CoryHolmes Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 I thought someone said that Aoshima did the design and engineering? It looks pretty good in the video but kind of simple. vinnie That's what I mean. Toynami had better take note of the design and QC of this toy and maintain both those qualities for their next own-designed release (since they're not designing or manufacturing the Cyclone toys). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AcroRay Posted December 29, 2008 Share Posted December 29, 2008 If you were hoping they made improvements, they didn't. You won't see any of the Aoshima improvements either. Sorry. - So Aoshima's improvments were tooled up in different steel, and those didn't revert to Toynami with the return of Toynami's tools? Wow. That does sound like an ugly bit of behind-the-scenes. Normally, the licensor would take possession of that sort of thing, or access to it would be in the initial license agreement. Such a shame that relationship didn't work out better. It would have been nice to see the Sterling MPC Alpha be a higher-quality item. Still, how much demand is there for Mospeada products in the world that anyone would roll out even more elaborate Legioss products? Toynami, Aoshima and CMs has to have saturated those markets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RavenHawk Posted December 29, 2008 Share Posted December 29, 2008 If you don't reference things you're not allowed to discuss in the TOU then robotech.com will let you say whatever you want and not delete your post. Unfortunately, you can't discuss products not sold at rt.com or officially licensed by HG so if your complaint was "this VF-1 is balls, Yamato makes way better Macross products." you'll probably see your post deleted. If you just said "this vf-1 is balls" your post will stay. Actually, what I'm referring to are some perfectly polite comments I made. Nothing rude or anything of that nature, and completely in line with the TOU, stating my personal opinions on some things (pricing of the Beagle, back before I knew that the non-Robotech Beagle was even more expensive elsewhere, as well as disappointment with Shadow Chronicles) which were deleted on a number of different occassions. These were fully in line with the TOU, and I did not insult Tommy Yune, simply said that I was disappointed with the poor quality, and stated examples of why. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RavenHawk Posted December 29, 2008 Share Posted December 29, 2008 Sorry for thread-jacking there. I'm going to let that topic die, and let's get back to the purpose of this thread... My Toynami blue Beta and Shadow Alpha should be arriving tomorrow... though the shipping info hasn't updated since the 19th. Can't wait. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woll622 Posted December 29, 2008 Share Posted December 29, 2008 Sorry for thread-jacking there. I'm going to let that topic die, and let's get back to the purpose of this thread... My Toynami blue Beta and Shadow Alpha should be arriving tomorrow... though the shipping info hasn't updated since the 19th. Can't wait. Let me know the QC on your Shadow Alpha. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magicsp00n Posted December 29, 2008 Share Posted December 29, 2008 Well, I'm pretty much convinced that I'll be getting the Beta. In preparation, I pulled my blue Alpha out of the closet where it's been for over a year. I pulled it out of the box and started to transform it before the old fear hit me... dang, am I going to break this thing this time? I think it's going to have to just stay in fighter mode pretty much forever. I can't take the stress of transformation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mog Posted December 29, 2008 Share Posted December 29, 2008 <Takes a swig of his martini> Finally picked up the Beta (Thanks Kevin!), and got to take the Mog avvie out of hibernation!!! Definitely loving that beautiful click-clickity-click-click of rachet joints! Yeah, the gaps between the legs/boosters and the missile rack are pretty noticeable in bomber mode. And a swivel torso joint would have been very nice additional articulation point. But I think I was more bugged by the gaps between the legs/hips and the center booster/connecting boom assembly. I'm almost certain it was a design compromise to allow the Alpha's feet/boosters to slip inbetween the Beta in fighter combo mode. But in solo bomber mode, those underside hip gaps muck up the beauty of the solo Beta, especially when you look at it head-on. Make no mistake though, I'm loving this Beta!!!! I'm gonna have fun posing this pooch in action (and comedic) shots! And after so many years, the ugly gap, the damning omission, the constant reminder in the following pics will finally, FINALLY be filled : Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agent-GHQ Posted December 29, 2008 Share Posted December 29, 2008 From the pics, what company makes them? I've been out the loop on the Mospeada line and it appears to have poo loads of company making this line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drifand Posted December 29, 2008 Share Posted December 29, 2008 (edited) I know the heat is all on the Beta now, but just wanted to chime in on the CM's Bartley ride armor which I received yesterday. As reviewed by Jenius, this particular toy is probably the most frustrating of the whole CM's 1/18 ride armor line-up. VERY, very fiddly: - The arm gauntlets cannot attach securely to the suspension forks or wheel hub. They fall off with the slightest touch. - On the Fuke figure, her legs are basically one big failure; hip joints too loose, ankle extensions cannot lock in place (are there even springs in the 2 circular locks?) - In armor mode, the chest plate halves cannot lock in place; somehow there is not enough tension in the assembly to force the parts onto place. Biggest plus is definitely the figures of Mint (who share one head only), and the optional pistol (never recalled the name) that was part of a mail-away bonus for the Megahouse toys. I am now highly inclined to leave my Dark Bartley in the box for some future R@RE S@LE. No wonder when I was in Tokyo I found so many Dark Bartley boxes left on the shelves. This one is only for diehards. I'll probably leave Fuke in armor mode forever. One more thing: I think the 'improved' metal slide locks are not a good thing at all. Why? Because they don't do the job, i.e. locking the swing arms in place. The reason is that the metal locks seems to have shrunk (vis a vis the original plastic version), and the retaining screws now seem to be a bit too big in diameter. The result is that the metal locks cannot slide fully to either end of their limits. From my observation, when fully pushed in place, the locks don't even TOUCH the corresponding part of the swing arm. Short of finding smaller diameter screws, I think I'll use some of the earlier spare plastic locks from Stick and Ley and just paint them silver (or red). Those never broke on me and they sure worked better. Such beautiful failures :3 Edited December 29, 2008 by drifand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justvinnie Posted December 29, 2008 Share Posted December 29, 2008 That's what I mean. Toynami had better take note of the design and QC of this toy and maintain both those qualities for their next own-designed release (since they're not designing or manufacturing the Cyclone toys). So basically, Toynami should just distribute toys and let other people do the design and manufacture. vinnie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoryHolmes Posted December 29, 2008 Share Posted December 29, 2008 (edited) So basically, Toynami should just distribute toys and let other people do the design and manufacture. If they prove incapable of learning from this experience, then yes. I know the heat is all on the Beta now, but just wanted to chime in on the CM's Bartley ride armor which I received yesterday. In a complete non-sequiter, does the Bartley figure fit inside the other Ride Armours? ie: Can I put Fuke's body inside Ray's RA? That's interested me ever since I saw this fan pic: Edited December 29, 2008 by CoryHolmes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenius Posted December 29, 2008 Share Posted December 29, 2008 Drifand, regarding the metal locks complaint, are you sure this isn't something unique to the Bartley? I had absolutely no problem with my Yellow figure and its metal locks but I too noticed problems keeping Fuke's wheels up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drifand Posted December 29, 2008 Share Posted December 29, 2008 Jenius, If you carefully compare Yellow's ride to Fuke's, you will notice the diameter of the retaining screws for the locks are larger on Fuke's. That means less travel for the already smaller lock... and thus ZERO contact with swing arm socket. I guess it's something they overlooked at the factory. After all, the toy LOOKS just fine. Who woulda thought 0.05mm could make such a big difference? :-P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenius Posted December 29, 2008 Share Posted December 29, 2008 Thanks, here i thought I just didn't have my screw tightened enough. Oh well, I like the metal locks on the Yellow and the limited editions... too bad they messed them up on Fuke... I get the feeling I'll be more pleased with a Mega House version... should it ever be released. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vermillion21 Posted December 29, 2008 Share Posted December 29, 2008 I hope MH releases a Fuke, so I can complete the ride armour "set" .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emerson Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 I hope MH releases a Fuke, so I can complete the ride armour "set" .... I remember seeing an advertisement for an MH Houquet that Tokyo Hunter photographed and posted...can't seem to find it now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lonely Soldier Boy Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 We should have seen pics of the Bartley by now. Maybe they're delaying it to avoid competition with the CM's one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenius Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 It's actually pretty tricky to go from the standard ride armors to the Bartley type. CMs seems to have rushed it and given us a flawed product. Hopefully the MH delay is due to them designing better ways around the difficulties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdenham Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 Can some one post pictures of the MPC Toynami Beta Fighter & the blue Aoshima Alpha? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vermillion21 Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 See jenius's review of the Beta here: http://anymoon.com/blog/2008/12/21/toynami...-robotech-beta/ There's a pic of them together near the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GobotFool Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 Anyone have problems with their Fuke CM's hip joints breaking? Mine was broken right out of the box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drifand Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 Anyone have problems with their Fuke CM's hip joints breaking? Mine was broken right out of the box. Mine's 'good', thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RavenHawk Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 Girlfriend just texted me that my "toys just came." No, that's not dirty. Should mean I have a blue Beta and a Shadow Alpha waiting at home for me right now... I feel like a kid on Christmas. Kind of sad, huh? Still have to find a blue Alpha... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenius Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 Anyone have problems with their Fuke CM's hip joints breaking? Mine was broken right out of the box. Mine are more loose than I would prefer but not broken... A piece of the knee broke off but that was as bad as it got. Ravenhawk, enjoy your first excellent Toynami product (the Beta) and good luck with your Alpha! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperHobo Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 Yaco's blog has put a short comparison gallery of the beagle vs. the toynami version. Seems the visor on the toynami color is also a darker blue than the beagle. I think I like beagle's more realistic attempt at capturing Stig's head and I also like the lighter blue visor. http://wildcats.pupui.jp/mt/archives/2008/...eview_pa_4.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drifand Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 Hi Jenius, I just got my Fuke's floppiness fixed up by about 80% :-) 1. Swap out swing-arm lock retaining screws with those from Stick or Ley. Metal locks now DEFINITELY slide further and function correctly; swing arms no longer flop in armor mode. Also, the slightly larger screws on Stick/Ley's plastic locks don't seem to affect them at all. 2. Deepened the 'pinholes' on the chest-halves with my Tamiya pin vise + 1.0mm drill bit. Now the tiny pegs on the diecast chestplate can fit more securely onto the halves. Upper torso no longer wobbly. 3. Used 'cowgum adhesive' residue from Macross Chronicle cover spines for non-destructive tightening of hip and upper thigh joints. Lubricated the groin area with lighter fluid, then pushed small blobs of the gum inside thru the 'seat attachment' slot. Disassembled thighs and wedged gum blobs around upper swivel. (Left out lower swivel because it looks waaay too delicate.) Legs no longer flop around the hip joints. 4. Used cowgum residue for the forearm guards. (Blutack is fine too.) No more parts leprosy. Couldn't fix: Ankles can't be disassembled as they are glued shut. That means no free-standing Armor mode poses unlike the previous Stick, Ley and Yellow versions. At least now the toy is worth my time to detail up. i just hope the knee joint holds up over time. Maybe I should look into simpler replacement joints from the Revoltech series or something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chowyunskinny Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 (edited) I remember seeing an advertisement for an MH Houquet that Tokyo Hunter photographed and posted...can't seem to find it now. here ya go: Yaco's blog has put a short comparison gallery of the beagle vs. the toynami version. Seems the visor on the toynami color is also a darker blue than the beagle. I think I like beagle's more realistic attempt at capturing Stig's head and I also like the lighter blue visor. http://wildcats.pupui.jp/mt/archives/2008/...eview_pa_4.html Thanks for the link SuperHobo. I gotta disagree though & stick with my earlier post about liking the Toynami headsculpt better. And now that it comes with a dark colored visor it makes it even better IMO. Glad I pre-ordered the Toynami one yesterday. The placement of the screw hole on the neck is pretty lame though on both versions Edited December 30, 2008 by chowyunskinny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vostok 7 Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 I do really really like the box-art on the Beagle version, though. Vostok 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vermillion21 Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 (edited) @Ravenhawk: Please let us know how the QC is on your Shadow Chronicles Alpha ... Edited December 30, 2008 by Vermillion21 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lonely Soldier Boy Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 Great link, SH. Thanks. Neither look like Scott/Stig anyway, so I'm okay with any. The package of the Beagle version is amazing, but I don't display boxes so who cares. I'm not digging the electric blue visor. Too bad the plaque on the Toynami version won't say Mospeada, but it's a nitpick, really. I only hope that Toynami don't screw up their partnership with Beagle before all versions are out. Come to think of it, it may be safer to go with the Beagle versions in the first place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
holytoledo69 Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 I just got my Beta in. Its Big and Heavy. In short Its a lot better constructed than the alpha's, but its not without its faults. The hips are a little floppy (moving sideways outwards) It lacks Mid hip swivels, a waist swivel and the canopy on the cockpit doesnt close all the way (the pilot is a biatch to put in) I wish they went with tampo printing because I hate applying stickers (I dont know if theyre waterslide). Other than that, its nicely constructed and the paint job is fine. I wish I kept my Alpha though **sigh** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RavenHawk Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 This is the first time I've seen the head sculpt for the Toynami/Robotech version, which I ordered last week. I am REALLY disappointed. Why is it so cartoony? So, do I cancel and get the Beagle instead? Isn't the Beagle more expensive? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
promethuem5 Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 If you're talking about the Ride Armor/Cyclone, I believe the Toynami/RT one is a repackaged Beagle figure... the headsculpt is cartooney because it's from a cartoon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RavenHawk Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 If you're talking about the Ride Armor/Cyclone, I believe the Toynami/RT one is a repackaged Beagle figure... the headsculpt is cartooney because it's from a cartoon The Beagle one, not repackaged by Toynami, is MUCH less cartoony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
promethuem5 Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 The 1st pic of the Beagle on HLJ and the Toynami Ride Armor on BBTS are the exact same toy... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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