Check behind your SOC boxes...if the toy is meant for the HK market, there should be a sticker saying...Bandai HK or something like that. The sticker is ususally "shiny" and is pretty small.

The timing of releases while is used most of the time, may not be reliable as the above one! My bad, in my rush yesterday, I forgot about the sticker thingy.

Dude, me thinks you got off lucky! I don't think my Ideon or Dancougar will survive such a fall! LOL! Put them in a cupboard or shelf.

 

Yeah, luckily it was my smaller SOCs on the shelf so gravity didn't hurt them as bad. I'd never put the big boys on something less stable than a table or the floor. I hate to imagine what would happen to Dancouga after a fall!

I'll have to check out my boxes for those stickers, thanks for the info!

 

Out of all of my SOCs, only Iron Gear has a silver 'Hong Kong' sticker on the back. I guess this means little to me since Iron Gear is one of the most solid and well made toys in my entire collection. Plastic quality is great, parts fit could not be better, joints are perfect, paint is absolutely beautiful and spotless. I really can't imagine any aspect of it being better. Another curiosity is I bought this from a HK seller the same day it was released in Japan...so if HK releases come later...??

Are there any documented incidences of HK SOC toys being of lesser quality, or is it more of a paranoid assumption based on other toy lines and then passed on to SOC by association? The reason I wonder is that I've been collecting these things for a few years now and I've never come across any forum postings where someone complains about having a lesser-quality HK version of something.

It reminds me of the Korean Sonokong vs. Japanese versions of Transformers where they're the same exact toys for different markets but some people insist that the Korean versions are of lesser quality based on the fact that they're cheaper, even though most people agree that there is no difference at all. I wonder if it's a 'well it's cheaper so it must not be made as well' mentality. ie: all in the mind.

I'm not strongly opposed to the concept, I just have a lot of doubts and so far going by my own experiences it seems like much ado about nothing.

 

Where is a good place to buy these? I've been contemplating a Gunbuster or Ideon.

 

To answer your question...the QC problem can come in various forms such as bad paint jobs, joints (either too tight or too loose) etc.

The reason why there's been no major complaints is that most of the time toy owners in HK would simply "exchange" the toy.

Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is I'm not saying that the SOC meant for the Japan mkt have "no problems" or that the HK versions have major problems but on the whole, it appears that the toys meant for the Japanese mkt appear to have less QC problems.

I would like to add to the example, Chosen gave. For me, it would be Gundam Fix toys. Most of the time, I would find more QC problems (such as bent parts, paint smudges) on the HK versions as compared to the Japanese versions.

 

So it is based on other toylines then. I guess my main focus is SOC, where I still haven't seen or heard of any differences. Not trying to be argumentative, just proving to myself that it's a non-issue with SOC.  

 

I'm not trying to be argumentative either. However, nowhere did I say its an "non issue" for SOC. The other toylines I mentioned is meant to serve as an example that it seems that toys meant for the Japan market appears to have better QC.

As I mentioned earlier some SOC collectors have purchased the HK versions which have shoddy paint jobs and joint problems. The mechs imvolved include Ideon, Voltes, Combattler etc. In some instances, there have been missing parts also

 

I guess what I mean is that I don't see any need to be concerned wether a SOC toy is a 'Japanese' or 'Hong Kong' release. Someone at ToyBoxDX had problems with Japanese-release SOC toys, so regardless of what market a toy was meant for there is always the possibility of having minor QC problems or even parts missing from a box because of human error.

Overall I don't think anyone should be afraid of 'HK' releases of SOCs. The only difference seems to be the price. I think if there was a real problem the general internet chatter would be pretty noticable and prominent rather than nearly nonexistent.

 

Behold the awesome beauty of GODMARZ.
http://www.toyskingdom.com.hk/forum/viewthread.php?tid=9299&extra=page=1

 

I'm not familar with this mecha...what are its weapons? Does it use a gun? a sword?

 

He just uses the power of his sheer awesomeness.  
Actually that's somewhat true, he uses various energy beams. No swords or guns AFAIK.

Here's the wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godmarz

 

That is awesome, reminds me of the Orbots toys we never got.

Is there a price mentioned anywhere?

EDIT: NM, saw the 23,000 yen. At over $200, I think I'll pass, but damn I want.

 

Yeah, I'm hoping there is a chance Bandai releases the bots individually so it's easier for people (like myself) to get one.

 

Thanks for the link is he out already? By the way what does AFAIK means??

 

"As Far As I Know"

There isn't a chance that Bandai will release Godmars in individual pieces, either. They've never done that with _any_ of their S.O.C. combiners. And anyway... you'd want all of them anyway, right? The combined form is most of the fun!

 

Thanks dude! I agree with the individual bots comment - doesn't make "financial sense" for Bandai either...but wasn't one of the SOC bots sold individual too? He had a "half-moon" symbol of sorts on his head.

 

Of course I'd want them all, but I find it easier to spend smaller amounts here and there rather than over $200 all in one shot. Yes, one could save up for it, but I thought it would be fun to buy them one at a time and then be able to put them all together once the last one is purchased. Sort of like how I put Voltron together (the big plasticy one with pilots) when I was a kid. Started with the red lion and worked my way up.  

 

You're probably thinking of ZamboAce from the Zambot set. That one was released individually because it can stand on it's own as a toy, and it also came with complimentary parts for the full Zambot. Most people considered it to be drastically overpriced though, but it was a limited edition thing.

As for Godmarz being released individually not making financial sense, aside from the full sets they could sell the bots individually at a higher price than the sum of them combined in a set. Lets say the whole set is $200. If they sold each bot for $35-$40 they'd be making a larger profit than the full set.

I doubt it's something they'd do, but I think it would be a fun way to build Godmarz. Maybe include some sort of bonus doodad with the individual ones as an added incentive.

 

Yeah, it was Zambot! LOL! I must admit I was surprised that Bandai sold the ZamboAce on its own.

With regards to financial sense - what I mean also refers to the view point of the collector - might as well get the whole bot at one shot and pay a possible lower price.

 

Hey eriku, did you see my Dangard Ace thread?