HISS Tank boards member Gyre-viper has posted several images of the upcoming Cycle Armor With Ashiko from the currently unreleased, 1st wave of 2011 Pursuit Of Cobra alpha vehicles. Not only are their images of the box, Ashiko, & Cycle Armor, but also the:
- Filecard, revealing that Ashiko is another Arashikage Ninja
- Comparisons with previous repro samples
- Comparisons with the canceled Steel Mirage With Chuckles from the GI Joe 25th Anniversary line
Gyre-Viper says
CYCLE ARMOR•ASHIKO
So here we are again... ASHIKO and the CYCLE ARMOR. Before we begin, here is a link to a previous Ashiko review I did:
http://www.hisstank.com/gi-joe-news/gi-joe-pursuit-of-cobra-18/gi-joe-pursuit-of-cobra-2011-preproduction-cycle-armor-with-ashiko-video-preview-9717/
Okay first things first... the finished product is more stable than the test-shot (as expected, and as hoped for). The pieces stay in a bit better for the most part. However, the chest-wings don't seem to clip-in-then-extend quite properly, although this might just be a factory error on my sample. The sample in my pics came out of the box. HOWEVER PART 2: this thing still has no playability in armor form. It still can barely balance on its own, it still tends to fall apart while you're putting it together or moving it around or putting a piece back on that popped off. The arms are still barely movable once armored-up. It is still top heavy and I think it needs a stand. Some sort of stand or some sort of support system. I don't think anyone would complain if this thing came with some sort of big, maybe even city-strike-themed support base that kinda half served as a mini dio a bit similar to what some spawn toys come with etc. I dunno... Just a thought. The Armor has no pegs so it'd have to be specific to this toy. But as I said, the finished version IS more stable than not so that's good. Also there have been some tooling changes since the unpainted test-shot... one we already knew about thanks to notpicard's painted test-shot of Ashiko: the Wraith head was replaced with ROC Flash.
However, until now I don't think we were aware that there are new and longer handle-bars (although the chest ports STILL get in the way of things when posing Ashiko on the bike). Also the 'back pack'-thingy that holds the wheels on etc in Armor form, has new strap holes AND the back pack has a peg that goes into the back of Ashiko... something my unpainted test-shot did not have (as pictured LATER below)... and so my unpainted sample, in Armor mode, the pack was free-balling it and that caused a LOT of the problems with balance and parts staying put. So that peg REALLY makes this thing a bit more stable.
Here's some convention pictures of Ashiko with a painted helmet:
http://kastorskorner.com/events/albu..._Joe_Con19.jpg
http://www.seibertron.com/images/new...e9738829b2.jpg
On this finished version, Ashiko's helmet is all black (not sure why they didn't paint the visor or give it racing stripes or something). It's the same helmet that was going to come with Night Force Chuckles and the Silver Mirage (as pictured later below). There's a strange little Easter Egg/??? in the fold out diorama (which I've pointed out in the pics) of the HISS Scout gun. The biggest surprise of all was the shit load of weapons Ashiko comes with.
While taking pictures and comparing things... it occurred to me how cool it would be if the Armor was cast in a clear color (a la Clear Wraith) so you could see Ashiko inside. I think clear Armor
in yellow or even blue like Wraith would be &*&*$&$ing awesome. A stealth bike and energy armor, if you will. All in all,
this finished version has improved my overall opinion of this concept. It's very much a display piece though. But it is definitely
much cooler than I expected it to be after having done all those reviews etc last year and this year. I mean I've always liked it or wanted to like it... but now in-hand, I'd say it's a definite buy despite the short-comings. So what I've tried to do is take some fun pics... and give Ashiko a decent night out on the forum.
Gyre-Viper says
Gyre-Viper says
Finished Version•••••••••••Test-Shot
Gyre-Viper says
NIGHT FORCE CHUCKLES HELMET = SILVER
ASHIKO HELMET = BLACK
Gyre-Viper says
Gyre-Viper says
Gyre-Viper says
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Gyre-Viper says
Keep reading: POC Ashiko w/ Cycle Armor IN-HAND pics. - Page 2
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