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Post by bocasas on Oct 26, 2020 12:24:01 GMT -5
Well I've been checking the forum lately and most post and comments are about others brands. So the question is simple. Is bandai losing against newer brands? Had the SOC line fall? Is bandai really doing what collectors want/need? Quality wise had bandai lost its premium feeling?
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Post by GetterBoi on Oct 26, 2020 18:43:40 GMT -5
Personally I still feel Bandai retains the crown. Their quality (though somne might argue) is the most consistent compared to other companies. Their designs are truer to source material, and really capture what classic gokin collectors love- diecast weight, solid feel, quality paint. Bandai also maintains an impressive production schedule, with almost one SOC released every month in 2018 and 2019. And that's only one line. If you think about how much product Bandai releases annually- SOC, DX Chogokin Macross, Metal Build and GFFMC Gundams, Hi-Metal R, Metal Robot Spirits, and the rest non-diecast action figures and model kits, etc- they have proven why they are the biggest toy company in the world today.
I think POSE+/Fewture has some great products under its belt. There were some legendary figures by this company in the past but even their EX Gokin line suffered problematic QC issues time to time that ruined its reputation a bit for me- like Black Shin Getter cracked torso, Getter-2 thigh joints breaking. These were some serious fails. EX Gokin is also very very slow with releases, with maybe 1 new figure a year now if lucky. But so far POSE+ have mostly turned it around with what I've seen with Baxingar and Goshogun, though Gold Lightan got mediocre reviews. They have revealed a lot of things to come so I'm curious if they can mantain the quality as they ramp up production.
Sentinel does excellent modernized versions of the classics with additional emphasis on articulation. However, they are lighter on the diecast than the other companies, and their products always demand premium pricing. They have a great Dancouga sculpt (though bit small to me), almost great Gravions, some very cool Mospeadas, and other great highlights in the Riobot line such as the Getters (Shin & Devolution vers.), and some not so great Riobots like the recent Mazinger and Grendizer, which I thought were just mediocre efforts. Sometimes they still charge a lot for zero diecast like Gurren Lagann and Detonator Orgun. Their recent Action Meister line seems like a flop.
King Arts is up and coming. I have their Grendizer and Gaiking, and I think they are great figures. But KA needs to improve their joints and keeping things tabbed in. So far with both figures, out of the box, I have had to make small modifications or adjustments to keep the armor attached and not becoming fussy.The paint right now is the best thing about KA figures. They're beautifully painted and look amazing. I'm not the biggest fan of handling themm too much. However, I think KA will rise in the ranks in years to come.
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Post by GetterBoi on Oct 26, 2020 18:52:19 GMT -5
I forgot about threezero.
In the past, pre-2018, threezero 3A made some very cool figures like Votoms Scopedog or Getter Robo, which were big and impressive, but had zero diecast. These figures also had some terrible flaws, such as weak plastic joints, and hands that couldn't hold the weapons (Getter Robo, which was kinda remedied in Black Getter with a tab). The Scopedog had several fatal flaws, weak ankles, shoulders, waist, that would just snap off. The plastic became brittle and that was that.
At some point threezero changed factories, and started producing affordable gokin toys- starting with Bumblebee Movie DLX figures. I recently got the Patlabor Ingram and it's wonderful. How are they able to make these awesome figures at a very reasonable price? I don't know, but I hope they continue, and I am looking forward to their EVA-01.
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Post by chogo on Oct 26, 2020 18:58:34 GMT -5
Ehhh to me Bandai been lazy making reissues and -R so sick of those.
I mean these modern Gokins are not hard to find. The DX line is good though.
While other companies are coming out making good products. I support all those Other companies That take risks or chances making other mecha characters I don’t have.
I don’t consider them gold standard just other companies are coming up big time.
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Post by Magmatron on Oct 27, 2020 5:14:09 GMT -5
When it comes to quality control and good engineering I think Bandai are still king. They slowed down SOC releases but like GetterBoi said Bandai are spreading themselves thin over so many lines. While we on this board only care about a few of them(SOC, MB, DX Chogokin), they have more than a dozen lines to support, and because of the decline of mecha those other lines get more attention these days. I mean these modern Gokins are not hard to find. Are you saying that being able to find a figure easily now is bad or that you can now find many different lines other than SOC? |
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Post by jasonmacross on Oct 27, 2020 6:13:26 GMT -5
I own the DX Great Mazinger, GX-71, 72, 77, and 88. Yes they are king, but I wouldn't mind having even more options.
I just got my Carbotix Getter 1 for an insane price of $335 (shipping included). I love it even though the design is simple, but it has a commanding presence amongst its other chogokin brethren.
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Post by jasonmacross on Oct 27, 2020 6:14:26 GMT -5
Oh and I have lots of DX Valks. As you can tell, the YF-19 is one of my holy grails
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Post by Chen on Oct 27, 2020 6:36:53 GMT -5
I think in terms of overall sales and SKU items then yes Bandai is still king, they have diecast figures we don't even really know off unless you live in Japan. I would say 10-15 years ago Bandai was clearly the king with really know real competition, but nowadays things have changed. Asa single company there still the gorilla and there is not or ever will be a company the same size that will sell in the same volumes but there is sure way more companies who make similar products and not just a one-off but who are seemingly in it for the long run.
My one criticism with Bandai is that they are very pragmatic with their choices and design but at their scale it is very understandable.
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Post by KumaStyle.com (TJ) on Oct 27, 2020 13:12:36 GMT -5
Absolutely. Between licenses and consistent quality they're objectively unmatched.
Personally I think their Super Robot lines have been on an overall slump for years now but lines like their diecast Macross and Gundam ones have more than made up for it (look how much Metal Builds have blown up in popularity now.)
They aren't my favorite but there's no arguing that they're on top and with good reason.
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Post by gpa on Oct 27, 2020 22:36:29 GMT -5
I'd say they're still King of the Iron Hill, too. They're pretty much the only company that has the capacity and ability to make figures of ALL the bots I like (except Transformers), and their figures are usually pretty great. Metal Build is still my favorite Gokin line out there right now, but after the huge disappointment of their Metal Build Infinity show, I have been severely and consistently disappointed with their lack of creativity with the line. That has only intensified over the last couple years where all we've had is repaints, variants, and accessory packs, but when I do take the time to look at or handle the figures in my collection, I still really love them.
I am collecting POSE+ and threezero's DLX and Robo-Dou lines, too. Both companies have had some really great early entries, but I am worried that both companies have lots of releases lined up but, have so far been pretty slow to get the releases out. POSE+ that's appreciated though due to cost.
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Post by mpchi on Oct 28, 2020 13:24:55 GMT -5
Bandai is still the king. Whether they want to make an effort on their release is another story. The other companies are putting out great releases and great engineering efforts to push the boundaries (which sure has my support), but they don't have the fit & finish, and consistency that Bandai is so good at. And while Bandai may seem lazy with minimal effort on some of the latest SOCs, they are still releasing a lot of great stuff on other lines, as their roster is huge.
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Post by numbninja on Oct 28, 2020 22:50:42 GMT -5
I don't have much toys in my collect, i started with the Moshow Strike Aile, then to T-rex getters and Trueforce megaman...but that Bandai MB Mazinger Z infinity is a beast...i will hold them and tinker with them from time to time, but that MB Mazinger...that thing makes me leak mouth water everytime. that plastic they use is no joke..i don't think i have enough toys at price point and caliber to make any real claims here...but that thing is insane good. I still prefer sentinel toys style and proportions. That Mazinger Z has me convinced Bandai is king for reals tho.
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Post by holdyourfireal on Oct 28, 2020 23:58:55 GMT -5
For me, right now it's all about King Arts! I gravitate to those that produce the Shogun Warriors Super Robots. The last thing I bought from Bandai was the DX Great Mazinger and it's my all-time favorite piece. If they get around to doing a DX Getter Dragon, I'll be back!
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Post by Gold on Oct 29, 2020 1:53:49 GMT -5
For me, it's a yes, but their lineups have been less than stellar starting last year, with all the R releases, even I'm getting jaded with all the reruns. Thankfully, they haven't really let QC slip (looks at the Takara MP line, sad) and they haven't started cutting corners (yet, hopefully never). I say they still come out ahead in terms of bang for the buck.
Gold
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Post by S_Gokin on Oct 29, 2020 8:17:22 GMT -5
well for me the first spot is equally divided between two companies
Bandai and Art Storm, in the recent years Art Storm start to flex ton of muscles in almost every line they got along with their partnership with Action Toys, which result in figures that are equal to Bandai's or even better they just dominated, not to forget the introduction of Pose + line which is more like a cherry on the top
worth to mention Bandai is still making good figures but the QC's with the R versions are insane the GX40R for example, also the last figure they released that was a truly jaw dropper is the GX88 something really new, the rest are not bad its just that they dont have the wow factor
5pro and King Arts are also making some really great figures as well
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Post by mpchi on Nov 6, 2020 3:32:03 GMT -5
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Post by Yumcha on Nov 6, 2020 19:11:21 GMT -5
I am partial to Bandai, yes. They have some misses but overall, their quality is stellar.
The Metal Build is probably the strongest overall for me and the recent batch of Zakus for the GMFCC line but Soul of Chogokins (and DX Chogokins) are all really good too.
Like, if we count "gokin" toys, I do have to say that some of the 3rd-party Transformers with diecast are really really solid (i.e. FansToys and MakeToys).
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