I did a quick photo shoot session with my two korean Taekwon V action figures, the "FS-76 Genesis" (plastic) and "MS-76 Genesis" (diecast).
A little group shot with the GX-06 Getter 1 Soul of Chogokin, for size reference. Plastic on the left, diecast on the right.
The diecast one is merely half an inch taller. It doesn't sound like much, but side-by-side the difference is obvious.
Exposing their loot. That little golden tea pot guy couldn't stand by itself, even on the very SOC-inspired stand. I had to squeeze a small piece of paper behind one of its feet to keep it from falling.
I wanted to make a detailed color-mapping of the diecast content, but there's so little plastic it's not necessary. Here's what's NOT diecast on the figure : the hands, the studs on the forearms, the articulation joints, the chest plates, the head (excluding the neck, which is made of metal) and the stand. Obviously, the box, trays, booklet and card are not diecast. (Duh!) Everything else is diecast, even Teapot-Boy. Yes, it's heavy.
The first column belongs to plastic Taekwon (from now on called "PT"), the rest comes with the diecast ("DT"). No, the plastic one really doesn't come with anything else. Two pairs of hands, that's it. Although they look similar to DT's corresponding sets, the sculpt of the former doesn't look as good .The red chest plate in the middle of the right column is made of translucent plastic. There's also a fourth plate, an opaque red one, which you can see on the figure in the previous picture and on most pictures of this shoot.
A little "certificate" of authenticity with the production number of your figure, confirming that it is indeed limited. On the other side, there is a shiny silhouette of Taekwon's chest crest and the signature of Kim Cheong Ki, director and creator of Taekwon V (feel free to add big quotation marks to "creator", if you feel like it).
A short 6-page full-color booklet listing the parts and explaining what little you need to know to handle the figure without wrecking it.
Now, time for the articulations showdown.
Both figures have a 360 degree rotating head. None will vomit, nor proclaim property of any sow of any kind.
PT has only one neck joint, at the base of its head, while DT has a second one at the base of its neck, allowing it to tilt its neck as well as its head (while PT can only move its head, its neck remaining in a fixed position).
I could have sworn plastic Taekwon had a waist joint, but it doesn't.
Like the Mazinger and Getter SOCs, DT has forearms with magnetic joints. Unlike the SOCs, its arms are diecast. Unfortunately, its magnets are neither as large nor as strong as the SOCs'. Which means that if you're not careful it is dangerously easy to send those heavy forearms flying across the room by working the ratchet joints. Better take them off before working on those action poses.
DT's big flaw. Its designers were probably so proud of those double-axis ratchet rotating joints (which is not much different than what Bandai did on its SOCs ten years ago), that they forgot it might be useful to have a second rotation point. It's true, the classic SOCs only have one rotation point per joint, but it's at the right place. On DT, they put it on the wrong end of the joint.
Observe the picture above, with both Taekwons doing their best William Shatner impression. If you look at PT's left arm, raised to the skies to damn Khan, you'll notice that its forearm is bent upward while its upper arm is held at a lower angle, almost straight forward. Its right arm is pointing down, with its forearm bent foreward. DT cannot do that, because its forearms will only rotate on the forearm end of its elbow joints. On this pose, it will only change which side of its forearm is facing up, not the angle. It cannot raise its forearm upward without also raising its upper arm. The SOCs have a very similar setup, except for one point : the magnet, which also acts as a rotation joint on both figures, is on the upper arm end of the joint. This way, the SOCs bend their forearms in any direction, with only one rotation axis per joint.
Same thing with the shoulder articulations. It only rotates on the torso end. But that wouldn't be a problem if they had done the elbow joints right.
PT, it might not have fancy magnetic joints, but with revoltech-like double-axis rotation joints, at least it can live up to its name and do some real taekwon-do moves... unlike its preppy diecast brother.
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(Notice the silver chest plate on DT, here.) DT's elbow joints don't bend as much as PT's, but it's really close. On the wrist, however, the difference is easily noticeable. Here, PT is holding a typical martial arts pose, while DT is doing something more akin to a bodybuilder saluting Hitler.
From a different angle, you can see that DT (now sporting a sassy white chest plate) also has the left arm positioning all wrong. It's not its fault : it's built that way.
Random "fighting" stances to show off legs flexibility and DT's other hands (and its oh-so-fashionable clear chest plate).
The knee bends more on PT, but otherwise it's more or less a draw.
PT only has one rotation point on its knee articulation, but strangely enough, it's on the opposite side of DT's. DT's knee rotate on the thigh's side, while PT's rotation axis is on the lower leg. This makes DT's legs conception similar to the classic SOC's.
PT's legs allow him to rule the old west as John Wayne.
While for DT... it's HAMMERTIME !
DT comes in a comfy polystyrene tray... like a SOC. Unlike the SOCs, it comes with its heavy diecast forearms ON. Heavy metail pieces + weak magnets + not-so-gentle postal workers = possible bad news.
Its accessories come stored in plastic trays with clear plastic covers. You guessed it... like a SOC.
The box design is simple, but classy. The back side looks the same, with more copyrights and safety warning notices in place of the logos in the bottom right corner.
PT's box. A plastic tray visible through a large opening.
Writings and pictures all over the place, over faux brushed metal prints. (Looks more like rushed photoshop imitation with the motion blur filter than a real scanned brushed metal texture.) Boring.
Which one do I prefer? Despite its glaring flaw on the elbow joint, I'd take the diecast Taekwon over the plastic one. It looks that much better. But if you're feeling crafty and you're good at custom painting, the plastic Taekwon could prove to be a better choice in the end. The only thing that makes Taekwon more than a straight Mazinger rip-off is its fighting style. With the botched elbows, diecast Taekwon can't even do taekwondo right. But if you don't care (like many, you're going to leave it on its stand in a static pose) or don't mind working with its limited arm posability, if you like to feel the heft of a metal brick in your hand, than DT might be a better pick.
A better pick, if you don't mind the price, that is... At over $150, I don't think it's worth it. If you want one, at least make a "best offer" to those sellers on eBay like some on this board did. It will probably still be too expensive for what it is, but at least you'll have shaved a few bucks off the starting price. Don't get me wrong. It's nice, but really, really basic (that, and that unexplainable elbow joint). Aside from the interchangeable chest plates (and hands, if you really want to push it), there's absolutely no gimmicks at all. No bells, no whistles, just a nice plain heavy diecast brick. Even the Yamato Giant Robo looks gimmicky next to it.
But even though it's relatively expensive, it might be the only Taekwon V "SOC" we'll ever see. Maybe not, maybe yes. One thing is sure, it's the only one of its kind. There is no "MS-76R" on the market right now (and no sign that there will ever be). If you want a SOC-class diecast Taekwon V action figure, that's it. Either you get it now, take a chance and wait to get it for a lower price or wait for an eventual second take on this design. If the movie is a hit, it "might" spawn a diecast figure based on the new design, as well as a new, non-limited, classic one. Well, I'm not your mama. You make your own choice.
Well, that's all folks. Please mind the typos and dodgy grammar, I really don't feel like going over all this again to correct my mistakes. I need some sleep. Good thing I'm working the evening shift, eh! ;D (Though it would be even better to pick my own hours... *sigh* one day... one day maybe.)
Aug 21, 2022 9:00:35 GMT -5
