The Energon Pub

after browsing hobby shops and stores selling Soul of Chogokin (SoC) figures, i seem unable to understand why is it that SoC sells for more than Masterpieces?

not that i don't like 'em (heck, i grew up also on Mazinger Z, Voltes V and Voltron reruns LOL), but i seem unable to comprehend why would they be much more pricier than say, MP-04, the current most expensive Master Piece, who is more detailed and much more playable.

well, sure, i can understand the all die-cast construction jacking up the price, but the figures are really... well, er, smooth, or let's say, less detailed than the MPs.

how many of you also collect them and any thoughts on why they sell at such ASTRONOMICAL prices?

Some of the SOC figures have MSRPs higher than the MP-04 Convoy. I believe Voltes V, Combattra V, and DanCougar all retailed for more than MP-04 (which retailed for 14,999 yen at TRU Japan). The smaller SOC figures, the Evangelions, Spider-Man's robot, etc, retailed for much less.

The high-end SOC figures look smooth because that is how their character models looked. SOC is not about updating figures to look more realistic. It's about providing the best possible representation of that character. MP-04 is, according to most people, the best Transformer ever. But it has been updated drastically from its cartoon, toy, and Marvel Comic appearance.

More die-cast, more accessories, way better packaging, better paint jobs, and so on. I have a few SOC figures (Xabungle, Walker Gallia, Gunbuster, Ideon, Combattler V, Zambot 3, King Joe) and I value them more than my Transformers masterpiece figures. I still have to get Dancouga (I have the original though), Voltes V (got scammed for one on Ebay, I have to buy it again) and I will pick up the next few ones (Reideen, Iron Gear). I love the old designs. When you take the time to search, you quickly realize that transforming figure came well before Transformers and that some of the early designs from the '70s and '80s were even better and more gimmicky than the first real Transformers. The updated versions of these old mechas make the best even better.

SoC are much more detailed and have much more die cast than Masterpieces. I made a little gallerry of Voltes V and Combattra V that I will post soon. The detail is amazing and the amount of accessories they come with are awesome.

I think my favorite gimmicks are the Voltes V telescopic sword coming out of his chest and all the hidden cannons on Gundbuster's arms and legs (and also the hidden compartment for his cape and weapons on his shoulders).

megatroptimus wrote:I think my favorite gimmicks are the Voltes V telescopic sword coming out of his chest and all the hidden cannons on Gundbuster's arms and legs (and also the hidden compartment for his cape and weapons on his shoulders).

The coolest thing to me is the gun hidden behind Voltes V's hand.

Right, I forgot about that one. Using his own arm as a shoulder cannon. Can't get any better than that! Gunbuster's feet transformation is something that has to be seen too.

megatroptimus wrote:Right, I forgot about that one. Using his own arm as a shoulder cannon. Can't get any better than that! Gunbuster's feet transformation is something that has to be seen too.

oh? they DO have all those gimmicks big V had in the show?!?! i never knew that! i'd love to see the superelectromagnetic top rendered in die-cast.

zemper wrote:

megatroptimus wrote:Right, I forgot about that one. Using his own arm as a shoulder cannon. Can't get any better than that! Gunbuster's feet transformation is something that has to be seen too.

oh? they DO have all those gimmicks big V had in the show?!?! i never knew that! i'd love to see the superelectromagnetic top rendered in die-cast.

I'll post a gallery of it later tonight in the Mecha forum. I'll post the link to it here.

What exactly is Soul of Chogokin.

these are like, mostly (though not all) huge die-cast robots that are representatives of the giant robot era of japanese animation, i.e. the 60's-70's super robot cartoons. see GetterDragun's sig for an example of a giant robot (not exactly a huge fan, but what version of mazinger is that dude?)

Talking about Soul of Chogokin... At the end of July, I was bidding on a Soul of Chogokin GX-31 Voltes V (had it last year, sold it, and now I want it back). Seller (from HK) had a perfect feedback then. I ended up losing the auction but got a 2nd chance offer for $141 shipped. After debating for while, I decided to give it a go.

WHAT A MISTAKE. After making payment, I never heard back from the seller. No confirmation, no tracking, nothing. And then his feedback went down the drain when he started piling up negatives. Apparently, he sold a bunch of inexpensive items ($0-5) to boost his feedback and then proceeded to scam several buyers with expensive items in the $100-200 range (mostly SOC figures). All negatives were coming from auction for expensive items.

Anyway, I filed for a claim shortly after, not expecting to get my money back, as I knew that Paypal only gives you your money back if there's money left in the scammer's account, which is very unlikely if the scammer isn't stupid.

Well, looks like he WAS stupid because Paypal ruled in my favor this morning and I got all my money back. I don't if it will be the case for all the other victims (at least 10 right now - I reported the seller for fake contact info and he's now suspended).

Before getting my money back, I thought about hunting down the scammer by emailing all the ones who got their items to get the address he wrote down on the parcels. But guess what? All of them didn't have any return address.

Oh well, I got my money back and I found a Voltes V locally. All is good!