Kotobukiya stuffs [1/100 Action Figures & HMM Death Stinger]

[kpstormie]

The HMM Death Stinger is here!  Full writeup on the AmiAmi website.

[Hanyoutai]

For a second I couldn't tell it wasn't the standard -- I hope the details stand out a bit better when it has color applied! Still love the blade designs, though~

This post shows more shots, along with an in-person view of the limited ZA Murasame Liger and Zoids Aggressive Hayate Liger!

[Raysetiger]

thought they gave up on HMM Stinger but i was wrong

[imateria]

^Why? Going months between the announcement and he first prototype shots is nothing new for Koto, they've done it for at least the last 4 years or so.

Looks awesome, is there an expected price for it yet?

[Hanyoutai]

Lots of awesome views of the Zoids Aggressive Hayate Liger and the HMM Death Stinger, which includes a 3D rotating view that allows you to see all angles, including the belly! I was a little uncertain about Death Stinger but seeing the details has me sold, especially those eerie looking eyes!

[imateria]

^Thanks for those links, I think it's safe to say that HMM Zoids are back with a bang!

[furys12]

just let me preorder you already death stinger! my god it looks awesome cant wait, also cant wait to see it posed next to another hmm

[Snowflake]

Blech, those proportions. Why does kotobukiya seem to have such a problem with proportions? They gave it a HEAD for god's sake. It's not supposed to have a separate head. This looks like a garantula with a tiny tail attached. The middle segment of the claws is super short (and the prior one is super long), while the middle segment of the legs is super long. Is that really so hard to get right? Tomy's designs have such elegantly proportioned designs. an HMM should be copying it but articulating all the little sculpted detail.
Oh well not as if I was going to buy it anyway

[imateria]

Most Tomy designs are fat and dumpy to acommodate the motor, the Death Stinger being no exeption. I see no reason why not to make the head articualted. The three segmants of the claw arms seem to be of equal length to me but of different thicknes, though it's hard to tell as the third segmant that connects to the claws is obscured by them. The first and second segments of the legs both seem pretty long but the first appears to be a lot more mechanical with the pistons on them and frankly why wouldn't they be, it's an arachnid, they're supposed to be long legs, the Tomy kits legs were a bit bizare from having to acommodate the walking motion.

I will concede that the tail could probably have done with being a bit longer but it certainly looks nothing like the skeletal Gurantula.

[greengai]

What does Tomy motor talk outside of Stinger have to do with anything? (Answer: it's as much fallacious reasoning as 'kotobukiya emaciates all its other zoids' among other things) Sorry, jetlaggy ness has me a bit snippy about aesthetic herring crapshots.

Prototype HMM Deathstinger actually looked really nice around the midsection in person; the back's detail really gets the underwater/Sea scorpion feel in there, if not a hint of pseudoscorpion anatomy. Might have been the lack of color too but overall it's a beefy bug and I really liked the thick/powerful claws too. Articulated head kinda makes it more like the CG Megalograptus from the BBC series. On the fence about buying it myself due to size/potential shipping pricetag (my estimate is about 20% larger than the standard, though I haven't had mine out of storage since springtime) and a backlog of builds but it's really, really tempting. Either way, nice Koto go for a bit more heft.

I'm definitely more excited for ZA Murasame. I went in thinking the kitty would be something between KFM plastic/size and Revoltech-ish level of articulation but this is very much a pre-built RG wannabe with a smidge less detail (which I think is good because RG can get too detailed imo) and clean articulation. With great paws; I freaking love the cute paws on ZA Murasame, especially with the wee pilebankers. Not quite as large (or at least as tall) as I thought it'd be but I'm itching for that new cat come out already.
And I REAAALLLY hope ZA does well enough to get Bamburian in this line!

[Hanyoutai]

I heard that for part of the event they had a ZA Murasame Liger sitting out that people could play with, but that it got put away part way through. Did you get a chance to play with the Murasame?

I think the HMM Stinger is fine, though, and the head doesn't look detached to me. It is well integrated. I do see the fuss about the legs but, I am more concerned because all models seen so far (including the 3D turnaround and the one at WF) have had belly supports. Most HMM do not stand well to begin with, when their legs are more spread out. I hope that having 8 means it will displace its weight well enough to not just belly flop all the time.

Also, though, I think the 'leg aesthetic' issue will be a bit easier to correct with posing. Chances are we'll be able to bunch the legs up, if we prefer that look? I hope, anyway.

With Hayate, I am overall in love with the design. A better view of the backpack from Zoikino shows that it is rather detached looking, but I think this will be an issue for both Hayate and Mugen. It is not a good choice, aesthetically, to place large weapons and equipment on the back arch. They will always make the rest of the kit look wonky. I still think it looks better than the standard Hayate Liger since the head is more clearly distinguished, though. Can't wait to hear about the release date on that one, I am equally excited to have the poseable kitties.

[greengai]

Jul 28, 2015 0:17:22 GMT -5 Hanyoutai said:

I heard that for part of the event they had a ZA Murasame Liger sitting out that people could play with, but that it got put away part way through. Did you get a chance to play with the Murasame?

I think the HMM Stinger is fine, though, and the head doesn't look detached to me. It is well integrated. I do see the fuss about the legs but, I am more concerned because all models seen so far (including the 3D turnaround and the one at WF) have had belly supports. Most HMM do not stand well to begin with, when their legs are more spread out. I hope that having 8 means it will displace its weight well enough to not just belly flop all the time.

Also, though, I think the 'leg aesthetic' issue will be a bit easier to correct with posing. Chances are we'll be able to bunch the legs up, if we prefer that look? I hope, anyway.

With Hayate, I am overall in love with the design. A better view of the backpack from Zoikino shows that it is rather detached looking, but I think this will be an issue for both Hayate and Mugen. It is not a good choice, aesthetically, to place large weapons and equipment on the back arch. They will always make the rest of the kit look wonky. I still think it looks better than the standard Hayate Liger since the head is more clearly distinguished, though. Can't wait to hear about the release date on that one, I am equally excited to have the poseable kitties.

Yes, I saw Murasame out for touch at the start but made the mistake of thinking 'oh, I'll come back later when there's less of a crowd' and didn't get to handle it What's worse is they weren't even running MP Shield Liger (which is what I left to go find) on the ground. Pretty cool they brought the prototype but I wanted to see that cat's sexy walk dammit! 

Deathstinger at the show also had mini stands under those thick front claws. Not overly worried though; it's still just a mock up.

Hayate I'm more 'meh' Too top heavy and doggy in the face for my tastes; but at this rate a ZA Mugen's likely for Winter WF if not earlier.

[imateria]

I'm not worried about the Death Stinger having supports under it, Gojulas had the same thing when they finally showed off the finished prototype and yet it's probably the most stable model I've ever built (9 months on and it's still in the same dynamic pose I photographed it in when I finished it, not a hint of sag on any of the jonts). I suspect that it's more a case of the materiels they use for a rapid prototyping not being as suitable as the PS plastic they'll eventually make it out of. It's another reason why I like the long leg segments it has, the alternatives being short legs, which would look rediculous on a bug, or an extra joint which given that they support the body like a suspension bridge supports a road means it would probably be tempting fate with the floppy joints syndrome.

With all the talk of Death Stinger I hadn't noticed the Hayate Liger prototype. I much prefer this design to Murasame's and very much tempted to get it when it comes out.

[Snowflake]

Jul 27, 2015 17:38:42 GMT -5 imateria said:

Most Tomy designs are fat and dumpy to acommodate the motor, the Death Stinger being no exeption. I see no reason why not to make the head articualted. The three segmants of the claw arms seem to be of equal length to me but of different thicknes, though it's hard to tell as the third segmant that connects to the claws is obscured by them. The first and second segments of the legs both seem pretty long but the first appears to be a lot more mechanical with the pistons on them and frankly why wouldn't they be, it's an arachnid, they're supposed to be long legs, the Tomy kits legs were a bit bizare from having to acommodate the walking motion.

I will concede that the tail could probably have done with being a bit longer but it certainly looks nothing like the skeletal Gurantula.

Arachnids don't have heads. The legs are all meant to be attached to the cephalothorax. Death Stinger is a mixture of a scorpion-scorpion and a sea-scorpion
And what I meant about garantula is that it had a head, so it looked nothing like a spider. In fairness, so does Guysack (which I think was based on the same frame?). But the original death stinger (and its design predecessor deathpion) had beautiful perfect proportions IMO.

[imateria]

Fair enough, and I agree the design of the Deathpion is brilliant, but I can't look at the Tomy Death Stinger these days without seeing a box with legs and bits of blue plastic slapped on top.