Takara 1/60 AT Collection Votoms Toys

Review: Volume 1: Scopedog

Overview:
Like my other Votoms reviews, it’s my intention to gradually add to this review until it covers all types of Armored Troopers (ATs) that saw release. For now this review focuses on the first release in the series, the standard Scopedog toy.

Packaging & Extras: (2/5)
At 1/60 scale, these toys are tiny. They are efficiently packaged in rather small boxes with Styrofoam trays. Inside the box you’ll find the following in addition to the AT:
1) Backpack
2) Gun
3) Hip armors (you’ll need to install them)
4) Instructions
5) Stickers

Charm & Collectability: (2/5)
These toys are not hard to come by and they don’t demand a premium. A little charm remains in their metal content but otherwise the 1/48 Actic Gear toys are vastly superior while not much larger so the modern Votoms fan has better options.
AT Collection Series
01 – Scopedog
02 – Brutishdog
03 – Standing Tortoise
04 – Marshy Dog
05 – Standing Turtle (Ypsilon custom)
06 – Diving Beetle
07 – Berserga

Sculpt, Detail, & Paint: (4/10)
For the scale and the era it’s hard to complain with what you get here but obviously it’s a long way from more modern vehicles. The paint application is sparse, note that the biceps are not the correct green shade that the legs and chest are. There’s also no gray on the feet where the spike mechanisms are and only the red dot is paint on the scopes. The sculpt is pretty good though and the molded in details like the shoulder harnesses are nice. Obviously there’s no cockpit or internal mechanical detail to discuss on a toy so small. The big external detail missing are the head antennae but that’s definitely a trade-off for durability purposes given the tiny scale.

Design: (2.5/10)
The score might seem harsh but this toy was never meant to be exciting from an engineering perspective. Here’s what you get using my standard Votoms metrics:
1) Scopes rotate: No. Scope tracks left to right: No. Head twists left to right: Yes.
2) Visor opens upward revealing the pilot: Yes and no. It lifts upward but there’s just an void behind it.
3) Opening cockpit: No.
4) Internal controls: N/A. Articulated: N/A. Gun stowage: N/A
5) Removable Pilot Figure: N/A. Articulated: N/A
6) Opening foot well: No.
7) Articulated armor panels on hips, feet, and wrist: only on feet
8) Articulated shoulder mounts: No.
9) Removable armor with internal mechanical detail: No.
10) Back that accommodates different accessories: Yes, but only because at this scale the accessories attach via the screw hole in the back of the toy.
11) Foot wheels: No.
12) Functional foot pivot spikes: No.
13) Punch mechanism: No.
14) Dog mode: No.
This toy might deserve some praise for only requiring assembly of the hip armors and not more. The big perplexing item here is a round hole in the hand to hold the gun and a square grip on the gun that doesn’t fit in that round hole. That seems like kind of a major oversight.

Durability & Build: (8.5/10)
Since this toy is made largely of metal there should be some concern of paint rubbing off. In extreme close-ups of my toy you can see little spots where the Styrofoam has caused some damage. One of the hip armors on my toy doesn’t fit quite as tight as I’d like so it seems like there’d be some risk of losing that small plastic part. A friend gave me a Brutishdog that had lost one of its hip armors and a shoulder armor so losing little bits appears to be the biggest issue.  Otherwise, there’s so little you can do with these toys you shouldn’t find yourself in risk of breaking anything.

Articulation: (3/10)
There isn’t much to discuss here. You get:
1) Knees (less than 90 degrees range of motion)
2) Shoulders
3) head rotates
At the end of the day, this is a little metal statue that looks awkward holding its gun. Since there aren’t hips you can’t even pull off a good sliding pose.

Total Score: (22/50)
This is only a step up from gashapon toys in the metal content. You get metal legs and torso so the toy, despite being tiny, has some nice heft. Still, this is just a tchotchke for a desk, not something you’ll have fun with or spend much time admiring.