The Konami Great Impact Model Gurren Lagann is Konami’s first (that I know of) foray into the world of high-end diecast toys. It was only a matter of time really, seeing the success of similar lines by Bandai, Takara, Yamato and CM’s. I’m happy to report that this thing is awesome.

The Konami Great Impact Model Gurren Lagann is Konami’s first (that I know of) foray into the world of high-end diecast toys. It was only a matter of time really, seeing the success of similar lines by Bandai, Takara, Yamato and CM’s. I’m happy to report that this thing is awesome. Gurren Lagann WAS available from HobbyLink Japan, but as of writing this article, is sold out.

Gurren Lagann comes from the anime series Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (天元突破グレンラガン,). The series was created by legendary animation studio GAINAX (aka the people behind Evangelion) and ran on TV Tokyo for 27 episodes in 2007.

The series is very good, and I suggest you check it out. Wikipedia gives a good description of the series, but what I will tell you is this – Gurren Lagann is actually two separate robots that combine into one.

Lagann is a small Gunman (robot) that becomes the head of Gurren Lagann. He is found buried deep in the earth by Simon, a digger from Giha Village. Gurren is a Gunman that was originally owned by the enemy Beastmen. Simon’s “Brother” Kamina steals the Gunman and takes it for his own. The two combine in battle in order to overcome the enemy Gunmen, and make the combined form, Gurren Lagann, their own.

I know what you are thinking here, but no, Gurren Lagann does not transform.

Skip to the video review

Gurren Lagann comes packaged in a huge heavy-duty cardboard box with a flip-up lid. Inside the lid is a nice Styrofoam tray with each part neatly displayed. Gurren Lagann comes ready to go right out of the box.

The toy is heavy, and features lots of metal parts. Articulation on this thing is insane, with double-jointed elbows and knees, and possibly the most poseable feet ever. Check out the video to see what we are talking about, but its really great. The legs use a neat system of collapsible panels on the backs of the knees to allow for greater movement, and the elbows feature a neat pull out joint system.

At the hips there are 4 pieces of moveable skirt armor – the front and pack pivot out, while the sides move in all directions. These skirt parts are probably the only poor thing about this toy. Extreme poses can cause the skirts to pop out, but the good news is that they pop back in. Still, a stronger connection would have made this unnecessary.

Gurren Lagann’s torso has a huge range of motion. There is of course a waist joint, but in addition there is a joint in the upper chest that can move any which way. The chest is a giant face, and the joint takes advantage of the jaw placement. The jaw too is moveable. This whole chest unit is metal. It’s breathtaking. Gurren Lagann’s sunglasses can clip on to the chest and are made out of translucent plastic.

Gurren Lagann uses the sunglasses as a weapon, so Konami included not one but two additional sets to be used as weapons. These cannot be attached to the chest, and are a little bigger.

The head has a few ball joints that allow it to shift forward and back as well as the usual range of motion.

Another place where this toy really excels is the arms. The whole shoulder assembly is diecast with a section that moves forward and backward near the chest. Then there is the diecast ball joint at the shoulder and the previously mentioned elbows. Several sets of hands are included and they are easily swapped.

Included with the figure is a large Gurren Wing that can be attached to the back of the figure. This gives an impressive wingspan to an already impressive figure. The wings are all plastic and are actually collapsible. To attach the wings, you simply remove a metal panel on the back of the figure and connect the wings.

If you have watched the show, you will notice that drills play a prominent role in the series, in both the literal and metaphoric sense. I’m not sure what role these accessories play in the show, but included are what seems like dozens of small plastic drill bits that attach all over the figure. There are four different size bits, and each has a specific place, so make sure you read the manual for placement. These things are SHARP, and are made out of hard plastic. Most drill bits just plug in, but there are a few exceptions. The long drills on the arms require an additional cover piece that goes over the holes in the arms, and the drill that goes into the forehead requires some “modification” (at least on mine it did). It looks like paint filled the hole on mine, so I just had to clear it out with a thumbtack. The great thing is, that even with all the drill bits attached, Gurren Lagann is still fully poseable.

Another place where the drill metaphor comes into place is in an included accessory. A 1:1 scale key to operate Gurren is included, and is in the shape of a translucent gold drill. The handle to this key is solid metal, and it includes a holder.

An accessory called the Gurren House is included that is used to hold all the small drill bits when not in use. It has a removable cover, and requires a small amount of assembly.

Finally, included is a stand. This stand comes with two different display arms – one for standing and one for flying. The stand attaches to a hole in the rear of the figure, under the armor. It’s a solid, tight fit. There is also a small part that can clip onto either stand that can hold the wings. The back of the stand has a compartment that can hold the remainder of the accessories.

I really really love this toy. The build quality, engineering, and accessories are top notch. So where did Konami get this ability to produce high-end gokin? My theory is that they didn’t.  I think Konami subcontracted this toy out to Max Factory. Everything about this reminds me of their Max Gokin Godannar toy. The build, the finish, the stand, hell even the packaging is identical! The two just seem too similar to not be related somehow. Not that that’s bad though, it is a quality piece, regardless of who made it.

 As you can probably tell, I can’t recommend this toy enough. It is just so cool on so many levels, and is one of the rare toys that I think is worth the high price tag. Unfortunately, these things are selling like crazy and are already sold out at places like HobbyLink Japan (where I got mine). Be diligent in your search, and hopefully you will find one.

Video Review (now in HD!)

Gurren Lagann OP

Today’s I am reviewing Dragon Shiryu from the Saint Cloth Myth line. Saint Cloth Myth is Bandai’s premium line of collectible figures based on the Manga and animated series called Saint Seiya.

This figure came courtesy from Angolz.com who have been nice enough to provide us with all of our Saint Cloth Myth figures for review.

If you are just joining us and want to know all about what is going on with Saint Seiya I suggest heading over to wikipedia and checking things out.

Now on to the actual toy - Bandai has consistently banged out some quality collectibles with the Saint Cloth Myth line the figures are always well produced and loaded with ton’s of accessories. Figures are made of plastic, stand about 6 inches tall and feature lot’s of poseability. The armor the figures wear are always made of a high amount of die-cast metal and honestly I am running out of nice things to say about this line.

This time around I am reviewing Dragon Shiryu, one of our main heroes and a Silver Saint of Athena. Shiryu is the oldest and wisest of our band of heroes. Shiryu wears the Dragon Cloth (armor for those not in the know.)

From Wikipedia:
“The Dragon Cloth represents the constellation Draco, which is associated to Ladon, the hundred eyed dragon who guarded the golden apples of the Hesperides, in Greek mythology.”

“The Bronze Cloth of Dragon is legendary for its large shield on the left arm guard. Its reputation is unmatched by any other cloth among Athena's saints, and only very few have ever shattered it. The Dragon Cloth itself is noted for its ultimate durability, as it had spent the last 200 years bathed under the mineral-rich waterfall of the Rozan mountains, which made it harder than diamonds.”

This is Dragon Shiryu as his Cloth appears later in the series and Hades OVA’s. The armor is almost all die-cast metal with only the waist skirt and head piece being made of plastic. Paint detail is nice with no chipping or flaking.

The figure itself is made of plastic with over 40 points of articulation with the feet being made of die-cast metal. Included in the package is an alternate head which sports Shiryu with his eyes closed (Shiryu goes blind in the later part of the series and tends to have his eyes closed.)

Lastly the armor pieces do assemble into a statue when our heroes aren’t wearing them. In the series the armor shrinks a bit to make the statues small, because these are made from the armor the figure wears the statue stand about as tall as the figure.

As you can see from the pictures, Dragon Shiryu looks good and as always Bandai has made a fantastic collectible. Fans of the series should run, not walk to add Shiryu to their collection and if you don’t watch or read the series it may still be a sharp enough design to pick up. The Saint Cloth Myth line always delivers a quality product and it is well worth finding a design you like and giving one a try.

I have included a video review below and as always you can get your Saint Cloth Myth figures at Angolz.com.

Heck if I know what "GN-U" stands for, but let me tell ya, as someone who's not particularly fond of modern gokin "collectibles" of classic Japanese super robots, Yamato's "The 'GN-U' Hagane" Groizer-X is a pleasant surprise.

Groizer X is a super robot cartoon that aired in Japan before I was born. It featured your classic 70's alien invasion story involving a kidnapped scientist forced to build them the ultimate super weapon. His daughter manages to steal this "weapon" and escape with it to Japan, where she and her hero pal battle the monster of the week for the next 36 episodes.

The show was never brought to the States, yet from the first time I laid eyes on the Nakajima diecast toys of the robot, I was in love with Groizer. The design is part of robot maestro, Nagai Go's official pantheon. Much like Nagai's Getter robots, Groizer features an "impossible" transformation involving a gigantic bomber aircraft with a robot head metamorphing into a robot. What's impossible about it, of course, is that it's nothing like your typical modern Transformer. Transformers features moving parts that retain their dimensions and just rearrange themselves realistically to make a different overall shape. Nope. Groizer's bomber wings "morph" into the robot's arms, while the aft fuselage splits into the legs. Yeah. Well, if you're a fan of any of these shows, you're no stranger to suspension of disbelief; I haven't seen whole episodes of the cartoon, but I'm guessing that the transformation's one of the easiest parts of the show to swallow!

So why am I in love with this robot? Well, he's blue, he's weird-looking, and he's got a pretty groovy head with antennae. Yep, that's pretty much all I need!

Sure, the transformation is...different...but I can dig it. Besides, unlike actual Transformers, Groizer's transformation isn't really a major concern in any of the previous toys (except for Nakajima's elusive magnetic Groizer, which, as it turns out, is quite similar in spirit to the toy we're reviewing today!). The other popular Nakajima diecasts simply come static in either mode: Groizer X, the bomber, and Groizer Robo, the robot. And they're gorgeous. Their proportions are chunky, their colors are striking. Shooty missiles and fists. The toys are rugged and simple. Everything you love about old-school diecast, they have.

Now, along comes Yamato with their new GN-U line. Like I said, I have no idea what GN-U stands for, but making sense of all their offerings is stroke-inducing. Okay, so the "GN-U Hagane" line is high-end, semi-parts-swapping super robots, including this Groizer and the upcoming Danguard Ace(!). Now, this line is NOT to be confused with the "GN-U Gou" line, which is all-plastic, high-end, and heavily-parts-swapping...like Braiger. Lastly, there's the "GN-U Dou" line, which is all-PVC, non-transforming action figures, including the upcoming Braiger and Dancougar.

Anyway, those who know me know that I'm not particularly fond of modern gokin. I categorize most modern high-end super robot offerings as "collectibles", rather than as actual toys. They often come with scads of tiny, delicate accessories to recreate any scene from the cartoon, and they usually favor cartoon-accurate looks and super-poseability over imaginative play value. For the most part, they are fragile collectors' items for adults to put on shelves...and certainly not meant for children's sandboxes.

Somehow, by design or dumb luck, Yamato has crossed back over to the fun side of things with their "Groizer-X" (note the hyphen). With this toy, they've managed to create something that's simple, durable, and imaginative...and yet, satisfying to collectors, with anime-accurate sculpting, absurd poseability, and lots of detailed accessories.

But let's start from the top: the packaging:

The box is big. Probably quite a bit bigger than it really needs to be...but there's a reason for it that we'll get to later. As you can see above, the front flap of the box lifts up to reveal a window showing Groizer-X (bomber mode). When you pull everything out of the box, you get two flimsy, clear plastic trays containing the surprisingly simple toy, the instruction booklet, and full-color papercraft materials(!).

The first tray includes the main wings for Groizer's bomber mode, the aft fuselage (that you need to plug the stabilizers into), and the accessories baggies (containing, among other things, the G-Jet, G-Shark, and G-Tank). The second tray has parts for robot mode--arms, abdomen/legs, extra hands, and the stand and landing gear for bomber mode.

There's actually not a whole lot to say about the toy, itself...and I consider that a good thing. On one hand, I don't have as much time to spend playing with toys these days, but on the other, I just simply appreciate a toy that doesn't require a lot of book-keeping and busy-work to entertain me. With this toy, I can just let my imagination go with a genuinely cool, solid toy.

So, let's get started with Groizer-X, the bomber:

First off, it's worth mentioning the stand. It's a very simple affair requiring the arm to be plugged into the base. Near the top of the arm, where it connects to Groizer, there is a pivot joint that allows the bomber to be displayed at different angles. Very basic, but I like it because it's secure, it's stable, and it gets the job done.

Now...the good stuff. As you can see, the bomber looks pretty damn good:

The main wings are each one solid piece of plastic. They're well painted with a nice glossy sheen, but they're pretty light. Add to that the aft fuselage being almost all-plastic, you actually have a very lightweight toy. Initial reports of this toy clocked the diecast at only 30%. Well, that's probably true...for bomber mode. But really--what does this thing do? Is a lot of heft an actual requirement for this mode?

The stand is somewhat light ABS plastic and the pivot joint where it plugs into Groizer-X would really suffer if it were any heavier. Sure, Yamato could beef it up, but I just don't see the need...

The bomber doesn't feature too many gimmicks. One nice touch is removable landing gear. A panel pops out of the chest for the nose gear to fit into. Two panels in the aft section recess to allow the aft gear to plug into. The chassis the wheels are attached to are ball-jointed, which is a nice touch I guess. While the wheels don't actually roll, you can at least display the gear in different positions...plus, they can conform to uneven surfaces. Yeah, not a lot to write home about.

The one feature I kinda dig is the "Flying Torpedo" accessories. Yeah, I know it's been compared to sperm and other funny biological entities I can't really talk about here...but it's pretty cool. Basically, that big door on Groizer's chest opens and has an attachment rail. You get the Torpedo warhead, the whole Flying Torpedo, and an exhaust trail to which the Torpedo can attach. All of these can attach to the rail to simulate different stages of firing:

Okay, yeah, I guess it's a bit of superfluous accessory, like the ones I mentioned that normally annoy me about most modern gokin. Truth is, as fun as it was to photograph, stuff like the landing gear and Flying Torpedo bits are going right back in the box. The bomber and the stand are all I care about.

Before we leave the bomber and move onto the robot, let's just take a comparison of Yamato's Groizer-X bomber and Nakajima's bomber:

Not too shabby, but Yamato's version could definitely have benefitted from missiles or some other kind of spring-loaded shooty gimmick.

Now, on to the robot...

The "transformation" is pretty simple. There's a quick, intuitive rearranging of the chest piece that places the head properly atop the shoulders instead of severely tilted back for bomber mode. Then, you just pull out the wings and the aft fuselage and replace them with the robot arms and legs. Done.

Remember that report of 30% diecast? Forget about it. Besides the chest piece being nearly all diecast, now you have the shoulders and upper arms, and the lower legs and feet...all diecast. This is a substantial toy that really does benefit from the added heft. Unlike the bomber, Groizer Robo is all finger-candy. Sturdy, ridiculously-articulated with strong detents in most of the joints, simple...fun.

Simply gorgeous. It's tall (at just under 8 inches) and has just the right amount of weight and distribution of it. This figure is stable and isn't going to fall off your shelf, let alone disappoint your diecast addiction!

One thing I found really nice is the antennae. They're made of some sort of super-flexible, but super-tough plastic. No matter how you bend them, they're not going to snap off. Great stuff...durability is appreciated.

Gimmicks? What you see is what you get. Accessories? Well...he's got open hands. I love it!

Again, sure, I wouldn't have minded seeing shooting fists or some neat features like that. So how does the Yamato stack up against the Nakajima?

The last major thing about this toy I want to talk about is something I alluded to earlier: the box the toy comes in actually combines with the included papercraft bits to form the landing strip from Groizer's Akane-Jima island base!!

This is cool beyond words...and the irony of it all is that I haven't even assembled it! :P

Honestly, I'm probably not going to get around to it either. This is one of those things where putting together the base is half the fun. Papercraft projects, clearly reminiscent of Japan's tradition of origami, are fun and while not particularly challenging in their modern full-color, pre-printed, perforated form, still take some time to do right.

That's time I don't really have. And more to the point...where am I gonna put this thing!?

This is one huge beast! Now, back when I was a kid, I would have gone ape crap over this thing. Back in those days, I didn't get many toys, so I simply had a lot of time to appreciate the few I had. As such, something like this woulda been perfect. I would have lovingly put together the base and staged all sorts of cool sorties and and invasions!

Then again, when I was a kid, there was pretty much no way in hell my mother would've sprung for a $158 toy!!

Well, such is life. The good news is that our man, Pony has come through with his typical curmudgeon-style review (if you can read it)...complete with gorgeous pics. Please check it out here.

So that pretty much wraps it up. Good, solid toy. Simple and enjoyable. Unfortunately, at a pricetag of over $150 (though you should be able to find them closer to $140 right now in the aftermarket), it'll ultimately come down to folks' love for the character/design as the deciding factor. If it had retailed for around $100, this toy would be an absolute no-brainer.

I'll leave you with my 3-minute teaser review on Youtube:

Thanks for reading! Play hard!

The latest big Soul of Chogokin has arrived ! Godmars is here, and he is fantastic.

The latest big Soul of Chogokin has arrived ! Godmars is here, and he is fantastic.

The program "Rokushin Gattai God Marz" (aka Six Gods Combination God Mars or 六神合体ゴッドマーズ) debuted on the NTV network on October 2nd, 1981 and ran for 64 episodes until December 24, 1982. The Titular Robot was named Godmars – a giant robot made up of six smaller robots. Other than that, I got ‘nuthin.

Godmars was never broadcast in the west, so American audiences wouldn’t know of this character’s existence if it weren’t for it being part of the Godaikin line of toys in the 80s. Godaikin toys were repackaged Bandai toys that were assembled from a wide variety of sources. The GB-68 Popy DX Chogokin Godmars was sold under the line in mainstream outlets such as Child World and Toys R Us without any frame of reference.

The series wasn’t hugely popular and it is remembered more for the fantastic toys spawned from the show than the actual show itself. As Bandai’s Soul of Chogokin line progresses, it has to dig into the second tier characters. But this allows the designers to do a little more I think, because people are less concerned about the character and the accuracy than they are about if it is a cool, well-engineered toy.

I’m happy to say that Godmars is a great toy on many levels. Where the original Chogokin had a great transformation there was a lot to be said about what happened to the extra bits, or “kibble” that hung off the back. Bandai took this opportunity to right the wrongs made so long ago. This toy is a great homage to the classic Chogokin and is available at BetaToys.com

The box is very different from your average SOC. The big, bold title of the robot is spelled out in giant chrome letters, with all the characters flying in from space. Open the box and you get a styrofoam tray with an old-school insert, identifying each of the robots. Even more, lift off that tray to find that the Styrofoam has been embossed with the name and logo of the toy. That is awesome.

Each part of Godmars comes wrapped in plastic, and each unit is self-contained. No assembly is needed, and Godmars is ready to go right out of the box.

Godmars is made up of six robots.

Gaia is the core of the robot, and it hides inside the chest of Sphinx. It is microman sized, and is fantastically poseable. He comes with no accessories other than a set of variant hands. The lower legs and feet are metal.

Sphinx makes up the torso of Godmars. As a stand-alone robot, he is blocky and inarticulate. The head can turn, the arms have a decent range of motion, and the legs can swivel at the calf. The front and rear panels are metal. Sphinx also has a set of variant hands.

Uranus is the white arm of Godmars. This robot is really nicely done, with good articulation and metal content. Bandai did some great things with this toy in regards to hiding the arms so that it looked smooth from all sides.

Titan is the green arm of Godmars, and although he looks different, he transforms exactly the same as Uranus.

Shin is the black robot and makes up the right foot of Godmars. This is one heavy bot, with feet of solid metal. In robot mode his articulation is limited, but he is light years ahead of what was done with the old Chogokin version.

Ra is the blue robot and becomes the left foot of Godmars. This toy has the same transformation as Shin.

Assembling Godmars is as easy as it gets. Each robot folds up neatly with little fuss and no parts swapping. The arms of the smaller robots are hidden in a mechanism similar to Gold Lightan – each arm is collapsed and folded in to the torso, hidden inside. Once assembled, you’ve got a solid, fun toy that feels like it could have been made in 1982. The only thing that spoils the sense of nostalgia is the lack of firing fists.

Godmars has one weapon – the gigantic “Mars Flash” sword. The sword can be held in the existing articulated hands, or in the variant “sword holding” hand. Also included are two larger closed fists. Honestly, the hands that come stored inside the arms are good enough – the other fists are just clutter to be lost.

But wait, there is more. What SOC toy would be complete without all kinds of other accessories that are easily lost?

First off there are three small jets that can combine into one larger jet.

Cosmo Crusher 1 is a long slim gray jet.

Cosmo Crusher 2 is a stubby jet

Cosmo Crusher 3 is a microscopic ship that hides in the underside of Cosmo Crusher 1.

The two larger ships can combine to form the Cosmo Crusher. The toy is all plastic and has a cool transformation mechanism, but it doesn’t feel like it goes with the toy, and will probably remain in the box.

Godmars also comes with what looks like a large stone sarcophagus. You can place part of the display stand inside to pose the Gaia robot. Each of the Godmars robots rests in a hidden place, such as inside a statue or under the sea. It would have been cool if a container for each robot was provided as was shown at Tamashii Nation.

Lastly, A small stand is included, with pegs on the base for holding the hands. The stand has two parts that can be used for various displays. You can attach both parts to create a cradle for the sword, or you can attach the stand to the back of Gaia to replicate a flying mode.

As far as quality control goes, Godmars is mostly perfect. The door on top of Uranus (the white robot) does not like to stay flush with the body, and there are a few small paint issues in the inside of the arms of Shin (the black robot). Design-wise, the toy is great, although I find the legs a little long.

I would recommend Godmars, and you can get him at Betatoys.com. I think he is worth the money, and I feel that you get what you paid for with this one, bucking the trend with similarly priced “gokin” toys.

I'm not saying this isn’t a good toy – in some respects it’s a great toy. The engineering on each individual piece is marvelous. It is only in the connection of the two that the toy fails horribly. Oh yeah, and the fact that its about 300 bucks.

I’ve been kind of dreading doing this review for a number of reasons. There are so many expectations for this toy and I don’t know if I can accurately portray all that is good and bad with this without being a little biased. The fact that a Tread toy has been made sort of makes the set worth it for me, but for others, not so much.

The CM’s Brave Gokin EX-01 Legioss & Tread (Eta) (レギオスwithトレッド ブレイブ合金EX (エータ)) is the first Brave Gokin toy to get the EX designation. EX must stand for Extra Deceiving, because a Gokin toy this is not. In fact, the only metal in this toy is in the joints of the Legioss, the landing gear, and the large cradle that connects the Legioss and Tread. If you are expecting metal, you will be disappointed.

That’s not to say this isn’t a good toy – in some respects it’s a great toy. The engineering on each individual piece is marvelous. It is only in the connection of the two that the toy fails horribly.

Another point of contention with this toy is the price. At a Japanese retail price of 28,000 yen (figure about $350 USD once you factor in shipping), this thing is horribly overpriced. It’s cool but not $300 cool. So when I mention that something is really great about this toy, remember - $300 for the set, and almost no metal.

Packaging

Nothing special here with this packaging. The box features nice product shots and inside is a large clear plastic tray that holds the Legioss and Tread. There are very few accessories as most of the play value is in the units themselves. Included are a stand, gun, fists, sword, small ride armors in various modes, and a sticker sheet.

Legioss

Jump to the Legioss video >

The Legioss comes packaged in Armo-Soldier mode. It’s about 6.5 inches tall and weighs about 6 ounces. That’s pretty light, considering Toynami’s Alpha fighter weighs in at 15 ounces. Both the Toynami and CM’s Legioss are about the same size, but have drastically different proportions.

The engineering and QC are fantastic on the Legioss. Each part fits perfectly, the joints are tight, and nothing about it feels half-assed. Although the toy is light, it is extremely durable due to its use of POM plastic and diecast metal in the connecting joints. Articulation is great with some standouts being a waist joint and innovative elbow joints that allow for an amazing array of movement. One notable omission is the lack of any kind of head articulation.

The toy is molded in color with small amounts of tampo printing for the finer details. The paint is clean and sharp, with no visible over spray. Included with the toy is a sticker sheet that serves all three versions of the toy, but I think the toy looks great as-is. CM’s has also included a bunch of screw hole covers, but once again, I think it looks just fine, screw holes and all. It reminds me that it is a toy I guess, albeit an expensive one. The mold detail is crisp and clean, with etched panel lines, vents with interior detail, and few sprue marks.

One thing you may want to watch - there are two holes in the chest where the front fuselage locks into the body - those seem to be showing some stress marks

In Armo-Soldier mode, the Legioss can make use of several weapons. The EP-13 80mm 3-barrel Gatling beam gun features a moveable stock, and a removable armor clip. The hands of the Legioss have articulated trigger fingers, but there is no peg in the handle or hand to secure the gun to, making a weak connection. The Legioss also includes a sword, of all things. In episode 13 of Mospeada, Ley has a dream that he is fighting off monsters with the Legioss, brandishing a sword. I think it’s cool that CM’s included this as a sign of respect to the series.

In addition to the hand held weapons, the Legioss features two snap-on missile banks that attach to the underside of the chest, and a third, auxiliary missile bank that attaches to the left shoulder. And if the Legioss was not already armed to the teeth, it is covered with opening doors that reveal missile banks all over the figure – I count 14 of them. Not too shabby.

The Legioss is fully transformable into all three modes – Armo-Soldier, Armo-Diver, and Armo-Fighter. The Armo-Diver mode is similar to a Gerwalk mode from Macross – it sits somewhere in between fighter and soldier mode.

In fighter mode the Legioss looks good, but there are a few things that could have been done better, especially for the price. Once transformed into Armo-Fighter mode the parts just kind of sit there – there aren’t any pegs to lock parts into place. For example, it would have been great to have some kind of connector on the back of the legs to lock them together, or pegs on the bottom of the arm assemblies to attach them to the legs. As it is, you just have to put it in the position that looks best. Granted, the parts stay where they should pretty well, but it is not precise. Just look at the placement of the arms in fighter mode – things just don’t line up as well as they should.

The extra missiles and gun can all be attached to the Legioss in Fighter mode. The gun can be stored either under the wing, or in the back of the optional third missile bank. The gun slides into the back of the part by using a replacement gun clip.

The landing gear is all metal, and the wheels spin freely. Each landing gear is hidden behind a panel that is easily opened. The cockpit can also be opened, as well as a storage door on the underside for the Mospeada Ride Armor.

Tread

Jump to the Tread video >

Those of you not intimately familiar with Mospeada or Robotech: The Next Generation may not understand the big deal about the Tread. The Tread fighter (or Beta Fighter) is a support mecha that “docks” with the back of the Legioss for added firepower. Back in the day when Gakken came out with the original Legioss toy, they had planned on a Tread, but it was only released in limited numbers in Europe, and only for the smaller version of the toy. The toy has become a thing of legend, and when a specimen appears, it fetches a LOT of money. Fans have been clamoring for a Tread toy for years, and while Toynami announced theirs first, CM’s beat them to market with the first Tread toy since 1985.

The AB-01 Tread is a fantastic toy. It also fully transforms into three modes: Armo-Soldier, Armo-Bomber and Armo-Diver mode.

In Armo-Soldier mode the Tread is about 8 inches tall and weighs 10 ounces. It is extremely toy-like in its construction and articulation. In fact, I might go so far as to say the Tread is MORE articulated than the Legioss. The Tread has clicky joints all over the place, fantastic elbow joints, articulated fingers, a waist joint, and even head articulation. The toy is the same quality as the Legioss, but this time with almost no metal connector joints (the only one I can see is in the neck).

In terms of armament the Tread has 2 missile banks that open up on the chest and 2 that pop up on the shoulder, as well as cannons molded into the arms. The Tread can hold the Legioss’ gun, but the same issues occur. It’s really really great, and this makes the set for me. It ALMOST convinces me that it’s worth the money.

Transformation has an almost playskool-like simplicity. Fold up the legs, fold in the arms, and fold out the cockpit and the wings. That’s pretty much it. The wingspan in Armo-Bomber mode is a fantastic 14 inches. The cockpit can open and reveal a small pilot – a nice touch.

In Armo-Bomber mode, the Tread has no built-in landing gear, so it relies on the metal cradle to rest on. The cradle is secured to the Tread by way of 2 spring loaded ball connectors in the tail section. Unfortunately, the Tread is a little back-heavy and there is no way to connect it to the front, so it tends to tilt to the back. This is an example of one of many little things that CM’s could have done to go the extra mile. Why not also make connectors for the front to make this mode stable?

Legioss + Tread = FAIL

Jump to the FAIL video >

Here is where it all goes horribly wrong. Each toy on its own is pretty awesome, and if CM’s could have nailed the connection of the two it might, MIGHT have justified the price. But it is as if someone simply gave up when trying to engineer this. A little background information may be helpful here as I explain what went wrong. See, the Legioss was designed as a stand alone toy by Shinji Aramaki.. Gakken decided that they needed more transforming mecha in Mospeada so they had another designer, Hideki Kakinuma design the Tread, with no set means to connect them. In the show, animators relied on “Anime Magic” to make the transformation work. Unfortunately, that left today’s toymakers in the dark as to how they connected, and each maker has to come up with their own solution. Both CM’s and Toynami have come up with a connector bar solution, but CM’s is the first one we have seen in production.

Essentially, the connector bar is a solid metal cradle that attaches to the Tread in the rear and the Legioss in the front. The connection to the tread is reasonably secure aside from it being back-heavy (see above). The connection to the Legioss seems like a total afterthought.

First, you have to move the arm assemblies on the back of the fighter together, and push the tail wings down. These parts have no kind of peg or connector to keep them rigid, so they just mash together. The legs need to be splayed out to the sides so that they look like frog legs. To connect the Legioss to the metal cradle, you have to line up the hip connectors with the U-shaped connectors on the cradle. There is virtually no tension in this connection, so it just rests there. From there you have to “tuck” the Legioss in behind the front of the Tread.

Don’t let the pictures fool you – it’s a floppy mess.  Nothing really connects to anything, and if you pick it up it’s just going to separate. This is a real disappointment – shame on you CM’s. For $300 you couldn’t have figured this out? Added a couple extra clips to lock it together? It feels like you didn’t even try. How can you put so much love into one facet of the toy and completely ignore something like this?

You can also put the dock the Legioss and Tread when the Legioss is in Armo-Soldier mode, but this too suffers from the same issue. The included stand is more like a crutch to hold the unit up. While the pictures on the box show the combined unit floating up off the ground, the stand is not tall enough, nor is the toy balanced properly, to get its feet off up of the ground.

In Conclusion

Taken as individual toys, the Legioss and Tread are great. Not $300 great, but as well engineered toys they succeed. These should probably be priced around $60 each. Look at what $300 gets you for other toys – Soul of Chogokin, Fewture EX gokin – no other toy gives you so little for so much. It’s like an Otaku tax – we pay the premium to get these short run toys of obscure mecha, and even though we are disappointed, we come back for more. It’s like its some kind of sick game at the CM’s head office to see just how ridiculously priced these things can get. The upcoming CM’s Dancougar Nova will be around SIX HUNDRED DOLLARS.  Well, here is where I throw in my towel with CM’s. I’m done with toys like this. If you are going to charge me over $100 for a toy, it better be worth it. For this price I demand that the quality and detail and engineering are nothing but the best.

It just kills me that this was the price I had to pay to get a Tread toy.

So obviously I have mixed feelings about this. I don’t think it is worth it, but maybe you are a bigger Mospeada fan than me. I can still say though I would recommend this one over the Toynami version. Hell, I would recommend something my 3 year old son made out of Lego before I recommend one of those. What the hell were they thinking? But I digress…

You can get your Legioss & Tread at HobbyLink Japan if you are so inclined, but you will not be able to get the Red or Green version there. Those are going to be magazine and convention exclusives, which will undoubtedly drive up the already high price, even higher.

Good luck with that.

VIDEO

The Mospeada Trilogy

Legioss

Tread

Combination

http://www.hlj.com/product/CMS65132

If Bandai still made them like this, I would still collect Sentai.

I'm not going to even try to describe what the series was about. For that, check wikipedia.

What I can tell you though is that this figure is very cool, and one of my favorite releases from Wild Force / Gaoranger. The Deluxe Animus Megazord is based off of the Deluxe Wild Force Megazord. While the design is similar, very few of the parts are actually the same.

The Deluxe Animus Megazord consists of five power animals:

Saw-Shark

This shark features wheels on the bottom, a moveable jaw, fins, and a detachable tail.

Lion

The lion appears to be the same as the one used in the Deluxe Wild Force Megazord, aside from different coloring.

Condor

The condor features a new head and tail unit, redecorated wings, and metal feet.

Bison

The Bison is similar to the Bull used on the Wild Force Megazord, with different detailing, coloring, and different horns.

Leopard

The Leopard is similar to the tiger used on the Wild Force Megazord, with different coloring.

The combination is similar to that of the Wild Force Megazord, with a few notable exceptions.

On the chest of the Animus Megazord, the wings point upward and outward.

The horns on the head become a kind of bow weapon that can be held in the mouth of the Leopard.

Once again, this release retains all the metal of the DX Chogokin version. This is one heavy bot. If Bandai still made them this way today, I would still be a Sentai Fan.

So, what's different in this release from the Japanese release? The only thing I can see is that the gold metal shoulder plates are re-used from older US zords and not the ones that come with the Japanese version, which also has paint detail. Thats about it as far as I know, but perhaps purists will correct me.

This is the same review I did for the Stick Type. If you've read that, there's nothing different here. It still kind of stinks.

The VR-052T MOSPEADA Ride Armor hails from the anime series Genesis Climber Mospeada, better known as Robotech: The Next Generation here in the states. In Mospeada, the VR-052T ride armor is used by Ley. In Robotech he was renamed Rand and the Ride Armor was renamed the Cyclone.

The last transformable Mospeada Ride Armor toy was made by Gakken in 1983. I got that toy for my 10th birthday, and I still have it to this day. I love that toy and that design.

Last year, no less than FOUR companies announced that they were making new Ride Armor toys. Twenty five years with no ride armor toys then BOOM, 4 toys. These are crazy times we live in.

The first of the four companies to hit the shelves is CM’s Corporation. They released 2 versions of the Ride Armor – a Stick type and a Ley type. I got them both from HobbyLink Japan about a week ago.

I can’t remember the last time a toy filled m