This gives him a huge range of movement, but it’s also very disappointing in places. First of which is that his shoulders don’t slide along the rail at his side. Instead, you have to remove them and place them in three different holes to change his arm’s position. Also, one of the positions isn’t at the back of the rail so he can’t put his arms on his chest like he does in the movie. One more small gripe is that you can’t open up his body to “make” a trash cube.
Now for the big gripe. The yellow plastic used for Wall-E’s joints is incredibly brittle. It also doesn’t help that most of his joints are a bit too tight. Not even a minute after I’d taken him out of the package did his head/neck joint break, then his neck/body joint broke. I was able to pull the second joint loose with needle nose pliers, but the first joint I had to drill out. Ultimately I ended up replacing both joints with the light gray shoulder joint from my Revoltech Skeleton’s display base, which I luckily have plenty of.
Something else I had to do was drill out each of his peg holes slightly, because most of them were too tight to even rotate the Revolver joint. I’ve never had these kinds of problems with my Revoltech figures before. Even my Skeleton figures, who have even more small joints than Wall-E, never gave me problems. And sadly, I’m not alone. There are other people who have had similar difficulties with their Wall-E figure. This really sucks, because if I wasn’t able to replace both joints, this entire figure would have been ruined for me.
Wall-E comes with a nice selection of accessories. There’s his cube of garbage, a fire extinguisher, the plant in the boot, and his little cockroach friend. The cube is a bit difficult for him to hold, but it can be accomplished because of two indentions on the sides. For the life of me I can’t seem to get mine to hold the fire extinguisher properly. The boot is a necessity. But I’m super happy they included his little buggy pal. It just wouldn’t be right without him.
Now that my figure is fixed, I really enjoy him. He has a fantastic sculpt and paint job which give him a lot of personality. But… the fact that he broke twice is horrible. If you want to take a bet on this figure, then be very gentle with him. Don’t force any of the joints, especially the yellow ones. It also wouldn’t hurt for you to drill out the holes a tiny bit, so they move much more fluid.
I’m not sure how far this Revoltech Pixar line is going to go. There are definitely characters I’d love to see figures of, and I’m glad they’re a bit cheaper than a normal figure. But they definitely need to get a handle on these quality control issues.
-Vault
This guy is currently in SAL shipping for me. Hopefully he turns out alright.
Good luck with him. He’s a great figure, as long as he stays together…
Came in today. Only one of the holes was too small, the others seem just fine. I fixed it though by sticking a skeleton joint in and moving it around a few times to loosen it up. I’ve had no further trouble but the skeleton joints are leagues more firm than these ones.
This is the core frustration with import toys. In Japan, had the joint breakage happened, you could just walk down to your local hobby shop and buy a pack of replacement Revoltech joints, or call the customer service line and maybe get replacements. If not for your surplus of skeletons, you’d be SOL.
Say, since you’re drilling, did you consider drilling those holes in back that are oddly missing?
There’s a part of me that wonders if they had export intent with the Pixar line. There’s this odd “we’re making toys for AMERICA!!” vibe I get from that bubblecard. I know that the Disney Parks often have a store that sells import toys (I still regret passing up some Bandai Godaikin toys I saw back in ’84 at Disneyland) so, who knows.
I know one potential reason to keep an eye on the Pixar line. John Carter (Warlord of Mars). Wouldn’t that make for some kick-ass Revoltech figures?
(but we’ll probably get the house from Up) 🙂
So, the ladies like the Wall-E, huh?
I got my first broken import toy last week. My Play Arts Kai FF XIII-2 Lightning showed up with both her wrists broken. I sent an email to the import site I got her from, but I doubt there’s anything that can be done, which sucks because she’s a great figure otherwise.
$70 on a busted figure I can’t do anything with. Damn.
I know your pain Catman. I just got in a Big Fau with a broken leg and I’m still waiting for a response from Amiami. I may be able to fix it myself, but that shouldn’t be an issue when I spent $150 on him.
If they don’t get back with you, definitely send more emails. Also, if you used Paypal you can open a case against them.
My Lightning came from Amiami too! Though I don’t blame them for it, nor do I blame the post office; there was no visible damage to the package, and even so, I highly doubt dropping the box on its side would have caused those two specific joints to break in such a way (one has a crack in the ring of the balljoint which means there’s no friction to support Lightning holding her weapon, and the peg clean snapped off the other side). I just got a bad figure and would like it fixed somehow.
Is it better to contact them through the form on their website, or straight shoot them an email? I sent a message through the site last Thursday when the package arrived, but no responses yet.
Try sending it directly to e_support@amiami.com today. This way you’ll at least get in before the week deadline is up.
Tell them what’s up with the figure and include pictures. Then hopefully they’ll get back to you with an answer, but it may take a couple of days. I’m currently waiting on a response for my figure and it’s been two days.
Amiami’s a pretty good company I think. I’ve never had any issues with them before, but this is the first time I’ve actually needed to replace a figure. Even though it’s not their fault, it should be expected that there are going to be problem figures now and again. And since we’re in the US the Japanese companies more than likely won’t deal with us, so it’s really up to Amiami, or whatever store a person uses, to fix the issue.
Let me know how it turns out.
I just got a reply to my first message from last week.
They apologized and said they would send a replacement, but they’re out of stock. Instead they offered a refund.
It took a few days, but I’m satisfied with the customer service (which is good, because I have two more pre-orders with them!).
I’m sorry for the problem and glad they’re offering a refund, but this is the problem with just about all shops today. Everyone buys with the intent to sell thru 100%, zero back stock. From a purely business perspective that makes sense but man, it never grows your customer base. Think of all the readers of IAT that might like to pick up some of these imports but oops, nope, all gone and damn overpriced on the secondary market.
*sigh* I guess I’m glad to be out of retail.
Sometimes they re-release, which is pretty nice. I think you can still pick up the skeleton. Anyway, that’s my main gripe with them especially when you watch Vault stay up till 3 am for a figure release and watch him stare at a crashed website for 45 minutes.
Pre-ordering import toys feels like playing a game of “commit to buying something before you even know what you’re getting into” (aka, the Mattel Subscription Business Model).
I don’t like how you’re pretty much “forced” to pre-order an item or risk it disappearing forever or being forced to pay upwards of three times as much on eBay a month later. It’s really bad with Sentai and Kamen Rider merchandise from what I hear; if you don’t collect your items as they’re being released during the run of the current season you’re pretty much screwed. Power Ranger fans who are currently watching Samurai and want the “better” Shinkenger toys are no doubt cursing Burai’s ghost that the basic Shinken-Oh is going to set them back $150 while the Samurai Megazord is sitting on the shelf at Target for $30.
I wouldn’t feel so bad if there were more reviews of the toys beforehand, but every “preview” of a figma or a Play Arts I see is just a bunch of pictures of the figure in different poses (usually the same ones from the stock photos). There aren’t any actual “reviews” of the toys that go over the articulation and if you should watch out for any joints that are susceptible to breaking.
I always hear collectors talk about how Japanese toys are “better” and made with “higher quality plastic.” That is true, in the way that a crystal wine glass is higher quality than a plastic cup with Darth Vader on it you got at Walmart. The crystal is nicer and more impressive to show off to people, but you have to treat it like it’s made of…well, glass. The Darth Vader cup, on the other hand, can be enjoyed by you or your five-year-old son, it doesn’t care how many times you bump the table and knock it on the floor, and if it ever does break you can just head on down to Walmart and buy another.
Preach it, brother, testify!
I’m not so sure that the Japanese companies use ‘better’ plastic, but I would go along with a statement that they use different kinds and work very hard at using what plastic works best for whatever action, function, detail, whatever.
As to sell-thru, add to that list Saint Seiya figures. Rumor has it that collectors in France, Mexico and Italy grab those as fast as they come out.
Part of the problem is it seems the manufacturers have a hard time getting product info to the retailers. Now, were I spending money on Sentai toys like I was ‘Metal Hero’ toys in the ’90s, I wouldn’t care and buy blind. But then you get those gashapon and trading figure things, or ‘game prize’ items, and it’s a real crap shoot! Could be decent, could be a real let-down! And pics often don’t show until after the thing is sold out!!
Arrgghh. Damn Japanese retail crap! Get up to speed, Japan! 🙂
For the record, the Star Wars vehicle series of “trading models” is worth every. single. penny.
I’m not absolutely sure, but I don’t think that Revoltech offers this size of joint in their packs. So that would make it a bit more difficult, even for Japanese fans.
I’m still trying to decide if I want to drill the holes into the back of his sides. I don’t think it’d be hard, but they will have to be at an angle if I want them to be in the proper place.
Also, if they can make a super articulated Lightning McQueen then I wouldn’t put it past them to try for the Up house. 😀
Ladies don’t like Wall-E, they LOVE him. XP
I was close to getting this one for a second, but I think the US versions I got will do. Lightning McQueen seems oddly intriguing though.
I like these import toy reviews every now and then for some variety. Will you be doing anymore non-Ranger Figuarts reviews? Those damn Figuarts are almost addicting, and SHF Vegeta is looking especially awesome on my desk right now.
I personally know the president of Kaiyodo – well, he called me “the suspicious foreigner” and probably doesn’t know my name – but I am on very good terms with his aunt (it’s a family business) and might be able to give some insight on some issues you’re having.
First, if I had to guess, I think that Kaiyodo may very well be making packaging aimed at the American market. I have had discussions with them about packaging and marketing capsule toys in the states, and they were very ready and willing to talk about new packaging methods. One thing that came out of the conversation is a general feeling that Americans need much more straightforward packaging than the Japanese. If an American buys a keychain, they want to know what they are buying; the Japanese are very happy to take their chances with the vending machines.
Second, I have picked up a few of Kaiyodo’s newest, before-they-hit-the-market items, and they have been made with extremely sub-par plastic. For example, when they opened their new museum in Kochi Prefecture, they released a series of commemorative keychains – and every single one of mine broke mere minutes after I stuck it to my backpack. I also got my hands on some prototypes of another product, and this too snapped easily when dropped. It’s entirely likely that Kaiyodo has also done this with some of their Revolver joints. It could be an accident; it could be a phase they are going through; it could just be that you got the earliest edition of the product.
Third, let me say that Kaiyodo is hands down THE MOST down-to-earth company I have ever seen. The new museum in Kochi Prefecture was built in the president’s father’s home village – and when they opened the museum for a “sneak peek,” all the local old ladies came in and sat and oohed and aahed and fawned over the president. The founder of the company himself sat and explained what Kaiyodo meant to me (it means “ocean” because the company is going to spread and become as wide as the sea!).
Nope. Visited their museum yesterday and chatted with the founder of the company, the Wall-E packaging is the same over there. Looks like it’s just a new direction for the line.
ladies do love wall- e for certain!
any word on a mike and or skully revoltech figures?
my B sulley not Skully
well, they exist.
http://www.hlj.com/product/KYD04031
Did you mean “hey vault, did you get the Sully Revoltech? how is it?” well, I can’t answer to that, only The Vault knows… 🙂
Me, looks like they got heavy-handed trying to match the subtle shading of the computer model. another wash of light blue over that (if that holds to the actual production toy) would probably do wonders to fix it. Mike seems limited and needs an extra face with the eyebrow in a different position.
Oh wow I didnt know they existed thanks for the info on that I want them pretty bad guess I need to keep more abreast on my revoltech toys
Does anyone know what size the joints are for this Wall-E? I managed to break one of them, and have no idea if it’s 6mm or 8mm. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!