Kool Kollectibles content

21 Jan 2017

X-Transbots MX-III Eligos (aka Cyclonus)

I preordered the X-Transbots back in late 2015, and finally after several delays I received it in Jan 2017. Was it worth the wait? Well, it really depends on what you plan to do with it. If you want to just take it out of the box and display it in bot mode, it looks great. But if you want to actually transform it, then prepare yourself for at least an hour if pure frustration!

I was ready to throw this bloody thing in the bin during the transformation. There were several steps that required far too much force to complete, and the result still wasn't aligned in jet mode. Just a terrible transformation design by X-Transbots here!

For my full video review, check out the video link below to the Kool Kollectibles YouTube channel. You'll see me struggling through it all lol :)



Out of the box, it looks great and comes with a decent enough accessories.



The plastic is pretty good quality, and needs to be to be able to tolerate the excessive force needed to complete some steps of the transformation. The joints and pegs etc loosen up with multiple attempts, but there are still areas that do not align well.

There is simply very little tolerance in the transformation, with some collectors needed to shave down parts just to make things fit. The fact it took so long to release this, and there are still things collectors need to fix to get it to transform, just points to how bad the design really is.



Their previous Andras was infamous for its ridiculous transformation of the ankles, that bruised by thumbs trying to push the feet through that stupid gap. The sheer frustration with Eligos is unfortunately exponentially higher.



But slap an official insignia on these guys, and they look great in bot mode on display. But that's pretty much it for them! I do not think I will ever transform these two again! Hopefully Takara announce official versions one day, as elegant transformations is where I think Takara excels for the most part.


14 Jan 2017

Asmus Lord of the Rings 1/6th scale Frodo and Sam

In 2016 I started out collecting the Asmus 1/6th scale Lord of the Rings series in the hope that finally a company would complete the Fellowship. It definitely looks like Asmus has taken on that challenge, and the figures were overall very good. I was quite impressed with their Aragorn back in 2015, and then Merry and Pippin and Gandalf in 2016.

So I was pretty excited when I heard news of their Frodo and Sam release, but that was dimmed once photos of the head sculpts surfaced. I was hoping there would be some final production tweaks, but the final sculpts are not that great. Watch and read on more below!

Click through below for my fill video review on the Kool Kollectibles YouTube channel :)



The packaging art continues the LOTR style, and the insert shows the edition number. Seems like they have gone with numbering these with a limited edition size, which should please some collectors. I don't really mind either way to be honest, as long as the figures turn out well!




Similar to the previous Merry and Pippin figures, the accessories are nice, and the outfits are particularly well tailored with a variety of materials. The layering of the clothes, and the display options for the accessories adds some great display value.

Sam in particular gets a nice set of cooking ware that you can strap to the backpack. Getting the strap through the tiny holes in the accessories was an absolutely pain in the arse though, so be wary of that!




But despite the great clothing and accessories, the main feature that everyone looks at first in a 1/6th scale figure is the head sculpts. And this is where the Frodo and Sam figures disappoint. The Merry and Pippin sculpts weren't that great either, but are definitely better than Frodo and Sam for me.

The area in which Asmus has improved on the head sculpts is the hair. The stranding is much more detailed and finer than on Merry and Pippin. This gives the hair a much more realistic finish. However, the likenesses themselves are off. There is a slight resemblance, and the character is recognisable thanks to the outfits. But if the head sculpts were viewed in isolation, it would be rather difficult for people to pinpoint the actors, especially Sam.

The major issue for me with the sculpts is a slight deformation in the mold. Asmus has had a bad track record in this regard, with some previous figures like Gandalf the White and Tauriel exhibiting some obvious deformation in the sculpts. It's slightly less noticeable on Frodo, but Sam definitely shows it where his left side of the face seems to be pushed to one side and down. You can see it slightly in Frodo's eyes too where the left is lower than the right.

I am not sure why this keeps occurring in Asmus production, but this is one area they need to fix as soon as possible.



Despite that bad likenesses, once setup with the other LOTR figures, these do look pretty great on display. The scale of the Hobbits in relation to the others is good, and they all complement each other well.



In the cabinet, they look good. If Asmus can improve the sculpts, these would truly become very sought after figures. Every other aspect of the figures is excellent, so they need to put in some more effort to resolve the sculpting and mold production issues.

Hopefully they can fix all that before they release Legolas. The recent teased head sculpt looks pretty great, so to ruin that in production would be a massive letdown. Either way, I'm all in on the Fellowship figures from Asmus - here's hoping for announcements on Gimli and Boromir soon!


9 Jan 2017

Hot Toys MMS331-D13 War Machine Mark 1 diecast

When the Hot Toys War Machine Mk1 diecast figure was released in Q3 2016, I was definitely impressed with the early reviews that I saw for it. But the price was pretty high, and with too many other things coming in it took a backseat.

But then straight after Christmas, a local retailer in Australia had a big 20% off sale, and with that price I couldn't resist picking up this figure. And boy am I glad I did. It is an absolute marvel in engineering design, with incredible articulation and details.

Click through below for my full review on the Kool Kollectibles YouTube channel. One of my top 5 1/6th scale figures from 2016 for sure!



2 Jan 2017

One Sixth Scale End of 2016 Collection Update

Hope everyone had a great Christmas and awesome New Year break. It was a huge year for me in 2016 on the 1/6th scale front. I was silly enough at the beginning of the year to think I was actually going to slow down, but 2016 turned out to be my biggest year yet for 1/6th scale collectibles.

I got around 30 new 1/6th scale items in 2016, but also sold quite a few to make room and recoup the cost. I sold all my Sideshow Clone Commanders, and also some of the Hot Toys Star Wars figures that I really didn't need, such as the Shadow Trooper and Space Trooper.

Overall, I need to be more selective and focus on source material I love. I think it'll still be a pretty big 2017 for me, but should not have so many things coming in. Hope you can check out the collection as it stands now at the end of 2016 :)


Inflames Toys x Newsoul Toys Tang Sanzang (Tripitaka Monk) and Bai Long Ma (White Dragon Horse) Deluxe figure set

As soon as I saw the initial photos of the Journey to the West figures by Inflames Toys and Newsould Toys, I knew I had to have the troupe. The figures have turned out to be some of the most impressive 1/6th scale figures that I have in my collection. I was definitely glad to be able to finally complete the collection with the release of the Tang Sanzang Deluxe set that includes the White Dragon Horse and other impressive accessories.

Click through below for Part One of the video review, going over the extremely detailed White Dragon Horse.



Click through below for Part Two of the video review, going over the Tang Sanzang figure and other accessories.







I absolutely love these figures, and am really happy to have them complete and displayed in my collection. They look incredible on display, and are every bit as impressive as Hot Toys and Sideshow figures. Hopefully Inflames can continue to make figures of such high quality in their future series of figures!