Has anybody kept him on the bike for a while and receive any damage (such as the jacket staining the seat) or anything like that? So far mine seems to hold up fine. I just get paranoid with medicom's track record sometimes.
Medicom Kaneda and bike
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Otomofan
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Thanks for the kind words everyone!!
I've had Kaneda and his bike for almost two weeks now....still feels like a dream come true. Every day when I get home to my tiny room, there's the bike, taking up half the floor!
I haven't got a shelf for it yet....so freaking big and I swear I live in the smallest room in Japan!
I think my girlfriend still thinks I'm nuts....she can't believe I spent all that money...but doesn't she appreciate the freaking discount I got? Oh well...
I love the lights....I thought they might look bad, what with the blues and greens and yellows clashing, but there is no "bleed" at all...the lights all seem to shine in their own directions. Of course, the main console lights Kaneda all blue! And the lights are BRIGHT too....very cool in a dark room!
I only wish there was a way to isolate the different lights....like have JUST the headlight on or the brake lights, etc. Either way, it's cool.
The sounds are OK....don't really do much for me...I just mainly like the light-up feature.
For the dude whose back tire lights don't work....that totally SUCKS!! I have no idea what you should do other than contact whoever you bought it from immediately. Maybe it's as simple as reconnecting the wire though.
I'm also nervous about leaving the figure on the bike. It's only been like a week, but I've had Kaneda sitting in there, and I haven't moved him cause he looks so freaking rad the way he is! I have the goggles head on, and have him with both arms and legs in riding position, like when he played "chicken" with Joker at the beginning of the anime! My favorite pose!
The outfit is indeed as frail as I'd read about....I don't think it's as "cheap" as a lot of people here feel, but it's delicate, and I don't like that...but once you get it sitting just the way you like it, I think it's good.
I was surprised at how nice the actual body was. Lots of poseability and it feels pretty sturdy. I know a lot of people have had some problems with Medicom, but so far, so good for me. Also, I don't think he's too skinny. This is supposed to be a 15 year old kid in Japan!! Trust me, I see them every day...they're freaking tiny! I think the proportions are right on from the anime...he was a pretty small guy.
One thing I think feels very fragile is the lift-up sight on the laser rifle. It's a cool feature that it can swivel like that, but it feels like it'll snap into pieces if I breathe on it! I left it in the box for now...
Next up....gotta get Tetsuo and complete the triumverate!! To think how excited I was 10 years ago to get Kaneda, the bike and Tetsuo from McFarlane......these toys are just LIGHT years beyond what we got then.....definitely worth the wait!!
I've had Kaneda and his bike for almost two weeks now....still feels like a dream come true. Every day when I get home to my tiny room, there's the bike, taking up half the floor!
I haven't got a shelf for it yet....so freaking big and I swear I live in the smallest room in Japan!
I think my girlfriend still thinks I'm nuts....she can't believe I spent all that money...but doesn't she appreciate the freaking discount I got? Oh well...
I love the lights....I thought they might look bad, what with the blues and greens and yellows clashing, but there is no "bleed" at all...the lights all seem to shine in their own directions. Of course, the main console lights Kaneda all blue! And the lights are BRIGHT too....very cool in a dark room!
I only wish there was a way to isolate the different lights....like have JUST the headlight on or the brake lights, etc. Either way, it's cool.
The sounds are OK....don't really do much for me...I just mainly like the light-up feature.
For the dude whose back tire lights don't work....that totally SUCKS!! I have no idea what you should do other than contact whoever you bought it from immediately. Maybe it's as simple as reconnecting the wire though.
I'm also nervous about leaving the figure on the bike. It's only been like a week, but I've had Kaneda sitting in there, and I haven't moved him cause he looks so freaking rad the way he is! I have the goggles head on, and have him with both arms and legs in riding position, like when he played "chicken" with Joker at the beginning of the anime! My favorite pose!
The outfit is indeed as frail as I'd read about....I don't think it's as "cheap" as a lot of people here feel, but it's delicate, and I don't like that...but once you get it sitting just the way you like it, I think it's good.
I was surprised at how nice the actual body was. Lots of poseability and it feels pretty sturdy. I know a lot of people have had some problems with Medicom, but so far, so good for me. Also, I don't think he's too skinny. This is supposed to be a 15 year old kid in Japan!! Trust me, I see them every day...they're freaking tiny! I think the proportions are right on from the anime...he was a pretty small guy.
One thing I think feels very fragile is the lift-up sight on the laser rifle. It's a cool feature that it can swivel like that, but it feels like it'll snap into pieces if I breathe on it! I left it in the box for now...
Next up....gotta get Tetsuo and complete the triumverate!! To think how excited I was 10 years ago to get Kaneda, the bike and Tetsuo from McFarlane......these toys are just LIGHT years beyond what we got then.....definitely worth the wait!!
Otomofan
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And now....the circle is complete!! MUCH sooner than I ever thought!!
Once again, amazon Japan came through for me.
I was feeling kinda down on Saturday....drinking alone in my tiny little room here in Japan. (Well, alone except for my toys...but sometimes you still miss people, you know?)
I checked on Tetsuo on amazon.....freaking 50% off!!! I guess even in my altered state, I recognized a deal when I saw one....
Monday evening, and it's already here....talk about fast shipping!
Tetsuo is pretty damn awesome...the only flaws are the rivets on the bare arm...they look very "toy" like, distracting from the fact that the rest of the figure looks like it was ripped right from the anime! And the cyborg arm!! WOW!! What detail...and so many joints, I wasn't expecting! I was nervous moving it at first...I don't want it to snap...but really cool articulation on the arm, especially cause I was expecting it to be just one solid piece!
I haven't tried the alternate head yet....the spiky hair hurt my fingers when I tried to push it in. I'm such a baby, I know.
All in all though.....soooooooo cool. These toys are a dream come true. Yes, I just dropped a CRAPLOAD of money. A METRIC crapload.
It's a hard thing to accept....cause I've NEVER ever spent this kind of money on TOYS before. Most I ever dropped on one item was less than a hundred. I'm new to the whole "high end collectibles" game.
But I justify to myself by figuring...hey....I earned it right? My cash, and I can spend it how I want now that I have a pretty stable job! But the best part was the savings. All told, I got the bike, Kaneda and Tetsuo for just under 50,000 yen. All brand new, fresh from the factory. Truly a ton of money, but considering I saved 30,000 yen off the retail, and there were no shipping costs...I'm sure I ended up spending a LOT less than some of you guys did to get these beauties.
For all our sakes though, I certainly hope they retain their value.....one thing's for sure....the sentimental value is priceless!!
(I need a shelf....can't have these just sitting on the floor!!!)
Once again, amazon Japan came through for me.
I was feeling kinda down on Saturday....drinking alone in my tiny little room here in Japan. (Well, alone except for my toys...but sometimes you still miss people, you know?)
I checked on Tetsuo on amazon.....freaking 50% off!!! I guess even in my altered state, I recognized a deal when I saw one....
Monday evening, and it's already here....talk about fast shipping!
Tetsuo is pretty damn awesome...the only flaws are the rivets on the bare arm...they look very "toy" like, distracting from the fact that the rest of the figure looks like it was ripped right from the anime! And the cyborg arm!! WOW!! What detail...and so many joints, I wasn't expecting! I was nervous moving it at first...I don't want it to snap...but really cool articulation on the arm, especially cause I was expecting it to be just one solid piece!
I haven't tried the alternate head yet....the spiky hair hurt my fingers when I tried to push it in. I'm such a baby, I know.
All in all though.....soooooooo cool. These toys are a dream come true. Yes, I just dropped a CRAPLOAD of money. A METRIC crapload.
It's a hard thing to accept....cause I've NEVER ever spent this kind of money on TOYS before. Most I ever dropped on one item was less than a hundred. I'm new to the whole "high end collectibles" game.
But I justify to myself by figuring...hey....I earned it right? My cash, and I can spend it how I want now that I have a pretty stable job! But the best part was the savings. All told, I got the bike, Kaneda and Tetsuo for just under 50,000 yen. All brand new, fresh from the factory. Truly a ton of money, but considering I saved 30,000 yen off the retail, and there were no shipping costs...I'm sure I ended up spending a LOT less than some of you guys did to get these beauties.
For all our sakes though, I certainly hope they retain their value.....one thing's for sure....the sentimental value is priceless!!
(I need a shelf....can't have these just sitting on the floor!!!)
DeadLeaves
Super Freak
Congrats man, Tetsuo is pretty sweet!
The main problem I have with him is the boots.. They're really stiff, not like Kaneda's at all. Not flat on the sole either, so he has fair bit of a wobble. The body is nice and tight but the boots don't allow for a stable footing. I'm gonna try to heat them up & flatten the sole when I get some time.
Boots aside - Tetsuo is a great figure, I agree with the arm! The way Medi worked out the articulation is very impressive.
The main problem I have with him is the boots.. They're really stiff, not like Kaneda's at all. Not flat on the sole either, so he has fair bit of a wobble. The body is nice and tight but the boots don't allow for a stable footing. I'm gonna try to heat them up & flatten the sole when I get some time.
Boots aside - Tetsuo is a great figure, I agree with the arm! The way Medi worked out the articulation is very impressive.
WEAPON X
Super Freak
Oh boy, "pretty stable job"!
Pretty... Stable... Job, in this world economy?
Stable: slap your boss in the face & lets see how stable your job is.
If you still have a J.O.B. then you are doing 'pretty' good. I'm sure the boss slaps you around and gets away with it.
JOB (J.O.B.) equals, "Jumping Out of Bed!" or "Just Over Broke!"
'Pretty... Stable... Job' just doesn't go together, think about that!
I'm not poking fun at you or anybody else yet the point is know and be prepared on what you will spend your hard earned money on and your money will never let you live in defeat.
Economic Class #101.
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DeadLeaves
Super Freak
I'm not sure if this is what you mean, but here's a link to the Tetsuo thread: https://www.sideshowcollectors.com/forums/showthread.php?t=73527&highlight=tetsuo
WEAPON X
Super Freak
Re: My long rambling tale of pursuing Kaneda's bike.
Congrats on the bike! I'm thinking of getting the bike. It looks too awesome to pass up.
It's been almost TWO YEARS NOW since we first saw images of these glorious toys, and within the next 48 hours, they will finally, at long last....be MINE!!
I have an unfair advantage to a lot of you guys here...I live in Japan. Just outside Tokyo actually. And it wouldn't be stretching the truth to say that the anime AKIRA is one of the reasons I eventually came to live here.
When I saw that movie at the local arthouse theater back in early 1990...it BLEW. ME. AWAY. I'd never seen anything like it, and despite the mainstream proliferation of anime in the years since, I still think it holds up as the BEST.
AKIRA got me into manga and anime and that in turn got me interested in Japan in general. I'll never forget the first time I saw Tokyo....I felt like I'd walked right into one of Otomo's drawings. So yeah, in a nerdy, dorky, otaku-kinda way, I came to Japan cause of AKIRA. But I stayed cause of the girls!
Over the years, we finally got some good AKIRA toys. First there was McFarlane. Well....not good, but they were something, and that's better than nothing. I was so infuriated to finally have a Kaneda and a bike, and he couldn't even ride the damn thing! And we had to wait a whole year and buy them both over again for the riding version! And they weren't even really all that accurate...a lot of McFarlane-esque liberties were taken.
I eventually acquired the elusive BanDai 1988 Kaneda on ebay. Cool for what it is...but it's over 20 years old and it shows. Still better than the McF stuff though!
And then there were trading kit figures here....those were fun....but finally in 2004 BanDai released the Soul of Popynica PX03......gorgeous bike....really perfect if you ask me...just awesome!
https://www.collectiondx.com/node/1939
(if you're not familiar with it!)
But there was one flaw....the figure. Yeah, he was posed to sit on the bike, so that's better than the McF one. But he was juuuuuust out of scale. Just a littttttle too big to look right on the bike. And it would be nice if he was poseable.
But I didn't care...this was my holy grail and I finally had it and that kept me happy......until that day in early 2009 when I strolled into a bookstore and flipped through a Hobby Japan and saw a small image of a NEW 12" Kaneda. (I never did get the original from Wonderfest.....so rare and expensive.)
Pretty cool....I thought. But damn expensive. I was kinda torn....without a bike it didn't seem like a MUST have....and a little while later, the prototype of the bike was unveiled at a toy convention, and I knew I would have to have it.
To me the bike looks almost identical to the smaller release...but it has lights and sounds. But that's not what sold me....Kaneda is perfectly in scale with the bike. He looks like he stepped right out of the animation reference guide. But that perfection comes at a price....60,000 YEN!!!! Christ, that's a lot of money for a toy....
March 2010 finally came around....the month in which both Kaneda and his _____in' ride were to be released. And the same month....I lost my job.
It's hard enough making ends meet in Japan when you have work...but without? Forget about any unnecessary spending...hell, forget about even eating everyday! But definitely forget about owning this masterpiece.
I saw the bike in it's HUGE box at a toy store.....ONCE. Price tag was 39990 yen. I longingly caressed the box....which even had the extra cowling set.....but it was not meant to me. It was sold by the next time I went in.
Kaneda sold out FAST too. I only saw him once during the initial shipment, and that in a display case in Akihabara with a big SOLD OUT sign on him.
And just like that, my dreams of owning this monster of a toy were gone, and around the same time, I tortured myself by checking this very thread daily, looking at everyone's pictures and getting jealous.
Around May, Kaneda was reissued, and starting showing up in more abundance. I was still out of a job though...and he was still almost 20,000 yen. Besides, what's the point if I can't get the bike too?
Well I heard the bike was getting re-released in December, but without the extra cowling. Hey, I can live with that!
So in September I was finally working again, although it was part time, and I was still BROKE. My girlfriend and I were meeting in Tokyo for dinner so I was waiting for her at a toy store. And then I saw Kaneda....brand new...in the package.....for HALF PRICE. 9300 yen.
Nothing wrong with the figure...they just needed to move the stock. But damn it...I was so broke!! But this was such a wonderful chance...it might never happen again? What to do???
Well, my girlfriend is pretty rad. She bought it for me, but I told her I didn't want it until I could afford to pay for it myself.
Four months later, it's still sitting in her closet.....
But that's about to change, cause I just got my first paycheck from my new full time job! So now I can finally afford to get the figure from my GF!
And of course...he'll need a ride. Just out of curiosity, I checked amazon Japan to see what the going rate on the bike was.
I just about shat my pants.
Amazon has it IN STOCK, brand new, with FREE SHIPPING......27812 yen. 30% off.
Yeah, it's a lot of cash, but I think I can afford it, so I went ahead and did it. Like Kaneda, chances like this don't come up very often.
It's in transit now....it will be at my door in a day or two. Amazon lets you pay COD too, so that means no pre-order, no credit cards...I just pay the delivery man the cash and it's all mine.
I'm gonna wait til my GF brings Kaneda over this weekend for the glorious unveiling....I'm so excited....Christmas is a few weeks late for me this year but it's gonna be sooooo awesome!!
Unfortunately, amazon only ships within Japan. Such a shame....(HLJ has it for 15% off right now.....)
I feel like I got the deal of a lifetime. I missed out on the extra cowling, but I'll end up with a brand new Kaneda and Bike for less than 40,000 yen....you can't beat that!!!!
If you actually read all this....thanks!! I can't wait!!!!
Congrats on the bike! I'm thinking of getting the bike. It looks too awesome to pass up.
Mastter
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Otomofan
Super Freak
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Sometimes it's a real drag living in Japan.....but sometimes it's freaking awesome!!!
FINALLY got Kaneda and the bike and Tetsuo recently.....but I just added some killer Transformers to my haul!!
Plus....I finally got a chance to see the LIFE SIZE Gundam statue a few weeks ago.
Can't really complain about life in the land of the rising sun....I love it here!! (Don't even get me started on the girls!!!
)
FINALLY got Kaneda and the bike and Tetsuo recently.....but I just added some killer Transformers to my haul!!
Plus....I finally got a chance to see the LIFE SIZE Gundam statue a few weeks ago.
Can't really complain about life in the land of the rising sun....I love it here!! (Don't even get me started on the girls!!!
)
Sometimes it's a real drag living in Japan.....but sometimes it's freaking awesome!!!
FINALLY got Kaneda and the bike and Tetsuo recently.....but I just added some killer Transformers to my haul!!
Plus....I finally got a chance to see the LIFE SIZE Gundam statue a few weeks ago.
Can't really complain about life in the land of the rising sun....I love it here!! (Don't even get me started on the girls!!!
Congrats on getting it!!!
Japan is an awesome country, I was there last december for holiday, going back again later this year.
Otomofan
Super Freak
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I bought a shelf yesterday and now Kaneda and his bike and Tetsuo are finally on display, 24/7, like I've been dreaming since I first saw the prototypes sometime back in 2009! So freaking awesome!!
BUT....they are now out in open air. Exposed to the elements of my room. It's a small room, but it gets a LOT of dust. Everywhere. I figure the safest thing is just a slightly damp, very soft cloth to take the dust off the bike. Not sure about the figure's outfits and stuff.
My main concern is the bike's rubbery seat. How do you clean and keep dust off of it? I have no idea how to maintain such materials. I'm assuming water is NOT good for it.
PLEASE give me some pointers if you've got any! I wanna keep all of these items in the best possible condition!
Too bad I live in the most earthquake-prone country in the world....
BUT....they are now out in open air. Exposed to the elements of my room. It's a small room, but it gets a LOT of dust. Everywhere. I figure the safest thing is just a slightly damp, very soft cloth to take the dust off the bike. Not sure about the figure's outfits and stuff.
My main concern is the bike's rubbery seat. How do you clean and keep dust off of it? I have no idea how to maintain such materials. I'm assuming water is NOT good for it.
PLEASE give me some pointers if you've got any! I wanna keep all of these items in the best possible condition!
Too bad I live in the most earthquake-prone country in the world....
