Archive for the ‘Votoms’ Tag
When Armored Trooper VOTOMS was released, there were toys in a number of different sizes and formats, including the 1/60 scale AT Collection Series diecast minis, which were similar in vein to the 1/144 Dougram figures and the Takatoku 1/144 Macross Destroids. These little guys are sharply molded, nicely detailed, and had a good heft due to the diecast parts. They stand around 3″ tall. Unlike the Dougram and Macross minis, the VOTOMS figures did not feature painted much detail, since the idea was that you would paint them up and apply the stickers yourself, in that classic 80s Dual Model style. I made a few mods to this guy and painted him up. You can see an unpainted out of the box version in Veef’s review on CollectionDX.
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Reorganized some shelves while waiting for new arrivals. Here’s my 1/60 scale mecha lineup, featuring Macross, Dougram, Dorvack, Patlabor, Votoms, Gundam, and Mospeada. Basically, all of my favorite things. Click the top image for a bigger panorama.
The Wave 1/24 VOTOMS kits are some seriously venerable pieces of plastic, reissued throughout the years with some occasional improvements. Out of the box, they are decently posable and have a bit chubby proportions, but are easy to build and can be vastly improved with a little TLC. I have seen many Scopedogs kitted out in Hobby Japan magazine with new articulation, adjustments to the proportions, and serious detail upgrades, so I wanted to try such an affair for myself. Adler’s Nest is a small firm that makes turned brass and aluminum gun barrels and hardware for scale models (tanks), and they for some reason also make a Scopedog gun barrel from turned brass and aluminum, as well as replacement machined aluminum eye cameras in the main VOTOMS scales (1/24, 1/18, 1/12 I think). I used the gun barrels and eye camera on this build, as well as a set of brass tubing smoke dischargers I made myself, and turned aluminum jet exhausts for the roller dash boosters. I also rebuilt most of the articulation from new parts to improve the articulation on the kit, especially on the shoulders, hips, wrists, and ankles. By the time I was done I also added some extra sensor bits to the visor (to work in a tight urban environment), some non-canon weld beads, stowage, and some etched metal details. With the new articulation, the Scopedog can hold its rifle realistically and be in some convincing ‘roller skating’ poses like the Turbo Customs do in the anime.
The paint scheme is a really ugly one I found while doing tank research, an urban disruptive scheme known as the ‘Berlin Brigade’ scheme. It features rectangular drab colors, and black paint straight across the lower portions of the machine (typically the running gear on an AFV) to try and blend in with both the urban structures and road. I filled out my Scopedog with a gamut of decals, and marked this guy as a special Red Shoulder unit, and threw in some battle damage to indicate he’s been campaigning for a while and has seen some heat.
In Armored Troopers: VOTOMS (Vertical One-man Tank for Offensive Maneuvers), Fyana is the early show antagonist and mysterious Phantom Lady, who pilots the powerful Brutishdog custom machine. The Brutishdog is a fearsome design, armed with its massive rotary cannon and brutal shearing claw, with an upgraded roller dash system for enhanced speed and maneuverability.
I finished this kit about a year ago and somehow never got around to photographing it (and a companion piece to come later). I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with the excellent Bandai 1/20 VOTOMS plamo kits. On one hand, they are the most detailed and best articulated VOTOMS kits ever produced, but at the same time, they have a dearth of moving parts and are a bit delicate when painted up without care. I have broken a couple of the armor flaps after handling this kit for a year, but it is still one of my favorite models, and the kit really is solid, even if there is a large amount of stuff on the kit that got painted and will never be seen again on the interior and structural skeleton.
The regular pink and off-white Brutishdog has always seemed a bit boring to me, so I wanted to spice up the design with this kit. I added a two-tone pink disruptive scheme to add some interest, along with a large number of decals and some really controlled weathering to depict Fyana in her element, blowing up machines and roller-dashing rings around her enemies. If I ever get around to detailing up my Yamato 1/12 Brutishdog, I will finish it the exact same way.
Pics of my shelves seem to have become pretty popular, so here’s an update including much better pics of my vinyl shelves, and the bottom shelf totally redone with my TF big-guns in anticipation of some new stuff coming! Right now I’m loving the Max Toy Co and glow display on my nightstand.
My current shelf setup… a combination of real robots in scale and the vintage super robots I’ve been accumulating lately, along with some vinyls and vintage Transformers.
Armored Trooper VOTOMS is just about my favorite ‘real robot’ anime ever. The plot has both down to earth grittiness and real world action, and an interesting blend of space opera elements. The main robot in the series is the mass produced ATM-09-ST Scopedog. The Scopedog is the epitome of the walking tank mecha ethos, and is used in some fashion by almost every armed force in the VOTOMS universe. The Scopedog in its basic form is a line-standard machine, and has the capacity to be upgraded with many different mission packs and specific equipment including a parachute, a space maneuverability pack, and extra weapons (LOTS of weapons).
The Scopedog Turbo Custom ATM-09-STTC is the main machine used in the movie The Last Red Shoulder. Without spoiling anything from this fantastic series, the Red Shoulders are an infamous special forces unit what a record of brutality and mercilessness. Main character Chirico Cuvie and his military companions have a score to settle with the Red Shoulders, and use the custom modified Turbo Custom units in their fight. The Turbo Custom is named for its extra maneuverability and upgraded booster package for ground combat. Most AT units in VOTOMS have some form of wheeled propulsion built into their feet, enabeling them to basically skate around in combat, and with its upgrades the Turbo Custom does it better. Each pilot in LRS also equips his machine with extra weapons, including shoulder mounted missile launchers and waste mounted armaments.
Max Factory makes a series of approximately 1/35 PVC highly articulated action figures for VOTOMS. These figures are typically overpriced and not the most durable figures in the world, and the sculpt is far from perfect (the head is faaar too big). I got the Turbo Custom on deep discount and decided to enhance the paint job on it, as in general the figure is still alot of fun. Minor details were painted in, included some hand painted markings, and then I went on to weathering, including chipping and dirt using acrylic paints. I did not go nuts on the figure as I still wanted it to be mostly play with-able after customizing it. Even tho the MF figures are made of PVC and sometimes need a little tweaking out of the box to tighten joints, I still recommend them above the CMS Corps figures, which are made of cheap plastic and nowhere near as durable.
Prometheus Rising Studios 