Infinite Dimension 1/100 Genesis Tactical Unit Commander Aircraft Model Kits Collector Version
rico soul: So the regular edition of this kit has sold out now and while the collectors edition is still up for preorder, it's difficult to say when they will actually ship since it seems like they are having some supply chain issues with the die cast parts.

Well I guess we can still talk a bit about this based on some things to watch out for when you get yours based on experience my friends and other have got from building the regular version.

First and most importantly, be careful with the shoulder joints. They are very fragile. The plastic moving parts that allow you to pull out the arm is simply very thin and small and relatively thin (see pictures). I don't believe these are part of the die-cast parts from the released photos but maybe they still have time to change that. Lots of people have been finding that this shoulder joint cracks very easily.

Otherwise, the overall fit and finish is sold. The molding is some of the best that can be found anywhere. The inner frame is fairly complex and there's a lot of moving parts. Some armor pieces are a bit loose and can fall off though. The knees are a bit weak but this thing is pretty much only going to be displayed on the included action base with that giant backpack.

I am definitely looking forward to getting mine and hopefully they can start shipping soon.

Pazuzu23: Omg no !!! I lookee Better , and the fragile part Is not included in metal parts .....oh no

By Jan 12,2023 16:49:05

rico soul: Yeah unfortunately it doesn't seem like the fragile part is metal. But I'll keep an eye out on Chinese sites to see they have any updates on that. Lots of people have had issues with the shoulder joint so maybe they can do it with the additional delayed release.
CCS Toys Great Mazinkaiser
rico soul: CCSToys finally released the promo photos a couple of days ago. It's awesome to see it updated here.
One thing that's missing, the announcement mentioned the release as Summer 2023. No price yet though.

I'd expect this will be the same high quality awesome figure their Shin Getter and Mazinger Zero were so this is gonna be sweeeeet.
CangDao Model 1/72 CD-04 Black Tortoise Xuanwu
rico soul: This looks pretty sick to go along with their recent metal builds.

So this is the last of their four holy beasts series of figures that included the previous blue dragon, white tiger, and vermilion bird figures.

looks like it'll have a neat shielding type of effect parts to follow the turtle theme. Can't wait to see the colored version and what kind of articulation gimmicks this will have.

Translated from their official announcement:

The Xuanwu gray model of the Four Holy Beasts is open!
The last of the four spirits of the sky, Xuanwu, which symbolizes winter, is finally here! Integrating the prototype of turtle head and snake tail, reshaping the form of a mighty fighter wearing golden armor.
Sun Queen X-01 Dinosaur Mechanical Beast Model Kit
rico soul: So these model kits are somewhat mediocre.

Engineering wise, this is probably more like a HG kit, it's relatively simple with limited articulation.
The one neat thing it has is a screw joint that allows you to adjust the tightness.

Plastic quality is also not great with some fairly noticeable shrinkage in areas.

The overall figure does look nice and would probably fit well with a Zoids collection tho.
Yolopark/SOSKILL Bumblebee The Movie Shockwave Model Kit
rico soul: Man this shockwave is just as epic as the Yolopark Optimus.

In total, there's 46 runners, predominantly undergated. Similar to the optimus, there's still some flowlines on the larger pieces but it's not really noticeable with all the overlapping and detailed parts when built up together.

There's also a magnetic switch light in the head and some die-cast parts for fragile parts. Overall size is pretty much the same size as a PG RX-78-2.

There is so many parts and cleaning up the undergated nubs can be a real pain but the end result is just spectacular. There is so much mechanical detail and articulation from all those small parts, especially when viewed from the back. Just another amazing transformers model kit from Yolopark
Moshow VR-052F Genesis Climber Mospeada Cyclone Ride Armor
rico soul: Macross MoShow figure? Just take my money!

Moshow released an updated CG render for their 2023-2024 product lineup announcements.

At 24-26cm tall, this is a pretty big scale figure since it's just a dude in armor.

Will be the first MoShow figure that I'm aware of that will have any sort of transforming armor on top of a regular human figure. Excited to see more.
JoyToy Source 1/25 Tiekui Dual Pilot Mecha
rico soul: I really found out about JoyToy first because my friends recommended their mechs. Their warhammer figures and what not are nice and detailed but their mecha is always going to have a special place in my heart.

This looks like a nice simple package with a couple pilot figures and some effect parts.
Should be a fun toy to add to the collection. Pretty affordable too.
52Toys BeastBox BB-54 Ironblood & Loyalheart
rico soul: Just saw a pretty nice review of this set youtu.be/_DDE8hVLp8k and wow this is a lot more impressive that I originally thought.

I can't believe I missed something so obvious but this set is to celebrate the lunar new year for 2023, which is the year of the rabbit. The pair of bunnies merges together into a single cube as show in the product photos and it comes with that red celebratory box as opposed to the typical plain clear box.

So one thing the reviewer mentioned was that there was a preorder bonus carrot cannon that comes with this set, which could also be purchased separately. I'm assuming that this is not included in the Gundamit listing here but I don't see the carrot listed individually yet.

It's not a big deal but that carrot really does feel like a neat little accessory that helps complete the package. It also transformed into a cannon turret for the bunnies which is hilariously cute. Hopefully that carrot will also be purchasable.

Overall it's just a great affordable little set from 52Toys for the year of rabbit.
HeatBoys HB0012 TMNT Leonardo
rico soul: It's a shame that this figure has been so delayed due to covid.

According to Heatboys, their production is still not back to full capacity due to the ongoing pandemic situation in China and since they want to ensure no loss in quality, the full release of this has been delayed to after Chinese new years. Hopefully we'll hear more soon.

It's good to hear that they are not cutting corners and really trying to ensure that there's no drop in manufacturing quality though.
IN ERA+ Ruling Model Kit /w Metal Frame
rico soul: IN ERA+ posted some photos of the runners.
The moldings looks pretty sharp and we can atleast see that things like missiles will be color separated.

I wonder if anything's going to be painted on the runners or plated.