Yeah, that's basically the problem with it - I don't like Dragoon ARs much at all. The excess of white, boring spikes, and general dislike of the bitbeast itself(and its representation on the AR), just kind of ruins most of them for me. V2 is the only one I actually somewhat enjoy looking at.

Survivor Ring does seem pretty nice, I just wish the only one I had warn't yellow, lol.

The whole "lending parts out" thing, most especially in your case, still seems a bit like fixing the matchups - probably better for your opponents than letting them build their own combos, I suppose, but still - no one is more familiar with their own parts than you, lol.

Wing Upper looks WAY too big to be a Compact AR at all, to me... it is really nice looking, though, which is probably why I won't ever use mine, haha. That, and I have so many Tiger Defensers, it would not make any sense at all...

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Some manner of Octopus.

I loved the excessive aggression it showed as a kid: if the four spiked dragoon AR (Dragoon F) had nine stars, imagine what an eight-spiked one would have!! Loved it, hunted for it for ages and only obtained one recently. I can't believe, given how long I hunted for it, how common they are, haha.

Yeah, I have Dark Driger because a) driger, and b) nice colour. I wonder if someone would be willing to set up a trade, on the off chance they had one spare in another color, the yellow one should be rarer IIRC as it didn't come in the random booster, but was an exclusive with something movie-related or something.

I am very aware of the potential for bias on my part, and will submit the combinations and setups to the committee before the tournament to ensure they are fair.
It may sound cheesy, but what I really want in plastics is strong competition, and the way the teams will be set up, they should be well balanced enough to provide that not only against each other, but also against me, and what I know of other competitors from the last tournament.
It would be crueler of me to make them decide their own combinations, honestly, and much, much harder to organise. I will also assign the "teams" randomly, and as usual, won't be eligible for any of my prizes. I can probably open up my leftover parts to combination building if any of the competitors insist, but it is also harder for me to keep track of my parts that way (not that I expect any trouble with theft, we have an exceptionally honest, trustworthy community in Perth).

I want to get parts for a grip based defender before the tournament to lend out, because a tournament with no one else using one would be at risk of me sweeping with attack. Need to get another galeon or driger S and one more wide defense, the latter is a pain, though. I also need a lot more dragon winders, I'm down to 3 Dragon Winders and 2 TT MFB winders, which won't be enough.

Obviously, I won't be holding back, though, in terms of what combinations I use, it would be both arrogant and an insult to everyone else were I not to use my best set of combinations. And let's be honest, I'm yet to place first in a plastics tournament, I'd like to prove my ability to do so, haha.

It's no bigger than Panther Claw, it just looks kinda large. It's no tiger defenser but it's a very underrated AR. I must get around to writing that article...

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th!nkBlargh|H-Code Product List

Really? Wing Upper does seem to be huge... It is might be Panther Claw's size, but the protrusions on Wing Upper seem to be out-of-place, IMO... It might be as small as you say, but the contact points seem to be unsuitable for compacts... Then again, you certainly know more...
On topic of Dragoons, even I hated the Eight Spiker tbh. It was not until I got the blue recolor of it that my opinion about its aesthetics changed. The reason as to why I like V2 so much is because of the AR, and also because of its sleek sideview.
If side view was supposed to be considered, then I liked most V beys. As I said earlier, I like Dranzer V2 too. Its been around three years since I saw a side view (even in a picture) of it.
Who knows, if the side view turns out to be more impressive than Dragoon's (which I hope not), then………

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Team IB Revolutions

Thanks to N0body for the avatar and Synth for the signature!

Panther Claw has moderate recoil and very little power, Wing Upper offers usable Upper Attack, much better suited to combinations it is used for (which have High RPM, which is good for upper attack), and takes hits far, far better, as well as having better survival while still having a relatively compact weight distribution. It's not as good as Tiger Defenser, but it's way better than Panther Claw. It's pretty decent in general, due to it's good weight distribution and decent ability to take hits (both of which make for good stamina).

Spike Dragon is undeniably a very good looking AR (though less so without stickers). I just like Eight Spiker a lot, it looks kind of like a buzz saw and so on.

Man, the lines of this thread and plastic parts discussion are really heavily blurred...

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th!nkBlargh|H-Code Product List

Oh so you were talking of stamina and not compacts? Then seemingly I misunderstood your post.
Well, I agree that Eight Spiker looks ferocious, but as I said, white color doesn't look nice on it.
Especially after you get the Hasbro recolor (its not as rare as the TT blue recolor, but arguably better looking). The recolor has a night sky like appearance, and because of the shine Hasbro added to it, it seriously looks like a galaxy in a pleasant night sky.

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Team IB Revolutions

Thanks to N0body for the avatar and Synth for the signature!

No, I'm still talking about compacts, but it works quite well for survival as well, it's a little larger than I'd like but IIRC it worked okay on zombies, it's been a while since I tried it though.

I still like it in white. Though, my sonokong one doesn't look as nice, the plastic is less glossy and much more sharply defined.

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th!nkBlargh|H-Code Product List

So its better for compacts even if its large?!?!
Wow, plastics are seriously weird ...
Hm, there must be a reason to like a white eight spikier, and I have no right to change your opinion about it.

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Team IB Revolutions

Thanks to N0body for the avatar and Synth for the signature!

There are much larger AR's, it's small to medium-sized, it only just passes wide defense/wide survivor, and the only parts of it that do so are the rounded edges of its wings, and a small portion of it's "claws" which take hits much better than their shape suggests. Same size as Panther Claw, and just the same is a secondary choice for compacts, and I find it works significantly better than Panther Claw does.

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th!nkBlargh|H-Code Product List

Oh, so that's how...
Does this mean that Wing Upper can be considered the Attack/Survival counterpart of Upper Dragoon, which is a Attack /Defense? I hope it is such?
The reason as to why I say Attack is because you said that it has some Upper and also takes hits very well.

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Team IB Revolutions

Thanks to N0body for the avatar and Synth for the signature!

It's a defense/survival AR, with small amounts of attack. Taking hits well means it doesn't lose much spin when hit by the opponent, thus being a defensive trait.

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th!nkBlargh|H-Code Product List

So quite similar to Upper Dragoon as far as Defensive ability and design is concerned, no?
All in all, it is an AR meant to be used for Upper Attack, but instead has better defense, and this defense provides it with decent survival.

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Team IB Revolutions

Thanks to N0body for the avatar and Synth for the signature!

It's not really similar to upper dragoon at all, it's closest to Panther Claw, I can't really relate it to upper dragoon.

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th!nkBlargh|H-Code Product List

Hm.... I just related it to Upper Dragon performance wise. :p
Size and shape wise it is certainly similar to Panther Claw. So is this a decent combination type(balance), which displays both it's types simultaneously in battle or is it a part that is capable of being a part of two different combos of two different types?
Maybe I am asking too many questions, haha!

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Team IB Revolutions

Thanks to N0body for the avatar and Synth for the signature!

It's just very well rounded, it's decent at most things, mainly defense/survival, but it's slightly more aggressive than tiger defenser and war lion.

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th!nkBlargh|H-Code Product List

One of the few upsides of getting the gold driger s I was hoping for a refund for was this absolute GEM of an advertisement for Metal Change on the box: Yes, this is supposed to make people WANT Driger S:

[Image: drigerscropps.png]

Sonokong's half-assed attitude towards plastics is always hilarious.

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Oh yeah, Bakuten Dragon Zio and Gigars should be getting here tomorrow (Japan's Mail Service, particularly the EMS to Australia, is PHENOMENAL. They run on weekends, though I've never actually had anything shipped in 3 weekdays, always ends up being over a weekend so they have 5 days effectively. Still, compared to any other country, they're just mad good.)

I'll try to do an unboxing video, and I will post an in-depth review of Zio in Plastics Parts Discussion when I get it. Also sticker scans.

So, if you have any specific questions about Zio/stuff you want to see in the vid/review, let me know via PM.

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th!nkBlargh|H-Code Product List

yoyoyo I have some awesome plastics for sale. scope the link in my sig.
just saying if any of you want the NIB Bearing Gyro Barancer or NIB Red Gaia Dragoon S I'm willing to let them go to cool dudes in this thread for quite a bit less than they're probably worth (PM me).

Also I found this random Gaia Dragon S BB in my beystuff. What should I even do with it? (It still has the metal Balls and SG)

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Check my stuff for sale.

yoyoyo I have some awesome plastics for sale. scope the link in my sig.
just saying if any of you want the NIB Bearing Gyro Barancer or NIB Red Gaia Dragoon S I'm willing to let them go to cool dudes in this thread for quite a bit less than they're probably worth (PM me).

Also I found this random Gaia Dragon S BB in my beystuff. What should I even do with it? (It still has the metal Balls and SG)

Nice. Couple things I'm after, PM has been sent.

Whoever buys that Bound Attacker better write an article on it!!! Though using it is risky soo.

Sell it or even keep it. It's a very controllable base, used to be real popular for attack but yeah, it's stamina is kinda lame because of the ball pockets scraping, if it weren't for that it'd be a nice moderate attack base.

Can't really use the BB without that SG though, unless you like metal balls in your eyes. And the SG aint compatible with anything else soo.

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th!nkBlargh|H-Code Product List

Maybe I'll just give it out for free for people who buy some of my stuff lol. I'll try it out first. I didn't even remember I owned it. I found along with it an extra BK SP. So I have 3 BK SPs. Maybe I'll give it to my cousin for use with his 1 Fin Tector. I also have a mint TT Jumping Base! with no tip : \

Ugh and one thing I'm mad about is I have an entire Dranzer V except it's missing the magnetic piece with the tips for the BB so it's like worthless.

Stupid worthless parts.

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Check my stuff for sale.

Sweet. It probably sucks anyway, though I'll try and scan the pics of some of the mods for it Takara allowed at one point in the Spin Up Guide Book, they're AMAZING.

Man, why did they even give BK those SP. There were so few SP, especially in standard releases, why did they do that :c

Dranzer V's AR aint too bad and the MG Core is shorter which makes for some real cool illegal mods (Storm Grip, That SG, and Gaia Dragoon V's tip for a really low Metal Flat attacker for example). There are crazier mods in the spin up guide book though, haha, I wish this stuff were legal :c

Weird (illegal) thing about Jumping Base, BK's tip fits on it perfectly haha.

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th!nkBlargh|H-Code Product List

My favorite Illegal thing:
SG Metal Flat 2's tip in Customize Metal Change
YES YES YES

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Check my stuff for sale.

My favorite Illegal thing:
SG Metal Flat 2's tip in Customize Metal Change
YES YES YES

YES YES YES

That thing is SO GOOD.

Actually, Driger V's tip (the metal semi-flat one) works really, really well in Customize Metal Change too. It ends up having more stamina than a metal change tip somehow, and is a real pain to beat especially without any rubber tips (rubber attack/wolborg 2 zombies are really the only safe counter).

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th!nkBlargh|H-Code Product List

I think I've owned 3 Driger V's and unloaded them all. I hate that Bey.
My cousin still has one I think so I'll try it.

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Check my stuff for sale.

Here we go, the Bakutenryuu Zeo Review.
Or is it "ZEO"? One of the two. It's not "Zio" or "Geo" though

Short Version: This is a beyblade for collectors. It looks really cool and the figurine is really nice too. In terms of performance, it's just okay.

The AR is decent for smash, but not that astounding. The Base is nice enough, flat tip with bevelled edges, like a more aggressive semi-flat. The big pipe things are a bit awkward when banking but it has surpisingly decent. It's the best hidden spirit base I've used (I've used Griffolyon's and Hasbro's Hayate's).

But yeah, don't buy this beyblade to use it, buy it to look at (and for the swanky figurine). I regret the couple of dents in my Zeo AR. The things I do for you people...

It's a Four Layer beyblade, like Griffolyon and Salamalyon. Like all hidden spirits, the base is not legal, though IMO all the 4 layer ones should be (i.e all but hayate base), this one is actually not apalling. It fits a weight disk, and comes with 10 Wide.


Okay, the long review is in this here spoiler. Any spoiler inside that contains images.

Full Zeo Review (Click to View)

Zeo and the Dragon (Click to View)

[Image: ZEODRAGON.jpg]

First off, the Dragon itself is really impressive. However, you get a 4 page instruction sheet, and only three quarters of page two is the actual assembly of the dragon.
Literally, it's:
Step 1: ASSEMBLE THE WHOLE BODY
Step 2: ASSEMBLE BOTH LEGS
Step 3: ASSEMBLE THE ARMS
Step 4: PUT THEM ALL ON
Step 5: DONE!

So yeah, I basically had to guess the entire thing. Probably would have been easier if I hadn't taken everything of the 4 frames it all comes on but even then, the instructions are way too hard to decipher.

A few of the parts are the same as those used by Hayate and co, but they did choose nicely. The "FLYING DORAGON" (yes its spelt like that) claws look kind of awkward in "ATTACK DORAGON" mode (more engrish), but yeah overall it's a very pretty figure. Definitely going on my shelf, haha :3

The Actual Beyblade (Click to View)

[Image: ZeoBey.jpg]

Okay, so enough about the figurine. The beyblade itself is quite nice in terms of aesthetics. I already explained above that it's just "okay" in terms of performance, but lets look at the parts themselves (given this is plastic parts discussion).

The theme is kind of a Vehicle-Dragon. It's got all these "exhaust pipe" details and a very "robotic" design.

There are no part names as far as I can tell. I just call them "Zeo AR" and "Zeo Base". I vote we go by the names of the first released beyblade, for these and the Hayate clones, so "Hayate AR" and "Hayate Base" (the derpy one with the weight "ring"), and "Zeo AR" and "Zeo Base"

So yeah, parts list for Bakutenryuu Zeo (Should be the same for Avairon, will get JR to check the weight disk I guess):

AR: Zeo AR
WD: 10 Wide
BB: Zeo Base

The Attack Ring (Click to View)

[Image: ZEOAR.jpg]
[Image: ZeoARunderside.jpg]

Zeo AR is quite nice to look at. The main contact point in Right Spin is its chin, though the crests and edges of the exhaust pipes provide some additional contact points. In this spin direction, it has a lot of recoil. Decent smash but there are many far superior options that are much easier to obtain

The AR is best in left spin, where the Nose, back of the "Crest", and the pipe sections provide significant smash attack, although it still has a large amount of recoil. It's definitely a useable AR in this spin direction, but it still suffers from recoil issues and there are many more powerful options, and most are much more readily available (Eight Spiker says hi).

Really sad about the nicks mine has from testing, but I guess it's for the greater good, and it's not like I'll ever sell this little gem.

The Weight Disk
It's 10 Wide. It's not Wide Defense, 10 Heavy or Wide Survivor so it's pretty much irrelevant. Still a decent addition though.

The Blade Base (With Integrated SG) (Click to View)

[Image: ZeoSG.jpg]
[Image: Zeobase.jpg]
[Image: ZeoTip.jpg]

Okay, Zio Base. It's a four layer base with integrated Right Spin SG.

As you can see, the tip is rather flat, but has bevelled edges. It acts like a more aggressive semi-flat tip, a nice movement pattern overall. Shame it's not a common tip shape, I can't think of others like it off the top of my head, it's a lot like a plastic SG Metal Flat 2 though.

The base itself has those huge "exhaust" things. They provide some smash but there are obviously recoil issues, though more smash oriented setups don't suffer that badly from this, though perhaps that's because the AR's and WD's obscure them somewhat. The low hits they provide can cause instability for opponents, which is nice, but yeah.
The main issue is scraping. If you bank too deep or the combo tips too far, they scrape and you lose a lot of spin. They don't really scrape severely in natural spin though, and the round shape towards the bottom of the base provides decent life after death.

It's not too bad a base, not as bad as it looks and it's waaaay better than griffolyon base (as is basically anything that isn't another griffolyon base), but yeah, not a competitive part. Could be used for a more moderate attacker but there are better bases for that anyway.


Overall
So yeah, that's it. Decent AR, interesting but not particularly useful base. It was obviously designed with collection in mind, though, and is great for that.

Also, the "Hidden" spirit isn't very good at hiding, it ends up being about 3 beyblades worth of height, hardly inconspicuous. I'll get pics of that tomorrow.

Quite happy with this purchase.

Once I've applied the stickers and stuff I'll take more pictures, for beywiki/the photo gallery thread. That'll probably be tomorrow as the sun is going down now. I do have some more pictures I might throw into the photo gallery thread in a little while though.


Oh, and Gigars (well, its AR): Yeah it's okay but not great. Triple Tiger does everything better.. Still, it's kind of a cool beyblade so I will probably end up keeping it.

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th!nkBlargh|H-Code Product List

Wow, that is a really nice review (and of course we couldn't expect anything bad from you! )

Not really interested in the beyblade, as I think its too white, or, is it missing some stickers?
But yeah, the beyblade didn't seem that good to me, but the figure! WOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW!!!!
It just needed those wings, which would make it look a bit more dragon-ish, and I would fondly call it Cyber Dragoon 2.0.
I have never owned any Hidden Spirit bey, so may I know how this figure actually "hides" into the beyblade?
I am certainly impressed by that figure!

The bey though, it seems really nice aesthetically if I forget that the theme is of a Dragon, and only keep in mind that it is meant to represent some form of robot with those exhausts and stuff.
This is because, I see nothing related to a Dragon in the bey... You may remind me of the Dragon face of the AR, but its snout is too pointed, and I actually recalled Dranzer when I saw it. It seriously looks like a Phoenix face, and not a Dragon face.

Thank you for the awesome review, th!nk! We were really looking forward to it! But I'd still like to know about how that figure "hides". If it may be off topic, may you please PM me the details?

Poor Gigars.... Just a line worth of description.

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Team IB Revolutions

Thanks to N0body for the avatar and Synth for the signature!

Still unstickered, those images will be along tomorrow hopefully.

Yeah, wings would be nice, the claws on the shoulders are supposed to be like that. In "FLYING DORAGON" mode it's more of an eastern dragon so no wings.

It literally goes on the base, at the bottom, like a tower. It's really, really not hidden. I was going to open my video review by calling it "The Really Poorly Hidden Spirit Bakutenryuu Zeo".

I'll go grab some images and do a little writeup for you now, actually (it's no trouble), it just won't be well lit.

The AR head, yeah I see what you mean but it's still kind of dragoon-y, remember, dragoon had a beak-kinda mouth. But yeah, it's a RaceCar AR.

I can describe how gigars works if people want but it's pretty well known. It's not a great beyblade. The rest of the GT's had awesome AR's, but gigars is just triple tiger but less good.

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th!nkBlargh|H-Code Product List