GDomino

Your explanation makes a lot of sense. That's why I never really bought in the "the SOC line is aimed only for the 20-35 yr old, middle aged japanese men, living in the suburbs with plenty of space so the high prices" explanation from a certain [sarcasm]toy-genius[/sarcasm] from TBDX... Even I have reservations on buying a $30-50 TF toy from a US ToysrUs, yeah the toy is expensive but I know that they aren't only intended just for us 20-35 yr olds"collectors" who are willing to spend our paychecks on them. They are priced for anyone willing to buy in on the hype so the MFR can get some of the time and cost of developement back.

In short, the best thing about them is that they have a reasonable amount of diecast in them and bring back the Gokin nostalgia from the late 70s-early 80's. Maybe you've got to have some kind of attachment to the bots to really appreciate the line... I grew up on some of these guys which is why I easily got into them. These have that Godaikin feel (even if they are on the small side) but with improved designs. You've got to really hold one in your hands to feel the heft of the die-cast and see the engineering, quality, and gimmicks that make these toys an expensive purchase. Since you are hanging out here, you should know by now that collecting Japanese toys is an expensive hobby but most of the SOC line is fairly cheap when compared to some of the Valks put out by Bandai, Yamato, & even Toynami. Most people are satisfied when they get one and even the biggest nitpickers will admit that these toys blow away all mainstream toys, even Transformers... Why do you think the 20th Anniv OP is going with diecast and an almost SOC like treament of gimmicks?

That's sweet....Can I make a slight suggestion though (maybe jarhead bias here and I have no idea where or what this custom fig is being pulled from), but what about making up some kind of EGA (Eagle, Globe, and Anchor) symbol to put on the armor. Just doesn't seem like a Marine if it doesn't have some kind of a EGA ...

NAH... cos this is a feature that you actually see in the cartoons, unlike the Major Piece of (&@P's made up feature to jack up the price to $80 .

WOW....I go away for a week and look what I miss... After seeing those pics, I've decided to go ahead and get 2 of these suckas, one in bot mode and the other in vehicle. Also does anybody know for sure if Palisades will be involved in making the trailer for this? Been hearing errr reading lots of rumors about this on the net... Also anxiety is kicking in for for Smokescreen, just 3 more weeks till release (if takara doesn't disappoint).

First time I heard of a perfectly painted one, you got pics? My 00 came in a week ago but because I had to move to a new apartment, I'm only getting to play with it now...At last my fave wallpaper is a 3D reality... Anyways if you look at the panel covering the screw on 02's calf or the torso from the legs, the difference in paint is pretty obvious. But my 02 has no flaws. Not a biggy but anyone else notice that Unit 0's shoulder insignias are missing the "Eva" in between the number "0"?

Gosh, those pics are so tempting....my poor poor wallet...Lemme see books and tuition or FPs?...looks like I'll be photocopying some pages from classmates for a while..

I agree, I knew I wanted to get the rest the first time I picked up 01 because I felt bad that it was gonna be lonely (You don't want Shinji to be alone for the rest of his miserable existence do you?). I'm really looking forward to the 00 Kai, not only so I can finally complete the team but also because the Kai also has more cool accessories to try out: the sniper rifle, the lance, n2 mine, the sonic glaive, and is that the external battery pack I see?...woo hoo! I'll admit, even with the minor flaws (i.e. ankle seam lines, tight joints, mismatched paint, etc.) these SOC Evas have really grown on me and have become my faves along with the Boss. I initally thought these toys were gonna be like my "see but no touch" Yammies or my Maz girls, but because they ooze playability, I've had plenty of fun reposing em...I see mine on my shelf and they are just asking to be handled, reposed, and tryout the different weapons on each...I now know why girls play with Barbies.. heh heh Edit: Added the glaive.

It wouldn't be too bad if its a Chevy Camaro (used by the California Highway Patrol (CHP)).

HLJ was accepting pre-orders the first time this was announced but now they have stopped because they don't know if they can fulfill the pre-order demands. Your best bet now would probably be BBTS or Blasto.

Looking at that Tracks pic, another nostalgia thing I would like brought back are those stickers of the autobot/decepticon insignias that you rub ...maybe its just me.

He looks chubby in the gut area and the legs seem on the short side. I guess there's really no way to make him look better in bot mode. These pics do look way better than those test shots we've been seeing and so I've decided that I'll get the Hasbro version because these will look great on my entertainment center when I'm playing GT4.

Oops, here are the pics. Look closely. #7 Car driven by Petter Solberg, co by Phil Mills #8 driven by Tommy Makinen, co by Kaj Lindstrom (pic from HLJ)

The crazy part is that the Car Smokescreen transforms to is in Gran Turismo 4. The same design. That's kinda sweet if you ask me. Yeah and the crazier thing is these are actual SWRT (Subaru World Rally Team) cars and the driver names should be printed on the cars. If you look closely at the (BBTS pic below), the #7 car has Petter Solsberg's and his co-driver's name printed on the window. Don't know if the #8 car will have Tommy Makinen's name on there because he just retired but it would be awesome to have TF model of the last car he drove...

Impressive collection of Kaiyodo's there Chan...though Chan doesn't show it, the SOC Evas are also no slouch in the articulation dept, though not as dynamic as Kaiyodo's, they can still be dynamic nevertheless... at least they can also stand in the classic Action figure (POA) pose!

Nah, I'll pass...I loved Ninja Scroll back in the 90s when there weren't really any good animes to buy...But now I think the DVD I have will suffice. It just doesn't compare to any of the ones I want or have now...no matter what new stuff they put on there to commemorate 10 years....just doesn't have that "gonna be a classic" feel to it anymore like say Cowboy Bebop or Evangelion (I know Apples, Oranges....)

Is it just me but other than the motorcycle-helmet head, doesn't the bot mode look kinda Gundamish?...[sarcasm]oh swell, first OP, now JF![/sarcasm] Edit ? mark

... I bet the line for this thing is huge! Luckiliy, I pre-ordered both (Smokescreen and OP)as soon as they went on. I hope Takara's Smokescreen does release in September becuase I'm real anxious in seeing a 1/24 diecast TF! As far as Sideswipe goes, I think I'll wait for the plastic version and decide then. I hope we do see a Ferrari, and a Lamborghini in the Binaltech/Alternators line, I'll definitely get those in zinc.

Alameda High School where part of the Animatrix "Kid's Story" took place. Remember the entrance to the high school? ~G25 Sweet! You're a Hornet too!!! Maybe we we knew each other. You should put your name down for UNSpacy's bay area meet..Let's get this list going cos I think there are more of us than it actually shows. As far as Animatrix goes, I still haven't had a chance to check it out so I don't know what entrance you're talking about... You are talking about the old side right, the one on Santa Clara. The old part of the school has had some movie cameo's but the only one I can remember is "Angels on the Outfield" as part of a court scene. The main entrance on Encinal just simply looks like a Prison now...

"You learn something new everyday". I actually thought that you pulled yours from a Soviet fighter, Vostok. Dagnamit, too much exposure from the Ace Combat VG series and not enough Discovery Wings to actually know that... EDIT: Took out quote from Vostok's long description of his nick.

Yeah, I remember seeing it on UPN on Sunday mornings too. Caught it when I wasn't watching football or when I was simply channel surfing...Didn' t really follow it but I distinctly remember that Blade had to go inside a bigger robot to maintain his Teknoman form. I also remember him having his twin brother as his major nemesis...the show got cancelled or moved just when I was really getting into it, so I never really found out his origins but I suspected that his whole family was abducted and transformed by some weird aliens to take over the world and maybe leading to that "Luke, I am your father" deal. I thought it was very predictable which is why I never really tracked this series down. Whoah what a koinkydink...Hey gerwalk25, looked at your profile and you're from my home town...A-town. What Highschool did you go to?

Late to the show as always... Mine is still GDomino..'G' is my first-name initial --and the Domino part isn't really my last name but pretty close. My sur-name is Filipino and one of my drill-instructors from my boot-camp days couldn't say it, so he simply called me DOMINO. The name stuck and I use it at almost all the forums I visit. Can some of you guys explain the roots of your nicks because I think some are very weird and interesting and some, I wish I thought of. Yeah, some are pretty obvious... Hey mods, wut about pinning this thread. Its a good thread for future noobies to introduce themselves and to know more about the members here.

Yeah, been wondering that too. I understand that Animeigo versions aren't dubbed but they have a much improved pic quality and close to perfect Subs. Maybe there's that code thing bootleggers are suppose to follow or maybe HG has more powers than we thought! Nah nevuhmand!!!

ROTFLMAO. This thread is the funniest sh!t I've read all week... ...so I'll throw in my own rant for all you mods out there (whether for this board or another)*. *I'm not brown-nosing, just giving my own commentary from my own experiences of working as a PT Bouncer for a local club to make light of this thread :P From Webster's dictionary: 2 mod-er-ate: 1. to lessen the intensity of: Temper 2. To act as a moderator IMO, the title of "Moderator" just doesn't seem to fit the actual job you guys do for these boards. No offense, but it just sounds wimpy. You guys talk about your "moderator powers' and I just can't help but snicker on the side...So here's a small suggestion; what about changing your title of "Moderator" to "Bouncer"? A "Moderator" sounds like they should be 'mediating in a peaceful manner' but a "Bouncer" has that allure of being A-holes if need be or when they want to be. Hey it fits perfectly for you Max and your 'You feel offended by me and my actions?, tuff..' attitiude. So, along with your banning people powers (kickin people out of clubs, in this case from these boards), this is the perfect title for you guys. DAMN what the hell am I typing?... F-ing hangover....

Yups, I never really liked GCom's boards because of the maturity level (lack of) of the most active members. I just go to mahq if I really need any good Gundam info, though not necessarily getting it from their boards either. I think the folks here are pretty knowledgeable, not only in Gundam but also in all things Anime and Mecha, so I just do a search of the forums for the info I need and often times they can be found here...errr in the old MW board.