Jollibee kids meal Voltron set

If you were lucky enough to be in the Philippines at the right time, you could walk out of a Jollibee restaurant with a mini Voltron figure! Roughly based on the Toynami Masterpiece Voltron but from from being any kind of Masterpiece. Still, pretty cool.  Check out my review here.

 

Edit 08/07/11: I figured I would update this post. Even though this mold is based on the Toynami Masterpiece mold, Toynami had no part in the making of this. Jollibee basically got a Voltron license and copied Toynami's sculpt.

Mid-Size Lionbot Golion/Voltron knockoff

What I hold here is a rather seldom seen version of Lionbot. Why is it seldom seen if Lionbots are found EVERYWHERE? Well because this is the mid-size version of Lionbot. It is basically identical in proportions to the full-size Lionbot in a small package. Only a couple of things have been sacrificed in this shrinking. One is the size and the other is the lack of bending elbows. Everything else is present- chrome, diecast etc.

Even the layout inside bares a striking resemblance to the Lionbot set which is a copy of the Popy Golion set. The layout is a tad different but it has the same windowed protective lid showing each piece. You will notice that the shield and Blazing Sword is included but you will not find any lion weapons or missiles.

It didn't occur to me to photograph each individual lion, so I only shot him in combined mode. If he looks a tad leaned, that's because one leg is stubborn going in. If I try any harder, I risk ruining the chrome. If you like what you see, good luck finding one cheap, these things go for huge money even though they are knockoffs. I have no clue if they are from the 80's or recent releases. Mine is super minty fresh so it's hard to tell it's age. I love mine and I paid a pretty penny because I'm a hardcore Voltron guy. Hope you found this piece interesting.

Edit 03/07/2011: Wow, I totally forgot I made a video review of this. Well here it is:

Part of my Voltron collection

Ok, so anyone who really really knows me, knows that even though my avatars on robot related sites is Daitarn 3, it is not Daitarn 3 that is my favorite robot. My favorite robot is Voltron. The Voltron show got me into the robot, so I am more a fan of the robot design than I am a fan of the show. In fact I prefer to watch Golion over Voltron anyday. Voltron seems rather childish in its edited form over what Golion offers in its unedited story.

One day on robot-japan.com, someone had posted their collection of Voltron/Golion/Lionbot variants so I thought it would be fun to show of some of what I have. I gathered some of what I have because for me to gather everything I have would take a very very long time. I layed some of the stuff out and took a picture. If this isn't the perfect example of an obsessed Voltron fan, I don't know what is. I have duplicates of everything. I love this figure. I absolutely cannot stand robot animals that turn into robots (like Power Ranger robots) but the creators just made the lions so damn cool that it worked. Oh and it also works for a few other robots like Daltanious.Yes I agree Voltron is rather cheesy looking in some respects,  but I have been obsessed with it since I first saw the show on TV in the 80's and there is no end in sight. I even have a Voltron toothbrush and table cloth. Well enjoy this partial view into my world of Voltron. I will be showing off bits here and there so stay tuned.

Unboxing of Chogokin GE-42 VF-25F Messiah Alto Custom

This is one of those figure I keep stored away because I have no space in my room for it. Well I wanted to open it and take a look at it simply because I was bored. I opened it and then quickly put it away. I held off on transforming it because I surely would not put it away and be forced to shove it into my display case. I've learned to reign myself in when it comes to display pieces so that my display cases don't end up looking so sloppy that it makes my wife embarrased to bring people to the house.

Anyways, the fit finish looks real nice and scores high points for coming in a styrofoam tray. I hope to one day have more space so that I can transform him and display him alongside some of my other Macross figures.

If you can't wait til then, then you can check out the CDX VF-25F review here.

Chogokin Drossel

Never thought you'd see the words Disney and Chogokin in the same sentence? Well you just did. That's because Disney made a few CG animated shorts in Japan about Drossel which is a robotic character in those animated shorts. It's a feminine girly robot but it carries so well into a Chogokin figure. It's absolutely stunning. It carries diecast content in almost all it's entirety.












The gloss white is softly offset by some sharp markings showing off manufacturer logos and whatnot plus some black detail. Has a Stormtrooper feel to it. You would think they would make this figure real short but it's actually a tall figure that comes with various alternate pieces and a nice stand. It's actually quite hard to find now as all initial releases were quickly swiped off shelves. If you can find one, I highly recommend it.











Still not convinced? How bout if I told you it has super sweet LED eyes? And darn bright, like lasers. The switch is hidden inside the head so there is no unsightly switches on the outside. Very clever. Beautiful figure.

Gold Lightan GB-37 Reissue

Here is one of the simplest robots you will ever find. It has a very basic blocky body and is 99% metal. It's a little brick. So what does he turn into? A lighter. Yes a lighter. I know, strange but it's Japanese so that explains a lot. I don't show the transformation here since it literally turns into a block. This figure is a reissue of the original Popy release.

The finish is gold chrome and very nicely done. I absolutely love this figure. It has a certain charm but is not for everyone. It is a proud member of the Rocket Punch Army since his fists shoot off. He also has firing gimmicks elsewhere. You can check out a full review here.

Patlabor Ingram and Griffon Brave Gokin and D-Style figures

Brave Gokin Ingram & Griffon

Some of you may already be familiar with the Patlabor mechs and their figures, but I felt like just pulling these out cause they are just too cool. The Ingram (white robot) I've had for a while now. It's an amazing little diecast robot made by CM's Corp. It is composed mostly of diecast and some plastic parts. The details are amazing and the design is superb. When it was released it was a very pricey figure, but now it can be found relatively cheap. The cockpit opens so you can insert a small PVC figure. The gimmick on this figure is the working LEDs on the shoulders to simulate the lights on a police car. Yeah, this is a Police robot, hence the name Patlabor a mash up of Patrol and labor. Labors are robots that are driven by humans to do tasks normally associated with heavy machinery. Unfortunately, some of those labors go haywire or are manned by criminals so they must be stopped by Patrol Labors..or Patlabors as they are called.

Anyways I also got the Griffon (black robot) yesterday used. I've had another Griffon figure for a while also but that was the Aqua version, this is the flight version. The difference is in the back pack. The flight version has wings. In the anime, this robot is used for evil deeds. It towers over the Patlabor. The gloss black is amazing. It is also almost entirely made of metal. There are no lighting gimmicks but it doesn't need them at all. I forgot to take pictures of the AWESOME opening cockpit. The head swings up and the upper chest opens and lifts up to reveal a little driver inside. Simply cool.

If you are familiar with Kotobukiya model kits, you may already be aware of their super deformed D-Style kits. So far the line consists mostly of Patlabor characters. For this post, I am showing of the first and third release that correspond to the two diecast figures I am showing here.

The Ingram was the first one I built and it was pretty easy. I didn't go crazy painting it since it is partially prepainted and molded in color. I did very slight weathering to it.

I also built the Griffon recently which was also relatively easy to build. Again, no paint, just slight weathering. Really cool pieces both of them. If you collect robots or chogokin and don't have either of these in your collection, you are missing out. You don't have to know anything about them to enjoy them. I HIGHLY recommend the Griffon over the Ingram. It's taller, more detailed and more limited.

That is all for now, if you want to check out full reviews of the CM's Brave Gokin figures, click here for the Ingram or click here for the Griffon.

If you like the D-style kits, click here for the Ingram or click here for the Griffon.

Ben 10 NRG figure by Bandai America

NRG

I picked this fine little figure up the other day and I loved it so much I just had to do a review on it. I was going to take a rest from doing CDX reviews for a few days after the Toy Fair trip, but this figure was too cool to wait. Plus it's simplicity led to a quick simple review. Check it out here.

Mark Robo Car Honda City Turbo

Box Front

I've been eyeballing this poor little robot on eBay for quite some time now and either I forgot how cheap it was or the price was lowered since the first time I laid eyes on it. In any case I snatched it up greedily. It's made by Mark of Japan which is a subsidiary of Takatoku. It's a very simple transforming robot, and believe it or not, it predates Diaclones.

Box Back

It is labeled Robo car and is a transforming Honda City Turbo (think G1 Skids).





 

Tray and stickers

It comes in a bed of styrofoam and has a little sticker sheet.

Vehicle Mode

Car mode is very plain, but that is not the fault of the toy, I have chosen not to apply the stickers. Otherwise it would look sportier.

Robot Mode, very 80's!

It has a Gobots type transformation. Fold legs and snap arms to the side...your done. It is almost completely diecast. What I found neat is that the arms look diecast because they are painted, but in reality they are blue plastic that has been painted red to match the car. Very nice touch instead of just molding the arms red and leaving them an unmatched color compared to the rest of the car like modern toys. It's nice to have a little piece of transforming toy history. It must have been unloved because it sat on eBay for a long time. Glad I snatched it up. It's a great little toy with some history behind it.

Ben 10 Hyperalien Highbreed and Vilgax Vinyl figures

 More vinyl toys!

VILGAX

I saw these figures over at Toy Fair and they looked real sweet. Atom of CollectionDX had been talking about these but I had no clue how good they really were till I hit up the Bandai booth. I decided to track these down and found them for the awesome price of $9.99 each! That's right Bandai vinyl figures for less than 10 bucks. I swiped up both. They are incredible detailed for their price. These could easily cost way more if they were made by a high end vinyl company. The vinyl feels sturdy and has a nice smooth texture on Vilgax and a white/black matte finish on Highbreed. Highbreed has articulation on the shoulders and hips. Vilgax is limited to the shoulders.

HIGHBREED

I like how the very first time you try and move the arms, they "snap" due to the material sticking. Then they free up. Leave them alone for a few minutes and you get to unsnap them again. Real cool. They are about 9" tall. I suggest picking both of these up even if you are just a very casual vinyl collector like me. I know they got the four armed red guy coming out soon so pick that one up too. I only have a few Godzillas and these. I love em. I hope to do a full review of these on collectiondx.com some day.

Captain Maxx

We are going to journey into the realm of vinyl for a second. I have here a Captain Maxx mini Kaiju from Max Toy Co.

It's a very small vinyl and pricey for it's size (about 3"), but if it makes any difference to you, it is Made in Japan- so you know it's good vinyl. Those in the know, know that there is a certain look and feel to Japanese vinyl. So that explains some of it's price.









It has real carefully applied paint apps. It's also limited, there aren't a bajillion of these out there, although there should be. Its just too cool. It's got a very Ultraman-ish look to it. It comes in a little carded baggy. If you like what you see, check out www.maxtoyco.com for this and more.

Fewture ES Alloy Gokin Getter 2

BAM! Right after Getter 1, I had the pleasure of checking out Getter 2! That's right, there is a follow up to Getter 1. These bad boys have been delayed over and over and they are finally just seeing the light of day. Getter 2 comes in the same style box as Getter 1, but a bit smaller.

The back features some of the same great graphics found on the other ES Alloy figures. You get to check out all the accessories and gimmicks you get with this release. The gimmick with this release is a motorized drill. I couldn't figure out how to activate it. I really do need to arrange some alone time with these figures. It's torture to have to say goodbye so quickly.

Inside you will find 2 trays. One for the figure and accessories and one for the included stand. Also comes with a full color booklet.

The figure itself is very pleasant. The white chest piece and abdomen are all diecast. All moldings are sharp and paint apps are excellent except for a couple of chips I found on the backside (very minute). It is more pose-able than it seems. The head moves, the waist moves. It's little skinny and sharp legs are fully articulated. The claw opens and if you have a battery, the alternate drill spins. I have no clue how that works, I don't see wires anywhere. It must be self contained... Hopefully one day I'll find out. Its a great little high end toy. Highly recommended.

Fewture ES Alloy Gokin Getter 1

Finally getting some energy back up after Toy Fair 2011. Let's get back to robots that have passed through my hands recently. What I have here today is Fewture's ES Alloy Gokin Getter 1. It comes in a very classy box. The cardboard is very thick and features chrome lettering.








The back of the box has really nice graphics. I am really liking this line of figures.

Inside the box is 2 plastic trays. One has the figure and accessories and the other has the included stand.

 It's a neat little figure. Very high quality for such a small size. I had a bad experience with their 1969 Mazinger which was a QC nightmare and very expensive. On the other end of the spectrum is this figure. Affordable and great quality so far. The eyes have a light up feature which require 2 LR4's to activate. There is a micro switch behind its head. The fit and finish is top of the line. I really just sat there and admired how nice this figure is. The paint gloss is really well applied. All details were very clear. It seems to be highly articulated. I wish I had batteries... Oh well, until we meet again.

More pictures of GX-59 Daltanius

So what do you guys think of the ankle setup for this figure? I guess they they had to do it this way due to the design but the feet look like they are floating.

 Side view is kinda "meh"

Toy Fair coverage at collectiondx.com

Guys, we have started to post up Toy Fair coverage so definitely check that out 'cause it's got tons of pictures of cool new stuff and more Daltanious pics for all you Chogokin fans.

collectiondx.com

If Bandai toys are your thing, check out our coverage of the Blue Fin booth! Got some more Dalatanious pics there too.

Pictures of GX-59 Daltanias out of case!

Ok, so we (Collectiondx) were allowed access to take pictures of good ol Daltanias out of the case away from glare. Finally got good up close shots of some detail we haven't seen too much of. It's still a prototype but very close to production spec. Here is a teaser of what you can expect to see in the CollectionDX.com toy fair gallery.

GX-59 Daltanious video

So, yeah...STILL tired but wanted to leave you guys with a little video of the GX-59 in it's display case. Definitely stay tuned to collectiondx.com cause we have a lot of video and pictures to sort out and post to the site. You will not want to miss out what I have in store there with Daltanious. For now enjoy the little video, it has a bunch of cool Grendizer stuff too.

Soul of Chogokin Daltanias at Toy Fair

Again, not a lot of writing, I'm beat but here is a figure a lot of us are waiting for. you will want to visit collectiondx.com within the next couple of days...trust me!