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Bee Gull Tranz Vor May Shun


[www.toysdaily.com]

CM's Blowsperior just arrived in Singapore but the asking price is steeper than before (90 vs 75 SGD). Still getting one despite the lack of 'breast fire'...

Hellequin Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> So was MP Voltron, and they're re-releasing him at
> 1/4 the price in a different box without diecast.
> A die-castless Toynami Alpha might actually have a
> hope of not turning into a floppy broken mess.
> Again, maybe.
Then technically, they didn't re-release Voltron, because I don't think anyone will disgaree that the all plastic Voltron is a completely different toy from the one that has diecast. Not in THIS crowd at least!

[www.robotech.com]

I'm glad I didn't wait for the supposed lower-priced Toynami release.

lol, figured it was too good to be true

The JP version will still cost about $240 + another $30 or $40 for import shipping. Your still money ahead on the Toynami version.

__________________
MoonBaseTom Season tickets available. Call now.

But it comes with the better head.

It's the best head you can get for $40.

I preordered mine for $200 from Japan with $20 shipping. Regardless of that, the fact is the Toynami one was supposed to be $140 or so last time they mentioned it at Toyfare.

Even if they did announce it for that much, a lot has changed since February, wouldn't you say?

[www.collectiondx.com]

I did a review of CM's Dark Legioss.

CM's Bartley and a surprise appearance.

[wildcats.pupui.jp]

It's the ninja, Shinobu.

Well, a buddy just picked up the CM's Yellow for me on Tuesday, so I'll be having some fun with it this weekend. I think my buddy's got the right idea: Get all the CM's to display in bike mode because their proportions are fantastic for it. Then 'invest' in one Beagle/Toynami for the ultimate armor-mode display.

Beagle Ley/Rand pics.

[ga.sbcr.jp]

A brief review of the CM's Blowsperior:


Well, the main things I liked about the first two Ride Armors are present and accounted for – superior proportions for both bike and armor modes, and attention to details where it counts, especially when compared to the Megahouse versions.

I was apprehensive about how CM's would produce the more complicated design of Yellow's helmet, which has the visor extending over the chin-guard and sandwiched between 2 cheek-plates. Megahouse simply deleted the chin-guard... and brought to mind the lazy way they dealt with Rey's beam gun mount. CM's on the other hand, did Yellow's helmet exactly as it should work... an amazing job of miniaturisation. It's a pity they couldn't fit in the chest missiles though, which MH owners would no doubt lord over detail-nuts like me. :P

Other things to note:
- Windshield is now obviously glued down to the instrument panel. No more instant breakage out of box (for most folks, at least).

- The wheel armature slide-locks are now metal, but then again it's still fiddly trying to lock the wheels upright.

Bonus parts:
- Un-helmeted heads for Yellow (excellent), Stick (ok but looks constipated), Ley (not bad). I'm sure some fans are less forgiving of the relative likenesses to on-screen designs, but they look OK to me, and definitely far from grotesque.

- Blue-painted rifle for Stick, ala anime-colors, plus bike mount to hold the rifle correctly, ala the Beagle. Nice!

Overall, I'm still a fan of these imperfect collectibles. They are not cheap, nor easy to play with, and potentially fragile in less-patient hands. But they look fantastic in both modes and satisfy my desire for 'realistic' detail and mechanical ingenuity in a way that the Megahouse cannot, and at a price point I find more palatable compared to the deluxed-out Beagle. And I love the 1/18 scale possibilities. Heck, I've already put in my order for the Bartley and Dark Bartley coming out next month. :-)

Can't wait to get mine. Where did you preorder the Bartley and Dark Bartley from?

Hi Warrhead, I got mine from a local dealer in Singapore who 'specialises' in CM's releases and other less mainstream brands.

And just one add-on comment for Blowsperior:

- It HAS got a stupid glitch, ala Rey's misaligned front fork. The left-arm's 'ceramic knife' module, when attached to the front wheel arm, doesn't fit flush. That's because of the 2 pegs used to clip to the gauntlets in Armor mode.

Result: In bike mode, the left ceramic knife cannot attach to the strut because the peg is too short.

Looks like it will need another one of those custom long-pegs... Darn it.

Beagle pics. Loving the look and size of this thing.

[wildcats.pupui.jp]

I still like the CM's, but money being even more tight means buying two of the same thing in different scales is the first to stop. Maybe later on, but the MH sits nice on a shelf looking pretty, and lately that's all my stuff does (if it even makes it out of the box).

Some quick snaps of the CM's trio...



The bonus heads are pretty good; Yellow's is best, Stick looks a bit too serious. All 3 toys have had weathering applied to cut back on the plastic sheen.



Put on yer helmets! The rider-to-bike proportions on the CM's are second only to the Beagle. Another bonus part is the rifle mount for Stick's ride, which is also only found on the Beagle. Both Yellow and Ley require custom front-fork pegs to overcome fit-problems.



A closer look at the fine printed details. On the Blowsperior's box, the product photos depict a featureless face under the visor, so I was plenty happy to see it wasn't the case. The facial features may not be 100% accurate but they sure don't look bad at all.



Riders are go!



Last one's an Invid bum... The Blowsperior's tail-end features different detailing from the first two toys.



Ride Armor mode... I love the almost-perfect transformation design. Heck, even the almighty Beagle can't overcome anime magic :-)



Strike a pose! The CM's Ride Armors have surprisingly good balance. The supporting stick is not really necessary but proper display stands do add to the fun.



See? No stands... :-)

Very nice looking rendition of a totally under-appreciated (or rather, under-merchandised) design. But I'd have a lot more interest in actually picking one up if my Stick type hadn't basically exploded right out of the box -- I broke it in two places the first time I transformed it. It's very rare that fragility turns me off of a Japanese toy design, but this is one case where I can't let it slide.

nice work, Drif!

---------------------------------
hassenpfeffer

Hi Matt! Sorry to hear about the jibaku rider. I'm gonna guess at the breakage points:

- The slide-lock for the wheel-arm?
- The flip-out 'waist' armor?
- The forearm gauntlet?
- The flimsily attached whindshield?

Those areas are my biggest worries on the toy(s), and they can't really be recommended to collectors without some plamo experience, because it is absolutely essential to mod/customise the front fork pegs for Ley and Yellow.

If only the Megahouse version was less funky with the proportions, its slightly larger size would have been ideal.

Windshield, gauntlets, you name it.

I wouldn't have minded so much if it weren't essentially a blister-carded plastic action figure masquerading as a $60 diecast.

Yeah, I totally get where you're coming from... if it helps anyone else, here are the precautionary measures I took with my CM's riders:

1. Forget about trying avoid snapping off the windshield. CM's was waaay too optimistic about the ability of a tiny bit of clear plastic to withstand 'normal handling'. Just snap it off and re-attach with your choice of superglue. The Blowsperior 'acknowledges' this fault and the windshield is affixed with a healthy dollop of glue.

2. The forearm gauntlets... this is a part that will see some heavy pushing, pulling and twisting as you attach/remove the forearm missiles or armor pieces. Quite stupidly, CM's attached the gauntlet to the forearm halves by a single thin piece of plastic. After 1 transformation, I KNEW it had to be fixed, or else it would surely break during play. Solution: unscrew forearm and superglue the gauntlet to ONE half. With the added lateral rigidity, I have no more worries.

As for the slide-locks and waist-plates, nothing much to be said except to 'HANDLE WITH CARE'... at least the Blowsperior now uses metal slide-locks. :P

[www.over-drive-inc.com]

Military Operation Soldier Protect Emergency Aviation Dive Auto

Expensive, delayed and/or breakable...

While they're all very pretty, they all seem so problem-plagued (Note: I consider a hefty price tag to be a problem.) that I'm just about ready to consider simply being content with my old Gakken R.A. and just building the old Imai Blowsperior variable kit if I want a different character. :-/

I'm with you...but I'll reserve my judgement until the Beagle is out. If it's not a runaway hit, I'll resolve to be content with tracking down a Gakken.

Hey, anyone able to give me what a reasonable price would be on one of the old Gakken's? Not the real big one but the Henshin three-mode toy. Thanks much!

More serious than thou

Those hideous little ones? I've seen them go for like $20 occasionally.

A couple of quick snaps at AFA08, of the Ride Armor line-up and especially the soon-to-be-released Fuuke Type:

Oh Fuke.

[www.toysdaily.com]

Damn Moe Mecha chickies!

Teh Box! So appreciably boxy!

[hk.myblog.yahoo.com]

[www.over-drive-inc.com]

Gravure Stick.

A wild red Tread.

THAT'S NOT CANON!

Its eyes are yellow, not glowing red.

(Bah, I wrote "it's" instead of "its". Damn you badly sp3ll3d internets!)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/09/2008 02:32AM by thomas.

[wildcats.pupui.jp]

Stick it to 'em.