Hey guys; Thanks for checking this one out. Sorry about the intro graphic - Doesn't normally happen but it was an editing error and unfortunately it's not worth the time to re process and upload (These huge files take all day.) The full review and gallery is up on site which includes the the video review and transformation tutorial as well as written thoughts. Check it out: kumastyledesigns.com/sentinel-mospeada-stick-review/
Thank you so much for this honest review. Far too many toy reviews are compromised by fans are starving for mecha that rarely get new toys AND the reviewers unwillingness to accept they just paid a high cost for a mediocre product that fails to justify that expense. I know pre-order culture and artificial scarcity drives the high-end toy market, but I appreciate reviews like this after release. I'm a Macross fan and I've wasted far too much money on figures that look great, but have an Achilles Heel (or "ankle" to nail the problem on the head). Frustrating articulation/transformations really turn me off because you can only lie to yourself for so long: eventually the frustrating toys stay in one mode or in a box and you never touch them. The fun toys get transformed, posed again and again and displayed with pride. I was exhausted just watching you struggle with the Ride Armor. And the amount of parts that fall off or go flying when handling this thing is insane! I'm a huge fan of the 13-15cm scale figures and I figured this would be on my radar. So happy to have dodged the bullet and spent my money on better display pieces. Bravo to you, sir!
Hey brother; thank you for taking the time to check my channel out as well as leaving this feedback. I completely agree with you on the unwillingness of some to just admit they bought a dumpster fire but I also think that it really puts people's credibility on the spot as well. I have sponsors but I try to work with people who make things I enjoy and buy stuff from companies I trust; so for the most part, I (thankfully) have fairly positive reviews but if something's junk, then it's junk. When it comes down to it, I'm not going to disservice the community by lying; just part of treating others like you want to be treated, you know? And yea man; I wanted to keep every second of the thing falling apart because what's the point in editing it out? I don't have anything to gain with that. Sucks that it made for a much longer review than it should've been but hey... what can I say? Glad that you found it informative and again I really appreciate the informed comment/feedback, man. I hope that you can stick around for some future reviews.
For sure! I've bookmarked your website, subscribed to this TH-cam account and followed on Facebook. Sadly I'm not that into Transformers, though I've been trying to decide which of the many Ratchet figures I might want to buy one day. I am crazy for figure lines like Hi-Metal R, Robot Spirits (Robot Damashii), S.H. Figuarts and Figma. And thanks to reviewers like yourself, I also get the odd Arcadia figure, Bandai DX Chogokin, Metal Build or similar high-end figure.
MrMarch Thanks so much, man! And yea, I'm much more of a general mecha collector but a lot of these unofficial TF designs hit a soft spot with me because they're really anime printed. Been looking at diving into Macross for years now
Oh yeah, some of those third-party Transformers are just incredible. I wish other mecha IPs had third-party toys like Transformers. Transformers fans are so lucky. If I were to recommend Macross toys to someone new, I'd definitely say look at the Arcadia 1/60 scale VF-1 Valkyries, the Bandai DX VF-31 Siegfrieds and most of the Bandai Hi-Metal R line. In particular, the Arcadia 1/60 scale VF-1 Valkyrie is - in my opinion - the gold standard for Macross transformables (may be one of the best transformable toys ever). Great details and articulation, fun transformation, locked/solid in all three modes and tight/ratcheted joints. One of the best!
@ 8:20 is it just me or did Kuma Style paid tribute to the great William Shakespeare?? On a separate note, Macross was almost called Macbeth. Glad that never panned out....😁
Great review. Still looks amazing though. The amount of engineering required to make a good-looking transforming ride armor is pretty impressive. It's disappointing that it's so finicky. I can live with the tolerance issues. Pledge is your friend for loose friction fits. Any breakages over time or weak points that look like they might break if you play around with it too much?
For $200+, this figure is definitely far from perfect. I haven't had that many problems with pieces popping off on my figure, but I do think getting the arm and thigh armor in the right angle and position is a pain in the butt. It also can't stand on it's own very well. However, with that said, the figure does look amazing. Bike mode is pretty solid too as nothing really pops out. This figure is more of a poseable display piece than a toy you can play with.
Fantastic review and I appreciate the time you put into this. I'll indeed be checking out the written review as well. I haven't see what this looks like with the paint removed from the visor but I'm excited to see how it turns out.
I think my biggest problem was actually that the forearm armor on the left arm literally did not attach. Superglue fixed 'er right up, but that was pretty ridiculous. Other than that, I don't really mind the difficult posing in armor mode since it looks pretty damn amazing. I guess I've just dealt with worse.
I think you have some very valid complaints and concerns. However, the Cyclone has always been a difficult transformation to nail and has a lot of history to compare it to. With that said, great review and great point of view!
I honestly feel like they knocked the transformation aspect out of the ballpark. It's more just the lack of fit and finish to things like balljoints and twist points on the bike itself that make it a mess. If those tolerances were checked over and fixed I have no problem saying It'd be damned near perfect. Thanks for taking the time to check out the video, guys!
That's too bad the QC wasn't up to par. But as it stands, it is one of the better Cyclone armors (look wise ) out there. If I did manage to get one, it would stay in transformed mode.
I guess lots of nail polish is in order to keep those leges in place? I still have mine coming on the mail and I don’t know wether to keep it or sell it.
Ed Pérez You mean the hip swivel connection? they honestly don't come out unless the legs are moved outside of their range of motion which is hard to see with the cloth covering the actual hip joints.
Kuma Style I was also thinking about the head joint. Since I saw your review, I kept on watching others down the rabbit hole, and I saw these guys talking about the head joint, and how it doesn’t snap in place. Would nail polish do the trick with it?
Hello. Great video. I have both of these figures pre-ordered. They look really cool. But I see that there are some glaring issues. At least with this one. These guys are pretty expensive to boot. With the gripes that you have, would you say they are a pass? Thanks for the review.
Dude. How'd you score one? They're sold out everywhere. I definitely want this guy as its got "perfect transformation". The Anime (and previous toys) used "anime magic" and "parts-forming" for the transformation, but seems this guy was engineered so as to make the transformation actually "possible". That could be the reason why the armor mode is a pain...and I am totally OK with that.
I PREordered it. And it's not the transformation that's the problem, it's them not checking over it and making sure that things tabbed in correctly, parts rotated as they should, etc. etc.. This isn't anywhere near the first Mospeada toy and being the most recent of them over the span of decades it has no reason to be one of the worst.
I preordered one from Big Bad Toy Store. They haven't arrived yet and preorders are currently sold out but some one commented on another video for this item saying that somebody canceled their pre-order which allowed them to get one. Now that videos are popping up, perhaps some people may cancel their preorder and you can get one. I would check with them periodically.
Truth be told I unboxed that thing and didn't touch it. It's been in the same pose, never transformed, and just moved between shelves since it got delivered. I was so turned off by this piece that I had no want to even be bothered.
I remember when I had the original figure of this years ago. I don't recall if it was the original Japanese version or the Matchbox one. It was horrible compared to this one. :)
It's a MOSPEADA (aka Ride Armor), not a Cyclone. There is no relationship to Robotech here as this is not a design that ever appeared in the anime - it is a re-imagining of the concept by the original designer Aramaki. By design Ride Armor is always going to be very delicate and fiddly in toy form. You need to have some mechanical sympathy to handle toys/display pieces like these. What you are labeling 'QC issues' are really engineering issues or compromises. Get your hands on the Beagle, 1/8 and 1/20 Gakken, Megahouse and CM's efforts so that you have some context to work from.
feetus_maximus You're a bold-faced liar. Nothing about the design or transformation has anything to do with the lack of refined tolerances and general fit problems... at ALL.
Wow. I wasn't attacking you - calm down man. I can appreciate that this is your first MOSPEADA product and understand where your perspective is coming from, but this is a product niche with some storied history and many less-than-stellar releases over the years. Experience with the older toys might give a greater appreciation of what the most recent releases like the Sentinel and Beagle have actually brought to the table. Loose tolerances and other engineering issues come with the territory. You don't have to believe me though.
feetus_maximus I appreciate your clarification and unfortunately I keep a certain guard due to these comment sections being a troll cesspool at times. I apologize for coming off in an adverse manner. I can understand the perspective that this may very well be the best interpretation to date and in a sense I'm glad I HAVEN'T invested into collectibles from it before this, but I feel that my major problems with the toy are things like tabs and things like joints and turn points being too tight. Am I mistaken in thinking that design-aside things like these couldn't have been resolved?
Most issues with tolerances can probably be resolved or at least mitigated with enough time and money spent in tool revisions, but the unfortunate reality is that it is very, very expensive and time-consuming work (source - I've worked in tool & die, prototyping and injection molding businesses since the early '90s.) Manufacturers have to hit the sweet spot in terms of cost, volume, and end-user pricing to make products like these viable and profitable. There's a reason that Beagle only managed two releases of their Ride Armor before going under.
feetus_maximus These products are also expensive on the consumer-end and in terms of both satisfaction and rapport it's beneficial to have these things looked over and fixed just like other high-end companies do. There's no excusing any of the actual issues with this as they have nothing to do with the property or design and attempting to do so literally helps no one. That's all I'm saying.
I would like to say a very good honest review on the figure I never seen a figure like that before I'm also a collector of made things when I see a cool looking figure I just got to check it out really like your Channel I subscribe to your Channel keep up the good work
Definitely I think now I did the right choice not to preorder any of the Mospeada figures, is a shame I been wanting one since long time ago but definitely not this one, the price is definitely not justified here(200+bucks ), hope Bandai jumps into creating this figures.
You know, as a kid I thought that the mospeada bike was awesome. Now I scratch my head and wonder why I ever thought that carrying around a motorcycle like it's a backpack ever seemed like a good idea. He's seriously just carrying his bike when he gets off of it. His armor on his legs is the same exact armor he had before transforming. His armor on his arms is the exact same armor he had before transforming. The armor on his head is the same exact armor he had before transforming. All he did was go from riding the motorcycle to carrying the motorcycle. And we all wanted to do that? Why??? Have you ever tried to pick up a motorcycle? They're not as heavy as a car but that's not a good selling point for me carrying one around on my back!
Hey guys; Thanks for checking this one out. Sorry about the intro graphic - Doesn't normally happen but it was an editing error and unfortunately it's not worth the time to re process and upload (These huge files take all day.) The full review and gallery is up on site which includes the the video review and transformation tutorial as well as written thoughts. Check it out: kumastyledesigns.com/sentinel-mospeada-stick-review/
I get it’s not fun to play with but once it’s posed, damn it looks good.
Would it be fair to say this comes down to being a beautiful posable statue? That would be fine with me because I've spent more on way less.
It's Stig Bernard and now you have me wanting to buy one.....
Thank you, a very good review. I enjoyed these characters growing up.
Thank you so much for this honest review. Far too many toy reviews are compromised by fans are starving for mecha that rarely get new toys AND the reviewers unwillingness to accept they just paid a high cost for a mediocre product that fails to justify that expense. I know pre-order culture and artificial scarcity drives the high-end toy market, but I appreciate reviews like this after release.
I'm a Macross fan and I've wasted far too much money on figures that look great, but have an Achilles Heel (or "ankle" to nail the problem on the head). Frustrating articulation/transformations really turn me off because you can only lie to yourself for so long: eventually the frustrating toys stay in one mode or in a box and you never touch them. The fun toys get transformed, posed again and again and displayed with pride.
I was exhausted just watching you struggle with the Ride Armor. And the amount of parts that fall off or go flying when handling this thing is insane! I'm a huge fan of the 13-15cm scale figures and I figured this would be on my radar. So happy to have dodged the bullet and spent my money on better display pieces. Bravo to you, sir!
Hey brother; thank you for taking the time to check my channel out as well as leaving this feedback. I completely agree with you on the unwillingness of some to just admit they bought a dumpster fire but I also think that it really puts people's credibility on the spot as well. I have sponsors but I try to work with people who make things I enjoy and buy stuff from companies I trust; so for the most part, I (thankfully) have fairly positive reviews but if something's junk, then it's junk. When it comes down to it, I'm not going to disservice the community by lying; just part of treating others like you want to be treated, you know?
And yea man; I wanted to keep every second of the thing falling apart because what's the point in editing it out? I don't have anything to gain with that. Sucks that it made for a much longer review than it should've been but hey... what can I say? Glad that you found it informative and again I really appreciate the informed comment/feedback, man. I hope that you can stick around for some future reviews.
For sure! I've bookmarked your website, subscribed to this TH-cam account and followed on Facebook. Sadly I'm not that into Transformers, though I've been trying to decide which of the many Ratchet figures I might want to buy one day. I am crazy for figure lines like Hi-Metal R, Robot Spirits (Robot Damashii), S.H. Figuarts and Figma. And thanks to reviewers like yourself, I also get the odd Arcadia figure, Bandai DX Chogokin, Metal Build or similar high-end figure.
MrMarch Thanks so much, man! And yea, I'm much more of a general mecha collector but a lot of these unofficial TF designs hit a soft spot with me because they're really anime printed. Been looking at diving into Macross for years now
Oh yeah, some of those third-party Transformers are just incredible. I wish other mecha IPs had third-party toys like Transformers. Transformers fans are so lucky.
If I were to recommend Macross toys to someone new, I'd definitely say look at the Arcadia 1/60 scale VF-1 Valkyries, the Bandai DX VF-31 Siegfrieds and most of the Bandai Hi-Metal R line. In particular, the Arcadia 1/60 scale VF-1 Valkyrie is - in my opinion - the gold standard for Macross transformables (may be one of the best transformable toys ever). Great details and articulation, fun transformation, locked/solid in all three modes and tight/ratcheted joints. One of the best!
@ 8:20 is it just me or did Kuma Style paid tribute to the great William Shakespeare?? On a separate note, Macross was almost called Macbeth. Glad that never panned out....😁
I bought my Stick Bernard around the same time as this review was uploaded. Haven't gotten around to unboxing it yet. Maybe I should soon. Lol.
Ok.
hi Kuma, can you confirm that we don't have waist bend the manual shows us?
I tried that bend just to be hindered by the green belt armor.
No waist bend.
Great review. Still looks amazing though. The amount of engineering required to make a good-looking transforming ride armor is pretty impressive. It's disappointing that it's so finicky. I can live with the tolerance issues. Pledge is your friend for loose friction fits. Any breakages over time or weak points that look like they might break if you play around with it too much?
For $200+, this figure is definitely far from perfect. I haven't had that many problems with pieces popping off on my figure, but I do think getting the arm and thigh armor in the right angle and position is a pain in the butt. It also can't stand on it's own very well. However, with that said, the figure does look amazing. Bike mode is pretty solid too as nothing really pops out. This figure is more of a poseable display piece than a toy you can play with.
Fantastic review and I appreciate the time you put into this. I'll indeed be checking out the written review as well. I haven't see what this looks like with the paint removed from the visor but I'm excited to see how it turns out.
I think my biggest problem was actually that the forearm armor on the left arm literally did not attach. Superglue fixed 'er right up, but that was pretty ridiculous. Other than that, I don't really mind the difficult posing in armor mode since it looks pretty damn amazing. I guess I've just dealt with worse.
Threw me off to see Generation Toy's Optimus Primal opening haha. Too bad about some of the QC issues, look of this figure is still great.
Sorry about that, man. Didn't realize until you just pointed it out here. It's too big of a file to be worried about reuploading at the moment.
Shouldn't the headlights on the chest be flipped?
Wing Ho Kwok check transformation video as well as full review linked in the description. Thanks
Thanks for sharing. I'm sticking with my CMs :D
I think you have some very valid complaints and concerns. However, the Cyclone has always been a difficult transformation to nail and has a lot of history to compare it to. With that said, great review and great point of view!
I honestly feel like they knocked the transformation aspect out of the ballpark. It's more just the lack of fit and finish to things like balljoints and twist points on the bike itself that make it a mess. If those tolerances were checked over and fixed I have no problem saying It'd be damned near perfect. Thanks for taking the time to check out the video, guys!
I felt the figure was good for what it is.
The price is actually right if you think about having figuarts Batman and batpod, this isn’t far off.
wowwww, love it! love the review too. my friend can you do a tutorial to remove the lines from the visor??
Bruno Diaz I haven't seen the lines removed just the paint behind it too make it clear
+Kuma Style oh ok thank you!!!
Awsome figure. Gonna pick it up if I can.
G Rios ... lol?
That's too bad the QC wasn't up to par. But as it stands, it is one of the better Cyclone armors (look wise ) out there. If I did manage to get one, it would stay in transformed mode.
it seems there is a lot of QC issues with transforming this figure, is it actually worth $250.00 for it?
Answered in the last portion of this video as well as in-depth in the written review which is linked in three places here.
I was really looking forward to this review...thank you
D Nevinski no problem thanks for taking some time to check it out.
LOL.....i swear
I guess lots of nail polish is in order to keep those leges in place? I still have mine coming on the mail and I don’t know wether to keep it or sell it.
Ed Pérez You mean the hip swivel connection? they honestly don't come out unless the legs are moved outside of their range of motion which is hard to see with the cloth covering the actual hip joints.
Kuma Style I was also thinking about the head joint. Since I saw your review, I kept on watching others down the rabbit hole, and I saw these guys talking about the head joint, and how it doesn’t snap in place. Would nail polish do the trick with it?
I honestly don't know.I wonder if that'd also make it more hard to turn,.
Hello. Great video. I have both of these figures pre-ordered. They look really cool. But I see that there are some glaring issues. At least with this one. These guys are pretty expensive to boot. With the gripes that you have, would you say they are a pass? Thanks for the review.
Henry G Ty. This was answered at the end of the review.
Kuma Style I watched all the way to the end. Guess I'll go back and check again.
Dude. How'd you score one? They're sold out everywhere. I definitely want this guy as its got "perfect transformation". The Anime (and previous toys) used "anime magic" and "parts-forming" for the transformation, but seems this guy was engineered so as to make the transformation actually "possible". That could be the reason why the armor mode is a pain...and I am totally OK with that.
I PREordered it. And it's not the transformation that's the problem, it's them not checking over it and making sure that things tabbed in correctly, parts rotated as they should, etc. etc.. This isn't anywhere near the first Mospeada toy and being the most recent of them over the span of decades it has no reason to be one of the worst.
I preordered one from Big Bad Toy Store. They haven't arrived yet and preorders are currently sold out but some one commented on another video for this item saying that somebody canceled their pre-order which allowed them to get one. Now that videos are popping up, perhaps some people may cancel their preorder and you can get one. I would check with them periodically.
So was Rey better, worse or same?
Truth be told I unboxed that thing and didn't touch it. It's been in the same pose, never transformed, and just moved between shelves since it got delivered. I was so turned off by this piece that I had no want to even be bothered.
I remember when I had the original figure of this years ago. I don't recall if it was the original Japanese version or the Matchbox one. It was horrible compared to this one. :)
Looks great
SL twentyeight ... does it?
Glad I watched this!!!! Thank you! 👍
Thank you as well for taking the time to check it out.
It's a MOSPEADA (aka Ride Armor), not a Cyclone. There is no relationship to Robotech here as this is not a design that ever appeared in the anime - it is a re-imagining of the concept by the original designer Aramaki.
By design Ride Armor is always going to be very delicate and fiddly in toy form. You need to have some mechanical sympathy to handle toys/display pieces like these. What you are labeling 'QC issues' are really engineering issues or compromises. Get your hands on the Beagle, 1/8 and 1/20 Gakken, Megahouse and CM's efforts so that you have some context to work from.
feetus_maximus You're a bold-faced liar. Nothing about the design or transformation has anything to do with the lack of refined tolerances and general fit problems... at ALL.
Wow. I wasn't attacking you - calm down man. I can appreciate that this is your first MOSPEADA product and understand where your perspective is coming from, but this is a product niche with some storied history and many less-than-stellar releases over the years. Experience with the older toys might give a greater appreciation of what the most recent releases like the Sentinel and Beagle have actually brought to the table. Loose tolerances and other engineering issues come with the territory. You don't have to believe me though.
feetus_maximus I appreciate your clarification and unfortunately I keep a certain guard due to these comment sections being a troll cesspool at times. I apologize for coming off in an adverse manner.
I can understand the perspective that this may very well be the best interpretation to date and in a sense I'm glad I HAVEN'T invested into collectibles from it before this, but I feel that my major problems with the toy are things like tabs and things like joints and turn points being too tight. Am I mistaken in thinking that design-aside things like these couldn't have been resolved?
Most issues with tolerances can probably be resolved or at least mitigated with enough time and money spent in tool revisions, but the unfortunate reality is that it is very, very expensive and time-consuming work (source - I've worked in tool & die, prototyping and injection molding businesses since the early '90s.) Manufacturers have to hit the sweet spot in terms of cost, volume, and end-user pricing to make products like these viable and profitable. There's a reason that Beagle only managed two releases of their Ride Armor before going under.
feetus_maximus These products are also expensive on the consumer-end and in terms of both satisfaction and rapport it's beneficial to have these things looked over and fixed just like other high-end companies do. There's no excusing any of the actual issues with this as they have nothing to do with the property or design and attempting to do so literally helps no one. That's all I'm saying.
this has been such a want for me....but a shame that you have to mod it, and the qc issues especially for being a high end
Absolutely. A damned shame.
trustarscreamer I agree. That scares me from buying it.
I would like to say a very good honest review on the figure I never seen a figure like that before I'm also a collector of made things when I see a cool looking figure I just got to check it out really like your Channel I subscribe to your Channel keep up the good work
Thanks for taking the time to check it out, man. I appreciate the sub!
Almost want a super poseable, non transformable version, one in CVR armor, one in cyclone armor
I actually enjoyed my Megahouse Dark Stick and Yellow, despite its flaws. But those were @ $60 each at the time. I'm not paying $200 For this clutter.
Damn! I just flipped 200.00+ for this,should be getting it by next week.I grew up watching mospaeda sooo I’m kinda disappointed.
Definitely I think now I did the right choice not to preorder any of the Mospeada figures, is a shame I been wanting one since long time ago but definitely not this one, the price is definitely not justified here(200+bucks ), hope Bandai jumps into creating this figures.
Very cool 😎
Awesome review and dope ass collection you have as well bro.
Death2cornbread Thanks!
Mine is stuck in Fed Ex hell
better than the MotoSlave from BubbleGum Crisis
Mixey Boy Alright...
Such a beautiful piece too bad its junky :(
Completely agreed.
A BIG GARBAGE THAT BREAKS
Simmer down, Shakespeare
You know, as a kid I thought that the mospeada bike was awesome. Now I scratch my head and wonder why I ever thought that carrying around a motorcycle like it's a backpack ever seemed like a good idea. He's seriously just carrying his bike when he gets off of it. His armor on his legs is the same exact armor he had before transforming. His armor on his arms is the exact same armor he had before transforming. The armor on his head is the same exact armor he had before transforming. All he did was go from riding the motorcycle to carrying the motorcycle. And we all wanted to do that? Why??? Have you ever tried to pick up a motorcycle? They're not as heavy as a car but that's not a good selling point for me carrying one around on my back!