Review: Beginning with the Scopedog and Brutishdog
Packaging & extras: (4/5)
I’m really easy to please when it comes to Votoms packaging because I love the “ammunition tin as toy box” approach and it seems to be common among toy manufacturers. You do get a window that shows the goods within offset with great little drawings of the figures. Regardless of which flavor you purchase, you’ll find the armored trooper (AT) in the box with the head antennae detached, you’ll need to install them. The Scopedog figure also includes:
1) Chirico pilot figure (without helmet on)
2) Helmeted Chirico head
3) Fixed posed hands (R&L open)
In a plastic baggy taped to the side of the plastic tray you’ll also find:
4) 2x replacement shoulders with textured ‘cast iron’ look
5) 2x stick-on lenses for eyes
6) 1x black backer for sliding eye mechanism to conceal pilot interior
7) Gun (5 pieces, barrel, scope, body, butt, ammo tin)
8) Fixed posed hand with grip for gun
Behind the cardboard behind the plastic tray you’ll also find:
9) Instructions
10) Stickers
The Brutishdog is similar, but that AT only has one hand so things are necessarily a little different. You get:
1) Fyana pilot figure (without helmet on)
2) Helmeted Fyana head
3) Backpack
4) Ammo magazine
The baggy taped to the inside of her tray contains:
5) 2x replacement shoulders
6) 2x stick-on lenses for eyes
7) 1x black backer for sliding eye mechanism to conceal pilot interior
Behind the cardboard behind the plastic tray you’ll also find:
8) Instructions
9) Stickers
I didn’t use the black backer or stickers in any of my pictures but I did apply the lenses of the eyes as the toys just looked way too plain without them.
Charm & Collectability: (3.5/5)
Super deformed figures are an acquired taste though the Votoms license seems to get a lot of mileage from them. The 5Pro figures themselves are based on a model series by Medicom and there’s also the D-style models in this space and Bandai’s Converge gashapon does the SD look as well. At about 10CM long, these toys aren’t big which may make it easier to justify having more than one but it also makes the figure feel less substantial and there’s no metal to add a feeling of heft. Sales appear to have been brisk (or production volumes low) with most stores selling out during the preorder period. 5prostudios has teased more variants such as a Last Red Shoulder Turbo Custom, a Uoodoo Red Shoulder Custom, a Blood Sucker, and a Lido War Scopedog and they have previously created models of the Fatty Desert Custom and Rabidly Dog. So far there have been two releases:
Scopedog with Chirico, January 2018, 5,370 Yen
Brutishdog with Fyana, January 2018, 5,370 Yen
Sculpt, Detail, & Paint: (6.5/10)
While the jewel stickers for the lenses are attractive once installed, I was really let down to see they were not pre-applied. Both of these toys really suffer from a lack of pre-painted detail. Most parts of the toy are molded in color with paint being very rare in places like the gun, the head antenna, and the tire detail on the bottom of the foot.. If you want to make these things pop, you will have to grab the sticker sheet. For the size, the cockpit area has a surprising amount of detail including sensory equipment in the top section of the helmet. Given that the toy is super deformed the proportions are a very subjective matter but I really like the overall shape and level of detail in the mold.
Design: (8/10)
1) Scopes rotate: Yes. Scope tracks left to right: Yes. Head twists left to right: Yes.
2) Visor opens upward revealing the pilot: Yes
3) Opening cockpit: Yes
4) Internal controls: Yes. Articulated: No. Gun stowage: No
5) Removable Pilot Figure: Yes. Articulated: Yes
6) Opening foot well: No
7) Articulated armor panels on hips, feet, and wrist: Yes
8) Articulated shoulder mounts: Yes
9) Removable armor with internal mechanical detail: No
10) Back that accommodates different accessories: Yes
11) Foot wheels: No (but painted to look like it)
12) Functional foot pivot spikes: Yes
13) Punch mechanism: Yes (simple extension)
14) Dog mode: Yes
For the size, I was VERY impressed with this toy’s thoughtful design. Sure, it doesn’t tick off the same boxes as the super premium releases but it certainly holds its own and even excels against toys in this price category (like CM’s or MaxFactory offerings). The hands are ball joints that swap out easily with the accessory hands yet attach firmly. You can remove the magazines on the exterior hip flaps and go with a naked look or, on the scopedog, you can remove the ammo tin from the gun and put it on the hip armor. It’s too bad we didn’t get two ammo tins so you coudl have on one each of the scopdog’s hips. The heads on the pilot figures are pegs that also do a good job holding the head on securely without making it so you have to apply too much pressure swapping the head out.
Durability & Build: (7/10)
You can argue that this is a design flaw but I was really unimpressed by how well the head antenna stays on the toy. It pops off way too easily. In some respects, this is good for durability since the antenna seems to be made of the same plastic as the rest of the toy which would mean, given how long and slender it is, it’s probably a fragile part and popping off will make it less likely to undergo the stress that would break it. The better answer though would have been to make it hold its position well and make it of a more durable or pliable substance.
Articulation: (7/10)
Like the design score, given the size and proportions of this toy, I was very impressed with its articulation. It can take a little while to tease the full range of motion from some joints that are balll-joints (like the shoulders and ankles). Arm articulation is very good from the shoulder, to the twist in the bicep, to the elbow and finally the ball-jointed wrist (though it’s so tight on the ball, all you can do is twist the hand around). You’ll run into clearance issues that will impede you on the legs.. The short legs will diminish any cool sliding poses and the knees are very limited. All the armored flaps that should be articulated are. Though it wasn’t perfect, I had a lot of fun playing with this toy. You won’t be able to get the toy to reach across its chest to hold the gun with both hands. The pilot figures have rotation points at the hips, shoulders, and neck.
Total Score: (36/50)
For a small SD toy, that is an admirable score. This isn’t a toy for everyone though and if you like your super real robot to seem remotely real and not chibi, then obviously this is an easy pass. The price is also a bit high if you’re just looking for a cute knick-knack for your office desk. I used to have a Miriya Super VF-1J Jokemachine watching over my wife at her office… maybe I should upgrade her to a Brutishdog. If you’ve got a bookshelf somewhere out of reach of the children with minimal risk of falling then this could definitely make a fun display piece that you fiddle with when the whim grabs you.