Chalk me up to having built a TON of models. Aoshima, and Kotobukia are nailin it now as well. If what the experienced modeler above, with that detailed, well typed post, has THAT much good to say about these kits, Im not even going to question it, im buying the bee one tonight, and do whatever I have to preorder Blitzwing. Split lip..I can tell you have been building along time too bro.

Ive been building models kits since I was real little with my dad, and ALOT of the kits ive built were real old. Ive watched model quality and design go up and down over the decades. Right now, if you ask me, the finest model kits ever made, are being made right NOW. THIS is the new golden age of modeling. There is SO much to build these days from Hexagear, to Frame arms girls...

Hell..I just built the Varible fighters girls Siegfried, and that is seriously one of my all time fav kits Ive EVER EVER built. This sweet, sexy fighter girl model, with > articulation that any figma or figuarts, and a Robotech Valkyrie, that is a PERFECT jet mode, and it turns into armor she WEARS like a mech suit, AND...AND when its in Gerwalk, she rides it like an air speeder.

Finest kit ive built in years. Look it up if you dont know what they are and your into models.

 

ShowZ still has it, and you can get it for around $30 shipped on ebay from a Chinese seller. (ShowZ is definitely the more secure bet, of course) Again, my only word of warning is assembling the ankles. The whole foot is one part save for the yellow sections, and while it's flexible it's not as flexible, and you have to insert the ankle at a weird ankle without any sort of guiding channel. Softening with heat at all, even under hot water, would likely be enough to avoid breakage. It'll be interesting to see if Blitzwing is similar or if the socket in his foot is more easily accessible. Guess we'll find out in a month or so.

I'm definitely going to grab Blitzwing when he releases, but I'm curious about the price. He looks to have even more paint than Bumblebee, and more parts/more complicated build. I fully expect he'll cost more, but how much more is hard to guess.

I agree. As far as what's available there's so much to go for, and if you're into customizing things couldn't be better. From Hexagear to Bandai's own unified build system and 30 Minute Missions.

I only wish, living in Canada, Bandai would make less things exclusive. P Bandai doesn't ship to here, and middleman fees for model kits are often extreme due to the size of shipping boxes.

 

I don't think this has been posted yet, Blitzwing's box



Mod edit: Additional images via Capcom Kai on Instagram

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AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Yeah compared to Trumpeter or a better gundam model the DMKs were not the greatest build-quality-wise, but the detail was incredible. You just had to glue some parts cause they didn't stay on well. The dotm Optimus was by far the best of the three, and was so much fun to build and paint (it even had the flame decals already applied for you!). Like I said I really wish the line had continued, since it wasn't really until recently that we had decent transforming versions of a lot of the movie designs.

 

Thanks so much for the detailed reply. Like you said, it's hard to do a 1:1 comparison. Nor fair. I don't expect Trumpeter or any other company to be better than Bandai for robot-type Plamo kits in general, considering the years of experience and the scale of operation, both in terms of engineering and price. I don't mind the more expensive price vs. size, either, it's really not more expensive than other "non-Bandai" robot kits in general and there's differing licensing fee to consider into as well. Trumpeter's TF line price is quite fair and on par w/ Flame Toys' kits.

Your reply sold me on getting it, Split Lip!

Now, looking at the ankle piece for Bumblebee & Blitzwing, maybe gluing a little triangle plastic where the L shape bends might improve the strength of it? Of course it will likely affect the articulation though, have to weight the Pro & Con when I have it in hand.

 

Broseph.

I live in Michigan, If you want, I can help you get anything shipped to you. I dont need no middleman fees from you. PM me if you want.

 

DOTM Optimus was definitely the best. Helped he was larger, and I wish we got a Sentinel Prime as well. Takara's no stranger to models, I heard their Zoids line is quite solid, but yeah I bet if DMK had continued we could've had a lot of the kinks ironed out.

I also should've prefaced before when I started comparing them to Bandai that I was myself very familiar with Bandai, and saying the Bumblebee model was better wasn't meant as a slight, just a testament to the design quality. I love Bandai and I think their model kit manufacturing is peerless, and that this little tiny Bumblebee came close in many ways (and exceeded in some) is impressive.

That could definitely help. The main problem comes from the fact that during assembly you're applying force to the leg, which is being resisted by the ball, and thus all that force naturally focuses on the thin peg connecting it. On top of that you first slip on the ankle armour, which is semi-flexible but not really, meaning the ball goes through some stress already. I'm at work so I can't see, but adding some kind of brace would probably help a lot, just so the force was going back into the leg rather than the bent post.

It's likely this construction method was designed with softer materials in mind, as both the ankle armour and foot are somewhat softer, but not really what I would call flexible. That's why I think running the soft parts under some hot water would be enough. Those parts share the same runner as the hands and the torso shoulder sockets, (which also take some force, but unlike the ankles no one's broken those as far as I'm aware) and I wonder if they made the plastic less flexible because the hands have to be painted, and didn't realize how little that left the ankle armour and feet to flex during assembly.

It's definitely a novice mistake, so I'm hoping Blitzwing is better since the Bumblebee breakage was fairly widespread. I actually intended to pick up a second Bumblebee to try and build without breaking (maybe use my original to paint up as a nice display piece and the second to as a desk toy  ) At the very least Blitzwing's ankles not being connected to the legs would make it easier to see what's going on during assembly, as with Bumblebee's ankles everything's more or less hidden by the armour, forcing you to "feel" a connection that is very specific in how you make it.

I appreciate the offer! Though at the moment there's nothing P Bandai I can think of that would still be available, (The HGAC Mercurius and Vayaete are already out, as is the Gundam MkV) it was more a general bemoaning of Bandai's habit of ignoring Canadian fans (HGFC Lumber Gundam when Bandai?) or really most fans outside of Japan and the US. But hey, I'll keep you in mind!  

 

this looks really good. wish it didnt have any decals pre-applied on the sprue, otherwise it would be a lot more convenient to paint it yourself (which is what i'll do)

i expect we'll see pics of a few custom seekers based on this kit!

 

I do wonder..

Wouldn't it be awesome if all mainline transformers could be purchased like this for half the price? Including screws and pins. I would LOVE that

 

Look at the part count and shine of the parts runners. That truly DOES look more like an action figure than a typical model kit. That jumps right out at me, I can tell from those pic that the plastic is different.

Neato...cant wait.

 

It's funny you mention that, because Flame Toys recently did the opposite, selling their models pre-built and pre-painted for their Furai Action line.  

Also I just noticed both Shatters and Dropkicks are on Blitzwing's box. That makes me very happy, as I really loved their robot modes with and without aerial kibble. I was worried we'd, at best, get only their triple-changer bodies.

 

That looks really nice. I kind of like it better in the prototype white and blue-gray.

 

I smell.  So many pieces for customizing.  Him and prime are a kitbasher and customizer heaven. 

 

I'm pretty sure those are still the actual plastic colours beneath the paint if you wanted to give the runners one of your degreaser baths.  

Same.

 

I feel like it's a meme at this point. FlameToys makes models, thinks they'll sell better as prepainted figures.. These other companies produce figures and they'll sell better as models.

Neat.

 

Pfhahaha, Good one! Seriously though, It's great to have these model kits. Fantastic excuse to have non-transforming transformers. The Bee film is also perfect for model kits for these, Good use of 70~30 Detail ratio, good proportions and emotive capabilities, and Iconic designs given new light.

Although a model kit of a Bayverse figure or two would be cool for bashing, I think they exist? But they use metal, right? I don't remember..

 

Holy moly... 9cm? That's smaller than HG...

 

So far the only Bayverse models are the Dual Model Kits by Takara, however Trumpeter revealed prototypes for TLK Bumbebee and Optimus last year, so they're not above going back to do the Bay movies.

 

I'm looking for something more complex personally, but I'm glad the Transformers brand in general has been investing heavily in model kits lately. There's lots of potential here. If that Yolopark PLAMO line takes forever to release, I'll bite on one of these Trumpeter kits.