I honestly cannot say that I'm the go to guy when it comes to Maschinen Krieger (I even had to google some gibberish that resembles these words to make sure I get the spelling right). I will say though, that I have been an admirer of these conceptual machines and inventions that are the brainchild of Japanese artist and sculptor, Mr Kow Yokoyama. There's something about the design that intrigues me... If I must describe the attraction in words, I would say it is how these out-of-this-world machines get put together with old mechanisms, that brings to mind some of those older weaponry used in the World Wars, that has captured my attention. I really do like how the artist reimagined tanks and planes into mobile suits and fantastic machines that are primitive yet high-tech at the same time, such as the Kröte.
So far, to like Ma.K stuff almost essentially means that you have to be good at model kits. While I have tried my hand at a good handful of Gundam models, I do believe Ma.K stuff are in quite a league of their own and have never attempted building any of them. So 3A's undertaking of this assignment, to assemble and paint an iconic Ma.K design, came as great news to fans like me. 2 versions were released: the Original and the Bambaland Exclusive reviewed here (and later dubbed the "Snow Krote"). I thought it was quite an easy choice for me, since I've always loved the winter defense colourways that 3A had been putting out... but for die-hard Ma.K fans, I'm sure the shark mouth decal is quite irresistible.
Prior to the actual delivery of the product, there was an update via the sporadic 3A newsletter, VOX, for the box arts. I was pretty bummed that Ashley Wood didn't bother to paint a box art for the Bambaland Exclusive... and as a result, some CAD drawings showing the axonometric views and elevations of Kröte was used.
The product came with a simple black and white instruction sheet, and some very minor assembly was required (for the antenna and a huge metal eyelet of sorts). Straight out of the box is the figure encased in a two piece styrofoam inserts joined right in the middle of the fig. I think at the time of writing this review, the news that a majority of the product is actually mold infested must already have spread far and wide. Much to my disappointment, I too received Kröte that has living mold eating off its paint, all over it. At first I wasn't sure what it was, and thought it was just dust. Of course, it was weird, since these "dust" were localised on some spots here and there all over the figure. 3A offered each purchaser the option to refund or replace the figure, which I appreciate, though I felt that the company should've been more honest and forthcoming about informing all purchasers about the potential mold problem. A vague blog post was published, without stating the problem in specificity. Mold can be a serious problem to different individuals, especially those with respiratory diseases... the least a company can do is really to respect how each individual will react towards mold, and just be truthful about it.
I didn't select any of the option (refund or replacement). Personally I have sent things to the Hatchery for repair before... and my experience is that they might not come back to you in the state that you expect it to be, ie. the "repaired" product can return in a worse state. Rather than to go through the hassle of sending the parcel back, and playing the waiting game again, I thought I will just dust the mold away thoroughly with a dry brush, and observe the situation. Couple of weeks after the 1st clean-up, a small spot of mold reappeared. I brushed that away as well, and then observed further. It has been a couple of months now since I received this parcel, and I'm quite happy to say that the mold seems to have been purged completely. Alright, I think I shall make it a point to stop saying the M-word again in this review, cause it really taints the appreciation that this masterpiece deserves.
Kröte is amazing. The scale is really quite ideal for all the details to be put on to it, and add to it the marvel of 3A's paint application technique, a masterpiece is born. I really love it so much, I can't bear to send it back to the hatchery for repairs. I think the orange highlights and red letterings does a great job with adding some interest to the otherwise monotonous snow camou effects and weathering. Kröte means frog / toad in German I believe, a name rather apt for this bipedal machine that looks like it is built to hop over obstacles with those spring loaded legs it is equipped with.
There's alot of details going on all over its body, most notably in its legs and the rear side of its lower body, which consists of a motor, almost like those you see on motorcycles, only inverted. The lower body is also where all the articulation is: ball jointed hips and a couple of hinges on the knees, ankles and feet. Mine came with a jammed piston on its left thigh which limited the movement of the knees, but I heated it up and exerted some force carefully to get it released. After that, every joint works well and as tight as it needs to be.
Waist up, after the waist cut that allows 360° rotation, any references to the anatomy of a frog ceases as the machine takes on the form of a tank, with a 4-barrel machine gun turret and a single headlight. Though the upper body doesn't have any articulation, 3A packed some electronics into the design of the figure; the light turns on (orange, sorry not photographed, was lazy to get the batteries out again) and the barrels rotate (slowly but surely with some cranking noise, which to me is a good thing). Not only does the barrel turn, 3A fitted the barrel tip with lights too to simulate the firing of the machine gun. The light in 1 barrel "sparks" each time the barrel moves past the top of the rotation. Pretty cool if you ask me. Try youtubing "3A Kröte" or something and you should be able to find some nice vids of the machine in action. I like how the controls and battery compartment is well concealed behind a weather hatch that looks as though it is hinged (refer to pic above).
The couple of shots above attempts to pose the figure in more dynamic ways, well... as much as the leg articulation has to offer. Below are some size comparison shots to give you an idea of how large the figure it (advertised and verified as 11.8" at its tallest configuration).
Ok, I promised not to bring up the M-word again, but seriously, I have to say it really is a bummer that casts a faint shadow over the figure, which is pretty well designed (thanks Mr Yokoyama), engineered and executed (good job 3A)... The fact that mmmm moh-infestation hasn't really been heard of in the toy industry suggests that this is a freak accident that was a result of 3A's mishandling of their own precious labour of love. Look past it and you will see a great product that is, another M-word, a great Masterpiece.
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