Toynami Robotech 1/18 Action Figures

Review: Includes Both Series 1 & 2

Packaging & Extras: (1.5/5)
I’m not a fan of blister cards but these are attractive, replete with time-tested Tommy Yune character art. The SDCC exclusive version comes in a sleeve and have a metal foil ROBOTECH label rather than the standard release’s yellow text. The back of each card contains a character bio. Destruction of the packaging is necessary if you want to play with your new action figure. The pilot figures, Roy, Rick, Max, and Miriya come with the following:
1) Stand (a round, clear piece of plastic with a peg that goes in the foot)
2) Helmet
3) Hair part for use with helmet
Minmei drops the helmet and just comes with the base.
So what more could we ask for? Quite a bit right? Interchangeable hands? Different facial expressions? A hand holding a microphone for Minmei? Visor down effect for the helmet? The Matchbox toys had guns though that doesn’t really jive with the show too well. Roy needs a guitar and a bowl of pineapple salad (there’s your Comic-con exclusive for next year!). Maybe each toy should have come with a part of Ben Dixon…

Series 2 packaging is largely unchanged in style and format. While the Ben Dixon figure comes in the pilot suit and includes a helmet, he does not include a separate hair piece that goes under his helmet, probably because his head is so massive the hair wouldn’t fit. All other versions contain no accessories other than the basic stand.

The pilot action figures could also be obtained through gift-sets with their matched 1/100 VF-1. The bundled accessories for the pilot figures are unchanged but you also received the VF-1 toy with 1/100 scale standing and seated pilots as well as all the usual assortment of missiles and display stand (see my review of the 1/100 VF-1 for the full details). Though there were two ‘weathered’ VF-1 exclusives, the action figures included with those weathered toys is unchanged from regular releases. The second run of the series 1 figures have slightly different colors as discussed below.

Charm & Collectability: (2/5)
I’m always amazed that anyone bothers collecting the old atrocious Matchbox, Irwin, or Harmony Gold toys. They’re horrendous looking… but for some reason, people still buy them. So, even if these toys fail to live up to most reasonable expectations, it’s a pretty good bet that somebody, somewhere, wants to buy them. I’m baffled that Toynami didn’t use the same scale as the original 3.75″ (9.5 cm or about 1/20 scale) Matchbox toys which would have opened up play compatibility with the old toys (including your GI Joe Real American Hero toys). Instead, these toys are about 4.15″ (10.5 cm) making them roughly 1/18 scale. Though some marketing materials for the SDCC 2018 debut release of series 1 mentioned ‘special paint applications’, it appears this was a reference to the gold foil label on the packaging as I see no discernible difference on the figures. The regular release of series 1 hit shelves in September 2018.

Sculpt, Detail, & Paint: (7/10)
Close-up of these faces will leave you unimpressed but the figures themselves are small in hand (11CM) so the likeness isn’t as bad as it may seem and certainly worlds better than Matchbox was able to achieve. The figures are narrow which has the unfortunate side effect of making the hips look knobby. If you’re not worried about size (or price), KitzConcept has a 1/12 line with much better sculpts, articulation, and accessories. I’ve always been a bigger fan of Robotech mecha than characters so it’s possible details on these flight suits aren’t perfect but they were close enough for me. The stripes on the legs should probably match the width of the stripe down the chest but the spacing of the hips interferes with this so it doesn’t really bother me and works if you display the character with its feet farther apart. The paint applications are average; the backpack isn’t painted and the pegs connecting the knees aren’t painted to match the uniform on the inside of the leg.

Many of the series 1 toys were reissued as part of a gift-set that included Wave 9 of Toynami’s 1/100 VF-1 toys. Rick and Roy saw two re-releases, first with the regular release of those gift-sets and then again as part of ‘weathered’ exclusives for conventions (Rick’s Battle Cry weathered edition) and the Funimation Blu-Ray set (Roy’s Farewell Big Brother weathered edition). See my separate review for more on the VF-1 toys these were bundled with. The regular edition reissues all include a new manufacturer mark on the thigh the flight suit. Oddly, the exclusive versions do not include the mark. While the Max & Miriya reissues otherwise appeared unaltered from their first releases, there appears to be very minor color differences with the other reissues, though some of that might be related to age making the original release colors less vibrant (particularly on the white flight suits). Roy’s hair color and skin tone seems to be a true color change as both are much lighter than the series 1 release.

While the first series was all pilot uniforms and the unique Chinese dress variant of Minmay, the second series gave us a pilot uniform character (Ben), a male officer uniform (Rick), a captain’s uniform (Gloval), and two female officer uniform figures (Claudia and Lisa). Curiously, Ben does not receive under-helmet hair, I guess his hairstyle would have put all the hair under the helmet. Since the under helmet hair takes space on other figures, Ben’s helmet can be pushed so far down it covers his eyes but it can easily be pried back up to look more natural. He retains the odd unpainted spot on his knee from the series 1 figures. All series 2 figures also receive a conspicuous manufacturer mark that was absent on series 1. I imagine making an accurate face sculpt for Ben Dixon would have been very challenging so Toynami didn’t waste much time trying. It looks like the Ben included with the VF-1 gift-set has higher gloss paint for the hair.

The female officer uniform figures are head and paint swaps of Claudia and Lisa. It looks like Claudia’s skin tone is painted on which can make it more reflective under very bright photography lights. The sculpts of the faces are average for this line with the hairdos doing most the work to make the characters identifiable.

Captain Gloval gets a unique body sculpt with his high collared jacket and his hat makes him look taller than the other figures. Gloval might have a curiously long neck but I’d say he’s one of the better renditions of this line. Curiously, he retains the same Kung-fu grip hands that the pilot figures have that is meant for being able to hold a helmet (or one of the old Matchbox accessory guns if you have the classic toys). It really feels like Gloval should have fists.

Officer Rick’s uniform was a good look and was intended to be the primary body for the third wave which was never released. That wave would have given us Ben, Max, and Roy in the officer uniform and Miriya would have received the female officer uniform treatment. Honestly, it’s such an easy body/paint swap that it’s surprising it never made it into production.

Design: (5/10)
My primary design complaint is that these figures are all about the same size. Three figures have slightly taller heights, Roy, Ben, and Admiral Gloval by being longer below the knee. However, the size difference is so small, it’s barely noticeable. I thought this would be an attempt to make true 1/18 scale figures but it’s not. Roy and Minmei stand essentially eye-to-eye when she would more accurately be looking at his nipples (yes, even if she’s wearing heels). If these figures were all designed to fit in uniform cockpits of an accompanying line of toys (like the old Matchbox figure) then the uniform size would be a lot more forgivable. Here everyone is the same size to save money.

There aren’t a lot of other design elements that I won’t tackle in the articulation section. I wish the face was interchangeable so we could do different expressions. The helmet replacement is simple and secure. The hair stays on well enough when not using the helmet. Removing the hair is straight forward as is applying the thin bit of replacement hair before putting the helmet on. To ensure a secure fit, the helmets are rubbery.

The included stand is basic. If Toynami wasn’t going to give us ankles than a stand with a vertical peg means you’re going to need to have a vertical leg to the knee. It’s not the end of the world but it’d be nice if there were a few different pegs that could be used or even an arm that attaches to the stand and pegs into the back of the figure like Bandai often uses.

Durability & Build: (8.5/10)
Since these toys are so limited in what they can do, you should be safe in handling them. The only exception I’ve found is Minmay though it may extend to all the knees, particularly for the female figures since they have smaller joints. The knees are susceptible to breakage on the exterior/interior of the leg that houses the knee and also within the knee joint. The only other issue I’ve come across so far is some awkward loose spots in the rotation joints on the shoulders. My toys appear to have pretty good paint applications, minimal seams/production flash, and appropriately stiff joints.

Articulation: (5/10)
What a letdown! Action figures are supposed to invite ACTION! You get a pivot at the neck, a ball jointed shoulder, hands that spin at the wrist because they attach via pegs, a waist, limited ball jointed hips, and a knee. Technically, the head may be a ball-joint, but the design of it severely inhibits the up/down and I couldn’t cock the head left or right at all. WHERE THE F*CK IS THE ELBOW? I mean, we all knew it didn’t have one because you can see that clear as day in all the promo pictures and in the package but seriously? The knees don’t even go 90 degrees and there are no ankles. You can’t pose the toy down on one knee but you can accomplish something akin to a running pose. When you think about how good Takara’s Microman figures were or the CM’s action figures that came with their ride armors, it’s downright embarrassing how poorly articulated these figures are.

Total Score: (29/50)
Now that your suspicions about these toys have been confirmed, you can make the informed decision about whether they are something you need to have. I’m NOT an action figure guy. Growing up, I didn’t own a single GI Joe, He-Man, Thundercat, or even Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. No, I bought vehicles, robots, and vehicles that transformed into robots and that’s still my thing (I think the MASK figures came with the vehicles so I did own those guys). That said, I do see some value to character figures. The characters drive the shows and I think displays that feature both the mechs and the characters are great. So, if you’re not looking to play with your action figures, just sprucing up a display of very dynamic robots doing super cool things, then the limitations of these ‘action’ figures may not impair your enjoyment. If you’re specifically looking to pair these with your Matchbox/Harmony Gold/Playmates toys, the size differential may cause you headaches.

October 28, 2018: Series 1 review
October 18, 2026: added Series 2 and GBP Gift-sets with new 4K review