And that leaves me with a last recap on the Zoids Wild series so far (going full circle from where I started the review)
Do I still mind the boxes being somewhat flimsy? Not as much as I thought, but I just hope the ones I order come in without damage (my GilRaptor allready came in somewhat dented)
Would I have preferred non rubber caps (even though they stayed true to the old lines)? Yes, because well you know why, they could dry out in the long run etc.
Clear riders instead of cockpits and pilots? Well, yes I would have preferred pilots and cockpits with canopies etc. But it is what it is, you can always leave the riders off so they fit the other Zoids lines a bit better. (It would be a bit different if they made the actual riders as figures though). And no clear was not the best choice as "color" but then again you notice them a bit less because of that.
Wild Liger's design. Still not a really big fan of the whole design, certainly as he's the main Zoid (hey.. again), but he's kind of okay in hand. And can be hugely improved by paint. (By the way I didn't include customs pics for GilRaptor this time, like I did with all the cool customs I found for the others, but trust me there are a lot of cool ones on the web)
They are still a bit slow, but what can you do about it.
The eyes.. Yeah would have preferred clear plastic pieces instead of the whole pupil thing, but this is what they chose, what can you do? Well I did see some cool solutions for that in some cases)
I don't care for most of the awkward Wild Blast gimmicks.
Some look really cheap (Liger) some are just awkward (Gannontoise and Triceradogos) or just not really usefull as I think they might damage the Zoid in the long run (Grachio, but I will see that end of the month when Kuwaga and Grachio come in)
Is it different than making a kit from sprues? Of course. And if not for the sprue marks from the fact that they supply them pre-cut, it would have been somewhat okay (read back what I had to say about that in the other previews, as I know they did this to make it more accesible for kids. They do have sprue marks, usually 1 per part, and most are okay, just some are not, sadly often on the most visible part, like a head armor piece etc)
The shiny mixture in the plastic of most of the parts? Well not as bad as I initially thought, but not quite sure if it was neccessary in the first place..
Softer plastic so they break less easily? Well admirable, if not for the fact that by only removing Gilraptors left leg armor once!?! it left a stress mark on the inside (luckily) but still, as I am always really careful. So again time will tell.
(TakaraTomy's attitude towards anyone outside of Japan? Not cool AT ALL. I understand all implications with wanting or not wanting to do this line internationally. That they are a business and need to keep it profitable etc. etc.
BUT for instance look at Lego from Denmark, Sideshow from the US, Hot Toys from Hong Kong OR Nintendo from of course Japan.
They are all international selling companies and a lot of people know and collect their stuff outside the country of origin much much more than when they only sold locally . Even though only Nintendo and Lego have any form of good customer support, which sadly no-one can say about (Sideshow, Hot Toys or) TAKARATOMY at all.. (I allready saw some people with the wrong or broken parts and that's all fun and games when you live in Japan. We here on this forum though? We'd be screwed.
That they currently might not have plans to translate or "export" Zoids Wild is not up to me. But would DBZ and Pokémon be so big as they are today if companies decided to keep it in Japan? NO WAY. SO..... (and Zoids being "obscure" is not a valid reason, look at Bayformers, they sucked A LOT and people really dig that stuff, even the ones that never liked or heard of the old (and sooo much cooler) Transformers), it's just a matter of presentation/marketing and such.
And the fact that they do all sales in Japan (and yes we import them because we want them and I for one will not wait around to see if they translate stuff)
They do all promotional stuff in Japan (look at their latest "we want to give EVERYONE" (yes you read that right, everyone) "a chance to win a White Kabtor" IF YOU LIVE IN JAPAN THAT IS.
You can see the anime on youtube, oh wait no you can't, same reason (supposedly because of guns and shocking Arashi etc, that might be offensive in other countries.. It's a cartoon, not even a tiny bit close to all the nasty stuff that's going on the world, and thus viewable on the internet)
Just like their "customer support". You can't email them AT ALL. You can contact them through facebook, but they don't reply and if they do they send you to their website, where, yes, you can't email them. You can call them IF you live in Japan.
Is this harsh of me? Maybe or even probably, but it's just not real great conduct of service or in the long run profitable or maybe better said favorable, if they want to keep Zoids relevant for a big audience, they should step up their game.. (like I said before, see the Pokémon or DBZ comment)
BECAUSE you'd maybe not think it after all this:
YES, in the end I really do like this line (even though I covered all grievances, annoyances and other stuff extensively).
Do I like some of those choices? No
Would I have rather seen Zoids in the "old style"? Of course.
BUT at the end of the day I am really glad that we got new Zoids alltogether, instead of nothing at all.
Because did I enjoy building these 7 kits? Well yes I did, much more than expected and like I said even after all the stuff I wrote in this thread.
Am I looking forward to other models and what the anime will do? Yes (and I want the other 8 models to come out like yesterday
So now the waiting game starts again till the end of the month when Kuwaga, Grachio, my puzzle, the gashapon etc stuff comes out and arrives.
So yeah they still win, for apparently I am still a sucker for anything Zoids.
And although it might not have always been what you'd expect from a review, I tried to cover everything and be honest in all stuff I encountered along the way)
Thanks for reading and maybe till next time..