06.11.09

Beagle 1/10 VR-52T Ride Armor (Toynami Rand MPC Cyclone)

Posted in 1/10, Beagle, Cyclone/Ride Armor at 6:35 am by micronian

Review: Okay, maybe it’s not the sexiest ride armor

 

Packaging & Extras: (4/5)
The good news, as you can see in the pic above, is that Beagle listened to the criticism and shrunk their box size down a little. Otherwise the box is similar to the Stick release with nice artwork but no collector’s flip-top lid (so you should be a bit careful with this box). Unfortunately, I am now completely convinced that Beagle is going to try to squeeze some more money out of us at a later date by selling an accessory package. This toy comes with fewer extras than Stick had, you’ll get one less hand and one less gun (you obviously won’t get Stick’s heavy gun and there’s nothing provided to replace it). You still do get the Gallant, upgraded Gallant, HBT cells (Protoculture to RT fans), fixed posed hands, helmet adorning head, display base, detailed instructions, and sticker sheet.

 

Charm & Collectability: (3/5)
While this probably won’t sting Toynami as bad as their VF-1A Ben Dixon MPC, chances are that Rand won’t be a very hot seller. I can’t recall a single scene where Rand/Ray did something spectacular on his Cyclone/Ride Armor and I’m guessing many people will be in the same perdicament. Beagle should have stepped up their game and included an Annie figure to try to help boost some sales. All that said, this is a fantastic line of toys so many will sell and if you’re interested in owning the best VR-52T there can be no doubt that this is the toy for you; you can pick up the Japanese version at Overdrive.

 

Sculpt, Detail, & Paint: (9/10)
My biggest gripe about the Stick version of this toy was that Beagle really could have added more tampo printed detail. Beagle heard my complaint, figuratively flipped me off, and applied almost no detail to the VR-52T. I’m serious, what the hell happened? This toy is gorgeous in every way and if it was properly detailed at the factory it would jump off the shelf at you every time you looked at it. Sadly, if you want to get this thing so sexy all the other toys on the shelf will be jealous (because the potential is definitely there… ya know, if toys had feelings) you’re going to have to spend some time with a sticker sheet. Even the stripes on the hip guards are stickers now. The picture below shows the Beagle compared to the CMs and Mega House offerings as well as a sized up CMs picture to show just how much more painted on detail the comparatively tiny CMs toy has.  The second picture demonstrates how much less painted on detail Ley’s bike has compared to the first Beagle release.  On a positive note, the head is much better than the Stick head. Even if you prefer Stick’s sculpt to “Ley’s” there is a jump forward in the quality of Ley’s as it is now molded in the skin tone and doesn’t have the pasty look Stick was sporting. The Toynami does have its own unique head sculpt, you can check out Yacolog for a comparison. I like Beagle’s sculpt but my girlfriend prefers Toynami’s so I guess both have some appeal.  Yes, the screw hole in the neck is still there.

 

Design: (8.5/10)
There were some design issues that irked me in the review of Stick’s and they haven’t been answered sufficiently in this release. First, the wind screen is still too easily displaced. While it’s better on Ley than it was on Stick it still doesn’t give you that firm feeling. Stick also suffered from having a back half of the bike that was too easily dislodged. Again, my Ley is better but there is no secure lock and I’m not convinced that the improvements I’m seeing in Ley are not simply improvements in the tightness of the toy rather than any actual tweaks being done to the product. The toy continues to be one of the hardest toys I’ve ever transformed which has it’s obvious drawbacks but also makes it a true engineering marvel. Unique to this edition is the big hand gun which features a clever swing bar that lets the gun move away from the gauntlet and pivot to fit more naturally in the figure’s hand as pictured below. You may remember that the Stick release featured a swappable helmeted head that didn’t have enough friction to stay in place, Beagle has responded to this by increasing the diameter of the balls and leaving them with a textured finish.  All the highlights of the Stick type’s design are still here including the HBT/protoculture canister you can remove.

 

Durability & Build: (8/10)
The good news about this toy continues to be that if you apply force somewhere you shouldn’t then the most likely result will be a piece popping off rather than breaking. Of course, pieces popping off isn’t ideal either so hopefully you’ll get the hang of the transformation and won’t put too much wear on the toy. Excessive transformations will almost certainly lead to a sloppy toy as the majority of the joints are ball joints. Since there’s nearly no painted on detail at least you won’t have to worry too much about scratching anything. Now for the issue everyone is probably most curious about: the cloth.  There has been a minor improvement in the cloth as I have found it doesn’t come out from the joints nearly as easily and I only see the tiniest hint of white at the seams and no more now than when I first opened the box.  There’s a visible sheen which may be the product of some sort of clear coat over the paper thin rubbery coating which covers the fabric. While it is doing better I suspect that moderate handling will eventually cause many of the issues seen with Stick’s red fabric to happen here.  One new issue I’m having, and I’m not convinced it isn’t just a mistransformation issue so feel free to chime in with a comment with your experience, is that the windshield in armor mode appears crooked behind the head (as shown below).  The whole fuel tank section isn’t flat against my Ley’s back in armor mode which does have me suspecting I’m just not pressing the tank down far enough but I pressed as hard as I felt comfortable and then simply accepted that little twist.  As mentioned above, the prevalent issue on the first Japanese version of this toy, the loose fitting helmetless head, has been resolved.

 

Articulation: (9/10)
It’s still pretty easy to pose the figure (without armor) on one foot so you can have fun making it look like Rand/Ray/Ley is hopping on his bike in preparation for battle. The range of movement is a bit hampered by the armor but there are good work arounds such as disconnecting some of the ball joints if anything seems too constricting. I LOVE posing this toy for photos so I suspect you’ll love playing with it. In fact, I know many visitors would have rather I moved on and done a post on the SV-51, MH Black VR-41, or CMs Metallic Fuke but I was having too much fun testing out this toy.  As demonstrated below, you can fit two toys on one display stand.  I hope for Houquet’s stand they actually incorporate a way to put three toys on the same stand but I know that’s probably not going to happen.  Of course, the stand could be better and the toy is back heavy in armor mode which is a real pain without the stand but those are my only complaints.

 

Total Score: (41.5/50)
It’s a real shame that this toy doesn’t mark a more clear progression from the Stick toy.   In fact, due to the fewer included extras, lower likelihood of being a hot collector’s item, and reduced pre-painted detail, this toy actually scores a shade lower than the Stick release.  Is it a fantastic toy? Yes, without a doubt but there’s still some room for improvement. If you’re a fan of Rand/Ray you should buy this and love it (provided really complicated toys don’t put you off too much).

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