drifand

Ain't likely I'd buy one of those Faiz boots as I already got the real thing. But if I do get to see one close up I'll try to take note of the quality etc.

Definitely bootleg, just from the box alone you can tell. BUT, knowing the real thing is made in China, it's also highly probable the bootleg MIGHT be the same quality as the original, if let's say, some Bandai factory honcho decided to earn some quick money on the side. Entirely possible! Else, how could I get such a nice Jumbo Grade Gundam boot at 1/3 the price? Still... better to be cautious when it cmes to bootlegs. I wouldn't buy one unless the price was really good AND I've had a chance to see it in person.

For fans of the current Masked Rider Faiz series, you shouldn't miss out on the Super RHF-03 set. I waited quite a while for stocks to reach Singapore and finally managed to snap one up last week. Anyway, I've written a review of the set on ToyboxDX. Check out the Rumble if you've got a moment, you just might like it! :-)

OK, I can understand Silence of the Lambs being not action-packed enough for some folks. How about La Femme Nikita? Killer Babe with a capital B. Great acting too! (Oh no, she's French!)

Dude, the Jumbo Grades are 50cm tall! That's nearly 20 inches of Gundam... :-)

Amen to that. I only buy more than one of each toy if I really, really like it a lot, or maybe need an extra to modify. I do keep a few limited edition toys MIB, but only for future trades.

Deja vu folks! :-) It's all covered here on an older thread: http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?...=26&t=1242&st=0

Jody Foster as Clarice Starling in Silence of the Lambs. That's probably the realest heroine I've seen in a movie. :-)

It isn't often that the fake turns out at least as cool, or in rarer cases, even cooler than the original toy. Such an example would be the bootleg Jumbo Grade Gundam, done up in the 'Full-Armor Gundam' color scheme. I mean, I had practically swore off buying the original toy because I really didn't need ANOTHER incarnation of Katoki's retconned RX-78-2. But imagine walking into a trinket store selling Hello Kitty and what-not cutesy things, looking up at the topmost shelves and spotting this awesome olive skinned giant glaring down at you... daring you with that crazy sticker price of just S$99 (~US$55). S O L D ! This bootleg has just about the same level of quality as the original, with matte finished paint and even subtle airbrushed shadings at strategic areas. I believe the shield assembly is slightly simplified, with the star emblem molded onto the front half, instead of being a separate piece sandwiched between two walls. No loss, the star is neatly painted in bright orange. Supplied are 2 PVC "open" hands and a pair of plastic fists for holding the beam rifle and shield handle. The figure can support the shield, but I think in the long run, having it resting on the ground is a safer option. There were some paint over/under-sprays which I managed to clean up with some thinner and a bit of olive-drab acrylic paint. Too bad the plastic hands don't have their top halves painted in light gray, like the open-style PVC hands were. Maybe I'll pop over to the hobby shop and pick up a tin of gray paint. :-) Small figure is 1/144 scale GUNDAM FIX 001 "FA-78-1 Full Armor Gundam". The bootleg faithfully reproduces the color scheme of the original when seen with its armor removed. No clue as to whether the shield is correctly colored. Back view - the inside of the shield is also nicely detailed, as are the soles of the feet.

I just want that cool, cool toy made by SEGA!!!

Kinda hard to explain - the arms are double hinged so that they can extend out to clear the shoulder armor. You can lift the shoulder armor to allow the arms to point in more directions. Not fantastic but definitely way better than the legs. Articulation is NOT this model's finer asset. Taste aside, the painting and detailing on the mini figures are really top notch, as befitting their intent to be wargaming accessories. I'm quite sure more mecha will be on the way, but I've no urge to collect every single one of them. The German/Axis walkers are the ones to look out for, if you're hoping for more polished designs.

This is another 20-year old design, GBF. You want "accuracy", why not wait for the Yamato's oversized 1/12 behemoths? :-) As far as I'm concerned, the 1/24 Scopedog already got almost everything right. The proportions - can't complain at all except for the typical 80's "puffy" style hands. Highly articulated, tri-scope rotates and swivels, main visor opens, access hatch opens to reveal detailed interior for pilot figure, major armor plates on hinges and even achieves the featured "down form" spot on. Best of all, it IS built like a tank. Definitely won't fall to pieces after some rough handling.

Definitely TAKARA - I don't really fancy Kaiyodo's PVC stuff :-) To be specific, it's the Red Shoulder Custom, reissued together with the Japanese limited edition PS1 game "Perfect Soldier Box 2". "Box 1" featured a reissue of original Scopedog. The 3rd game in the series featured a brand new 1/24 scale Votoms toy, the Slashdog.

It isn't bad at all, pretty good fun in fact. They could do with better English dialogue, that's all. The girl actually speaks it fine, but I believe the scripted lines were in broken English. It's not noticeable in the beginning because other people are already hamming their lines and lots of action is taking place. But the end scene, being a quiet, almost solemn moment, her crap lines really trip up the mood. A simple redub would do a world of good.

Over the weekend I took a couple of shots of the KV-47, plus a group shot involving olive-drab painted mecha in similar scales... Front view - Made a quick mod to the front hatch by adding a strut to keep it opened. Back view - Don't really know what's stored in those rear cannisters, but if it's ammo or fuel, they better hope they've got their sixes covered! The Drab Company - KV-47 and Scopedog RSC in 1/24 scale; Kaiyodo Powered Suit in 1/20 scale; GunWalker in 1/35 scale; Jumbo Grade Gundam in approx 1/35 scale.

Seriously, the 2-legged walker mecha has been done and redone so many times just about every "new" design owes something to all the previous incarnations. This particular KV-47 does look like it borrowed the legs from the Monster, or a more angular body from the Dorvack Nove. But you know what I think? Put some longer legs on this baby and you'd have an AT Scout Walker with arms! :-) Anyway, to heck with the dames. They make "T.A." sound like something else all together! It's just refreshing to see a well finished collectible that isn't made of crappy PVC rubber. I'm already dreaming up mods to improve some of the shortcomings like the joints. Have to visit the hobby shop and check out the availability of some WAVE Option parts.

I was wondering about that too. The site shows a more tricked-out set complete with a building in a diorama setting. THAT one is supposedly limited to 99 sets only(!), but... I could care less. The "normal" set shown on the site (no diorama building) is also supposed to be limited to 500 sets worldwide. If It's true, I guess I'm a lucky fella. BUT, the box I have doesn't have any serial number... so I guess there must be an "unlimited" edition being sold everywhere. Ebay has it, as do some specialty shops. I got mine in Singapore from a comics store. Truth be told, I'm not a gamer, so the world-setting doesn't really matter much to me. I just happened to see the display set in the shop and was blown away by the bloody good detailing on the mecha. Impulse buy.

Just picked up this odd little... thing from a comic shop. It seems like a cross between a Scopedog and those suits from Sakura Wars, by way of Comrade Lenin! See this photo from an online seller: The finishing is very nice. Grungy in the same way that MaK/SF3D models often come across. Unfortunately, the designer is more of a visual stylist than a true mecha afficionado. Paolo Parente is a Italian illustrator who does very nice renditions of buxomy women in uniform, among other military characters. This 1/24 scale "collectible" is a Soviet KV-47 tactical armor from Parente's alternate history WWII story/gaming world called "DUST". Parente claims he's inspired by many things, including ANIME and especially JIN-ROH. The armor itself looks pretty cool even if it's totally plastic. Measures about 5" high and includes 2 pieces of thin wire for radio antennae. The biggest crime is that the joints in the legs are VERY restrictive and you cannot achieve anything other than a static pose. Try having it stand up and the weight pushes the hip joints down within seconds. Other than that, the details are great. Opening main and front hatches to reveal detailed interior (but supplied figures cannot "sit" inside). Swiveling armor panels etc. Too bad the arm joints are also a bit too restrictive, but bearing in mind this is supposed to be from 1947, it isn't that bad at all. Included in the box is the Armor, 3 buxomy women (1 firing her handgun, 1 clutching her assets and the another being a Nazi dominatrix with whip, no less), plus a hapless looking foot soldier; 3 small diorama stands and a full color "Source Book" on DUST containing sketches and explanations. Supposed MSRP is US$49-59, but I paid a little bit more because I didn't do my homework :-/ Summary: Great looking display piece, though questionable taste in depiction of women. According to the included book, there's also a dorky looking US armor on the way (hints of a Sherman on legs), plus much beefier looking German armors as well. For more info, you can check out the official site www.dustgame.com, or Google for "KV-47".

This thread will probably be moved soon... Anyway, nothing wrong about the designs - all very cool. But for once (OK, ok, not just "once"!) Bandai has allowed QC to slip a little on these babies. There have been reports of uneven paint jobs on some EVAs and quite a lot of folks recieved theirs with a split on the shins. Hope your's are relatively unscathed! :-)

The lack of articulation in the legs was kinda lame. Here's a really cool detailed figure and you can't even put them into action poses. At least some Kaiyodo figures fared better in this respect (Trigun series comes to mind), even if they are a bit fragile.

No it is not a nit pick. It's just CHEAPER for them to keep using a poor solution instead of molding more durable shields in specific colors for each release. They probably have a couple hundred thousand pieces of those brittle clear shields in stock, just waiting for a splash of paint. You like the 1/48, you got to take it with all it's little quirks.

Looks like some proportions have been changed to fit the armor, especially around the chest and shoulders. Now I wonder what the other modes look like. Once again, I learn to appreciate the totallity of the 20 year old 1/55 design, chunkiness and all. :-) This bundled deal... I will wait for the real thing to show up, and the reviews, before opening my wallet, and my mouth.

That's the big, full transforming version. Currently the best version you can get, but probably gonna cost you some big bucks.

The other "half" of the GBP figure:

That's a pretty neat job you've done there! I see a Front Mission 3 shield on the shoulder... For those who wonder what the original looked like, here are a couple of pix I took of mine: and with the super-combo MG: Definitely one of the most impressive DX Gundams ever made!