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By Vincent Sanchez
@vincesanchez
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Could this drill be THE DRILL to finally pierce the heavens?
The never ending hunt for the definitive Gurren Lagann figures continues...
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By Vincent Sanchez
@vincesanchez
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Say hello to the Fearless Hero and the Flirtatious Beauty.
For the past month or so I’ve been hooked on Super Robot Taisen Original Generation for the GBA. The game is great but what I love about it most is the robot designs, specifically these two: the Alteisen and the Wiessritter. At the same time I’ve also been addicted to Bandai’s Super Robot Chogokin toy line. So when I found out these two characters were available in SRC form I just had to have them!
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By Vincent Sanchez
@vincesanchez
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Meteor is here and ready to decide your fate!
This is a big one. It’s my first SHFiguart toy and my first Bugman review. So why not start with one of my favourite Riders?
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By Vincent Sanchez
@vincesanchez
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Chuga, chuga, choo! Choo! All aboard the Braves Express!
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By Vincent Sanchez
@vincesanchez
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Only the combination of nostalgia and metal could create something this epic.
If you grew up in the 90s then you know the Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers. Whether their impact on your childhood was small or large, they definitely left a mark. For myself, many of my favourite memories from my youth involved the Power Rangers. Nothing was more exciting than watching a group of teenagers with attitude transform into a team of superheroes and beat on evil monsters week after week. Oh it was such a simpler time back then.
However, without a doubt, there was one specific thing about MMPR that really appealed to me - The Megazord. Five giant dinosaur robots who combined into what is arguably one of the most iconic super robots to ever be conceived. The first appearance of this titan was magical and has been imprinted into my mind for the rest of time. Unfortunately, the original toy was never that great. Sure it was huge but it basically amounted to being a brick and future combinations would only make it worse.
Yet here we are, almost 20 years later and what we find is a six inch untransformable Megazord. On paper that just sounds terrible - but is it really? Well, you’re going to have to watch the review to get my opinion on that question.
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By Vincent Sanchez
@vincesanchez
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The most anticipated figure release of the year is finally here: FIGMA LINK.
If there’s anything that every video game fan has wanted or at least interested in, it’s Nintendo figures. Undoubtedly, the well known game developer has been responsible for creating the most iconic characters and franchises the video game industry has ever seen. However, when it comes to actual merchandise there’s very little to be found.
Of course, franchises such are Mario and Pokemon seem to have a solid amount of collectible goodies around. But when it comes to the other “big” Nintendo games - such as Zelda, Metroid or even Star Fox - it’s a barren wasteland. So when it was announced that Max Factory had gotten the license to produce some of the major Nintendo characters, I was more than ecstatic.
Their first release, Samus, was an incredible action figure. Actually, it’s probably one of the best figures I’ve ever had and is in the running for my favourite figure of the year. However, as much as the other collectors and I loved Samus, what we all really wanted to get was a figure of the famous adventurer from the Legend of Zelda series - Link.
And so here he is. Does he follow the precedent set by Samus? Or is this a step back in terms of quality? Watch the review and decide for yourself.
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By Vincent Sanchez
@vincesanchez
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I’d hate to get on this girl’s bad side.
Not only is this the most sought after Black Rock Shooter Figma, it’s one of the most sought after Figma’s to ever be released. Is this a figure worth tracking down?
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By Vincent Sanchez
@vincesanchez
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Welcome to Pickups & Pre-orders, an ongoing monthly feature where Vince recaps on some of the cool things he bought during the previous month and lists some new items that he’s looking forward to buying in the next four weeks.
Also, for those keeping up, I know I am severely late to posting this - just lost track of time! As for my previous month’s PRE-ORDERS, I did receive them all up but decided not to post them in this feature’s PICKUPS section to avoid redundancy.
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PICKUPS
Figma Link - You’d think by now that one of the most famous characters in videogames would have a museum's worth of action figures, but alas, Link does not - and the few he does have are all terrible. This is unquestionably the best Link figure to date and will take a huge amount to surpass. The only real issue with this guy are his lack of accessories. As it stands there’s only his sword and shield. I would have loved to have seen a bow, bombs or boomerang included. Also, he is based off of the Skyward Sword design and as someone who much prefers the Twilight Princess or Wind Waker look, this kind of bums me out.
Fansproject WARBOT Assaulter - The third entry into Fansproject’s WARBOT line is based off of Transformers Generation One Broadside and he’s huge. He’s also full of metal making him really heavy. As a piece of toy engineering this figure is fascinating and definitely worth the $80 just because of how much value you’re getting here. However, I don’t find him to be nearly as fun or interesting as the previous WARBOT - Steelcore. Hopefully, we’ll see future releases from this line incorporate more of Fansproject’s original characters instead of more G1 homages.
Figma Metis - Only ever seen in Persona 3 FES, Metis is Aigis’ sister. Conceptually her design is based around a butterfly robot which makes her look dainty but the fact that she wields giant melee based weapons makes for an interesting contrast. Above all she’s a robot girl, which signifies to me that this is an instant buy. The fact that she’s from the Persona series only makes it that much sweeter.
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PRE-ORDERS
Figma Aigis The ULTIMATE Ver. - Only making an appearance in Persona 4 Arena, this version of Aigis sees many changes that are mostly subtle. However, the overall design and silhouette are very familiar. This is probably my favourite interpretation of the character but that’s not the reason I’m getting this Figma. My real interest in this figure is all the weapons she comes with!
Apple iPhone 5 - Technically this isn’t really a PRE-ORDER since the iPhone 5 did launch back in September, but since December is the month that I’m going to get one, I decided to throw this in here. Why wait so long you ask? Well, the autumn season is the most popular time for companies to launch new electronics and so I merely wanted to weigh my options before committing to a new phone. As an Apple fanboy I was 99% the iPhone 5 would be the device for me but the launch of Windows Phone 8 did have me intrigued (and to a lesser extent, Android too). But now after handling most of the new products and seeing them get their initial firmware updates to iron out the bugs, its obvious that the iPhone is still the one that suits my lifestyle best.
Neuromancer Yoko Littner - Gurren Lagann is an anime that means a lot to me. It was one of those shows that brought back the same feelings of excitement that I only ever got when waking up to watch Saturday morning cartoons as a kid. I love everything about it. Now while I have some Gurren Lagann robot figures, I have none of the human cast. For a while I’ve been looking for a Yoko figure but there hasn't been one that’s grabbed my interest. Until this one. The amazing sculpt, accessory count and marvelous articulation here are really hitting me in all the right places. But there is a slight issue. This is a 9” figure - a scale I’m not a fan of. I prefer the 6” toys and having this on my shelf would look awkward. Also, because she’s large she’s also expensive. At 10,000 YEN, I still think I may cancel my PREORDER in the end. However, if there is ever news of a Kamina figure in this line, then I WILL COMMIT 100%!
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By Vincent Sanchez
@vincesanchez
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Could this be the best Gurren Lagann figure of them all?
If you’ve been a long time listener of the TNIAB podcast, then you’ll know I’m a big Gurren Lagann fan. Actually, you’ll know that I’m a Ginax whore who considers GL to be their best work. As I’m also a toy collector, you’d imagine that I must have a mountain of Gurren Lagann figures and other such merchandise. Or even a special display dedicated to the two-faced red robot.
Well, I don’t.
While the anime was originally released in 2007, I didn’t even know of its existence until a little over a year ago. After falling in love with the anime, I immediately wanted some sort of plastic representation of it in my collection. After many hours of research I learnt that because of the huge popularity of the franchise, every form of collectable figures were either out of production and cost a ludicrous amount on the secondary market. On top of that, I was looking at toys that were four years old and the aged engineering behind most of this pieces just made it hard to justify the high price.
Skip to today, and with Gurren Lagann hitting it’s five year anniversary, many companies are going back and revisiting the franchise. Whether its been re-releases or entirely new products, the market for Gurren Lagann figures have never been brighter. (Even Yoko has got some new figure releases coming out and I’ve got my fingers crossed for a six inch Kamina!)
Among all the new items is this RIOBOT by SEN-TI-NEL. It’s gotten a lot of attention from simply its look alone. But that’s not all, the engineering behind this figure is hugely impressive too. Many have already claimed that this is the Gurren Lagann figure to own and that nothing else comes close to topping it.
So with that said, I had to pick this one up and see for myself what all the hype’s about.
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By Vincent Sanchez
@vincesanchez
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This red Lamborghini Countach has arrived to usher in a new era of Masterpiece Transformers.
The Transformers Masterpiece line is the pinnacle of all Transformers collectables. It’s a toy line that prides itself for its use of die-cast metals, meticulous paintwork, innovative toy engineering and the ability to never be priced under $100. If there was only one line of Transformers to collect, the Masterpiece line would be it.
However, due to the recent decline in economy and rising costs of oil, major toy companies have admitted that it will be much more expensive to produce toys of such high quality. So either we would have to pay an even higher premium or the standards of the toys would have to decline. Takara Tomy has decided to go with the latter option. Another example would be Bandai’s similarly priced “Soul of Chogokin” line, which has also taken a slight back seat in favour of their smaller and more affordable “Super Robot Chogokin” toy line.
And so that brings us to MP-12 LAMBOR. He’s got no die-cast metal, his paint is nice but there is a noticeable dip in quality, he’s about half the size of a standard Masterpiece toy and he’s also the first to be price under $100. Now all these changes don’t sound too appealing but the question remains - Is this worthy of being a Transformers Masterpiece toy? Check out the review to hear my thoughts and I’d love to hear what you think in the comments section below.
