The Toyseum

CRIIMSON TYPHOON - LingJiHun Pacific Rim action figure

2024-03-09T11:10:00.000-08:00

I've been a fan of the Pacific Rim franchise since I saw the first movie's release in theaters. The Jaeger designs were each so unique and interesting - I had, at one time, a pretty sizeable collection of NECA's figures. Those have mostly been long sold off, but I did keep versions of the main 4. I skipped all the offerings from Uprising (which I initially hated, but have since come to appreciate for what it is). I did enjoy Netflix's Pacific Rim: The Black (I think I enjoyed the second season more than the first), and I was smart enough to pick up the Robot Spirits Atlas Destroyer when it was released. But other than that, my Pacific Rim attentions have been pretty minimal. Then just this past year, two figures of Crimson Typhoon were solicited by two different Chinese companies at about the same time. There was the very expensive Infinity Studios version, and the smaller and much less expensive Ling JiHun figure. I decided to pick up the latter, and that's the topic of this post.

LingJiHun's Crimson Typhoon is a stunningly beautiful figure. It's a true work of art. And what makes it so is the gorgeous paint job. The color is a striking, vibrant metallic red that pops like no other figure I have on the shelf. The gold detail work is just as beautiful, and the entire thing features crisp sculpted detail that's highlighted with a deep black wash. Everything is exceedingly professional and the whole figure feels high-quality, with one or three slight exceptions. The first are the yellow plastic caps at the junction of the shoulders on each of the two right hands. They stand out as what they are - plastic - in sharp contrast to everything else. Secondly, the waist features a loose covering that rotates freely. It appears meant to cover an articulation point of some sort, but the entire thing feels loose and poorly thought out - it honestly feels like the piece has broken off and isn't meant to swivel around like it does.

Finally, the alternate rotating blades on the right hands feel cheap and are (again) unconvincing alongside the rest of the figure's high level of detail. They do spin freely, but they are plastic - glaringly so. I also had a wicked time changing the hands out. In fact, I gave up on swapping out the right hand for the blade, as I knew I wouldn't leave it that way and it didn't seem worth the hassle to change out.

Otherwise, this is a terrific representation of Crimson Typhoon. The cyclopean eye and the three rear thruster ports light up (batteries are included) with the aid of the alternate left arm, which must have some sort of magnetic mechanism embedded in it to make the lights switch on or off. There is some light bleed around the head port, but it's not terrible. The articulation throughout the figure is plentiful enough for my needs, and the figure features a heaviness and weighty solidity that indicates die-cast metal in the frame.

It includes three detachable flame effects for the rear ports, alternate right spinning blade hands and an alternate spinning blade left hand, which activates the lights, as well. Crimson Typhoon stands about 7 & 3/4" tall the way I have her posed, and does look terrific alongside NECA's figures, if not slightly too big. Gypsy Danger has been solicited, and I'm definitely on board for her and any others Ling JiHun makes for this line. I'm similarly intrigued by the Infinity Studios version, which is larger, seems to have more die-cast content, and is nearly three times as expensive. They have also shown pictures of a half dozen other Jeagers in the works, so I'm fighting with myself about whether or not I need two versions that are so similar of so many characters. In any event, I am very happy with this figure, and am looking forward to continuing my Pacific Rim collecting!

Alongside NECA's Gipsy Danger & Ultimate Striker Eureka

Bounty Hunter Bloody Hands Morlock - Memory Toys Action Figure

2024-02-03T12:01:00.000-08:00

2023 presented a bit of a seismic shift in my collecting habits and interests. This year saw an explosion of 3rd Party/Independent IPs take over my toy collecting world. It began with Moshow Toys and their incredible Takeya Shingen Mech, but really picked up steam once I had Maestro Union's Crocker and Veteran William figures in hand. From there, it snowballed to Fury Toys "not" Leonardo, AXYToys Carnotaurus Dinosaur Battlefield, and rounded out the year with my favorite figure of 2023, Blade Master Weng, along with Nottaa Collection's YaoMo trio. It hasn't slowed down at all in 2024, as I've added VToys Demon Asura, Xesray Studio's rhino minotaur and this guy: Memory Toys' red orc, Bounty Hunter Bloody Hands Morlock.

It truly is amazing how far action figure design and art has come over the years. The sheer amount of paint and sculpted realism in some action figures is a real sight to behold. That said, this has become an expensive hobby. Prices have skyrocketed as has the number of properties out there. Every day sees new and exciting designs, and it's tough not to want to buy them all. The reality is that space and money constraints make it impossible to own everything. And to be honest, too much is not a good thing, either. Overcrowded shelves leave me underappreciating those things that really deserve my attention. It's like an all-you-can-eat buffet where you have so much food that you never really take the time to enjoy any of it. But I digress...

Morlock is a gorgeous figure. From the presentation of the packaging to the incredible skin texture and the airbrushed highlights, this figure is special. I have a very rudimentary familiarity with Warcraft and its lore, but I've never played, didn't much care for the movie, and haven't read any of the books. This guy looks like a Warcraft Orc, but in red (which I happen to much prefer, though I'm not sure why). If I'm going to spend my money on action figures in this day and age, and they are going to be expensive, I want quality.

And this guy is worth his price tag. Besides a wonderful sculpt and paint job, the heft and feel of the plastic is excellent - durable and sturdy. Nothing feels cheap or like it's going to break, and the articulation and engineering are both top notch. The removable face mask is my best example: it fits absolutely perfectly, looks amazing in place, and is made of a forgiving rubbery plastic and keeps it right in place. It's an example of how to engineer an accessory to perfection. Speaking of accessories, Morlock is loaded: 16 hands, two blade weapons, two alternate heads for a total of 5 different looks (thanks to two interchangeable mohawk hairstyles and the removable mask), two bounty heads, rope for those, alternate bare feet, a skull for impaling on his shoulder spike, and a clip for the enormous sword to store on his back. It's everything anyone could want or need - more, in fact, that I do. I love the heads, but the mask is so awesome to me that I'm going to be sticking with that one. I like the booted feet just fine, and I won't be needing all those hands because I've got his weapons in his for now.

It's nice to have all those things, but a cheaper, stripped down version would have suited me fine, as well. The only gripe in all of this is that the hands are indeed too hard for the weapons, as is. So, yes, they will need to be heated up and softened. But once done, everything looks amazing. That huge bladed thing? It's so heavy it should pull the wrist peg right down, right? It doesn't. The wrist holds its position perfectly. And that's the point. I want my action figures to be two things: amazing to look at and fun to handle. And Morlock is absolutely both. I used the word "perfect" way too many times in this writeup, but if there's one word to sum up this action figure, that would be it. There's recently been a green orc of some sort gone up for preorder from Memory Toys. I have no affinity for orcs, and I've passed on the Mithril one, as well as the half dozen others that are currently on the market. But, Memory Toys has won me over - if I'm buying any of them at all, it's be theirs...

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire - Playmates Toys action figures

2024-01-22T13:52:00.000-08:00

I've only watched one trailer for the new upcoming Godzilla x Kong movie, and I hated it. Mind you, this was in the midst of the masterpiece that was Godzilla Minus One, which I think is one of the best Godzilla movies ever made, so maybe my impressions were tainted. GxK looks silly and childish to me, and my initial reaction was, "I don't think I'm going to even bother going to see this one." Then a funny thing happened: the toys came out, which were largely unimpressive to me...at first. But today, walking through the action figure aisle at Wal-mart, something different happened. I got pretty happy. Why? Because there are Godzilla toys on the pegs and shelves, right there among billions of Transformers, wrestlers, Jurassic dinosaurs and DC McFarlane's! It was kind of awesome. And it made me remember something: Godzilla was kind of stupid, and I loved it as a kid. I still do as an adult, but that period of 1970's films that I adored so much when I was younger - the ones with Minila being incredibly whiny and annoying all the time, Godzilla dancing with Jet Jaguar while fighting Megalon, Godzilla literally flying backwards while shooting his atomic breath as propulsion - were all pretty goofy. It seems like that's the direction the MonsterVerse is taking: appeal to the kids. And how can I fault that?

Playmates Toys Godzilla figures are not collector quality figures by any means. They are cheap but colorful, soft in sculpt, mediocre in articulation and absent of accessories. The Giant version repeats those awful and plentiful screw holes all along one side that the giant GvK Godzilla had. But...they are Godzilla toys on the shelves! And man are they meant to be played with! Much like the TMNT figures they cut their teeth on, these Playmates figures look perfect in the hands of a kid, being carried around on long car rides or hidden in backpacks. And that's what I love about them! They take me back to a time when I would have stuffed that Evolved Godzilla into my lunchbox to show the guys at school, and for $10 a pop (for the basic figures) I think that's a very reasonable ask. I'll wait for Hiya to make the adult-version collectibles.

Incidentally, I work at a school and the other day a Kindergartner walked by with a Godzilla figure in his hand. I went, "Hey! That's Godzilla Ultima!" He looked at me like, "Yeah?" and said "I know." Duh. He brought it in for show-and-tell. Remember show-and-tell? That's what these figures are perfect for!

I picked up the large Giant 11" Godzilla Evolved (at $25 it's honestly kind of pushing it - this should be $20 and not more) along with 3 basic 6" figures: Kong with B.E.A.S.T. Glove (good heavens - that's as bad as the H.E.A.V.), Godzilla Evolved and Godzilla with Heat Ray. That last is a re-release of the one they made for the last movie GvK, complete with the removable battle damage plate in his chest. I do like the paint scheme on the dorsals though (they look better than the ones on the S.H. MonsterArts version), and the heat ray blast fits into his mouth better than I remember the last version doing. Evolved Godzilla has a peg hole in his mouth for a heat ray blast as well, but none is included. Kong looks way better than he did in the GvK release, and the stupid glove is really well done with some tiny print on it for detailing. I honestly have no idea how this upcoming movie is going to go. I did not really like Godzilla vs. Kong and feel like they might have hit their high point with King of the Monsters. But for now, I've decided I'm going to ride the wave of excitement that a new Godzilla movie brings and watch the kids be excited for it, as well. These toys are fun and are reasonably priced for what you are getting. Seeing them on the store shelves makes me feel young again, and for that I'll go ahead and be grateful...

This is the Giant Evolved version, which features a much better paint job than the basic does...

Gandalf the Wizard - Knickerbocker Toys Lord of the Rings movie figure

2024-01-16T16:16:00.000-08:00

My first exposure to the world of J.R.R. Tolkein and Middle Earth was an animated movie of The Hobbit, produced in the late 1970's by (I think) Xerox and Rankin/Bass. I adored that movie and even still have the small vinyl record and storybook combo (though I don't have anything to play the record on any longer). Shortly thereafter (I'm guessing somewhere around 1979?) I remember going to the theater to see the animated Ralph Bakshi epic animated Lord of the Rings. I was a bit less enamored with that film, as I was around 8 years old at the time and it was much slower, much more difficult to follow, and ended abruptly after the battle of Helm's Deep (the climax of The Two Towers), with very little in the way of explanation. Later, RankinBass did release an animated Return of the King film, but it was stylistically drastically different from the Bakshi film and hugely different in tone from The Hobbit. So, Middle Earth was quite a hodgepodge that didn't get properly re-done until Peter Jackson came along 20 years later.

Knickerbocker released a set of action figures to go along with the Bakshi film, and I had most of them. But amongst them all, my favorite was Gandalf. Nearly 45 years later, and a little worse for wear, he's still with me, sans staff and sword. I do still have the hat (no idea how that managed to say along for the ride!). Gandalf only has 2 points of articulation: swivels at the shoulders, but I couldn't care less. He's the coolest character ever and he was a huge piece of my childhood adventures. The figure is actually pretty close to how he appeared in the film, blue robes and hat and all...

Gandalf the Grey - ToyBiz Lord of the Rings action figure

2024-01-10T16:17:00.000-08:00

Gandalf has always been one of my most favorite characters in all of literature. As a very young kid, I carried my Knickerbocker Gandalf around with me everywhere I went. In fact, I even remember having that figure on my side table at the hospital when I had my emergency appendectomy in 3rd Grade. I still have that figure, and it holds a dear place in my heart. But, let's face it, there have been a ton of much better Gandalf figures released over the years.

The new preorder for the Hellcat 1/12 scale "Grey Wizard" action figure is something I've wanted ever since Mezco released their first One:12 Collective action figure years ago! At that moment in time, I begged for a line of fabric-clothed 1/12 scale Lord of the Rings figure, with Gandalf at the very top of that most wanted list. Nearly a decade later, it seems like it's finally going to happen (I'm actually really happy it's not by Mezco, too, as I find the heads on their figures to be way out of scale with the bodies)! Here's to hoping that the actual figure comes close to the images shown of the prototype!

That got me reminiscing about my old (hugely extensive) ToyBiz LOTR collection. So, I pulled out one of those figures (hard to believe it's considered about "vintage" now - seems like they came out just yesterday, in many ways): a rectangular-carded Gandalf the Grey. Now, ToyBiz released about a billion different versions of Gandalf in several different packaging configurations. This particular one is interesting. It features a removable rubber hat, and the articulation features swivel cuts at the biceps and vertical hinged wrists on both hands. There's very little (meaning, none) articulation below the waist other than swivels forward and back at the hips. Glamdring sits sheathed on his left hip, and he comes with a version of his staff. It strikes me as a bit short, and doesn't sit well in the hand, which is opened just a tad bit too wide.

The top of the shirt is sculpted with wrinkles in a twist to one side, suggesting movement, with the lower portion continuing the curve, but a bit more gently. There's a rubber cape in the back, sculpted separately. The face sculpt and paint are excellent, especially considering how old the figure is. In fact, I think it might be right up there with the pictures I've seen of the newer Diamond Select figure (which I have not purchased) or even the upcoming Hellcat Grey Wizard.

Articulation-wise, the arms don't come down close to the torso far enough for my liking, and the legs have no posing ability, other than to get him to stand. He's awkward to pose, but I think the overall figure is great. I lean heavily to the aesthetics for my figure preferences, and he looks great just standing in a basic vanilla pose . Sure, the hat is a bit too tall, and the staff is a smidge too short, but this is overall a neat looking Gandalf, right up there with their terrific Gandalf the White, which he will stand beside on my shelf...

Beside Blade Master Weng

ASURA the Red Demon - VToys Studio 1/12 scale figure

2024-01-07T13:54:00.000-08:00

Asura the Red Demon is an original-design figure from VToys. Done in 1/12 scale, the figure features fabric clothing, is fully poseable and includes a nice array of accessories. I loved the look of this figure as soon as it went up on pre-order. Knowing nothing about VToys, I decided to take a chance on Asura. During the interim, I caught a sale for another VToys action figure, The Knight of War, and added it to my collection. I was honestly pretty disappointed by that figure, and it caused me some trepidation as I awaited my Asura. I found the Knight of War to feature gorgeous detailing and a pretty nice paint job, but the plastic felt very cheap and the joints were so floppy and loose that working with the figure was a miserable experience. I did manage to finally get it into a standard vanilla pose with the shield on one arm and its enormous sword in the other, and it's going to stay that way for the foreseeable future. For that reason, when the green LACC version became available, I decided not to order it, instead opting to wait out my red version's arrival.

Asura the Red Demon arrived just before the end of 2023. The packaging is minimalist, yet classy - matte black background covered in gloss black embossing to make it look like flames and a demon's face. There's very little writing in simple white on the front and sides. Inside are two clear plastic trays with the following: Asura figure, six alternate hands, wine jug, hat, knife and scabbard, enormous sword, scabbard, scarf, and the removable pommel end for the sword. Through the packaging, the figure looks fantastic. The clothing is immaculate and the face detail looks like it comes close to the prototype pictures, though the shading around the eyes looks a bit dark, and the wash over the forehead looks light.

Once out of the shell, the figure does not disapppoint. The joints are tight and fluid, and the plastic doesn't feel cheap or hollow like I felt the Knight of War did. The clothes are nicely tailored and fit well, though the fabric does feel a bit rougher in texture than some other clothed figures I own do. The paint work is excellent, with precise details (especially the gold) of rivets, ropes, wraps and tiny red highlights over the armor of the shins and forearms. The face is terrific, with the tiniest pupils I've ever seen immaculately centered in the eyes (including the third eye in the forehead). The hair could use a bit of a dark wash to bring out the detail, and the transition from face paint to beard isn't as clean as I'd like. But those are nitpicky criticisms. Overall, this is an excellent looking figure, worth staring at on any shelf. The belt and buckle alone are amazing works of art.

I don't get into crazy posing with my figures, but it seems Asura has all the standard joints he needs to hit fighting stances. There's a nice ankle rocker (another thing I missed on the Knight of War figure, as I had lots of trouble with his ankles). One thing I am noticing right away is that the arms don't come down to the sides as far as I'd like. The vest seems to ride right up into the armpit a bit, so I'm not sure if that's keeping the arm from coming down or if it's the sculpt that's at fault, and I'm not finding a butterfly joint there either.

In terms of accessories, I don't care for the fit or look of the hat. I much prefer the snug fit on Blade Master Weng or on the Nottaa Collection Yaomo figures. This one flops around, the string is too long to get it tight, and it doesn't have the natural/weathered look I'd like. I'm fine leaving it off. I haven't messed with the scarf (my Sun WuKong has a blowing scarf going, so I don't need another scarfed figure beside him), and the sword is truly immense, especially in his hand. The hands pull off easily enough, but I did have a bit of trouble getting the swapped ones onto the tiny pegs snugly. Once on, they look great.

Overall, Asura is a terrific addition to my collection. He looks right at home on the shelf beside my other 1/12 scale fantasy figures, and I'd glad to have him!

Mezco Conan, Nottaa SunWukong, VToys Asura, Nottaa Yan

MAZINGER Z - Soul of Chogokin 50th Anniversary GX-105 figure review

2023-01-29T08:40:00.003-08:00

My first reaction on GX-105's arrival was one of surprise - the box is shockingly compact! Beside my GX-70 Mazinger Z packaging, it's positively diminutive both in terms of general dimensions and thickness. My second reaction was that the front box illustration is beautiful. There's something I really like about the way the front is laid out, and I particularly like the colors and pose used in the shot of Mazinger Z. The back shows the standard fare: shots of Z in various poses with the included accessories. I must confess, I pre-ordered this GX-105 more out of obligation than interest: I collect Mazinger Z figures, and a new SOC version is an automatic purchase for me (likewise, I have Garada and Doublas on pre-order). That said, I wouldn't consider myself particularly excited about its release, which seems weird to me. I ought to be over the moon at a new Mazinger, but I think I was figuring it wouldn't be too different from my GX-70. Since its release, I've seen several reviews of the new GX-105, and it does look to be an all-new sculpt. I've gotten more and more excited, and now I can't wait to check this guy out! I do expect it to have fewer accessories than previous releases, but I'm not too concerned about that at the moment, since I tend not to use many of them anyway, and I'm hoping (in the event that I DO want to use something else) that GX-70's can be subbed in here in a pinch. In any event, it's time to check this guy out...

Initial impressions: The first thing that struck me is that the crown on this Mazinger Z is enormous. Especially without the pilder docked, it is simply huge. The figure looks great, with wonderful colors and paint. The accessories? Most striking is that there is no stand included here. I have mixed reactions to this. I didn't find the enormous stands necessary but it was pretty cool to have them, and to be able to store accessories inside of them. I guess there's just not enough here to necessitate such an inclusion? This is a fairly bare-bones version. We get two sets of alternate hands - yup, only two. Closed fists and open palms. One pilder, an alternate stomach piece with the missile launcher open, 3 missiles and the scrander (which needs to be assembled). There are two gimmicks that I'm aware of. First, the forearms include little flame effects at the elbow attachment and these can be "rocket punch" fired by pushing a button. Second, the torso missiles can be launched by pressing a button. I'm not a huge fan of gimmicks like these, as I don't spend much time launching parts at anything else in my space, but so long as they look cool on the shelf I don't care. And that's it. Pretty sparse, but I'm totally fine with it because (like I said) most times the accessories end up staying in the box or stored in the stand anyway. The one part I would normally look to use would be a gripping hand and Mazinger Z's sword, but I'll see if I can get GX-70's over here to this guy if I want to...

The proportions on GX-105 differ greatly from those of GX-70. The lower legs are slightly shorter, the thighs are thicker, the diaper is less rounded, the lower torso is wider, the arms are longer and slightly thicker, and the shoulders sit wider apart. The head is also significantly larger. The overall look is more imposing and substantive, despite the height of the figure remaining about the same across both figures. I think it's more accurate to the anime, but there are times when the head just looks oversized to me.

The scrander is easy enough to attach, as is the pilder, and both look awesome once in place. I do find the articulation to be a bit more limited than in the GX-70, but I will be fine with it, as he'll end up in a basic museum pose on the shelf anyway.

Overall, GX-105 is an update that's worthy of purchase, in my book. The proportions and overall look are better and it's just a fun figure. Even having GX-70, I don't feel like I've wasted my money in any way, and the three of them look right at home together in my display!

GX-70 and GX-105

GX-70, GX-105 and GX-73 (Great Mazinger)

PANZER WORLD GALIENT - threeZero Robo-Dou Galient (Kelvin Sau Redesign) action figure

2023-01-12T14:54:00.005-08:00

Robo-Dou Galient arrived yesterday, and I'm super excited! I'm going to do this opening and review a little at a time over the next several days to 1) see if it's a more manageable way to get this blog going again and 2) savor the figure a bit more. So far, all I've done is checked out the outside of the packaging. It's gorgeous! The front cover illustration of Galient in action is a beautiful painting, done to look like an old oil painting on canvas. There are creases and dappling effects throughout the entire thing - it's really an amazing piece of art. The world of Panzer World Galient is an interesting intersection of medieval and futuristic, with warriors on horseback with swords facing off against enormous mecha centaur-looking things. This artwork, along with the font they've selected for the name Galient really harken back to a Medieval tapestry or something. The back boasts a more contemporary series of images: the three forms that Galient can take. Included are Strike Vehicle, Big Falcon and Panzer Falcon. I'm personally not a huge fan of the two alternate (flying) forms, as they just seem really awkward to me. Combine that with my inability to do transformations without losing my temper, and Galient will probably be remaining in its original form. Tomorrow, I'll open the window flap to check out the figure itself, and maybe pop him out of a package for a quick once-over...

Ok, I couldn't help myself. I opened the flap to take a look. Man, the concept drawing on the inside flap is gorgeous! Unfortunately, the window is really hard to see into - they've wrapped Galient's head in plastic film to keep it pristine, with the result being that it really can't be seen. In this instance, I think it probably makes more sense to just do away with the window. What's the point, if we can't see anything in there? That said, the body looks to have a great paint job. Tomorrow, the tray comes out!

Inside the box are two plastic trays, stacked atop one another. The figure, Galient Blade (sword) and 3 pairs of alternate hands are in the top tray. The tailbone armor piece and backpack are detached in the tray, and lay underneath Galient. The bottom tray holds the shield, rear cannon, assault cannon, Galient Blade (whip form), an alternate right leg cover piece with a hole for a cable, an alternate left leg cover piece with the cockpit open (and a pilot's seat inside!), a handle and an adapter piece for the shield, a cable and a handle for the assault cannon, and an alternate red "belly button" cover (the one he comes attached with is yellow). In all, it seems like a really nice assortment of accessories and they are all well-done. I honestly doubt I'll be using the whip (because I worry once I bend the wire that I won't be able to get it back into its original shape), and I probably won't use the assault cannon. That leaves the shield and rear cannon, which I can imagine using for display, along with the Galient sword. I'm not sure about the alternate leg armor pieces, but I'm inclined to think I won't be using those, either.

On to the figure itself. My immediate initial response to taking the figure out of the package was honestly one of disappointment: it feels so light to me! That's the same reaction I had to the Dancouga ROBO-DOU I acquired last year. I also had some trouble adjusting the feet and legs to allow Galient to stand in a regular museum pose. However, the figure has really been growing on me since then. Galient weighs in at 1 lb. 3.8 oz. once the tail piece and backpack are attached. For comparison's sake, that's 4.7 oz. more than my Soul of Chogokin Getter Arc, who stands about 7.5" tall, as compared to Galient's 9.75" height. It's also nearly a half pound LESS than my ROBO-DOU Shin Getter 1. And I think that's my biggest gripe; my first two figures in the line were Neon Genesis Evangelion's EVA-01 and Getter Robo's Shin Getter 1. BOTH of those figures are heavy and really feel substantial in-hand. For the asking prices at their time of release ($150 for Getter 1 and about $130 for Eva 01) I was really over the moon ecstatic. Dancouga ran over $300 and weighs 1 lb. 3.4 oz, and Galient was $200+. It's a lot more plastic than metal at a much higher price. Granted, both feature engineering for transformation (and in Dancouga's case, we are talking about 4 different forms that these vehicles can take), but still, I couldn't help but feel a bit more ripped off with these last couple of releases.

However, over the past couple of days, I've begun to appreciate what threeZero has done here. The primary quality I look for in my action figure collection is aesthetics. To me, action figures are a form of art. I want to come back over and over again to appreciate their details, paint, and overall look. If I want posing, I'll check out D Amazing. If I want critique, I'll check out Anthony's Customs. For me, most of my figures are in a standard vanilla "museum pose," with few accessories around them. Accessories are ok, but I tend to not use most of them. Light features are usually unnecessary and the batteries just don't last - I'd rather have a stellar paint job that stays "on" all the time. But I've also grown to love die-cast metal content. There's just a different feeling in-hand that really makes me feel like I've spent money on something of quality. Which brings us full-circle back to Galient and the ROBO-DOU line. Here's what I've learned: these are not chogokin. They are not meant to compete with the Soul of Chogokin line. They are their own thing, which means plastic that's been painted to look like it could be weathered metal, and metal joints, for the most part. It's more MDLX Transformers than DLX Transformers (2 other threeZero lines).

I've been comparing these to my CCS Toys figures, which I think (again) is a mistake. Those are just about perfect in my eyes. Huge, heavy, eye-poppingly painted and detailed pieces of artistic expression and creation, they are a very high bar for anything to be compared to.

So, Galient on it's own. What do I think? I think it's beautiful. With the two pieces attached to the back, and the legs (finally!) adjusted properly, it's gorgeous. The paint is impeccable. Two shades of red for the armor, muted yellow trim, flat white to offset with a black wash over the entire thing and some faint silver dry brushing at the sharp edges to add some metallic wear effects. I think the blue gem in the forehead is a separate piece. Overall, it's a terrific presentation. Matched with excellent proportions, it makes for a striking figure on the shelf.

I'm very happy with Panzer World Galient. It's got a unique real-world weathered look, an interesting design, and so much beautiful detail to take in. I really have only one major gripe with the figure: it's advertised as having working rolling wheels under the feet, and the final product just doesn't. In the anime, Galient whooshes around in battle on roller wheels under its feet. It's very reminiscent of Votoms, if one is familiar with that anime. The description of the figure for sale clearly says this figure will have real rolling wheels. Mine doesn't. They are sculpted plastic with no movement. It's not a deal-breaker by any means, but it certainly is disappointing. Otherwise, this guy is darn near perfect. Next up in the Robo-Dou line is Voltron. I'm going to lower my expectations for die-cast metal and let it be what it will be on its own merit.

2023-01-11T03:20:00.001-08:00

My first figures of 2023 are scheduled to arrive within the next couple of weeks. First up should be the threeZero ROBO-DOU Panzer World Galient, followed by GX-105 Mazinger Z from Bandai's Soul of Chogokin line. I'm pretty excited for both, but mostly for Galient. I was pretty disappointed by threeZero's Dancouga from last year. It has very little die-cast content, so it feels much cheaper than it's $300 plus asking price. It looks good, but I don't care for the attachment point at the ankles (which I was afraid of, even prior to getting it), so I don't mess with it very much at all. In short, I didn't feel like it got me the asking price's worth, which was a first in the ROBO-DOU line. I'm hoping that Galient is sturdier and easier to handle!

I feel like I've been waiting for Galient for forever. It's not a title I was familiar with, so I placed the pre-order solely on how cool it looked, and on how happy I was with my then-recent threeZero purchases. I did manage to watch the 14-episode show during the past year of waiting, and I was really pleasantly surprised with the entire thing, except the ending. It just seemed pretty rushed and unsatisfying as far as conclusions go. But, the ROBO-DOU figure is on its way to me, and I can honestly say I'm super excited!

The Soul of Chogokin GX-105 Mazinger Z is a little bit of a different story. I'm very familiar with the anime, having watched the Impact version several times, along with Infinity. I already have several Z figures, including the Dynamic GX-70. I think I pre-ordered this more out of obligation to the title than because I really love it, and I had some trepidation that it really won't be much different from the GX-70 version. After watching a few reviews over the past couple of weeks, since its release, I've gotten more excited. It looks like all-new tooling, and despite its lack of a plethora of accessories, I think it's going to be a neat addition to the collection. It will be fun to compare to the older version, in any case. So let the waiting continue...

Dancouga thoughts...

2022-02-05T12:55:00.001-08:00

The first video overview of threezero's upcoming Robo-Dou Dancouga showed up online just the other day, and it raised my excitement level by a factor of 10. Threezero's Dancouga is one of my top three most anticipated figures due to be released in 2022 (the other two are threezero's Panzer World Galient Robo-Dou Galient figure, and CCSToys' Shin Getter 1). The Robo-Dou version looks magnificent! Then, just yesterday I caught a quick video showcasing yet another Dancouga release. It wasn't in English, and so it was a bit hard to tell, but this one looks like a Good Smile model kit version. The owner of the video said it included die-cast parts, but I'm doubtful after watching through the video. That said, my lone experience with Good Smile's Moderoid line did not result in a good smile for me, so I would probably pass on that one.

I never knew of Dancouga growing up. Released in 1985, I would have been just a bit too old to have watched it. It was brought to my attention last year, when BBTS put threezero's Robo-Dou version up for pre-order. Their Shin Getter 1 figure was one of my absolute favorite figures of 2021, and I'm pretty much all-in for the Robo-Dou line moving forward, so when I saw this guy, I pre-ordered it without knowing anything about the source material. I then went ahead and bought the entire series on Blu-Ray, and have been enjoying it ever since. The story-line is sophisticated enough to keep things interesting. In fact, I liked it so much that I used a handful of gift cards from the holidays to pick up this Soul of Chogokin GX-13R figure.

It stands at a really impressive height (towering over my other Soul of Chogokin figures), has a good bit of die-cast weight to it, and looks great on the shelf. That said, I did encounter some significant problems with this fairly old release (re-release, I should say). The biggest problems for me have to do with the articulation. The joints in the knees and hips are terribly loose, to the point where he can really only stand (and precariously, at that) in a straight-legged vanilla pose. Additionally, the waist is so loose and floppy that the entire upper torso tips forwards or backwards at the slighted touch. As a result, this figure is not at all pleasurable to try to pose, despite the fact that it looks great as it is. My final issue is with the hands, which cannot close tightly. This means Dancouga cannot hold the rifle one-handed, and even the sword tends to fall out of his flaccid grip. Once the threezero version arrives, I may seriously consider transforming this version to vehicle modes (Land Cougar, Land Liger, Big Moth and Eagle) and leaving them for display that way.

The upcoming Robo-Dou version looks amazing. The sculpt is a really great take on the classic look, tweaked. I also love the weathered paint apps it looks to be getting. It seems to be about the same size as the Chogokin version, with many of the same accessories and transformation gimmicks. I will say that I don't like the way the feet (land vehicles) attach (much like the SOC version, there's a small tab that flips up and the legs of Big Moth clips onto this - it's such a small connection point). But otherwise it looks like it's going to be a real winner. And I'll just have to see what that Good Smile Dancouga was all about...

CONAN the CIMMERIAN - Mezco Toys 1/6 scale statue

2022-01-23T07:39:00.001-08:00

I don't consider myself much of a statue collector. I love the look of many of them, but they are often too big for the space I have and too expensive for me to collect in large numbers. That said, I have accumulated a fair few over the years (I'm only referring to polystone-type statues here - I do have my fair share of plastic statues). I only just realized that ALL of them are of female characters. Or were, until just the other day, when my first male statue - Conan the Cimmerian - arrived.

I pre-ordered Mezco's Conan the Cimmerian statue in December of 2020. I had spent much of that year reading the Robert E. Howard works of Conan and Kull, and loved them. Fast forward about 13 months, and my interest had waned a bit. I still love the stories, but had moved on to other interests, as I am wont to do. I was even seriously considering cancelling my pre-order, as my New Year's Resolution to be more selective in my purchases (recurring resolution, it seems) was weighing on my mind. I did pick up the Mezco One:12 Collective Conan figure, and was probably the only person on the planet disappointed in it (but that's a story for a different review). The only thing that kept me from cancelling this pre-order, in fact, was that the statue is sold out everywhere, and I was worried I'd regret not getting it if it turned out to be amazing. Surprise, surprise, I was suddenly and unexpectedly notified that it was ready to ship about a week ago. And, wow, was it fortunate that I declined to cancel, because this is probably the best statue I own, and sets a standard I'd wish every statue could follow...

Mezco's Conan the Cimmerian is a 1/6 scale statue from a new line., called Static Six. Their aim is to offer statues that are so full of options that they are ultimately "customizable" to tons of different looks: "Premium 1:6 scale statue featuring hyper-realistic detailing, interactive mixed-media components, interchangeable parts and accessories to create multiple display options" (from their website's description). They did indeed successfully accomplish each of these mission statement components. With this particular statue, there are 2 head portraits, a cape, a necklace, a harness, something like 6 different hands, a girdle, a loincloth, a sword/scabbard and a dagger/sheathe, all removable or interchangeable. If my math is correct, that means over a hundred different ways to display this statue! And the best part? It looks awesome no matter how you choose to display it! The sculpt is just amazing, with deep crevices, striations in the muscles, and paint work that brings all those details to life. The pose is fantastic, conveying movement, ferocity and power all at once. Everything works well together, with nothing looking out of place or hurried. Even the loincloth and cape (which could look very artificial) are made in such as way as to appear natural.

The girdle and shield, in particular, are spectacular in terms of detail, paint and realism. The metal looks like metal, the leather looks like leather and the fur looks like fur. I think it really comes down to the care that's been put into conveying texture. Even Conan's skin has texture to it. In fact, the only place on the entire statue where the texturing fails a bit, is in the snow, which comes off as too smooth and uniform to really be snow. That said, the base tells a wonderful story in and of itself: there's an enormous clawed footprint in the snow just between Conan's legs, which indicates that his upward gaze, upward angle of the twist of his torso and arm-swing, as well as the half-dozen skulls littering the landscape (nearly all of which have a bashed-in portion on them) involve a huge beast facing off with him mid-battle. That said, I do wonder why we'd have flesh-stripped skulls and bones (meaning they are old) mixed in with fresh snow, blood and a footprint? Without overthinking it, let's just say it looks awesome!

I made the mistake of overlooking that this statue was polystone when I ordered it. I had just assumed that Mezco only worked in plastic, and that this statue would be no different. Conan, however, is a polystone piece, and a heavy one at that. With the attached base (which frames the statue perfectly), the entire statue weighs in at over 9 lbs. That means he may fit in a Detolf display case, but the glass shelf will be hard-pressed to stay intact. The body parts all attach with strong magnets, and fit together snugly, with a bit of finagling. The result is an incredibly satisfying display that will, in fact, promise to be tweaked, adjusted and changed every so often, just to keep itself fresh.

I do have a couple of tiny issues with the statue that ought to be stated. First, the necklace on mine does not sit properly. There's a curve sculpted into it that doesn't quite line up with the curve of the shoulders and chest, causing it to float, rather than sit flat. I'm not sure if this is an issue with warping in the package, or if it was designed this way. I may try heating and re-shaping, but that's the one plastic piece that's given me some issues. My other issue has been with the loincloth. The top portion, at the waist, sticks up a touch higher than the sculpt underneath. When I try to seat the torso piece on top, it's pretty tough to not fold that loincloth down into the part I'm trying to attach. This results in the magnet not seating properly, and the top half of the figure being a tad wiggly. I messed with it for a while, and was finally able to seat the top and bottom halves together, but it did take some work and patience.

Overall, I'm super-impressed with Mezco's Conan the Cimmerian statue! It's gorgeous, assembles well, provides a striking shelf-presence, and offers an absolute ton of useful options. Not only that, but the price is entirely appropriate. Considering that Gaming Heads is asking somewhere around $450 for a Lara Croft Tomb Raider statue in the same scale (which, by the way, killed me collecting that line past the second statue), with much fewer options and average paint-work, the $225 I paid for Conan leaves me smiling and looking forward to more! Mezco really changed the 1:12 action figure game with their One:12 Collective line, and it looks like they are on the cusp of doing the same thing in the world of 1:6 scale statues. Sideshow, Gaming Heads and the rest had better be ready to up their game, because Mezco has just raised the bar!

My current Conan shelf...

Great Mazinger - Super Robot Chogokin Kurogane Finish Version

2022-01-08T08:53:00.000-08:00

Just having some fun messing around and posing this little guy. It's a small figure with great die-cast content, some excellent accessories and superb pose-ability. Very enjoyable to play with, and to display. The only detraction is that his head seems a bit small-to-scale for the rest of the figure. The kurogane finish, in particular, makes for a striking look. It's matte black and roughly textured, and it works. I prefer this finish to the regular finish of my SRC Mazinger Z.

Godzilla vs. Kong - Bandai Spirits Ichibansho statue

2022-01-03T13:01:00.003-08:00

Upon release, the Ichibansho Godzilla 2021 (Godzilla vs. Kong) retailed for about $75. It can currently still be had at some online retailers, though I don't expect that to last for much longer. At that price, this figure is an exceptional deal. Comparably-sized statues (like the Hyper Solid series) run nearly three times that much. That said, it isn't a perfect figure by any means, and really shouldn't be compared to those more expensive versions - I do it a disservice in doing so. As a stand-alone figure, it's an excellent rendition of Godzilla at an appropriate price.

Godzilla stands nearly 9" tall to the top of his head, and measures almost 18" in length from the snout to the tip of the tail. That's a pretty sizeable figure. Combine that with a weight of nearly 1.5 pounds, and you are dealing with a hefty chunk of plastic. The pose and sculpt are the real strong points of this figure. Godzilla has been captured mid-roar with his claws splayed out and a curve to the neck and upper torso that suggests a strong bit of movement, without being overpowering. The tail follows a pretty straight path out behind the fellow, rather than curling upward or sideways as many statues/figures choose to do. The result is that the figure has a pretty substantial footprint on the shelf, as well - he's a bit tough to display in that sense. On the positive side, however, is the fact that this statue looks amazing from any angle. Even when viewed from behind, Godzilla is fantastic.

The sculpt features deep, sharp work that's brought out with a tan/light brown dry brushing. It does look sandy and muddy in a way that might be off-putting for sticklers of screen-accuracy, but I appreciate how it adds a bit of realism while also emphasizing the detail work of the sculpt. In fact, I really like that the spines aren't glowing blue like they seem to be in just about every Godzilla vs. Kong figure made! The brown is most prominent on the chest and front of the torso of the figure, but does appear over the entirety of it. The mouth features some good sculpt work, and not-so-good paint work. The tongue on mine is slightly off center, and the tiny teeth are not painted individually, or crisply. In fact, this is probably the bigger of the two detractions this figure possesses. The eyes have teeny pupils that are painted better than many SH MonsterArts figures I have.

With Hyper-Solid Godzilla KOTM 2019

I mentioned the paint work of the mouth as one of two weak points for this figure. The second, and more significant one, is the sloppy and ill-fit of the seams. They are noticeable at the base of the tail (the figure comes in one piece - the tail does not need attaching) and the head, though both of those are relatively mild. There's a jarring coming together of pieces at the mouth, though, that's full of gaps and glue overspills: the jaw line is awful and the tongue is misaligned. Finally, the dorsals are attached with separate strips that run down the length of the tail, and another over the main body and back. The topmost strip on my figure hasn't been fitted properly, and sticks up prominently. There's also a good smattering of glue to be seen here and there along the join lines. In short, there's a reason this guy runs $75 instead of $220. From a short distance, he's amazing to look at and has a terrific shelf-presence. Upon closer inspection, the warts appear. Nevertheless (mostly because of the price and overall appearance), this turned out to be one of my very favorite purchases of 2021. He's number 9 on my list, to be precise, and I'm very happy to have him in my Toyseum!

Soundwave - Hasbro Studio Series Bumblebee movie Voyager Class figure

2022-01-01T11:42:00.001-08:00

I stumbled across this Voyager Class Soundwave Studio Series 83 figure at Wal-mart yesterday, where I was surprised to see there was an entire shelf of them. It looked like the stockperson intentionally used their blade to cut across the box tops of all of them, except one, which is the one I picked up. Soundwave sells for about $29.

I don't collect Transformers as a general rule, but I do pick up figures that appeal to me. I tend to have great difficulty with the transformations, and really only like them in robot mode, so most of the ones I have are of the non-transforming sort. I particularly enjoy threezero's DLX line, and am greatly looking forward to their upcoming MDLX line of non-transforming figures. Soundwave's design from the Bumblebee movie is one that I really like. I have the DLX version, complete with Ravage, and am very happy with it. However, I just couldn't pass up this Studio Series version when I saw it on the shelf. I handle my DLX figures very gingerly, as I am paranoid about breaking or damaging something so expensive. The Takara/Tomy Hasbro version gives me a little more room for mistakes, though I doubt I will ever transform it, or even pose it very much.

I do really enjoy the packaging of Hasbro's Studio Series Soundwave. In particular, I love the movie stills they used. Soundwave looks amazing, and it's clear how closely the figure inside resembles its movie counterpart through the small-ish window. There's a few lines of text on the back, multiplied by being re-written in about a dozen different languages, and a couple of action poses for the figure.

The figure itself is an enjoyable rendition of the character as seen in the movie. The details are all there, and there's plenty of articulation to get him into reasonable poses. He comes with the shoulder canon and a blaster for his hand, as well as the cardboard diorama display backing (which I won't be using). He stands a shade over 6.5" tall. I do feel Optimus looks a bit small beside him (especially when comparing the size of their heads), but the scale seems to be about the same with my ThreeZero DLX figures, so I'm going to assume it's close to accurate.

The paint is minimal, as most of the figure is cast in colored plastic. Speaking of the plastic, the figure has a very light feel, overall. Similar to a like-sized Gundam model kit. Nothing feels like it's going to break, but there's no confusing this with a Chogokin by any means. There's a small button near the left shoulder that pops the chest plate open. There's no Ravage in there (or anything else), but I believe he can be purchased separately. I do wish the figure came with a set of alternate fisted hands, as that's how most of my figures are posed on the shelf, but otherwise this is an excellent representation of the character. My gut says it's overpriced at nearly $30, but I'm an old person who remembers toys costing much, much less. However, even in today's market, I think $25 would be entirely more appropriate. As a side note, the Studio Series Optimus Prime figure is currently running at $200 on Amazon, so I'd bet that this figure will eventually command a fairly high price, making $30 right now a veritable steal...

With Studio Series Optimus Prime

With ThreeZero DLX Soundwave

GETTER DRAGON - Bandai Infinitism HG 1/144 scale action figure model kit

2021-02-20T10:38:00.003-08:00

The Getter Dragon is the fifth action figure model kit released by Bandai as part of its Infinitism line. Similar in concept to Gunpla, these are a series of pre-painted, snap-together model kits that share a similar (if not identical) internal structure. The outer "shell" of each is designed to have a similar aesthetic, based on the look of the central characters in the anime film Mazinger Z: Infinity. That's where the "Infinitism" brand comes from. The designers have re-worked each super robot to look as they might have, were they a part of
that same movie universe.

Like the others, Getter Dragon stands about 7" tall once completed. It is fully, fantastically articulated, and can achieve a wide range of poses. The bright colors really make this one stand out on the shelf, and the upcoming Steel Jeeg, with his watermelon color pallet will really make this an eye-catching group! Dragon getter has a marvelous face/head sculpt, and the purple chest plates sit over top of silver stickers, giving them a shimmering quality. Everything else is pretty similar to what we've come to expect from the line. The articulation is great, and the hip joints can drop down to allow the legs to move around the waist belt a little bit. The knees on this one feel a little "longer" or stretched out to me than they are on the other figures, but I think that's just an illusion.

Getter Dragon comes with a display stand, alternate hands, and a pair of Getter Tomahawks. There are additional handle pieces to allow the tomahawks to combine (you can even connect them together to make a single long double bladed "scythe" like Grendizer might use). One cool feature is the cape - Getter Dragon does not use a Scrander like many of the other robots in the line do. Rather, he flies using the Getter Wing. In this case, it's an articulated plastic cape. Two edges of the cape can be removed and attached to a Tomahawk, thereby making a Super Tomahawk! It looks awesome!

All of the models in this line are excellent. I still feel like Mazinkaiser might be the best they've released so far, by Getter Dragon is wonderful in his own right. The build seems to be steadily improving, as well. The sprue connections are more hidden in the build this time, so even though there's no under gating going on, most of the stress points are well-hidden. These retail for less than $40 in Japan, but here in the States you can usually find them in the $55-$70 range. I do feel like that's on the high side for what you get - at $45 you'd be getting a great deal - but I enjoy them enough to continue collecting them. Steel Jeeg has been released in Japan, but hasn't appeared overseas yet, and there's no word on any releases to follow it at the moment...

MAZINGER Z AD 1901 - Fewture Models Mazinger-1901 action figure

2021-01-27T11:48:00.000-08:00

I remember seeing this figure a year or two ago (I think it was actually Aflodai from the same line that I saw in a store) and thinking to myself, "What's up with that? That's not how it should look..." and blowing the whole thing off. I tend to be a purist when it comes to my figures, I suppose. I 've always wanted them to look the way they are "supposed" to look. In that sense, I've never been one to appreciate artistic license or reinterpretation of characters I love. So, what changed? I suppose that firstly, I've gotten a little bit older. In my age, I've learned to appreciate things for their uniqueness and creativity. Besides that, and more specifically, solicitation began this year for my single most anticipated figure of 2021: CCSTOYS Shin Mazinger Zero. It's absolutely the most amazing action figure I've ever seen (and I've seen LOTS). And that figure's design reminds me a great deal of this one...

This figure is nearly 20 years old (solicited for sale in 2002), which is shocking considering how amazing it is. The premise is that this was a line of Mazinger-world figures that could have been created prior to the actual Mazinger Z, in 1901. Fewture did a second line called Mazinger 1969, but those figures are mostly die-cast and are insanely more expensive than the 1901 plastic figure line currently is (and even that is insanely expensive). Figures in the 1901 line included Z, BossBorot (I don't think this one ever actually got released), Aflodai, Doublas and Garada. Each was supposed to come with a piece of the Z's scrander, and it looks like the Z and Aflodai figures had multiple re-paint versions. Expect to pay a good deal for any of these (in the $100 range for Mazinger and Aflodai, and upwards of $350 to $450 for Doublas and Garada). This review is taking a look at the "Hong Kong" version of Mazinger Z, meaning black painted forearms, hands and shins, and red breast plates. I have a "Repaint" version, as well, which sports metallic blue for the legs and arms.

The original version looks like it was black with gold breast plates. The packaging is pretty amazing for 2002. The figure is shown off front-and-center, while all of the accessories are easily seen within the angled side panels. There's a display stand and one scrander wing sealed to the back panel, as well.

Mazinger Z comes with one set of alternate "claw" hands (fists on in the package) which have slightly articulated fingers (they can spread apart, and the thumb can swing forward). The knuckles aren't articulated or anything, but it does give you enough to get a new look or two. There's also an interesting gimmick for the forearms. In the package, they have a cap shell on each forearm. These can be removed, and a rocket piece can be installed within. There's a second set of rocket's with iron cutter blades "out" that can be swapped for them. So, we can have a look at the "rocket punch" rockets within the forearms or the iron cutters, depending on what look we want to go with - pretty cool stuff!

The head/face design is, of course, the first thing that will either grab you or turn you off. It's a very evil-looking and sinister take on the Mazinger design. The face plate adds curves that the original didn't have and something about the eyes give it a very organic feel. Pair that with an enormous crown (solid) and extended spikes and you've got something that reminds me very much of the classic Frankenstein monster's look. The upcoming CCSTOYS Shin Mazinger is reminiscent of this wicked face design (though that one will have an opening jaw, which this does not have). The face plate on this figure can be removed to reveal a smaller mouth and chin area underneath but I don't care for the way that looks at all, and I worry that removing the plate will cause it to loosen and fall out of place, so I'm leaving it where it is.

Mazinger Z is a pretty large figure, standing 9" tall. Besides the striking portrait, the sculpt sports plenty of detail in the forms of rivets and panels to add to its mechanical aspects, and the tremendous traps alongside the neck combined with the bulbous shoulder pads give it a sense of imposing strength.

Since the head is solid, there's no place for a traditional pileder to dock. Instead, there are three doors that open in the back of the torso. Fold down the seat inside and the included pilot (Juzo Kabuto) can be pegged into it. The pilot makes you realize that this design is intended to represent a smaller mech (the package says 12 m in height) than the original Mazinger Z would have been.

Articulation is present, and isn't bad for a 2002 figure, but it won't be able to achieve dynamic poses or stack up to today's standards: v-cut hips, slight swivel waist, cuts at the elbows, swivel wrists, ball jointed shoulders, ratcheted knees, toe hinges, and a swivel at the head, and a hinge at the base of the neck. It isn't bad, but the heels are a little curved, and the space between the ratchets in the knees create a problem for me getting this guy to stand at all - he's prone to toppling over. Combine that with a lack of pegs or a support rod in the base, and I've always worrying that I'll find Mazinger Z-1901 on the floor with parts broken off.

One final word really needs to be said here about the extraordinary paint work on this figure. The red isn't red at all, but is a kind of metallic burgundy that works so well! The black is kind of a misty, hazy matte grey and really serves to give the whole figure a sort of ghostly atmosphere. The fine details are excellent, and sharp, with the exceptions of the raised panel fins on the forearms, which sport some very sloppily applied silver along their top edges.

All in all, this is a fantastic and unique take on a classic character. I love its aesthetics, in terms of sculpt and paintwork, it really is outstanding. The accessories are minimal, and the articulation is largely impractical, but for a display piece on a shelf it's a home run! I'm keeping an eye out for more figures from the line, but honestly I don't envision the price point working for me. So, I'll plan to content myself with what I have here, and not-so-patiently wait for my CCSTOYS Shin Mazinger Z to release...

GREAT MAZINGER - Bandai SD Cross Silhouette model kit action figure review

2021-01-23T08:32:00.003-08:00

I just took a look at Bandai's Mazinger Z action figure model kit from their SD Cross Silhouette line, and now it's time to check out Great Mazinger, as well! This kit features the same quality of colored parts, detailed instructions and ease of assembly as the Z did. One thing I forgot to mention in that review is that these figures feature a gimmick where their proportions can be changed. There's a regular SD (Super Deformed) mode, where the connector pieces are shortened or removed, creating a squatter, more comical proportion to the figure. I personally don't care for the look, so I opt for the CS (Cross Silhouette) mode, which provides more elongated appendages, and a more proportional look. Neither is mutually exclusive, and the figures can be changed back and forth.

This is another nifty and fun kit! Great Mazinger can be posed to strike his Thunder Strike pose, some close approximations of Scramble Dash flight mode (with a non-included stand), and his Mazinger Blade is included, as well as a removable Brain Condor.

That's about it. I used the rocket punch effect from the Mazinger Z kit to get a sort of Drill Pressure Punch look (without the drill fins, of course), and you can take the breast fin off to simulate the Great Boomerang. In short, this little guy can manage a nice bit of posing, and can come close to duplicating most of his signature attack moves. It's a fun package, and at under $20 provides some excellent bang for the buck.

There's a Great Mazinger SD Cross Silhouette kit out there that I may still pick up, as well as a Getter Robo...

Thunder Break!!!

Great Boomerang!!!

Fire on!

Mazinger Blade!!!

Drill Pressure Punch!!!

My best approximation of the famous handshake...

MAZINGER Z - Bandai SD Cross Silhouette model kit action figure review

2021-01-18T07:09:00.003-08:00

Bandai's SD Cross Silhouette line are "super-deformed" robot kits with snap-together pre-colored parts, stickers, interchangeable "gimmick" pieces and are nicely articulated. The build is simple, the final product looks good, and is a lot of fun to pose and re-pose. I've gotten a couple of Mazinger-universe figures, but most of Bandai's SD line seems to be Gundam-related. The kits sell for less than $20 each and would be a great way for youngsters to experiment with figure model building.

Mazinger Z comes with alternate hands, a rocket-punch effect piece, a detachable scrander and pilder with foldable wings. I think the finished model looks great, and I had a ton of fun putting it into different poses! I need to get a base for flying poses, and I need to color in the face mask grill with a black sharpie to add a little more detail. The sword is from the Great Mazinger model, but looks cool in Z's hand as well...

MAZINKAISER - Bandai Infinitism HG 1/144 scale Plastic Model Kit Figure

2021-01-17T13:49:00.001-08:00

Mazinkaiser is the 4th action figure model I have built in the Infinitism line of plastic model kits. For those who don't know, these kits are similar to Gundam Gunpla kits. They include pre-colored plastic snap-together parts that result in a fully articulated figure, complete with accessories and a display stand. They tend to run in the $60 range upon release. The line began with two figures (Mazinger Z and Great Mazinger) whose design was based on the movie Mazinger Z: Infinity (hence the "Infinitism" moniker for the line). The figures must have done well-enough to warrant an expansion into giant robot characters who were never included in the film. Grendizer was the third release, followed by Mazinkaiser, Getter Dragon and the upcoming Steel Jeeg. All of the figures have a similar internal structure, and follow the heavily-panelled look of the Infinity designs. In terms of construction, they go together fairly easily, most of the sprue snips are pretty well-hidden, and the articulation even features some of the gimmicks you'd find in a real, quality action figure. For instance, the hips can pull down to allow for a greater forward kick, and the elbows feature hidden panels within the forearms allowing for a huge range of flex motion. The finished kits are sturdy enough to make messing around with them and reposing them fun, but they are very light and feel more fragile to me than a 1/100 scale Gundam kit. I wouldn't suggest these would hold up to play - just very careful posing.

One of the absolute highlights to the entire line is the incredible artwork featured on the box fronts. These are so beautifully done that I'm planning to cut them out and frame them at some point. There's also a neat ongoing "story" told on the outside of the box, as well as within the excellent instruction booklet (they are referring to the models as "Infinitism novels" and it looks like their storyline will somehow expand to incorporate the robots from various properties into one cohesive tale).

Mazinkaiser ends up standing around 8 to 9 inches tall when complete. He features a truly enormous Kaiser Scrander, which measures almost 18 inches from tip-to-tip once expanded. The Kaiser Scrander has wings that can be articulated, and the entire thing can be easily removed via a peg that fits into Mazinkaiser's back. The downside to this enormous accessory is that it adds a good bit of weight to a figure that's already pretty light. So, having the stand certainly helps to keep him...well, standing.

The jewel in the center of his chest features a sticker underneath, giving the builder 3 different possibilities of symbols (I chose the boring "Z", but it looks really cool). The jewels in the giant Final Kaiser Blade have matching Z stickers. There are two additional, slightly smaller Kaiser blades, as well as 2 alternate hands to allow for the figure to hold them. You get two different versions of the Kaiser Pilder - one in docking mode and one in flight mode. There's an additional arm stand for mounting a Turbo Smasher Punch, along with 2 flame effects. I do wish we had 2 of the thinner armature stands to do a dual Turbo Smasher Punch, but I was able to use the main stand to kind of get one going (though the main stand is so big and obtrusive, it kind of ruins the look).

I love these Infinitism model kit figures! They are fun to build, they are pretty fun to pose and re-pose, they come with lots of cool stuff, and they look incredible on the shelf. I'd highly recommend them to anyone looking to get into the figure-building hobby, or for anyone looking to save money on a cheaper substitute for high-end Chogokin or Metal Build figures. I'm hoping the line continues on past the next announced figure, Jeeg, who I knew absolutely nothing about, but decided to get just because these are such great fun! I'd love to see Infinitism versions of Shin Getter and Devolution Getter...

The final pose for Mazinkaiser on my shelf...

Escaflowne - Good Smile Company Moderoid figure model review

2021-01-10T07:14:00.001-08:00

I remember watching a couple of episodes of Escaflowne a long while ago (maybe 20 years?) on something like Cartoon Network, but never really got into it. At the time, I was really into Gundam Wing, and was looking for giant space battles. Escaflowne came across as more of a knights-in-armor kind of thing, so it didn't grab me at the time. That said, I did always think the main mech was cool looking and very unique (though now it sort of reminds me of Tallgeese).

Spending more time at home for the majority of 2020 reignited my old hobby of model kit building. I built quite a few during the year, and even took a couple of forays into areas I hadn't been brave enough to try out before. As a result, I've been looking at some snap-together, pre-colored figure kits. When I spotted the Moderoid version of Escaflowne, I was interested enough to add it to my wish list. A generous relative caused it to show up on my doorstep.

I just recently completed the build, and wanted to preserve my thoughts here. As with just about anything, the Moderoid Escaflowne has some strengths and some weaknesses. The box art is beautiful, and the instructions are clear and easy to follow. The kit is a relatively simple and quick build, and you end up with an articulated Escaflowne at the end of it. There aren't many figures of Escaflowne that have been produced, and the ones I can find tend to be on the more expensive side. I figured this would be an acceptable substitute.

On the down side, the finished mech is pretty small, standing about 5 &1/4" tall minus the helmet spike. The detail is soft and sparse - even if I were to try to panel line this fellow, there just isn't much to line. There are some noticeable gaps at the seams of some parts that won't go together any tighter, and other places where parts fall off easily. The articulation is hindered in many places because of the suit's design, but the model doesn't really try to incorporate any engineering to overcome that. What I mean is that with the Infinitism models, as well as with 1/100 Gundam models I have built, there is some really creative engineering within the design of the arms at the elbows, or at the legs in the knees, where panels slide out of the way and allow for additional movement. Not so here.

Most frustrating to me is the paint work, or lack thereof. Significant paint apps shown on the package and prototype pics are absent: the plastic cape is red on both sides though it's shown as red/blue in the package, while the cloth version is red/dark blue (or black- can't really tell). The cloth is pretty vinyl-feeling, and I don't think it will drape the way I want, though I honestly haven't tried it attached yet. There are no gold highlights anywhere on the model, so any spots you see gold on the package or prototype pics were customized (the majority of the sword hilt, for instance, is supposed to be gold, but is actually just grey plastic, and the bottom tips of the cape, and the ribbons on the back have gold highlights in the box pics, but none in reality).

In short, the model feels really cheap. In no way does this compare to a MG Gunpla or to Bandai's Infinitism series, despite a price tag hovering north of $60. If I had it to do over again, I would have passed on this and picked up an Infinitism Getter Dragon instead. I may opt to add some paint details over time, as well as some additional spots of glue, but overall this is a disappointing figure that I would not recommend to anyone who is not completely enamored by the anime it is based on. However, for those who love the source material, you may be very happy with this figure, and I'm sure that with a little work and patience, it could be customized into a much better looking replica.

Mazinger Z - Soul of Chogokin Dynamic Classics action figure review

2021-01-02T13:53:00.005-08:00

I've had the GX-70 Soul of Chogokin Mazinger Z D.C. (Dynamic Classics) figure in my display case for over a year now, but I've never really spent time checking out all of its "bells and whistles." In fact, I've discovered that my collecting habit often goes this way: a new figure arrives, I excitedly crack it open, I take it out, look at the accessories, fine tune the vanilla pose, put it onto a shelf, and promptly forget about it. This year, I'm planning and hoping to spend a bit more time enjoying each figure, posing it, testing out the accessories, and generally getting more of my money's worth. In that vein, I decided to spend some time with my GX-70.

I have a few Soul of Chogokin pieces, but most of them are actually space ships, rather than figures. In fact, I only own 2 other SOC robots besides this guy, and one of them is a brand new purchase. The first thing that strikes me about an SOC figure is its heft and solidity. With lots of die-cast metal content, this is a figure that absolutely does NOT feel cheap. The paint is glossy and expertly applied (check out the level of paint detail around the eyes of this guy in the pictures below), and features some beautiful shades of blue and red throughout the piece. Bandai takes the opposite tack of a company like threezero with these figures - there is no weathering, washes, dry or airbrushing to highlight fine details. Mazinger Z is largely smooth and featureless. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. If you want a Mazinger that is true to the animation, this is pretty good!

SOC Mazinger Z stands about 6.5" tall and is a significant jump up in terms of quality and amount of accessories from the smaller Super Robot Chogokin version I reviewed previously (this version also cost me about $120 18 months ago, and the price is currently slightly higher than that).

Mazinger Z comes with a pilder that can go wings out for flight mode, or wings up for docking. There's a magnet embedded in the underside, and it sits flush and snugly in the landing platform of the head. There's also an alternate faceplate with eyes dim, to simulate "off" mode when the pilder is not docked:

We get six hands (2 fists, 2 karate chop, and 2 splayed), alternate elbow joints to simulate elbow missiles, or for rocket punch (but there are no effect parts or stands to support the rocketing arm), a pair of iron cutter forearms, an alternate diaper front to allow for deeper crouches, a scrander with a launching pad or with a docking belt (the wings can detach and flip as needed), a display stand with a couple of different locking mechanisms for supporting the figure as well as a flip top to allow for much of the smaller parts to be stored inside. It's a lot for one figure, and just about everything you could possibly hope for, with the exception of a "launched navel missile" or some rocket punch effect parts and support rod. The figure has some decent articulation, but I didn't expect it to move like a SH Figuarts Street Fighter. The torso is fairly restricted, and the legs weren't easy for me to work with. That said, it's a lovely figure and I really enjoyed playing around with the accessories and seeing how they all went together!

I will be displaying Mazinger Z with fists, pilder on, and his scrander on the launch pad (I feel like Z doesn't spend much time in flight, so he's more anime-accurate to me without the scrander attached).

Mazinger Z - Bandai Tamashii Nations Super Robot Chogokin figure review

2020-12-31T04:02:00.002-08:00

The Super Robot Chogokin version of Mazinger Z is my idea of the "bare bones minimum" you can get for a chogokin figure. It's small, standing about 5" tall, and features very little in the way of useful accessories. That said, it's a beautiful figure with some great articulation packed into a small size, and boasts a decent level of die-cast metal content.

SRC Mazinger Z is a pretty cool looking figure. The sculpt is good, and the high gloss red, black and blue really reflect light wonderfully. Proportions are good - aesthetically speaking, it's an excellent figure. It comes with a removable pilder (which I needed to file a little to get it to sit properly in the crown), a sword (which I don't recall him ever using - I associate the Mazinger Blade more with Great Mazinger), a couple of alternate hands (which are very difficult to snap into place) and a pair of alternate "metallic" giant hands (as well as an enlarged forearm for them to snap onto). That's it. No effect parts, no stand, no scrander or rocket punch. The good news is that those are available, but only via a separate accessories pack that runs an additional $30-$50 on the aftermarket. I paid about $80 new for this figure, which is currently a decent price. It's a nifty little figure, and isn't bad as a starter Mazinger Z figure, or as an introduction to the world of chogokin, but it really isn't a stand-out in any way. I think for it's original $40-ish price tag, I would have been much happier. I did have a Great Mazinger SRC figure that I unfortunately sold off a few years back, much to my regret. That figure had tons of great accessories and some wonderful Thunder Break lightning effects! Might have to re-buy it now that I think of it...

Mazinger Z : Sentinel RIOBOT 10th Anniversary action figure review

2020-12-27T12:43:00.003-08:00

Originally released at the beginning of 2020, I waited nearly a year before buying this figure. I have several Sentinel RIOBOT figures in my collection, and while I tend to admire them as excellent action figures and collector pieces, I do feel that they are overpriced . So, though I love Mazinger Z, and immediately gravitated towards this RIOBOT, I ended up cancelling the pre-order and waiting for the price (originally about $300 before shipping) to come down somewhat. I did finally manage to get the figure for $241 shipped just this month, and while I feel like that was more reasonable, I still don't feel like I have a figure necessarily worthy of that price (I think $185 would probably be a fair price for this guy). That said (and I know this may sound contrary), I do feel like this is within the Top 3 figures I bought in 2020!

Sentinel's Mazinger Z is comparable to some of my other Mazingers in terms of height, but this one's proportions are a bit more distinctive. This version sports the same large-ball shoulders we saw on last year's Grendizer (I think this is the same body, in fact), and the mid-torso features a much wider spread. The result is that this Mazinger Z appears squatter and blockier than my Metal Build version, and the Soul of Chogokin version is positively wispy in comparison.

Though this isn't my favorite look for Mazinger Z, I do appreciate its uniqueness (after all, I don't want every version of the character to look the same - otherwise what's the point in having more than 1, right?), and it's a heck of a lot of fun to play around with and pose. In fact, it's once I got to the second tray of accessories and actually attached his "Dynamic Scrander" (a pretty good name for it, actually) and started posing the figure that I finally got my money's worth.

Sentinel's Mazinger Z has some die-cast content, but not much. I think the silver parts are metal, and the rest is a very shiny black plastic. It has a little weight, but it's not enough to completely offset the enormous scrander without the stand, for example.

On to the accessories. First off, there's a "Pilder Shield" piece that plugs into the forehead opening. It's a neat idea (after all, Koji Kabuto is pretty naked up there with just the glass shield of the Pilder cockpit between him and Dr. Hell's Mechanical Beasts) that makes complete sense, and it looks damn cool once it's slid into place. The piece doubles as a cockpit shield on the Scrander, as well. There are two sets of Iron Cutter blades which snap into place on the forearms without any need to remove panels (like most other Mazinger figures require). They are very pointy, very sharp, and very cool-looking! And then, there's the Scrander. It's huge, from tip to tip, and the red panel lines are gorgeous. It's got multiple points of articulation, allowing for several different looks and dimensions (important when trying to fit this guy into a Detolf display case). Mazinger Z includes 4 sword blades and 4 rockets/fingers. These are flat-out-awesome because of the small things they included, which allow for great customizability!

By itself, the Scrander looks like an imposing Stealth aircraft. The "fingers" act as thrusters, and the blades fold in to nearly disappear. Each thruster has a cover than can be slid up and back, and the body has multiple (three, I think) articulation points, allowing bend. This, in essence, turns each rocket thruster into a finger with knuckles, allowing you to create a very hand-like look which reminded me of the God Scrander from the anime. The caps from each thruster can be removed and snapped onto any of the other pegs, the most important being the elbow point once the forearm is removed to create "Rocket Punch!"

The blast effect part in the picture here is from the Metal Build Mazinger Z figure. Unfortunately, this Sentinel version does NOT include any effect parts. The blades can be spun around to project out of the scrander, or can be snapped into place at the ends of the thrusters/fingers, or attached to the end of the arms in place of the hands. That's what I mean about customizability - in the hands of someone far more creative than me, this is an outstanding piece. And, like I said earlier, the more I messed around with this figure, the more fun I had. I'm usually really tentative with my figures (I'm terrified of breaking something so expensive), and tend to leave them in very standard vanilla poses on my shelf. With this guy, I decided to give posing and play a try, and I'm really glad I did. With the Dynamic Scrander in place, fingers curled forward, blades attached, and Iron Cutters on the forearms, this Mazinger Z looks amazing! I'm so glad to have finally added him to the Toyseum, and I can safely say he's in my Top 3 figure purchases of 2020!

JoyToy Free Man Machine Armor Mech with Pilot

2020-02-04T09:05:00.000-08:00

JoyToy's Free Man Machine Armor stands roughly 9" tall, and represents a mech done in 1/18 scale. It includes a 4", fully articulated pilot and a massive double-barrel weapon, along with a removable pistol (which can be stored in the rifle grip). The pilot has his own pistol, as well, which can be stored in the holster on his right thigh. The mech is available in 2 colors (metallic blue and sand) and is priced at approximately $120.

JoyToy is a Hong Kong based company specializing in 1/24(ish) and 1/18 scale military personnel and mecha. I have several of their products and they generally look amazing, but have some significant drawbacks that I've learned to expect upon purchase. Firstly, the plastic is very lightweight and brittle. I handle these VERY carefully and pose them minimally. Second, they will have loose joints that will need a little care. I've found that putting a little floor wax on the pegs in inside the joints generally takes care of the problem, and I have had no falling issues. Third, there are no instructions other than a small leaflet with a few pictures. I discovered (mostly by accident), for example, that the Free Man is shipped with its biceps and forearms rotated around backwards. I went to bend the elbow and found it quite restricted, before realizing that was due to the incorrect arm part positioning. Fourth, the joints are not always easy to work with. Some feature ratchets and some don't, but I do find it challenging to get them to pose well. As a result, mine will all stay in a standard vanilla pose on the shelf. Otherwise, I love these mechs. They feature really amazing sculpts and the paintwork is great. They are currently posed alongside my Play Arts Kai Titanfall Atlas and they look great! Incidentally, I did conduct a lead test on the paint, just to make sure they weren't painted with lead-based paint, and it turned up negative.

SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO - Bandai Kikan Taizen 1/2000 scale starship

2017-12-17T11:56:00.001-08:00

I love starships. Always have. One of my first true loves was the Space Battleship Argo, from the Americanized Star Blazers cartoon of the late 1970's. Taken from the Japanese Space Battleship Yamato, Star Blazers featured a gorgeous starship that I drew over and over again throughout my youth. I have several versions of the Argo/Yamato in my collection, including a Taito Super Mechanics version, the stupendous Popynica BPX-01, and a tiny Cosmo Fleet Collection blind-box miniature. But the new Bandai Tamashii Nations Kikan Taizen 1/2000 scale model that arrived on my doorstep this past week is my current favorite! Based on Space Battleship 2202 (or Star Blazers 2202), Bandai's new starship measures just about 6" long, but comes complete with an astounding list of features!

The ship comes in an attractive box COVERED in writing. Unfortunately, it's all Japanese, so I can't make heads or tails of it. There are a couple of dark shots of the model, and one really nice outline of the ship, as well. It's striking just how compact the box is when you first see it, and it's a pretty good indication of just how small the model is. The Kikan Taizen line purports "big model detail" in an affordable, "small model" size. So, many of the kinds of features you'd find on the big Popynica or Soul of Chogokin models are here, as well: working lights (with 2 separate, tiny switches) for the wave motion gun, wave engines, bridges and hull lights, rotating main turrets, and a slew of display stand options. No Black Tigers or Cosmo Zero at this scale, of course, but you still get plenty of fun in a small package! The lights work well, though the main Wave Motion gun glows white rather than blue or red, and there is some slight bleed at the rear (I get some faint yellow coming through the paint at a couple of places, but it really isn't too noticeable). There's also a tiny bit of gapping where the parts are joined towards the front of the ship's hull. The lights are controlled by two switches on the underside - you have to remove a panel VERY carefully underneath to reveal the switches. This whole thing is so small that Bandai has actually included TWO tools for manipulating parts: one is for digging into panels to aid in their removal, while another is for rotating the smaller gun turrets.

The ship itself measures 6 & 1/2" in length, and is beautifully sculpted and lovingly painted, with tons of detail and a bit of weathering. Faint airbrushing highlights hull panels on the sides, and the deck is shaded with a teak wood color. There are missiles in the stack, but (of course) they can't be retracted or extended. Everything is scaled appropriately, and this really does come across as having the same level of love and attention that the S.H. MonsterArts line had at its outset.

Everything is housed safely between a pair of clamshell trays. The antennae and various sharp protrusions of the starship are all present in their thin, delicate form. It's very challenging not to poke yourself or break anything when handling her! Yamato sports two thin panels on the hull that can be removed to install the wings in deployed mode, and one transparent part can be substituted to allow an arm to plug in as part of the display stand. The stand is, in fact, the one part I think I could do away with. It's extremely over-engineered. There are two mirrored rectangular faces with a plethora of transparent arms to attach over the top face, there's a leg for the back of the vertical face, and everything has adjustable cradles. It sounds wonderful, but the simple fact is that the ship sits too close to both faces for them to really reflect anything you'd want to see, and everything is so close to the table top upon which it would stand that it never really looks like it's flying, anyway. I'd much prefer a standard figma-style base with a simple adjustable arm that can plug into the side of the ship. In fact, I will probably try to substitute a different stand to do just this. Don't get me wrong- I really admire Bandai for trying to do something amazing here with this display stand. I just think that there's something to be said for Occam's Razor so far as this particular design goes.

Overall, I love, love, love my new Kikan Taizen Space Battleship Yamato, and frankly I CANNOT WAIT for the release of the second ship in the line: Space Battleship Andromeda! I've seen some images of a standard Space Battleship as the third ship of the line, and I'd really love to see the line go deep, with versions of Yukikaze and Gamilas destroyers and Space Carriers, as well! The scale and size does make it absolutely affordable both in terms of money and shelf space, so I say, "Bring it on, Bandai!" I can't wait to see what they've got in store...