After all these years, I finally picked one up.



All the flaws people have mentioned about him are true. Except the head. I have no issue with it. But this figures true strength is in it’s shelf presence. While in hand, it feels awkward and like something isn’t just right, but when you put him on a shelf, he dominates it.

 

welcome to the club

loved it since it first dropped. still one of my all time favorite 3p purchases

 

Just received mine today. I've heard apparently there's a face replacement on the aftermarket? Does anyone know if it actually exists, and where I can potentially get one?

 

It does indeed exist.



The Facebook post that it led to unfortunately seems to have been taken down in some fashion.

 

Pure shelf candy

 

Bummer, I just knocked my Kadmos over today and snapped an antenna. This would have been a nice upgrade.

 

While that head replacement is a bit better than the original, it still makes a critical mistake: even face-plated Transformers still have a "nose". Rendering the area between the eyes largely flat completely throws off all sense of facial proportion and structure.

The human brain is uniquely attuned to recognizing face structure, and even if you can't put your finger on it exactly, there's almost always that little twinge in the back of your mind that tells you something is off, setting off that "uncanny valley" response.

Note that this design aspect is shared even with robot designs that aren't even intended to be human analogs in the same way that Transformers are. Mazinger, Jeeg, and Gundam still feature "space" for a nose between their two eyes. Also note how quickly you can move away from that design requirement though. Iron Man doesn't need a suggested nose (his more modern revisions, of course. I'm well aware that some of his earliest designs featured a nose or at least a "bump" for the mask to fit against Tony's nose), because his face doesn't have sunken eye sockets or a protruding muzzle area that suggests the full shape of a human face. His face reads fully as a mask, and is no longer bound by those anatomy restrictions. The brain is funny that way.

 

Interesting observation! I really want an IDW star sabre but the head sculpt just puts me off this guy. Itd also be sweet to have an IDW dai atlas for him to fight on the shelf. Too bad mmc ditched theirs  

 

So is MMC still doing theirs?

 

Don't think so, sadly.

 

Anyone interested in parting with their Kadmos? I've got a GT Op-Ex with Reprolabel set I'm looking to trade if you are.

 

I'm sorry but that looks completely off from the IDW design. Planet X is way closer

 

has anyone heard anything about Victory Leo?

 

While I know customizing is not everyone's bag, it is easier than I thought to make a copy of a figure's head and modify it a bit. Especially in the case of Kadmos, where you might just want to tweak the face portion:

You need silicone mold release spray to start, air dry clay, and some soft epoxy like Green Stuff or the JB Weld epoxy or really anything. Unscrew the head & parts in question, spray w release spray & then make a cheap quick clay mold of the face you want to modify--just make sure to press it fully in there and then let it dry completely. Also before it dries, cut a deep guide line with an Xacto knife that will help you separate two sides of the mold later.

You can mix up the soft epoxy, spray with mold release and put it in the dried clay mold till it cures. This will give you a soft and workable version of the parts that you can tweak easily. Green Stuff and other soft epoxies are super-workable and very forgiving, esp. since you can just add more if you cut too much. You can glue bits of Plasticard, modeling styrene, Lego or Bionicle or scrap TF parts or other more symmetrical pieces in very easily. You can also, as long as you're careful with the fragile clay mold, make a LOT of these test heads. As long as you have a ruler that measures milimeters, it's fairly easy to make everything line up once you do finishing touches.

Once you've got what you like, you can use it to make a more professional silicone mold and cast resin in it. I've been able to get everything except decent silicon molding solution just from local craft stores, although the real professional-quality resin is also better found online.

 

if trading doesn't work out, Robotoybase still has him in stock. just leave one for me, I'm still undecided...  

 

I preordered Kadmos after seeing the haslab Victory Saber. I don't like the proportions of the official one.

 

It just kills me that a HasLab project has gaps, that's where they should be going all out. Because of that, I was thinking about getting this as well, in spite of the bad head sculpt.

 

Ironically the gaps don’t bother me at all, but yeah if they’re going to make it haslab it shouldn’t have the gaps. Also I love this star saber’s head, the only issue is the eye placement and it doesn’t bother me. Looks exactly like the source material

 

The HasLab has a lot going for it, but it's just a shame to see them not give the core Saber bot more love, the poor thing is missing its inner arm. The MP is the same, and so is the Transart surprisingly enough. The forearm gaps are a weird design trend I was hoping the HasLab would correct, but I guess it's just not in the budget...
I'm...getting used to the eyes on Kadmos. I am kind of holding out hope that they release a new head with their inevitable Victory Leo.