Scyla

I'd love new Mask toys. Maybe Bandai could do a S.H.Figuarts like with transforming vehicles. The Itassha Robo from Akiba Rangers makes me confident that they can do it.

But MP Bumblebee is probably one of the best Masterpiece toys. For starters he has translucent head and tail lights. Something that is severely missing from all other car bots. The only think I could wish for are rubber tires, some die-cast parts in the feet and a MP Starscream like hand transformation for less gaps. Heck, even the yellow paint is done well for the most parts. Of course he is not worth 100 USD but he is well worth the initial retail price of $50 from Japanese stores!

Or maybe it is a sales tactic so people don't know before the release of the Nexx version how terrible the SAP Pack is. I have the Nexx version on preorder and I thought I wait for a review on the Faerie Squadron version to see if any changes are made and if the SAP Pack has an (positive or negative) impact on the toy. With no idea what I'm getting for the (very very very) high asking price by ET I'm probably gonna cancel my preorder.

Watched it yesterday. It was a good build-up episode after the last one was so emotion heavy. I loved the shot at the end where the Elysion is transforming although I'm not sure if I like the shape of the Storm Attack mode. The proportions seemed out of whack from the bottom up shots. To much leg not enough torso and arms. But this could be done for a dramatic effect showing how tall the Elysion really is. I'm really looking forward to the next episode!

I dislike Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead greatly. They are no fun to watch. I might give the Warcraft movie a watch. A buddy of mine saw it and was entertained so it can not be all bad.

I recently saw a review of new $300 Lego Technic Porsche 911 GT3 and I need to have that...

So I received my Truforce Mega Man X today and he is stunning. The design is great and Sentinel did a spectacular job casting it into plastic/metal. I would buy everything from that line: Zero, all the robot masters, Sigma, Vile, full armor X... talking about the full armor version there is an image over at toyark: Seems to be just a repaint of the original release and most likely a SDCC exclusive. I really hope they continue with more releases.

Maybe but it would look out of place with since most other toys don't have them. I'd say the inside of the helmet/head would definitely benefit from that. I would prefer if the area behind the faceplate and below the eyes would be painted in a dark gray tone. Here is how Maketoys did it: I think also the leg armor would benefit from more paint.

So today I received MMC Seraphicus Prominon and..... he is missing one of his biceps armor pieces. Hope BBTS can provide me with a replacement piece. Onwards to the toy itself. The core bot is a good toy. I agree with Vangelus that it is pretty clear that this design was done a few years ago and thus he has not the finish of recent MMC toys when it comes to its engineering. Especially the transformation is a tad finicky and you end up bending so of the piece to get everything situated. It is not as smooth as I came to be accustomed to when it comes to toys from this company especially with their recent Ocular Max stuff. Talking about the the transformation Seraphicus has e few cool tricks up his sleeve. For example the whole platform where the head is mounted moves around to give him a sleeker silhouette in car mode which looks like a speedy sneaker. There are a pair of hinged doors to fill up some of the hollow areas in the lower legs but they are not flush with the rest of the leg so it could be done better I feel. The toy has lots and lots of locking tabs which result in a alt-mode that holds together very well. The transformation feels akin to their Azalea mold or Cyclops rather than Commotus and Sphinx. Once you have him in robot mode the articulation is solid. He has all the joints he need including double jointed elbows and knees. The head is on a double ball joint which offers great movement but the connection and tension inside the joint is not equally strong so you can get into some poses where the joint becomes loose. On my copy it is not as bad compared to other copies. The shoulders have a butterfly joint but the movement is limited due to the sculpture of the shoulder pauldrons. He has a waist swivel (that works) and the feet have all the degrees of movement you need but are limited because the lower legs are massive bulks of armor. The clicks of the outward hip ratchets are a bit too far apart but you can get them between the dedicated stopping points for a more natural pose. The fit and finish is the standard high quality you came to expect from MMC. Paint is copious and applied cleanly with minimal overspray. MMC really pulled out all the stops to make the toy not look bland with all the white color. You have translucent blue piece over white plastic, yellow, turquoise metallic, dark blue, silver, yellow paint all over it. They even picked out some or the ornate lines on his body with silver paint which looks great. Accessory wise he has two translucent, glow-in the dark swords that are much more bendy than I would've liked. They can store in bot-mode in two sheaths on his back that are quite cleverly formed by the backpack. No storage in alt-mode though (boo). I've you are thinking about buying him you might invest in a set of die-cast recasts of the swords by eness which are might nice and fit into the sheaths as well. He also comes with a Matrix accessory that fits in his chest. It is just a translucent piece with the outer casting painted silver. The nice thing is the door to the compartment has clips so it closes up seamlessly and you don't even notice it. No loose doors on his chest! (I'm looking at you MP-01). Now lets come to the bad parts..... The head is terrible. While the sculpt is stunning most of the details are lost because of the white base color. I think MakeToys did it much better with their Hypernovae release. The face needed at least a painted cranium and black outlines around the eyes and mount piece. Secondly even if MMC tried to break up the white color still looks boring in a few spots. I think any toy company that plans to release a white mecha should take a look at MG and RG Gundams to get an idea how a white toy could look good. The Bandai kits with the dark frame and different colored gray and white plastics looks stunning. White plastic often looks a bit translucent which makes the toy swallow details and looks cheap (in my opinion). I think having some armor pars picked out in a different tone of white would have helped. I would say I can agree the core bot because he is fun to mess and is overall a quality piece and well worth the money. The trailer on the other hand is a totally different story. Everything about the white plastic that is true on the core bot is amplified in the trailer. here you have much more completely white parts that don't speak to my aesthetic preferences. Especially the leg armor is one of the offenders. The same goes for the forearm gauntlets (make sure to rotate the hands 180 degrees so they are not visible in armored up mode). Same goes for the head. Because the helmet has no additional face plate with new eyes the toy has the same issues as any other toy that comes with a removable helmet (Star Wars pilot figures, etc.). You cant make a helmet so thin that he looks appropriate. The white color is not helping as well. Again a darker face would have helped. I think the best solution would be a Star Saber like helmet. For the price of the gantry ($140) alone it does not enough to value the high price. I would have at least expected that you can place the core bot inside the gantry so it looks like he is getting armored up. It is also massive so I think a majority of collectors will armor Seraphicus Prominon up and leave the rest of the trailer in the box. Included accessories are a gun with a spinning barrel that needed more paint and a spectacular two-handed sword. Both can be stored in trailer mode. While the sword hides quite well the gun pegs onto the top of the trailer. In gantry mode you can't store the sword in its sheaths in the trailer because it will get bend during transformation and in the finished gantry itself which seems to be a massive design oversight on MMCs part. The gun can store nowhere in this mode (boo). What the armor does really well is its attachment to the core bot. It is a very enjoyable process and reminds me of my childhood when you would dress up your dolls.... I mean your action figures like G.I.Joe, Mask, MotU or the Lego knights. Everything attaches firmly. No flimsy pieces. The articulation is limited but not due a degree of a FansProject City Commander toy. All the joints work but offer a few degrees less range of movement. The paint is also superb. The chest vents are silver paint over dark blue plastic with highlights picked out in white paint. The orange/yellow paint is painted quite well so you get minimal bleeding through of the underlying plastic color. Takara take notes! The wings itself have picked out dark blue highlights on the ends of the translucent orange plastic which I is rare to see on a toy that isn't manufactured by Bandai or Sentinel. On the negative side I wish the backpack would offer more hinges. The wings can do all the positions you could imagine but for my likings I would need one or two additional joins to bring the wings closer to the body when standing in a natural pose. So final assessment. I think for what you get the price is too high. I know it is probably not that unreasonable if you take into account the number of parts and paint applications that are present on and inside the toy. I also can see that the long delays of the toy (it was first seen in the comic of Terminus Hexatron I believe which is from mid 2013) did factor into the price. While the toy has some cons I don't regret my purchase especially after the long wait. There is a lot to enjoy from quality plastic over fun play patter to good articulation. The only thing that really sticks out like a sore thumb is the head and especially the helmet. I hope MMC will offer an addon set some time down the line thad comes with a new head to solve this issue. There where rumors about a black Nemesis repaint but I don't know if the will come to fruition because I don't think the toy sold as well as MMC anticipated. Overall due to the long development time and the exuberant coverage of the toy before I held it in hand many of my opinions manifested upfront. Having the toy in hand don't invalidate them but some are not as noticeable in person. Especially the look of the white core bot was a nice surprise when messing with him for the first time. Sorry for the wall of text. I probably should include some images but all the ones I take look crappy. Here is one of the missing arm armor:

It would also satisfy my OCD greatly if one would switch sides. Now with four members of the Delta Squadron and six members of the Aerial Knights it is just not well balanced. On the other hand I could not see any of the characters switch sides besides Roid. And he, for some reason, doesn't seem to pilot a Valkyrie. I also think he is to high up in the command chain to be a fighter-pilot if he is able to fly a Valkyrie. Maybe if the reveal the true origin of the crater on Windermere someone is willing to defect. On the other hand (since four members seem to be the standard number of Valkyries in a squadron) I could see Hayate/Delta Squadron killing two members of the Aerial Knights (prime candidates: Master Herman and one of the twins) to create more equal teams. I hope we get a new intro next episode since the Messer/Keith dynamic is now gone that dominated most of the fighting parts in the episodes till now and was shown fairly prominent in the intro. I honestly can't see Hayate inherit the plane from Messer because I think that they choose the color of the planes by themselves so the paint scheme of the VF-31F doesn't really fit Hayate. In addition the J-designation seem to be the main hero Valkyrie. I could see Hayate raising as the new Ace of Delta Squadron and sporting a skull insignia but I don't think he will switch his machine. Another possibility could be that Hayate flies Messers plane, gets into a killing frenzy and kill some of the Aerial Knights before he recognize that he is on the wrong track and than switching back to the VF-31J in the end. However this is also a pretty cliché trope.

Or the Assalut Knife? I have to check my box and manual today. Now having Altos YF-29 in my main Macross display I really wished they would have painted the middle ridge of the multi-directional thruster nozzles white. I know it is not line-art accurate but they look so good on the VF-25G and RVF-25 with the extra bit of paint.

I didn't know that Basara was in Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress before he joined Fire bomber.

I really hope that this figure is a success since I want a variety of different suits form all the different games in figma form. Since the different beam weaponry and missiles are so distinctive in shape and color I also would love if the include effect parts for those weapons either as an accessory or accessory pack in the future.

Yep, because the Evangelion kids where all older than 18.

Droopy nosecone syndrome?

My predictions for the rest of the series was more a comment on how fast the story seems to move. On a side note I wonder how the short live span of the Windermereans affect their understanding of history. Do we know how long ago the detonation of the dimensional weaponry was? I mean with the short lifespan it is probably easier to tinker with the perceptions of events, much easier to create a false interpretation of events. So only a few people are in the know of what has actually happened (like the king and Herman) and all the younger inhabitants believe firmly the propaganda of the ruling class. So I could imagine that the believes of Keith and the Aerial Knights and especially Heinz are being shattered when the truth is reviled to them that Windermere bombed their own planet. Of course this would the cliché thing to do so I'm not sure this will happen. Maybe all the Aerial Knights are in the know.

I'm kinda disappointed that no one will replace Messer and inherit his VF-31F but with the pace the story is moving there is probably no time to give him the least bit of backstory. I'm sure till the end of the series they will wage war against Windermere, get crushed by an unknown enemy and have to unite their forces, celebrate their victory, rebuilding the sector, getting in a dispute who has the right to lead the combined forces, find a cure for the Windermeres short lifespan, get crushed again bu a returning enemy until they finally make peace for good. I agree that the different episodes feel a bit disconnected due to the fact that the last setpiece in the previous episode ends so abruptly but they are moving at lightning speed which I like. Better then a ton of filler episodes. Quick question: when the big Windermerean capital ship ascents for the planet is it a 3D model or drawn? If it is a 3D model it looked really good.

Since next year is the 10th anniversary of Gurren Lagann I believe I would love to get a SoC version of the main mecha in 2017. In the meantime I will try to hunt down the Riobot version.

I have very specific collection guidelines.

I really hope Takara does a black repaint of Ginrai. I need to experience that mold.

Got my MP Shockwave today and I think I dislike him more than Star Saber right now. Shockwave is definitely not a figure that is better in hand than in pictures. The purple plastic that makes up most of the toy has a terrible look and feel in hand. The worst part is that the plastic is so thin and almost translucent that you can see the light shinning through it when you hold it against a light source. The light piping does nothing for me. While it works pretty well there is no light source behind the toy in any of my cabinets so I have no use for it (there is also an ugly yellow window on the back of his head to facilitate the gimmick). It just looks out of place with the other MPs on the shelf. I think there are a grand total of 9 painted pieces on the toy (two on each food, one on the leg, the bar that connects the muzzle and the core bot, the tech-greeble in the chest and the area around the mono-eye) The transformation is cool and I love the legs but when it all comes together I feel let down by the think plastic panels that make up the legs. I like the way the did the hose and it is a great Shockwave sculpt but everything else is a letdown. I also despise the switch for the light up feature in the chest. While the one in the arm is nicely done and hidden this one sticks out like a sore thumb. He totally feels like a Yuki Masterpiece and very similar to MP Star Saber. It is a real shame that he turned out that bad since Shockwave is probably my favorite Transformers character. I can only imagine how he would looked like if he where MP-11 instead of the Starscream retrofit. As with Star Saber I'm curious to know how other collectors find this acceptable especially for the high retail price of almost 17k Yen. Luckily for me in the same package there where the E-Hobby exclusive Deadlock and TF Cloud Hellwarp which are bot exceptionally nice. I love the psycho killer eyes on Hellwarp and they are both nicely painted. It is a shame that it seems there was no budget left in Deadlock to paint in the tail lights. Deadlock comes with the big two handed sword that came with the original Drift release and the three guns from the Blurr variant. It is still made out of a gummy plastic but blade carvings are picked out nicely with red paint. They both have their shortcomings because they are based on standard deluxe and voyager retail molds but the extra paint does a ton for them. Hellwarp has a plug for the stand so the stand that came with MP Tracks can be utilized to hold him up like he is jumping out of the water. Love the transformation on both toys. Deadlocks articulation is great. He can even draw the sword from his back and pull off some stunning two-handed poses. I'm very happy with both toys. Hellwarp will be a welcome addition to my Skywarp collection because he is so unique.

Thanks for your reply. My issue with Star Saber is that I think he is a great toy but not a good collectible. Now my MP stand mostly in their cabinet and I get to play with them once in a while (there are so many of them and, sadly, I have not as much time as a child). So this is why in my eyes Star Saber is a disappointment since I want more a collectible than a toy. This is why I asked especially for the hollow limbs, missing paint and mold quality. Compared to Ultra Magnus he feels more like a shampoo bottle when having him in hand. Especially the missing paint apps because now I have to look at the gate marks (like the yellow piece in Star Sabers crest) because Takara seem to be unable to hide them. I would prefer yellow paint over yellow plastic. I just have a hard time comparing him with other toys in my collection and I always feel bummed out when I have him in hand. And I want to find out what other collectors think about him so I can learn to cope with the issues I have with him since I adore the design of Star Saber. I think I wouldn't agree with the statement that Takara can't do better that is why I mentioned the Alternity cars. If the MP had a similar feel and finish (without the weird aesthetic and questionable engineering choices) I would be perfectly happy.

Maybe it is some sort of web exclusive figure thus regular Japanese retailers won't offer it. The same happened with the Link Figma from the new 3DS game. There was a web shop exclusive with more accessories and a standard release. BBTS offered both (with a mark-up), HLJ only the standard release.

If you don't mind could I ask you some specific questions? I'm curious to know what other collectors think. On a side note. I'm freed my Transformers Alternity toys form their shelf prison and been playing around with them. While they are certainly flawed toys (especially the use of die-cast) and the aesthetic is not for everyone I'm still impressed that Takara could offer such nicely painted and detailed toys. Their finish is superb. I wish the Masterpiece cars hat the level of detail and paint of the Alternity cars.

I'm not gonna reply upon that post! Oh, now I did. Quick question do you have MP Star Saber?