Super7 Magazine lucky #13 is out, just in time for 666 day! This issue features Ken Kelly’s Micronauts artwork, Rodan, Japanese vinyl character pendants, and a piece on Takara’s VOTOMS toys by yours truly. You can order the issue or subscribe at the Super7 Magazine web site.
Super7 Magazine lucky #13 is out, just in time for 666 day! This issue features Ken Kelly’s Micronauts artwork, Rodan, Japanese vinyl character pendants, and a piece on Takara’s VOTOMS toys by yours truly. You can order the issue or subscribe at the Super7 Magazine web site.
–Roger
Machine Robo Battlehackers is an interesting series. Bandai took a much more ‘Super Robot’-like approach to this series than with the previous Machine Robo releases, only releasing toys of the major characters. Not having seen the TV series, I cannot judge it, but from what I’ve read the change there was also quite noticeable. It can be said that Machine Robo Battlehackers was the first Machine Robo series where the toy line stopped being there first.
Toy-design-wise, Machine Robo evolved from simple, similar-sized designs in 1982-1985 towards more complicated ones in 1986-1987. Although many collectors consider the Machine Robo-600 series and related toys as the be-all and end-all of Machine Robo, I personally feel the later, more complicated designs are more fulfilling, together with the earlier, wonderful Big and DX Machine Robo. What attracts me in the latter two (mostly the last one) is the attention brought to small, but essential details, which somehow make the designs somewhat believable. Mechanical detail like hinges, tubing, pistons, they are all there, in locations where they would actually be useful.
This same attention to detail can be found back in some of the late 1986 designs. The Battle Team Wheelman toys are some of the nicest, most detailed Machine Robo toys ever released, easily comparable with, and probably a lot better than, those early DX toys, were it not for the lack of die-cast metal. They also felt a lot more ‘grown-up’ than previously released Machine Robo toys. They were the first indication of what was to come in the near future. The second consisted of the change in packaging the last two Wheelman toys featured.
Where previous Machine Robo toys had come in multi-color packaging, the last two Wheelman toys came in stylish black boxes, with sparse yellow stripes and pictures of the toy contained inside as sole decorations. This kind of packaging was to become the standard for the Machine Robo Battlehackers toy line.
The first Battlehackers toy was the Power Riser, a powered suit that came with a Kenpoh Robo figure. However, this toy will not be the subject of this Rumble (it will be covered in Part 2). Instead, I will write about its two sibblings, the Jet Riser and the Battle Riser. Both were released later on in the Battlehackers toy like, their numbers are BH-06 and BH-07 respectively.
Both toys come in the previously named packaging, gorgeous black boxes that give these toys an air of exclusivity. Front and back of the box give short explanations about the features of the toys. No words are wasted. Pictures are scarce but excellent. Inside, the various parts of the toys are seated in nice styrofoam trays. The presentation is perfect. All the essential parts are clearly visible, including the basic powered suit frame onto which the other parts will be added. Small parts and ammunition is stored in a specific slot in the tray. Also visible is each suit’s pilot, Akira Amachi for the Jet Riser and Luke Stewart for the Battle Riser. Each box also contains an instruction sheet, a catalogue, and a card you could send to Bandai. No sticker sheets, the few stickers these toys have are factory-applied.
The base of each toy is a powered suit frame. This frame features excellent internal detail, as well as a detailed control panel. The arms are fully articulated, and the hands can open and close. The legs feature chunks of die-cast to keep the toys upright. Each toy comes with a sensor pod and an antenna that can be attached at this stage (shown on the Battle Riser). The Luke and Akira pilot figures both feature a generic body, and their heads are decent representations of the animated versions. Each features more than enough articulation to be put correctly into the powered suit frame.
To complete the Jet Riser and the Battle Riser, the armor parts and the weapons are attached to the powered suit frames. Each toy features over a dozen of armor and weapon parts, which attach by simply sliding them onto the frame or onto pegs on other parts. Some parts, like the wings on the Jet Riser, snap into place. However, unlike on some other toys, everything can be taken apart again without any problems occurring. Indeed, the pegs and connectors used were all clearly designed with taking apart in mind. This is probably a good thing, as parts that snapped tightly into place would have broken quite fast on these toys. It felt more like I was assembling two plastic model kits than two toys, as the plastic used for the various armor and weapon parts is quite soft, and some parts feature very thin tabs and small pegs. Another reason why these toys feel more “grown up” than previous Machine Robo toys.
Both Jet and Battle Riser feature spring-loaded missile launchers in their fully completed state. Each toy is equipped with a BB-style pellet launcher on the right shoulder, which can fire the multicolor hard plastic pellets provided in a small bag in each the box. Each launcher features a compartment that can hold about 3-4 pellets at once, and that can be accessed by opening the top of the launcher. Launching a pellet is done by pulling back a lever on the back of each launcher, and subsequently letting go of it. The toys also feature conventional spring-loaded launchers on their left shoulders. Although it looks like these launchers can launch a lot of missiles at once, this is not the case, as part of the missiles are fake. The Jet Riser actually features a twin spring-loaded missile launcher, while the Battle Riser has a single spring-loaded missile launcher.
The toys do not have many other features. As mentioned previously, the Jet Riser features wings. It also features a lot of thrusters and a somewhat jet-like canopy. However, in comparison to the animation art, this canopy is placed too far up, giving the toy a somewhat strange look, which I found a bit disappointing. The Battle Riser is definitively the better and more fun toy, as it also features a grabbing claw and quad barreled cannon. Both toys can be put in pretty decent running poses (although they are hard to balance), too.
Overall, these toys are immensely satisfying, being some of the more interesting Machine Robo toys and just having a different feel than the toys that came before. Of course, not all Machine Robo Battlehackers toys are like this, which I will show in another upcoming Rumble…
When an antiques dealer in Japan’s Ishikawa prefecture stumbled across an old vinyl robot covered in a thick layer of dust, she had no idea that she had unearthed only the third known specimen of an item described by Tokyo toy dealers as “the most sought-after item in Japan.”
The CM’s Corporation follow-up to the previous Blue Knight Berserga toy is no slouch.
My review of the Berserga can be found here:
http://toyboxst.inwards.com/rumblizer/view.php?article_key=574
There were complaints on Japanese boards that the wrists on this toy were defective and needed to be cut down in order to fit the arm, but mine doesn’t have any problems. Use common sense and be gentle when exchanging the fists. Caveat emptor.
The Zerverus is probably now my favorite VOTOMs toy. It’s very large, standing at 5.5″, and it’s joints are fairly sturdy. Obviously, in order to hold the large rifle and shield, it *needs* sturdy joints, and as the pictures attest, it has no problem holding the rifle and shield in any pose. The thigh joints seemed very loose to me at first, but they have enough friction to hold any pose, especially since the large feet provide alot of balance. It has all the articulation you would expect from a typical Gundam MSIA toy but the materials generally seem sturdier.
The down-form for this subject has never been attempted in three dimensions before, and it works very well. It’s much better than the Berserga, since no parts have to be removed in order to achieve down-form. The cockpit is interesting. This is another detail that’s never been rendered in three dimensions. Like the Berserga, there’s no pilot and not much detail inside, but it looks cool, nonetheless. Unlike the Berserga, the Pile Banker spike doesn’t move, but the shield is still well-detailed and impressive.
It comes with several hands, but the only one that matters to me is the rifle-gripping hand, which can be removed from the rifle(unlike the Berserga’s) and it holds the rifle tightly.
The price is 4800yen, which may be considered quite high, but I look at this as a pre-painted full-action garage kit, and at that price it’s a steal.
There is a metallic version available but I haven’t received mine yet.
http://www.hlj.com/product/CMS65053
This is the Sakamoto Showten Vinyl Red Shoulder Scopedog that was released at Winter Wonder Festival 2006. There’s not much to say about it that wasn’t already eloquently articulated in the other vinyl Scopedog Rumble and in the Fatty Rumble.
I don’t own any other vinyl Scopedog or the Fatty(someone please sell it to me!) but mine doesn’t smell and it’s made of sturdy vinyl. Mine can also stand up without turning the feet too far in but it still leans forward somewhat. Mine also has a red shoulder, which makes it instantly superior to all other vinyl toys.
I got mine through www.celga.com from Yahoo Japan Auctions. It was 9000yen, and with proxy fees and shipping it was probably around 39000yen(kidding!). I don’t want to calculate how much it actually cost with the extra fees, but I’m really happy with my vinyl Scopedog, especially since it’s the only large vinyl toy I own(no, this will not my gateway drug to a vinyl fixation).
The other toys featured in the pictures are the Microman Scopedog, Actic Gear Turbo Custom, and Actic Gear Marshydog.
That is all.
This is the Sakamoto Showten Vinyl Red Shoulder Scopedog that was released at Winter Wonder Festival 2006. There’s not much to say about it that wasn’t already eloquently articulated in the other vinyl Scopedog Rumble and in the Fatty Rumble.
I don’t own any other vinyl Scopedog or the Fatty(someone please sell it to me!) but mine doesn’t smell and it’s made of sturdy vinyl. Mine can also stand up without turning the feet too far in but it still leans forward somewhat. Mine also has a red shoulder, which makes it instantly superior to all other vinyl toys.
I got mine through www.celga.com from Yahoo Japan Auctions. It was 9000yen, and with proxy fees and shipping it was probably around 39000yen(kidding!). I don’t want to calculate how much it actually cost with the extra fees, but I’m really happy with my vinyl Scopedog, especially since it’s the only large vinyl toy I own(no, this will not my gateway drug to a vinyl fixation).
The other toys featured in the pictures are the Microman Scopedog, Actic Gear Turbo Custom, and Actic Gear Marshydog.
That is all.
–Scopedog
CM’s Corporation follow-up to the previous Blue Knight Berserga toy is no slouch.
My review of the Berserga can be found here:
http://toyboxst.inwards.com/rumblizer/view.php?article_key=574
There were complaints on Japanese boards that the wrists on this toy were defective and needed to be cut down in order to fit the arm, but mine doesn’t have any problems. Use common sense and be gentle when exchanging the fists. Caveat emptor.
The Zerverus is probably now my favorite VOTOMs toy. It’s very large, standing at 5.5″ and it’s joints are fairly sturdy. Obviously, in order to hold the large rifle and shield, it *needs* sturdy joints, and as the pictures attest, it has no problem holding the rifle and shield in any pose. The thigh joints seemed very loose to me at first, but they have enough friction to hold any pose, especially since the large feet provide alot of balance.
The down-form for this subject has never been attempted in three dimensions before, and it works very well. It’s much better than the Berserga, since no parts have to be removed in order to achieve down-form.
The cockpit is interesting. This is another detail that’s never been rendered in three dimensions. Like the berserga, there’s no pilot and not much detail inside, but it looks cool, nonetheless.
Unlike the Berserga, the Pile Banker spike doesn’t move, but the shield is still well-detailed and impressive.
It comes with several hands, but the only one that matters to me is the rifle-gripping hand, which can be removed from the rifle(unlike the Berserga’s) and it holds the rifle tightly.
It has all the articulation you would expect from a typical Gundam MSIA toy but the materials seem generally sturdier.
The price is 5040yen, which is quite high, but I look at this as a pre-painted full-action resin kit, and at that price it’s a steal.
There is a metallic version available on www.hlj.com but I haven’t received it yet.
Soul of Chogokin Battle Fever Robo just rolled out. No doubt there are countless reviews floating around, but none will throw BFR into the ring like this one. The question – just how does BFR stack up against its SOC predecessors?
The Reigning Champ: SOC Black Ox. Perhaps the perfect combo of poseability, sweet chogokin, and glossy goodness. It’s heavy in your hand, shines like an oil slick, and holds a mean pose. Like a bare knuckle boxer, it’ll knock you over with its soul.
The Challenger: SOC
Or will it?
Stepping into the ring, Black Ox has the height, weight, and experience advantage. But Black Ox is old – last year’s gokin. BFR lacks the physical presence that its older opponent has, but BFR boasts scads more weaponry. When it comes time to throw down, who is your money going to be on?
Black Ox packs a mean punch. BFR packs mean heat. BFR wins there.
But BFR is nearly all plastic. While that helps it bob-and-weave, it can’t hold up to Black Ox’s rope-a-dope. Black Ox takes the K.O.
Why? Because BFR, despite all its styling, has a rubber neck. Literally. You can pop its head right off and stare down the little silicone sleeve that holds it head on. Doubtful that such a configuration will hold up in the long run.
BFR is by no means out of the fight. Groovy weapons, 1970’s Nobunaga funk, and ultra-poseability help it stay a contender. But if pure gokin if your thing, there’s just no way BFR can hold its own against the competition. Without its weapons, its nuttin’.
Be sure to check out the poorly animated play-by-play.
What makes a Vader? The iconic helmet and cape, of course – but the devil is in the details. Here’s a case study in variation using two different Medicom Real Action Hero Darth Vaders.
The first RAH Darth Vader, released in July of 2005 for about 18,000 ¥, was the version from
The second RAH Darth Vader, released in February of 2006 for about 18,000 ¥, was the version from Star Wars Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. Standing around 32cm, this Vader is also roughly 1/6th scale. ROTS Darth Vader likewise came with a movie authentic costume, three-piece removable helmet, five sets of hands, a set of crossed-arm hands, a light saber, and a display stand.
But this tale of two Vaders picks up where the similarities end because these two figures are not redundant. There are about one dozen variations between the two. Click on the thumbnail for a clean, untouched pic of the figures side by side. Or click here for a shot with higher contrast and lines to illustrate the text. Same goes for the helmets. Anyway, here’s how they break down:
The Helmet –
The Boots –
The Boxes –
If you’re nostalgic about Darth Vader, or want a cool dolly with shelf presence, these figures can’t be beat. They are both very poseable and their movie accurate costume details provide a bulk of subtle variation that might be enough to make you want both. But if you have to settle for one, which should it be? With neither version sporting particularly good paint ops on the heads, the costume details make it come down to a matter of aesthetic preference. The ROTJ Vader is a classic look and with a bit of touch-up paint, looks good in unmasked repose. While the ROTS Vader looks more dynamic and powerful it could also use a little touch-up; and though the design may not be for everyone, it commands attention nonetheless.
