Toys « Robot Claw

Archive for the ‘Toys’ Category

Lion Knight’s Castle

Wednesday, August 3rd, 2022

Back in 1978 LEGO released their first castle set, and we got it for Christmas not long afterwards. We had loads of LEGO in those days, but this set was always my favourite:

I loved all the mini figures, the drawbridge and the way the walls were hinged and the entire castle opened up for play. In time both Bernard and I could make this even without the instructions, and I remember playing with it for years. Since then I’ve always had nostalgia for LEGO castle sets, and despite a few others being released over the decades none wowed me like the original set ever did.

Until now!

This is Lion Knight’s Castle, a new set inspired by the 1978 classic castle that also incorporates elements from newer sets. It’s massive, with 22 minifigs and the level of detail we expect from LEGO sets these days (like the blacksmith). It was only revealed a few weeks ago and came out today for VIP members. I had to have it, and was at the LEGO store before it opened.

To my amazement there was a line, and a longish one at that! I was at the store just this past Monday (to get the Atari set) and had walked right in and bought what I wanted without a wait. What was going on?

It quickly became obvious this was a line for the castle. They let us in and there were very few sets to be seen, and I immediately sensed anxiety. Not just me (about 8th in line) but everyone was wondering if they had enough to go around? Very quickly the manager assured us did, and apologized for the fact it would take a while since only one register was working. It would be a slow process.

As I patiently waited my turn – and they were bringing castles out from the back room at this point – the line continued to lengthen behind me. A few people were grabbing other sets (but not the new Sanctum Santorum or Atari VCS, both of which were sold out) but everyone was there for the castle. It was a diverse line, with people of all ages, genders and colours. And here I thought only guys my age would be this excited about a nostalgic set 🙂

Before I got to the register the line was out the door, and as I paid and left I heard the woman at the door tell a customer they were sold out of castles and not sure when they’d get more. I believe they only got about 20 based on what I counted, and they’d sold them all at $400 in under half an hour! From what others in line were saying it sold out online almost immediately as well. Now we know why LEGO continues to make such big and pricey sets.

Here’s my castle. It’s the biggest set I’ve ever owned both by box size and piece count (over 4500) and quite a beast to pick up. Now I own it of course I’ll need to make it, but given there’s a bunch of other sets in this house waiting to be built it’ll probably be a while.

When I do, I’ll definitely blog it 🙂

Posted in Blog, Collecting, Toys | 3 Comments »

Bird of Paradise

Tuesday, May 10th, 2022

It’s time for a new LEGO kit:

This is the third in their ‘botanical’ series, and as a child of the jungle myself, naturally this called to me!

It’s the biggest of the botanical kits so far, mostly because (unlike the flower bouquet) it comes with a pot.

It also came with a number of tiny (~ 5 mm) golden rings. These are dazzling, and apparently somewhat special (the kit mentions it has more of them than any other LEGO kit) but they are embedded inside the pot and you can’t even see them in the finished product!

The pot is dense and heavy, and wouldn’t be fun to dismantle. Obviously the bulk is required to prevent the piece from falling over when made.

The stalks are made from smaller pieces joined together, rather than very long axles, and therefore the plant would be very customizable. I followed the instructions perfectly 🙂

Speaking of which this was a very easy kit to make, even if you’ve not done LEGO before. It was a pleasant build as we watched Japan walking videos on YouTube, and dreamed of our next visit to Japan…

Doesn’t this resemble the real thing!?! I expect as I scampered around the dense jungles of my place of birth I saw these flowers often as I listened to the singing of real life birds of paradise!

The last step was to add the soil, which was hundreds of small brown circular pieces. I expect if you bought enough of these it would make good cat litter.

And here’s the finished piece! It’s lovely isn’t it? It’s also very large, but looks great on a mantle. As with the other two botanicals, I think this one will find a permanent position in our home.

Posted in Blog, Garden, Miscellaneous, Nature, Toys | Comments Closed

Models

Saturday, April 16th, 2022

I bought the above model kit at Kinokuniya a while back, mostly based on the lovely art. It’s a schoolgirl model kit; one in a range that includes not only the girls themselves, but also various furniture items! I don’t think it’s based on an anime or manga, and is instead an original line.

The kit had a large range of face and hairstyle options, and several skirt and leg poses. As is usual with kits from Kotobukiya, the quality was extremely high, and the kit included a few nice touches that added detail without the need for painting.

It was an easy build, taking maybe 2 hours. Here’s the finished product:

She came with several accessories, but I used only the schoolbag (the bubble tea is nice, but you need to buy the ‘After school cafe‘ set for that!). But before I put her in my glass case I felt she could be improved….

Much better!

And since I’m showcasing cute models, here’s two Nendoroids I’ve recently bought:

The left is Akane Shinjo from SSSS Gridman, an astonishing anime that will feature in more detail on this blog one day. And on the right is Nino Nakano, who will always be my favourite of the Quintessential Quintuplets. Probably 😉

Posted in Blog, Collecting, Crafts, Models, Otaku, Toys | Comments Closed

Medieval Blacksmith

Sunday, February 27th, 2022

Every now and then a LEGO kit comes along that seems like it was specifically designed for me. This is one example:

Meticulously designed and detailed, as soon as I saw this kit I knew I had to have it. These past two weeks I’ve put it together (after dismantling and storing away the tree house).

The kit is built in three parts, designed to be easily separated for play or simply to appreciate the detail. Every level of the house has a fully furnished interior including the forge and tools, a kitchen/living area and a bedroom (in the third floor) with master bed and bear rug on the floor:

You can see in the above pic that the roof easily lifts off to access the interior. This is a particularly clever piece of engineering since it’s not immediately obvious why the roof stays on as securely as it does!

The exteriors are as detailed as the interiors, and you can see above how the timber framing is added, a touch that makes the model look more like the medieval German buildings this kit is based upon.

The kit comes with a light brick which gives the furnace a red glow when it is activated. Back in our youth LEGO used primitive versions of these sorts of bricks a lot, but now they’re led-based and the power supply is a tiny battery sealed inside the brick!

Here we see the forge which is accessibly (by the blacksmith minifig) both indoors or out. I’m pushing in the bellows which are connected to the light brick, and you can see the heat of the furnace in the above pic 🙂

Speaking of minifigs, the kit comes with a smith, an archer, two knights, a horse and a dog. Not to mention a variety of weapons and a cart to haul it all around in. It seems like this particular smith works for the military, as opposed to simple tools or nails.

I love this kit. In my opinion it’s one of the most attractive models LEGO has yet released, and it’s not too big to display on a shelf.

Self-contained original sets like this are what I prefer these days, and there’s a lot of unusual structures or buildings that I think deserve a professional LEGO treatment. In particular I hope the lighthouse they announced last year (based on this LEGO idea) ends up being as good as this blacksmith!

Posted in Blog, Crafts, Miscellaneous, Models, Otaku, Toys | 4 Comments »

The Inevitable List Of Ten Things My Brother Will Buy Me For My Birthday!

Sunday, February 13th, 2022

It’s been a whopping eight whole years since I’ve posted a list like this, but yesterday I was thinking that my brother may be having difficulty finding a birthday gift for me. Ever the helpful sibling, I decided to give him some assistance.

So here you go brother, ten simple suggestions!

Let’s start with an action figure! Darth Plagueis was released eight years ago in the 3.75″ ‘black collection’ and as with most figures of that era was frustratingly difficult to find and hardly made it to store shelves. Had I seen it I would have bought it for sure, but now mint-on-card versions are only available for $100+ on eBay. I’d love to put this guy in a box and never look at him again!

Speaking of figures, I recently learned about a series of Guyver statues by Prime 1, including the above showing a Guyver-0 standing atop a defeated T-Rex. It’s an amazing piece, standing almost one meter tall and weighing over 25 kg! Unfortunately it’s sold out but even if it wasn’t the $1300 price tag (not including the insane shipping cost from Japan) is something I would never spend myself but think is entirely appropriate for a birthday expense!

Vinyl is really hot now, and while my record player no longer works I think it’s obvious that I’d love the above vinyl album (not CD!) from 1962. This was long before Pertwee became (the best) Doctor, and apparently he was already famous enough to release an album full of bawdy ditties! You can listen to the songs on YouTube and they are of course abysmal, so the album would be one ‘for the collection’.

Let’s switch to games! I’ve got an impressive Fighting Fantasy book collection but despite my efforts have yet to obtain an original 8-bit FF computer game. There’s a few available, for 4 systems (C64, Spectrum, BBC, Amstrad) so it shouldn’t be too hard for Bernard to get me one (on eBay UK most likely) for around £25! Naturally I want it in the original cassette case and in NM or better condition.

Speaking of games Ive seen the above myself a few times on recent Japan trips, and every time I do I nearly buy it. But the astonishing prices (¥40,000+) have always given me pause, and as a result a hole in my Wizardry collection remains unfilled. Bernard’s going to have to be careful when he buys this one though: ‘discount’ ($200) copies are easy to find, but they almost certainly don’t include the trading card!

Naturally, since Bernard will probably become an expert in navigating Yahoo Auctions Japan for the last item, he should keep his eyes peeled for the above as well. This is the Xevious gamebook released by Namco in the mid 1980s and, much like the game, this book tells the story of Mu and Eve as they pilot Solvalou to travel to Garu Andor Genesis and destroy GAMP. Apparently the game system is very similar to Fighting Fantasy but I wouldn’t know since I don’t own the book. Yet.

Let’s take a sidestep into toys. The LEGO Old Fishing Shack is a masterpiece of design, and several years ago I was with my brother when I picked it up in a shop and said I may buy it. I didn’t, and now it’s $500+ on the aftermarket. But B should realize: a LEGO for me is also a LEGO for him, since one day I’ll take it apart and send it to him so he can enjoy it too. While paying the ludicrous aftermarket scalper prices would be the act of a fool, at least it would be an act that one day benefits him!

We had ministecks as kids and loved them, and it’s time to love them again. Though they are still being released, they’re weirdly hard to find and the few kits I’ve seen for sale here are very kid-centric, like puppies or doll pictures. I reckon B has contacts in Germany that could help him snag me this monster Neuschwanstein kit, don’t you?

Who doesn’t love View-Master? I know I do, and my measly collection would receive a wonderful boost with the addition of the above set. Sadly it’s hellishly rare these days, with single reels (of the three-reel set) going for $25 or more in poor condition. If he gets me this, naturally in the original packaging, I promise I’ll blog it in detail!

And what better thing to end on than a pair of shoes! You didn’t see this coming did you? Yes my friends these are the 2016 limited edition Ultraman Converse All-Star shoes sold at only one store in Japan. Once again condition and packaging are important since I’ll never wear them, and unused examples in the original boxes go for silly amounts on Japanese auction sites these days. Indeed, you’d have to be a ~~damn fool~~ brother looking for a birthday gift to even consider entertaining some of the scalper prices…

So there we go, ten easy items only a click or two away. I wonder how many of these he will get me this year?

Posted in Blog, Books & Comics, Collecting, Crafts, Gamebooks, Games, Music, Otaku, Retro, Toys | 2 Comments »

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