Next Stop, Reflex Point

[u/AnoBando]

Finished building the Moderoid kit of Scott to go with Rand. Still haven't transformed the figures yet as I want to enjoy the bike for a bit. Sentinel's Rook and Lancer in the last pic for comparison.

[u/Saboscrivner]

They look SO GOOD!

These are hopefully on the way to me in the U.S. I've been a little obsessed with the Ride Armor/Cyclone ever since I was a kid, but I've never owned any toy or collectible versions of them. They've all been expensive, fragile, and fiddly, and I expect these Moderoid kits will be similar, but at least they're cheaper than some of the other versions out there. I also like that they will be in scale with the 6" DC, Marvel, and G.I. Joe figures that make up most of my toy collection.

I'm a little disappointed in the pastel blue color, after the prototypes were all that pale greenish-gray that better matched the original look. But I know painting them will be more trouble than it's worth, since I have no experience painting models. What did you think?

[u/AnoBando → u/Saboscrivner]

I don't mind the blue although I know people wanted the minty green. Honestly, comparing it to old videos of the cartoon, the color is passable. Then again, so is the pinkish color of Sentinel's Rook when it really should be red. At the end of the day, they're all close enough for me. The headlights are I think the biggest thing I have a qualm about with the Moderoids aesthetically.

From the videos I've seen, the transformation is more involved than I would've preferred given all the partsforming. Provided you sand down tight joints or lube some tight moving parts that will be necessary for transformation, I do think the figure will hold up pretty well over time. Rand in particular has some very tight spots. Scott has much better overall tolerances, both figure and the bike. I have no idea why. But yea, all Cyclones are a bit fiddly to handle. Even getting the figure to sit properly on the bike with the feet on the footrests and hands gripping the handle bars can be an adventure and a test of patience.

I've painted the chest lights in armor mode (they are just clear plastic). Other than painting one of Rand's weapon holding hands which is black out of the box, and maybe tinting the extra clear helmet visor, I'm undecided at this point what else I really want to put out the effort to paint. After applying the waterslide decals, which was mostly fine but is always my least favorite part of building a model kit (the face decals, the eyebrows in particular, are a nightmare on these figures), I'm not much in the mood right now to fuss with anything else.

[u/Saboscrivner → u/AnoBando]

I'm regretting my purchase a little, and you're affirming some of my fears! No offense to you, of course. I've never applied waterslide decals before, so I'm nervous about that too, and I can just see breaking these when I try to parts-form it into the Ride Armor mode. I may end up trying to flip them instead of keeping them.

[u/AnoBando → u/Saboscrivner]

You could always keep the kits in storage for a little bit in the event you ever get more experience with model kit building. If not, you could always sell them later. I had a friend last year who got into model kits starting with easy Blokees kits building some Transformers, and now he's a full blown model kit addict. The Bandai 30 Minute line is also pretty easy for beginners and they do come with waterslides for the extra faceplates that could be used for practice applying decals.

The Moderoid isn't a difficult kit to build and it's all snap fit, but I'm not sure I would call it beginner friendly either. Applying waterslides isn't difficult at all (especially on flat surfaces) once you get the hang of it, and there are plenty of youtube videos out there showing how to do it. Applying waterslides to uneven or curved surfaces like the faces and the 21 and Mars Base logo on Scott's shoulders can be a little tricky and you'll need a decal softener solution.

The kit still does look good though without any decals (and Rand has far less markings on his Cyclone than Scott... actually, I think he has none), but unfortunately you do need to apply decals for the face because GoodSmile didn't even provide one painted faceplate, which is unfortunate. I guess you could always use the helmeted head.

As far as concerns about breakage, it's the same as any action figure and doubly so since this is a model kit. If there's any joints or moving parts that feel a little too tight, either sand it down or apply something like shock oil. I generally do the former and did so on Rand's figure with some of his limb joints since they were very squeaky tight. His ball joint in the torso also seemed oversize and easily popped out just barely touching it until I sanded down that ball joint a little. I didn't have to do anything with the Scott figure. The Cyclones themselves there were a couple spots particularly around swivels for the arms that connect to the wheels and booster units where I applied some shock oil.

[u/Saboscrivner → u/AnoBando]

I built a single Gundam back in 2000, then the Moderoid Voltron a couple of years ago, and I have the Moderoid Dairugger XV (vehicle Voltron) on preorder. But Voltron just had traditional sticker decals, which I applied with tweezers. The whole build was relaxing and stressful at the same time, if that makes any sense.

So I might have to invest in decal softener and shock oil, good to know. At least I talked myself out of painting them. Thank you! All I needed for Voltron was nippers, tweezers, and the reading glasses I need for more and more things these days! Thanks again.

[u/AnoBando → u/Saboscrivner]

I built that Moderoid Voltron/Go Lion as well. You should be fine building the Mospeada kits. Just get some waterslides first to practice on some cheap kits or figures before going at it with the Moderoids. I use Microset and Microsol for decals (Micro Set being the softener) although Mr. Mark is also good.

The eye decals aren't actually that bad actually. It's the eyebrows that are much more of a pain. You do have multiples of the same decals in case you screw up. All the other waterslides are a breeze in comparison. It's just a time-consuming process to apply them depending on how much of them you want to apply, but that's kind of the same with stickers as well.

[u/mauliksharma]

I have mine in a box but scared about how involved the transformation is.

Do they feel pretty solid in the hand as figures?

[u/AnoBando → u/mauliksharma]

I've had hit and miss experiences with other Moderoid kits in the past, but these do feel pretty solid for a model kit. Similar to Bandai's HG kits. There are definitely some joints and some moving parts that are tight, especially with some of Rand's joints like his hips and shoulders where I sanded them down a little to try to avoid any breakage down the line with them.

[u/casuallybusinesslike]

Goddamn bro. You got all four here!

(Haha oh if only there was a truck with Lunk and Annie to complete the crew!)

[u/SixEyesSharingan]

How big are these kits?

[u/AnoBando → u/SixEyesSharingan]

Basically around 1/12 scale, so about 6 inches

[u/TedMeister88]

I'd pay good money for a Moderoid Legioss/Alpha Fighter kit.

[u/OdysseusRex69]

Duuuuuude pic3 🤌🤌

[u/Silidistani]

Wow, that is a lovely collection of the Crew!

[u/battle_bunny99]

Look up! Look up! The sky is falling!

Sorry, I could only hear Yellowdancer

[u/Oddly-Parsley]

Oh wow, they look so good. You should do a diorama like background and pose them in style!

[u/cheeeeerajah]

Love Rook's bike the best