Mine arrived today! The figure really is gorgeous and I am glad to have him in hand! I had a few thoughts on it so far. For a quick rundown, he's got cut joint ankle (side to side), cut joint hips (front to back), swivel joint waist, swivel joint neck, ball joint shoulders, and cut joint wrists. Some of his antennae can be moved as well, but I'm not sure that I'd count that as a point of articulation. The dome can be removed from the base of the head...there are 3 AAA batteries that install underneath the globes by his "brain" that power the voice & lights feature. He came mostly assembled with just 4 antennae and his wrists to add. THe body inside has the feet removed, but they are also included in the box if you wish to display separately. Robby's other accessory includes a small laser gun.
The Pros:
1) The body seems to be made out of vinyl rather than hard plastic. Assuming it doesn't warp over time, this could be a good thing as there's less chance of breakage if dropped.
2) VERY nicely sculpted! Everything is very crisp and well detailed, and looks like a fantastic representation of one of sci-fi's most iconic robots!
3) The "suit" design is kind of neat, although I'd never display him with his lid off.
4) Roby seems very well scaled alongside other 1/6th figures! He's roughly 3" taller than a BBi male body I had handy, and has great bulk and a decent "heft". He's also about as tall as the HT T-600 Endoskeleton, which is a pretty big figure.
5) The little ray gun...absolutely loved this item! Classically designed and a natural fit...a great accessory! Great use of silver, blact, clear, and copper to make this.
6) Voice & light feature. Robby has about 7 phrases and cycles through them. His "mouth" flashes blue while speaking and looks sharp!
The Cons:
1) Poor location choice for the voice & lights button (have to remove a panel to press it...it plays once...then stops). The removable panel has a bunch of small clear rings on it and I'd be worried about possibly breaking them over time.
2) No batteries included? Granted, AAAs are common enough, but still... at this price point, Medicom could have coughed up 3 AAAs for this figure.
3) No knee articulation. After seeing some promo pics of the back of Robby's knees, it gave me the impression he'd have at least some knee movement.
4) Value. I don't know if I'm opening a can of worms with this one....but, it's Medicom. They've pretty well established their reputation the past few years as being overpriced. I knew this figure wasn't going to be on-par with what I could get from HT for $240 +shipping, and went into it okay with that fact. Why? Well, it's a 1/6th scale Robby the Robot and who knows if anyone else will ever make another? It took over 50 years to get this one! Definitely DO take the time to shop around if you want one...Sideshow's imported price of $430 is absolutely nuts (BBTS advertised theirs around $311 I think). This one was about $288 shipped from HLJ for me. It's still a bit rough to swallow that price pill, but a hell of a lot easier than one that costs $430 + shipping.
Now...all that said...am I still happy with my purchase? Hell yes! I love Robby and this is one of my 1/6th grails. I am proud to own one!
Something to tide me over for the next couple of months until Robby begins to ship...
