Virtual-On Composite Ver Ka Temjin 電脳戦機バーチャロン Ver.Ka テムジン

I love, love, love Virtual-On, and I was so happy when a non scale model version of the mecha came about. I was kinda worried because "toy" (completed) versions of mecha, that are generally based off of a scale model, tend to be a little junky/cheap, because they figure that the real, serious collectors will be buying the scale models & putting in the effort to make them look stellar, & that everyone else won't care. I would love to build models and finish them, but I really don't have the space, materials, money to buy the materials or even time to build them right now.

But my fears were put to rest whenever I got this in my hands. This figure of Temjin is pretty amazing. He comes with a nice cache of weapons, his details are really well done for something that's been mass-produced & the stand that is included is really neat. And the major tipping point that made me want to buy this? The Sega Saturn in his back that opens up and has a tiny CD you can insert, of course!

Soul of Chogokin - The Big O

Times have been sorta dry as of late, and I really didn't care to update as much as I should (finding work and ebaying has taken much of my time lately), but I actually got 2 packages in one day yesterday. As most of you know HLJ was having a free shipping sale if you made a billing agreement with Paypal. I took advantage of that and bought something rather expensive that I normally wouldn't because the shipping would be like $35 for just that one item. The item in question is Soul of Chogokin - The Big O! Finally, after almost 10 years they made an excellent rendition of The Big O. There was a model before, if I recall correctly, but it was just a generic plamo mold model and it was kinda crummy. There were also toys before, but none detailed enough to be anywhere within striking distance of the awesomeness of this hunk of die-cast awesomeness.

As for the product itself, it's exactly as you'd expect the prestigious Soul of Chogokin line to be: the main body is die-cast metal, but the arms and legs and other regalia are made of plastic. Most of the action features are there, though the giant anchors that shot out of his "skirt" in the first episode of season 2 don't come out or anything. The giant pistons in his arms move, and there's a part to affix to his chest for the "Missile Party" move, and 2 attachable cannons for the "Cannon Party" move. There are 2 pairs of hands, fists and open hands, in the case of the open hands fingers may be manipulated individually. There are "garage doors" in his feet for when Roger Smith would drive in from the ground level and take an elevator up to the cockpit. Also, you can pull the collar up revealing a tiny cockpit. He also comes with an awesome display base with a name plate and I think there are magnets in the base and in the feet of the robot itself. (I felt an attraction take place when I set him down on the base the first time) My only complaint? It doesn't come with a tiny Roger Smith, or at the very least, a tiny car so you can put it into the foot of The Big O.

The design is dead on, and the package even advertises that the production was supervised by Keiichi Satou, the mecha designer for the anime series. Everything from the face to the feet is sharp and well-produced. Even the base retains that dystopic-yet-retro feel of the series.