{"id":1437,"date":"2012-06-21T03:25:53","date_gmt":"2012-06-21T03:25:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/anymoon.com\/blog\/2007\/04\/23\/toynami-alpha-superposeable-standard-editions\/"},"modified":"2014-07-11T05:51:56","modified_gmt":"2014-07-11T05:51:56","slug":"toynami-alpha-superposeable-standard-editions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anymoon.com\/blog\/?p=1437","title":{"rendered":"Toynami Alpha Superposeable (All editions)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

REVIEW(updated): Now includes metallic and Toyfare variants<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Packaging & Extras: (2\/5)<\/strong>
\nI don\u2019t like blistercards in the least, this is especially true of limited edition products like the metallic versions.\u00a0 The extras these toys come with are nice but basic.\u00a0 You get three fixed-pose hands with the Alphas, one extra hand with the Shadow Fighters, and all toys come with the appropriate gun.\u00a0 You won’t get any other cool extras like the medieval knight parts from Rand’s fantasy episode or a display stand.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Charm & Collectibility: (2\/5)<\/strong>
\nThese toys were never big hits.\u00a0 They lack metal and they don’t transform so the market for them was small.\u00a0 That market did grow somewhat for the standard editions when Toynami released their MPC Beta toys which linked up nicely to these Alphas since they’re the same size of the MPC Alphas.\u00a0 This is especially true of the blue Superposeable since the blue MPC Alpha has gotten increasinly harder to come by.\u00a0 The metallic paint schemes look great to my eye and have a bit of extra weathering but they never seemed to garner more attention than the standard releases.\u00a0 The metallic editions initially were exclusives of various vendors.\u00a0 Scott\u2019s Blue Alpha was an exclusive at ComicCon 2003, Lancer\u2019s Green Alpha was an exclusive at Electronics Boutique, Rook\u2019s Red Alpha was an exclusive at Gamestop (I may have those two reversed), and the Shadow Fighter was an exclusive at Robotech.com.\u00a0 Eventually sets of all the exclusives (except the Toyfare\u00a0Shadow Fighter)\u00a0were available online from Robotech.com.\u00a0 The Toyfare exclusive Shadow Fighter is a lot cooler than many clear plastic limited edition toys that have been released over the years but like the metallic paint scheme versions there doesn’t appear to be a large audience for it.\u00a0 All the exclusive toys are limited to production runs of 2000 units.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Sculpt, Detail, & Paint: (7\/10)
\n<\/strong>The sculpt of this toy is hard to judge as it deliberately strives for a more \u201ccartoony\u201d look.\u00a0 This back of the battroid is the most clearcut example.\u00a0 The folded over nose of the fighter has been replaced by a comparatively much smaller triangle – beyond that though the proportions look great.\u00a0 The toy doesn’t come with extra decals to attach but it does come with some painted on detail which is nice.\u00a0 The Shadow Fighters are better approximations of the line art than the original MPC Shadow Fighters in that the Superposeables better emulate the chest.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Design: (6\/10)<\/strong>
\nIn a toy lacking transformation it\u2019s difficult to come up with a score that means much in the design field.\u00a0 The success or failure of this toy is most accurately determined by its articulation but there will be more on that later.\u00a0 The gun fits in the hand it\u2019s supposed to and the toy has no major flaws to point toward.\u00a0 This toy does have the same weakness of Toynami\u2019s previous superposeable offerings in that the hips could have been better developed for poseability purposes.\u00a0 The knees could also benefit from a twist joint but again, that’s more of an articulation issue.\u00a0 Other non-transformable toy offerings, such as Yamato’s GnU line scored higher in this category because they offered the ability for the purchaser to disassemble the toy for better customization.\u00a0 Bandai’s Robot Spirits Q-Rea scored highter because that toy had opening missile bays and a cockpit with a pilot.\u00a0 You won’t get such nice design elements here… but these toys were also a lot cheaper than Yamato’s Gnu line or Yamato’s Robot Spirit toys.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Durability & Build: (8\/10)<\/strong>
\nIt\u2019s true there\u2019s no metal to be found in this toy but that doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s not sturdy.\u00a0 There is one item that stands out in build quality that I would have thought Toynami would have been able to avoid.\u00a0 Just as the original Gakken diecast 1\/55 double changer toy had a rubber shoulder array antenna\/fin that warped easily, so too do these superposeables (except the Shadow Fighters which don\u2019t have these arrays).\u00a0 Beyond that, these toys can certainly be broken but it\u2019s not likely to happen through average use.\u00a0 Through several poses I have not seen one begin to get loose in any way.\u00a0 I thought I broke the head of my Scott\/Stig version when I twisted the head but it turns out it’s just plugged in there and can easily be plugged back in.\u00a0If you try to twist the legs at the hip (which the hip can’t do) you might manage to pop the leg apart… but that would just mean you’d have to peg it back together.
\n