Toynami's booth was an attractive setup of lit displays featuring toys from several different popular properties and a very busy main counter where the commerce took place. Every time we went there, there was always a big line occupying the folks working there! We went ahead took pictures of everything of interest...
First up was Voltron. C'mon, who doesn't like Voltron!? Well, though we couldn't get actual confirmation of the cancellation of the mini plastic version of the Masterpiece Voltron III, it sure wasn't on display anywhere at the booth. That's not a good sign...at all. They did have the regular Masterpiece on display, of course, along with their latest Voltron product: Reebok Voltron shoes.
Yes, take it in slowly. I indeed typed, "shoes". Check it out:
Well...hopefully they sell, right? Then maybe we'll see more Voltron product...
Next up, we have the classic sci-fi satire, Futurama! These would've complemented Mezco Toyz' South Park and Family Guy toys quite nicely.
Okay, let's get started with Robotech, shall we?
First, we have the Macross generation. By now, you've probably heard of the 1/100 scale Valkyries Toynami put out last year. Well, sales of these have been brisk and the line appears to be going strong. The interesting thing I never really noticed is that these are marketed explicitly as "Super Dimensional Fortress Macross" toys, as opposed to as "Robotech: Macross Saga" toys. Anyhoo, here, you can even see Macross: Do You Remember, Love? editions (the famous VF-1S Strike Valkyrie):
Hikaru's Strike Valkyrie on the left, Super VF-1A on the right.
The FAST Pack Super and Strike armor can be purchased separately to equip the Valkyries or Veritechs you already have!
Fortunately, they'll come in the different color combinations necessary to color coordinate properly! ;)
Next on display were the nice Hikaru and Max dollies:
Okay, now let's get to the real good stuff: Genesis Climber Mospeada...also known as "Robotech: The New Generation". There was a lot of big news here. First, there is the reissuing of the 1/35 Legioss (or Veritech Fighter Alphas) re-engineered by Aoshima/Miracle House:
And as you may know, the accompanying Tread (Veritech Beta) is coming out next year. Looking good! Let's hope the engineering is robust...along with the improvements on the Legioss.
Their combination sure looks mouth-watering!
And the other big release is going to be the Aoshima/Miracle House Mospeada (Cyclone), itself. Check it out:
Comments
16 comments postedWhat does "re-engineered by Aoshima/Miracle House" mean?
I avoided the Alpha fighter line because I was really disappointed in the quality of the masterpiece Valkyrie I bought.
So did Aoshima/Miracle House come in and clean up all the QC issues?
Atom got it. Aoshima/Miracle House is going to be re-designing the joints to make them more robust. Unfortunately, we don't have any more detailed information than that. If these turn out to be solid improvements, you can count me in!
A lot of people have had mixed feelings about Aoshima/Miracle House's QC--especially on their Shin Seiki Gokin series. A number of people on TBDX have reported getting lemons (mainly concerning paint apps, but sometimes regarding joints and parts fit). I've had some six figures from them...and they've all been absolutely perfect.
I guess your mileage will vary! I just hope they're consistent and good with these Mospeada toys as they're a lot more complex and bound to be at least a little fragile. Only time will tell; here's to hoping!
It almost seems to me to be some sort of embarrassment for Toynami that their QC on the Alphas was so bad that a Japanese company had to swoop in and save the design... Then again, Toynami is clearly promoting the Aoshima stuff.
...
Voltron shoes over pilot figures, huh? Hehe
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Sanjeev
This is very confusing.
http://wildcats.pupui.jp/mt/archives/2007/08/wf2007.html
So this means that Toynami/Miracle House, Megahouse, and CM's are all making different Cyclones/Ride Armours and Alpha & Betas/Legioss & Tread toys. I'm glad Mospeada is getting so much love but do we really need three companies making the same stuff?
Did Toynami say anything officially about who was making their stuff for them?
As for Toynami using Macross for it's line. It's apparent that they've lost the Robotech license for everything except the Shadow Chronicles movie. So everything has to be either from that movie (the purple Alphas) or whatever Japanese properties they've now licensed.
Hopefully this will be sorted out as the release gets closer.
Forget all that Japanese robot junk. I want me some Futurama figures.
Okay, and maybe a FAST pack for my Max Jenius Valk.
Heavyarms
thatsjustprime.blogspot.com
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According to the poster at the Mospeada display, Aoshima is re-engineering the *wrong* parts! i've owned a couple of the Toynami Alphas, the hip and thighs were fine- it was the SHOULDERS and the KNEES that were bad!
the shoulders scratch the wings and were cheap cheap plastic, the knees scratch the thighs and are not stable at all, so what exactly are you fixing with those points!?!?!?
i'll wait for the CMs version.
duke togo, you pretty much hit the nail on the head: all three companies you mentioned are putting out Mospeada toys in the coming months...though I'm not quite sure why we're confused...
Say, here's a question: were Toynami's 1/100 Valks ALL "Valkyries" from SDF Macross? Or were any of them marketed as "Veritechs" from Robotech Macross? Just curious.
Anyway, Big R, I would focus too much on that Legioss poster. I mean, who really knows what's up when it comes to what they're going to change. For example, that poster makes no mention of changed materials...and I can't imagine them going with the same crap they used with the first run. Anyway, as I said, time will tell. As with many Japanese "collector" toys destined to be this complex and potentially fragile, it pays to wait til the reviews come in before hopping aboard!
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Sanjeev
Macross more recognizable than Robotech? If they're talking about Japan maybe, but Robotech is known to just about anyone between the ages of 25-40. It's about as well-known as Voltron and Thundercats. This proves how little Toynami knows their target market.
My topic of you guys being confused stuck after I had edited the message. HLJ showed the Miracle House bikes so initially it proved that they were not the Toynami ones. After checking more I found thet the one HLJ showed were in fact the Megahouse ones.
Needless to say everyone seems to be confused with up to 4 companies making the same product. That's right 4, I heard of some company called Beagle making them too. Perhaps they are a subcontractor for one of the others.
Its hearting to see so much support for Mospeada line after so long. I have seen images of Megahouse ones, and they look great. But as a newie, I don't know which production house does good in what... can someone advise? Thanks.
http://wildcats.pupui.jp/mt/archives/2007/08/wf2007.html
- newbie collector
Atom, thanks much for that clear break-down of all the upcoming Mospeada toys! Very concise! Your inclusion of the release dates (or current incarnations thereof!) is key, although according to Yaco, CM's Mospeada has been pushed back to February.
Just to be clear, the images above in this article are obviously of the Toynami/Aoshima version. The images in Yaco's Log which you linked to in your comment are actually of the Beagle/Megahouse version. Of course, you probably already knew that, bhchia, but I wanted that to be clear to other readers because they look pretty similar!
Lastly, I just wanted to mention that both Toynami/Aoshima and CM's Corp are planning on Alpha-Beta/Legioss-TLEAD toys. Again, just look above for the Toynami/Aoshima transformable fighters. Pics of CM's fighters can be seen attached to a post near the bottom of the page of this TBDX thread.
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Sanjeev
Guys, thanks for all the leads on this as well as the TBDX thread. I know a lot of guys who got burnt on getting the early Aoshima Legioss and now are in limbo bec' they are drooling over the coming CM 'Legioss and Tread' combo.
Anyway, over here now, we are into the final week to pre-order the CM Legioss and Tread. It ain't cheap, but its just too cool not to have one... ouch!
Also placed my order for megahouse cyclones. Hell, I might end up getting the CM ones too. New year, new toys everyone? :)
Cool!
Glad we've been of help! As I've said on TBDX, I'm really hoping CM's offerings turn out high-quality. In other words, looks aside, I'd love it if they were tough, rugged toys that transformed and docked smoothly.
I'm sure many of these new Mospeada toys will find their way to this site for review, but feel free to post, bhchia. The more opinions, the better!
As it stands right now, I have little faith in Toynami/Aoshima's Beta/TLEAD...what with the craziness surrounding the Alpha/Legioss. Unless they pull off a miracle upset (like the Chargers the other day ;)) and they release a nigh-perfect set, I'll pass.
As for CM's, a lot of folks have high hopes for them. They have a solid track record...that seems to be improving with each release. If that record holds up and their Legioss-TLEAD offering is solid, I think they'll be quite sucessful. The thing is, a lot of people (myself included) are already starting to complain about the looks. The Legioss' intakes are way too small. Its gunpod is stubby-looking. When combined in fighter modes, the Legioss looks mounted too low against the TLEAD...and its thrusters (the feet) look awkward being pushed out to the sides.
Lastly...I honestly don't know what to think concerning the Cyclones/Mospeada. They all look good, but I'll probably throw my hat in with whichever ends up being the most solid toy. Excessive parts-swapping is a bad thing, but as usual, we'll see!
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Sanjeev