Dr. Z

Up his ass?

I'm okay with Bandai. All the Bandai toys I have look AND feel good. My Yamato toys (SV-51, YF-19, VF-1J, Garland, Konig Monster) look good but don't feel so good. Not that they feel cheap, but they don't feel as sturdy as SOC toys. HasTak still makes the best transforming toys out there, no contest.

Actually, the Gunbuster might be quite a good example of Bandais engineering - it has the most amazing transforming feet ever.

Wasn't that design borrowed from the S.H.E. version though?

What are the cool transforming motorcycles/scooters?? I want them!

I'm gonna get the one that stands all by itself... d'oh!

The Cm's version can be posed without the stick (although the poses are limited).

Strictly speaking, only the CM's gauntlets have to be removed for TF. The hip armor is attached via ball-joints. If you're patient, it's possible to TF the armor w/o removing them, but for convenience it's just simpler to pop them off and on again.

Word. I even use the gauntlets to store the extra parts (fists and stuff).

Only on MW would a positive review (8 out of 10, IIRC) lead people to cancel their preorders.

I don't think his score reflects the quality of the toy to my standards. And I don't think the score for the CM's version was any more accurate. Reading his review, I would probably give the MH version 5-6/10 and having the CM's version, I give it something like 7-8/10.

After reading your review Alex, I decided to not purchase the Megahouse version. No die-cast, major partsforming, leftover parts, cannot stand on its own = not worth the purchase. I'm happy with my CM's version.

Meh... I like my Valks when they transform.

The Satelizer mode leaves much to be desired.

Still better than Movie Megatron.

Pure awesome. It's probably going to be my favorite SOC for a while.

I love the Garland. I have the original, it's probably my favorite Yamato toy.

What a let down. I'm sure Bandai will do much better. The original DX toy is an awesome piece.

They should have Hasbro/Takara produce those toys. They know how to make transforming toys that work, that won't break and that are affordable.

Daimos looks amazing.

The fallacy of your argument is that you equate 'niche market' with 'zero market', which is not correct.

Never ever said that. Niche market = much smaller market.

Transformers are massively sold pretty much everywhere on the PLANET. Yamato valks (and other high-end toys from CM's, S.H.E., etc.)? In a handful of countries in limited numbers.

if it was a niche market without much demand, how do you explain vendors running out of stock? how do you explain the inflated prices on ebay? how do you explain yamato re-releasing so many of their valks? shadow chronicles? macross frontier? and why are other companies stepping up and grabbing the license? yamato, toynami, aoshima, CM, MH, WHAM, beagle, bandai, kaiyodo? and i'ms ure i'm leaving some out.

i've heard this arguement way too many times over the years and has yet to be proven.

if anything, the last 8 years or so has disproved this arguement entirely.

Easy : because the runs are much smaller than for say, mainline Transformers. They issue and reissue smaller runs and that's why they can easily sell out. But the number of total units sold is nowhere as high as for mainline Transformers. If anything, the numbers are probably laughable compared to what is being produced by bigger franchises/companies.

these toy companies have yet to figure out that if they sell it for less, they can sell a lot more of them.

Not necessarily true. It's a niche market and demand for such products might not be as high as you might think. Demand mostly comes from hardcore fans, not from casual buyers or kids.

Honestly, I think the price should be right around $25 from the reviews I've read. That's about as much as I'd be willing to pay for one of those things.

Good luck with that. CM's is not a big company and such molds are expensive to develop. And even if Bandai was to do one, I don't think it would be that much cheaper.

Good review. Despite the score, I don't see it as negative overall. All the toy's limitations are due to size and I can well live with that. The one I have is tight and it stays put together perfectly. It's really a fun little piece. And I guess I'm not outraged by the price since I'm used to buy much more expensive toys. And luckily, the broken windscreen can easily be fixed (mine was already broken IN the box).

Thanks! And what are the radar-like panels coming out of the wheels in armor mode? I've never seen the show you see.

and you would have a point if anybody here actually said any of those things. Nice.

BTW, I love that you come in here, start lecturing and insulting people you don't agree with and then ask us to be nice to you. That's nice. And I noticed your post over in the cyclone thread, what's that? I thought you didn't have anything negative or critical to say about toys? It was meant to be small, just enjoy it for what it is.

I'm sorry if you feel insulted, it's really not my intention. And I do enjoy the Cyclone, when did I say I didn't? I don't see "small" as negative.

"Indy's hat inner diameter appears to be 2mm too big. That's ruining the entire movie."

"The 14th cameraman's last name starts with an F. That's ruining the entire movie."

Basically, you think I'm calling you stupid for overthinking the whole thing and you seem to be calling me stupid for being easy to please. Who's going to win? Nobody.

Who cares if Indy's dealing with aliens. I put aliens on the same level as mystical forces, God and all that crap. It's only a movie, no need to go crazy after little details. It's obvious that Indy's still going to be his Indy self and that's all that matters. If you want the 4th movie to be as formulaic as humanly possible, then I suggest to forget about that 4th movie and that you go watch the first 3 movies again. This way, you might avoid being surprised and disapointed? My 2 cents.

EDIT : I can't believe we're arguing over a simple movie. Can't we just get along?

Received the Stick version today. Ouch, that thing is small and a pain to transform! Nice display piece though.

Question : what are the 2 very tiny rectangular pieces bagged with the support stick for?

And do you guys store all the extra hands and accessories in the bike's compartments? They all fit in pretty well and they're always on hand when you need them.

I hope someone often drops by conversations you're having about things that matter to you only to say: "it's just an x."

For the life of me, I don't understand why people bother to drop by conversations that obviously matter to some merely to assert that it shouldn't matter to them. I don't know if it's about people wanting to feel "cool" or "above it all". . . but it sure is one of those quintessential internet behaviors: When you don't have anything to say, but you want to say something. . . just drop by a topic that doesn't interest you only to announce that it doesn't interest you. . . and then (either directly or indirectly) demean those to whom the topic matters.

My opinion is just as valid as yours. You overthink and overanalyze a simple piece of entertainment; that's your thing. I don't and because of that, I can actually enjoy said piece of entertainment. Just like I can enjoy a toy for what it is and not for its degree of anime-accuracy.