VOTOMS

[whitestar]

Jenius or anyone versed with Votoms toys: Did CM's ever make another large scale Votoms figure besides the DX Zerberus, which was approximately 1/18 scale? I picked it up years ago from an HLJ sale. It's got shelf presence as you can see from the iphone pic, but it's got an amazing lack of play value due to the fragility of the plastic. It's very toyish when compared with Takara's DMZ offering or Yamato's. Despite the poor material used, the proportion and lines are executed very well. It's not without its gimmicks: the spike on the shield pops out with a push of a button, as do the forearm and the wheels on the feet. This toy would've received much more love had it not been for the aforementioned quality of the plastic used.

[jenius]

Nope, it was a one and done line ignoring the metallic repaint.

[whitestar]

Ah, the one I have is the metallic repaint version. Thanks

[jenius]

I have one of them but I haven't even managed to handle it yet. Looking forward to it some day.

[whitestar]

Be careful as the plastic used might be the type that deteriorates over time.

[DuelGundam2099]

VOTOMS! I have seen every major entry of the franchise and enjoyed it; the music, art style, action, characters, settings, everything about it was virtually enjoyable to a significant degree. Here are my favorite armored troopers from favorite to least favorite (although I like all of them).

1. Blood Dog
2. Dark Dog
3. Ecressive
4. Black Lightning Battalion Burglary Dog
5. Regular Burglary Dog
6. Rapidly Dog
7. Scopedog Red Shoulder Custom
8. Scopedog Turbo Custom
9. Scopedog ISS
10. Regular Scopedog/Scopedog 2
11. Strike Dog
12. Bloodsucker
13. Order Buckler
14. Bountydog
15. Brutishdog
15. Marshydog
16. Fatty Land Type
17. Berserga WP
18. Berserga Imitate
19. Berserga DT
20. Normal Fatty
21. Strong Bacchus
22. Purple Bear
23. Light Scopedog
24. Busy Crab
25. Diving Beetle
26. Standing Tortoise/Mark 2
27. Snapping Turtle
28. Standing Turtle
29. Berserga Praetorio
30. Zwerg

[DarrinG]

A WonderFest Marshy Dog 1/12 custom kit just went for 24,456 yen on YJ.

Would have been cool to get if I had a spare 25,000 yen laying around...

[DarrinG]

Tried to win this WonderFest Sunsa add-on for my Turbo Custom.

Could not play with the big boys as it went up to 32,500 yen - ouch.

Very cool though, hope to still land one someday...

Edited March 28, 2013 by DarrinG

[jenius]

And now for a review of a toy no one cares about

[DarrinG]

Jenius -- Who needs tampo printing when you can get those fancy pre-applied decals huh?

Takara and Yamato could have just done a sticker for the metal front bar instead of all the unnecessary tooling and parts!

------------

Here are some pics of a custom, 1/12 teal version scopedog pilot. I plan to do a few of these and include a custom painted pack and Zoffy pistol firing effect in the deal.

I cannot actually make money on it because the time spent alone would make the figure about $400. But since most regular Chiricos go for $60 to $80 I'm thinking $149 + shipping. Will likely sell via auction since there are not many Votoms fans here on MW...

[shadowmoon]

Hi, I'm a newbie. Got questions on Yamato scopedog turbo custom. Comparing the scopedog only, are the joints of the scopedogs in the odden set and the last red shoulder set tighter than the scopedog turbo custom that is sold without the accessories? Are the hip joints and ankle joints of the turbo custom ratchet joints? Thanks for helping this newbie.

[jenius]

Pretty sure the gift sets are the same toy but with parts that were sold separately now bundled. I wouldn't expect any change in quality.

[shadowmoon]

Thanks for reply. Wow, a brand new yamato last red shoulder turbo custom just went for 72000 yen on japan yahoo auction, why is it worth so much ?!

[jenius]

I would guess that's the same "OMG Yamato doesn't exist this will never get reissued!" phenomenon we're seeing here. There's some panic buying shooting prices up.

[Temucano]

Happy anniversary!!!

There are no big news for this year.

[VF5SS]

VOTOMS IS B A C K !

[DuelGundam2099]

VOTOMS is awesome as hell.

[DarrinG]

Sa-Sa Seventy 2 THOUSAND?? s h e e s h ...

[LOW_ALT]

You could buy a toy that could stand up on it's own for that money!

[Zoroastres]

Ooh, a VOTOMs thread. Don't see many of those.

Anyone care to share their thoughts on Shining Heresy? I apply Kawamori-Canon to everything: to me, it never happened. BURN IT WITH FIRE. I've never been able to get a sense for whether or not my opinion of it was shared by anyone else. Is it?

[LOW_ALT]

My general understanding is that everyone hated it. I enjoyed it on the other hand. The religious aspect was...different, but Teitania was a cool character and a real badass. Plus the loadout that Chirico uses on his AT in the last episode made for a pretty iconic Scopedog. I forget what that loadout was called, with the big shoulder cannon and the skid plates, but it's a shame there was never a 35max or DMZ version produced.

[shadowmoon]

Hi, for the yamato brutish dog, does anyone know whether the 2 piece clear plastic shell that the toy is placed in, is taped on the 4 sides or not? Thanks

[Gakken85]

I'm trying to decide which toy line I want to collect Yamato 1/12 Votoms, or go with the Takara 1/16 Votoms.

After reading up on anymoon.com I'm leaning heavily toward the Takara Votoms and I was just wondering if anybody could tell me their experiences with the Yamatos.

I feel like the Takara's versions offer a bit more value out of the box. They offer pilot figures, better detailing and paint apps, a bit more metal content?(Not sure on that one) and would be easier to make space for considering they are a big smaller, but still fairly large.

The Yamato's on the other hand have amazing box art, and better overall sculpts, but have the downside of being very bland on the surface... and well - large. The box is massive and so is the toy, so their are space considerations. They also don't include a pilot and I've read the leg joints/hand joints get weak on some versions?

That said, o you think $160 shipped for a Strong Bachus is a great deal, or just a good deal? I've read here there are several condition issues with the hands and it doesn't pose well?

Edited April 2, 2013 by Gakken85

[DarrinG]

Going wayyy back in this thread might be interesting to you as many discuss the Takara DMZs vs the Yamatos.

$160 is the most I would pay for a Bachus. If you handle it for more than 5 minutes you quickly discover its a posing nightmare, prone to fall apart in your hands. Not break, but just come apart in every which way.

Add the parachute pack and large missile larger and its hard to keep the thing upright. The fists come apart when they should not and the arm punch mechanism is pretty loose. I also feel like the face guard to is too big.

As for the Takara DMZs vs the Yamato. I went with the Yamato and have never held a DMZ. The SDs look great from that Takara line but the Microman figures killed it for me. I hate the way those look.

But the Chirico and Fyana figs from Yamato are a work of art IMO. The best, most detailed action figures I have ever seen. I have discovered though the pins in the joints are not as tough as I thought (elbows, shoulders etc). Be careful of breakage over time and do not stress the joints.

The Yamato would do very well to be panel lined and roughed up a bit to give it some detail in the large open (bland) areas. But they are so darn pricey now, I am very paused to marker one up for fear of loss of value.

The DMZs by contrast come painted and weathered and ready to display right out of the box. And their size makes them much more enjoyable to handle I hear.

SO Yamato - Looky but do not Touchy if you want to enjoy them. Outstanding shelf pieces that have few rivals. Pilot figures outstanding. DMZs much more playable, pre-painted and detailed, but Micromen guys look cheap in comparison (in my opinion).

Took this pic of a Bachus some time ago. He's WAYYY too clean in this setting. Needs panel lined, roughed up and detailed...

[Gakken85]

Thanks a lot for your responses!

Personally the figures aren't a huge point for me other than hassle and added value. Takara has them in the box and Yamato doesn't. I can get a Takara for around $260 or so with a figure, or pay $160 for a Yamato and THEN hunt down a figure which I'll probably pay another $100 bucks for.

Considering I'll have them in the cockpit most of the time, It's not a big deal. If I can get one in the box as an accessory that's less hassle for me, and more value for the Takara.

I am also not a hobby guy. I don't "Weather". I can do minor repairs and such, but I don't do customs. If I'm paying I want it to look good out of the box. That said, I'm a fan of minimal toys... but the Yamato's are pushing that line of Too minimal. haha

Tough decision. I might go with the Strong if I can get the guy to come down. I did find one on an auction site for around $100

Then I can just have both.

[jenius]

If you're not a stickler for a MIB DMZ Scopedog I can sell you the one in my review. The hands both have cracks but still go on the toy and it makes a fine display piece. See my review on anymoon and shoot me a PM.

[Gakken85]

Ill check it and let you know. I reply to anymoon as kryptman often

[DarrinG]

A Turbo Custom up for sale with a Battle Oddon Weapons set.

Should be fun to see how high it goes...

https://www.rinkya.com/new/en/auction-n123481620

[renegadeleader1]

My Votoms.

[Gakken85]

'

Which version is this? And why not this over the turbo custom?

[LOW_ALT]

That's the standard issue yammy scopedog with the included clear parts, and version-1 if I'm not mistaken. I would avoid these, their very loose and struggle to stand on their own.

[Gakken85]

That's the standard issue yammy scopedog with the included clear parts, and version-1 if I'm not mistaken. I would avoid these, their very loose and struggle to stand on their own.

Hmm. that's weird. It's listed as a V2 in the listing. But I see anymoon's listing has it as a V1.

Edited April 8, 2013 by Gakken85

[DarrinG]

I'm not totally sure on this, but I believe that is a V2 - but not V2 PLUS

The Brutish, Strong Bachus and this Red Shoulder are all V2. How you can tell is the box art I have below and it comes with clear armor parts.

The Green Box TC and all other TC Releases went another step of improvements, V3 if you will.

I do not have this V2 Red Shoulder with Clear Parts, but my Brutish and Strong Bachus certainly still have issues. It makes me wonder just how horrible the V1 releases must have been...

Edited April 8, 2013 by DarrinG

[Gakken85]

So would you advise buying the v2 clear parts? It beats paying 600 bucks for the same toy. haha

I got my Strong Bachus in the mail today for $115 shipped . So I'll play with and decide how bad it is and how much I'm willing to spend going forward. At that price it's worth having even with some minor issues.

This one is going for 640 bucks: http://www.ebay.com/itm/171021093217

You'd probably get out cheaper on the japanese auction haha

Edited April 8, 2013 by Gakken85

[LOW_ALT]

I'm not totally sure on this, but I believe that is a V2 - but not V2 PLUS

The Brutish, Strong Bachus and this Red Shoulder are all V2. How you can tell is the box art I have below and it comes with clear armor parts.

The Green Box TC and all other TC Releases went another step of improvements, V3 if you will.

I do not have this V2 Red Shoulder with Clear Parts, but my Brutish and Strong Bachus certainly still have issues. It makes me wonder just how horrible the V1 releases must have been...

RedScopeDogBig.jpg

There seems to be quite a grey area surrounding the ver1 & ver2. Some time ago I researched the differences and how to identify the two, only to find that there are still version 1's with the version 2 box art with simply "Version 1 with clear armor parts" sticker on it somewhere. Be very careful buying these off of ebay unless you can get the seller to confirm which version it is, preferably with a photo. Plus I was under the impression that all the metallic red painted shoulders implied that the units were version-1, where-as the updated units had a gloss red paint, but I could be wrong.