Voltron Toys Discussion Thread

Discussion in 'The Toyark' started by Shin Densetsu, Jun 7, 2010.

  1. Dr Kain

    Dr Kain Well-Known Member

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    I hope the spring issue is only on his.
     
  2. LigerPrime

    LigerPrime Well-Known Member

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    Mattel really goofed up on the spring gimmicks. I can understand if that they were aiming for the 'cartoon' look but to unable to handle Voltron without the lions' legs spring out will be a real pain in the butt.

    It's ironic but IMO the best Voltron is still the Toynami version of him.
     
  3. LegendAntihero

    LegendAntihero Banned

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    I would get the Toynami version, too but it's going for hundreds on ebay. I want to wait until I get the black lion before buying that.
     
  4. Dr Kain

    Dr Kain Well-Known Member

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    Yes and no. The problem with Toynami's is their plastic is cheap and fragile. I had my MP version black lion head broken in the packaging and a friend's leg on blue lion snapped off from him posing it for the first time. However, for posseability, I will agree.

    The thing about Mattel's lions is they are accurate to the anime and their size. Those are the main reasons I prefer them over Toynami's.
     
  5. GMANIFESS

    GMANIFESS G1 Manifestations

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    I could care less about the flaws. Compared to import prices & other high-end collectibles the prices for these lions are very decent. And lets be real, once we get Black Lion, who the hell is going to NOT be displaying this in combined Voltron mode??

    -They are built like bricks. The gimmicks are goofy, but these seem to be marketed to old-school collectors & their kids.
    -It's fairly anime accurate.
    -It's a homage to the panosh version with the pilots.

    AND... it's freaking 23" tall. But what was really cool is that if you ignore the included pilots & put the lions on a shelf with other 'mecha' the lions come out to a 1/48 scale. So for scale lovers this is awesome!
    [​IMG]
    The real challenge will be where to put this mofo... might have to take Fort/Brave Maximus' position.
     
  6. Sportimus

    Sportimus Well-Known Member

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    All the good points you mentioned just vanish once I looked at the pic you posted below it because that VF-1J is so vastly superior, it makes the Mattel Lions look cheap and inferior in almost every way. Sure, the VF's are not nearly as durable as the Lions are, but the engineering, articulation, accuracy, detail, fit, finish, and quality paint applications just puts Matty's Voltron to shame. That VF is the true masterpiece.

    I'm really torn here because I am a huge Voltron fan. Part of me wishes I had bought the Lions but the other part is glad I didn't because of all the defects and other issues with them. Mattel had a great idea but failed to follow through with a homerun execution. I don't mind the Anime look they were going for or the size. However I would have liked to see:

    - No gimmicks like spring loaded legs.
    - A more "finished" cockpit instead of flat stickers and a bland seat.
    - Clean paint apps.
    - LED light-up eyes and sword.
    - Better fit and finish.
    - Removable sidearm for the figures.
    - Ratcheted legs for better posability.

    Matty's Voltron could have been a true masterpiece in its own right had Mattel put forth a little bit more effort. And the durability could have still remained as well. 20/20 hindsight does little at this point though. One Lion left and the Mattel washes their hands of releasing Voltron toys forever. No reissues, not special editions. But oh, what could have been... :( 
     
  7. GMANIFESS

    GMANIFESS G1 Manifestations

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    :lol 
    Good points...
    That VF-IJ retails for around $300 plus if you can find one. And will break if you breath on it wrong. That red lion was barely $60 shipped & can survive a drop from a few flights of steps.

    These were never meant to be 'masterpieces' just big bricks of plastic that your kids could play with too that once assembled would be a 2 foot tall Voltron. A homage to some old school playability. The fact that the pilots are ridiculously out of scale & in no way represent size accuracy is a testament to that fact.
    All the masterpiece engineering we 'wish' was applied to this was never the intent or was it ever marketed as such. If the features you desired were included then each lion would be well over $100 a piece & out-of-range for even more fans. In a market were we pay $15 for a tiny deluxe Transformer, the retail prices on these lions are AWESOME. Petroleum based products (plastics,pvc,etc) are getting hit hard just like the price of gas. So we are still getting a decent deal for what we are getting. Masterpiece perfection would cost an astronomical price.

    I don't agree with the way Mattel handled this license or will i ever understand totally why they did what they did or do what they do. But for a Voltron fan, this is a mega scale figure that deserves to be on any collector's shelf.

    But unless the license runs out, i predict a repainted version as a convention exclusive or a promotional version that is produced to coincide with the eventual live-action Voltron film. A time where you will wish you had this version. Because the aftermarket hype of closet Voltron fans will be scrambling for this mega scale version.
     
  8. Sportimus

    Sportimus Well-Known Member

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    I'm not so sure it would be over $100. I've bought Toynami's 1/60 VF's with light-up visor for less than that brand new. Only around 10,000 were made or something to that effect, and it's a far more complicated toy than the Lion's are. Costs would only be a few dollars more per toy, and I feel Mattel is kind of gouging buyers with the prices they've set compared to what you get. And I know about the limited quantities as I have had been sucker-punched with the MOTUC line for years now. I can live without the LED lights, no big. so the rest would not drive the price up much if at all.

    The cost of materials was not properly factored in this project either. As you mentioned, the cost of petrolium is much more in 2011-2012 than it was before. Then again, these things are hollow. Either way, since Mattel wanted to make a cockpit, it should have been a lot better than just a hollowed-out section with crooked stickers for detail.

    Take the MOTUC Wind Raider for example. That thing is also big. Costs $70. But at least it feels like it's worth the $70.

    I dunno. I just feel that Mattel could have done a better job (at least with the QC) on this line but instead they screwed the pooch. If you like it, great. More power to you. At least there are people out there happy with their Lions.
     
  9. LigerPrime

    LigerPrime Well-Known Member

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    Based on the video review of Pixel Dan, it looks like the combined Voltron will have stability issues? I don't mind the kiddish look but the joints should have been better designed. I can't imagine a kid trying to play with the combined form and the toy goes floppy.
     
  10. MST3KFan

    MST3KFan Master of the Obvious

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    I just hated all the spring loaded gimmicks, which I believe are part of issues that might arise. If they never had those in the lions I'd have bit on this sub line instantly.
     
  11. Dr Kain

    Dr Kain Well-Known Member

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    Me actually. I always display my Voltron in lion mode for a month, then combined for a month, back to lions, then combined. However, I have Blazing Sword Voltron for my combined form, so my plan is to keep these displayed as lions the majority of the time.
     
  12. Deceptijohn

    Deceptijohn Metallikato Master

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    From the reviews done by Adam at collectiondx on the individual releases so far, this thing looks like a very expensive piece of crap. I get the feeling the people at mattycollector just don't care any more. Once they get you sucked into a subscription(before you can make an informed decision by checking out reviews btw) you pretty much have to take what they give you.
     
  13. Rewind

    Rewind Swoosh!

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    Well, pretty much the whole CollectionDX/ToyboxDX team was geared up to hate this thing before they ever even had it in their hands, plus the samples he got happened to be flawed - so I wouldn't go by their reviews alone. I feel for those who got bad samples, but they aren't all bad. All of mine have been perfect so far, and it's far from a piece of crap. Overall it feels much more solid, robust and well made than most other mass market toys on store shelves today. Not defending Mattel. At all. I think they have a lot to answer for, especially with Digital River and customer service. But I do feel compelled to defend the toy from the general "OMG worst voltron toy ever!!" hyperbole (not directed at you, Deceptijohn) that gets constantly thrown at it, mostly by people who either didn't like the looks of it in the first place or are only interested in chogokin toys.
     
  14. Dr Kain

    Dr Kain Well-Known Member

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    No, the worst Voltron toy ever goes to that ugly ass Panosh Palace looking thing. WTF where they thinking when they designed that thing? OH wait, it was the 80s...
     
  15. LegendAntihero

    LegendAntihero Banned

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    I don't think the auto transform gimmick wasn't a good idea. It was just poorly implemented. Since most people want to display Voltron in robot mode, they should've reversed to springs so that the lions auto transform into Voltron. If Mattel made a commercial for the toy line, auto transformation would look a lot cooler than seeing someone transform the lions with his hands.
     
  16. Rewind

    Rewind Swoosh!

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    :lol  I still have mine from back then and I love it warts and all. I used to fly it around in "spaceship mode" which was essentially just laying Voltron flat on his back with his arms rased and his feet straightened out. But yes, ugly as sin. Looks like someone wearing an inflatable Voltron suit.
     
  17. Sportimus

    Sportimus Well-Known Member

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    In the back of my mind I was worried this would happen. He's so large with little (if any) metal support, combined with fragile-looking connections (not to mention the rear legs/hips of Black Lion look a bit too small to carry all that weight), that it doesn't surprise me of him being floppytron. :(  Mattel did not think this one through. Instead, they just decided to make it big and throw it out there.

    Yeah, I think the spring-loaded gimmicks and how easy it is to push the release buttons are the biggest turn-offs for me. Otherwise, I may have sprung for this as well.

    I really like the Blazing Sword Voltron. I may get a second one to keep MIB. If I had the 5 lion set, I would probably have done the same.

    Really? I didn't get that at all. Both are huge Voltron fans and from what I've seen, they were looking forward to this set but were let down in a big way. Adam did not get review samples, he bought his, and his complaints are valid.

    The point is NONE of them should be bad considering the price points these are going for. The defects mentioned in reviews are glaring and should not even exist. Springs not working right or not working at all, springs sticking out, paint splashes, crooked stickers, paint smudges, missing eyes, cockpits not staying closed, stressed hinges, legs that cannot support the weight of the lion, stands for the sword that cannot be removed once placed together, loose joints, sloppy seams, etc. No, no, no, no. This does not get a free pass.

    I agree, Mattel has a LOT to answer for. Digital River has been more trouble than it was ever a benefit for both Mattel and customers. I don't think this is the worst Voltron toy ever, but it isn't anywhere near being the best. The whole thing is at best lackluster, and I almost guarantee we will hear even more complaints when people start combining the thing and connection points stress or break, and the whole robot is unstable. Not to mention when when the white painted joints start chipping...

    I really wanted this thing at the beginning. But the more problems that came up, the more worried I became. I've been through Matty hell and back with the MOTUC line since 2008. I will not be burned again from Matty's issues and Mattel's increasing cost cutting that hurts the overall quality of their products.

    Totally agree! But even in the 80's there were better iterations of Voltron toy than that one. ;) 
     
  18. Rewind

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    I wasn't giving a free pass or that his complaints aren't valid, just saying they aren't all bad. I've been lucky. A lot of people have also been lucky. I just see a lot of people only taking bad reviews into account and ignoring the good.

    Nor was I trying to imply that he got a free sample, just sample as is "the one he got".

    Being a Voltron fan doesn't mean anything, really. I've read the TBDX forums and CDX comments leading up to the release of this toy, it was mostly snark, sarcasm and disappointment at it not being a chogokin. I'm a huge TF fan but that doesn't mean I look forward to every toy.
     
  19. Deceptijohn

    Deceptijohn Metallikato Master

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    Josh certainly hated it on sight, just as I did, based solely on the aesthetics, but Adam seemed to genuinely give it the benefit of the doubt until he started getting pieces with glaring flaws. You can't blame the guy for doing reviews based on what he got.
     
  20. LigerPrime

    LigerPrime Well-Known Member

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    Sportimus - yeah, I agree with you. It's obvious that Mattel did not think it through when they were designing the toys. In particular the engineering aspects.

    Eriku - I really don't mind if it isn't a 'Chogokin' but it's extremely disappointing to see the combined form is a floppy mess. It's huge and heavy but at least it should be playable in terms of stability.