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Post by inebriatedgnome on Jul 31, 2016 19:09:14 GMT -5
Amiami still has it for 19,000 yen. link- One more random thought, the torso joint should have been more robust. The ball joint inside suffers from some weight issues in sahlenthropus mode, but it only affects a few poses. - There's lot of little details you don't notice until you stare it for a while. Thanks! Last I checked it was saying 'order closed.' Now to find a way to have it delivered to the wilderness I'm in at the moment  The 'little details' are so characteristic of Sentinel. I only noticed some of the sliding panels on my Hulkbuster after owning it for three weeks or so. |
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Post by chogokinsnake on Aug 1, 2016 18:55:12 GMT -5
Is it because of the lighting? It looks pretty "clean". Compare with the official photos, hardly see any "weathering". My pictures were using daytime sunlight so the weathering wasn't being captured on camera. The bottom picture you posted is represenative of the final product. The weathering is on my copy for sure.  That is nice, thanks! |
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Post by moleman on Aug 5, 2016 11:07:45 GMT -5
So more thoughts on the piece:
- Unlocking the backpack in Rex mode was tough and little scary. Nothing stressed or broken, but try to lift up and outward because it's more of a hook than a peg.
- The very tips of the spiked toes have chipped a little paint, but that was probably going to happen anyways since they're quite sharp and constatly touching the ground when posed.
- Posing in both modes has gotten easier after knowing where it's most balanced.
- Despite being a transforming piece, it is fully painted and I do not see many parts that are just molded in color. The paint itself is tough enough to withstand multiple transformations (except for the areas I mentioned).
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Post by Vendetta on Aug 6, 2016 1:16:55 GMT -5
I got mine today - I wouldn't have been happy at all getting this at the original price, but I think it is an alright value at around 19000 yen. Oddly enough the thing that has stuck out to me the most so far is just how cheap the packaging feels. The cardboard feels really flimsy, and everything is held within a plastic tray; at this price point I'd want a thicker cardboard box with a box flap and for the figure itself to be stored in a styrofoam tray. As it is it felt like I was opening a giant SRC or something.
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Post by moleman on Aug 6, 2016 1:21:21 GMT -5
Sadly Sentinel uses some really thin cardboard for their packaging. And then have been using it since their first toy release.
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Post by greengetterguy on Aug 6, 2016 1:24:29 GMT -5
Yeah, all my sentinel were that way.
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Post by Vendetta on Aug 6, 2016 9:54:34 GMT -5
Sadly Sentinel uses some really thin cardboard for their packaging. And then have been using it since their first toy release. Yeah, I've got a few of their products and vaguely remember this about their boxes, but this thing's MSRP is significantly above any of their stuff that I've bought, except for maybe Dancouga. Didn't Dancouga come in a styrofoam tray though? I may be misremembering that. |
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Post by moleman on Aug 6, 2016 10:26:01 GMT -5
I think you might be right about Dancouga coming in styrofoam. I think their giant gorg also came in styrofoam packing. At least the figure is pretty good and I feel the 19,000 yen is what it should have been retailing for in the first place. BUT then again most of Sentinel's prices are way too high. Likewise I will be waiting for a good sale on their Mazinkaiser.
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Post by Vendetta on Aug 6, 2016 20:18:31 GMT -5
I'm definitely picking up that Mazinkaiser on sale too, despite having the Max Factory one and four SRC ones (including the two regular SKL releases); it looks reLly awesome. Most of their stuff unfortunately seems to be clearanced heavily at some point, likely because they're priced so high and because all of their stuff is eventually clearanced out; I wonder if they'd be making more money if they sold their products at more reasonable MSRPs so more people would buy them closer to release.
I just hope that they're doing well financially, as they make some pretty awesome stuff; besides the MGS robot, I have Dancouga, Black Wing, Jehuty, two Cyberbots, Liger, and Orgun... all are awesome figures, but I think I got them all on clearance except for the Black Wing and Jehuty (though I guess you could argue that I bought some of them only because they were on clearance).
Back on topic - this guy's worth the 19000 yen that it is still going for on AmiAmi. I'm motivated to start playing MGS V again so that I can see this thing in action!
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Post by moleman on Aug 6, 2016 21:05:58 GMT -5
I am concerend about Sentinel's financial well-being as well. They make terrific action figures, but their prices have been going up with every release. They make a lot of niche stuff and I appreciate that because it takes some serious balls to make an Orgun or a Giant Gorg figure. With things like MGS V and Iron man they're making more mainstream items with mass appeal, but even those are hitting the sale bins. I just hope Sentinel is doing well enough to keep on going for years to come.
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Post by inebriatedgnome on Aug 9, 2016 7:08:20 GMT -5
Agreed! Their own products seem to only go up in price, which is a worry. Still, there is some good stuff in the pipeline, and they also provide services to other companies which should help them make some money. I know they do production for 1000Toys, Armarauders and Truforce, and the new 4-inch line should be popular since the figures seem cheap and well-made. WeGo also seems to sell well.
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Post by mpchi on Aug 9, 2016 15:28:12 GMT -5
Agreed! Their own products seem to only go up in price, which is a worry. Still, there is some good stuff in the pipeline, and they also provide services to other companies which should help them make some money. I know they do production for 1000Toys, Armarauders and Truforce, and the new 4-inch line should be popular since the figures seem cheap and well-made. WeGo also seems to sell well. I have a feeling 1000Toys IS Sentinel, like a sub-brand. The 'Sen' in Sen-ti-nel is 1000 in kanji. Just recently looking into their TOA Heavy Industry 1/6 figures. |
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Post by inebriatedgnome on Aug 10, 2016 13:20:53 GMT -5
That's interesting; I had no idea about the kanji letters. They probably are; at the very least, the line between the two companies is blurry.
What do you think of the TOA line so far? I like what they're doing with Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow, which aren't part of the line but use the same base body, but I'm also glad the company is expanding their operations now. Their releases for the first two years were all variations on the Synthetic Human body, and it's time for a change or at least a substantial evolution.
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Post by mpchi on Aug 10, 2016 16:17:53 GMT -5
That's interesting; I had no idea about the kanji letters. They probably are; at the very least, the line between the two companies is blurry. What do you think of the TOA line so far? I like what they're doing with Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow, which aren't part of the line but use the same base body, but I'm also glad the company is expanding their operations now. Their releases for the first two years were all variations on the Synthetic Human body, and it's time for a change or at least a substantial evolution. I am waiting for my Snake Eyes to arrive, so don't have any first hand experience yet. But from all the youtube reviews indicated, this line is really high QC with very tight joints and interesting aesthetics. Too bad I missed out on 2014 SDCC's synthetic human Test Type. That one looks awesome for a base body. Pretty much anything other than Snake Eyes has a significant mark up at this point, so going back chasing any older release is futile. But I'll keep an eye on it more from now on. In a way, its 1000Toys (maybe Sen-ti-nel)'s niche line like 3A's Ashley Wood stuff. A lot of parallels between those two toyline. Stylized 1/6, based on comics/illustrations, has a creepy edgy vibe, excels in articulation while 3A in weathering, both will have 1/12 scale mini versions, both are very sought after in aftermarket with crazy mark ups. I hope this line will flourish like 3A's, so it will bring Sentinel more revenue and in return, let them explore more cool stuff. As a side note, Sen-ti-nel in kanji means: Thousand( Sen) Value( ti) Refinement( nel), sort of their motto of toy creation through thousands of refinements, in a sense of a blacksmith smithing a legendary sword. |
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Post by inebriatedgnome on Aug 11, 2016 2:43:44 GMT -5
Thanks for explaining the kanji; you learn something new every day I suppose there is similarity with ThreeA because of TOA and Biomega, but most of 1000Toys' upcoming stuff seems to be original. They teased stuff for both Izmojuki (modular industrial mechs) and Jomon Kutugu (figures inspired by Jomon crafts) this year, and both of those are original works. Plus the company seems to be embracing open orders for their newer figures instead of limited sales which disappear in minutes. The result is that aftermarket prices on all the newer stuff aren't that high; only the first two releases command huge prices now. All in all, 1000Toys and ThreeA are similar in that they both produce expensive toys in limited quantities for adult collectors, but within that category the two companies' QC, engineering, commitment to release schedules and treatment of their fanbase are worlds apart. By the way, if you use Facebook, the '1000Toys Fan Group's has been my best resource for keeping track of the company. It's a small group but whenever announcements, updates and prototype pictures show up, I see them there first. |
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Post by mpchi on Aug 11, 2016 9:41:33 GMT -5
Thanks for the tip.
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Post by quinjester on Aug 15, 2016 11:55:09 GMT -5
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Post by quinjester on Aug 16, 2016 15:01:40 GMT -5
Uuuuugh. I feel like a fool for buying this when I've never even played the game, but that HLJ sale price was too enticing. Plus my 3A Half size rex has been making me sad of late with one of the hip ratchets going totally loose inexplicably  Oh well. Hopefully this will be a toy to surpass Metal Gear (Rex). |
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Post by Vendetta on Aug 17, 2016 9:35:23 GMT -5
It's definitely worth it at that price - makes me wish I'd waited, though I guess I should be happy that I didn't get it when it first released.
And hey, I've bought a bunch of stuff from things in which I barely know the source material! For instance, I own a whole bunch of SoCs, but as a child of the 90s, I didn't grow up watching the shows many of the robots came from; the hook for me was being exposed to them while playing SRW, but I didn't even know what was going on plot-wise because I didn't know any Japanese at the time. I just thought they looked cool, and there's probably a fair bit of stuff in my collection that's only there because I thought it looked cool.
On the other hand, I've spent a silly amount of money over the past 10+ years on toys (a lot of this while taking on big-cost "real-life" expenses like college, a house, engagement ring, wedding, etc.), so I probably should have been quite a bit more disciplined in my pickups over the years!
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Post by krimpov on Aug 17, 2016 15:47:08 GMT -5
Makes much more sense at that price. I'm not impressed by the "66% off", though : the list price was just insane.
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