Toynami 1:100 Zentraedi Tactical Battlepod

[JeffSaylor]

Robotech villains finally get their due...

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Anyone that collects Robotech knows how rare collectibles of the villains are, in particular, the Zentraedi and their bipedal Battlepods. Matchbox made a Battlepod in 1984, Playmates in 1994 and most recently in 2008, Kaiyodo released one as part of their Revoltech series. Now thanks to Toynami, we can expand that short list of Battlepod toys to include one more; a cool 1:100 scale vinyl version.

The word "vinyl" is often associated with soft designer toys and non-poseability. Toynami's vinyl Zentraedi Battlepod is neither, being of a nice solid construction and offering, not many, but a few key points of articulation. The Battlepod features legs that rotate at the hip, a cut at the waist, two back thrusters that pivot and two large head guns that swivel on a ball-joint. It's enough to get some display variety, though the lack of knee joints really hurts the figure's overall ability to strike cool poses.

The paint applications are tight, with no signs of serious bleeding, and the minute Zentraedi insignia is crisp and clean. Best of all is its size. Measuring 8 inches tall, the figure is accurately scaled to battle Toynami's 1:100 Robotech Valkyries. While I'm a collector of the larger transforming Veritechs and don't have the smaller ones for comparison, the news should be exciting to some. 8 inches is also a pretty meaty size, fitting in comfortably with most of my collection and towering over the amazing, but small 5" Revoltech Battelpod (below).

Priced at around $25, Toynami's 1:100 Robotech Zentraedi Battlepod is an excellent buy. For Robotech fans sick of the done-to-death Valkyrie fighters, the Battlepod is a VERY refreshing change of pace. For collectors, like myself, that think the Battlepod is just an awesome mecha design, Toynami's 1:100 Robotech Zentraedi Battlepod is a must-have. As rare as these villains are in toy form, ANY new collectible released is a good thing, but especially so when done so right. Come this summer, fans can look forward to a new Toynami Battlepod release: Heavy Artillery!

Be sure and check out over 20 new images of Toynami's 1:100 Robotech Zentraedi Battlepod below!

Review and Photos by Jeff Saylor

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[shadowjin]

Well done sir. I agree that Veritechs are getting stale. I personally lost interest when the Masterpiece pieces started coming out and while I wouldn't say no to someone who wanted to give me an Alpha+Beta set, I'd most certainly not drop my hard earned dollars for one. Here's hope that they cover my fav mecha design from Macross: The Female Zentradi battle Armor used by Miriya and her ilk.