You'd have to be crazy to ignore the Psycho.

As a cynical, aging hobbyist, I am rarely “blown away” by a toy. The Psycho blew me away. This is really an astonishing toy.

I am not a Gundam guy. I’ve built a few models, watched a few episodes, but I’m generally underwhelmed by the designs and bored by the ubiquity of product. Further, while I am consistently impressed by the photographs of Fix Figuration figures, I can’t get on board with small, fiddly PVC toys. I was intrugued by the advent of the Metal Composite sub-set though, and finally took the plunge with the Psycho, the most ambitious of the MC releases to date. I’m glad I did.

The Psycho is a giant slab of modern toy goodness. It’s an adult collector’s toy of Bandai quality, but distinct from the SOC offerings.

The Psycho’s box is impressively large and heavy. The graphics are understated and sophisticated, more like those of high-end electronics than a toy.

Inside is a double-sided styrofoam coffin.

The first thing I noticed is the size. The Psycho stands at 11 inches. The second was the heft.

While there is no diecast immediately apparent, the piece is arm-taxingly heavy, almost uncomfortably so.

The Psycho’s skeletal frame is largely metal, and of a polished quality I’ve never seen before. All of the visible plastic is the same high-grade matte ABS that Takara used for the DMZ Zwei Votoms releases.

The fit and finish is breathtaking. The word that comes to mind is lavish. The tampo printing is lavish. The engineering is lavish.

The paint apps are lavish. The transformation is lavish.

The transformation sequence, ultimately in service of a lame pseudo-alt-mode, is as complex as any toy you can name. The Psycho turns into a blocky, awkward ship, but the way you get there is so beautifully done that it makes the mode worthwhile. Just depressing the head a half inch takes about eight steps.

Both modes are accommodated by a tasteful stand.

The Psycho is toy-making at it’s cutting edge. I can't recommend it enough. It's one of those toys you immediately "get" the moment you hold it.

SDX Gundam is a line of some of the more obscure SD Gundam characters that older fans may recognize from the old OVAs from the 80's and 90's. The first character in this line is from an old SD Gundam short known as SD Gundam Gaiden.

SDX Gundam is a line of some of the more obscure SD Gundam characters that older fans may recognize from the old OVAs from the 80's and 90's. The first character in this line is from an old SD Gundam short known as SD Gundam Gaiden.

SD Gundam Gaiden is like the opposite of the Musha SD Gundam World, where instead it focuses on medieval characters and has many mobiles suits in suits of armor or based instead on dragons and other mythical creatures. If you remember the anime SD Gundam Force, the world which Zero the Winged Knight was from, Lacroa is loosely based on a similar setting.

Knight Gundam is the main character of this OVA and his appearance in figure form is extremely accurate to his on screen counterpart. He really does look like a sterling knight from days long past... Well, as sterling as a miniature robot with big eyes can look.

The first thing to note about this guy is that he comes with a LOT of accessories. Two trays worth! He has several hands, different eyes, an alternate helmet, two swords, a shield, a cape, a stand, and an unusual pair of legs...

Posability on this guy is about the same as any SD Gundam kit. The arms, hands, legs and waists move on ball joints while the feet and head are on swivel joints. While I think it may have been possible to put in a small elbow joint into the arm, it would have been slightly useless due to the stub-like nature of SD arms to begin with.

The head joint on Knight Gundam is fantastic. While the actual head is attached by a ball join, there are mechanics inside of the head piece that allow him to look up, down, and even tilt his head slightly. It's quite a nice bit of design work that I just love.

Swapping eyes is easy enough. All you have to do is remove the helmet and pull of the entire face. The mask will come off as well and then you simply peg in the other eyes. You get eyes that look straight, left, right, happy eyes, and startled eyes.

The hands are all on ball joints that easily pop on and off. You have your standard closed fists, open fists for holding things, a more open first, an open palm and a piece sign hand. All of the ball joints are also on swivel joints so you can curl the hands in pretty much any position you want.

Knight Gundam is covered entirely in armor. It would have been incredibly nice if all of this was metal, but only the shoulders and part of the helmet actually is. But for the price you're paying, I don't think I can complain too much about it really. All of the pieces can be popped off easily and leave Knight Gundam in just chain mail. He even has an alternate helmet to mimic this look.

I have to mention that I love these metal pauldrons to death. They are attached with ball joints and have an additional swivel joint that helps to keep the shoulders aligned with the body when it comes to those really dynamic poses with the arms.

Knight Gundam comes with a lance, a sword, and a shield. The lance has a spring inside that actually lets you pull back and hit random targets. It's kind of hard to do though because of the small size of it. It's a silly gimmick, but a nice touch. The lance can also be stored via a clip that goes into the back of the helmet and fits in snuggly.

The sword and shield is very nicely designed and are a very nice pair. The sword slips in easily into the shield and stays in place. Also if the sword seems a little stocky for your liking, you can actually pull the blade off of the hilt and use an extension piece to make the sword even longer and quite frankly a bit terrifying when cute little Knight Gundam holds it.

Knight Gundam's cape is on a ball join attached to a peg that goes right into the back. It can turn and move easily to whatever direction you want the cape flapping in.

Knight Gundam has one final gimmick, and it's a big one. With a little bit of part swapping, you can pull his legs off and switch them out for horse legs to turn him into a centaur... Gundam. It's a pretty cool mode and Knight Gundam does look pretty majestic like this. But you can't really pose him past just having him stand in place without the help of the display base.

If you also want, you can fold up the rear legs and make a backpack of sorts.

Knight Gundam's stand pegs between his legs and keeps him secure. However the actual design of this stand is sort of unusual. It's not jointed to allow Knight Gundam to actually be standing on the base. It's an odd design choice and just makes me wonder a bit honestly.

I think that for the price you pay, you get so much from Knight Gundam. The SDX set is very solid and has more than enough accessories to leave me fiddling with this guy constantly. However I'm aware that the SD design may not strike everyone and others may just flat out hate it. But if you're a fan of these designs and want something a little more substantial than a model kit, these guys are great. Satan Gundam, Commando Gundam, and several others are on the way so keep an eye out for them.

I like the Gundams that don't look like the Gundams

The Gundam figures I like are the ones that don't look like Gundam at all. Usually they end up being the bad guys, but hey, Darth Vader was always cooler than Luke, right?

The Gadessa is a perfect example of this. There are very few Gundam conventions here, and when they are done, they are done so different that if you weren't told this was from Gundam you would never know. It reminds me more of something out of Five Star Stories.

Gadessa is a heavy assault mobile suit designed by the bad guys of Gundam 00, called the "Innovators". This version of the suit is slightly different in color from the production version, designed for a character called "Hilling Care". And that's all I know about that.

The figure is ultra-poseable and stands 15cm tall. However, this is misleading. With the feet out flat it only stands about 12cm. So what's this all about?

Well, the Gadessa seems to be primarily an outer-space mobile suit. So in space, the toes are tilted down so that the legs come to a point. It looks really great, but sucks for standing. Ideally you would display this on a tamashii display base, and the figure comes with a part to attach to the stand. But, alas, we have no Tamashii stand, so you get it displayed with its toes out flat.

Articulation is pretty crazy - I stopped counting at 20 points. Its got double jointed shoulders, elbows, knees and even the chest has two joints.

Accessories include:

• GN Mega Launcher
• energy pack
• Beam Sabers
• optional hands
• GN Drive
• Interchangeable faceplate

The Mega Launcher is one of the most impressive weapons that I've seen in a long time. This long cannon can expand its three barrels for a tri-beam attack. You have to remove a small connector plate from the end, then push the long silver pointy tail in the back to extend the cannons. Its very cool.

I originally thought the energy pack was a part from the display stand connector, but no, it's part of the figure. It snaps on to the back skirt armor and then another connector snaps onto that to hold the Mega Launcher.

The beam saber hilts can be stored under the side skirt armor, and can be attached to the included beam sabers.

On the back is the GN Drive backpack which also serves as a cockpit and escape capsule. The sides fold out to become wings, while the whole unit can pivot on the back.

Finally, the Gadessa comes with an interchangeable faceplate. You have to remove the whole front of the head to replace it, but it's not too bad.

As far as manufacturing quality goes, this thing is flawless. It's made out of Sturdy ABS with POM and PVC for the joint work, and it works so well. Nothing falls off of this, and everything is tight and sturdy.

Its a good toy, and a cool design. You won't regret picking this one up.

It's a Gundam.

While the official Americanized name is "The Robot Spirits", the line has also been known as Robot Soul and Robot Damashii (Or Tamashii). The idea of the line is to create an affordable, poseable, durable, highly detailed robot figure. It's the logical progression from High Complete Models, to MS in Pocket, to MS in Action, to HCM Pro, and now Robot Spirits. Bandai continues to improve and grow, unofficially dubbing this line the "Revoltech Killer".

While the Robot Spirits figures are similar in size to Revoltech, that's where the similarities end. The figures are basically scaled up HCM pro figures, more akin to Yamato's GN-U DOU figures, except these come with accessories and don't fall apart.

We here at CDX are a bit late to the Robot Spirits line, with this item being the 22nd release. But this figure is in the first batch that Toynami is bringing to the States under Bandai's Tamashii banner, so we got some to check them out.

The character depicted here is the 0 Gundam as depicted in the Mobile Suit 00 Gundam anime series. I haven't watched the series, nor do I plan to, as Gundam bores me to tears. What I do know is that this 0 Gundam was originally grey and white, and sometime in the series the pilot paints it up so that it resembles an RX-78, the most iconic of Gundams. I don't know if 00 Gundam is in the same continuity as the classic Gundam, so whether this is intentional on the part of the pilot, or an tribute by the production staff is lost on me. Feel free to chime in with comments.

Either way, the end result is that we have a toy that looks pretty much like most every other Gundam toy ever released. That's not to say its bad, but I wish the Gundam creators would get over themselves and make something different for the main character.

Aesthetics aside, it really is a nice figure. Judging from the line art that I have seen the sculpt seems fairly accurate.

There are two things that make the Robot Soul line for me - Articulation and build quality.

The articulation is awesome. Double jointed knees and elbows, full torso motion, feet, hands, head, shoulder pads, armor skirts - everything moves and nothing falls off. The combination of ABS and POM plastics make for sharp, durable pieces that stay together.

There are just enough accessories, but not too many to keep track of. The 0 Gundam comes with a beam rifle, beam saber w/hilt, shield, interchangeable hands, Two rear engines and spare head crest and shoulder spikes.

The Beam Rifle is shorter and stubbier than the ones that usually accommodate the RX-78 archetype. It fits snugly in either of the two included holding hands.

The Beam Saber is actually two parts. The hilt can be stored in an articulated holder on the back. The range of motion in the arms allows you to actually have the robot reach back and grab the saber. The beam plugs into the saber easily.

The Shield attaches to the left arm and can pivot on its arm bracket. The bracket can clip onto the arm but also features a handle that can be grasped with variant hands.

The 0 Gundam can be equipped with either a GN Particle Condenser or a GN Drive on the back of the figure.

Lastly, Bandai included spare parts, should you lose the head crest or either of the spikes from the top of the chest.

There are lots of good accessories in this set but one glaring omission - a stand. Bandai sells a stand separately for 900 yen called the Tamashii Stage if you want one, but really, they could have included it.

If you are not totally burnt out on the whole classic Gundam color scheme, then by all means, pick this up. its a fine figure. I however will throw my support behind the non-gundamy Gundams instead.

The one and only model from the epic live action Gundam movie, and probably the only good part.

Conspiracy Nuts, Recycled Military Costumes, and a Plot out of SeaQuest.

G-Saviour claims to take place in the far off ends of the Universal Century. So far off, it is too young to remember anything of the One Year War, and long out of touch with anything that might have occurred after the ends of both F-91 and V. Mark Curren, a retired soldier turned reluctant deep sea harvester piloting a mobile suit, becomes entwisted in the conflict of the current Earth Federation and the Side 8 “Gaia” colony over possession of the solution for a growing food shortage. Branded a traitor, Curren escapes with members of Gaia’s resistance forces into space where a chance encounter with an old military friend in the secret organization called the Illuminati, is bestowed with the mobile suit G-Saviour. For any more details, I highly recommend observing Destroy All Podcast’s show on the subject.

According to what was available to US audiences, the G-Saviour was a prototype mobile suit, as all Gundams of the Universal Century often were. Calling the G-Saviour a multipurpose suit would be stretching the limited information, as it was supposedly outfitted with different armors for different engagements. In the film, viewers were introduced to one type (Space Mode) with a cameo by a second (Earth Mode). Despite being something to explore with models, Bandai did very little to promote the different modes of the G-Saviour. Instead only one model for the entire G-Saviour project was ever produced: a sad, lonely, underwhelming 1/144 scale model of the G-Saviour itself. I think I can safely, and boldly say that I actually found this kit to be enjoyable more so than the movie.

So Bad, Yet Somewhat Good

For its only model, the G-Saviour -Space Mode- is reflective of the post F91 age with its stripped down, ventilated frame and the fish-scale like thrusters on its back. In some instances of Gundam models; the box art reflects a completely different version of what is produced in plastic, which can be a toss up of quality issues in terms of accuracy. In this case, the G-Saviour’s starship-like, textured plating is nonexistent and replaced with a bare white body with some panel etching. As such, the colors of the G-Saviour are very basic: dark gray, turquoise, and the previously mentioned white, with two added clear injection blue parts and a single red piece. While the colors are rather dull, the plastic incarnation of the G-Saviour does give you a better appreciation for the design as opposed to its cinematic, disproportionate bulk.

Construction of the G-Saviour is very much in tune with late 90’s HG and early HGUC (High Grade Universal Century) lines. In 1/144 scale, it lacks much of the detail one could hope for. To its credit, the kit is really simple with paintwork needed to bring out just the right details in the right spots. As the only model from the G-Saviour franchise, the G-Saviour Space-Mode has a few points that showed they were preparing to expand on the single design into multiple forms. Whether canceled or just abandoned, those additional forms were never brought to fruition.

Starting with the G-Saviour’s head, construction is fairly basic with two halves making the outer shell and the face constructed in two parts: the unpainted mask and the ‘chin’ piece. This is then crowed off with the traditional Gundam “V” crest. Without paint, the head is almost solid white, with exception to the two turquoise blue pieces sticking off the front.

The G-Saviour’s torso makes up the fair bulk of the whole design and continues this in plastic. To its credit the torso is slimmer than it appears on screen and the overall mass comes from the backpack. In typical 1/144 scale fashion, the torso is built in layers: starting from the lower abdomen which is then topped off with the chest. The basic construction is simple, with polycap ports in the bottom of the abdomen which connects to the waist, and the ball topped stem to connect the head to the neck. The backpack is a multilayered assembly, starting in its core with a basic back-plate. Connected to that is a fantail arrangement of plates that make up the G-Saviour’s main thrusters, in a circular pattern laying flat. This whole section is then fit over the back-plate and locked down with two strip shaped rails that extend over the chest and lay over the top of the backpack, bringing both sections together as a single unit.

The G-Saviour’s waist is fairly basic, an inner two piece assembly formed on the front and back with two polycap points to connect the side skirts with two layers of armor on the front and back. The rear is a hollowed square block, which adds bulk to the very skeletal interior. The front skirts are a pair of thrusters arranged in the same fantail fashion as the backpack. The front skirts have no independent articulation or room for modification to allow it because they are joined by a solid rod. The hip mounted thrusters follow the tradition of the G-Saviour’s flight assembly bulk. The design of the thrusters resembles a pair of thick tuning forks with two jet engine intakes on the front. The components are molded in the blue plastic so both parts benefit with a touch of paint which adds depth to the simple two part shell construct. Although larger than the other parts of the kit, these hip mounted units help to keep the model standing upright and centering its weight at its core.

The legs follow the same construction method as the arms and share the same degree of detailing. Although stable to hold the weight of the kit, the narrow look of the legs displays the same dramatic change in scale and bulk that upsets the design’s potential. The feet are built in the modern fashion with a bottom and top toe formula built around an articulated ankle. The heel is a solid cast piece which fits onto the back of the ankle. The ankle guards are solid injection pieces which fit into ports on the ankle that float in place above the heel. Despite the overall kit’s stiff articulation, the legs are well balanced for holding a stable pose while holding the weight of the kit.

The G-Saviour comes with the absolute minimum accessories required; a beam rifle, saber, and shield. The saber and the shield are beam-based which is reflected in their injection recreations. Molded in clear blue plastic, painting is required for the saber’s grip and the shield’s ‘jewel’ which connects it to the left forearm. The saber and the shield have alternate parts for storage displays, such as the saber grip which fits onto the shoulder, and the jewel plug that fits onto the left forearm. The G-Saviour’s rifle is constructed in three parts: two halves for the body and the barrel. The rifle has two hexagonal shaped ports on it which are designed to dock the rifle onto either the lower leg or on the rear skirt block. To manage these accessories, the G-Saviour comes with three hands: two fists for the left and right and one right hand dedicated to holding the rifle.

Its a review for two in one: the RX-79BD1 and RX-79BD3 the Gundam Blue Destiny. Two of those many underappreciated mobile suits in the Gundam Universe that are variations of one design.

The RX-79BD dubbed the ‘Blue Destiny’ is a prototype mobile suit constructed with a unique control system called “EXAM,” which gave its pilots Newtype abilities, based on Zeon Artificial Newtype experiments. The original RX-79BD-1 Blue Destiny Unit 1 was first rolled out during the One Year War for ground-based combat. After becoming unstable and running out of control during a test-trial, Unit 1 was commandeered by Yu Kajima, who would become its main pilot. While learning the secrets of the mobile suit’s special control system, Kajima fought against the Zeon EXAM equipped mobile suit, the MS-08TX Efreet Custom, piloted by ace Nimbus Schterzen. The resulting destruction of both mobile suits and their EXAM systems prompted the roll out of the BD-2 Unit 2 and BD-3 Unit 3, equipped with EXAM systems. Having survived the first encounter against Kajima, Schterzen steals the Blue Destiny Unit 2 and Kajima pursued him using Unit 3.

The Unit 1 and Unit 3 are two variations of the same model in two different color schemes with alternative parts to distinguish each type. Unit 1 has a GM (Gundam Mass-production) type head and is outfitted for ground combat, whereas Unit 3 has the traditional Gundam type head and is refitted for space combat, with additional components added onto the existing body from Unit 1. With exception to their heads and the components for Unit 3, the only substantial differences between Unit 1 and Unit 3 are the thrusters on the outsides of the legs and the colors.

Out of the boxes, both Units are molded in their final colors and are supplemented with polycaps to provide articulation. Unit 1 comes in its true blue and dark blue plastic, with gray parts for its joints and weapons. There is one red piece for its chin, and a clear visor for its eyes. Unit 3 comes in the traditional Gundam colors of off-white gray, yellow, red, and dark blue, with the same color gray parts for its joints and weapons as Unit 1. As standard for designs with beam sabers are a set of clear pink tubes that form the beams included on their own parts tree.

Between both units, there is some minor paint work to improve the looks, such as the tube protrusions from the chest, the triangle indentations on the knees and front of the chest. Additional paint work includes the targeting eyes on the top of the forehead and back of the head. For those looking at the decals, both units come with two different color sets for eyes: one red and one green. The reason for this depends on the builder’s choice of whether to display the Blue Destiny in EXAM’s activated mode (red) or normal mode (green). Because I use paint, I opted for Unit 1’s visor in red and paint Unit 3’s eyes green.

Construction for both kits is identical with exception to their heads, weapons, and two vents on the legs. As such, my review will focus on basics, with a stronger emphasis on the differences.

The torso of the Blue Destiny series (as a whole) is constructed from the waist up, in standard HGUC formula of the abdomen which fits into the lower chest cavity which is constructed in a front and back half format with the essential parts inside. These parts include the neck and shoulders which are articulated on hinged polycaps. This two piece shoulder assembly gives the arms an increased range of motion allowing the shoulder to move upward and forward before rotating the arm. The neck piece is a simple polycap injection cylinder topped by a ball joint, with detailed markings to give it the appearance of an ABS part. The front side of the chest has a few additional pieces to it, such as the gun barrels on the sides and the cockpit hatch in the center.

The waist for the Blue Destiny is built in another trend of the HGUC line with an articulated hip. This is achieved through a key-lock assembly of the hip ball joints into the center waist module that connects to the rear plate and houses the polycap hinges for the side skirts. On the bottom of the hip assembly is a small plate that covers the keyhole, which is designed to be freely removable for positioning the model onto Bandai’s Type 2 Action Base, designed for 1/144 scale models. However, since the Base comes with cradle brackets for holding older model kits without the articulation hips (or connection ports), this plate does not have to be removed. The front skirts have improved on the standard formula of “Do It Yourself” articulation. Where the single injection piece that made up the skirts was molded with two wide rings on the center of the shaft that connects both plates (which is locked into the main crotch housing). This assembly could then be cut in half and made into two separate skirts that are independently mobile. For the Blue Destiny, the rings have been molded into ball joints, which when cut in half not only improve the articulation but also how the skirts rest against the leg when standing straight. The skirts are then held in place by the crotch block, which is comprised of two pieces for the main body and the added detail point at the top.

The arms are comprised of a continuing method for HGUC models, constructed around a ‘chain-link’ elbow designed for improved articulation to a near 180 degree range of motion. The elbow is constructed in four parts of the main housing formed around two hinged sections that locks into the interior of the forearm and run up the bicep into main shoulder. The bicep is a simple injected sleeve which fits over the bar and locks into place just above the elbow. The forearm is constructed in a front and back half fashion, with the wrist cuff housing a polycap socket for the hands to connect to. The shoulder is another three piece assembly of front and back halves fitted over a polycap that connects the arm to the torso, which is then topped by the three piece assembly for the shoulder armor. The shoulder armor is pretty much a more decorated variation of the standard RX-79G (Gundam Ground-type) but with additional flairs sticking out to the sides. Despite their low profile, these flairs have a tendency to get in the way of the Blue Destiny’s shield, if the arm is flexed to a close angle to the chest.

The legs for the Blue Destiny are identical, except for the previously mentioned thrusters on the outsides of the lower calves. For Unit 1 these are two vent types while Unit 3 uses two nozzle types (commonly designed in space use mobile suits). The overall legs remain the same in their construction.

The process begins in the knee which uses a form of the elbow’s chain-link design. The knee is two pieces that form the knee casing, while two hinged sections fit into the upper leg and lower leg which are built in front to back sections. Polycap ball sockets are used in connecting the ankle and hip respectively, only the one mounted in the ankle is hinged to allow the foot an extended range of motion. The lower leg also sees a number of additional parts, such as plates on the sides, a knee guard on the front, and a small vent in the back of the leg that is tucked in place just under the ankle’s polycap attachment point. The plates on the outside of the legs are where the Blue Destiny stores its beam sabers, just like the RX-79G it is based on. In order to retrieve the sabers, one must remove the plate and disconnect the saber from the plate and then replace the plate into its position on the leg. This same method of removing the plate is used in displaying the Blue Destiny with the saber dock open as well.

The feet of the Blue Destiny are constructed from within. The ankle is a two part assembly with a hinged polycap in the toe, which then connects to the main foot formed from a main cover and a plate for the soles of the feet. The heel is a solid cast part which fits into the bottom of the ankle. The final component to the feet are the ankle guards, which are two pieces that fit together over the main foot, and into ports on the sides of the ankle. Overall articulation in the leg is almost as dynamic as the arms, only with restrictions due to the size of the armor.

Unit 3 comes with the same type of beam rifle issued to the RX-79G. Construction runs down the gun with two solid injection tubes to make the barrel, two halves to make the body, and a forward mounted grip. The body is made in white plastic that needs to be detailed in gray to match the barrel, and painted in its targeting sight. The shield for Unit 3 is similar to the standard long body shields seen on most Federation models up until the end of the One Year War with exception to its coloring. Unlike the others which are commonly one back side color and one front face color, Unit 3’s has two colors on the front, white on the upper section and blue for the lower half. Construction requires the top section be connected first before the lower, with the standard polycap fit into place underneath for it to connect to the docking plug.

Overall both models are excellent and a pleasurable process of repetition if built back to back. Like earlier models such as the RX-121 Hazels, having both Unit 1 and Unit 3 compliment each other through shared accessories adds to their display value. If you’re a fan of the more traditional Federation-type mobile suits, then these are some of the best the HGUC line has to offer.

Gundam is certainly the rarest hero jumbo known to exist.

But there's much more to it than just rarity. There's prestige and intrigue and all kinds of AWESOME!

December 1st 2006 and I'm on a flight to Tokyo. Normally this would be the sort of thing that would consume all your thoughts. How's the weather there? Did I bring enough money? I wonder what the convention will be like? What am I gonna find in the shops? Where can I find Pepsi? Will eating McDonald's for a week straight kill you? Will this flight ever end??

But not this time. This time my mind is somewhere else entirely. There's this auction, y'see. And it ends while I'm in the air. And if I win it, I'm not gonna have a dime to spend on this whole dang trip. Which means traveling to the other side of the world to sit in an apartment for 10 days and then go home again. But I hope like heck that I do because that means I will have won only the 3rd specimen of the Gundam Jumbo Machinder known to exist. Before leaving home, I placed a bid with a sniping company and I would just have to let the chips fall where they may, not being able to watch the auction close like I normally would. Granted, that is probably for the best at this stage in my life. I was at the point where too many times I found myself sitting at my computer, sweat dripping, heart racing, feeling like I'm about to drop over from stress. You know, the stress of a toy auction. Ridiculous, isn't it? I could just hear the coroner saying "Cause of death....machinders."

Anyway. I arrive at my destination, greet my hosts and as quick as proper etiquette will allow, I'm on the computer to check the results.

And I suddenly really, really hope I find a nice toy in a shop in the coming week because Gundam was not to be. Although I bid over $2500 more than the guy behind me, the guy in front bid just a little more and I had to settle for second place. Second place sucks. Especially since I had no idea who had outbid me. I'd never seen the name before. You know how it is. If you stick around long enough, you usually get to know the competition and there's a certain solace in knowing that the prize at least went to someone in the community. And although I didn't know it then, it turns out it did. In fact, the winner turned out to be a friend of mine bidding with another ID and I'd just cost him a pretty penny with my last second snipe! Oooops!

Unfortunately, the rest of the trip would yield no Jumbos for me either and in fact ended up being the most disappointing trip there I've had. But all's well that end's well, as they say, and just about a month ago, Gundam specimen number 4 surfaced and this time I was able to close the deal (with a little help from selling all of my die-cast robots, mind you). The condition wasn't as good as the previous one, which was absolutely dead-stock, but beggars can't be choosers. I'll take it. Interestingly, both the 3rd and 4th known examples of this toy were found in the UK, not Italy where it originated.

Gundam is a pretty amazing toy, both in terms of it's appearance, play value and place in history. There is a mystique to this toy that few others can claim. Despite the enormous popularity of the character in Japan today, apparently it sort of tanked when it came out and only got really popular years after the initial series. By the time that happened though, most Japanese toy companies had come to realize that these large sized Jumbo Machinder toys were not profitable enough to continue producing them. For many years, it was believed that a Jumbo sized Gundam was never made.

The first clue that perhaps something was out there came in the form of a knockoff Jumbo called Titan. The Titan toy used legs that were clearly based on the Gundam toys made by Clover before they sold the license to Bandai (and before they made toys that actually looked like how Gundam looked in the show). It also used the head of Groizer X, which was never made as a Jumbo either. Were these original sculpts by the Ceppi Ratti, the Italian company that released the toy? Or did they get their hands on some unproduced prototypes from Japan? More importantly, were there complete Jumbos of Gundam and Groizer X out there, waiting to be found?

While there is still no more evidence of a full Groizer X Jumbo, not too long after Titan appeared, images of a full sized Gundam Jumbo turned up, but they were clearly of a knockoff toy. The hands were from the Popy Gordian Jumbo and it used the Robot Factory method of assembly employed by Popy near the end of their Jumbo Machinder run. When the first boxed specimen surfaced, it was confirmed that the toy was made in Italy by the same company that made Titan, Ceppi Ratti. Furthermore, even though I consider it a "knockoff" since it re-uses parts from existing toys, it is indeed licensed. But the theory that the toy was really from an un-made Clover toy only seemed to be re-enforced by close examination of the toy since it's quality was so far in advance of any other known Italian Jumbos, even the Titan by Ceppi Ratti. This thing is just head and shoulders above any of it's peers. I mean, does it seem likely that the same company made these two toys, of the same character, at roughly the same time?

Ceppi Ratti Gundam Jumbo Machinder

Ceppi Ratti Gundam Junior Machinder

Personally, I find it hard to believe that Ceppi Ratti did this one on their own. Especially when you start to factor in all the bells and whistles that this toy has, which would rival, or even surpass, the best that Popy ever did.

Gundam comes with a variety of great weapons. It has an axe that comes molded in four parts; a big yellow blade with a supplemental blade on the back, a long yellow handle and two red attachments. One of the attachments is where the two yellow pieces connect and the other is mostly ornamental on the bottom.

There is a sword that can be stored over it's left shoulder, but unfortunately it does not fit in it's hand. More on that in a second.

If melee weapons aren't your thing, it also comes with a nice red gun that you can put in either hand. Personally, I prefer the axe.

Now, I know you noticed that GIANT awesome shield, right? It looks absolutely beautiful and has a handle that can be inserted into either fist. Unfortunately, mine is a bit yellowed with age.

Do you like projectiles? Well, besides both fists firing like most Machinders, Gundam also has a big removable cannon sitting on it's right shoulder with a firing missile! It even had a cool scope on the side and if you wanted to, you could even store the tightening tool for the nuts on the back of it.

Now about that sword. Well, what is the point of having a sword that doesn't fit in the hand? I know, I know, I feel your pain. But what if the trade-off was that it could fire out of the arm!?!?!

Yes, once the fist has been launched, it's not out of ammo yet. To the best of my knowledge, this is the only Jumbo out there that has a weapon that can be fired in place of it's hand. I had no idea about this until getting mine and I think it's a great feature.

The box for this toy is similar to other Italian robot factory style Jumbos and measures 15.5"x12"x5". It appears to show a prototype of the toy with silver on the head in place of blue and the axe is silver instead of yellow. Action features are shown on the sides and the back has a parts list/assembly blueprint.

Box Front

Box Sides (both are the same)

Box Rear

You may notice that my example is missing a few stickers here and there. But remember my friend who ended up paying through the nose for his because of me and my snipe? Well, fortunately he doesn't take things like that personally and has promised to send me a scan of the sticker sheet at some point.

Once assembled, Gundam stands about 25" tall. The sculpt as well as the fit and finish is fantastic. This is real quality work here, unlike other cheap Italian knockoff Jumbos, such as the lovable, yet lamentable, Space Valour. It holds together as well as a Popy toy and stands solidly. Everything fits. It's truly a one of kind masterpiece and has probably surpassed Dangard Ace as my favorite Machinder.

This is about the newest Gundam Generation; where the world faces rising fuel costs, political unrest, and the Gundam war on terror. Of course, there will be Gun-Pla!

It is the end of 2007, after nearly five years of living in the Cosmic Era of Gundam SEED, the Gundam Legacy enters its new age and one of its boldest steps since its beginning. Welcome to the age of Gundam 00, a time of rising fuel costs, intercontinental unrest, and the Gundam War on War on Terror.

Since its inauguration, each Gundam has been associated with its own Calendar. The Universal Century (UC) was the first Gundam calendar which spanned across its own legacy of generations from the One Year War (UC 0079) and beyond. In later years, Gundam branched into new “Alternate Universes” (AU) to separate stories from the time line of the Universal Century. These then took place in individual calendars: such as the After Colony (AC) table of Gundam W and the more recent Cosmic Era (CE) of Gundam SEED. The year 2007 of our calendar introduced the next Alternate Universe: Gundam 00. Unlike its predecessors 00 takes place in the Anno Domini or simply the “Real Calendar” in the year AD 2307, marking the first Gundam to take place in the post modern age. With that comes a much closer look at the times in our current history. Underneath the glisten and glamour of the idea of a Better Tomorrow, Gundam 00 sets itself with a strong political undertone that takes much of its material from the current geopolitical structure and gives a harsh realization of mankind’s future in a progressive and divided manner. Additionally, Gundam 00 is the first Gundam to be broken into two seasons separated over a long break period (much like Western television series), with Season 2 coming sometime towards the end of 2008.

In the late 23rd century, mankind has finally abandoned its hopes of Ethanol and Petroleum based forms of power and begun seeking the advantage of solar energy. Through Orbital Elevators set in strategic locations to collect and distribute this abundant energy source, technology has reached a peak of proto-space colonization. However not all countries can reap the benefits, these lesser known and forgotten countries are forced to either crumble or join with one of the main national groups: The Union formed mostly by the American continents, the Human Reform League of Eastern Europe and Asia, and the Western European and African colony group AEU. Because of the fragile nature of the orbital elevators, each nation refuses to trust one another and continue to exist in a stalemate of never ending conflict. In the year 2307, a paramilitary organization has presented itself in order to eliminate war through armed intervention. They are Celestial Being, and they will end war with force through the power of Gundam!

Four is the Lucky Number

The Gundams of 00 are shrouded in mystery, from their conception to construction. Celestial Being is an even greater mystery; formed nearly 200 years ago by the enigmatic Aeolia Schenberg. The earliest mystery surrounding the Gundams is the glistening particle emitted from their cores that blocks out communications dubbed “GN Particles” which can be compared to the UC’s “Minovski Particle.” The Gundams’ power sources are called the “GN-Drive” which is powered by the “Solar Furnace,” a perpetual if not nearly limitless energy source that once powered can sustain and continuously produce energy for the mobile suit to operate and enhances the mobile suit’s basic performance. While the true functions of how the GN-Drive works remain a mystery, it is clear that these superior engines make the Gundams more powerful and adaptive than the current state of mobile suit technology.

Gundam 00 follows the unwritten rule of the AU and introduced not just one, but multiple Gundams as their lead mobile suits. Unlike the previous chapters where there were five Gundams, 00 introduced four Gundams as the lead models. While past AU series make note of these being the first Gundams known to the world, it is revealed amongst Celestial Being members that these are the third generation models. Continuing the tradition of the multiple Gundams law, the Gundams each conform to a particular combat style:

GN-01 Gundam Exia: close quarters blade combat. piloted by Setsuna F. Seiei
GN-02 Gundam Dynames: long range sniper combat. piloted by Lockon Stratos
GN-03 Gundam Kyrios: transformable, aerial combat. piloted by Allelujah Haptism
GN-04 Gundam Virtue: heavily armored assault combat. piloted by Tieria Erde

The Gundam Exia is the current poster child of the 00 generation because of its role as the lead mecha up until now. Its dynamic shape complimented both by its unique arsenal of blades and the traditional Gundam color scheme helps to make it familiar and more acceptable to long time Gundam fans hesitant to accept Gundam 00 as a whole. The Exia is a real spectacle in motion. Compared to its siblings it is the most simplistic in design and is relatively under armed by being a Close Combat machine. Still, it lives up to its purpose in the hands of Setsuna F. Seiei.

More Things Change, the Color Stays the Same

Within weeks of 00’s premiere, Bandai had already rolled out the first wave of models based on the series’ machines in Low Grade and High Grade 1/144 scale kits and slowly begun filling the ranks with 1/100 scale kits, and pushing for 1/60 scale for the primary Gundams. Naturally, selecting a kit can be narrowed to simple choices of scale and execution of the design. So what better scale to get into than 1/100? In this review, we take a look at the first 1/100 scale kit of Gundam 00, the GN-01 Gundam Exia.

In plastic, the Exia comes molded in full color: white, blue, red, yellow, gray and clear parts. The clear parts are one of the unique features of the Gundam 00 mobile suit designs, used in the Gundams at important hard points which represent reservoirs for the Solar Furnace. The second design point is the arrangement of flat cables and soft plates in the Gundams set around their joints. These cables channel the power of the Solar Furnace through the Gundams as they activate “Trans-Am” mode where the suits exceed their limiters to their full potential.

Before the build I surveyed the most of the kit’s needed paint work, and much to my surprise there is very little need to paint parts in a color that does not exist in the current color pallet. As such, the Exia’s only demand for paint is black and gray for panels and filling in around some of the model’s hard points. The solar furnace disks (clear parts) have some room for creativity, by either painting under them or painting over them with a clear coat or metallic colors. In mine, I chose to paint the under side with a clear green coat, and a coat of Gunmetal (metallic black) where each disk lays. The result is a stable contrast of green with a glistening underside.

Constructing Intervention

The torso sports a range of the innovation and execution into the Exia’s agile shape. The central body is built around its Solar furnace, which takes up the bulk of the upper torso. Had it not been built sandwiching the main chest and waist assembly, the furnace almost presents itself as a whole kit. The basic design is almost like an aircraft turbine engine, minus the fan assembly. The rear section is a cone shape built outward. The base, solar cell ring and cone tip. From there the furnace is locked by a series of clasps which locks it into the back. On the front side, there is the round cell disk enclosed by a ring and covered by the outer armor cowling and cockpit hatch. In between the halves of the body are two of the rubber parts that fit into the arm pit and lock under the armor that fits around the waist. In the bottom of the torso there is a detail plate, a simple box shaped sheet of plastic that fits under the torso armor to block in the armor.

The Waist of the Exia is built according to the design’s minimalist form. Construction is simply a central block with pegs for the legs to connect, a front block with skirts, and a rear section. There is some paint work to be done on the front skirts, but there is really not much as building that is concerned here. The rear section however is constructed with a rolling bar with hinge mounts on it, to which a set of docks for the beam sabers are attached. This is one of the Exia’s unique action features that a pair of sabers mounted on its rear skirt can roll up and fold out to the sides for it to grab them.

The arms take into consideration a method of construction that has only been used in the 1/144 scale HGUC line and rarely done for anything in 1/100 scale outside of the Master Grade line: double hinged elbows. In a 1/100 scale, the model’s elbows have been faked using polycaps and a decorative ‘elbow sock’ to cover the polycap and bicep peg. Instead of that, the Exia’s elbow is a set of plates sandwiching two hinges, one with a peg to go into the bicep and the inner hinge block that goes into the forearm. This block in the forearm is also used as the docking point for the Exia’s weaponry and shield.

The bicep and shoulder armor are linked together by the rubber strip cable in a fashion that could be considered free floating. The shoulder armor is built around a plate hinge, this fits onto the shoulder block of the torso and then held down by the actual arm, but what unites both the armor and the arm is the cable itself, one end going into a groove in the arm a while the other fits into a block of armor on the inside edge of the shoulder armor. When completed, the arms have a significant range of motion, from the nature of the double jointed elbow to the separation in the shift of the arm rotation compared to its free floating shoulder armor.

Typical of the past few years, the hands of the Exia are simple open fists constructed in three parts: the fingers, palm, and backhand. There is one additional open palm hand for the left arm. Unlike the early entries from SEED the new hands connect together at an added point in the base of the palm rather than just the thumb and fingers region. This improves the stability and grip strength for the hands and makes them less likely to separate.

The legs of the Exia are particularly interesting form of engineering. The hip joint is a sphere shaped component with a cover plate (which is then removed and adjusted to dock its swords), which connects to the upper leg assembly consisting of a stable blend of underlying skeletal structure and outer armor construction. The upper portion of the leg is constructed as two square halves with a rubber plate laid into the front, with a long conjoining peg that locks it into the knee. The lower leg is built into the knee through the knee’s lower subassembly which is then covered by an outer layer of armor, and a rubber strip in the front that is neatly tucked into a groove in the inner leg which floats just above the outer armor layer. Continuing the trend of the kit, the legs also have reservoirs and such they are built into the knee armor.

The base build starts with the knee, as two large circular blocks come together and joins the upper and lower leg from within as a single unit rather than individual sections. The knee itself is rather large than the typical assembly has been in the past. According to the design, the knee is integrated into the lower leg, but is not locked in place. This allows for a greater range of flexibility and makes the Exia physically impressive. At the ankles, the Exia abandons the typical style of wrap-around ankle armor, and goes for a front guard with a rolling guard on the rear. The feet are also a combination of the classic style but done with a sort of ‘floating’ block for the upper portion of the foot, so there is a distinctive gap between the sections of the feet.

In the essence of ending conflict with conflict, each of the Gundams surpasses the typical load of weaponry to compliment the specialty of each machine. As sword combat is Exia’s field of focus; it has an assortment of cutlery at its disposal. As expected for a Gundam, the Exia comes packing beam sabers: four to be exact, built from two halves for each blade. These sabers are stored in docks on the back of the shoulder armor and the waist unit. To compliment the sabers’ versatility, the Exia comes with four clear beams in different lengths, two long beams and two short dagger beams. Unlike past entries, these are not the typical tube shaped sabers of past generations instead they follow 00’s style of a squared shape with smooth round edges. The end result is they conform to the grip of the Exia’s hands much better. Also, due to the extreme range of flexability, the Exia can be posed reaching for them more naturally than any other Gundam outside of the Master Grade line.

Exia’s additional arsenal consists of two ‘GN-Swords’ which are solid blade weapons set at two different lengths; a long blade and a short sword. While different in length, both share the same volume of parts: six pieces to form the grip, scabbard, and blade (the body with a fill-in strip for one side). The GN-Swords are then stored on the Exia’s hips. However as mentioned before, the swords requires two additional canister shaped parts that fit onto the outside of the hips. These added parts makes the Exia lose some of its flexibility unfortunately.

Clearly noticeable is Exia’s primary weapon, the GN-Blade, a large folding sword that runs a full arm’s length and mounts to the shield docked onto the right forearm. According to its design, the blade folds back and shifts underneath the shield. However to simplify the design in plastic, there is no secondary shifting, and the blade simply folds back at the hilt.

In addition to its swords, the Exia comes with a short shield which docks onto the left arm. Constructed in four parts; the back side, outer shell and two flairs on the sides with an added polycap on the back side which connects it to a docking mount. According to its design there is no grip or realignment points for it to move on. This makes the shield a single point mount with some rotation via a polycap socket in the back of the shield. There is relatively no impact on the Exia’s range of motion, and the shield makes a nice contrast to the GN-Blade on the right arm.

As a small bonus to the kit, Bandai has included a docking cradle to connect the Exia to their ‘Action Base.’ This has been an increasing trend as of late, where kits come with mounts for the base rather than coming with a base of their own. The Exia’s dock is a small ‘Y’ shaped piece fits on the under side of the Exia’s waist, and locks into a small groove between its legs. Although easy to miss in the Exia’s parts, it makes for a nice addition if one has the Action Base to go with it.

OVERALL

The Gundam Exia 1/100 scale kit is a nice introduction for the new generation of the Gundam franchise. From the execution of translating the design in plastic to its engineering, the Exia sports a few new design components and makes 00’s presence known in the hobby world. It shows incredible promise for what Bandai has in store for the future of the series and their next generation of models.

Made in Hong Kong for the Italian market, this is a popular junior machinder and a another neat, old school Gundam toy.

Exactly how many "Junior Machinders" were made and of what characters is still very much a mystery. We've seen a great many of them over the years, but it seems new things will never stop being discovered. But among the ones that we know to be out there, perhaps this Gundam figure might be the most highly regarded and sought after.

Besides being a toy of one of the most popular robots out there, this is special because it's features many parts unique to this toy, whereas so many other junior machinders share lots of parts. Really, the only parts on this toy that we've seen elsewhere are the fists (which are used on almost all junior machinders) and the missile on the shoulder cannon, which was taken from the Daimos Jumbo Machinder. Gundam probably has a bigger arsenal than any other junior machinder, too. Besides the shoulder mounted missile launcher, he also has a hand held gun, a sword/axe kind of weapon and a shield. The shield can be held in either of it's hands, or stored on the left shoulder.

Gundam is a mixture of polyethylene for the legs, soft vinyl for the head and torso and hard plastic for the arms. Both stickers and paint applications provide more detail to the colored plastics. Besides the missile, both fists can fire. Gundam is approximately 15 inches tall and comes in a colorful box with some neat artwork on the front.*

There is a logo of "SMC" on the back of the toy, but the box seems to indicate it was made by Ceppi Ratti. This toy pales in comparison to the other Ceppi Ratti Gundam Machinder, the elusive Jumbo. To date, I only know of three collectors to own one of those. But I certainly like this one much more than the more recent Easter Basket Gundams sold in the US.

* Thanks to Jerilock for the image of the box. Even though that should have been my box!**

** I found the auction for the toy he won but didn't bid because no box was shown. He bid and won and then the seller said he had the box! It should have been mine, dangit! ;)

First, I want to apologize for the condition of the toy that I’m going to review. I received this one from my mother (thank you mom) around 1984. It’s over 20 years old, so the condition may not be to good. But at least it’s still intact, eh.

First, I want to apologize for the condition of the toy that I’m going to review. I received this one from my mother (thank you mom) around 1984. It’s over 20 years old, so the condition may not be to good. But at least it’s still intact, eh.

Let’s start, shall we? This is a Clover made Gundam toy. Basically, it’s a windup toy with Gundam character. The Gundam itself is the RX 78-2 Gundam. The main character from the first Gundam.

It made mostly from ABS Plastics with tin covering for the body and kind of Iron plate for the shoulder and knee. The plastics is strong enough to withstand hard beatings. It had a shield that you put in the left arm and it’s made of tin and iron. Unfortunately, I lost it, so I can’t show it to you. I think it is about 75% plastic, 15% tin and 10% iron.

They toy itself had a blocky look. Although very uncommon these days, it is the standard for 80’s toys. But the blocky look is what attracts me (maybe some of you) to collect vintage toys. The sculpt and the paint although not Anime accurate, succeed in bringing the Soul of Gundam. It also had what vintage toys should have, It’s name written in the chest. The details are a far cry from today’s Gundam kit or figure, but, again, it is a vintage toy, so it’s forgivable. It has wheels in it’s feet for the walking mechanism. The wheels made of plastic.

The only articulation is in it’s arms. The legs and the feet only had articulation for the walking feature.

Considering the material, it’s not a Chogokin. But the love magnet of this toy is not the diecast part. As I mentioned before, it’s a wind up toy. So, after you turn the knob, watch as the mighty Gundam walks with glory across the battlefield (or your room). Beside the walking feature, it also has a shooting feature from the Bazooka that it carries on it’s right shoulder. It is supposed to imitate the Bazooka that Gundam uses in the Anime.

The bottom line… this is a simplistic toy that is what a toy should be about. Endless hours of play value. Imagine having it walk across the room, and stop just in time (there’s a lever to stop the toy) to shoot your enemies. Also it doesn’t disappoint us collectors. A truly must-have for toy enthusiasts or just Gundam fans.