Review(updated): Walking Egg of DOOM!
Packaging & Extras: (3.5/5)
Kaiyodo had me spoiled with the other Revoltech Macross toys I’ve been buying so I was a little bit let down by this release. While the Macross Plus Revoltech toys come with cool items like full fast packs and pin point barrier effects while the Regult only comes with:
1) Standard top-of-head lasers
2) Optional heavy missile attachment for top of head
3) Display stand
4) Advertisement
There were four different Regults: Standard, Heavy Missile, Light Missile, and Recon. Kaiyodo gave us the heavy missile parts and it would have been so easy to give us the light missile parts too (the recon parts admittedly would have required a lot of work). You get the missile launcher and a stand but that’s about it. The box is a bit bigger than the other Macross Revoltech releases (but so is this toy, see comparison to other Macross Revoltechs under the Design section) and it’s clear Kaiyodo put forth some extra effort to keep things safe in transit (you’ll know you’ve got a minty fresh Regult if it still has the plastic in between the head and the boosters).
Charm & Collectability: (2.5/5)
Originally released in May 2008 with an MSRP of 1,900 YEN, I hoped this toy would be met with great demand but that wasn’t the case. The Regult really lends itself well to army building but most people stick to their hero-toy buying tendencies. Revoltech toys don’t transform or contain diecast so the outlook isn’t great for this becoming a classic collectible. Before Toynami released their 1/100 vinyl collection Battlepods people might have collected these to square off against Toynami’s 1/100 VF-1 toys. The release of the Toynami Battlepod further reduced the demand for the Revoltech. In 2016 Bandai released the Hi-Metal R Regult which doesn’t quite have the same level of articulation but is an overall much better toy and in better scale to 1/100 releases.
Sculpt, Detail, and Paint: (7/10)
All Revoltechs are a bit stylized and the Regult doesn’t stray far from the regular recipe. The proportions aren’t quite right, Toynami did a much better job with their vinyl toys. Even with the issues related to the proportions this is still a good looking toy thanks to a nice smattering of painted detail. Kaiyodo did a good job hiding their ball joint system but if you look closely you’ll still see them.
Design: (6/10)
I really like the design of this toy but it’s too simple to give any more points to. The skewed proportions appear to help keep the toy from being too top heavy while the Revoltech joints are stiff enough to keep the legs in whatever position you prefer. The swappable head turret is well executed and the toy is otherwise simple, as it should be. There’s no opening cockpit area and the chin lasers aren’t articulated.
Durability & Build: (7.5/10)
Revoltechs are cheap toys that typically aren’t built the best but they usually handle normal play just fine. You won’t have to worry about this toy when you pull it off the shelf to put it into its next sweet pose in your display. The plastic does feel a little weak and rubbery though and some of the joints may give up on some tightness with too much handling.
Articulation: (9.5/10)
Obviously this is a pretty simple toy but ALMOST everything you want it to do can be done. The only things that don’t move are the chin whisker guns. Speaking of guns, the two main guns have the perfect range of motion that was so sorely lacking on the old Matchbox toys. The stand will be necessary for some crazy poses but the toy does surprisingly well without it. Of course it does look great having the Revoltech VF-1 do battle with the Revoltech Regult on your desk (although I suspect the Regult is a bit smaller than it ought to be if there were any legitimate scale in play).
Total Score: (36/50)
Regults are such basic toys to make and they lend themselves quite well to the Revoltech approach. I had really hoped this toy would do really well and Yamato would follow it up with a 1/60 toy. Unfortunately Yamato wasn’t bowled over by the sales of these toys enough to commit to anything more than a very expensive model kit (and ultimately Yamato went out of business). Toynami’s Battlepod only has a fraction of the articulation and detail you’ll find on the Revoltech toys but they’re much more true to the line art and run in about the same price range so that’s definitely another solid option to consider especially if you can get the Toynami near its $24.99 retail price. The latest toy on the market is the Bandai Hi-Metal R Regult which gives us the good looks of the Toynami, almost all the articulation of the Revoltech, and adds a detailed cockpit for an MSRP of 6.800 Yen. Since the Revoltech doesn’t scale well with anything other than Revoltechs, I suspect the Bandai HMR toy will be worth the cost of upgrading for most.
Original post date: August 25, 2008.
May 2, 2012: this review has been updated with all new pictures, line art comparison, HD Video review, and for content due to subsequent releases.
March 21, 2016: This review was updated due to the release of the Bandai HM-R Regult.
Oh yes, I truly hope Yamato does a 1/60 Regult :) And a Glaug, too :)
Man, if that thing was just a little bit bigger, I’d pick one up! I don’t know the politics of toy companies or whatever; but it’s like, they have the rights to make them, so why not make a good-sized one? I suppose it’s more profitable for them this way. Who knows? Anyways, great review. Keep up the great work. =)
Nice review! I especially like the size comparisons between the different toy editions of Regults, and with the other similarly-scaled Valk toys.
So, exactly what scale is the Revoltech Regult supposed to be, unrelated to the Revoltech Valks? Like 1/120 or something?
Like what you say, I didn’t buy this cos of the tendencies of people collecting only the heroes. I am much impressed with the articulation of Revoltech Pod. Hope the price would drop and be able to buy one for display.