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Post by faelon on Nov 25, 2016 11:53:50 GMT -5
This guy's going to be released soon but I haven't seen the box art. Or did I miss something? I could swear They showed off the box art a few weeks ago?
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Post by faelon on Nov 23, 2016 16:45:43 GMT -5
Welcome nycprime. Here's a quick rundown. Both Bandai and Toynami are Official licensors. So product is "official" and WEP the IP owners gives approval and gets paid.
Toynami has had the Voltron license for many many years. Their "Masterpiece Voltron" is a nice die cast, and has largely been the best available up until recently. It is however an almost 20 year old design, that they have repackaged and re-issued three times, including 20th and 30th anniversary additions. It's nice, but not up to modern standards.
Toynami's new EX Voltron is an over priced all plastic offering. It is more an unofficial stylized modern concept Voltron. It looks like a nice plastic figure, it just doesn't really match any of the source materials.
Bandai and its subsidiary Popy created the original DX GoLion toys back in the day, which were also packaged as the Matchbox Voltron. Bandai has recently re-acquired the Voltron license and is releasing a new state of the art Die Cast version in their upper end Soul of Chogokin line. This version is the closest to the TV version, with some things, such as the exposed Lion legs, taken from the classic DX toy. It looks like it will be the best Official Voltron by a wide margin.
If you can get a Toynami Masterpiece at a good price it's nice to have. But don't go much above $100-120. Of those the 30th anniversary is best as it has some extra weapons, a nice display base and light up eyes. The figure is really meant for display. It can be fragile if extensively played with. The Chrome legs get scuffed scratched and damaged easily.
The Bandai SOC is $300 and looks to be the same exceptional quality as their other SOC combiners such as GAO Gai Gar, God Sigma, God Mars, Voltes V, Combatler V, etc. it has all the weapons and accessories a nice display base for said accessories and a ton of features, plus if cared for it will retain resale value.
The Toynami EX plastic Voltron, honestly is so far overpriced that it seems targeted to fail. $400-500? Yeah no. I understand that it is designed by a subcontractor, but Toynami has such a poor history with plastic robots from their Robotech license that they need to be viewed with skepticism. Wait for someone else to get this in hand and tell about it. Then wait for it to go on clearance. Deep clearance.
There is also the "unofficial" (bootleg) Mad Toys King of Beasts. Which is a nice stylized modern take on Voltron, with a ton of die cast. It's hard to come by, the new version may or may not ever release, if you do find one buying it is like a drug deal behind the bowling alley, and as a bootleg QC may be spotty. But it is a nice figure.
The other nice or complimentary bootleg is the Miracle Metals Vehicle Voltron. Which is now real hard to find. Ver 1 of that is a QC horror show. Ver 2 and 3 fixed the problems and are fairly nice.
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Post by faelon on Nov 19, 2016 16:29:14 GMT -5
More die cast isn't always a good thing. Just saying. I thought Toynami taught us that lesson. It isn't just how much die cast you have. It's how and where you use it. The robot needs to be able to support itself without any undue stresses or balance issues. Too much die cast in the wrong places weakens the robot if it is poorly designed.
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Post by faelon on Nov 17, 2016 19:52:49 GMT -5
I watched maybe two episodes of the 2007 series then I was like...nope. Sorry. It doesn't hold a candle to the OVA series. No diecast, but I believe there was a Revoltech. At least I think what the Revoltech fig is supposed to be. I've never seen the newer show so I'm not 100% sure.
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Post by faelon on Nov 16, 2016 19:33:56 GMT -5
I'll agree he is nice and over priced. But I definitely find him middle of the pack overall for SRC's. he has some nice heft. But that bare pearl blue swirly plastic finish really is distracting. The head also seems small, but I haven't seen enough anime Giant a Robot to know if that's what it is supposed to look like.
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Post by faelon on Nov 16, 2016 16:27:49 GMT -5
The last bit of info I received was: "Let me explain the situation now. Actually, the production of both version Golion have been completed and they are ready to launch to market. (Just waiting for final license approval from WEP.) But you should know Bandai will launch Golion at December as well. Bandai don't want BU releasing their product before December, so they pressure WEP to hold BU licence application. That's why the licence approval is still pending for a long long time. BU said if they can't get the license from WEP until November, they are going to launch their Golion to market at December in behalf of Mad Toys whatever. I do believe BU Toys will release their products to market very soon, otherwise they will get huge loss. Right?!" Take that as you will. It's unmitigated bullsh*t. Pure unadulterated nonsense. That's not how licensing works. That's not how business works. BU or Mad Toys does not have a license. They will likely not be getting a license. The fact that they are sitting on unlicensed inventory largely guarantees it. WEP is a North American business. One that is reasonably experienced in licensing. Licensing their IP is in fact their core business. They will behave as a North American business behaves. They just scored homerun deals with Bandai and Playmates. And as far as they are concerned Madtoys/BU or whatever name they use this week has already stolen from them. Remember KOB V 1.0? Neither WEP nor Toei saw a dime from that. No license will be extended by either until or unless at a minimum that is made good on. The fact that BU/MT is or claims to be sitting on produced inventory ready to ship, without actually having a license, is a further red flag to the licensor. Businesses generally will not license pre-existing bootleg products. For a whole host of reasons. Not the least of which is that the licensor will always demand the money from the already sold bootlegs up front. No really, read through your post. They are hoping to be granted a license by November? Uh huh. If they don't already have a signed contract with WEP or Toei, there is no November or December. They would have needed that piece of paper months ago. The Licensor reviews and approves all product. All product packaging. And has absolute veto over what you produce. You don't go to them hat in hand with a warehouse full of un reviewed product and then ask permission. It's not how it works. It doesn't matter how good you think the robot actually is. All the talk about the licensing and distribution is pure BS. The business side makes no sense. They are already at a "huge loss". The tooling and design has changed hands two or three times now. I can almost guarantee at each jump the QC will decrease. It's a well engineered bootleg, one of the best ever. But that does not change the fact that they are looking to sell it into a market where the actual license suddenly went hot and became extremely active with players that are capable of discouraging bootleg sales channels in North America, Japan, Europe and South Korea.
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Post by faelon on Nov 15, 2016 13:35:48 GMT -5
I hope it transforms better than the Bandai version. That thing was a POS. You mean the auto-transforming one? That one was a POS largely because of said gimmick - if this has to be transformed manually, it's probably also a lot better. But, again, it seems to have disappeared like a fart in the Sahara. The World Scope 17 and 18, while having some nice details and features, and good articulation, don't actually transform. They are robot mode only. Kind of like big versions of Bandai SRC's. So 17 doesn't convert into a bizarre and ugly office building.
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Post by faelon on Nov 13, 2016 11:08:40 GMT -5
For those that have not had the anime version of SRC in hand. The White is actually a slightly pearl white. It looks perfect for the robot, and to my eye it looks better and makes a better representation than the silver. I don't think pictures do it Justice. If you assume the arms are just a plain white, they are not.
Now I am one of those that feels the SRC is the best Grendizer to date. Size is less an issue because for once the Spazer scales properly to Grendizer. The SRC does everything I need or want Grendizer to do at 5". Increasing the size of Grendy needs increase the size of the Spazer, which quickly becomes unmanageable.
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Post by faelon on Nov 7, 2016 17:33:38 GMT -5
They may. We have seen plenty of times where release order gets flipped. It's just a matter of factory capacity and scheduling. Getter may require less factory time or fewer factories, or may have had a better matching window to schedule the run in. Or it may simply be a smaller run. Have they formally announced the Great Mazinger and given it a release date or window?
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Post by faelon on Nov 7, 2016 13:46:53 GMT -5
i have all of them GURLS except the two Minerva variants which is GX-09MAB La Sirene De Noir and GX-09SS Shining Shadow. i felt it was unccessary coz its just a recolor of GX-08MAW Snow White and GX-09MA respectively. Unlike Blue Mermaid, Queen of Gold and Snow White which are complete upgrades of previous normal and angel versions. And I do say these babes are worth to get for loverboy Maz. My set is the same. They do look spectacular. Although I have been considering packing and storing them lately. In part because they seem to collect dust like nothing else.
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Post by faelon on Nov 7, 2016 13:13:09 GMT -5
are we sure about this ? because in most cases after Mazinger z come Great Mazinger not any other robot They had a Great Maz on display as well. It's probably just a matter of which comes out first. You're likely assuming a pattern or tradition where there is none. It's just observer error. They likely often develop Maz Z and Great Maz back to back as they share certain design elements and aesthetics and reference source materials so it is easy for the same design and production teams to do them side by side. Things like they use the same color pallets for paint and plastic, which can factor into factory scheduling. But there is no business reason to have one follow the other in some ritualistic way. There can easily be a release between them. It all depends on how the production scheduling works out.
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Post by faelon on Nov 6, 2016 13:33:59 GMT -5
I wonder if this is a temporary thing like the first instance. For those that are buying voltron and megazord maybe you're considering posing them in a battle wl mode against each other ? I'm thinking that the Megazord will look fantastic teamed up with Voltron and God Sigma. In much the same way that the three "Robot Romance" robots look good displayed as a set. They have those similar design queues color palettes.
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Post by faelon on Nov 6, 2016 13:20:52 GMT -5
/looks around... Wha???
/makes sure he didn't wander into. Dragonball Z forum by mistake...
Once again... Wha???
How did a discussion on a newly announced Gokin turn into some sort of ongoing "my robot can beat up your robot!" Schoolyard D*** waving contest? No really? Which robot can beat up which in a cell phone game? (As someone pointed out, here's a hint... the newer robot always wins. It's called marketing!. ) And why exactly are we having said schoolyard level debate about two robots that are not in fact the newly announced Gokin in question? Grendizer is a nice robot. Mazinkaiser is a nice robot. They each have their own stories and designs. Buy or watch which you like. But who can beat up who based on some weird fan theories revolving around third party products that most of us will never see, seems more than a touch insane. And certainly will likely not play into most fans purchasing decisions or analysis of a third entirely different robot.
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Post by faelon on Nov 4, 2016 19:35:08 GMT -5
Yes and please, articulated threads, no rubber. Ouch! That's a tall order at a scale that small. Even a much bigger Combattler V.
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Post by faelon on Nov 4, 2016 19:26:50 GMT -5
I think Baikanfu is my dream one for a re-release. I would not say no to a GX-50 version Combatler V either. I suspect that any Ideon re-release would require a bit of re-engineering. Those shoulder joints.
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Post by faelon on Nov 4, 2016 13:37:00 GMT -5
I don't know if "supporting" is quite the right word. At this point based on my experiences with their products I will likely never be a day 1 or MSRP purchaser of their offerings unless something radically changes. But I don't find them completely devoid of value the way I currently look on say, Toynami. They fall into that weird niche void that used to be held by CMs.
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Post by faelon on Nov 4, 2016 13:24:51 GMT -5
I was gonna post the same thing before I saw you already did. This SRC is friggin' HUUGE! Else, the SOC GX-70 is really quite tiny... GX-70 is quoted at 170mm which is the same as GX-01R. The larger SRC bots are all about that same size. Mazinkaiser, SKL, Shin Getter 1 and Zeorymer all falling at about that size. The SRC Mazinkaisers are all almost dead on the same size as GX-01. They just represent robots that should be 30% larger than Mazinger Z.
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Post by faelon on Oct 30, 2016 16:18:38 GMT -5
The feet are much improved from Gataiger. Z Mazingers feet appear to be hard, well painted plastic. To my eye they feel like an ABS. This is a vast improvement from Gataiger. I have a metallic finish Gataiger with perpetually sticky feet and fists. Don't hold me to this but I think Gattaigers feet were a 2 part composite, with the foot bottom and the internal connecting ball joint being ABS, and the upper half of the foot being PVC. For Z Mazinger both top and bottom of the foot seem to be ABS, held together with screws. (There are 2 screws on the bottom of each foot. )
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Post by faelon on Oct 30, 2016 16:08:44 GMT -5
wow. i love the opening hatches. this looks great. whats the word on evolution's other products? Their Dynamite Action line is interesting. Not exactly true Gokin, they are plastic figures with a decent implementation of the old Magnamatic Magnetic joint system. They do a lot of really odd ball subjects. Their sculpts and paint work is top notch, bordering on spectacular. But they tend to be about 20%+ overpriced for what they are. Great if you can get them on deep discount. They are great value at or below $100, and grossly overpriced at $200. Sadly some of their most popular DA offerings are also their least impressive, such as Albegas. (The ET DA figures are roughly to scale or similar size to GX-01) They haven't done a lot of Gokin type stuff. The main one is the VF- 2S Valkyrie from Macross II. Which is by all reports a meh effort. (Although the latest version is reported to be improved.) Their other main Die Cast offerings have been the Mazinger Pilders with the plastic heads to dock in. Those have been very very nice (just once again overpriced for what they are.) it will I'll be interesting to see what they come up with if they are branching into true Die Cast robots. Their sculpt and paint team is great. Typically only held back by the materials and the stupid magnetic ball joints. Here's hoping they have some quality engineering to go along with the sculptors. I suspect that nothing will save us from it being grossly overpriced.
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Post by faelon on Oct 30, 2016 15:22:53 GMT -5
So I bit the bullet and grabbed one of these from the BBTS fall sale. My prior experiences with HL Pro have been a mixed bag (Gataiger and Grendizer), but I am a sucker for obscure subjects if they can be gotten at a decent or discount price. I ended up with the black and silver (non Chrome) version.
Overall I am very impressed. Easily the Best HL Pro figure that I own. Well worth it at a sub $100 price tag.
High points/Pros - The finish is spectacular. Paint has been one of the weaker things on my earlier HLP bots, but this guy is sharp and crisp. The Black is a deep shiny lacquer. With crisp eye catching red pinstriping. - scale. He scales and stands perfectly with the older SOC''s such as GX01 etc. he joins the family on the shelf seemlessly.
Mixed Bag/meh points - this is not a Bandai robot. Joints and articulation is from an older generation. This will largely be a pose once or twice and display robot. - getting the Scrander to stay on is a chore. Very loose connection points. - plastic used in details such as Scrander, Pilder and chest vanes feels fragile. Will not stand up to much handling.
Negatives/Cons - plastic ratchet knee joints. Ugh! It uses similar knees to Gataiger. They feel better than Gattaiger's knees. But that's not saying much, I don't think robot joints could feel worse than Gattaigers knees and not actually be broken. Plastic on plastic ratcheting knees on a metal robot. Ugh! - The upper torso joint on mine is just bordering on too loose. Which can turn posing into a pain.
Accessories are minimal. The Greek column sword stand blends well with the Bandai Mythcloth display base, if you happen to have that item.
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