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Consolidated Megazone 23 Toy/Model Thread for 2017-2018


RavenHawk

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22 hours ago, Valkyrie Hunter D said:

The best way would be to find a proxy buyer to go in person, but even that is not a guarantee. I had a friend try to get a kit for me a couple years ago, but it had long sold out when he reached the vendor's stall. 

That teeny military Garland is pretty sweet.

Well that's a real bummer but good to know, thanks!

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Got my Proto today, and it's a thing of beauty. The only nitpicks I have are that the little plate that attaches under the forward windshield bit keeps falling off (only held by friction to a little tab in there), as well as the little computer monitor screen thing that attaches under the aft windshield, also just tabbed. The little side panels on either side of the neck plate, which are hinged, are designed to extend upwards to allow for clearance to hinge out of the way when transforming the neck and head areas. Those little hinge panels aren't attached, and will pull right out of the chest piece, similar to how the landing gear panels were done on the old Yammies. I've already noticed a little bit of paint chipping, so take care when manipulating it. I wish the thighs had more lateral movement on the hip joint, but their range is pretty limited. No spread leg stances for this guy, sadly. I also wish the toes could swivel up a little to get more dynamic poses, but they don't.  

Paint , detail work,  and overall fit are pretty good on mine. The front fairing/chest wants to come up just a little, so I have to keep pressing it down flush, but otherwise, there are no major issues with it. Pretty solid piece. Looks beautiful. Love all the detail work inside the legs, along with the swiveling thrusters. :wub:

There's also a comic book depicting some scenes, all in kanji, of course.  But the front few pages are full of various variable bike designs, which is an awesome inclusion. I could just sit and look through those for hours.

So, another long sought figure knocked off my wish list. I think Arcadia should do the Motoslave next. The old Yammie leaves somewhat to be desired.

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22 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

Got my Proto today, and it's a thing of beauty.

I heartily concur.  :good:

proto-garland.thumb.jpg.2c0ad4f221a091d430df518a78fb15f5.jpg

22 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

Love all the detail work inside the legs, along with the swiveling thrusters. :wub:

Yep.  ^_^

1384248567_legverniers.thumb.jpg.48d16226c236f141b15c018709d35d1a.jpg

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I always thought that the only difference between the normal Garland & Proto-Garland, were just the colours, the calf piece, and the fantastic additional mechanical detailing around the latter's calf.

But looking closer, there are many other oh-so-subtle differences that the Proto-Garland need many whole new mold parts. Here's what I noticed so far of the Proto-Garland:

 

1.The front fork pieces are longer in bike mode.

2. The clear piece in bike mode, immediately aft of the instrument cluster, has clear sections that extends to the sides.

3. The side pods (legs) inner intake detailing is different, as of the inner exhaust details.

4. The rounded ankle piece also has different detailing.

5. The front chest piece in slave mode has different shape & detailing.

6. The kneecap piece is also different, such that it tucks in tighter in bike mode at the intakes.

7. The front shin piece also a small additional detail.

8. The crotch piece is different.

9. The arm gauntlet (?) piece is angled differently.

10.  The toes are slimmer and longer.

11. Head sculpt is different.

 

I'm sure there are more differences if I look harder. Basically, if both were presented side-by-side in monotone colours, it would be a great exercise in spot-the-differences. :lol:

 

 

Edited by MKT
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14 hours ago, jenius said:

Put up a picture! If you do, can I add it to my review as a cautionary tale?

Shoot!  Unfortunately you'll have to settle for anecdotal evidence.  It looks like his toes don't really need to move much anyhow, so I glued that sucker on.  In all likelihood it will fall off again, and if it does I will update you accordingly. 

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21 hours ago, UN Heffy said:

Gah! The thing's toe part immediately broke. Its held on by just a thin ring of plastic.  I don't think its fixable.  I'm so bummed.  I wish returns to Amazon JP weren't such an expensive hassle.

Ah, dude, sorry to hear that. I'm definitely going to be more cautious with that, as I was trying, lightly, to get more upward extension of the toe for posing. Fortunately, I didn't break anything. But I hope you're able to get replacement parts, or a replacement of the entire thing, as it sucks to drop $200+ on a toy only to have it break almost immediately after opening it.

Looking at the pics, I notice everyone's able to get that forward windscreen piece to sit flush in Slave mode- mine sticks up just a couple mm, and I have no idea what it's catching on. The gold painted insert that tabs underneath it fell off almost immediately as I was beginning to transform it the first time, but I tabbed it back on and it stayed put through the rest of the transformation.  It sits flush in Maneuver Craft mode. I think I'll have to put it through another transformation and hopefully everything will sort out, or the problem area will make itself known. I usually eschew instructions, but I followed them with this guy, as I didn't want to break some hidden part, or what have you. I'm glad I did, as I didn't even notice the hinged panels on either side of the neck, as they fit so well, you can barely discern a seam. It's gorgeous workmanship, no doubt. I stumbled a bit over getting the crotch piece extended, too, so again, even with instructions, I had to backtrack a little.  As I get older, I find my pride in such things eroding, especially as my toys continue to get more expensive and fragile.

I'm really pleased with it, after having waited for decades to finally have one in hand. That said, I'm a little disappointed with how limited the hip movement is on mine- barely any lateral movement, and I don't want to force it. I wish they'd made the hip sockets extend out of those upper thigh parts just a little to get more range. I was trying to do the kneeling pose that's pictured, and having tough time getting that to work. I don't know if I just don't have the legs extended enough, but I can't get a deep enough knee bend to make it work satisfactorily. Again, I'm leery of forcing anything. While the detailing of these new figs is just amazing, there's truly something to be said about the durability of the old 80's toys, especially the old Chunky Monkey. Not the most accurate representation of its source, but dammit, you could seriously play with that thing without much fear of breaking it.

Again, best wishes to you, UN Heffy, on a positive resolution.

 

Update: I determined that I installed the little plate under the windshield upside down. Once I reinstalled it correctly, it flushed up nicely. I was also able to achieve the kneeling pose by adjust the calf guards down, which provided the necessary space for the knees to bend. Doubt anyone cares, but I thought I'd post it anyway. Cheers all!

Edited by M'Kyuun
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12 hours ago, oshanmacross said:

Does the book only come with the first batch of releases?
Or is it a web exclusive? About how many pages?

Really didn't think this would sell out so quick, was too involved trying to get a Bandai Hikaru VF-1S...

Based on Arcadia's Proto-Garland product webpage: http://arcadia.ac/products/detail.php?product_id=291

It is indeed comes via the first batch release.

Quote

初回生産分には漫画家ことぶきつかさ氏書き下ろし小冊子が付属。

(The first production comes with a booklet written by manga artist Kotobuki Tsukasa.)

 

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2 hours ago, oshanmacross said:

Thanks ^_^

Can anyone confirm the page count?
Or maybe some quick pics of the contents?

There are 28 pages, the first 14 are comic, followed by 7 pages of lineart showing various features of the Proto-Garland, some of the actual toy, some not, and then 5 pages of Garland evolutionary flow chart with numerous illustrations, then 2 pages showing illustrations of the Hargun. The inside cover has pics of the Garland, the grey proto for the Hargun, and the Proto-Garland toys, and the inside back cover shows pics of the Hargun and Transport grey scale models for upcoming toys.  Sorry, no pics.

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I've never owned any of the other Garland figures out there, but taken on his own merits, the Proto-Garland is pretty fantastic. Solid as a rock, fun to transform (apart from those damn red flaps that love popping off). Feels like a mini SoC with all that delicious paint and diecast.

 

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Instead of the Hargun, which is a parts-former, I wish they'd do some of the other fully transformable designs featured in the booklet that came with the Proto-Garland. But for the guys that want a Hargun, good for you. I hope it turns out as well as the PG, as it's still pretty cool looking.

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What in the world Arcadia, you paint Lightning's necklace? ...and hair highlights?

...and Shogo's brows? ...and the buttons on his jacket?

...but leave out their eyes?!

Next time please have your crew skip out on the necklace/jacket buttons/ and other useless/lesser important details and at least give us some eyes! That's what anime is famous for!

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It's weird, Takara Tomy also skipped painting the eyes on their Spike and Daniel figures they throw in with the latest TF masterpiece toys. Threezero on the otherhand painted the eyes on the Noa pilot figure for their Ingram toy. At least there's some companies out there who will paint the pilot's eyes. 

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After reading some reviews both here and TFW2005 it seems Arcadia did tighten up their Protogarland release. So I bought it and I'm very impressed with it. So far no paint chipping on the knees or chest. There will be a little chipping on some of the pegs because they are painted. Thank goodness they tightened up the shoulder joints over the first garland. The bike mode also holds together better than the first garland. On the downside, Shogo's eyes are not painted and there is a rather apparent nub mark on top of the forehead of the protogarland. I also wish the crotch piece locked into place instead of just floating over the wheel. Overall, an incredible display piece that you would transform every once in a while.

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Edited by SuperHobo
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