mpchi

Finally got a Deluxe Barricade too! A bit late in the game, but got lucky and saw the only one left in local Walmart still in the box case. Has some scratches on car panel, but guess I'll have to live with that as I haven't seen this guy since June. Got similar issues as people mentioned: Loose ankles, punch gimmick too easily triggered without pressing the button, a bit hard to stand due to the odd angles of the leg joints & not very leveled feet. But I turned out liking it more than I've expected. And surprisingly, the ratchets on this little guy is spring loaded that has a nicer 'click' compare to lets say Ironhide's, which are just grooved plastic rubbing plastic (wears off quick). And I like how the double jointed hips let you pose him in a less 'squashed' stance and stands taller, while the shoulders let you swing the arms forward and backward a bit on posing. Love the additional ball joint on the shoulder/wheel panel, letting you move that panel around for different look. Not to mention a very nice car mode(though plastic, paint & finish sucks...but good enough for a $10 toy), and a nice Frenzy accessory. Even got hidden spikes on the feet. With some fixes on a couple loose joints, this guy can be a pretty nice figure with some nice features. Too bad the articulation is not ideal.

http://www.superherohype.com/news/topnews.php?id=6376 Guess I'll have to pick the Target release instead of Walmart's, now that Walmart's is a single disc release with the prequel. While Target's transforming case look a bit cheesy, but heard it also comes with a comic. So sounds like a better buy (its the 2 disc special edition set) with some novelty freebies.

You sure about this? I always thought Walmart's is also 2 disc special edition. That would suck if it isn't...

Finally broke down and bought the MP3 Soundwave (blue version), when I wasn't planning to at first. Just got a Mini SD card during lunch and testing the sucker. Its really TRIPPY! Listening songs from a Transformer LOL. The MP3 player is not good. Very limited to the bare functions, and the sound quality is not good. Not horrible like some people say, but you really need some good earplugs and very clean MP3 rips to make it sound decent. And it does have a noticable hissing noise when its silent (end of a song). Though the figure is not bad. Like it quite a bit actually. Very articulated, looks very good (though on the simple side due to its size), and actually a simple transformation for once regardless its a modern TF. But you can tell Takara is cashing in big time on this guy, because they skimp on everything (player electronics, plastic quality, hollow hands & feet, paint job not that clean, not high-end finish that you would expect from any MP3 player, accessories...heard the headphone it came with sucks, so didn't even bother). But it sells really well I heard just due to its pure novelty. Count me as one of those sucker. But there is definitely something really strange that makes you smile, when you realize that you are listening songs from a freaking Transfomers. So geeky, but so fun as well.

The U.S. DVD volume 1 has Ep. 1,2 & 3 all combined as a long movie. So the upcoming volume 2 should have the rest of the show, Ep.4-6.

I do hope for a close to perfect transformation though. If its just part swap, it kind of ruins the gimmick for me. Guess just need to wait & see. And no wonder its so Char's Counter Attack influenced...the story timeline follows right after. U.C. 96.

Nice display stand for Hi-Nu. Too bad I don't really collect HCMPro, and really not much room for them either.

I somewhat agree & disagree. After almost 3 decades of various Gundam shows, its really not as easy to find a good variant that is unique and appealing at the same time. Zeta is a good example because it really is the best Gundam show design wise (though aged and lack detail compare to today's model kits). But even other UC stuff, they always look-a-like to a degree. In some case, it was purposely done so. I do agree that this Unicorn doesn't excel on the uniqueness. But when you look close enough, it doesn't have the Seed/Wing vibe really(other than a nod to the Astray Red, which is the only Seed thing I like), where things are simplified and colorful and almost super robot like. Its very FIX with good, complex design shapes, and of course, very Katoki, and sports the details that we see a lot in modern depiction of UC stuff. So in that, I respect, and I love the gimmick. A first for a UC Gundam, while not getting too wild like the G Gundam stuff, with a monochromatic color scheme with glowy red bits. The enemy mechs echo heavily on the Char's Counter Attack designs. Haven't seen much great UC designs the past few years (aside from some Advance of Z...yup, back to Zeta again). So I am glad some nice design like Unicorn coming along. Not that unique, sure. But at least they look good and has some nice gimmick.

After seeing this image, I am quite impressed by the seemingly underwhelming design. Really much more than meets the eye... I might pick up the upcoming MG grade model for the first time. And looking at all the stuff you guys posted, this Gundam Unicorn might actually be an awesome comeback of the UC universe that lots of fans have been waiting for. Very nice stuff.

I got some of those. Vash & Wolfwood, as well as Grave from Gungrave. The Trigun ones in general are pretty good. Not super poseable in some case. If I remember correctly, vash got no knees, but quite a few joints on shoulders. Stylish, and comes with some nice accessories and display stand. But for something ultra cool and solid and in similar style, you got to get Grave. You don't get ratchet joints very often in PVC figures of this size. His coffin stores his guns and can also turn into a big gun. Love that one.

If Revoltech keeps coming up with cool/cute characters like this, they can waste the revoltech joints all they want. A light up cardboard boy, how cool is that!

Read from some short article that its even better than the 1st DVD. I have been waiting for this for a very long time. Definitely my favorite recent action series, and glad its coming back. Oct 23rd is the release date I heard.

Pretty cool stop motion BT/Alt animation clip. The story is just ok, but very nice intro and animation. Fun stuff.

Sad news indeed. Not following particular series, but had bought quite a few series from them. With other publisher overpricing their new releases, I was thinking "At least we have Geneon & ADV." Now one of the big guns are down...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vj7gJKgq1wI Votoms PS2 game trailer (crappy video quality) The textures turn me off a bit, with the very washed out & pixelated grainy look on the ATs. So wasn't considering this game until I saw this But now that seeing it in action and all the info, I might actually re-consider getting this game. The animation is great, and looks like its a pretty big game with full story mode on the TV & OVA, and having 50 playable ATs is pretty good. Pailsen Files promo video 4 Not a lot of new footage, but still pretty badass. Not quite digging the new them song though from the little thats played in this trailer. The production value on this show looks really high, the more I see it. Can't wait to get the DVDs.

Haven't seen the second half of the series yet, but Karas would get my vote as the 'Coolest' anime show I've seen. Not necessary the best anime (even though the production value is pretty high up there, just not that thought provoking), but it got so much style and 'coolness' in the animation. Definitely a worthy mention even though I didn't included it in my top 5, since I have yet finish the show. Still waiting for the 2nd DVD.

Be very patient with the big version of the yellow elephant ears when transforming between robot mode & beast mode. Its very tricky to fit them folded inside the chest. Never force it in. They will fit nicely if you do it right. But if they somehow don't seem to go in perfectly without forcing or rubbing, its not done right. You will chip the paint & plastic corners if not careful, and becomes very visible on Dan's chest. And don't lose the small arms and gun of Eagle fighter. They are in fact tiny. And keep the chrome sword grease-free as much as possible so it won't have ugly stain. Don't think there is much else, or someone else can chime in.

I think its half & half. The camera angle did make Vaikanfu look fat. But that is a non-combined hallow form, so the figure does sag a little I assume. But given the restrictions on the combination/articulation, the proportion is not ideal even in other better pics I've seen. But its about the best Bandai can do, so don't expect something perfect. Its still very cool and warrants my purchase anyhow.

Thanks for the tip. Sounds like the backpack is very risky of breakage if I force it down. Since the foamie trick works pretty good, I'll just stick with that. I did add a couple drops of super glue to thicken both connection pegs on the arm cannon parts. Now they sits much tighter on the arm without popping issue. Cool. Think I start to like this set more, with most of the issues fixed.

Finally got the Taklara 1/18 RSC parts. Overall still good, but not as good as I was expecting. Here is why: For mine, a good number of parts need help to stay on good. Particularly the left arm cannon and the backpack, and of course the missiles. The rest stay on snug tight. For the arm cannon, I am not really digging the attachment design. While the black piece hooks well onto the elbow plate, the black piece connects to the blue cannon part with a very shallow peg, which causes the cannon to pop off every now and then. The peg could easily go twice as long, and still have enough clearance. Then the silver barrel also not connecting the blue part loose, again causing half of the cannon falls off. So within this one piece, there are two weak connections. The ammo clip is alos pretty big & long, so gets in the way a bit when posing. But thats more due to the original design. So it will need some work just to keep the arm cannon stay put. I somehow couldn't get the backpack hooked on the back. There don't seem to have much friction or locking between the hooks and the backpack slot, similar to Rabidlydog. The backpack just sits on the hooks by gravity. So I end up need to put a piece od foamie on one of the hook as a cushion, giveing it a lot more friction. Now its nice and tight. Lastly, my waist gattling gun extention (silver piece with grooves) is glued the wrong way rotated at a 90 degree, making it impossible to fit the gun on the waist. Have to take it apart and break some plastic inside to do the fix. Luckily, all the breakage is hidden inside so you won't see the flaws. But the fix did made the connection of the gun and backpack not perfectly straight at times. Thanks QC! And the missiles just keep falling whenever you hold the figure the wrong way...sigh. Takara had done so many thing right on the Scopedogs, so didn't expect them to miss the mark on a few of these things, when this accessories set is pretty simple, and costly. So is it a bad purchase, not at all. Other parts still fit on nicely, and does make the scopedog heck of cool especially in action poses with the missiles launching from the shoulder. And to my surprise, the Vanilla figure this time is actually pretty good. The normal head is still a bit off on the likeness with the face too long. But the one with the goggle is quite good. Joints are tight enough on this one too. Like the new microman stands too, now letting both feet to rest on pegs. Much better than the old stand that has only 1 peg for one feet, while the another oversize peg that is pretty much useless for the figure. So its good that at least I get one good Chirico & Vanilla microman for display, while all the flimpsy ones are going to the cockpits. So overall, a good add-on, but kind of made my very playable Scopedog into a more fiddly display piece, before missiles start falling or arm cannon popping off.

Yay! Another Ideon fan!

Voltes V is very good, but I wouldn't put it as the best. Though it does well on a lot of things and has a very clean simple combination. Good all around, just not much surprises. Wish the ankles are tighter too, as Voltes can pose very well, but again, worry it from falling because of the ankles. Before Gunbuster & Ideon's release, it was one of my tops.

Man, 5 is pretty hard to narrow down, lets see... Space Runaway Ideon (Movies) - Very good tragic human drama disguised in a seemingly cliche looking Super Robot show. Maison Ikkoku - A very long, funny, touching romance. Armored Trooper Votoms (TV & OVAs) - As real as Real Robot show can get. Gritty, engaging, with a very good twist towards the end. Cowboy Bebop (TV) - Action, comedy, story, music, style, quality animation, all in one unforgettable package. Yuusha Oh GaoGaiGar Final (OVA) - Still have yet seen any Super Robot show that can top this one on the level of 'Hot Blood'-ness. There are definitely a lot of excellent shows that I love, with a lot of them have either prettier animations or technically more advanced, but I find these 5 excels the most in what they try to do best, and left me with a fuzzy feeling when I am done watching it for the first time, thinking "Man~! That was a really good show...." Then rewatch it right away.

Zambot 3 is my least favorite combiner LOL. But compare to Ideon, Zambot is less poseable, but more solid on the legs, there for better balance. Ideon has overall tight sturdy joints. But his limbs & body are just very heavy. It got tight ankles, but its hip can be a bit stronger. And I find the knees are wobbly, even though its ratchet. So the wobbly knees allows the upper body to lean forward or backward like a 10-15 degree, which is enough to let the figure topple over. So when leaving it in a standing pose, you have to give some attention and make sure its straight. For Zambot 3, you don't have that issue because it has no ankle joint. Gunbuster, a little (thanks to the not very tight ankle on the non-transforming feet). But Gunbuster stands better with the bigger transforming feet, and the knees wobble is very minimal. Dancouga on the other hand, stands like a brick. You really need to try hard to knock it down. Pretty much Ideon, Gunbuster & Dancouga are on my top favorites right now. Ideon being the most impressive on size, weight, and clever folding panels (love the show as well), Gunbuster being the most clever transformation/combination with very good build quality, and Dancouga having the most playable modes and the king of ratchet joints. Almost every joint on that thing is ratcheted, and the only SOC combiner I'll never need to worry about falling.

I got my Sorrento too. But still in the box. Have been busy with other toys.