Bobby

3 hours ago, Mechapilot77 said:

does it come with those 2 x2 cubes?  or someone just used the ones from the 52Toys stuff (i assume those DO come with them?). 

Elvis does not come with the cubes so probably just used to show compatibility while 52Toys does come with and they are sometimes customized to the theme (like a TMNT boxes, etc.)

--

Hey I think I figured out what "Totem Pole Mode" pays homage to 😉 ...

LJN's 1984 Voltron Battle Riser! 😁

Thanks for the heads up ... just placed mine with galactic toys

I can see that. Actually ... in messing around with it some ... it can FORM VOLTWAVE ... or ... SOUNDTRON ... or ... SOUNDVOLT ... or ... WAVETRON ... or ... BLASTRON ... or ... 😁 

Who can fully know unless they told us but I'll offer a few comments regarding trending and how it influenced at least my buying decision...

52Toys is making all sorts of transformables from Predator to GetterRobo to Icarus Jet (discussed elsewhere on here),

to something very similar to Logicoma (from Patlabor).

and BBTS has ~100 of them listed on their site [LINK] and for whatever reason they ALL fit into these little 2x2x2 cubes.

The Diaclone Reboot has been doing something very similar for awhile with there Powered Suit Systems by providing cubes they could dock with/deploy from.

In my opinion there's something about this that's "nice and neat"  or "clean" where box-mode lends itself to solving storage issues where organization and arrangement on shelf space is limited (a commonly shared problem). There might be another "real" reason but this aspect or gimmick has gotten my vote.

This guy for ex., Megabox Deep One, raised my brow as it has vibes of R-Type, RB-79 Ball, EVA Pod (2001: A Space Odyssey), and a "Max" colored Quaedluun-Rau Power Armor going on...

and oh let's throw in a box-mode

There's also something special to appreciate engineering-wise when all these figures can take on a box form since it adds an additional design parameter during development.

So Lucky Cat Voltron also happens to transform into a "box-mode" that fits into these same 2x2x2 cubes

But to answer the question (sorry for the length) product photos show this mode as being able to serve as a base for displaying weapons ...

And even ummm, ah ... a totem pole?

These extra features certainly help differentiate it along with the intentional mis-numbering of the lions and name Micro Cosmos Elvis to maybe "help" it avoid some licensing issues perhaps. But regardless of it's real intent, this added "box-mode" offering additional transformation modes plus the idea of simplified storage and the universality of a "shared" form swayed me to purchase Elvis over the Minipla version of the same height.

Imagine moving and you have a bunch of these little 2x2x2 cubes ... you could just throw'em all in a big box, shake it up until they settle like Tetris blocks and be on your way 

Agreed, the dbl-jointed armatures are nice, box mode is kinda cool, and you are correct, no transformation on Titan but it is quite huge and definitely has a presence...

Just a heads up for anyone who picked up an Elvis ... you can switch out the numbered plates on the red and green lion so that it matches the Titan Power TP-01 King of Beasts Golion it was modeled after since the lions enumeration is reversed from the factory.

So it goes from this (Elvis)...

to looking like this (Titan):

HARGUNNNNNN!

You found the time 😎 ... looks awesome!

USAGS has SOC Golion instock:

https://www.usagundamstore.com/products/voltron-soul-of-chogokin-gx-71-voltron-reissue?rs_oid_rd=65584150678361

edit: they often have 10% off coupons so check

That is frame-worthy!

Thanks and hope you can build it soon ... looks simpler than the Garland (less transformation since arms/legs will snap on)

On 11/1/2021 at 11:54 AM, daBlah! said:

I've one Hargun in hand at the moment, the second is on its way from Japan most likely next week. Should be able to recreate a scene with the transporter, garland and 2 harguns then. Some of those details in the Hargun box baggies are so small. The Arcadia Hargun and transporter might be released and bought before I manage to build these 🤣 

If you don't buy the Transporter kit can you still convert the bike fully into slave mode?

It seems possible then Animage's article in Nov '91 was during a time when the design and naming were still under development (and both did change). Since 300yrs would have passed, maybe they were debating if the prefix should change from VF to something else since a precedent had not yet been established per say. The later published Bandai Monthly Journal Dec '91 shed some light on what they'd decided (VS-XS).

If we fast forward to May of '92 once MII's officially released we see for the final design they went the conventional route of following a VF-1 (A/J/S) with a VF-2 (SS).  I can also see how one could assume the initial draft design should then be given an VF prefix, however I can't find any publication after May '92 actually calling it that.

Could it be VF-XS is an assumption then if the last known publication referencing Ohata's design calls it a VS-XS? I went through all my books (e.g. Entertainment Bible #51, B-Club's #73 & #79, Hobby Japan #9/92, MechaPress Jan/Feb '93, This is Animation Special Macross II, Bandai Monthly Journal #149, Macross II The RPG, Macross Chronicle #21 & #52, Macross II Viz Graphics Novel, and I know there's still at least one other B-Club reference) and none of them reference a VF-XS that I know of.

I guess the right question is what is the last official publication of this design and it's name? ... is it the Dec of 1991 calling it VS-XS or is it VF-XS from a later date? I'd just like to know so I can start hunting for it to add to my collection.

Came across this when going through my DEC 1991 vol.149 issue of the monthly Bandai Making Journal and strangely it refers to this design as the VS-XS.

Both BMJ / B-Club were official Bandai publications back in the day and you'd think they get it right so is this a typo (or did Animage have the typo) or did it just change over time to conform to having a VF prefix ... anyone know?

Congrats daBlah! Great finds!

16 minutes ago, oshanmacross said:

I'll never build all the things I got
Sometimes the best part is looking at the pieces and enjoying the engineering.

Lol ... that is sooo true!

2 hours ago, Vifam7 said:

I've been using White Rabbit Express to occasionally purchase doujinshi.

https://www.whiterabbitexpress.com/

Thanks for sharing this ... so it looks like you have to request a quote for each item?

Could you share roughly what fees are per item for their service (a flat fee, a percentage, etc.)?

From what I recall those pages feature black and white action poses of the Blue Garland, Garland, the different versions of Hargan throughout the game, the main antagonist mech (name?) and Flagger (it's been awhile).

If it's a good price it covers the Alternate Continuity timeline and acquiring any new and fresh licensed material is hard to come by.
 

Speaking of Altelier + ES Gokin (had posted this awhile back)...

And I know the ES Gokin got beat up pretty bad in some reviews for what you got for the price but that HLJ sale is totally worth it in my opinion as this Garland's got dynamic angles...

Yes, that's is correct ... that Hargan is from a  limited production run for Wonder Festival (avg about 3.5" tall) sculpted/designed by Hiroshi Imizu who does amazing Megazone 23 work! (some of his creations to date...)

In looking at some other pics of Hargun I recognize the teeny-tiny screws ... I had managed to pick up a couple of his Garlands (pics of one below w/some size comparisons) and it was a blast to build (his kits come in color-ready resin), is fully transformable, but man, drilling all those teeny-tiny holes and working with all those tenny-tiny screws which are the size found in eyeglasses was rather tedious!

 ... guess he forgot to activate "Biker Assist Program" to help get those saddlebags out of the way

4 hours ago, daBlah! said:

Does anyone know a supplier than can ship the R_AREA comics outside of Japan? I've seen their links to some online ones but haven't seen international shipping options?

In instances like this I have used ZenMarket's "Other Shops" link and add the direct URL of the item(s) I want to purchase. Then they buy it for me and charge ¥300 per item for proxy and hold it my "warehouse" for up to 45 days for free. I will then usually purchase other things during that time to make a haul and then around day 40 create the parcel (also a free service). They provide around 6-7 shipping options to choose from (I actually just got a package from them yesterday). This was interesting to me that just recently I calculated that it was cheaper for me to buy 5 books from Mandarake going through ZM vs going through Mandarake direct. Shipping within Japan is fairly cheap when vendors use things like Yu-Pack (Japan's parcel post equivalent) and for this instance having Madarake ship my items to ZM and then having ZM consolidate it into one package for me (free) was cheaper mainly because ZM offers way more shipping options than Mandarake at the moment.

...speaking of the quintessential Akira bike

To RavenHawk's point regarding lean, that's probably the Garland's overriding issue and mainly how low the side-mounted legs hang. In one of the Megazone art books I have the Garland has been given some sort of "biker assist system" (see pic) where it detects the rider's banking angle and the legs automatically move/rotate out of the way to help the rider achieve maximum lean on sharp turns. The left and right "leg engines" are actively always trying to keep as low of a position as possible to help maintain a low center of gravity. Both Kawasaki and/or the backyard-hobby-enthusiast-builder are welcome to tackle that!  We've all probably seen some of the real-life Akira bikes and Tron Light Cycles people have made here and there online, but nothing this elaborate ... oh anime-magic transformation, you got us again!

24 minutes ago, JetJockey said:

Can you post a picture of the secret poster?

You bet ... (photoshopped out the folds)

Actually, it does have a "secret" fold out poster in it ... if you remove the book jacket, on the reverse side of the jacket there is quite a large fold out poster (over 2 ft) of the red Garland in bike mode which is pretty awesome and pretty detailed. The Megazone Manuever Book that was sold separately from the box set (has silver cover) which I bought first, did not have this jacket hence no poster.

I regularly check behind my book jackets from Japan because sometimes the art printed on the binded cover (both front and back) of the book differs from the art found on the book jacket (nice way to sneak in more art!). While it is not that common it's always nice to find these easter eggs!

Found!

Hi, would like to buy someone's assembly instructions manuals for the Gundam Unleashed PG model kit if you are willing to part with it. Thanks!