#destroids

[dantedreams]

#Robotech #macross #mospeada #mecha #mech horizont #destroids (at Reflexpoint) https://www.instagram.com/p/CQLrYcoNgd6/?utm_medium=tumblr

[thisrobotechthing]

The other ROBOTECH/Macross toy I bought with my tax refund money this year was the Yamato Destroid Tomahawk Olive Drab Version. While I dig the colors, my primary reason for getting this version was economic; it's the one I could find for less than $200. In the months since Yamato closed their doors most of their Macross product has gotten expensive, even the stuff that was largely sitting around taking up space in warehouses like cannon fodder-colored Valkyries and their two Destroids, the Tomahawk here and the anti-air laser-armed Defender. These were not popular at release, but I've always liked the Tomahawk design and was keen to see how much better one could get than the old Matchbox tooling.

Going from the old Matchbox toys to a piece like this is like going from a McDonald's hamburger to a proper steakhouse burger. They are both immediately recognizable as essentially the same thing, they cut the same silhouette, but by every available measure this is the superior product. (It damn well better be for over ten times the price.) The detailing and proportions are far more accurate to the original line art, and there are so many nice touches of clear plastic across the surface where the robot would have running lights. Under the right lighting conditions they really bring it to life. I love how the legs rotate to give the robot a more dynamic and stable stance; that's a joint I didn't know I wanted or needed until I got this thing in hand. Unlike the older toys, all the bits that should move actually do: the elevating guns in the head, the opening cockpit, and the opening missile battery over the right shoulder. It is a bit of a bother that the legs don't move forward all that well, which makes the ratcheting knee joints a bit useless, but then, like my complaint about the Beta Fighter last week, complaining about a Destroid's poor posing options is the same as complaining about a tiger being a wild animal: of course it doesn't do a lot of crazy poses, it's a clunky walking gun turret. That's why these didn't sell all that great, and why Yamato stopped at two molds. Which is a shame, it'd be nice to have a proper upgrade to the old Matchbox Spartan/Phalanx pictured at bottom alongside it. But hey, best to be thankful for what we got, and what we got is a remarkable, solid piece of engineering representing my favorite Destroid design.