Miracle_Productions_Vehicle_Voltron_Image_600 by toybot studios, on Flickr

http://www.toybotstudios.com/2012/03/mi ... hicle.html

$249. Quality is supposed to be between SOC and EX Gokin. Due out end of April.

watch the CollectionDX vid. it's pretty good.

I'm not really a modern chogokin guy...but I just couldn't help it! I *had* to throw down for this guy!

awesome Sanjeev. Me too. i really, really, really, really hope the quality is there. But in the vid, Brian says it's been engineered and made at the very same factory that does SOC and EX Gokin so that's good news....

That news is HUGE, Kirkland. I dare to hope, damnit!

(oh, by the way, that was David Oaks of Toy Freakz! Not...Brian? )

The diecast Blazing Sword and free shipping is a pretty sweet perk for the preorder...but I'm still nervous. Remember: I don't collect modern gokin anymore!

Anyway, I still consider the old Matchbox deluxe combining Voltron I to be one of the greatest toys of all time. And still totally affordable, too.

why not? the couple that I have are nice and don't really have much problems with them (cept for dust).

Well, I find that because vintage gokin were designed primarily as toys, they're more fun to pick up and fiddle with. Plus, the aesthetics of their design emphasizes strength and power in a totally goofy right-angles-only way! Modern gokin are designed more as adult collectibles, and seem less fun to play with...though they tend to look like they stepped off the tv screen (which I find doesn't matter to me too much).

For example, which do you prefer: the GA-37 Grendizer or the Revoltech Grendizer? I prefer the GA-37...and a big part of that is because Revoltechs tend to have at least one or two floppy joints, which makes playing with them pretty unsatisfying to me.

Anyway, that's one of the things I love about vinyl: most modern vinyl makers "get it". They tend to sculpt their toys in that old goofy Marusan/Bullmark style...whereas most ultra-realistic Bandai sculpts leave me kinda cold...

Ugh..I know what you mean about Revoltechs. While I think they're great because of how you can pose them, just getting them to the right pose is a pain. I have a couple as well and they are kept in their box. There is a definite feel as to the vintage toy vs. the modern collectible. Money aside, I would get both but for me, I would always go towards the vintage one for sentimental reasons more than anything else. Trying to find some key toys that I had in my childhood and finding out how much they cost now is a big deterrent, but glad I managed to score a couple from TBDX guys. I like the modern stuff because of the fact that they do look like the shows they came from, but sometimes (or most of the time) they are really not made as well as the vintage version. Even the old Mattel Shogun Warriors are far superior to a lot of the modern versions. Speaking of the modern versions, I think Bandai's SOC line is much better than Revoltech as far as playability/handling goes. I still want a SOC Voltes V...mainly because I could never afford that massive die-cast version.

To answer your question...in case you haven't figured it out...I'd take the GA-37.

Made to be played with = safe from shelf diving during earthquakes

Heh...all true about Revoltechs...but yeah, I'm now realizing that they're probably not a great example for what we're talking about. I shoulda just stuck to SoCs, like you mentioned! Anyway, totally true about the price of vintage gokin: it's a major deterrent--especially if you want ones in nice shape--and when modern ones are so relatively easy to find and usually cheaper, it's hard to say no. That's why I appreciate the few reissues I have! Unifive Gaiking Jumbo, Banpresto GA-01 Mazinger Z, and maybe some others. And truth be told, I *DO* have a few modern robots around. I have the SoC "naked" (silver) potbellied T-28, SoC King Joe, Yamato's "Hagane" Groizer X, Soft Garage's Giant Robo, a few modern Macross Valks from Yamato, etc. I think these are legitimately hot toys--old or new.

But at the end of the day, my general rule is to remain extremely skeptical of modern gokin. I almost always wait until after a release and fully vet the toy through reviews and whatnot. I've just been burned too many times with crummy toys. So even though modern gokin are usually cheaper than vintage, they still don't qualify as "better than nothing" for me. Ultimately, I'd still rather just not buy *anything* for a long time, and save up a bunch of money, and then go after the vintage when I'm ready. Either way, toys are luxury items, right? I'm blessed to have the job I have, so I'm not gonna waste the privilege of having a paycheck by "settling" for the modern toy!

Sanjeev, you don't collect any of the Fewture EX Gokin line up? the Black Ryoma Getter is one of my all time favorite toys. Sato's designs are amazing...

Those Fewtures look great. Garada and Doublas look totally menacing.

Boss Borot is king


boss_4 by toybot studios, on Flickr

hmmm...dunno about that Boss. The original was more like what he was in the show. That Fewture one is way too serious.

Y'know, I actually had the Great Mazinger 1969, and it was actually pretty sweet. What I mean is, it didn't the typical *flaws* we see with modern gokin: ALL the joints were super-tight (but not to the point where I was ever worried anything was gonna break--everything was just nice and stable), there weren't a stoopid amount of accessories, and it was just rugged and well-built. Then you add the typical *benefits* of modern gokin such as great posability and sharp detailing, and it sure seemed like a winner.

It had two problems though. First, it was kinda boring. Like, it didn't have any gimmicks! Nothing was shooty. It had magnetic forearms, but...meh. The biggest problem, however, was the aesthetics in general. It just reminded me too much of what McFarlane would do to a Go Nagai robot (i.e., something criminal). The crazy heavy metal look didn't appeal to me that much...and at the end of the day, I ended up selling it simply because the damn thing didn't go with ANYTHING else in my fucking collection. It'd be one thing if I had a whole bunch of toys that looked like this thing...but the fact is I don't. For a variety of reasons.

Still, I can't fault Fewture for putting something like this out. It was definitely a quality piece, and if you're down with the look, I'm sure you'd dig the toy. If they had put out a classic Great with the same size, style, gokin content, etc., I'd be all over that shit!

All this is making me wonder when the next get-together is. I asked Erik but he's not sure when.

Ah...yeah, I haven't talked to Erik in fucking ages. I'm a shitbag.

I know Alen's gearing up for a presence at Boston Comic Con, but that's a very low-key event here...

It works out then...you haven't talked to him in ages and it takes him a bit to respond.

He IS the Chairman!

yeah, crap. Josh Bernard was in town the other day. I was supposed to meet up with them at KMH, but it didn't pan out.

I suck.

and KMH is still expensive

I'm skeptical of this toy.

Yeah, I heard...he met up with a couple TBDXers and while it's true that KMH is pricey, they were able to score some vintage nuggets (Macross Joke Machine Valkyrie toys and maybe some other stuff) hiding among the flotsam. Hell, even if ya don't buy a thing, I think the experience is always pretty neat!