Review by JoshB

I'll admit, I got burnt out on the latest batch of complicated Soul of Chogokin releases. When I got this one I sort of dreaded doing another complicated overly long review. But when I actually started it, I ended up really getting into it and remembering what drew me to the SOC line in the first place.

Tryder G7 arrives courtesy of Bluefin Tamashii Nations and can be found at the following retailers:

• Amazon.com
• Big Bad Toy Store
• Entertainment Earth

Tryder G7 (otherwise spelled Trider) was a Sunrise production cartoon that aired from 1980-1981, directly after Gundam. While it didn't gain the runaway popularity of Gundam, it was popular in its own right, and was also popular in Europe, especially Italy.

This release marks the 66th regular relase in the Soul of Chogokin line. At first I thought it was more of the same after Daiojah and Daitarn, but this is a rather different (and good) animal.

The box is standard SOC fare. Thin cardboard with glossy photos are all around. Inside, a large styro tray holds the figure, caterpillar and shuttle, and then a clear plastic tray holds the weapons.

Tryder's design is pretty straightforward and representative of the look in the anime. You'd never know that the figure could transform into SEVEN different modes. Herein lies the genius of Tryder - It still holds together as a cohesive robot and toy despite having a ton of play value.

There's lots of diecast all over. It feels very heavy. Exposed joints in the hips and legs are solid unpainted metal. Legs, hips, body, arms, all contain copious amounts of metal.

Screw holes are hidden well. The wings need to be attached initially, but remain on the figure throughout all modes.

Articulation is great, with full range of motion in the shoulders, double elbows, ball jointed wrists, hinge/dwivel hips, double knees and swivel ankles. Sadly, the only omission is a waist joint.

There are two heads, with two swappable faceplates. One head transforms and the other is anime-accurate. The faceplates can be changed between the two. Shown here is the anime-accurate head with both faceplates.

The default hands are fully articulated with individually jointed thumb and fingers. These are a bit small and are designed to slide into the arm housing.

Larger, anime-accurate hands are included that attach to plates that snap into the arms once the default hands are hidden.

To get the small hands out of the arm, you need to open the doors on the inside of the arms and use the included wedge to slide the hands back out.

As far as weapons go, Tryder has a bunch.

Tryder Beam Cannon

The Beam Cannon is a sidearm that can be held with the default articulated hands. The trigger finger can even fit through the hole for the trigger. When not in use, it can be attach to an adapter and hung off the hip.

Tryder Chain

The Tryder Chain features two set of articulated claws connected by a real metal chain. The claws are reminiscent of those from a UFO Catcher machine.

Tryder Saber

The hilt for the Tryder Saber can be stored in either of the opening panels on the legs. Once removed, the guards flip up and you attach the blade. The blade can be held with either one or both of the articulated hands.

Tryder Javelin

The compact version of the Tryder Javelin also can store in the opening panel on the leg. In it's initial dagger state the weapon features a short handle and removable end. Add in the long handle and spread out the blades of the trident. The blades are geared so that moving one blade extends the other.

Tryder Lure

The Lure is exactaly what it sounds like - a glorified fishing rod. The base part actually features a clicking reel.

Remove the tip and add the rod to make it look like an actual fishing pole.

The toy even includes fishing line in the form of a bendy cable. You can attach either the hook or the Tryder Yo-Yo with an adapter.

Tryder Cutter

The two spiky cutter discs are the Tryder Cutters. They can be weilded in either open hand by using tiny double-sided plugs that plug in the palms. In addition, they can be hung on the hips with the same clips from the Beam Cannon.

Transformation

Tryder can transform into seven distinct modes. I believe this is the first toy to be able to accomplish all seven.

Tryder Hawk

The transformable head makes up three modes of the seven, the first being Tryder Hawk. The tiny ship has an intricate and innovative transformation but it looks great.

Tryder Mobile

This mode is a slight variation of the Hawk, but with flip-down wheels to make a ground vehicle.

Tryder Marine

The Marine mode flips the horns back and folds down three skids for gliding on water. The front skid has a tendency to pop off but it's easily attached.

Tryder G7

The default robot mode that we've been talking about all along. We'll start here as the base for our remaining modes.

Tryder Cosmic

Tryder Cosmic is the most recognizable mode, and most often used in the show. It's got a great intuitive transformation that feels like an actual toy, with only one part to swap (the gold crest). There are also vent covers to add at the end of the arms to be more anime-accurate

It makes a solid ship mode with working landing gear, and Bandai includes a black support piece to hold up the weight in the rear for prolonged display.

Tryder Beagle

The Beagle is a ground-based mode that makes use of the Tryder Caterpillar, a tank that looks reminiscent of the base to a Guntank. The base is all plastic and has real working rubber treads. The top robot part can rotate freely on the base.

Tryder Eagle

Tryder Eagle is another flight-based mode that reminds me a bit of the ship mode of Danguard Ace. I like how the legs fold up and under from Cosmic mode with the addition of the Hawk at the front.

Tryder Shuttle

The shuttle is the support ship for Tryder G7. It's an epic carrier base that reminds me of the Super Sentai support mecha. It's a big boxy ship with a bunch of cool gimmicks. I initially balked at the idea that half of the size of this set was devoted to this ship, but now that I have it in hand it's actually awesome.

The ship rests on four fold-out landing gear which sadly, have a tendency to collapse easily. Also underneath is a fold-down loading ramp.

The rear deck opens up to reveal a storage space for the Tryder Caterpillar. Two yellow ramps pull out and down to provide access.

On either side are doors that open to reveal cannons.

Tryder Fortress

In order to form the Tryder Fortress, you have to pull out the dock from the front and flip out two connectors. These connectors will snap into the back of the Tryder Cosmos to make the massive Tryder Fortress.

The lid on the back lifts up to store the bird emblem crest.

Stand

Like most Soul of Chogokin releases, Tryder G7 comes with a stand to store all of the accessories. This stand actually has a cool nod to the show worked into it. In the anime, Tryder is stored under a playground,with just the tip of the head poking through. The stand has a section in the front that replicates this, using the extra head as the placeholder. Underneath the sliding doors are compartments for the smaller accessories.

The rest of the parts all have their placeholders and everything can be stored when not in use. I personally will likely put all the parts back in their box and never use the stand.

For those of you who bothered to scroll this far, congratulations! You now get to read the summary.

Overall, I really liked this release, and it's up to par with prior Soul of Chogokin releases. Those of you familiar with other large-scale SOC sets know the drill, and you won't be disappointed here. If there is any downside it's that it doesn't include any part for the signature bird effect (as shown in the vintage clover toy before).

Damn, I love that flaming bird effect part.