3AGO General Discussion

I haven't picked up any of the 3AGO figs (didn't want to start a whole other line collecting) but I love the packaging design. If anything I would want just the boxes that houses the figs.

Just got my Hideo and Kenshiro. Still waiting for the others. They're awesome to handle. No worrying about feet falling off like the 1/12 versions. You call them kids, but lift up their shirts and you'll see their sixpack. Boo-yah!

Cross-posting from the GO WWR thread for any that may not see it there - Got my Nom today and bashed out a review - Great figure!

Collectathingy.com Review: 3A 3AGO 8" Nom de Plume

...five de Plumes plus Night and Day showed up without notice...now that's one delightful surprise.
...love everything about 3AGO...packaging...scale...figure detail.
...given my lack of creativity in posing figures the lack of articulation is lost on me.
...I've so run out of display space with 6th and 12th he typed smiling..time to thin the herd.

how are they arriving? with reg mail? gotta sign?

cool review IronChap

Yep, looks like regular mail as they don't have the Registered or Express designation.   More like Delivery Confirmation which is good 'cause it saves on shipping and the hassle of signing.  Damn, just got my stack of 3AGO!

Nice review IronChap. Kenshiro and Jung arrived in Seattle.

3AGO has arrived in Norway... yeah!

...Can anyone tell me which specific Kaiser stand is best for 3AGO figures?...it looks like the "2001"...does anyone know for sure or have an alternative?

Cheers for the kind words all!

Great review Ironchap! Bummed I skipped these guys.

Just got my Noir today, on the East coast.

Gotta say, I'm not impressed.  He'd be great, but the lack of arm and leg swivels makes him really stiff.  Can barely do anything with him dynamic.  

Shame as via the description I'd assumed he'd be a good desk mess around de plume.  But his rather limited posabilty negates that possibility. If he had simple swivels I'd change my rating from a 5/10 to an 8/10  because he feels really solid, and is well crafted aside from that! Hell, actually even just the bicep swivel would be a plus, the legs work well enough as is now that they move.

The clothes are way better than they ever have been, the new beefy body suits them well, and the tighter but flexible fit really does wonders for the figure!  The flexible hose is awesome too, while the hands are firm but you can get anything in there easily without danger of anything falling off or out. Can't say I dig the elongated hose snout or narrowed face really, looks way better on the og plue heads, or even the ap, but not enough to take away much.

Hoping the commanders fix that problem, shame the entire first wave is plagues with this problem and I don't see a feasible way to fix it with this wave without hemorrhaging money.

3AGO is a love it or hate it thing... first off, you must understand the idea / intention behind 3AGO.

First, it is meant as a homage to the vintage MEGO figures, which had the exact same body type and articulation. Much like Gentle Giant releasing vintage Kenner Star Wars figures at 1/6 scale. It's a nostalgia thing, and adding articulation that was never there in the 70's defeats the purpose.

Second, 3AGO is meant as a "Best of 3A". A way to offer 3A's greatest hits at affordable prices, because most of us can't pay the prices that OG's command nowadays. So we get to have Nom, Blanc, DIY, the OG TKs, which many of us never thought we'd own.

Third, 3AGO is meant to be a TOY, not a collectible. Or, rather, a toy-collectible hybrid. Hence the slogan "WE LIKE TO PLAY" during the sale. They are sturdy and you can handle them somewhat roughly and they won't fall apart like 1/12 do. This is possible because of the stocky body and limited articulation. The more articulation, the weaker the figure, the less playability.

About the different proportions and shapes of the heads and faces: This, too, is in line with the more toy-like and cartoony aesthetic of a vintage toy. Having uber-realistic head sculpts would also defeat the purpose of a figure that's meant to be a nostalgic nod to a time when realistic sculpts were not the norm.

With 3AGO you get a figure you can actually play with and not worry you'll break a valuable high end collectible or a fickle 1/12 stick figure, but you still get trademark 3A clothing, paint and weathering.

3AGO: love it or hate it. I for one love it, but i understand why some would not.

Now bring on Wave 2 !!!!

neca did the same, throwback to old style mego line and even they had the sense to add swivels to upper bicep and upper thighs.

Though I would agree extra articulation would have added more fun/playability to this line, it'll probably add more cost as well which I'm sure some folks would be ready to complain about.

Thanks, pezbanana for that great summary.  I agree if folks don't understand the Mego line,  they won't appreciate this 3AGO homage.

I don't think some extra articulation would've taken the MEGO feel from it much, especially if it was ONLY a total of four swivels that don't change the original styled body much.  

By having be a BEST OF line, you're trying to get new and old people to jump on 3A, this goes hand in hand with their innate durability, as if the 1/6th weren't durable enough!  Though the value is very appealing.

What does NOT sync with this idea is limiting it strictly to an old style of body. Because now this is only appealing to old MEGO collectors, most of which were in favor of the updated style before NECA introduced it.  A style which takes all the positives of the original body, and improves upon it without losing the original spirit.

The nostalgia factor would still be there, for the most part, it's just a small tweak that would've made the figure that much better.  I don't feel it's fair to compare it to the vintage starwars styled stuff, as that's a lot more specific and limited.

I also disagree with the stylization of the sculpt.  There is no point to make it look more cartoony, and I do not get the same feel from the other releases.  I personally don't like that on the NOMs, but it's not a huge negative either.

Yeah but NECA isn't Ash, and Ash is perhaps the most stubborn guy in toy biz nowadays.

Sure, he says he listens to fan's feedback, and i'm sure he does... but ultimately he does what he wants. And 3AGO is very much an Ash thing, just like Pascha.

I'm not that purist, i would like bicep / thigh swivel. Especially since they'd be hidden under clothes. And again, i think i recall Ash mentioning work on a v2 3AGO body.

neca sells mass produced figures at toys r us. if they are ahead of threeA in terms of realizing that regardless of the nostalgia nod they need to have swivels to appeal to modern collectors then... mass produced rus figs or not they are obviously more in tune with what their customers want and i salute them on that.

it just starts to feel like a cash grab instead of toys made by peeps that love toys as it used to when considering leaving out swivel joints on these by threeA. more than a lil obvious to anyone that poses toys for more than sales pics those joints would make them alot more fun inhand.

Or perhaps 3A is just testing the waters. Seeing if folks will buy into 3AGO. See if it's worth investing more time and effort into more work intensive figures. Idk, just another perspective.

Hasn't Ash already said they are looking in to a new body for 3AGO?

Idk, it's hard to keep track of all the info we're given unless we organize it somehow.

3AGO started off to simply pay homage to old school style of Mego guys which is why you have the limited articulation. Originally Ash had said he didn't want to do TK's and wanted original characters and had done TK's as protos as they flushed things out. People wanted them after toyfair and so we got them.

They did mention going forward with a new body with more articulation and as we saw with the membership they will be doing bots as well which don't fit the old school mego mold so to speak. I think 3AGO turned from mego style into simply a new scale for 3A to explore...bigger and maybe easier to make then 1/12 and obviously they can go back over their entire catalog if they choose to.

Mileage will vary, and different folks will have different expectations. For the price I paid to get him to my door I'm stoked with my Nom. Even with the lacking articulation I still had a good time taking photos - I don't think it's a deal breaker on Noms, but I think it would make the TKs a bit dull as they need to be much more dynamic.

But I absolutely agree that swivels would kick these up to 11/10 releases. If they are indeed retooling the body then future 3AGOs, slightly increased price or no, will be even better.

Gimbat, the cover of 3AGO's box can not neatly closed, could u pass it to Brent?

IronChap wrote:Mileage will vary, and different folks will have different expectations. For the price I paid to get him to my door I'm stoked with my Nom. Even with the lacking articulation I still had a good time taking photos - I don't think it's a deal breaker on Noms, but I think it would make the TKs a bit dull as they need to be much more dynamic.

But I absolutely agree that swivels would kick these up to 11/10 releases. If they are indeed retooling the body then future 3AGOs, slightly increased price or no, will be even better.

I kinda don't mind the lack of thigh swivels, forces more dynamic legs, but sucks you can't get indian style out of it.

Arm swivels at the very least. Other than that, I like him.