figure has been pretty fun. Yes the wings are a bit too heavy for the tiny ball joints and the seat is a pain in the butt to free. In fact I broke the seat clean off trying to slide it out more. Not a deal breaker, I just added a little super glue and its fine, but I still don't think I'll ever be able to pull it out all the way. In addition, I had to sand down some of the nubs, touch up the paint and clear coat the guns and now they look better. As a display piece this thing is sweet, but as a toy to fiddle with its only ok. I'd give it a 7.5/ 10 for the figure. I wanted a sexy version of the Lancelot for quite some time now ( the RD looked a bit too plain for me) and now I think I got my fix.
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Post by moleman on May 23, 2010 13:37:06 GMT -5
Thanks, themazingerz. I couldn't agree more. It is truly sad that if you want something badly your going to be at the whims of the seller. This is also probably why I'm going to quit buying chogokins and other Japanese collectibles. Prices are just getting ridiculous. I was more than happy to invest in the Armor Plus line since it was under the $100 mark and has everything a collector could want (metal, good articulation, nice size, lots of accessories huge nostalgia value for me), but if its going to be all web exclusives for now on this looks to be my stopping point. I might stick with model kits as their prices seem rather steady and are available where I live in the US.
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Post by moleman on May 23, 2010 12:53:32 GMT -5
First of all, your missing my point entirely. I understand these items are limited.Are we the intended audience? No. I know that. My two cents are very simple. We don't want to pay more and jump through hoops. I understand Bandai could probably care less about the international market. In addition, I understand why Bandai keeps rolling out exclusives (it makes money), its readily available to its intended audience. More power to Bandai and the Japanese fans. I'm just saying we (international fans) don't want to pay more, and if Bandai could offer a smaller quota of merchandise over its international sites or better yet have their Japanese site open its doors internationally, it would be great and then the complaining will stop (maybe ). If the increase is $10 to maybe $15, I can let it go and I understand some exclusives are like that, but when the price jumps up $50 to $80 etc, then theres just something wrong here. Honestly, is it wrong for me to be displeased to have to pay nearly double for a similar figure? If you have a proxy service that has Tekkaman Evil for like $100 USD shipped let me know, until then I'm still not convinced that the justifications for paying more for the same is acceptable.
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Post by moleman on May 22, 2010 16:10:22 GMT -5
Were not mad because of Bandai's marketing scheme to make more profits. Were just mad because we have to pay significantly more than what the item should cost. I could care less how Bandai markets the thing, as long were able to get the figures without jumping through some hoops. Furthermore, its kinda of irritating to see someone like the main villain (Tekkaman Evil)from the show turn up to be an exclusive, instead of a wide release or in the blastor's case the upgrade as an exclusive. Its as if Bandai mass releases a MG Freedom gundam and decides to release the MG Strike Freedom as a web exclusive or in Evil's case it would be like Takara releasing Optimus without a Megatron. If Bandai's making profits good for them, will I continue too buy their figures (of course), but this limited stuff is increasing and is making me less and less interested in this hobby if I have to throw more wads of cash for a similar figure which should cost the same its mass released version.
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Post by moleman on May 22, 2010 3:58:22 GMT -5
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Post by moleman on May 22, 2010 0:55:46 GMT -5
Nice. Put me down for a Dragonar-2 If it follows that illustration I'm excited. It would make sense if these are for the Spec line, but if they're actually a 7-8 inch full on chogokin I'm not complaining.
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Post by moleman on May 19, 2010 1:24:38 GMT -5
Yeah! Looks like a die cast chest for the transforming Tobikage yeah! Lionbot not too shabby either. Fun is back
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Post by moleman on May 13, 2010 23:52:29 GMT -5
I'm quite surprised that it can stand with those super huge wings. Impressive, impressive, but a bit too pricey for me.
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