Valkyrie Griffon

On 6/15/2019 at 10:44 PM, David Hingtgen said:

LEGO has reissued like 0.001% of their sets.  And that's not one of them.  There are no "factory extras" from LEGO. 

As for quality--varies.  Some are awful, some are 90-95% as good as the originals.  None are equal to the real thing.  Check out the many "Lepin" reviews on Youtube, for some comparisons.  (They are/were the main direct KO of Lego sets--assume that a lot of the sets on ebay are from them, even if not named as such).  

For that price/seller rating, I'd be concerned that it's not even a KO, but more likely to get "beads in an envelope" when/if your package arrives.  Bootleg sets are cheaper than the real thing's MSRP, but not THAT cheap.      

Ok thanks. I wasn't looking to buy from that specific seller anyways it just happened to be the first one I saw for comparison. Also I don't want Chinese KOs but I didn't know if sometimes the factories keep running without Lego's knowledge like many of the clothing factories do. Obviously those are unofficial and considered KOs but when they come from the same factory it's the same thing. Don't really want to buy something made in China anyways though. Thanks for the input everyone.

13 hours ago, Bobby said:

To continue from an earlier post in this thread, just another fun assembly with leftover parts of an  akira-ish "scooter-like" bike!

Nice custom build. In the comparison pic in the top right I see what looks like the McFarlane Toys bike. What are the other two?

My little guy has just gotten into Scooby Doo a bit and I have discovered that we missed out on the Scooby-Doo Lego sets a couple years ago since he wasn't into either at that time. I see ebay "reprints" like this are available at a fraction of the price of the originals:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Scooby-Doo-Mystery-Mansion-Building-Block-scoobydoo-shaggy-Velma-Fit-Lego-Figure/183222665636?epid=22023420227&hash=item2aa8ec01a4:g:t0QAAOSwQKla9yW5

Has anyone had experience with these? Are these just extras that the factories continued to run, as often happens with textile product, or crappy bootlegs? I'm willing to pay the premium on the Mystery Machine and a couple other of the sets but the Mansion and Lighthouse are quite overpriced in my opinion.

On 6/8/2019 at 11:07 AM, easnoddy said:

What kind of joint problems? Loose and floppy? Breakage?

Whhatsthe scale of these? They look large.

http://anymoon.com/blog/?p=9838

For $500 getting a 4/10 for durability is unacceptable. I hope they never release their Patlabors as this is shockingly bad quality control. Not to mention the work is probably being done by kids in China paid a nearly inhuman daily wage. Disgusting company.

Oh forgot to say. Absolutely love it. I had the original Yamato release and sold it along with the Super Ostrich years ago to "make space". This was ~2013/2014 and they were both New in Box; suffice to say  I've regretted that decision so I am thrilled to have this bird back in the collection. It seems to me that it looks much better than I recall the Yamato version looking. Super hopeful for an Ostrich now!

1 hour ago, jenius said:

Sounds like you're not pegging them into the backpack.

They're connected, the whole thing still slides right off

EDIT: Just checked, the boosters were pegged into the backpack but I didn't realize the backpack wasn't pegging into the Valkyrie itself. Seems like a really big piece to be held on by such little plastic pegs, but I guess that's Japanese toys for ya. Thanks.

Anyone else having problems with the boosters sliding off? I haven't even tried anything other than jet mode and I want to put it on a stand at an upward angle but they're not going to stay in place if I do that. Am I missing something about securing them in place?

Any news on the Eva-02 yet?

Also hey Bandai....how about ANYTHING Patlabor????

On 4/20/2019 at 6:52 PM, Kuma Style said:

@jenius I didn't realize you were Anymoon. Really appreciate your macross resources, man.

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Starting review here shortly for the Wave W.H.A.M. ARL-99 here shortly. Hoping that this stays within 10 minutes or so video-wise.

Why are you doing this??? I was on an anime/toy sabbatical when these released and completely missed the Wave figures. I have looked off and on the last few years and literally never find them up for sale. I literally would trade a brand new Metal Build Eva-01 for a sealed one of these right now if I could. You are evil...lol...maybe...

Wanting to get my little guy some diecast aircraft and needed some suggestions. He has a few ~2" jets that he loves so I want something a bit larger, say 6-9" with more detail. preferably $20-50 price range. Here are a couple examples I am looking at but literally I don't know anything about these, or other manufacturers, so any advice on which lines/manufacturers make better product would be appreciated:

Amercom Blackbird: https://www.diecastairplane.com/store/p/126487-YF-12C-SR-71A-Blackbird-NASA-1971-1-144.html

Daron/Postage Stamp Blackbird: https://www.flyingmule.com/products/MP-PS5389-1

Smithsonian Nighthawk: https://www.flyingmule.com/products/AF-A00145

Anyone pick up the Batman Ninja figure? I'm kind of disappointed with it. There's just not much to it; equipment, articulation, poseability. Also the cape is really fragile. My little guy wants to play with it and I usually let him but I don't think this one has much resiliency. Passed on Joker because Batman is really more like what I would expect from a $20 figure, not a $50+ one...

Is this one of you guys?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1-12-SENTINEL-RIOBOT-Mospeada-VR052F-T-Accessories-kit-Robotech-Cyclone/292725088914?hash=item4427c66292:g:WjIAAOSwtVdbmagT

Who here has accessories for sale?

Man what a mess. Once again Bandai prove they are the most anti-consumer Japanese company out there. At this point they are as bad as Harmony Gold in my opinion, just with a few less convicted felons in the executive offices.

On 8/20/2018 at 4:16 AM, Tober said:

Sweet, I think it was a leftover stock rather than reissue, so well done! 

My Robot Spirits Griffon Labor arrived today. It's a nice figure, but I think I prefer the Revoltech, even though it's smaller. 

 

The Revoltech is quite good, especially compared to the Revoltech Ingrams. Something about this one didn't look so great to me and I've yet to pick it up, What did you dislike about the -Side Labor- version?

Sorry if asked an answered here before but wondering about the new Medicom Mafex figures like this Eva-01 coming out:

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10545381

Looks exactly like this one but at half the size:

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10191307

Are these just half size RAH reissues? I already have most of the RAH Evas but I would spring for them again in a smaller scale also.

Looks like that fansub site did get a cease and desist.

And looks like sentai has it all...except for Mellowlink. Really?!?! I can't stand American licensors anymore...Discotek just screwed everyone with the Dub-only Lupin release, Sentai just screwed LOGH fans with forcing it all into a single print uber box that is rather absurdly priced, now they have Votoms without Mellowlink...what a bunch of a-holes...

Also look forward to a $800+ single box set only release because it doesn't have 12 year old panty shots in it so they have no idea how to sell it to modern pedo-anime fans.

Talking Head is completely unrelated. Bandai just bundled it with the others for whatever reason.

Funny that we have such opposite reactions. There is some very nice animation in the brief combat scenes and the dreams/nightmares. But the people just look awful to me now. Backgrounds are nicely detailed also, it's just the character faces especially that now bother me. My disappointment is that the character animation is usually soooo good in Oshii films. True he did not personally direct Jin-Roh but he wrote the script and gave one of his longtime subordinate animators permission to do the film as long as the script was stuck to without changes. I never noticed years ago when the film was first out but it jumped out at me now. 

I agree that the anime industry is now at a point that their creativity is related to such generic character designs so as to generate yet another worthless nendoroid figure for sale. I actually prefer when anime doesn't look like an anime; works like Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust, Honneamise, Perfect Blue, Dezaki's Black Jack OVAs, and oshii's spectacular Patlabor 2, Angel Egg, GITS, & Innocence. I also really appreciate the character designs in stuff like the original Legend of the Galactic Heroes and Space Adventure Cobra tv series. In fact I will not watch the remake of LOGH because all character and aesthetic design is replaced by yet another set of generic anime pretty-boys.

If you found Innocence, or any of Oshii's films, too slow then stay away from Akai Megane and Stray Dog, lol. You literally won't make through. Jin-Roh definitely follows Oshii's style of slower paced action epics...it just isn't all that epic in my opinion when compared to the patlabor films, GITS films, Angel egg, or Avalon. I'm actually hopeful that the on-again-off-again Kerberos CG film would make it out one day but who knows. Jin-Roh's is actually a pretty solid film overall; I just personally have some quibbles with it that render it way down my list of things to rewatch.

There are two previous live action films Stray Dog and Akai Megane (The Red Spectacles). Mamoru Oshii is hands down my favorite film director and I spent years looking for the Japanese LDs for the two films plus Talking Head...to severe disappointment. The problem is that almost nothing happens in them, due to the shoe string budgets the characters basically just sit around lamenting how things went wrong, this is the end of the Panzer Cops, etc all while chain smoking their way through the films. When you see the first flashback or two you start to think something is going to happen...but it doesn't. When from out of nowhere Bandai dropped the three films in a dvd set I still grabbed a copy right away. And promptly never watched them, lol.

The only one of the three worth watching is MAYBE Talking Head just because it is a murder mystery set inside an anime studio that is so bat-crap crazy that it is kind of interesting. But again, lots of talking...lots and lots and lots of talking. And I hate to say all this as he is hands down my favorite filmmaker. 

I would trade Blue Uru, Ninja Scroll 2, and the Vampire Hunter D TV series all for him to do GITS3, Patlabor 3, or his Lupin movie. I just think aside from Avalon his live-action work pales to the amazing animations he creates.

Anyways this remake seems...pointless? A Korean remake of a somewhat obscure anime? Why? Who is asking for this? And the attempt to match the anime so closely is just going to backfire. Honestly I'd rather watch something like 2009 Lost Memories than this remake.

On a side note does anyone here have contact info for Lupin Gang Anime? They were a fansub group a while back and they did a really nice translation on Mellowlink that I still have the VHS tapes for. I have found another version online but it is awful, the subtitler didn't even understand fundametals like how a word like "Taichou" is used. Everyone's rank is romanized but not translated and it makes for some very sloppy dialog. Also some of it is just plain wrong and he has a weird tirade in the credits of at least one episode where he rants about Mellowlink is ok because it isn't too religious and launches into attacking Christians for who know what reasons. Almost like some angry drunk subtitled the show, lol. Anyways I'd love to get a digital copy of Mellowlink as subbed by Lupin Gang Anime. Not sure if this is ok to ask here but this show is so obscure it's likely never going to be licensed.

Huh...ok. Almost sounds like something character out of Doctor Who or what the Emperor did to a certain character in Escaflowne. I honestly would probably give the series another go when/if it releases here and I was fairly excited to have come across PF and Shining Heresy but man those first two PT episodes were just awful and stupid.

Not sure how my list of shows that I like is fantastical and has continuity issues, sounds more like ATV has more of an issue with the latter than anything I listed. SDF and Macross Plus? They fit perfectly together and Plus is one of the more grounded and believable mech series; even the Sharon Apple AI stuff is believable given things like Hatsune Miku/Vocaloid and semi-sentient love dolls.

Gundam 0083 and MS Igloo are non-canon and fantastical? Nope. Thunderbolt as well is completely a fit in the 0079 series of events and is brutally, uncomfortably realistic.

Patlabor occasionally goes into the realm of fantastic...for ~5 out of 63 episodes, 2 of which are simply fun dream episodes. And the first two movies? Dead-on believable, probably the closest to what we may see in the near future out of any anime show.

Escaflowne would count as fantastical, sure. But everything else on my list follows canon and is in some cases very real world and grounded. Stuff like Aura Battler, or even Macross 7, F, and Delta with its flying idols battling enemies would be far more fantastic that anything on my list.

19 hours ago, jenius said:

I love Votoms stories although the more they made Chirico into a god the worse they got IMHO. The toys you're looking for are by Takara and are called Dual Model or Revival Dual Model. Getting a RDM Red Shoulder custom might be a great start. Those are the equivalent of Macross 1/55 Takatoku toys. They aren't the most articulated but are very solid and actually sold so well they kept Votoms on the air despite so-so ratings.

Thanks. Given the age of those sets the prices I'm seeing are pretty high for something to give my little guy but man this one is a steal....

https://www.amazon.com/Armored-Trooper-VOTOMS-DMZ-06-Scopedog/dp/B000TUR8PG

I'll probably try these instead:

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10103559

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10446816

16 hours ago, dizman said:

The 50 episodes thing is probably someone just joking with you. I don't love Votoms as much as Jenius and Treatment but it's still a pretty great show once it gets going. Votoms can be easily broken down into four arcs, the first arc is the setup and does run a little slow. You were almost to the second arc where things pick up, the third arc slows things way down to get personal and the final arc is where all hell breaks loose. 

My recommendation would be to try the Votoms OVA Last Red Shoulder and see if you like that. If you still hate it then Votoms probably just isn't for you, if you do like it then continue the series. After that stick with production order on the OVAs till Shining Heresy and stop there since everything after is kinda bad. 

I actually misspoke with the 50 episode comment, what I was thinking of is this blogpost I saw years ago here: https://www.bateszi.me/2009/06/17/the-scent-of-flames-armored-trooper-votoms/

In which the author opines his love for the Deadworld Sunsa beginning around ep 28, but  after 12 episodes that I did not enjoy at all and a protagonist that I completely disliked I had no interest in slogging through another dozen episodes to reach the "better" part of the series. Instead I sold my CPM DVD set for $500 and smiled all the way to the bank.
However given that the show seems to have been licensed and just pulled from the site I was viewing I may give it another go when I can get a Blu-Ray for $50 or less. I really like the more realistic tone of the show...I just didn't care for anything else at the time, lol.

19 hours ago, treatment said:

Well, I dunno.

You described MellowLink as "amazing", where it's actually a pretty weak derivative of the main AT-V anime. It's even weaker than Pailsen Files anime, which was really the weakest of the main line.  The first two episodes of PF were done in really "dark"  cg animation, where any details of the mechs or the battles were completely lost due to Bandai Visual experimenting with their CG crap back in the day.

You won't understand anything in Shining Heresy if you didn't go thru the main tv-anime, so it's a good thing you didn't even get to watch it.

AT-V anime getting "better" around ep-50 is most likely an exaggeration and possibly mistaking Macross-7 or something instead of VOTOMS.

That said, it would help to let us know what other shows you think is "amazing" or good in your view.

If you didn't like ep1-12 of AT-V like you said, then there's something already wrong with you and you should feel bad about it ala Zoidberg.

AT-VOTOMS anime is awesome and very consistent with the characters, the plot, and the mechs from ep1 thru all the various OVAs, in the honest of opinion of  mine and others  who have watched pretty much almost all classic mecha and even giant robot anime.

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add/edit:

As for a durable toy for your kid, the only one to consider are the 35Max 1/35 toys from Maxfactory.

Even if they'd fraked up and never corrected their misproportioned head on the Scopedog.

Mellowlink is worse than Pailsen Files....ummm...no. Just animation alone AHM kicks a$$ with its solid late-80's hand-drawn animation. Angry, pissed-off protagonist who the viewer can empathize with within the first episode, great Jungle-warfare/Guerilla-style use of tactics, stealth, and traps against superior foes. Meanwhile Pailsen soldiers meander up the beaches in episode 1 dying by the droves and not one thinks to turn his gun on his idiot superiors and save his and his fellow soldier's lives over a fight over some forgotten patch of dirt. Then when the crap CG is done we get sub-American-cartoon quality animation. Sorry but Mellowlink is the only one I have seen in the ATV universe who isn't an imbecile.

I'm not going to even remotely entertain the idea that I should feel bad about disliking Votoms. I actually want to like it because the mechs are so cool but so far it has kind of sucked aside from one offshoot series. What counts as better mech series? Escaflowne, Gundam 0083, MS Igloo, Thunderbolt, Patlabor (especially the films), SDF Macross, Macross Plus, even Megazone 23.

Ok thanks. This E3, while not directly related to film, has pushed it over the top for me. For a example my most anticipated game for E3 was REMAKE 2. And I hate what they've done with it with the over emphasis on gore that was never present in the series before RE7. The gameplay vids from the show floor where Leo tries to pull the cop through the shutter and instead literally pulls him apart and we get to see all the gooey entrails....fun!!! For sickos that is...and Last of Us 2...torture porn but because it stars a lesbian main character it's completely ok that it is totally depraved and absurd. Man I miss the days where a horror film was not a Blumhoouse gore/demon fest and we got intelligent and freaky stuff like The Orphanage or even the first American Ring film...

/Siderant, lol. Thanks for the feedback will check this out.

My Rey came in today from BBTS but I'm kinda meh on toys nowadays and thinking of returning it and selling my Sticks....there's a joke in there somewhere I think. Anyways has there been any talk of the other two bikes coming from Sentinel? If so I will keep to make the set but if we are only getting these two I kind of don't care anymore.

I read an intriguing review of this a couple weeks ago. It's not a gore-fest right? I literally don't watch modern "horror" films because they have so little creativity and just rely on gore and demons as a crutch for their lack or creativity.

So question here. My first exposure to Votoms was the amazing Armor Hunter Mellowlink...which falls apart a little towards the end but still kicks some serious rear-end. And then I watched the original TV series...which was completely awful in my opinion. Potentially worst protagonist ever in a mech series, and that's saying a lot with all the crybabies and other nonsense the genre forces viewers to endure. Awful side characters, a continuing series of wars that no one seems to be able to explain or are even justified by the show. I watched ~12 episodes of so and I just couldn't stomach it. I've read that if you make it to around episode 50 it gets really good, but I am not willing to slog through 49 mediocre episodes for a show to finally pick up. Recently I came across some fansubs online of Pailsen Files and Shining Heresy. Started watching Pailsen and it completely sucks. Awful "combat" scenes. More lets-fight-over-a-dead-dirt-patch-because-reasons!-nonsense and some conspiracy around Chirico. Only got two episodes in before the site that was hosting blacklisted it. They also blacklisted and pulled Shining Heresy so my guess is the show just got licensed.

Anyways I'm wondering is there anything of the series other than Mellowlink actually worth tracking down, or keeping an eye out for when it releases here? I love the mech designs but man they are stuck in the most uninteresting mech-universe ever, lol.

Secondly are there any good durable Votoms mech figures you guys/gals would recommend for my little one to play with? He really likes the designs and I let him play with my HMRs, Revoltech and Robot Spirit Patlabors, and Panda-Zs; though some of these fall apart so much we spend the whole time putting them back together, lol.