News
Bandai Collaborates with Transforming Escaflowne Modeler Halfeye
posted on by Egan Loo
The toy manufacturer Bandai revealed at its Tamashii Nation event on Thursday that it is collaborating with Studio Halfeye, the independent model outfit known for its intricate garage kits that can transform with little or no parts-swapping. Halfeye's Hajime Takashima confirmed the collaboration on Friday. In particular, Bandai displayed "Chōgōkin x Studio Halfeye Escaflowne" reference mockup models in two different transformation modes, Dragon and Guymelef (robotic mecha). Escaflowne is the titular fantasy armor unit from the 1996 Sunrise television anime series The Vision of Escaflowne.
Takashima designed and produced a 1/36-scale transformable Escaflowne garage kit out of resin-cast parts in 1996. The 22-centimeter (about 8.7-inch) model served as the reference for a transformable toy (pictured at right) from another manufacturer, Yamato, in 2003.
The Tamashii Nation event continues at Tokyo's Akihabara UDX building until Sunday.
[Via GA Graphic, Hobby Stock's Shimazou Report]
this article has been modified since it was originally posted; see change history