Oh man do I love this toy.

The Chogokin Panda-Z is like a dream fully realized. When the vinyls were first released in 2003, the first thing everyone said was "These are cool, but where are the die cast?"

Well, here it is.

Panda Z is about 5 inches tall, and made out of die cast and plastic. The head, wings, arms and firing fists are plastic. The rest is all die cast metal. The head swivels and you can place a little pan-taro in the cockpit. Shoulders can swivel out to the sides and have detented joints for forward and back motion. Both fists fire, and the fists can be turned in 2 positions like most classic chogoin. The chest missile is activated by a small button on the back underneath the jetpack. The button just pushes the missile assembly out, you have to open the missile bay doors. The missile does not fire.

The jet wings are attached to the back by a weak magnet. If you just bump the wings they will fall off. The wings are made of a sturdy plastic, and the metallic red paintjob is stunning.

The legs have a swivel joint at the hips but there is a limited range of motion. The knees are another detented joint, while the feet are on ball joints. The bottom of the feet have amazing molded and painted detail.

The box brings you back to the days of classic chogokin - styrofoam tray, instruction booklet, even the classic chogokin logo are represented. All it needs is a GA number.

So what's not to like about Panda-Z? Well. the toy has a couple of minor flaws. Firstly, the pilot does not stay in his seat. Megahouse could have made him magnetized, or at least put a peg in him to keep him in place. Second, the magnet on the back to hold the wing assembly is not strong enough. I'm also disappointed that the chest missile does not shoot, or even pop out with force. The button placement under the wing is unfortunate. I would have also liked to have seen a wider range of motion in the legs.

Still, Panda-Z fits right in with your classic ST chogokins. If you are a fan of that line, you can't pass this up.

Panda-Z originally sold for a retail price of 5510 yen, and was released November 20, 2004.
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Pan-Taron is the pilot of the Robonimal Panda-Z. He is made entirely out of vinyl, and features articulation at the head, shoulders and legs. he is about 3.5" tall.

Pan-Taron also comes with a removeable base.

Not much else to say about him. He's just cool looking, and makes a great addition to your Panda-Z collection.

Black Ham Gear is piloted by the evil Dr. Jangarly, a robotic mouse, with a see-through mechanical head. (the toy does not have this feature, although it would have been VERY cool.)

Black Ham Gear is either a mouse or a hamster. He is considerably shorter than Panda Z, who will totally kick his ass. Dr. Jangarly can be removed from the cockpit, and features articulated arms. Black Ham Gear is articulated at the shoulders, wrists and legs. He has full paint detail in the cockpit, and even the thrusters under the feet are detailed.

He has a funky, steam-punk feel, but he lacks the innocent charm of Panda Z. Still, if you have a fetish for robotic animal kikaiju, Black Ham Gear is for you.
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I was walking through the backstreets of Harajuku on my first day alone in Tokyo. I took a few turns and next thing you know I am lost in the back streets of this hipsters paradise. Luckily I had the toy-radar on, and I found a little store called Pook et Koop.

I found Panda-Z Waiting for me there, its cuteness demanding me to purchase it. So I did.

Panda-Z is manufactured by Megahouse, a small Japanese company. It is about 6 1/2" tall, and made out of painted vinyl. It comes blister carded. The packaging is nice because it allows you to re-seal the figure, although i'm sure Panda-Z will never want to be put away. The card opens up to reveal some nice artwork, including some sketches of other characters in the Panda-Z universe. Will we ever see figures of them?

Panda-Z Features articulation at the neck, arms and legs. The pilot is removable, as is the "Jet Scrander." You can remove the fists to simulate "Rocket Punch" action, but they do not fire. There is nice detailing on the ends of the fists. The bottom of the feet have nice paint detail, too.

I don't know if Panda-Z is limited or not, but I saw empty display stands for it all over tokyo. HLJ has them, so get them while they last.