A Tachikoma a Day: Day 10 (victory!)

Sweet, sweet serendipity!

Yesterday, I didn't hold out much that my last box would get me my last Tachikoma. Really, at best, it was a 1-in-6+ chance.

In fact, a buddy who's following this middlingly interesting day-for-day journey, posted:

You don't think they'd really put the whole set in one box do you? I bet their distribution machine sorter has a subroutine just to avoid that kind of situation.

Well, in fact, I did get the last Tachikoma -- a first-version blue -- and the final BAF piece for the ARM SUIT build-a-figure.

Makes me wonder if the opposite is true -- maybe Organic Hobby is all about making sure there's one complete set per case.

Or maybe it's all random, and I just got lucky.

Same difference, though.

This little gal is really close to the S.A.C.: 2nd GIG standard version I acquired a couple of days ago. The main differences are the interior markings on the abdomen, the arms (both of which match their equivalents on the Tachi-Blue, even though the abdomens themselves are different), the cannon (which is shorter and thicker than those on both the 2nd GIG standard and the Uchikoma), and it has wheels instead of toed feet (which I prefer, from a poseability perspective, since the toes aren't articulated in these small sculpts).

Blue Tachikoma, 1st version edition.

I'll probably do a follow-up post or two with the whole Tachikomans Gang, and/or the assembled ARM SUIT (now that I have all of the BAF pieces).

A Tachikoma a Day: Day 9

Repeatsville.

Got another Uchikoma -- the slick little green one that pleasantly surprised me on Day 7. I'm happy about that, though -- it's a nice sculpt.

One more box, one more day, one more desired Tachikoma. Not looking good ...

A Tachikoma a Day: Day 8

Today's Tachikoma confused me a bit.

It's not a repeat, which is good. Turns out it's the standard S.A.C. 2nd GIG version of the variant I already scored.

So it looks to be exactly the same as that little sweetie, with the exception of having a standard-issue cannon, rather than the gatling gun the variant has.

What confused me was she came with a different BAF piece for the ARM SUIT --what looks like the torso piece. I'm surprised the standard and variant versions have different build-a-figure components.

Blue Tachikoma, blue 2nd GIG standard version.

So now I have two boxes left to get me the 1st version Tachikoma. Fifty-fifty.

A Tachikoma a Day: Day 7

Suh-weet.

Today, my losing streak was broken when I unboxed a green Uchikoma, from the Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. Solid State Society OVA series. This beasty is interesting, a cross between the Tachikomas that are, erm, gone after the Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG TV series.

To be honest, it looks to be a cross between the, erm, missing Tachikomas of the previous series, and the rights-disputed Fuchikomas from the Ghost in the Shell manga that couldn't be used in the animated treatment (WTF? It's all Masamune Shirow, isn't it?).

To be honest, this was the toy I was least interested in getting, and boy, was I wrong.

This is a really nice sculpt, with a differentiated head and abdomen (the latter arguably looks a bit like the Fuchikomas). Really, only the legs and arms (and maybe cannon), look like the 2nd GIG Tachikomans.

Green Uchikoma.

It comes with the stabilizing wheels for the ARM SUIT build-a-figure, so I'm getting closer to finishing that, too.

Three more boxes to go. One more blue, and the non-variant 2nd GIG version to find.

A Tachikoma a Day: Day 6

Yeah, my streak is definitely over. Today saw another Tachi-Silver, so I now have 4 boxes to the get the two Tachikomans I still need -- an Uchikoman and an original blue Tachikoma (Not the 2nd GIG variant or a Tachi-Blue).

In theory, a 50-50 chance to get the two I still want, or a 4:3 chance to get those two, and the standard 2nd GIG version.

Either way, you only have to deal with this for four more days. Ish.

A Tachikoma a Day: Day 5

My unique run ended today, with blind box number 5 being a repeat of Day 3's Tachi-Blue.

Ah, well, was bound to happen sometime ...

A Tachikoma a Day: Day 4

Today, getting ready to open blind box #4, my daughters said, "We want the yellow one today."

I took pains to explain -- especially to the two-year-old -- that wanting a yellow one doesn't give us a yellow one.

So I opened the box, and it's the yellow one. Now, she owes me lottery numbers.

The Tachi-Yellow is a more than just a repaint of the 2nd GIG version or the Version 1 Tachikoma (which I haven't scored yet). From a story perspective, the yellow signifies a construction vehicle, and this Tachikoma is one of the three military walkers that was not decommissioned for deconstruction and experimentation (the others being the 2nd GIG version and the silver version). These three eventually leave their civilian posts to do something pretty heroic in the TV series. No spoilers.

So, four days, four boxes, four different Tachikomas (Tachikomans?), trying for six, out of a pool of ten. Not sure what the odds, are, but I suspect they decrease logarithmically from 1:1 (when I hadn't  picked up any yet), to less than 1:6. (And the pool of 10 is actually a non-issue.)

Yellow Tachikoma, "Tachi-Yellow (tachikomans)" variation.

A Tachikoma a Day: Day 3

Today, I scored a Tachi-Blue. This cutey is different than the 2nd GIG version, sporting a cannon, signifying colors and characters, a slightly more svelte derriere (lacking the spinner nodules), and other, more subtle, differences.

She gets along with the other two, though.

This also came with the first "big" BAF piece for the ARM SUIT -- what looks like the back half of the torso. I say "big", 'cause it's not (though it's in-scale). I'm thinking this may end up being a sweet, rather than intimidating, suit o' armor.

Blue Tachikoma, "Tachi-Blue (tachikomans)" variation.

A Tachikoma a Day: Day 2

Today's blind box offering is a Tachi-Silver. She's cute, a bit sleeker, and comes with the two BAF legs of the ARM suit.

She also came with a thin red plastic piece (the thing in the baggie), whose purpose I can't figure out.

I wonder if people fit in that reduced abdomen. It's way smaller than the blue versions.

Two days, two different Tachis. So far, so good.

Silver Tachikoma, "Tachi-Silver (tachikomans)" variation.

A Tachikoma a Day: Day 1

Today, my first blind box revealed a blue Tachikoma -- the 2nd GIG version.

So, feet instead of wheels. More detailed cockpit. Gatling gun.

She's also super detailed, has decent heft for a tiny toy, movable legs (which, oddly, I had to assemble), a hand-canon, and the itty bitty, chicken-like BAF head of the ARM SUIT.

Not bad for Day No. 1...

Updated: Turns out since this particular model has a gatling gun, it's supposedly a "secret chase variant". Who knew?

Blue Tachikoma, blue 2nd GIG variant version.

(I may need to break out my lightbox to start getting better pictures of these.)

A Tachikoma a Day: Preview

I picked up a case of ten blind boxes of Tachikomas from BigBadToyStore, Inc. over the holidays, and was going to open all of them at once.

Not anymore.

For no good reason whatsoever, I've decided to open a Tachikoma a day, and post it here, to draw the whole process out. And because I can.

In case you're not familiar, Tachikomas are the the cutesy walker / tank vehicles in the Ghost in the Shell anime franchise (manga, films, TV, and video games).

Just under a year ago, I watched the second film , both television series, and the movie based on the TV series (all from Production I.G.). Far and away my favorite sub-plot involved the Tachikomas, their personality, and how they're used as a foil to explore loyalty, evolution, the soul, and sacrifice. So when I was able to get a deal on a case of these, I jumped.

If you hate spoilers, don't look up these little girls. There's a twist about them in the series that's pretty nifty. At least I think it's nifty.

Ten boxes. Ten days. Ten chances to get all six available mecha -- and all of the build-a-figure pieces to build The Ground Self-Defense Force ARM SUIT. Mheh.

Starting tomorrow. Ish.