First Gokin NT-02 Shredder Figure

[theassassin]

Yeh with Tamashii Nations now planning a toon-accurate Shredder for their Figuarts line, I've completely lost interest in the First Gokin Shredder. Plus I've already upgraded all my Classic Collection Turtles to the more toon-accurate Figuarts ones. So the scale of First Gokin Shredder is now even more ridiculously oversized than it was with the Classic Collection Turtles. The biggest problem is that it's just not compatible with ANY existing Turtles figures. Even before the Figuarts TMNT came out, I was pretty disappointed with First Gokin's Shredder though, and their apparent disinterest in taking any suggestions from the fans.

The thing is, the First Gokin Krang was nowhere near as far away from the toon in style, or as far away from the Classic Collection Turtles in scale. That's why people loved it. They can't make Shredder really far away from the toon in style and completely out of scale with the Turtles and then get frustrated with the fans for not buying it. As has been said, what people want is a toon-accurate (or close to it) Shredder, that's to scale with toon-accurate (or close to it) Turtles. But with Figuarts coming along, honestly I think the ship has sailed, even if First Gokin did shrink their Shredder or make it closer to the toon style, it's gonna be too little too late. Though I will certainly look out for their future products, as Cerebral is certainly a top quality figure.

[Huzzah]

I actually liked the design, loved the included weapons rack but the scale threw me off. One ofmy biggest complaints with Playmates is/was the nonexistent scale between the figures, and those are 9 dollar figures, I sure as heck am not paying premium prices for something that can't even feasibly scale with the oversized Classics Turtles. Im personally okay with new and different, I also didn't hate the PD Move Turtles, so the change isn't what turns me off of this figure, it's the useless scale that deters me. I also like the DreamEx Turtles, but I don't have the space to collect that scale, it's not the design that bothers me.

[DonnieLaForge]

It can be useful for toy photographers to have items which are out of scale with one another. Advantageous to create artistic forced perspective shots while working with limited articulation and within the confines of a light box. Plus, the figure is pretty cool IMO, even if it has nothing to go nice with it. So, I have not yet jumped ship. But I may eventually, if they don't hurry up already.

[zaktheneutrino]

Originally Posted by Powder

I dunno if sassy is the word, at least not from what I saw. But it's interesting that they mention us, especially when they have a representative here (who I assume is the same peson) who could just as easily speak to us directly.

This was their post-



I assume they'll see this, so I'll address it here.

No, we're the most hardcore fans/collectors. You don't join this site unless the TMNT are a serious obsession of yours, or at the very least something you are very passionate/knowledgeable about. There are others like us who simply don't like posting on forums, sure, but not many. The fandom is pretty small compared to say that of Star Wars or a Marvel/DC property. The TMNT fans you see on social media, most of them are merely casual/passive fans, not die-hard.

For a lot of those fans, this is probably their first time seeing a cool looking Shredder toy since the early 90's. Many of them aren't big collectors. They're not picky about specific details because they either prefer things to be "updated" or don't care enough about the source material to desire accuracy. They see a vision of their childhood made to look "adult" & get excited by the notion. We on the other hand want a Shredder figure that actually looks like it did on the TV screen, & almost 30 years later, we STILL don't have one. That is not the fault of toy companies such as yourselves, but it's frustrating when new pieces like this or the Dream-Ex one come along & they too, despite their price point & adult collector demographic, do not look "right". They're awesome in their own way, yes, but they're not what we've been waiting for.

I see now they also made this post way back in June-


It's nice that you want our acceptance (you've certainly got it from a bunch of people here, I don't think it is "just so opposite" at all!) & we appreciate your involvement in our community, the updates you provide, but you may just have to accept that we have very particular tastes. Users here on The Technodrome have been quite vocal on what specifically they dislike about the figure, concerning scale, style choices, etc. If it was in your power to change those things, & you then did, the reception here would have changed for the better. If it's out of your hands, then there is no need for you to worry about it. If you have received nothing but positive feedback elsewhere, & there are enough fans purchasing these items to justify their continued production, then unfortunately, we don't matter. That is often the case, & it sucks, but it can't be helped...

As for Dave, who responded to your comment saying-



This isn't remotely true. If it was we wouldn't be discussing the Nickelodeon cartoon or IDW series on a daily basis. The majority of our userbase love those versions. Yeah, a lot of us don't like the new movies, but it's less to do with changes they made & more due to the fact they're poorly written.

People here like the figure! It's just that they'd have liked it better with a few changes. No big deal.

Well said, I applaud you and couldn't agree more to all of that. I know this Saki figure isn't toon accurate but as a fan of the Cerebral and First Gokin's different gritty take on Shredder, I'm pretty freakin excited for this guy! I was blown away by Cerebral and that really helped to sell me on their Shredder. With that said it is equally frustrating to still not have an accurate 87 Shredder from any company. It certainly doesn't seem like it's too much to ask for.

[Trailbreaker77]

Originally Posted by Candy Kappa

Looks like the delay have been extended to March according to Lunar Toys FB page.

When late February rolls around it will be delayed to April, I've seen this all to often from 3rd party Transformers companies. It's tough when you are a small 3rd party company to meet deadlines. I should know better then to jump on a 3rd party preorder as this has happened many times to me already.

Depending on who they bring to market next will make my decision easier if I stick around or get off the TMNT bandwagon.

[Trailbreaker77]

Originally Posted by Evilcat005

Just FYI heads up. We are expecting it to be Jan 2017 now, and maybe extended in to Feb 2017.

Evilcat005,

What's the latest ETA in March early or late?

[zaktheneutrino]

Saw these on AliExpress and eBay and they are in stock. Obviously they are shipping from China but gotta think we will have these in a few weeks. Lunar says April to back that up. I'm digging the artwork!


https://www.ebay.com/itm/272630942962

[theassassin]

Loose pics of the production piece are on this auction:

www.ebay.com/itm/112370551638

I'm sticking with the upcoming Figuarts, Krang was close enough to the cartoon for me to buy but this one is just way too different from the Shredder I remember.

I'm still curious to know how the final scale is with Krang and the Classic Collection Turtles though, wonder if they bothered shrinking it down to be more in scale with the Classic Collection like most fans were asking.

[Candy Kappa]

I doubt they've scaled him down, the final product is all likely the same height as the unarticulated test figure we saw a while back plus minus 5% size due to sculpt-to-mold ratio.

[zaktheneutrino]

Originally Posted by theassassin

Loose pics of the production piece are on this auction:

www.ebay.com/itm/112370551638

I'm sticking with the upcoming Figuarts, Krang was close enough to the cartoon for me to buy but this one is just way too different from the Shredder I remember.

I'm still curious to know how the final scale is with Krang and the Classic Collection Turtles though, wonder if they bothered shrinking it down to be more in scale with the Classic Collection like most fans were asking.

I took several comparison shots of Shredder. One with First Gokin Krang and one with Playmates Classic Collection and SH Figuarts.

https://instagram.com/p/BS-INdzFzj-/

https://instagram.com/p/BS-JfdRFHoP/

[Candy Kappa]

It's really lame that only the helmet and feet are metal, and no light-up effect eyes. Which I guess was never promised or confirmed to begin with, even though light-up effects where hinted at in the silhouettes teaser image and having his eyes glow red in the render picture.

And wow, finally seeing Oraku next to a Turtle figure really highlights that he's not even in scale with the oversized Classics Turtles, he's just too tall. I'm sure some skilled toy photographers will have a field day with him doing forced perspective shots, cause he still looks cool despite him having a teeny tiny head and minimal die-cast.

I'm sure First Gokin will make their own Turtles that will be in the 1/7th scale like Oraku, so those who are committed to the line just have to play the waiting game.

[Coro]

Im glad I cancelled this and got the DREAMEX instead...

[DestronMirage22]

Originally Posted by zaktheneutrino

I took several comparison shots of Shredder. One with First Gokin Krang and one with Playmates Classic Collection and SH Figuarts.

https://instagram.com/p/BS-INdzFzj-/

https://instagram.com/p/BS-JfdRFHoP/

Dang, such a shame he doesn't scale with them. Would've made up for the lack of Classics Shredder.

[Candy Kappa]

Originally Posted by DestronMirage22

Dang, such a shame he doesn't scale with them. Would've made up for the lack of Classics Shredder.

Not just a shame, but straight up weird they aren't to scale since that was apparently First Gokin's goal, or so we where lead to believe since he comes with new weapons for the Classic Turtles

[theassassin]

Originally Posted by Candy Kappa

Not just a shame, but straight up weird they aren't to scale since that was apparently First Gokin's goal, or so we where lead to believe since he comes with new weapons for the Classic Turtles

Yeh it's pretty clear their original goal was to supplement the Classic Collection, and the collectors wanted them to fill that gap in the market which Playmates were no longer addressing. They did a good job in that aim with Krang which is precisely why it did so well, but I think it's success went to their heads a bit leading to them getting carried away with using their own creative ideas with Shredder and not paying enough attention to the style the fans were asking for or getting the scale right with TURTLES figures (just pulling up a random picture of Krang standing next to Shredder in the cartoon and using that as a rough guide wasn't thorough enough, particularly since the Krang/Shredder scale varied).

I don't think Shredder will do anywhere near as well as Krang, because they underestimated the importance of it being in scale with the Classic Collection Turtles and looking somewhat reminicient of the toon Shredder. Plus with the Figuarts Turtles AND Shredder appearing, interest in the Classic Collection style and scale has decreased significantly. In my opinion they are really going to struggle to find a market for a non-toon style Shredder that isn't to scale with any available Turtles figures, particularly when an alternative that does tick those boxes will be soon available (via Figuarts).

And don't get me wrong, although I'm being critical of First Gokin, I do want to see them succeed, the Krang figure is a top quality product and I just hope they can recover from this and hopefully create some more interesting figures, perhaps even cover other franchises that have significant gaps in the figure market. And hey maybe I'm wrong and Shredder will do well for them, but I'm just telling it like I see it.

[nickzark]

when will TMNT Shredder action figure from Bandai Tamashii Nations out in stores????

[theassassin]

Originally Posted by nickzark

when will TMNT Shredder action figure from Bandai Tamashii Nations out in stores????

Dunno why you're asking in the First Gokin Shredder topic when we have a Figuarts topic, but I don't think the release date has been announced yet anyway.

[Raptor86]

[nickzark]

Originally Posted by theassassin

Dunno why you're asking in the First Gokin Shredder topic when we have a Figuarts topic, but I don't think the release date has been announced yet anyway.

sorry guys for that..dind find the thread...

[LilithMV]

Krang I want, but Shredder? Meh.

I'm still annoyed that I did not get Krang when he was cheap(er) on ebay last year. A bunch of sellers sold him for like 99$. Now he goes for about triple that and maybe one per week shows up. Whereas last autumn you could easily find two three dozens every month. But I told myself that I would wait because more would sell him, yeah right. Smart thinking. Not.