Takara’s latest Microman designer interview promotes the Titans-inspired MagneForce series. The Magnemo-powered assortment comprises of Microman figures Achilles, Theseus and Icarus along with their Acroyear counterparts Atlas, Phobos and Metis. The figures, expected to be released at the end of the month, are 98 per cent done and all that’s left is to fine-tune the […]
By Gobi
– April 6, 2005
Released in 2005, the MagneForce Microman figures were some of the finest action figures Takara ever produced. Good looks, superb articulation, Magnemo interchangeability, excellent price … what more could an action figure aficionado ask for? Seen above is Achilles, the heroic leader of the MagneForce, clad in his Helios armour. This particular specimen hasn’t aged […]
By Gobi
– September 26, 2007
A photo of Takara’s Microman Magneforce Phobos astride his dragon mount. Microbry was asking for suggestions for Microman-compatible toys and accessories over at his site. I looked around the room and spotted the Mega Bloks Dragon Smoke guarding a cabinet. Perfect. But wait, a dragon knight would need a suitable weapon for jousts. Microman Microknight […]
By Gobi
– February 2, 2007
A photo of Takara’s Microman Magneforce Phobos, armed and dangerous thanks to parts filched from Microman LED Powers Shining Solomon and Robotech Robolinks (a.k.a. Takara Blockman). That’s three Takara lines spanning two decades.
By Gobi
– January 25, 2007
A photo of Takara’s Microman Magneforce Phobos.
By Gobi
– January 21, 2007
I had been eyeing the figures from Mega Bloks Mag-Warriors line ever since I read about them on one of the Microman sites. I’m a big fan of Takara’s Magnemo system so the Mag-Warriors line looked intriguing. The line finally showed up in local stores recently and I grabbed Hawkblade (set 9013) and Battle Scorch […]
By Gobi
– July 12, 2006
A digi-doodle of Achilles from Takara’s Microman Magneforce line.
By Gobi
– February 13, 2006
Takara Pepsi Convoy press release. PDF file, 284KB. “Transformers are sold in more than 130 countries. Over 1000 varieties and more than 300 million units of Transformers have been sold to date … With fans now spanning two generations, Transformers is no longer just for kids. In fact, Takara research shows they have 80% brand […]
By Gobi
– December 21, 2005
A photo of Takara’s Microman Magneforce Phobos.
By Gobi
– October 10, 2005
Takara’s Microman Magneforce in action. It’s a pity nobody’s using these figures to create full-blown photo-comics along the lines of Yusuke‘s brilliant mini–comics. I’d rather see Takara do online Microman tie-ins in this manner than through manga.
By Gobi
– October 4, 2005
A photo of Takara’s MagneForce Phobos figure. The more I handle the Magneforce figures, the more it’s reaffirmed in my mind that this is the perfect action figure design. The smoothness of the Magnemo joints make them an absolute joy to play with and the posability is further enhanced by a generous amount of traditional […]
By Gobi
– August 13, 2005
Microman Shishioh Guy & Chirico Cuvie. And Swan White and Utsuki Mikoto, too. MicroBry’s MagneForce fanmodes. Cool use of the vintage Titans and MagneCondor. Wiz’s monstrous Mugenbine fanmode. The thing must be two feet tall. Yusuke’s Blade King Form pictorial. The armour is all die-cast with the exception of the shoulder armour and helmet. Impulse-D […]
By Gobi
– June 15, 2005
Another Microman Magneforce review. [via] Mega Bloks Mag-Warriors. The 4.5-inch tall figures have magnemo-inspired joints and retail for US$6.99. Articulated, ornate and cheap. A moleskine’s journey. Disclaimer: “This website is a personal project and not connected with, nor supported, funded or endorsed by the Moleskine Company, its distributors, employees and suppliers in any way.” Just […]
By Gobi
– June 3, 2005
Click on the thumbnail for a photo of a Magnemo fan mode made of Magneforce Achilles and parts from AcroMonster Vampiser.
By Gobi
– June 2, 2005
kyoshirom reviews Magneforce Metis. The figure has a nice head sculpt and the swords look good. Tsuneki Shinobu’s home page. The designer has worked on Amdriver and Microman among other series. Lumines song samples. Who knew a 15-second song snippet could be so addictive? Try to resist “Tin Toy.” Go on, I dare you. NES: […]
By Gobi
– June 2, 2005
Click on the thumbnail for another photo of Takara’s Magneforce Achilles.
By Gobi
– May 28, 2005
Click on the thumbnail for another shot of MGM-01 MagneMicroman Achilles. The Magneforce figures have been getting rave reviews from action figure fans but they’re not without minor problems. The weakest aspect of Achilles is not, as you might expect, his heel but his weapons. The handheld weapons double as wings but they’re unsatisfactory in […]
By Gobi
– May 24, 2005
Guess who received the first of his Magneforce figures? Achilles is seen here sporting a flight pack comprised of parts filched from the Giant Acroyear set.
By Gobi
– May 21, 2005
Microforever reviews Magneforce Achilles. A positive review with nice pix and historical context. kyoshirom’s Magneforce fan-modes. Check out his other Microman entries. Least-appealing Gundam design. Sometimes I wish Takara hadn’t made flesh-coloured Material Force figures. A Mugenbuilder-based fan-mode by Asimo. Cute li’l droid.
By Gobi
– May 7, 2005
Something old, something new. Magneforce meets vintage Titan. Meanwhile, Geza has a review of Phobos. SIC Kamen Rider Faiz in action. [via] Simply brilliant. On marketing the Gundam franchise. “… Gundam is becoming a 2-generation character business like Masked Rider and Ultraman as we have hoped. We are beginning to see fathers and sons going […]
By Gobi
– May 5, 2005
A magnemo Microman take on Gundam GP03? The Dendrobium equivalent comprises of a MagnePowers Robotman cannon, Hurricane Bird’s missile pods and claws and Robotman Dean’s torso while MagneForce Achilles is the Gundam Stamen equivalent. Magneforce centaur by HMGort. Check out his reviews of Achilles, Phobos and Atlas. A portable hard disk for the PSP. [via] […]
By Gobi
– May 3, 2005
Goe reviews the Microman Magneforce Acroyears. Izumi Kawanishi, a PSP lead developer, interviewed. [via] It’s apparently from last year and it’s not particularly insightful. Manufacturers learn from users’ creativity. [via] “… user-centered innovation may transform not only companies’ product development processes but also business models, turning them into the providers of innovation toolkits to users […]
By Gobi
– May 2, 2005
A review of Hybrid Style Galaxy Convoy. Momodani’s main complaint is the poorly-designed detent joints of the cannons prevent them from pointing straight forward in flight mode. He’s got a suggested fix but it involves taking apart said joints and performing minor surgery. Microman Magneforce are out. [via] The pictures linked above clearly show the […]
By Gobi
– April 28, 2005
The Death of AcroPhantom. Another Microman bites the dust. Superarticulation is nice but figures need to be durable as well. While it must be pointed out these snap, crack and pop problems aren’t common, this is scant consolation when it happens to one of your figures. Thai-Toku’s Hyper Hobby 3/05 scans. The Microman MagneForce design […]
By Gobi
– March 29, 2005
Microman Magneforce. Interchangeability options include 3mm peg/ports and Magnemo parts. Micronauts Evolution. [via] These aren’t especially Micro-like but they look like fine action figures. Trigun creator Yasuhiro Nightow’s blog. [via] He’s a fan of Microman among other action figures. Kamen Rider Hibiki background translated. UK tops BitTorrent TV list. Just your daily dose of BBS-sourced […]
By Gobi
– February 20, 2005
