I've seen a photo of the Zybots combined mode. I wonder if certain bots are interchangeable or if everyone has a specific place they have to go (like G1 Devastator) Not sure if the second robot mode was intentional or accidental, but he would make for some great fan art/fan fic. I saw one person above comparing him to Punch/Counterpunch.
I noticed another flaw now that I own the toy myself. There's a ridge inside the right hand meant to help it hold the sword tighter, but it seems to be on the wrong side. Why do I say this? Well, the ridge holds the sword solely by friction if it's touching the solid side of the hilt, but actually tabs into the hollow side... which requires the sword be inserted facing the wrong way. So either the ridge was molded on the wrong side of the fist, or the DaiShinken's hilt was molded with its hollow on the wrong side.
Still holds its sword way more securely than the Thunder Megazord/Dairen-Oh, though.
I can see the hilts of the swords in the Minami face, at least.
The Kita face just makes me think "Prepare to meet... Mister Angry Eyes!"
"Are those supposed to be cannons above the knuckles?" That's certainly what they look like. They're probably a feature that Plex designed but then forgot to really make use of. It happens now and again - Black Gammer and Yellow Kumard from Kakuranger never actually used the Gammer Bow and Kumard Claw (they were at least seen readying them in the fight with Tengu, but didn't actually get to wield them), the Saurer Buster finisher from Zyuranger (seen in some promotional material) went completely unused...
"what the hell kind of weapon is that if it isn’t a very poorly designed spear?" Well, that's exactly what it is - a spear (yariika is "squid spear", not just "squid"). A spear that in toy form Ika Daikai-Oh can't properly wield but instead only awkwardly hold by a handle. It's the Dragon Antler/Power Staff allll over again. Bandai's desire for bulky polearms does not mix well with their neglect of articulation.
Oh, a bit of an oversight: You neglected to say what size battery it takes. For those wondering, it's size LR44/ size 357 (Same size, different material) button cell batteries and you need two.
it looks magnificent- but ¥38500? That’s incredibly steep, isn’t it?
Sure, there are a lot of component vehicles, but ~$350 is another 50% more expensive than other recent flagship SoC releases, right?
Sigh. I’ll probably end up with it anyway. I expect pre-ordering will be necessary, as I can’t imagine vendors wanting to stock many of these that aren’t spoken for.
What happened was apparently that at the time the initial PRS toyline was developed, it looked there wasn't gonna be a show to shill it. So the Zords developed at the time (Samurai Megazord, Beetlezord, Swordfish Zord, Tiger Zord, and Octozord - which may have been released later, I honestly forget, but it has all the hallmarks of the initial line's developent) got simplified and cheapened EXTRA-hard to account for that.
Apparently a lot of the issues with the Power Rangers Samurai zords and the toyline in general stem from the fact that at the time the initial PRS toyline was developed... it was looking like MMPR 2010 was the end of the line for Power Rangers on TV. Disney had no interest in doing any more seasons. Bandai of America still wanted to press on with a toyline, but when they started development all signs pointed to it being a toyline without a show to promote it. So they made changes based on that: The samurai armor-based Mega Mode was created and given more dense distribution than the gi-based regular uniform Rangers, the morpher got simplified, the Zords developed at the time (Samurai Megazord plus the four main Armament Zords) got HEAVILY simplified, the Beetle Zord and Swordfish Zord got changed to things BoA and possibly retailers felt would sell better (show accuracy be damned because there was no show then), the armament Zords came with riding Mega Mode Rangers to make them more attractive in stores, and with the assumed lack of show support they didn't plan ahead even as far as the Clawzord - they probably didn't see an ahead to plan for.
While the Rekka Daizanto neither transforming nor having an alternate cannon mode version included is fairly disappointing, at least that's the only knock against the accessories here. Can you imagine if the Common Disak was permanently attached to the Shinkenmaru? And he didn't come with the Rekka Daizanto, the Shodophone forms, or the Shishi Origami, but instead came with the Beckoning Cat that Takeru got bodyswapped with?
Well, that's basically what happened to Ryuranger. No Lai-Lai Jewel, no Soryuken (Double Dragon Swords), and he only has a single Dairenrod with the Rod Arrow tip permanently attached instead of either a detachable tip or a second rod with no tip - even though the rods were most commonly used with no tip. But he sure does have those gag accesoeies from Akibaranger! (ugh)
"I can see why incorporating poseable legs would have been both difficult and expensive for the consumer. But couldn’t they have at least left an indent or a line or something to indicate that there is supposed to be this fictitious knee joint there!?" In fairness, the thighs are recessed when seen from the front, and there are those big red and chrome knee pads there.
"Now, this may be me being paranoid, but the rectangular bars that the shoulders are attached to seem to stick out a tad more than seems necessary; certainly they’re more accommodating than need-be for transforming it" As I'm sure you're aware, this turned out not to be the case. I think the actual reason is because the internal workings (like the catch for the Soul socket cover) don't leave room for them to be tucked further from that angle.
"Head swiveling. Why didn’t it have this???" Probably because the head/engine is tied into the system that controls the sound effects. so they didn't want it moving around. Heck, there are actually restrictor ridges under the golden exhaust pipes to make sure it stays still!
"the Go-On Sword doesn’t fit very well in the hand(s) because the friction of the finger joints isn’t that strong; so it tends to droop as soon as you let go of it" Sentai robos that can'tr hold their swords well seem to outnumber the ones that can. I think the real issue in this case isn't so much the finger joint friction (mine are fairly tight) as it is the shape of the fingers - they aren't molded to tightly engulf the Go-On Sword's hilt.
"For a good while there before “Go-Onger” came out, rumors swirled around that Buson was actually a bison... which would have made much more sense to me than a friggin’ lion. If I have to look that hard to recognize a lion’s head on the front of a bus, then somethin’ isn’t right." Right,suuuure. Because the fangs, the small whisker grooves on either side of the frontmost section of his faceplate, and the lack of horns and beard look veeeery bisonish. Not to mention the numeral :P I can understand you not immediately seeing a lion (just like I could get someone mistaking BearRv for a cat), but seeing a stronger resemblance to a bison? I just.... what? As I said in the 2015 comment, it helps if you speciofically think of a Shishi lion statue. That kind of squat look, the protruding fangs, plus the way the mane starts behind the cheeks (in Bus-On's case, the mane starts with the molded gold parts either side of his face), It's probably the best they could do when the base vehicle is a brick with wheels.
Me, I can see Bus-on as a lion fairly well. What I wish was different with him: * A couple tiny extra licks of paint to better pick out the missiles * The destination board, rather than being a single sticker decal, instead being a flat clear pocket you could insert different graphics into (like the angry-face emoticons)
You missed or didn't cover an amusing detail of the Engine Souls that I discovered when I got Engine-Oh in today: The "Don't put the batteries in your mouth" warning molded on the battery cover is a struck-through image of Pac-Man munching. That gave me a good laugh
I know you've said in the past that you're not interested in the Dino Engines. Has that changed at all in the wake of the rubbish train mecha ToQger offered? Kishamoth and even the gimped BoA Mammoth Paleozord had working side-rods, while the ToQger stuff..
Another fun Summer Summit! This was my 3rd summit.
Pardon any misspellings, the iPhone's keyboard coupled with autocorrect can be a real pain.
So many faces, some familiar, some new. Its hard to keep track and remember names (I'm terrible with names), especially when you only meet for 1 day a year and some folks can have similar looks. Certain folks from the last two years seemed a bit more open and sociable. I appreciated that. In conversations I'm not one to know names of Japanese individuals or specific Japanese terms used to describe certain types of Japanese toys, but I can follow along if I know what show/toy said Japanese person worked on or what said Japanese toy (die cast, perfect transformation, vinyl, etc.) is being discussed. Folks were much more forgiving this time in regards to those of us not knowledgeable of specific terms and names. Again, I appreciated that.
The area of choice and setup was much easier to navigate. Very open and not as mind-wracking as previous years. It's not the venue size that makes looking at everything a problem, its the lack of organization. The worst thing is checking out all the tables, boxes, and mats only to then later remember a spot or two you forgot to check or passed by because it was already overcrowded by curious onlookers at the time.
Also Josh, don't leave your packaged Transformers in the hot sun's rays. Humidity will build within their packaging bubbles, creating a hot environment which causes their clear plastic to curl, melt, and eventually collapse in like a bad soufflé. I saw this happen once to a Universe Sideswipe. Nasty stuff.
Ben, David, Sanjeev, Fred, and others whose names escape me were the stars of the Summit. Their made in-house/in-their-house creations have inspired us all and your rapidly growing showcase of pieces has piqued our curiosities. I am eager to check out three dimensional printing and attempt to bring that which is locked in my mind and trapped on paper into the physical world.
To whom I talked with about Microman, I forgot your name but it was a great chat. I think you had blonde hair.
One memory that really stuck with me that day was looking through the Kaiju crate and suddenly having this a little girl in front of me burst into tears. Turns out the other girl she was with ran off will all 3 vinyl Mothras or as they called them, "Butterflies." Though her father tried to comfort and reassure her with promises of buying this girl her own Mothra, I hate to see kids cry and not share. Remember kids, sharing is caring.
The event brought back flashes of early 90's childhood moments before my eyes when I would miss out on a toy or not have something cool shared with me. It made me remember seeing a man leaving k-mart toy aisles with arms full of Kenner Star Wars figures as my brother and I searched helplessly for a master Yoda. But most of all, it made me realize how now as older collectors, we are pretty much continuing that cycle. We were once the kids with no luck that could only go to the store when their parents needed to and only had a limited amount to spend IF our parents allowed it. Now that we've grown up, we finally have the free time, a car, and enough money to buy these things, leaving kids of today once again at a great disadvantage. In our attempt as kids to beat the older collectors, we have essentially become them. Being an adult with those advantages, and looking at how hard its been in the last few years to find what you want in stores, it's no wonder kids these days are less interested in buying a toy and more interested in a game on their phone that's just the mere swipe of a fingertip away.
Seeing the kids playing rough with Kaiju toys has also made me realize why we still need cheap toys for kids to beat on. Unfortunately, many American toys in these post-2008 days are being made cheaper, but cost twice as much now. It's not fair to kids and we should only be paying more for the products that do demand a bigger price and are meant to appeal to older crowds and collectors. Oh well, thems the times.
One 2013 Summit complaint I heard was that unlike years prior, many folks did not buy much. While this is true, for me it was less a case of being thrifty and more a case of just not finding as much cool stuff as prior years. I can understand the frustrations of not finding a cool item to bring home and for sellers, not moving the stuff they brought with them. MANY of the toys up for grabs I already owned. Though this first-hand knowledge allowed me the opportunity to tell folks about what they were selling and how it was in hand, what to be careful with, etc.
I only bought 1 thing, my first Revoltech, a purple EVA (the one piloted by that boy with issues) from the nice gentleman seen above chugging a coke in the 3rd pic (or 4th depending on how you want to count them). His name is Connor, like that dude from Highlander. Real nice guy. If you see him next summit, stop by, say hi to him.
Late in the day the folks from Onell Design showed up. Jesse from Callgrim, I apologize for the rushed and brief greeting. I was in the middle of sorting through a ton of Microman toy parts and needed to complete the task before the Mosquitos came out. I appreciate the work you, Matt, and everyone else who uses those Glyos joints produce. Keep doing what you're doing and tell Matt thank you for the glow items. It's was a totally unexpected, selfless act of kindness that he didn't have to do, even to the extent of which he did it, but it caught me completely off guard and I actually had to sit down from experiencing such a sheer magnitude of thoughtfulness. This made me grow to appreciate team Onell more than I could have imagined. It's such surprises like these that set your companies uniquely apart and above others who have grown too big to care about the very people that keep them in business. Thanks again to you all.
Like clockwork, once the sun dipped and darkness reached a certain point, out came the Mosquitos. They were brutal and swarmed me like fighter jets on Godzilla. I don't think I've ever been bit so much in such a short amount of time. Since then, the bites have healed and I am free of any mosquito-related diseases.
After darkness fell and the mosquitos had their fill, the remainder of us headed 10 minutes down the road to Pinball Wizard. It's right next door to this pizza place that dance's on the razor's edge of legality and somehow uses the Superman badge as its company logo. Copyright infringement aside, Josh B says they have a really great slice topped with mozzarella sticks, chicken fingers, and probably whatever else I can't remember that is found in a chain restaurant's appetizer sampler.
The arcade itself consisted primarily of pinball machines and enough retro cabinets to make you think they came from a closeout sale at FLYNN'S. Yes, there was even a classic TRON cabinet and a new Tron: Legacy pinball machine. All that was missing was Jeff Bridges and some Journey. Loads of Atari era stuff, the occasional neo geo multi-game/metal slug cabinet, and surprisingly even some nes/snes games in cabinets. Also present were 90's fighters, shooters, racing games, prize games, and many coin games to earn tickets from. There is a back room where they keep all the unused machines also with a few operational ones like Terminator 2 pinball.
As for the gang, Atom constantly tried his luck at a few pinball tables. Trying to apply what he learned from his pinball app to the real deal, with successful-opposite-results. On machines he had trouble with on the app he ruled in real life and with machines he had success with on the app, he struggled. If you folks reading this want an easy machine, I heard the Doctor Who pinball was great for beginners.
Dave, Mike, and I played air hockey on an unreliable table with dead spots and a messed up score counter. It was more like air hockey roulette, with neither man knowing who was winning or losing. I then played Virtual-On with one of you and then nascar with my brother. Josh played games with his son, excited to be staying up past his bedtime, but they left a bit early to be home at a reasonable hour. I closed it out with Dave and Mike at the Skeeball area, and Dave finally beat his personal best score. Not wanting to go home empty handed, I won two rubber bounce balls from what can only be described as the most effortless arcade game in existence. Even if you lose, you've still got your balls.
As the night rolled to a close and we had spent our tokens, the gang all gathered outside for one last farewell and shuffled off into the night with long drives ahead. As soon as it ended, another cycle was beginning and the summit of summers next lay on the horizon...
I agree, the SS Starscream mold is a suitably nice one. The paint applications are spot-on, the articulation is great (including in his two-joint knees), and the molds are top-notch for a Bayformer despite being a scaled-up version of the original 2013 figure. It seamlessly fits in right next to all the dedicated Studio Series figures.
Only problems I have with it is getting the wings to telescope up/down on those waist pistons while in vehicle mode, and unpegging the back horizontal stabilizers from the rest of the jet's back end. And, yeah, the undercariage kibble doesn't help much, considering the larger SS Leader-class Blackout managed to not show ANY kibble from the sides or top in helicopter mode.
I wish the buzz saw had been included, but it's nice they took the time energy and effort to add a new mold of his hand-held missile launcher. (Ironically, the 2013 Leader-class figure- which I reviewed for CDX, btw-also did the hand-held missile launcher, but it barely looked anything like it did in the movies!)
It took nine years, but I finally got giant Pulgasari! It is a thrill! Just goes to show the Rolling Stones were wrong: You CAN always get what you want!
I've seen a photo of the Zybots combined mode. I wonder if certain bots are interchangeable or if everyone has a specific place they have to go (like G1 Devastator) Not sure if the second robot mode was intentional or accidental, but he would make for some great fan art/fan fic. I saw one person above comparing him to Punch/Counterpunch.
I noticed another flaw now that I own the toy myself. There's a ridge inside the right hand meant to help it hold the sword tighter, but it seems to be on the wrong side. Why do I say this? Well, the ridge holds the sword solely by friction if it's touching the solid side of the hilt, but actually tabs into the hollow side... which requires the sword be inserted facing the wrong way. So either the ridge was molded on the wrong side of the fist, or the DaiShinken's hilt was molded with its hollow on the wrong side.
Still holds its sword way more securely than the Thunder Megazord/Dairen-Oh, though.
Yup, many people alerted me of this this morning. I've got it preordered. Good price even though I have to wait a month later than Japan.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07SH712ZH/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1&tag=transformers-20
Thats what not getting the pre-order will do to you...
I can see the hilts of the swords in the Minami face, at least.
The Kita face just makes me think "Prepare to meet... Mister Angry Eyes!"
"Are those supposed to be cannons above the knuckles?" That's certainly what they look like. They're probably a feature that Plex designed but then forgot to really make use of. It happens now and again - Black Gammer and Yellow Kumard from Kakuranger never actually used the Gammer Bow and Kumard Claw (they were at least seen readying them in the fight with Tengu, but didn't actually get to wield them), the Saurer Buster finisher from Zyuranger (seen in some promotional material) went completely unused...
"what the hell kind of weapon is that if it isn’t a very poorly designed spear?" Well, that's exactly what it is - a spear (yariika is "squid spear", not just "squid"). A spear that in toy form Ika Daikai-Oh can't properly wield but instead only awkwardly hold by a handle. It's the Dragon Antler/Power Staff allll over again. Bandai's desire for bulky polearms does not mix well with their neglect of articulation.
Oh, a bit of an oversight: You neglected to say what size battery it takes. For those wondering, it's size LR44/ size 357 (Same size, different material) button cell batteries and you need two.
It says "Due October 2018 for 38,500 yen."
Ugh, fixed. I'll be up at 4am waiting for the preorder go live tonight!
Wow, and it doesn't come out till 2918?! The wait will kill us all!
LOL but seriously, cool. I'm thinking I may pre-order two for display purposes.
it looks magnificent- but ¥38500? That’s incredibly steep, isn’t it?
Sure, there are a lot of component vehicles, but ~$350 is another 50% more expensive than other recent flagship SoC releases, right?
Sigh. I’ll probably end up with it anyway. I expect pre-ordering will be necessary, as I can’t imagine vendors wanting to stock many of these that aren’t spoken for.
Forget about Miracle Productions' version. This is the real deal I'm waiting for.
What happened was apparently that at the time the initial PRS toyline was developed, it looked there wasn't gonna be a show to shill it. So the Zords developed at the time (Samurai Megazord, Beetlezord, Swordfish Zord, Tiger Zord, and Octozord - which may have been released later, I honestly forget, but it has all the hallmarks of the initial line's developent) got simplified and cheapened EXTRA-hard to account for that.
Apparently a lot of the issues with the Power Rangers Samurai zords and the toyline in general stem from the fact that at the time the initial PRS toyline was developed... it was looking like MMPR 2010 was the end of the line for Power Rangers on TV. Disney had no interest in doing any more seasons. Bandai of America still wanted to press on with a toyline, but when they started development all signs pointed to it being a toyline without a show to promote it. So they made changes based on that: The samurai armor-based Mega Mode was created and given more dense distribution than the gi-based regular uniform Rangers, the morpher got simplified, the Zords developed at the time (Samurai Megazord plus the four main Armament Zords) got HEAVILY simplified, the Beetle Zord and Swordfish Zord got changed to things BoA and possibly retailers felt would sell better (show accuracy be damned because there was no show then), the armament Zords came with riding Mega Mode Rangers to make them more attractive in stores, and with the assumed lack of show support they didn't plan ahead even as far as the Clawzord - they probably didn't see an ahead to plan for.
While the Rekka Daizanto neither transforming nor having an alternate cannon mode version included is fairly disappointing, at least that's the only knock against the accessories here. Can you imagine if the Common Disak was permanently attached to the Shinkenmaru? And he didn't come with the Rekka Daizanto, the Shodophone forms, or the Shishi Origami, but instead came with the Beckoning Cat that Takeru got bodyswapped with?
Well, that's basically what happened to Ryuranger. No Lai-Lai Jewel, no Soryuken (Double Dragon Swords), and he only has a single Dairenrod with the Rod Arrow tip permanently attached instead of either a detachable tip or a second rod with no tip - even though the rods were most commonly used with no tip. But he sure does have those gag accesoeies from Akibaranger! (ugh)
I thought of a good way to prop up the Bus-on Missile launchers: Putting the Go-On Sword and an Engine Soul in the compartments upside-down
"I can see why incorporating poseable legs would have been both difficult and expensive for the consumer. But couldn’t they have at least left an indent or a line or something to indicate that there is supposed to be this fictitious knee joint there!?"
In fairness, the thighs are recessed when seen from the front, and there are those big red and chrome knee pads there.
"Now, this may be me being paranoid, but the rectangular bars that the shoulders are attached to seem to stick out a tad more than seems necessary; certainly they’re more accommodating than need-be for transforming it"
As I'm sure you're aware, this turned out not to be the case. I think the actual reason is because the internal workings (like the catch for the Soul socket cover) don't leave room for them to be tucked further from that angle.
"Head swiveling. Why didn’t it have this???"
Probably because the head/engine is tied into the system that controls the sound effects. so they didn't want it moving around. Heck, there are actually restrictor ridges under the golden exhaust pipes to make sure it stays still!
"the Go-On Sword doesn’t fit very well in the hand(s) because the friction of the finger joints isn’t that strong; so it tends to droop as soon as you let go of it"
Sentai robos that can'tr hold their swords well seem to outnumber the ones that can. I think the real issue in this case isn't so much the finger joint friction (mine are fairly tight) as it is the shape of the fingers - they aren't molded to tightly engulf the Go-On Sword's hilt.
"For a good while there before “Go-Onger” came out, rumors swirled around that Buson was actually a bison... which would have made much more sense to me than a friggin’ lion. If I have to look that hard to recognize a lion’s head on the front of a bus, then somethin’ isn’t right."
Right,suuuure. Because the fangs, the small whisker grooves on either side of the frontmost section of his faceplate, and the lack of horns and beard look veeeery bisonish. Not to mention the numeral :P I can understand you not immediately seeing a lion (just like I could get someone mistaking BearRv for a cat), but seeing a stronger resemblance to a bison? I just.... what?
As I said in the 2015 comment, it helps if you speciofically think of a Shishi lion statue. That kind of squat look, the protruding fangs, plus the way the mane starts behind the cheeks (in Bus-On's case, the mane starts with the molded gold parts either side of his face), It's probably the best they could do when the base vehicle is a brick with wheels.
Me, I can see Bus-on as a lion fairly well. What I wish was different with him:
* A couple tiny extra licks of paint to better pick out the missiles
* The destination board, rather than being a single sticker decal, instead being a flat clear pocket you could insert different graphics into (like the angry-face emoticons)
You missed or didn't cover an amusing detail of the Engine Souls that I discovered when I got Engine-Oh in today: The "Don't put the batteries in your mouth" warning molded on the battery cover is a struck-through image of Pac-Man munching. That gave me a good laugh
Somebody needs to wave this thing in the faces of the bozos who designed the ToQger mecha
I know you've said in the past that you're not interested in the Dino Engines. Has that changed at all in the wake of the rubbish train mecha ToQger offered? Kishamoth and even the gimped BoA Mammoth Paleozord had working side-rods, while the ToQger stuff..
Well, this article didn't age well. Shows what I know.
2013 Summit writeup:
Another fun Summer Summit! This was my 3rd summit.
Pardon any misspellings, the iPhone's keyboard coupled with autocorrect can be a real pain.
So many faces, some familiar, some new. Its hard to keep track and remember names (I'm terrible with names), especially when you only meet for 1 day a year and some folks can have similar looks. Certain folks from the last two years seemed a bit more open and sociable. I appreciated that. In conversations I'm not one to know names of Japanese individuals or specific Japanese terms used to describe certain types of Japanese toys, but I can follow along if I know what show/toy said Japanese person worked on or what said Japanese toy (die cast, perfect transformation, vinyl, etc.) is being discussed. Folks were much more forgiving this time in regards to those of us not knowledgeable of specific terms and names. Again, I appreciated that.
The area of choice and setup was much easier to navigate. Very open and not as mind-wracking as previous years. It's not the venue size that makes looking at everything a problem, its the lack of organization. The worst thing is checking out all the tables, boxes, and mats only to then later remember a spot or two you forgot to check or passed by because it was already overcrowded by curious onlookers at the time.
Also Josh, don't leave your packaged Transformers in the hot sun's rays. Humidity will build within their packaging bubbles, creating a hot environment which causes their clear plastic to curl, melt, and eventually collapse in like a bad soufflé. I saw this happen once to a Universe Sideswipe. Nasty stuff.
Ben, David, Sanjeev, Fred, and others whose names escape me were the stars of the Summit. Their made in-house/in-their-house creations have inspired us all and your rapidly growing showcase of pieces has piqued our curiosities. I am eager to check out three dimensional printing and attempt to bring that which is locked in my mind and trapped on paper into the physical world.
To whom I talked with about Microman, I forgot your name but it was a great chat. I think you had blonde hair.
One memory that really stuck with me that day was looking through the Kaiju crate and suddenly having this a little girl in front of me burst into tears. Turns out the other girl she was with ran off will all 3 vinyl Mothras or as they called them, "Butterflies." Though her father tried to comfort and reassure her with promises of buying this girl her own Mothra, I hate to see kids cry and not share. Remember kids, sharing is caring.
The event brought back flashes of early 90's childhood moments before my eyes when I would miss out on a toy or not have something cool shared with me. It made me remember seeing a man leaving k-mart toy aisles with arms full of Kenner Star Wars figures as my brother and I searched helplessly for a master Yoda. But most of all, it made me realize how now as older collectors, we are pretty much continuing that cycle. We were once the kids with no luck that could only go to the store when their parents needed to and only had a limited amount to spend IF our parents allowed it. Now that we've grown up, we finally have the free time, a car, and enough money to buy these things, leaving kids of today once again at a great disadvantage. In our attempt as kids to beat the older collectors, we have essentially become them. Being an adult with those advantages, and looking at how hard its been in the last few years to find what you want in stores, it's no wonder kids these days are less interested in buying a toy and more interested in a game on their phone that's just the mere swipe of a fingertip away.
Seeing the kids playing rough with Kaiju toys has also made me realize why we still need cheap toys for kids to beat on. Unfortunately, many American toys in these post-2008 days are being made cheaper, but cost twice as much now. It's not fair to kids and we should only be paying more for the products that do demand a bigger price and are meant to appeal to older crowds and collectors. Oh well, thems the times.
One 2013 Summit complaint I heard was that unlike years prior, many folks did not buy much. While this is true, for me it was less a case of being thrifty and more a case of just not finding as much cool stuff as prior years. I can understand the frustrations of not finding a cool item to bring home and for sellers, not moving the stuff they brought with them. MANY of the toys up for grabs I already owned. Though this first-hand knowledge allowed me the opportunity to tell folks about what they were selling and how it was in hand, what to be careful with, etc.
I only bought 1 thing, my first Revoltech, a purple EVA (the one piloted by that boy with issues) from the nice gentleman seen above chugging a coke in the 3rd pic (or 4th depending on how you want to count them). His name is Connor, like that dude from Highlander. Real nice guy. If you see him next summit, stop by, say hi to him.
Late in the day the folks from Onell Design showed up. Jesse from Callgrim, I apologize for the rushed and brief greeting. I was in the middle of sorting through a ton of Microman toy parts and needed to complete the task before the Mosquitos came out. I appreciate the work you, Matt, and everyone else who uses those Glyos joints produce. Keep doing what you're doing and tell Matt thank you for the glow items. It's was a totally unexpected, selfless act of kindness that he didn't have to do, even to the extent of which he did it, but it caught me completely off guard and I actually had to sit down from experiencing such a sheer magnitude of thoughtfulness. This made me grow to appreciate team Onell more than I could have imagined. It's such surprises like these that set your companies uniquely apart and above others who have grown too big to care about the very people that keep them in business. Thanks again to you all.
Like clockwork, once the sun dipped and darkness reached a certain point, out came the Mosquitos. They were brutal and swarmed me like fighter jets on Godzilla. I don't think I've ever been bit so much in such a short amount of time. Since then, the bites have healed and I am free of any mosquito-related diseases.
After darkness fell and the mosquitos had their fill, the remainder of us headed 10 minutes down the road to Pinball Wizard. It's right next door to this pizza place that dance's on the razor's edge of legality and somehow uses the Superman badge as its company logo. Copyright infringement aside, Josh B says they have a really great slice topped with mozzarella sticks, chicken fingers, and probably whatever else I can't remember that is found in a chain restaurant's appetizer sampler.
The arcade itself consisted primarily of pinball machines and enough retro cabinets to make you think they came from a closeout sale at FLYNN'S. Yes, there was even a classic TRON cabinet and a new Tron: Legacy pinball machine. All that was missing was Jeff Bridges and some Journey. Loads of Atari era stuff, the occasional neo geo multi-game/metal slug cabinet, and surprisingly even some nes/snes games in cabinets. Also present were 90's fighters, shooters, racing games, prize games, and many coin games to earn tickets from. There is a back room where they keep all the unused machines also with a few operational ones like Terminator 2 pinball.
As for the gang, Atom constantly tried his luck at a few pinball tables. Trying to apply what he learned from his pinball app to the real deal, with successful-opposite-results. On machines he had trouble with on the app he ruled in real life and with machines he had success with on the app, he struggled. If you folks reading this want an easy machine, I heard the Doctor Who pinball was great for beginners.
Dave, Mike, and I played air hockey on an unreliable table with dead spots and a messed up score counter. It was more like air hockey roulette, with neither man knowing who was winning or losing. I then played Virtual-On with one of you and then nascar with my brother. Josh played games with his son, excited to be staying up past his bedtime, but they left a bit early to be home at a reasonable hour. I closed it out with Dave and Mike at the Skeeball area, and Dave finally beat his personal best score. Not wanting to go home empty handed, I won two rubber bounce balls from what can only be described as the most effortless arcade game in existence. Even if you lose, you've still got your balls.
As the night rolled to a close and we had spent our tokens, the gang all gathered outside for one last farewell and shuffled off into the night with long drives ahead. As soon as it ended, another cycle was beginning and the summit of summers next lay on the horizon...
A re-release of the SoC GoLion and a possible release of the SoC Dairugger XV this year? It's like an early Christmas treat.
And those figures from Storm Collectibles look incredible. Can't wait to get Kyo Kusanagi.
Good chance for me to snatch this up since I missed it the first time around.
...ohh, gods, I hope they reissue both versions of Aquarion again; that set is still expensive as hell on the aftermarket-!
I agree, the SS Starscream mold is a suitably nice one. The paint applications are spot-on, the articulation is great (including in his two-joint knees), and the molds are top-notch for a Bayformer despite being a scaled-up version of the original 2013 figure. It seamlessly fits in right next to all the dedicated Studio Series figures.
Only problems I have with it is getting the wings to telescope up/down on those waist pistons while in vehicle mode, and unpegging the back horizontal stabilizers from the rest of the jet's back end. And, yeah, the undercariage kibble doesn't help much, considering the larger SS Leader-class Blackout managed to not show ANY kibble from the sides or top in helicopter mode.
I wish the buzz saw had been included, but it's nice they took the time energy and effort to add a new mold of his hand-held missile launcher. (Ironically, the 2013 Leader-class figure- which I reviewed for CDX, btw-also did the hand-held missile launcher, but it barely looked anything like it did in the movies!)
This is a good chance for someone like me to pre-order this since I missed the original version.
It took nine years, but I finally got giant Pulgasari! It is a thrill! Just goes to show the Rolling Stones were wrong: You CAN always get what you want!