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Post by mpchi on Oct 20, 2023 12:45:18 GMT -5
Good news. Ideon is indeed out! YAY! Saw a couple unboxing photos on Facebook. But no reviews or impressions yet. And I checked my Threezero order from their webstore, still "processing". Mind sharing what you see? Ask and ye shall receive. Looks very close to the displayed prototype, with the weathering a bit less dirty from what I can tell (which is nice and not overdone). But don't have much detail info, since this is the only person that I found that got it, from Hong Kong. I am most curious on whether it has ratchets and how sturdy and solid the joints are, for this size of a figure. Owner of this piece confirms it has diecast inner structure, but didn't say how much or where the diecast are.
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Post by mpchi on Oct 20, 2023 14:36:33 GMT -5
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Post by Magmatron on Oct 20, 2023 17:13:43 GMT -5
Looks very close to the displayed prototype, with the weathering a bit less dirty from what I can tell (which is nice and not overdone). Much appreciated. Regarding the weathering, due to the way it's applied this will be a case of individual results may vary.
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Post by mpchi on Oct 20, 2023 17:38:27 GMT -5
Looks very close to the displayed prototype, with the weathering a bit less dirty from what I can tell (which is nice and not overdone). Much appreciated. Regarding the weathering, due to the way it's applied this will be a case of individual results may vary. Most likely. Hopefully mine will look good enough so I don't have to do touch up or add additional acrylic wash or Real Touch Gundam marker weathering. I do those to a bunch of my X-Plus Kaiju vinyls and even some dinosaur figures I collect. But this is a $999 piece afterall, hope it doesn't need that.
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Post by mpchi on Oct 20, 2023 22:10:26 GMT -5
Interview of Takeya tackling this Ideon project. Has some good insights on the design and how he works.
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Post by chogokinsnake on Oct 23, 2023 15:40:15 GMT -5
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Post by mpchi on Oct 26, 2023 16:01:28 GMT -5
Yay! FedEx label created. Looks like this time, for Ideon, it is coming straight from Hong Kong (Kowloon), not a mainland China warehouse. Please no badass delivery gorillas body slam my precious Ideon. Pretty Please~! ONEGAI!!!
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Post by Magmatron on Oct 27, 2023 10:59:51 GMT -5
Yay! FedEx label created. Looks like this time, for Ideon, it is coming straight from Hong Kong (Kowloon), not a mainland China warehouse. Please no badass delivery gorillas body slam my precious Ideon. Pretty Please~! ONEGAI!!! Mine just shipped, too. I haven't bought any Threezero figure since their Metal Gear Rex, so I hope they made sure to package this with enough protection.
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Post by mpchi on Oct 30, 2023 23:06:47 GMT -5
Finally, the 3 year wait has come to an end. Ideon landed this morning, and got the chance to put it together just moments ago after I got off work. I'll try to point out things that may not be obvious from the video review, and some impressions on how it feels in hand.
- It is heavy. Weights 1.91kg. Though a lot of the diecast are hidden inside or at the joints. Most of the green joints that are visible are diecast, or they are diecast sandwiched by a couple plastic plates. Pretty much any main joints aside the neck, wrist, and fingers have some amount of diecast in it. Some more than others.
- Joints are tight, very snug, very consistent. Don't find any joints on one side tighter or looser than the other, which is very impressive. It really feels like a larger size DLX Transformer figure, the way the joints move and feel. Snug, tight, but smooth. No ratchets though, not even one.
- Articulated fingers are decently tight, which you have to pay some attention when posing the fingers, not forcing the joints to move the wrong way. They are delicate, due to their shapes and the curves, but they pose very well. The hands are a pain to put on though, because the ball joint connection is quite tight, has another joint on the wrist on the hand makes it harder to push in, and not much clearance around the wrist/cuffs. Nicked one of the finger doing it.
- Head also has very little clearance from the collar when putting it on, need to be very careful there. But the neck ball joint goes in easier than the hands.
- The metallic red paint is very nice, almost look like a dirty rose gold in some lighting conditions. However, I have to say the weathering is not as nice as I expected. It is still more refined than the DLX line, due to its price point. But there are still a lot of inconsistency found in many places. Some areas more dirty than it needs to be, while some areas not enough to pop the awesome sculpted relief. Some of the joints you can even see brush strokes or excessive paint caked in the grooves, and very obvious brush strokes on the display stand. It is more refined than the $200 DLX line, but the improvement was not as good as what I would expect from a $999 figure either. Quite unfortunate.
- Figure is very stable with good ground contact on the feet. But due to the size and weight, and the not perfectly flat feet, you have to find certain angles to get it all balanced. But once you do, it won't fall even if you push it in an "A stance".
- There are a couple fitment/QC issues on mine. One being getting 2 left hip filler piece on both legs instead one left and one right. Luckily, those are well hidden inside the inner hip, and are not part of the actual joint, so I'll leave it be. Another is one of the white arm blade fits perfectly, but the one on the other arm fits with a wider gap. And lastly, the left shoulder tower wasn't glued properly, so if I press on it, it has a popping sound and the gap between the plastic parts can widen just a hair. The right shoulder doesn't have that issue, and the gaps are glued tight together with zero movement or sound.
- I wasn't able to try the LEDs, since it didn't come with batteries, and need 12x AG1 button batteries that I don't have, and a lot of them too.
All in all, it is a great figure. Heavy, big, super detailed, tight joints, good balance, nice paint (even though the weathering could be better). It is a dream figure to have, and the execution was on point, for the most part. However, at US$999, it doesn't have the complexity nor parts count of the Metal Structure Nu. It does have tons of sculpted detail however, much more so than the Gundam. So I expected near perfection on its paint app and QC. Too bad I didn't get that neither. As a fan, it is still a must-have piece for me. But I feel that it would be more fair for this to have a US$699 price tag instead, even with Takeya's name, talent, and today's pricing standard. Great Ideon figure, but an inflated price tag.
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Post by Magmatron on Oct 31, 2023 2:28:59 GMT -5
Thanks for the impressions and warning. I didn't take mine out of the box yet so it's nice to read about your experience. Since there's no ratchets I think I'll rely on the stnd to keep at least the hip joints from getting loose.
I think we all expected that the price was inflated more than the figures worth. Is Takayuki's name that valuable? I remember similar complaints regardibg price about the Figma Predator he designed.
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Post by mpchi on Oct 31, 2023 5:00:13 GMT -5
Thanks for the impressions and warning. I didn't take mine out of the box yet so it's nice to read about your experience. Since there's no ratchets I think I'll rely on the stnd to keep at least the hip joints from getting loose. I think we all expected that the price was inflated more than the figures worth. Is Takayuki's name that valuable? I remember similar complaints regardibg price about the Figma Predator he designed. His designs always fetch a high price. The Nausicaa Ohmu he sculpted a few years ago ain't cheap either. Though this Ideon probably broke all the ceilings to all time high. Did a piece to celebrate its arrival.
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Post by redhobbit on Nov 1, 2023 15:11:44 GMT -5
This is a must for me. Want it even more than the DX Voltes...a lot more. Has been a Takeya fan for a long time since the beginning of the SIC line late 90s and his sculptures articles in HobbyJapan. Collected his stuff on and off, but this one really hits home for me, as Ideon is among my top favorite super robots from the 80s. Upon reading his article, he shared the same mentality that the original Ideon design is less of a relic left behind by the 6th Civilization, but more of a product of early 80s animation where everything is simplified and given bright colors (and a GM head ). So I totally buy his take on this sculpt. Pairing his artistry with Threezero's weathering on this, it is like marrying the best of a few worlds into one. Ideon will be bought, no matter the cost. This Ideon looks incredible. I don't have an Ideon figure yet so I was really considering this till I saw the thousand dollar price tag. Wow! I'm guessing an item like this won't be going down in price in the future either.
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Post by mpchi on Nov 1, 2023 16:01:23 GMT -5
This is a must for me. Want it even more than the DX Voltes...a lot more. Has been a Takeya fan for a long time since the beginning of the SIC line late 90s and his sculptures articles in HobbyJapan. Collected his stuff on and off, but this one really hits home for me, as Ideon is among my top favorite super robots from the 80s. Upon reading his article, he shared the same mentality that the original Ideon design is less of a relic left behind by the 6th Civilization, but more of a product of early 80s animation where everything is simplified and given bright colors (and a GM head ). So I totally buy his take on this sculpt. Pairing his artistry with Threezero's weathering on this, it is like marrying the best of a few worlds into one. Ideon will be bought, no matter the cost. This Ideon looks incredible. I don't have an Ideon figure yet so I was really considering this till I saw the thousand dollar price tag. Wow! I'm guessing an item like this won't be going down in price in the future either.
It really depends. This Ideon took a long time before sold out on Threezero's site (more than a year LOL), and still readily available in many US shops as preorder. While this is very cool and unique, there may be a chance for it to go on discount, since the demand is not high really. Look at the response in this thread, mainly just me and a couple guys interested. Really not that many people are buying it, from the look of it. And even after a couple weeks since released in Hong Kong/China, only 1 video review I can find to this day. Keep your eyes peeled in the next number of months. I won't be surprised if this goes on sale with a good discount someday. They did set the price too high, for what it is.
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Post by bocasas on Nov 1, 2023 22:01:43 GMT -5
this thing belongs to a museum. This breaks the line that separates a toy from a piece of art. Such a gorgeous design. I'm in love with this guy, I can't stop looking at it... everytime I stop watching reviews or pictures it amazes me in different ways. Too bad my wallet is dead, and it is out of my price range... I really mean it when I said I envy those who got this one. Please share!
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Post by Magmatron on Nov 2, 2023 1:25:23 GMT -5
I tried being careful but I still scuffed the palms when trying to rotate the hand. They really should have widened that cuff around it.
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Post by mpchi on Nov 2, 2023 1:37:38 GMT -5
I tried being careful but I still scuffed the palms when trying to rotate the hand. They really should have widened that cuff around it. Ha . Its ok. With so much going on on that thing, it is hard to notice any scuff marks. How you like yours? Hopefully less problem than mine (which is still pretty good considering my track record of bad QC).
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Post by Magmatron on Nov 2, 2023 1:40:03 GMT -5
Ha . Its ok. With so much going on on that thin, it is hard to notice any scuff marks. How you like yours? Hopefully less problem than mine (which is still pretty good considering my track record of bad QC). Besides that design issue, it doesn't seem that I have any QC issues. The figure is absolutely breathtaking, no doubt the most beautifully painted figure I ever owned. Joints seem pretty solid, though a bit tough to move. Does it have thigh rotation? I'm too scared to try and twist it since it seems to resist me a lot.
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Post by mpchi on Nov 2, 2023 1:50:25 GMT -5
Ha . Its ok. With so much going on on that thin, it is hard to notice any scuff marks. How you like yours? Hopefully less problem than mine (which is still pretty good considering my track record of bad QC). Besides that design issue, it doesn't seem that I have any QC issues. The figure is absolutely breathtaking, no doubt the most beautifully painted figure I ever owned. Joints seem pretty solid, though a bit tough to move. Does it have thigh rotation? I'm too scared to try and twist it since it seems to resist me a lot. Yeah, there is thigh swivel right between the green hip joint and the red thighs. They are pretty stiff. If you are unsure, refer to the ToysTV/ToysWalker video review posted earlier. It shows you all the articulation, in case the instructions wasn't clear. I also find the shoulder joint very interesting, where it connects the arms to the torso. Instead of a solid joint, it is 2 thin piece with a hollow center if you look down from the top. That would never fly in a normal figure with plastic joints (can break too easily as a weak spot). But that whole piece is metal on Ideon, and able to take the stress. Odd, but interesting design choice. As if the designers were saying "We can afford to be ridiculous, due to the size and material of this thing."
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Post by Magmatron on Nov 2, 2023 3:16:11 GMT -5
Yeah, there is thigh swivel right between the green hip joint and the red thighs. They are pretty stiff. If you are unsure, refer to the ToysTV/ToysWalker video review posted earlier. It shows you all the articulation, in case the instructions wasn't clear. I should take the time to sit and watch it. I actually did recall what appears to be an issue. The finger joints seem to have stress marks on them. They're very thin but also tight, so they might not handle too much movement.
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