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  • Judo Robo

    well that's just a straight up vehicle Pretender

    Tetsuryu   1 week 4 days ago
  • Optimus Prime

    Y'know, I never even considered it as a possibility. As much as it was a disappointment, I guess I'd still just rather have it than not.

    NekroDave   1 week 6 days ago
  • Optimus Prime

    And that's why they're nicknamed Subpar 7 lmao

    Tetsuryu   2 weeks 2 days ago
  • Optimus Prime

    It's Dave's review - so that's up to him! I passed on it..

    JoshB   2 weeks 5 days ago
  • Optimus Prime

    WHAT A PIECE OF JUNK!

    Josh, seeing all these issues, I would just return this thing and get the $350 back.

    This toy is straight up GARBAGE.

    netkid   2 weeks 5 days ago
  • Optimus Prime

    Since I don't work for a toy manufacturer, I can't say for sure, but that does seem to be among the prevailing schools of thoughts. Also, smaller companies having to pay larger companies for the rights to do them at all probably contribute a lot to it as well. By way of comparison, the upcoming Bandai Mazinger Z is being released by a a major company in larger number and the retail price reflects that. Having said all that, you should at least get what you pay for and here I don't feel we did.

    NekroDave   3 weeks 7 hours ago
  • I've updated this review to show some variations that I've become aware of since first publishing this many years ago.

    NekroDave   3 weeks 7 hours ago
  • Optimus Prime

    You made "I shouldn't have to do that" a good catch phrase lol

    Sorry it didn't turn out fantastic. Agreed, for that price, there should be a lot more polish. I'm not a big jumbo person, so I have to ask. Why are modern releases like this so expensive?

    Is it because of small production runs?

    Optimal III   3 weeks 3 days ago
  • What a pain in the butt! I watched your review, and I got the sense that the clear version would be the superior version to own since you can just build it and leave it alone. Hmm...Yep, looking at pictures of the clear version now, you can clearly see how most of the details underneath are visible and you don't have to tear the damned thing apart to expose those areas. Clear version superior. Solid version inferior.

    netkid   5 weeks 4 days ago
  • R2-D9 (R4-M9)

    What a coincidence. I actually just bought this guy and a few other Star Tours Droids on Friday. I didn't know the name was wrong, not that I tend to remember these lesser known droids names anyway.

    NekroDave   6 weeks 5 days ago
  • Cool. I think I have Grendizer and Gaiking in this line. I got them pretty cheap and hoped the same for Danguard Ace but for some reason that one seems more expensive. Doug did a nice paint job on his Gaiking one but I don't think i could bring myself to paint anything vintage.

    NekroDave   9 weeks 1 hour ago
  • Mazinger Z

    In reviewing this old review, I realized that when I wrote it, I did not realize that this toy's gold painted eyes and horns were actually based on the rare 1st version of the Popy original. I've decided to leave the review as I wrote it back then though, just for posterity. The toy can still be differentiated from the original by some subtle mold changes as well as the update logo on the back. Also in reviewing this old review, I regret selling both my regular and silver painted ones in it. D'oh!

    NekroDave   9 weeks 9 hours ago
  • Don Hakka
    Pig

    To be fair, Don Hakka is loosely based on the pig character from Journey to the West.

    Combat_Armor_Dougram   9 weeks 2 days ago
  • Mechagodzilla

    The firing missile fingers make me wish there was a Shogun Warriors Giant Robo.

    Tetsuryu   12 weeks 3 days ago
  • Yellow Lion

    Fixed, thanks for letting me know.

    JoshB   12 weeks 4 days ago
  • Yellow Lion

    Your reviews for the Black and Red Lions may as well not exist, currently; the links that should go to them instead go to reviews for the Matty Collector ones.

    ZeldaTheSwordsman   12 weeks 4 days ago
  • Red Lion (with Lance)

    Just like with the Black Lion, the links that should go to the Playmates Voltron 84 version go to this instead. This needs to be fixed.

    ZeldaTheSwordsman   12 weeks 4 days ago
  • Green Lion

    The Blazing Shield is also supposed to be a cutter weapon, and is even identified as such in GoLion. The thing you called a "grenade" is essentially a smaller cutter weapon for the Green Lion as an individual.

    ZeldaTheSwordsman   12 weeks 4 days ago
  • Blue Lion

    That $28 price tag would be CHEAP for this thing now. Yeesh.

    ZeldaTheSwordsman   12 weeks 4 days ago
  • The link in the Playmates category that's supposed to go to the Playmates classic Black Lion instead leads to this for some reason.

    What the actual fuck?

    ZeldaTheSwordsman   12 weeks 4 days ago
  • Voltron

    It's still not as big as the Matty Collector version. That one is gargantuan since it's made to sit 4" action figures in the front bodies of the lions.

    As for the shoulder rotation using the Black Lion's shoulder ratchets instead of having the sockets (or plugs) rotate separately on their own ratchets, I think that's actually a compromise dictated by both the size and the cross-compatibility:
    * The Black Lion's shoulders already have to accommodate both its own shoulder ratchets and space to tuck the lower legs into. That limits the available space for the socket to have its own ratchet to the point that I doubt there'd be room for one capable of bearing the weight of the limb lions.
    * If the connector plugs rotated, they'd be significantly different from the ones for the Legendary Defender version (for one thing, they'd almost certainly be bigger in order to bear the weight) and the cross-compatibility (which JoshB seems to be wrong about the true extent of) would be undermined.

    ZeldaTheSwordsman   12 weeks 4 days ago
  • Voltron

    I think the Legendary Defender redesign was very much made with toys in mind, Playmates just didn't sufficiently cross-check everything when developing those toys. Like clearance between the elbow joints and the haunch cowlings. Or how much strength the Blue and Yellow lions' foreleg ratchets needed to function as stable heels in the combined mode. If those ratchets were a lot tighter, or there was a way to lock the forelegs in place, I suspect most or all of the LD version's stability issues would vanish.

    Playmates' version of the classic design very much benefits from 1. being a refinement of a design that already existed (rather than one being rendered into toy form for the first time) and 2. being the second 16" Voltron that Playmates did.

    ZeldaTheSwordsman   12 weeks 4 days ago
  • Voltron

    Did you mean to say SKUs?
    If so, that seems to be a dumb thing with toy manufacturers in general anymore. I know Hasbro are guilty of it.

    What do you mean by the sword being half the size it should be? It looks fairly well-proportioned with the lions. Or were you specifically talking in terms of length?

    I suspect it's unpainted because of being made of softer plastic (guess they couldn't get away with the tip as hard plastic). A lot of the common soft plastics don't take too well to the enamel paints used for other bodywork.

    I'm more disappointed that Playmates left out the Black Lion's blade, personally.

    ZeldaTheSwordsman   12 weeks 4 days ago
  • Voltron

    "All of the Legendary Defender lions can be used with the Voltron 84 body, but not the other way around."
    An eBay listing I found when looking for non-painful prices on the Voltron '84 limb lions (because this thing now has Combiner Wars Syndrome) says otherwise: https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/~nEAAOSw1ENkcPce/s-l960.jpg
    You can't stick limbs on the wrong sides, sure, but it definitely seems you can stick the '84 limb lions on the LD Black Lion.

    * The apparent lack of bicep swivels you mention is odd - it looks like it should have them, the Legendary Defender version has them, and the upper part of the elbow is clearly separate from the shoulder. Weird. I will say, it's nice that the elbows are unblocked without needing to slightly mistransform. The Legendary Green and Red lions really needed to have their haunch cowlings collapse a little.
    * The Black Lion obviously copies a lot of design layout from the Legendary one, may even be a heavy reshell. But they definitely repeated not only the electronics setup but also the shoulder joint setup, with the socket itself being static and the rotation using the lion's own shoulder ratchet. It's a bit of a cheat, but I think it's acceptable. Here's why: Between the lion's own shoulder ratchet, and having to accommodate the tucked-in lower leg... it's unlikely there was room to give the socket its own separate ratchet - at least, not one that could handle the weight of the arm lions.
    * From the sound of it, Playmates' circuit board designer doesn't seem to have been the best at complex audio priorities. I know from experience the Legendary Black Lion has similar issues.

    I don' really see this and the Legendary Defender version as having different proportions as such, aside from the wings.

    Having acquired the 16" Legendary Defender version, I'd really like to get this one. It seems more fun than either the Masterpiece one or the Matty Collector one.

    ZeldaTheSwordsman   12 weeks 4 days ago
  • It's not an exact match, but it looks like someone was looking at the Gundam MK-V while designing this, particularly in the torso section.

    Combat_Armor_Dougram   12 weeks 5 days ago