High Dream?
Posted by hillsy
Sanjeev, I accidentally got one of these the other day:
I was already ready to put it up on the Evilbay before it arrived because I'm a snotty bitch like that to all my new toys. And then I opened it. Dood. It is the second most satisfying "un-vintage" die-cast super robot I've molested.
It takes all the shit I loved to hate about Aoshima's Getters and straight up does it right. Seriously, in the face of High Dream's first 6" die-cast offering those fuckers should be deathly embarrassed at how, even after a decade, they still fuck up product with sub-par Matchbox-styled engineering. I digress.
Grendizer has excellent poseability, heft, quality control, and style. Simply the best fit-and-finish of any non-Bandai die-cast toy I've seen. Looks perfect next to that newfangled GX-Forty-Something Mazinger. No doubt it will compliment Bandai's upcoming Getter Dragun. It has obvious engineering for Spazer expansion nonsense, too. It's a phenomenal toy for a measly $50. You can't beat it.
That's not to say it's 100% perfect. Maybe 80%. They could have added some nice flourishes like using translucent plastic for the missile effects and detailing on the soles of the feet. The elbowni joints are a little unsightly, and the plastic cuffs on the forearms are off by about 2 degrees of rotation to keep from bending around the joint (but nowhere near as bad as the SOC). The wrist joints could be better hidden using raised edges/recessed center on the forearm. The ankles could use slightly shortened fins in order to increase their forward movement, too. Those improvements wouldn't have cost any more in tooling, but none of these are deal breakers either.
This toy, in nearly all respects, kicks ass. You need one. Go buy it. You won't regret it!
I was already ready to put it up on the Evilbay before it arrived because I'm a snotty bitch like that to all my new toys. And then I opened it. Dood. It is the second most satisfying "un-vintage" die-cast super robot I've molested.
It takes all the shit I loved to hate about Aoshima's Getters and straight up does it right. Seriously, in the face of High Dream's first 6" die-cast offering those fuckers should be deathly embarrassed at how, even after a decade, they still fuck up product with sub-par Matchbox-styled engineering. I digress.
Grendizer has excellent poseability, heft, quality control, and style. Simply the best fit-and-finish of any non-Bandai die-cast toy I've seen. Looks perfect next to that newfangled GX-Forty-Something Mazinger. No doubt it will compliment Bandai's upcoming Getter Dragun. It has obvious engineering for Spazer expansion nonsense, too. It's a phenomenal toy for a measly $50. You can't beat it.
That's not to say it's 100% perfect. Maybe 80%. They could have added some nice flourishes like using translucent plastic for the missile effects and detailing on the soles of the feet. The elbowni joints are a little unsightly, and the plastic cuffs on the forearms are off by about 2 degrees of rotation to keep from bending around the joint (but nowhere near as bad as the SOC). The wrist joints could be better hidden using raised edges/recessed center on the forearm. The ankles could use slightly shortened fins in order to increase their forward movement, too. Those improvements wouldn't have cost any more in tooling, but none of these are deal breakers either.
This toy, in nearly all respects, kicks ass. You need one. Go buy it. You won't regret it!
The high dream Grendizer is totally bitchin'. Simple in its execution, but it does everything right.
Sanjeev Wrote:
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> Hmmm...well, I'm not averse to checking ANY modern
> toy out in person. Despite the rave review,
> however, I'll probably stick with the Grendizer
> toys I have. I mean, why get this when I have the
> Popy diecast? That's what I always wanted as a kid
> and it has everything I want...
Vintage snobbery aside, I can give you at least two good reasons to pick one up.
First, supporting upstart under dogs like High Dream adds greater potential to the genre of die-cast robots. Not that they're my favorite, but look at all the cool shit CM has popped out in the last few years. If we only buy vintage or Bandai we'd never see awesomeness like Go Shogun. Speaking of which...
Second, it's the price. CM has done some mad good stuff - but compare the $50 price tag for High Dream's Grendizer to the $131 for CM's Go Shogun. It's insane! Grendy has all the heft, love, and finish that Go Shogun does - and at almost a third of the cost! From an upstart company no less! Daaaaaamn! I know people out there will drop more than $50 on a toy that only goes half the distance. Save that loot and spend it here on this thing. You will have none of the buyer's remorse that comes with an overpriced designer vinyl the minute you realize you were duped into buying a art-fascist's doggie chew toy.
Fuck man, $50 for a killer toy these days is peanuts. Peanuts, I tells ya! Peanuxor!
hillsy Wrote:
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> Cool, but it looks identical to the SOC (from my
> memory, at least).
You be trippin', man. Look at the GX-04 again. It looks all crunky-monkey next to the High Dream. The new bitch is mad smooth and silky in the legs. To say nothing of that gorgeous mug. Me-row!
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/02/2009 01:03AM by Gcrush.
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hmmm...well, I'm not averse to checking ANY modern
> toy out in person. Despite the rave review,
> however, I'll probably stick with the Grendizer
> toys I have. I mean, why get this when I have the
> Popy diecast? That's what I always wanted as a kid
> and it has everything I want...
Vintage snobbery aside, I can give you at least two good reasons to pick one up.
First, supporting upstart under dogs like High Dream adds greater potential to the genre of die-cast robots. Not that they're my favorite, but look at all the cool shit CM has popped out in the last few years. If we only buy vintage or Bandai we'd never see awesomeness like Go Shogun. Speaking of which...
Second, it's the price. CM has done some mad good stuff - but compare the $50 price tag for High Dream's Grendizer to the $131 for CM's Go Shogun. It's insane! Grendy has all the heft, love, and finish that Go Shogun does - and at almost a third of the cost! From an upstart company no less! Daaaaaamn! I know people out there will drop more than $50 on a toy that only goes half the distance. Save that loot and spend it here on this thing. You will have none of the buyer's remorse that comes with an overpriced designer vinyl the minute you realize you were duped into buying a art-fascist's doggie chew toy.
Fuck man, $50 for a killer toy these days is peanuts. Peanuts, I tells ya! Peanuxor!
hillsy Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Cool, but it looks identical to the SOC (from my
> memory, at least).
You be trippin', man. Look at the GX-04 again. It looks all crunky-monkey next to the High Dream. The new bitch is mad smooth and silky in the legs. To say nothing of that gorgeous mug. Me-row!
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/02/2009 01:03AM by Gcrush.
It's a bit smaller.
Picture courtesy of goldorak.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/04/2009 04:58PM by chen.
Picture courtesy of goldorak.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/04/2009 04:58PM by chen.
I didn't try it with mine, but here's a shot from CDX that shows the robot split in half.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/04/2009 06:22PM by Gcrush.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/04/2009 06:22PM by Gcrush.
Man...I wonder what the hold-up is. I met the dude very briefly at Toy Fair years and years ago, and he was cool as shit. I really hope he's successful with these.
Meanwhile, not High Dream or HL Pro, but I stumbled upon this a week or so ago:
"Janus", huh? Who knew??? ;)
Further, if you're waiting on the TFO, now you have something new to wait for!
There's a glow version coming, too...allegedly :P
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/24/2011 05:44PM by Sanjeev.
Meanwhile, not High Dream or HL Pro, but I stumbled upon this a week or so ago:
"Janus", huh? Who knew??? ;)
Further, if you're waiting on the TFO, now you have something new to wait for!
There's a glow version coming, too...allegedly :P
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/24/2011 05:44PM by Sanjeev.
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