Shinkalion: 700 Nozomi (07)

Takara Tomy's Shinkalion series is back with some new releases, 3 to be exact. Instead of release yet another version of a single train they have opted to give us something new and different...the series' first combiner. Released individually as well as in a gift set, I purchased them individually so we'll look at each robot on their own and eventually get to a review of their combined form, Unity.

These new combiner trains are smaller than the other robots/trains in the series, so their packaging is smaller and more compact. Today we'll be looking at 700 Nozomi, the box on the top of the stack. I do apologize for not having an upclose picture of the front of his box. Between shooting all the pictures at once for all 3 and doing a video review of the combined mode, Unity, I missed a few shots that I otherwise would have normally had.

I do have to commend Takara Tomy for the excellent looking box art they have provided for all of the Shinkalion releases. I think it really helps sell the toy. In addition to the box art, there are few images of the actual figure as well as a small blurb about it being able to combine with two others to form a larger robot.

The back of the box gives you a better idea of what the figure looks like in both modes, as well as how it can combine. The upper right corner does show you that the toy is compatible with previous releases in the series. More on that later.

The side of the box shows a very basic transformation sequence from train to robot, as well as the combined form again. The other side of the box was just all text so I didn't nother to take a picture.

The toy itself is rather small, about the size of a modern deluxe Transformer figure...maybe a tad shorter. When I first saw these for sale at HLJ.com it was hard to get an idea of their size. I prefer toys, especially combiners to be a tad smaller so I was perfectly fine with size of these. The robot has a very basic look and all 3 of these share the same overall look. They do suffer from having the nose of the train protruding out on their chest, but if you can look past that I think it's got a pretty clean look.

The other major drawback (for some) is the lack of articulation. The only real movement these guys have is in the waist and shoulders. You can rotate his top half a full 360 degrees, but his arms are just simple hinge joints that allow his arms to lift up and down. He has limited elbow joints, but his arms are kind of stubby and don't allow for many great poses.

Transformation if you are wondering is very simple. Basically you detach the back half of the train as this will form the legs. Simply pull the sides apart to form the legs, pull down to extend the legs, flip out the feet and you're done with this part. The top half is a little more complex, but it's still easy. Flip out the sides of the train and fold down the waist piece. Comtinue to fold out the arms to the side to get them out of the way. Once you attach the top half w/ the bottom half, the top panel will pop open to reveal the robot head.

From the side you can really see how far the chest hangs out. Not a deal breaker, but I can see how some may not care for this look. The other thing I should point out are the hands. The fists are molded on the inside the side panels of the train, the train wheels inbetween the fists and side panels. At first I really didn't care for this look at all, but now I just imagine the wheels being used as an offensive weapon (or maybe even defensively) in battle.

The head is spring loaded and pops up during transformation. Sadly there isn't any light piping for the eyes, but I'm not surprised seeing how the plate behind his head would block most of the incoming light. Overall I like the head and face sculpt. The blue trim around the forehead and the lime green eyes help break up all of the white.

Each of these three releases come with 3 accessories, differing between each figure. You get a weapon, a combiner head and this plate. Since I really can't read the instructions I'm not sure what purpose this plate serves as pictured, other than a display stand of sorts? The plate is used in conjunction with previous releases. This was shown on the back of the box and we'll look at that in a second.

Nozomi's weapon is odd. It collapses in half for storage purposes (maybe?), but when unfolded is a sword. That is what the box art makes it out to be. I will mention that the weapons in the gift set version are made of a translucent green plastic as opposed to this slightly metallic brown/black plastic. He can wield his weapon in either hand, but the limited art articulation will severely limit your action poses.

Each of these three release come with their own combiner head as the robots are interchangeable. Each of the combiner heads mimmicks the look of the robot it comes with, so here you can see a resemblance to Nozomi's face. The outer shell if you will of the head kind of looks like the front end of the train. This is just a hollow head that in G1 fashion simply sits overtop of the smaller robot head when in combined form.

As previously mentioned, Nozomi is quite smaller than the previous Shinkalion releases as you can see here. 

Again, because I can't read the instructions I'm really not sure what point this combined mode serves. You are basically making a large backpack for the larger robot by using the bottom half of Nozomi and attaching him to the back. This of course is done by attaching that base plate to the back of the larger robot, then attaching part of Nozomi. Personally I don't care for this look as I bought Nozomi and his comrades for their combined formed. However you have this option if you want it.

Finally we come to Nozomi's train mode. I absolutely love the look of this train, even though it may look a bit basic. At first look it may remind you of one of the trains from Car Robots or Robots in Disguise. This figure is a little smaller and shorter than it's Transformers cousins, but it does have a hitch on the back that allows you to link it up with another Shinkalion train. The wheels are rather large, however this was done for a few reasons I believe. 1) It makes the toy roll really well on a hard, smooth surface and 2) It's compatible with Takara Tomy's Plarail (or Tomica) line of train track. As you can see I have a few pieces of this blue track that I scavenged from some old Tomica toys my girls used to own.

I really like this toy. The transformation is basic, the robot has limited articulation, but the sculpting and styling is fantastic. I love trains and transforming robot trains are even cooler, especially with the combining feature. Individually these retailed for about $20 USD and at the time of this post are still available at HLJ.com. If you're going to look into picking one of these up you might as well go ahead and get the other two as they were meant to be a set. Keep an eye on the blog as we'll be looking at the other two robots in the set, as well as the combined forms and how they stack up to classic G1 combiners very soon. Until then, thanks for stopping by.

RELATED POSTS:

- 700 Noizu
- 700 Hikari Railstar
- Unity (combiner, written review)
- Unity (combiner, video review)

screen captures from Takara Tomy's website

Marvel Tsum Tsum: Mystery Pack Series 1 - Rocket Racoon

For Valentine's Day my wife picked up a blind package of the small vinyl Marvel Tsum Tsum toys. I gathered she was on the aisle looking for something for my two daughters and thought I might like one of these. She said she didn't stand there feeling the packages trying to find anyone particular, but said the first package she picked up was able to determine the character inside.

I knew there were Marvel versions of these small Tsum Tsum toys, but I've never really taken the time to look them over. Series 1 contains 10 different characters and for the most part they all look great. Personally I love the Hobgoblin, Thanos and Rocket Racoon.

If you aren't familiar with Tsum Tsums, they are small chibi versions of popular Disney and Marvel characters. They come in different styles (i.e. plush) and sizes, however these new blind packages contian a medium size character and a stackable accessory. As you can see below, I ended up with Rocket Racoon...and baby Groot!

These toys look like pills or beans if you will. They are small, only measuring about 1 inch long. They are detailed and painted quite well for a $2.99 bling bag. Rocket here has on his iconic Guardians of the Galaxy uniform. While he looks great, it's too bad he's missing his heavy artillery he is known for carrying around.

The stackabe accessory as the package calls it is this two piece 'wooden' stump. The branch is a seperate piece that easily attaches to the base. Up top is a small baby Groot sitting in a white flower pot. Nice touch Jakks. The accessory doesn't do anything else but hold your Marvel Tsum Tsum toy.

Gobots: Re-Volt (Dread Launchers)

Towards the end of the Gobots series of toys come the Dread Launchers. Released in 1987 and made exclusively for the Western market, these Bandai designed toys seem to be veyr polarizing in the Gobots community. I personally love the idea behind the Dread Launchers and like the toys, but then again I take my online name (and avatar) from one of the Transformers Duocons! The whole gimmick with Dread Launchers is that you have two robots pieces that come together and form a large, 8 inch tall robot. It's basically Tonka's version of Hasbro's Duocons (Transformers).

Re-Volt is comprised of a robotic hawk and a landing pad...I think. It's hard to tell and at least in my opinion it's left to your own imagination as to what this vehicle thing is supposed to be. There is clearly a landing pad area as shown w/ the gray/yellow circle outline sticker. There are wheels sculpted into the sides however to give you the idea that it can be transported. Could you call it a crawler or a transporter, as in what carries and moves a space shuttle?

The two pieces are made with a combination of plastic and die-cast metal. It's made well and my specimen has held up well for nearly being a 30 year old toy.

I'm not really sure why a robot hawk would need a crawler, but here you go. There are two tabs on the landing pad area that connect to the holes in the bottom of the hawk's legs/feet. This allows the hawk to attach to the crawler and keep it intact as you move the crawler around. There are some small, hard plastic wheels on the bottom that allow the crawler to move.

Transforming each piece into it's portion of the robot mode is rather easy, especially the crawler. The bird becomes to top half of the robot. The bird head folds back to reveal the waist connector piece, Fold down the tail feathers and wings and you're ready to attach to the bottom section.

The crawler is basically transformed already. Rotate the cockpit forward, stand it up and flip down the feet. You'll see a set of tabs in the middle of the waist area, allowing you to clip on the top half.

While I like the overall look of the robot, I do agree with many Gobot fans that this is an odd combination and I can see how it's not for everyone. The wings are still poseable in robot form, however the wings are in their default position as you can see above. The figure has some articulation in the shoulders, elbows and hips. The movement is limited, but again for a 30 year old toy it's not bad. The hands are the bird claws and they can open and close as you see fit.

Re-Volt is quite large when compared to a standard size Gobot. It scales a little better against a Super Gobot, but either way any of the 3 Dread Launchers are going to stand out in a Gobots display. These toys aren't for everyone, however I like them. Re-Volt is probably the weakest of the three, so if you are curious about these toys my suggestion is pick up Chaos or maybe Traitor. Be aware though that the Dread Launcher prices have increased on the secondary market in recent years. I can't see paying what Re-Volt's current price is, but to each their own.