The Way We Talk

Or, What The Heck Does That Mean?!

Yes, you probably see abbreviations and words in our various articles that you don't understand. That's to be expected. Toy collectors and reviewers often will essentially have their own language, or at least dialect.

In the interests of improved understanding between we toy enthusiasts and you normal human beings, we've decided to put together this glossary, to explain some of the strange, mystical words we use actually mean. Additions to this section will probably be irregular, just whenever something comes up, and may not be noted every time a change is made. Might be a good idea to check here every so often just to see if we have put something new in.

Miyake Joint - also known as C-Clip or 3mm Clip, this refers to the clip-and-bar weapon and accessory mounting system introduced to Transformers starting with Recon Ironhide in late 2009. The name "Miyake Joint" is the internal nickname given to this system by Takara's people, named after the designer, Miyake Tomoya who worked on Recon Ironhide.

MSiA - Abbreviation for "Mobile Suits in Action". May also appear in plural or verb forms (e.g., "MSiAs", "MSiAed"). This refers to the line of Gundam action figures generally sized around 11cm tall. Running in Japan since 1999, and ran in North America from late 2000 through 2004.

AMIA - Abbreviation for "Advanced Mobile Suits in Action". May also appear in plural or verb forms (e.g., "AMIAs", "AMIAed"). This refers to the line of Gundam SEED figures from 2002-2003 in Japan. Two series of these figures exist, the first with an inner frame and armor design, the second omitted the inner frame in favor of more playable figures. Both series were sized to approximately 1/144 scale.

EMIA - Abbreviation for "Extended Mobile Suits in Action". May also appear in plural or verb forms (e.g., "EMIAs", "EMIAed"). This refers to the line of Mobile Suits in Action released in Japan starting in late 2004, featuring full surface airbrushing, more elaborate packaging, and generally better articulation than normal MSiAs. These are otherwise the same type of figure as MSiA.

MSV - Mobile Suit Variations. Originally a model kit line that came after the end of the original Mobile Suit Gundam series in Japan. It's since become almost traditional for all Gundam series to have an MSV series, though fewer of the designs reach merchandise form. As it was originally, it's still used as a way to shoehorn new official designs into existing timelines, even vastly overcrowded ones.

MS- Abbreviation for "Mobile Suit," the usual designation for the giant humanoid war machines that populate the various Gundam series.

MA - Abbreviation for "Mobile Armor", a somewhat ambiguous term used to refer to a variety of types of non-humanoid war machines somewhere between Mobile Suit and battleship. Some transform into Mobile Suits.

TF - Abbreviation for Transformers. If you don't know what Transformers are, I hereby disown you. There's also a variety of related abbreviations for specific Transformers series.

TMNT - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Once more, if you don't know what this is, shame on you. Not only was it the hot thing of the early 1990's, but it's one of the few properties from around then to have a really successful revival.

Articulation- the various joints that let a toy move. There are three basic kinds and a number of variations:

Ball joints, as you'd expect, incorporate a ball that fits into a matching socket, allowing (ideally) for a good degree of movement in many directions. Great for necks and hips.

Hinge joints also live up to their name. Hinges only allow movement on a single axis, but because of this they usually make for good knees and elbows. They're sometimes paired to allow for a better range of movement.

Swivel joints are also single-axis joints, but behave differently from hinge joints, usually allowing 360-degree movement. These are common in shoulders and waists. When used in limbs- at angles to simulate the bending of an elbow as cheaply as possible, for example -they're sometimes called Cut Joints.

These joints can be used in essentially any combination. When two joints are paired for enhanced articulation, we generally call this a "double joint". In some instances, three are used on a single joint, which we call a "triple joint". These can be in any combination of the above basic types, and triple joints are always composed of at least two types of joint.

Variations include:

Universal Joints are the term we use to refer to the combination of hinge and swivel joints on things like Star Wars action figures. The range is similar to a ball-joint, though there's often greater lateral movement, and the chances of the limb popping off are much lower.

Ratcheting Joints are the clicky swivel joints found on larger robot toys. When executed well, the joint will click from one position to the next and then stay put. Modern toys usually have finer ratcheting action than older stuff, where there might not be any more than eight possible positions for a shoulder joint.

Second Version - Official term for an improved version of a previously released MSiA, almost always entirely new figures related to the previous release only by virtue of being a representation of the same design. This term is also sometimes used informally to refer to the double joint style first introduced in the RX-78 Gundam Second Version.

MSRP- Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price. Also written as SRP, with the same basic meaning. This is, of course, the price the manufacturer suggests the store sell the product at, and may or may not accurately reflect the selling price in a given retail outlet.

Sculpt- Basically, the physical appearance of the toy. All toys are based off several stages of sculpting, through prototypes and finally leading to the finished production toy. The better the sculpting work at each stage - whether by hand or by computer - the better the final product will look. Comments on a toy's "molding" typically also refer to sculpt/physical appearance.

Molding - Besides referring to the sculpt, molding can also refer to the physical condition of the toy that is obviously a product of poorly maintained machinery. This can include mold flash (untrimmed waste plastic on a part from the molding process), deformed parts, marred physical details, etc. Basically, it can refer to any physical defect that's not a result of human error.

Decoration (or "Deco")- the smaller ink and paint applications that are used to add detail to a figure. These give a toy its distinctive look and character, but are also the most likely place for something to go wrong.

Quality Control - Also referred to as "QC", Quality Assurance, or "QA". This is the sometimes informal name for the area of a factory where finished products are supposed to be inspected to make sure they meet a set of conditions before they're sent out to be sold. Though more often this is used to refer to obvious failings of that area. Our use of the term almost always refers to something seemingly very obvious that should have been caught before it made it out of the factory. It can also be a catch phrase to denote a defect of the toy that is the product of human error.

Mono-Eye Disease - May also appear as Monoeye Disease. This refers to the common occurence of poorly painted monoeyes on figures of suits that are so equipped. This could also be used to refer to poor painting of eyes and the surrounding area in general. This would generally only appear in the Paint and Deco section of a review, and probably only applies to Gundam related products.

Retcon - Short for "retroactive continuity". A term used to describe some new element being added to an already established series of events - retroactively adding it to continuity. This happens especially often when two or more series occur in the same fictional universe, and later writers come up with ideas that they want to have a fictional base in past events, though it can also happen within a single series.