9 replies to this topic

[Tortle]

My luck with Romandos hasn't been particularly good. I bought Kendaman recently, and I hocked him off virtually as soon as I opened the package. Kendaman was one of those figures that looks great when you buy it, but after a few days of playing with it, you wonder, "Agh... why did I buy this?" With virtually no articulation, a somewhat boring sculpt, and super-flimsy plastic, Kendaman was $37 down the drain.

But despite this experience (and a lack of money), I thought I'd dip into the Romando pool JUST ONE MORE TIME for Mammothman. Mammothman was always one of my favorite MUSCLEs, and I'm also a big "prehistoric animals" nerd, so this figure was a must-buy for me. Fortunately, many of the issues I had with Kendaman were not present with Mammothman, despite the fact that they were both rotocast. Check out the picture below from the Takun Toys Romando page...

Mammothman Front

Now, on with the review!

Looks: 4.5 out of 5
A nice sculpt, interesting materials, and a great paint job all come together to make Mammothman look awesome! Although the joints look a little funky, the sculpt is very nice overall, with good proportions and nifty fur detailing on the feet. The hand sculpts (which are frequently crappy with Romandos) are also very well done. And if you lift the trunk, you can even see the human mouth under the mammoth mask!

The paint job is on par with most Romandos with nice gradations in the tusks and good muscle detailing. Mammothman also sports a furry coat with metal chains, giving the figure a great realistic look and feel.

Articulation: 4 out of 5
Unlike some rotocast figures like Kendaman, this guy has oodles of articulation! Mammothman has 16 points of articulation: neck (swivel), shoulders (swivel), forearms (swivel), elbows (hinge), wrists (swivel), hips (swivel), waist (swivel), knees (hinge), and ankles (swivel). This gives Mammothman a wide range of movement, although standing him can be somewhat problematic.

And, as a nice extra, his trunk is bendy! Neat!

Value: 3 out of 5
As you well know, Romandos can be quite pricey. I bought this Mammothman for roughly $50 (including shipping). Although that's a crapload of money for a rotocast toy, Mammothman is pretty large (roughly 10 inches tall, I estimate) and has nice extras like the soft goods jacket and metal chains.

Coolness: 4.5 out of 5
This is definitely a cool and distinctive toy. Not only does it looks great on display, but its articulation and soft goods make it a nice toy. Couple that with the inherent coolness of mammoths, and we're left with a great Romando!

Overall: 4 out of 5
Mammothman has restored my faith in Romandos. Although it's lightweight and somewhat flimsy, the articulation, size, and coolness make this guy a keeper.

-Nathan

Edited by Tortle, 27 October 2003 - 08:40 AM.

[Rokk]

Nice review, Nathan. Mammothman is one of my favorite Romandos. He looks impressive on display and pretty much overpowers all of the other Romando figures that I have displayed close to him. No doubt, this guy is one of the cooler Romandos. He is huge, has tons of articulation and excellent detail. This guy pretty much embodies all the positives that you can get in a Romando figure.

Edited by Rokk, 27 October 2003 - 12:55 PM.

[Ridureyu]

VERY nice! Your review reminds me a little of the Akumashogun figure, except that Shogun is a solid 1.5 lbs figure.

So far, the best Romandohs that I've seen (I own) are Akumashogun, Sunshine, and Brocken Jr.

[Ridureyu]

Question: What material is his trunk made of?

[Tortle]

The trunk is hollow, and made of a thin, flexible rubber with a metal rod in the center for posing. It's pretty effective, and the color and texture of the soft rubber matches the hard plastic of the rest of the head pretty well.

-Nathan

[Ridureyu]

How durable is it?

And what the heck is your avatar?

[Tortle]

The plastic is relatively durable. It's not as flimsy as the LOTR Cave Troll facial rubber, so I'm not really concerned that it will tear during posing. However, I'm not too certain that a kid wouldn't damage it during prolonged play.

The creature in my avatar is a Venusian from a reprint of an old 1950s sci-fi horror comic (Weird Science, I think). I love his cheesy classic alien look!

-Nathan

[Ridureyu]

Ahhhh... I gotcha there.

The one thing about bendable toys is that some can't stand the strain.

[Drtooth]

I agree... Bendies are pretty flimsy, and the wires just love to burst out of them. I have a few and I'm VERRRRRY careful with them.

I'm worried about the Bendy tail on the Palisades Pink Panther figure... It hasn't even been set in stone yet, but I feel that portion kinda stinks.

[Ridureyu]

Some bendies are really durable, though- like the tail on the Final Fantasy X Seymour Evolution Mortibody figure (the crab guy). That one doesn't go bad easily, BUT the wire is too short for the tail.