BBTS Exclusive 1:100 Zentraedi Heavy Artillery Battlepod

More of a good thing with new Macross movie colors version...

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The BBTS Exclusive 1:100 Zentraedi Heavy Artillery Battlepod - Macross Colors is currently in-stock ONLY at BigBadToyStore.com priced at $29.99.

For a great selection of other action figures and collectibles, check out BigBadToyStore.com.

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Earlier this year, Toynami delighted Robotech fans with a cool collectible of the Zentraedi Battlepod; a vehicle that hasn't seen alot of action in the toy world. Cast in durable vinyl, the Zentraedi Tactical Battlepod (read our review HERE) awed collectors with not only an accurate model of the enemy mecha, but also with its impressive 8 inch height; a size perfect on its own, but made better by being in-scale with Toynami's 1:100 Valkyrie collection.

Thanks to numerous versions released this year, the rarity of the Zentraedi Battlepod in toy form has quickly dissipated. In addition to the Zentraedi Tactical Battlepod in a blue and white Robotech color scheme, the mech also received a Comic-Con exclusive in shades of green reflecting its appearance in the Macross movie. This fall, fans were treated to a Zentraedi Heavy Artillery Battlepod, again in Robotech colors. Bringing the collection full circle comes the Zentraedi Heavy Artillery Battlepod in Macross colors, an exciting version exclusive to online giant BigBadToyStore.com. It's in-stock now priced at $29.99.

What sets the Zentraedi Heavy Artillery Battlepod apart from its near identical "Tactical" cousin is the addition of two large missile pods housed on top of the cockpit. The rocket cluster replaces the rear-mounted lasers of the standard Battlepod elevating it to new levels of awesome; both in destructive firepower and good looks.

As a sucker for big guns on my mecha, Heavy Artillery is my clear favorite of the two. However, with pre-orders now open for a Zentraedi Light Artillery Battlepod, which design reigns supreme is soon going to get complicated.

Aside from the missle pods, the Zentraedi Heavy Artillery Battlepod is identical to the Tactical version - which is only more of a good thing. Construction is solid - the figure is made more of a hard plastic than a squishy vinyl - and articulation is surprisingly good. You can rotate the missile pods individually up and down and the entire weapons system rotates 360 degrees at the base. Both back thrusters swivel, as do the twin lasers (ball-joints on the latter). The legs feature swivel articulation at the thighs and knees, though sadly the knees are not hinged for more extreme poses. It's a small fault I found in the Tactical Pod, but far from a deal breaker.

Pictured: Toynami 1:100 Zentraedi Heavy Artillery (Macross) and Tactical (Robotech) Battlepods, as well as Revoltech Regult

If you have yet to add one of Toynami's 1:100 Zentraedi Battlepods to your collection, the Heavy Artillery verison is a fine place to start. The addition of the twin missle pods makes for a much cooler looking mech. I also really like the green Macross movie colors. Since I already own the Tactical Pod in blue and white, having this all-new version in all-new colors really adds some diversity to my display. Of course if you are one of the die-hards that prefer Macross over Robotech (they are one and the same in my book - peace, love and mecha), you'll want to jump on this limited edition color scheme (only 1000 pieces!). Exclusive to BigBadToyStore.com, the 1:100 Zentraedi Heavy Artillery Battlepod is fairly priced at $29.99. Not bad, especially for an exclusive.

Be sure and check out more pictures of the 1:100 Zentraedi Heavy Artillery Battlepod in our gallery below!

Review and Photos by Jeff Saylor

Review Sample Courtesy of BigBadToyStore.com

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