Felix

Spent the afternoon messing around with the new Kitz VF-1S, and I have a few thoughts: Pros: The tampo printing is nice, as a matter of fact all of the paintwork is pretty good. The color selection for the plastics looks good and the panel lining looks nice. I also like that the landing gear is white. I like the cockpit and pilot even though I spent a couple minutes looking for Roy in all the packaging and not seeing him (he is in the pilot's seat out of the box). I kind of dig the light up feature. I feel like the engineering is pretty good. Yeah it's cribbed from others, but a lot of it works. I like the PVC hands. The fists look appropriately spherical in an 80's line art sort of way. I like that there is a gun strap included. I know that is a small thing, but it looks pretty nice. Nice elbow design. Cons: I feel like there were some parts that were over engineered and more complicated than they needed to be. For example, the articulated hands are awful. Hate to think that extra money went into making them considering I will never use them. The proportions are weird. The legs seem too thin and the chest too thick. Likewise, the gun seems a bit chunky, but that might be a function of the light up feature. The chest piece seems to protrude too far leaving a gap. It looks like it should snap back into place somehow, but I can't seem to get it to and I am not going to force it. The transformation to different modes seems okay, but the fact that the side inserts and the neck insert are practically structural elements makes it feel more "parts-formery". Putting the heat shield into the track that it is supposed to be in was a little nerve wracking. No antenna in Gerwalk mode. The color and design of the stand. I know that the color may be a matter of taste, but the huge chunky stand is just awkward and unattractive. Excessive packaging that is very large and poorly utilized. A minor nit to pick, but it annoyed me that there was so much empty space in the box. Worries: The plastics used for the arm transformation feel pretty flimsy and it was a little nerve wracking transforming and posing mine. That same concern extends to other plastics used throughout. Some of the joints are way to loose and others are way to tight. I alternated between praying something wouldn't snap while posing the arms and constantly readjusting the knees and hips while finding a pose I like. My head lasers are so tight I was afraid to force them any further than I did. These manufacturing tolerances may become an issue as time goes by. Thoughts on the different modes: Fighter: I like the nose and cockpit area. Is it 100% accurate, nope but the compromise looks okay. I dont't like that the tail section isn't level. Gerwalk: The legs look okay, overall it seems pretty top heavy. I know that this mode is a compromise in form, and I can forgive some of its crimes. Like mentioned earlier the intakes are hard to get aligned and locked in properly. Battroid: I feel like this mode was the focus of the design. Overall it looks pretty good, especially when in a group of other VF-1Ss on a shelf. The chest plate sits funny, but I can live with it. The metal feet keep it grounded pretty well. I will be leaving it in this mode for display. Overall: I do not feel a need to pick another one of these up in a different paint scheme. I'm glad I have it, but I wouldn't consider it a "toy" I would play with. I like it on the shelf with my others, but I feel like it was a "nice try". And..... In a world where we will, I assume, get a Bandai DX VF-1S, "nice try" won't be good enough for our $$$s.

Thanks guys! I was so mesmerized by that big beautiful bot that I completely missed the tiny box with the info. Either that or my eyes are getting old.

The Green Soltic is fantastic. Far and away the best toy version of it, which is saying a lot. Wonder when the release/pre-order date is for the Blue one. Any ideas?

The original is available to stream on Hulu, I believe.

For some reason Nagano has always vetoed toys made from FSS. Years ago there was a small LED Mirage done that was, honestly, pretty poor. Not sure if that poisoned him against the idea or not. I love FSS and the designs are amazing. I would love to see "toys" of the mechs and characters, but that seems unlikely. Heck Bandai doesn't even have the license to make models of the Mortar Headds. To me the outline looks more like one of the mechs from L-Gaim. Maybe the MK II or a Bat Shu. I mean, I would gladly buy FSS stuff, but I doubt that is what it is.

Truth is, I haven’t missed out on a single HMR. Even when I completely missed a pre-order. Heck, I’ve even gotten a couple on sale. If anyone doesn’t get a pre-order I wouldn’t really sweat it. There are usually extras available when they are released.

Back up and available at HLJ. Oddly enough I was getting all kinds of errors on my PC, but the order went right through without a hiccup when I used my phone. We have all been wondering why the new design for HLJ and AmiAmi. I’m betting the answer is, “better phone based shopping...” I just received a confirmation email.

I have both the SOC and HMR versions of Xabungle and I prefer the HMR. Yeah it has less metal, but the engineering is much better. The transformation is still pretty clunky, but that is more of an issue with the overall design. I wonder if I'll like the HMR Walker Machine better than its SOC.

This one looks pretty cool maybe I'll finally pick one up.

I actually pretty stoked for this. I really dig the non Macross HMR releases. The Xaungle stuff is great. I hope we get more in the Dougram line as well.

Just received the MAFEX Astro Boy. I really dig him. The design is good, but the scale is screwy in comparison to the others in the line. The odd thing is that there are so many accessory pieces that you could almost make a complete second figure from them. I can honestly say I have never seen a figure of Astro that includes the butt guns.

I'd love a Blockhead, Bushman, or any of the many other designs. I am grateful for the two they have done (they really are brilliant), but I doubt we'll see more.

Volume 2 of Funimation's 2199 set is up for preorder. Release date is 11/06/18.

Brockary just arrived and it is indeed fantastic.... I can't be the only person buying these.

They are pretty damn good actually. The only differences I have noticed are simply to make the animation more closely match the words being spoken. It looks amazing in Blu Ray. All in all I am happy with the purchase. The only thing I'm not really happy about is not knowing when I can get the 2nd set.

It is very small and well made, but the images are all stuff you have probably seen before. Overall the book is nice. I will say that I was not impressed with the quality of the postcard sized prints that are also included. It seems like the colors are off. Almost like the brightness is overly saturated.

Just got the Funimation StarBlazers 2199 Blu Ray limited edition set. The production values are pretty good. I just want to know when I can get the second volume.

I picked up a set of both the pink M.U.S.C.L.E. and the can. I kind of dig them for what they are. I know they have the dreaded "R" word attached to them, but for desk candy they work. The SDF-1 is pretty nice. Truth is I like most of the Super7 M.U.S.C.L.E. figures. The Alien ones are pretty nice especially the Power Loader and the Queen.

Brockary's up for pre-order. It looks like it will be a fun bot!

Excellent....do we know when the pre-order starts? I gotta say, these Xabungle Hi-Metals are just about as perfect as toy robots can be.

Just received my Government Type yesterday. Out of the box and in hand it is a great toy. Good engineering, solid build, weird subject, and even the box art is nice. I can honestly say that I don't know of a another version of this particular mech having being made. I hope the Hi-Metal line keeps it up with these types of releases. There hasn't been a dud in any of the the non Macross releases. Sure the Xabungle is a little fiddly, but that is more about the design of the of the original mech than about the engineering of the toy.

I picked up the Super VF-1S for a pretty good price mainly because I was curious. All in all the quality is pretty good. I prefer the non-light up head to the one with the LED in it. The effects look pretty cool if a bit glossy. I will say that I don't really trust the stand with the super and effects parts attached. Feels kind of wobbly and top heavy given the weight of the toy. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, just an observation. I was actually surprised by the size of it. When was the last time you bought a toy and when it arrived it was larger than you thought it would be. All in all pretty happy.

The art is quite impressive, but I thought it was odd that there isn't any sort of window in it. I mean, I love the artwork, but it is odd that you can't see the toy.

So after much delay and an unfortunate trip to Houston my Hi-Metal Soltic finally arrived. I managed to get him out of the package, assembled, and posed. I must say that the non-Macross offerings in this line are quite impressive. He has a pleasing heft, and can be fantastic articulation. I love the 80's real robot aspect of this line. I know that we probably won't get any more Dougram mechs, but a man can dream.

I received a ship notice on this guy. I am really loving the non Macross HM-R line too. Maybe even more that the Macross offerings, not that they are bad.