I've been a major Voltron fan my entire life. I've watched every version of Voltron's television franchise possible: the original Voltron: Defender of the Universe, Voltron: The 3rd Dimension, and the newest Voltron Force show - currently airing on Nicktoons.
I've also seen many versions of Voltron appear in toylines from different companies: Mattel, Trendmasters, and Toynami.
So far, Toynami, in my opinion, holds the title of "Ultimate Voltron Toy" with their Masterpiece Voltron. As an actual owner of one, I can vouch for it's incredible detail, posability, size, and weight- it's the best Voltron toy I've ever come across.
The fact that Mattel is claiming to be producing the greatest and largest Voltron toy ever produced, holds me to be extremely skeptical and somewhat doubtful. I've actually held and played with the Voltron toys that were made by Mattel in the 80's, and they were the largest I'd ever seen, but that was the only thing they had- just size. He lacked posability, screen accuracy, weapons, and the proper paint job.
If there's one thing I've learned about Mattel, one thing that, as a collector, you should watch out for- is when a company mainly tries to sell a product based just on it's size. I'll agree that bigger is better- but if the toy lacks posability, lights & sounds, and everything else it needs to hold the "Ultimate" title- then really all it is, is just a giant chunk of plastic or diecast. Sure, it might look nice- but it doesn't do anything.
As of current press releases and online research, here's what I know about Mattel's upcoming Voltron toylines:
- There'll be 2 main lines: The Collectors Line, based on the original show and lion designs; and the Voltron Force Line, based on the latest show and new lion designs.
-The Collectors Line will certainly be more advanced in terms of craftsmanship and features. Supposedly, they will release 5 seperate lions, all with spring-loaded weapons, action figures of their pilots, and a cockpit for the action figure itself- each lion priced at around $ 30.00. When combined, Voltron should stand between 2-3 feet tall- which will officially count as the largest Voltron toy ever produced (again....watch out).
- As for the Voltron Force, I'm going to be honest- it could either fly or fail. Toys have undergone some major upgrades since the 3rd Dimension Voltron toyline, and I'm thinking there might be a chance for some serious recognition, if Mattel manages to produce a toyline with decent posability and details. They might be crappy pieces of poorly designed, poorly painted plastic- like the 3rd Dimension line; or they'll be as good as the Level One transformers movie figures we have now. We won't know until we see some actual prototypes.
As of right now, I'm not getting my hopes up- because I've seen Mattel's previous attempts at Voltron and I was always disappointed.
Stay skeptical, but also open-minded. Mattel's all about big toys, but this time, they need to prove that their toys aren't just giant bricks of plastic for us to stare at. They need posability. We'll see....
- Top Shelf Toy Store
5 comments:
Im praying this is 1. Anime Accurate(Black lion having white or grey legs instead of black as well as all the other lions limbs going inside there bodies when forming Voltron), 2. A good amount of articulation when combined(atleast as much as the masterpiece toynami version or alittle more then that (as much as soc figures do), and 3. Voltrons face anime accurate. If they pull this off, That would be incredible.
First off, greetings from TSTS- It's a pleasure to meet you! I fully agree with your specifications- those would all be "dream come true" features. I'm going to remain skeptical until I see some prototypes- which I'll keep an eye out for :)
Its a pleasure to meet you too sir. Ive been dying to see the perfect Voltron/Golion toy made and im hopeing this is the time we will see it, but as you say, im very skeptical myself so only time will tell, unless of course bandai releases a golion from the Soul of Chogokin line then thats a must buy lol.
Also i hope they make the toy very durable and tough to be playaround with as the Masterpiece Voltron wasnt too much.
In terms of durability, One of the downfalls to heavy diecast is joint panel scraping (example: how the black lion's lower legs get scraped by connecting with blue and yellow)- I've found it to be unavoidable. I've also learned to appreciate it too- because it adds a slight "battle wear and tear" feeling to it- when it u look at it that way, it's easier to accept. As for the SOC line- I'm waiting for a UFO Senshi Diapolon set. lol
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