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Scyla

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  1. Scyla
    New images of MakeToys Despotron: More here: http://news.tfw2005.com/2016/08/12/maketoys-despotron-color-testshot-images-321553 Not a fan of the head. Something is not right but I don't know what. I need so see him together with Prime. Funny enough, I think the legs now look too beefy.
  2. Scyla
    Suddenly I'm much happier about my Guardia: I still need to to something about Guardias ankle joints.
  3. Scyla
    I might buy the Heavy Arms Custom. He was the first Gunpla kit I ever built way before I even knew what Gunpla was or a Heavy Arms Custom. I ended up painting the whole kit because this is what your're suppose to do right?
  4. Scyla
    Is anyone watching the Machinima Combiner Wars series? I'm unsure what to make of it two episodes in. I tried to come up with some more text but I can't seem to wrap my head around a verdict. We'll see once the show has finished.
  5. Scyla
    Thanks to the help of Mike the torso of my Guardia fits together much better now. I was even able to get the stuck hip skirt moving again. Now I'm much more satisfied with it. And after some time with Hi Med and Katana is was able so peg them together better in arm mode so they are not that floppy anymore. The ankles are still crap and loose as hell so I need to find out what I can do about that. My main points of criticism still persists but I don't think he is a bad entry in the MT/FP Combiner Series. Speaking of the Combiner Series, has your Green Giant from TF-Direct arrived yet Mike? I still need to get one but after the dent Guardia put into my toy budget I need to wait.
  6. Scyla
    It is crap! [edit:] I realized that my initial response might not be very helpful so please let me elaborate. Prelude: I don't have the ET VF-2SS so all that I have to say is The ET VF-2SS is a bad toy. The problem is that is is not only lacking in one department but in several. It is not line-art accurate, has a poor fit and finish, breaks easily, is no fun to transform and doesn't lock together well. In addition it is super expensive so you definitely don't feel that you get your moneys worth. There are several examples of high priced toys that are lacking in one (or several) departments but still are worth their asking price. Examples could be MP-09 Rodimus Convoy, MMC Cyclops, anything from Hot Toys, the Stuff Fewture releases, etc. However I feel that the VF-2SS has no redeeming qualities, especially not for the asking price of 34K Yen. So it all depends on how much you like the source material. I'm a huge fan of the VF-2SS design but I couldn't convince myself to order one.
  7. Scyla
    Basically the wings are used for heat dispersion (in Legends): http://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/6001/why-do-x-wings-change-wing-configuration In the canon universe Wookipedia only mentions that they are used on the X-Wing fighters to give them a wider field of firing range: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/S-foils#cite_note-0
  8. Scyla
    I hope the Red Cross sues the hell out of this.
  9. Scyla
    Thank you Mike, these will be very helpful for the next time I transform Vulcan into torso mode.
  10. Scyla
    Thanks Mike, this was very helpful advice. I will try this tomorrow. Pictures are always appreciated.
  11. Scyla
    Thanks for the image. I'm not that big fan of Megatron (I'm more the Galvatron type) but if Maketoys wows me with the transformation I might take a second look. I really hope they release the Striker Manus in a Nemesis color scheme so I can check him out. He looks like a fun to play with toy. Quick question mike. Did you clip the pegs on MakeToys Vulcan? I have real difficulties keeping the torso of Guadia together but cutting stuff of is usually my last resort. If you did what where the results?
  12. Scyla
    I think I can spot two gun-pods disguise them selves as fuel tanks.
  13. Scyla

    Bandai DX VF-31

    Scyla replied to UN Spacy's topic in Toys

    I think it will depends on how well the other VF-31 sell and how good of a toy they are. With the Renewal VF-25 I wasn't able to secure a preorder with the first batch of the RVF-2. However I think that the VF-31J/F are gonna be the hardest to get. After that the VF-31S/C and than the VF-31E. The cannon fodder might be harder to get than you think because it is so different from the other VF-31 units. The VF-25A was basically a brown VF-25G with a less impressive gun.
  14. Scyla
    I received Maketoys Guardia yesterday and had some time to mess with him. I have to say I'm not as taken away by him as I thought I would be. First there are qc issues. The ankles are so loose that they are rendered unusable. Guardia always leans forward even standing still. I'm not sure why the designer thinks ball joints on the feet are a good idea. At my Quantron they are at least stiff enough to be used in posing. Also one of my hip armors for Guardias legs is so stiff that I can't turn it forward limit his leg movement to 5 degree forward. I'm not sure if a dab of shock oil can fix it since it is unwilling to move in this direction and trying to turn it will probably break the strut. Also some joints on the individual bots and in the combiner arms are looser than I would like. Which brings me to my biggest criticism the arm bots. I like their styling (Hi-Meds head looks really sharp) and the paint finish the articulation is also good. What I don't like about them is the rest. First they are very panel-tastic which is not a bad thing in itself but all the panels feel like they are too thin (a criticism I also have with other bots like MMCs Backdraft) thus making them incredibly fiddly to transform. While they pose well in bot-mode and lock together in alt-mode the way to get there is frustrating. The downfall of Hi-Med and Katana are their arm-modes because there the issues of the transformation spill-over. Nothing feels secure and when trying to pose the arms you most probably knock everything out of alignment because the shoulder ratchet joints on Vulcan are much stronger than whatever keeps the arms lock together even if there are a plethora of tabs on them. Combined with pieces that are too thin and the general design of the elbow joint posing the arms is no fun at all. While I think that the design of the elbow joint is sound the bot around it needs to be much sturdier make it useful. Additionally the lower arms are also kind of a mess. First you have gigantic holes in the forearms. Since Guardia is very partsformery by nature I don' understand why they didn't include forearm fillers. Maybe have the canisters where the hands store be used for that since they make the back of Guardia kind of a mess. Their hollow nature also fortifies the fiddly feeling while manipulating the arms. It is not that big of a deal (since you can rotate the forearms so that the hole doesn't show) if it weren't for helicopter tail fin of Katana. It looks ok in limb mode but it would be much better when you could rotate the fin to the back. The issues with the tail-fin are much more prevalent in bot mode. It just looks unfinished and prevents the legs form posing. It is also hard to handle the toy because they prevent a solid grip on it and you might break the tail rotor someday. The knees have also a weird joint that lets you see into the hollow lower legs. Continuing with design flaws to the upper body. Per design the combiner elbow joint is folded together into the torso of the bot. Because that the outer torso doesn't lock together with the inner combiner joint which devalues the playability of the bot.The way the arms are designed is also a critique point of mine. The rotate around a joint but don't lock in in their final positions securely which again makes it not fun to handle. The joint looks ok at Hi-Med because it is connected with a rivet. With Katana the designer opted for a clip-on connection like you could find on Hasbro retail toys. This not only looks bad in robot mode it also leads to holes in the outer shell in alt-mode. I'm puzzled by that decision. In general all the toys rely heavily on transformation steps where you have to bend the plastic and rotate the parts to free or lock them into place. You can find this all over Guardia but it is most prevalent on the arm-bots. While nothing has broken yet for me this makes transforming not enjoyable. This design was present in the past (see the knees of the M³ leg bots) but not in the amount you can find on the Guardia bots. There is also a bunch of places where you ought to tab something in but the piece is so thin and wobbly with nothing to support the pressure coming from your hands behind the piece. It makes me fear that I will break something. This is especially the case with the torso tabbing Vulcans arms into the back and locking Guardias head into the chest plate. Having M³ and Quantron in my collection which I believe where all designed buy the same person I can say that the designs where always excentric but they never distracted from the play value once you figured out how everything works. With Guardia I feel that this is not the case so I would rank him on the bottom, while M³ is in the middle with Quantron being the best. Of course this would change when I have more time to play with Guardia and trimming the tabs inside the cap which prevent the torso form locking together properly. Basically the whole upper body is a floppy mess. So what do I like about him? I really dig everything below the waist in combined mode. The way the legs and leg-bots transform is awesome. In general the leg-bots are much (MUCH) better compared to the arm-bots. Everything fits well together in all modes they look the part and I love Axels transformation and design. Minus the ankle joints everything ratchets and clicks satisfyingly while moving. I also am a big fan of the MakeToys FansProject aesthetic. Guardia looks just stunning. The materials feel also great and solid where they are not too thin. The paint applications are plentiful and immaculate where applied. They mixed in some translucent parts for windows and red lights which look good even If I wish that the painted on windows where either also translucent or painted in a color that would match the clear plastic better. The clear winner of the set is Vulcan (bot- and alt-mode) itself. Easy transformation, hefty and quality feeling when holding and manipulating him. The full armored mode where you add all the combiner bits is stunning. Alt-mode looks the part. I hope the combiner torso locks better together once I trimmed the pegs on the bumpers and free the skirt joint so I can have at least a combiner that is solid in 80% of the bot. I don't think I can do anything to make the arms more stable. Do I regret the purchase? I would say no even if it is a bit early to tell that. Once I know him better I think he will grow on me. In addition he will look stellar next to M³ and Quantron on the shelfs.
  15. Scyla
    Thanks for the images jvm. Quick question is there an additional leg armor piece where you can store the heavy rail gun-pod or is this only included in the Nexx/Sylvie release?
  16. Scyla
    Can it stand with the SAP cannon retracted to the back?
  17. Scyla
    How about no? I mean Bumblebee is at least black and yellow and Optimus Prime blue and red so why can't Hod Rod be yellow and maroon?
  18. Scyla
    I need to find one!
  19. Scyla

    Bandai DX VF-31

    Scyla replied to UN Spacy's topic in Toys

    I think all the light blue areas are the eyes.
  20. Scyla
    Where did you get the Feral Queen from?
  21. Scyla

    Hi-Metal R

    Scyla replied to joppewo's topic in Toys

    It is pretty much the same policy at my workplace. Plus I have to pay customs fees and sales tax so I'm pretty sure my boss would be extra unhappy that I leave my office every time I get a package delivered to deal with the delivery guy. I'm also not certain if our inbox would be able to handle such a request, etc.
  22. Scyla

    Bandai DX VF-31

    Scyla replied to UN Spacy's topic in Toys

    I don't know. Since Hayate is flying this machine I assume it has more appeal than a Valkyrie of a secondary character. I think Arads VF-31S could be the VF-25G of the series seeing how little he does in the Valkyrie.
  23. Scyla

    Bandai DX VF-31

    Scyla replied to UN Spacy's topic in Toys

    The cool and muted colors on the VF-25F look stunning. Not a fan of the head turret but it helps that there is a chin under the visor and it not a full Gogo Dodo head.
  24. Scyla

    Bandai DX VF-31

    Scyla replied to UN Spacy's topic in Toys

    If this is true and Delta remains popular I can't see that the preorder situation relaxes anytime soon. Man I hope this turns out to be crap so I can have an easier time preordering them. At least they look the part compared with the VF-2SS from ET.
  25. Scyla
    Have we seen images of the alt mode of Rioter Despotron? Looking at the bot-mode pictures I can't imagine how he could transform into a cohesive alt-mode. He looks neat though. I hope Maketoys does some recolors of him and Striker Manus (preferably black/purple and black/teal). I really like their Nemesis Battle Tanker toy.
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