mpchi

Speaking of The Defrost, I was surprised to see some preproduction sketches of the enemy ATs on the DVD sleeve that actually look much cooler than the final look. Its the same design, but the proportions are much more 'normal' and expressive. Not blocky and with the 'backward knee' look on the final ones. These were designed by the Dunbine designer guy instead.

SPOILER!!! - - - - - - - - - - - - At the end, you can say that the ending is quite sad. And yeah, Fyana did died. What happened is that, Perfect Soldiers that are 'man-made' has a very short life-span(inspired by Blade Runner). Something like 2 years. They didn't really emphasize on this much in the TV series, but elaborate it more on the OVAs, specifically on Big Battle, and The Defrost. Which explains another reason why Chirico chose to freeze themselves up at the end of TV, rather than just live a life quietly with Fyana where no one can use them as weapons anymore. Since its been 32 years since Chirico & Fyana has been frozen, Fyana is already in a critical state, and therefore had trouble to wake up at the beginning. Though at that moment, nobody knows her situation, and Titania chose to wake her up, which literally causing Fyana's death later on. She would have been fine if she was kept frozen. So yeah, pretty sad for Chirico, couldn't even 'sleep' happily ever after with his love one after all the years of war and torment, and now all alone again, with friends of the past probably all gone as well. Supposingly, Titania is sort of the next heroin replacing Fyana. Therefore we see her having a lot of screen time, almost a bit too much on her background (made the middle episodes very slow). But at the same time, the director promised there will never be a sequel to The Defrost, so pretty much this marked the very end of Chirico's story in terms of animation goes. However, the story of Chirico and Titania continues in novel form. Though never read that novel or even know what its called. I wish they had condensed the middle stuff a bit more, as they try to elaborate too much on something that is very straight forward. It'll have better pacing and overall a more enjoyable series.

Mine are all in armor, and with a stand. Even double side taped the bottom of their feet so they don't slide around when I move them. All the hands and parts are in boxes, though I'll swap them into different poses and accessories every once in a while.

He better does. Rodimus is too small on its own without the trailer to be a MP. Though I am not too sure how much they can pretty up the alt mode, when compare to the Kiss Rodimus. Can't say the original Rodimus has a very good looking car mode. GT40 is much slicker. So hopefully they will do what they did for Prime, focus more on the bot mode and less on the alt mode. Though the wait on seeing this materialized may be quite some time...if ever.

Yup. Saga & Kanon definitely sounds like the next 'gotta have' for you. In terms of the thing Ikki is wearing, here is the deal... SPOILER! - - - - - - - - Its a braclet that was given to Ikki by Pandora, in order for him to get through the Wall of Sorrow and enter Ellision, where Hades truly lies. Normally, anybody other than Gods would perish right away trying to get to Ellision (they wouldn't have the power to break the Wall of Sorrow to begin with). However, since Pandora is the messenger of Hades, she has this bracelet thing that allows her to travel back & forth. So in order for Ikki to not die instantly crossing the 'void' between the Wall of Sorrow and Ellision, Pandora gave him her special bracelet. So you might ask, so how do Seiya and co. get to pass that 'void' and survive? Cause their Cloths were splashed with Athena's blood by Shion, but not Ikki's. Ikki wasn't around when that happened. In other words, Ikki got gipped in some ways , and only got lucky to get this bracelet unexpectedly. Otherwise, he would have died the instant he lays his feet into that 'void' between the Wall and Ellision.

Saw this pic on the MP-05, which did pointed out a thing I've missed on the leg panel. Might be helpful.

Cool dude. Know you've been waiting for all these figures to show up. I am not going for replacement, especially when HLJ is all out already. I'm ok with it, since its just optional armor parts that are messed up, not the new heads. At least I have the original diecast ones if I don't want any 'battle damage' look no more. While HLJ may be willing to swap a set for me, can't guarantee the next set will be better. While I may get a better armor piece, who knows how disfigured the Seiya face might be LOL . Unlike stuff like SOC, Bandai don't seem to care as much on the QC of this line, regardless its one of their major money maker in the adult action figure market. Not many of their action figure line has been going this long and this strong. While SIC is also very popular, they never disappears from shelves as fast as the Myths do.

Just finish transforming MP-05 to gun mode for the first time. While it does take some patience and delicate handling, its no way as frustrating as some have put. Some parts do lock a bit too tight for the first time, so take a little while to figure which parts are supposed to come off and which parts doesn't. And I have a feeling a lot of the frustration comes from the Japanese language barrier. I find the instructions and diagrams are actually pretty clear with good description. Not sure why people said it sucks and not very helpful. The only thing that I can think of is that, the description should add comments at places where it "clicks" in order to know if you have push or slide a part far enough. Other than that, its great. Overall, it did took me an hour to transform it for the first time. Though things should get easier now that I know exactly which parts to move around and loosen up some brand new locks. While still pretty complicated and not perfect, its not as bad as I've expected. Consider a good hour spent.

Finally got the couple Appendix I ordered. They made me very happy and pissed at the same time. Why? Shaka looks so awesome with the new head and neck swap that its becoming one of my favorites in my collection, while Seiya's new head really improved on the already pretty good head. Very nice hair shapes, expressions, and very clean face paint on both. So why am I pissed? The QC on the chrome armor parts are all time low. 4-5 BIG scratches on Seiya's chest armor that can go as long as half across the armor, and they are really deep, like someone literally try to destroy it with an xacto knife and cut through all the chrome layer deep into the plastic. No way I can display it other than with the battle damage shoulder. Image someone who is buyin git not for the parts and just for a nice bust display... Thanks Bandai. Really thanks. Scratches and paint smudge can be found on Shaka's bust too, luckily on parts that not very likely I'll use. And its so sad, got a bunch of scratches and actually considering being lucky...

It was photochopped because I forgot my SD Card reader this morning and couldn't upload the pic I took this morning, so did that real quick to get the idea across. Been using superglue for a few years fixing up my toys' loose joints. Good luck on the nail varnish if it doesn't scrape off.

Haven't transform Megatron into a gun yet, but already found a couple things you can do to improve him a bit. Give him the evil eye make-up Yup, even our mighty villain needs some eye shadow you know. After looking at the cartoon and some stills, then back to the toy, the MP Megatron is begging to have his evil eyes from the cartoon. All you need is a fine tip black gundam marker and a steady hand and BAAAAM!!! Now that's Megatron alright. Strengthen the ankle ball joint While the ankle ball joint is good enough to keep the figure balanced without the cannon, its no where stiff enough to hold the weight of the huge cannon on the right arm, making him collapse with the slightest touch. And while there are screws underneath the feet, you still can't really take the thing apart and work with the ball joint alone. So what I tried is just rotate the feet to extreme 90 degree angles, so that I have a clean exposure on either the front, back, or outer side of the ball joint where it has constant contact with the socket. Then pick one of the angles, and apply a thick drop of superglue on the ball (make sure the glue is completely clear from touching any other parts of the foot or socket, other than the ball alone. Definitely don't want the glue to glue up your 90 degree turned foot for good ), and let the glue completely dry after like 8-10 hours. Liquid superglue with a small brush applicator works best. Make sure don't rotate or mess with the joint before the glue completely dry and hardened. Otherwise, either it will rub off because its too soft, or will mess up your joint if there is still some wet glue inside the bump, which will be really bad. This drop of superglue then became a hard bump on the ball joint, and add more friction/tightness whenever it has contact with the socket. If one bump is not tight enough, then rotate the foot to a different 90 degree angle and add another bump, until it gets the tightness that you like. Works really well on mine, and now my Megatron can stand & pose without much issues with the cannon on.

In general, the line does have consistant QC issues. While some are misses that appeared on all figures of the same release (like Ikki's reversed toes and crooked buckle), issues like bubbling, paint scratches or bad face paint are kind of random. People picking these up from stores in person has the luxury to hand pick a box with less visual flaws. For us ordering online, we'll have to keep our fingers crossed. Fortunately, these issues aren't big enough to keep fans from buying. Just a bit of a bummer when you find out yours is not as nice as the next guy that paid just as much, if not cheaper...(in Japan or HK).

About Ikki's reversed toes, I later realized that all of them are like that, after examining a bunch of pics from various source. Its really odd, with the toes all bending out the wrong way when you look at the feet from a top-down view. Oh well. Another common thing I found is the belt buckle. It a bit crooked, and also appeared in pretty much all the ones I see online as well. While Ikki still looks good with all these, it really look like the design/engineering part has quite a few misses that they couldn't even fix or spot, until the thing is already on store shelves.

"I sense a fierce destructive cosmos...like someone back for revenge from the fiery hell." Finally got the Ikki. Fitment is good in terms of tightness, but the mask not very centered due to the hair design sculpted on the left side of the face. The left knee armor also a bit off in terms of positioning. Top piece sits a lot higher than the right knee. And of course, the high shoulder armors. And finally, we get a Bronze Saint with a one-piece diecast lower leg armor/shin guard. Told you they can do it with ease...those freaking designers cutting corners! So overall, a very nice figure, but a few misses on the actual toy design. And Ikki does look very pale. Don't know why they choose such light paint either, when he is one of the darker skin tone character. On mine particularly, while most parts have very nice finish, I got a lot of bubbles on the left shoulder, as well as the toes on both feet are reversed, meaning a left toe on right feet, and a right toe on left LOL. Guess I haven't been very lucky on my Bronze Saints overall (with Hyoga the only exception). Shiryu's freaking hair, skirt armor, and the flaking on the head piece, Seiya's mole on the cheek and busted belly, Shun's scratches and a misaligned lower right leg armor, now Ikki's bubblicious shoulder. Guess the fiery hell is a little too much for that shoulder piece. Kamui = Cloths for the Gods, like Athena's, Poseidon's, Hades', Odin Rope...etc. Though don't remember they used that term in the anime TV or OVA. Only read it from the wikipedia. Was that term from the manga?

Just opened my Dangaioh. Other than some sloppy paint spots, its pretty awesome. It got so much more shapes and details when putting side by side with my Getters and Mazinkaiser. If you got a grey gundam marker. Do yourself a favor and add some panel lines on its head. Look so much better and more anime accurate (its head always look very detailed in the show). Though sharing the same issue with some of the recent Revoltechs, it takes a while to find a pose that balance nicely, as there are so many swivels from all different R-joints, all rotated in some angle. Really need to look at the joint orientation before bending. Otherwise, you can easily snap and break a joint or two. A very cool Reveltech, and a rare Dangaioh figure release that fans had been waiting for years. PSYCHIC WAAAAAAVE!!!

When we are talking about Seiya stuff (number of characters, variations, specials, appendix...etc.), your wallet is not gonna stop hurting anytime soon.

From the look of Soundwave, it might turn out to be a pretty small thing. The screws on the shoulders look kind of big. So the scale probably don't look very good side by side with the MP line nor the BT line. Make Soundwave too like a little kid among the others.

Coming up next! Eva in Action! Then SD Eva plastic model kit. Then, a SIC-like Lord of Nerv Eva figure line, with a Trans Armor Eva line following right after. LOL Man, it just seems like the market will never have too many Evas. So strange.

Shura's helmet is not that bad in terms of design, just that it wasn't sculpt right on the toy, and a bit oversized. If they can pull off one very form fitting like Rhadamantis's Appendix, and with a bit of evil look, Shura can look good with that helmet. Though I do prefer the mask a bit more, regardless of not being anime accurate. This whole Appendix thing is going to be a loooong wait, with Bandai taking their time and adding characters inbetween in each releases that doesn't really need a new head. For Shun, I don't see him needing a new head either, given the upcoming Hades Set already give you 2 new evil head... Guess its all about making money, I suppose. And I still wonder what happened to the 'original sculptor' of all the bad heads/body. Did he get laid off and be stuck with a bad reputation or something? Very curious. Though Bandai probably should thank him/her, now that they can even make more money out of this 'mishap'. And again. Its all about the money...LOL

Think a Revoltech Votoms is bigger than a AG, but not by much. And definitely smaller than a CM's or Max. Revoltechs are pretty small, like MSIA size. And that article is more of a fan teaser, so we don't even know if they will produce it later on.

Yeah. The Gemini Appendix is kind of redundant, especially if they are going to do the Surplice Gemini somewhere down the line, then we'll get another good head sculpt of him too. Whats the point of having 5-6 versions of heads of his, when a lot of the other Gold Saints need more help. Funky planning from Bandai on that one...

Wow! Thats pretty neat. Though the wording they used is kind of vague, from the little I can understand. While the figure is a revoltech prototype made quite sometime ago and brought it out for photo shoot only because of the recent Votoms hype, they made it as if it could be an upcoming line of revoltech. Though the size would make it a direct competitor of the 1/48 (minus the gimmick but better joint system), which I doubted Kaiyodo would go head on with TakaraTomy. Still cool though.

And hopefully, by the early next year, we'll see more add on DMZ accessories set like the parachute sack, and the heavy duty OVA mission pack loaded with ammo and chain, to turn it into a Red Shoulder Turbo Custom in Roots of Ambition. Additional tank tread and a new visor/scope mount to make Gregory's custom will be even better.

Ooh! Nice. Just what I wanted to see, a nicer shot of Shion without helmet on. Yeah, I agree that the older Pope head sculpt look better, though this one looks more mean and the slanted eyes go well with helmet on. Very nice! This one is going into my collection for sure. And good to know that Appendix part 2 design phase has started. Looks like Shun and Aiolia might be part of whats coming next, as there are sketches shown in that pic there.

The Burglary Dog does have diecast feet, but only on the 'normal scopedog legs' part, for action poses stability. Unfortunately, the Burglary Dog legs don't have diecast feet. I guess the custom parts has enough weight already. They boast the new AG-Next scopedog sculpt having 250+ parts, versus the 80+ on the original AG scopedog. Guess thats where the high price comes from. With all the given parts & accessories, I feel that 5775yen is still asking a lot for one figure (normally get a set of 3 figures with that price). But I cave in and preordered it anyway, given how cool Burglary Dog is. It better not disappoint us.