I've been following this Kickstarter project: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/shogunforce/shogun-forcetm $138,500 is an ambitious goal. They're two weeks in and they have under 10% of that. $265 is a very good price for a Jumbo, and the design is interesting, but it strikes me as a pretty hard sell because there's no license behind the character. Curious to see how this ends up.
Thanks for sharing this Roger. This is interesting, and I love me some giant robots, as well as jumbo toys, so you'd think this would be something I would be all over. But to be honest, the aesthetic just doesn't capture me the way I was hoping it would in reading a post about a new and original machinder-type toy. There are some aspects of it I like, and I am not saying it is bad by any means, but me to think about spending that sort of money I have to really be in love with it; and somehow, these renderings just aren't capturing it for me. There are a ton of giant robots out there, with a huge gamut of designs. I am sure this will likely appeal to a lot of people. But as much as it borrows some elements from some, and mixes it together, I am not sure the whole is better for it. I think I'd also like to see some variety in the colours used, and probably a bit less blocky (in particular for my own style preference, which is on the softer jumbo side of things). I think actually even a few small tweaks could make this an excellent toy. But in any case, it is a cool project, one I am happy to see and learn about, and I hope it comes to fruition.
Ambitious goal indeed! $265 isn't bad at all for a contemporary jumbo, but most definitely a hard sell without a top-tier license or some sort of name recognition. Honestly, I dig it. The blocky features and color palette are reminiscent of Clover's Tryder G7 jumbo—one of the more non-traditional designs, but cool nonetheless. I kind of like that they mixed aspects of the inspiring product line and added their own personal touch for an original robot. It feels very much like the spawn of an off-brand competitor from that time period. I'd certainly take it over the Skeletor that was released a while back (I really did not like that thing for a number of reasons, but to each their own). I'd say what I like least about it is the apparent need to insert the Shogun moniker into the series title. I'm sure it helps for SEO and driving traffic to the project, but the name coupled with the copycat font is what, if anything, leads me to expect a more faithful recreation or representation of Popy/Mattel's legacy.
The Kickstarter shows as cancelled, I wonder why they did that. Maybe it causes issues if they try to restart the campaign?
Siege Fortress vinyl robot toy: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dreamsofrobots/seige-fortress-iron-beserker-art-toy
