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Post by TheMazingerZ on Mar 4, 2021 1:16:54 GMT
In February of 2021, Hachette Japan launched a project that is awesome! They are going to give us a 75cm, die-cast and plastic, fully articulated, and full of electronic gimmicks MAZINGER Z! Great right? Well, there's just one problem; This is a subscription based project, and it's only sold in Japan. Add to that that it will consist of 100 volumes, and they will be released at the rate of just one volume per week. Yeap, it will take almost two years to complete the figure. Oh well... I managed to score the first four volumes from Ebay via a reseller. I paid close to four times the actual price for these four volumes, but I had to have it. The first four volumes lets you put together Mazinger Z's head, which by the way, it's full of electronic gimmicks the likes of Powered On LED eyes, LED Koushiryoku Beam, LED Reitou Beam, and an actual working Rust Hurricane! Check it out! Anyway, assembling the head without english instructions wasn't as hard as I though it would be. Lots of pictures to help guide me through. So little by little, Mazinger's head began taking shape: Volume 001 done:  Volume 002 done:  Volume 003 done:  Volume 004 done:  Here is a comparison shot of the Hachette Mazinger head and the Evolution Toy Metal Action Hover Pilder head:  Unfortunately for me, the Hachette Mazinger head is bigger than the Evolution Toy, so the Hover Pilder is too small for it.  No worries, I'll make it its own Jet Pilder!  I also made it a temporary stand, because the Hachette Mazinger head cannot stay upright on its own, and I don't want it to get scratched or damaged before it can reunite with the rest of its body.  So there you have it, a first look of my special, and most likely very expensive project for the next two years.  }D |
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Post by TheMazingerZ on Mar 13, 2021 6:47:59 GMT
For the past couple of days, I've been working on a Pilder for the Hachette Mazinger. A long while back, I came across a 3D model of the Hover Pilder in Cults3D.com, created by ROYLO and free to download. This model ROYLO made is awesome by the way! So, I printed it to check it out and see if it would be a good fit for the Hachette Mazinger. It was close, but no cigar. Well, I was not going to let that stop me, so I started tweaking ROYLO's model until I was pretty satisfied with how it looks and fits the Hachette Mazinger. Here is the prototype I just finished printing today. It is still missing the cockpit components and the Koji Kabuto pilot, but it is looking great! Check it out:   Fits like a glove! Since this is just a prototype, I'm not going to post process or paint it. That takes too much time and it's a lot of work. I rather just save all that effort for the final version instead. }D |
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Post by TheMazingerZ on Mar 18, 2021 6:10:56 GMT
Here's an updated version of the Hover Pilder:   Not too shabby... }D |
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Post by TheMazingerZ on Mar 19, 2021 3:27:38 GMT
And a bit more progress...  }D |
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Post by TheMazingerZ on Mar 20, 2021 21:39:22 GMT
Here's what the Hover Pilder looks like so far:
}D
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Post by TheMazingerZ on Apr 19, 2021 17:16:15 GMT
Came up with a better way to store the assembled Hachette Mazinger Z head. It replaced the original Evolution Toy Metal Action head on the Mazinger Z body using a custom 3D printed adapter. 🙂👍  }D |
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Post by TheMazingerZ on May 10, 2022 4:29:00 GMT
With the Premium Subscription, Hachette sends out a special item approximately every 20 weeks. So far they've sent out a parts keeping case, a set of figurines including Koji Kabuto and four generic Photon Lab technicians, a set of Koji and Sayaka motocycles and four generic scientist, Powered Off version of Mazinger's face plate with a set of Southern Cross Knives, a 1:1 full sized Koji Kabuto wrist watch, and the latest (and COOLEST of all so far), the Photon Laboratory's VTOL machine!    }D |
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Post by TheMazingerZ on May 9, 2023 23:29:43 GMT
09MAY2023: I started the Hachette Mazinger Z Project well over 26 months ago, not knowing if it was ever going to become a reality. Well, despite Hachette not living up to their word of releasing a new Volume every week, I am very close to completing the project. I have assembled the Mazinger Z figure and the Jet Scrander, and collected all the Premium Subscription Bonus Gifts with the exception of the very last one, as it has not been released yet. Only three more volumes to complete all of the 100! In the meantime, here are a few pictures of how this big and heavy guy turned out... Here's my mobile work bench, and by God, I swear it's the best $35 I've spent in a good while!  And here is the star of the show!!!  Hachette has not released the actual elbows yet, so in the meantime the Drill Missile attachments have to fill that function.   This figure is heavy, and when I say heavy, I really mean HEAVY! It makes the Marmit Dai-Gokin figures feel light weigh in comparison. Of course, heavy is never good when it comes to action poses, but for how heavy the Hachette Mazinger Z is, it can still strike a pose!   Last but not least, here's the Big Guy with its Jet Scrander attached. The Scrander is ALL plastic, but it is so big that it still has quite some weight to it. I don't think Mazinger Z can be posed much with it on without the use of some sort of display stand.  Speaking of Display Stands, the Hachette Mazinger Z does include a display base. However, it is ridiculously huge, and being all plastic, it is quite flimsy. Well, to be honest, I just don't like it at all. So, I decided not to put it together... at least not yet. My plan is to make a custom display base that actually resembles what is seen in the original anime, and incorporate the Hachette display base electronics into the custom one. Now to continue waiting for the last three volumes to come to Papa... }D |
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Post by TheMazingerZ on May 10, 2023 20:04:28 GMT
Can't wait for the actual elbows to get here!  }D |
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Post by TheMazingerZ on May 15, 2023 20:14:33 GMT
15MAY2023: Couple of updates today, Finished the Drill Missiles effects along with the 30 degree angled elbows. The real elbows make a huge difference!  I also completed the Rocket Punch Flames effects.    As you can see, the stand is very short. Unfortunately, the stand contains part of the electronics required to activated the LEDs on the Flame Effects. I will eventually modify it so the Rocket Punch are at the proper height. Just one more Volume left to complete this Hachette Mazinger Z Project! }D |
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Post by TheMazingerZ on May 16, 2023 18:59:50 GMT
16MAY2023: Hachette Mazinger Z in action!    Now waiting for Volume 100 and the Premium Subscription Bonus Jet Scrander New Version to get here! }D |
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Post by TheMazingerZ on May 19, 2023 3:41:23 GMT
18MAY2023: While waiting for Volume 100 to arrive, I designed and 3D printed a custom Stand Alone Drill Missile Accessory for the Hachette Mazinger Z. The prototype came out pretty nice!  }D |
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Post by TheMazingerZ on May 19, 2023 19:05:56 GMT
19MAY2023: Custom Drill Missiles Accessory...  }D |
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Post by TheMazingerZ on May 19, 2023 23:54:10 GMT
19MAY2023: And now there's two...  }D |
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Post by TheMazingerZ on May 21, 2023 2:58:39 GMT
20MAY2023: Test paint on the custom Drill Missile Accessory...  and now, the properly painted custom Drill Missile Accessory...  }D |
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! Happy belated Birthday man!!! 