Courtesy of ToyFreakz.com, the new giant sized vinyl of GoShogun arrives at CDX!

GoShogun hails from the anime "Sengoku Majin GoShogun" (戦国魔神ゴーショーグン,) which aired in 1982. Recently, there seems to have been a surge in toys of the character, starting with the superlative Brave Gokin from CMs Corp to the GNU-Dou from Yamato, and now this giant sized vinyl from Miracle Production, a subsidiary of whom is Most Wanted Toys, known mostly for their Gaiking toys. Initially this was reported to be a Most Wanted toy. Instead, it's Miracle Production, but the two companies are related. This toy comes courtesy of the good folks at Toy Freakz, the official US wholesale distributor of Miracle Production/Most Wanted Toys, and is available at toyrocket.com.

As you can see, the figure comes packaged inside large box with a clear plastic window in the front so you can see the toy inside. Notice anything great about this box?

Look! Artwork!

Man, that sure is a sight for sore eyes! Far too often in recent years toy companies have taken the easy way out and just shown a picture of the toy on the box. So even though the packaging looks very modern, it's still a great vintage touch to see some nice art on the box.

After you slide the interior of the box out, you'll need to undo some twisty ties to free the robot from the packaging, but not too many. There are slips of plastic wrapped around the figure where the ties go to prevent any marring from the plastic ties rubbing against the paint.

Now, once you get the toy out, and maybe before, you may be immediately disappointed by it's size. Initial reports had this guy standing a full 18" tall, thereby making it a perfect companion to a lineup of Marmit FLOSRs. The unfortunate reality though is that GoShogun stands just a hair short of 15". That's still a big size for a vinyl robot, but expectations were set higher than that, so disappointment is inevitable.

Wraith Pheyden for scale

Honestly, even if it were a full 18", I'm not sure if it would really go well with a lineup of FLOSRs, which tend to look a bit more dynamic than this one does. The static pose on GoShogun here is more in keeping with the Jumbo Machinder aesthetic, although obviously it wouldn't fit in with that group either. So what do you display this with? Good question. Of course, with a number designation like GV-001, perhaps Miracle Production is planning to release over a hundred figures in this line and GoShogun will have compadres soon enough! ;)

Visually, the toy is outstanding. They really did a great job with the sculpt here. GoShogun has 9 points of articulation. The head turns side to side and the arms raise and lower. The hips can be turned just above the silver and the arms can rotate at the elbows. And of course the hands turn at the wrists.

Unfortunately, the toy does have some minor QC issues. There is a paint smudge on the right shoulder and some minor overspray near the shoulder pad of the left arm. There is even some glue on the left hand.

These things don't bother me too much personally, but I know some collectors are real particular about that sort of thing. To me, that's nitpicking. Worse for me than those little hiccups is that the left shoulder on mine does not rest flush against the torso, making the arm a bit loose and wiggly. It still poses well but there is an obvious difference between the right and left shoulder connection. Note the gape in the left shoulder joint.

Right shoulder joint

Left shoulder joint

GoShogun does come with an impressive piece of PVC weaponry, a large sword that it can hold in it's right hand. The sword can be a little tough to get it into the hand initially, but once in place it holds firmly. The arm can be posed with the sword in place, but if you move or bump the toy while it's holding the sword up, the arm has a tendency to slide down, due to the weight of the sword. If you actually play with your toys, this might get a bit annoying, but I think most people who would buy this, do so to have it as a display piece only.

So, judging by this specimen, I think whether or not you'll like this will depend on a few things:

Are you a big GoShogun fan? If so, I don't think the flaws I've mentioned should deter you. It's a great looking piece, at a significant size so if this is your favorite character, don't hesitate, you need it.

Do you like vintage super robot vinyls? If so, I think you'll dig this one, too. It actually compares favorably with the CMs toy in that, although it has a nice modern, anime accurate sculpt, it's old school relaxed pose will really appeal to the vintage toy fans out there. And it's minor flaws in paint application are no worse than on old vinyls. You might even find them charming, in that way.

Do you expect perfection? If you are really, really picky, then you may want to give it a pass. Or, if possible, inspect one in person before buying it. As a collector, only you know how discriminating you are and what you find acceptable and unacceptable. Regular readers probably know I only care about how things look and when placed on a shelf, this one looks great. So I think it's cool and a great value at only $65. And it's likely that I just got a bit of a lemon with that shoulder joint. But your mileage may vary, as they say.

You can get your GV-001 GoShogun from ToyRocket.com.

With CMs GoShogun

I've always been a big fan of the Goshogun design, from the classic gokins to the recent CM's Brave Gokin. There's just something really cool and classic about the look of this bot.

I've always been a big fan of the Goshogun design, from the classic gokins to the recent CM's Brave Gokin. There's just something really cool and classic about the look of this bot.

This is Yamato's GNU-DOU #004 Goshogun, brought to you by Angolz.com

The whole idea of the GNU-DOU series is that these ABS/PVC/POM figures contain a common internal skeleton that they slap a different character onto. While the first three Macross Plus GNU figures we're unique, this is the first figure to feature the standard GNU body.

Its not so much of an internal skeleton as it is a series of interconnecting joints. Not only do these joints provide a ton of flexibility, but think of the opportunities for customizers.

Goshogun is 130mm tall and the majority of the plastic on the outer shell is hard ABS plastic while the jointwork is POM. All of the parts just sort of snap together, with no noticable glue marks or screw holes. This makes for a really sharp action figure that looks fantastic from all angles.

The downside of the GNU-DOU system, in my opinion, is that because everything just fits together and relies on tight tolerances. Over time, these tolerances will wear out somewhat, and pieces may come off easily. With this Goshogun, the side panels on the hip and the arms can detach rather easily.

Still it makes for an extremely poseable and great looking figure. Included with the figure are two variant hands - one holding a sword.

When removing the hands, don't just pull out, pull sideways. The pegs that hold the hands into the arm tend to come out if you pull straight out.

Goshogun is not a bad figure at all, and I am looking forward to see how the rest of the line comes out.

You can get your Goshogun GNU figure at Angolz.com

Lets get right to the point – this toy is AMAZING. It has exceeded my expectations in almost every way imaginable, and sets the new standard for modern gokin.

Lets get right to the point – this toy is AMAZING. It has exceeded my expectations in almost every way imaginable, and sets the new standard for modern gokin.

I did a short video review on YouTube which you can skip to here.

The CM’s Corporation Brave Gokin GoShogun is the 8th entry into their line of diecast robot toys. These high end toys give Bandai’s Soul of Chogokin line a run for their money.

GoShogun comes from the 1981 Super Robot Anime Sengoku Majin GoShogun (戦国魔神ゴーショーグン). Fans in the US may recognize this robot from a show called Macron-1, an imported mash-up of GoShogun and Srungle.

This toy is so incredible – it is hard for me to know where to even start. When the package arrived via EMS from HobbyLink Japan, I stopped everything and tore it open.

Packaging

GoShogun comes in a suprisingly small and light box. Inside the box you find a styrofoam tomb with a clear plastic tray attached to one side. The tray houses all of the accessories for GoShogun, and the styrofoam GoShogun on one side, and more accessories on the other.

GoShogun

The figure comes assembled and ready to play – there is surprisingly little you have to do with it. Included with the toy are some caps to cover up the screw holes. Make sure you read the instruction manual before you apply these – specific caps go in specific holes. The caps are also notched so they can only go in a certain ways, and they are angled to match the surface of the area. I can’t stress enough how important this is.

One of the most surprising (and wonderful) things about this toy is the sheer amount of metal used in its construction. I’d say the toy is about 80% metal. It is one of the most satisfying toys to hold, and it actually feels like a “new” vintage toy.

Also surprising is the amount of articulation packed into this toy. For example, the shoulders have very deep ratchets that make a satisfying click when moved, but then that whole assembly swings up and out, allowing the arms to be held up over the head. Each shoulder pad is movable, and the rest of the joints are exceptionally tight.

The neck is a ball joint and there is actually a waist joint. The hips move in every way that you would imagine (they are basically just ball joints, but really tight). Probably the most luscious joint in the whole toy is the knee joints. They just swing forward and backward, but they have that metal-on-metal “klank” noise that just makes my heart skip a beat. As people have mentioned, there are no ankle joints, but it really doesn’t matter. I think ankles would get in the way of the aesthetics of this piece.

Not only does GoShogun look and feel great, but it’s actually a fun toy as well. The translucent yellow “Go Flasher” assembly on the back is spring loaded and fires off with the push of a button.

This robot is smaller than a AA battery and still has articulation!  To top it all off, each of the three ships can be mounted to a display base that looks like the exhaust trails of the jets!

GoShogun comes with a full compliment of weapons, including:

• Short Axe
• Long Axe
• Bazooka
• Sword

Of course the figure comes with a variety of different hands to hold all of the different weapons. There are different hands for holding the sword, axe or bazooka, as well as closed and open hands. My one concern about the hands is that they are made of a really pliable rubber. Think of the consistency of a superball, and you have an idea of what these are made of. I really hope these fists will last the test of time, but I somehow doubt it. It is likely that they will eventually dry out and crumble, but that time is a long way away.

Buy it. Now.

This toy is the best new toy that I have gotten so far this year, and something would have to be pretty amazing to take its place. GoShogun has “Toy of the Year” written all over it.

GoShogun is available at HobbyLink Japan. Get it now.