Gaiking the Great

Review by JoshB

I have to admit that I have yet to watch much of the new Gaiking series, but I really love that the designs maintained an old-school feel to them. None of the new designs would feel out of place in the old series.

This toy arrives courtesy of Toyrocket.com

Most Wanted, a Hong Kong-based manufacturer, has been putting out toys from this series in every shape and size. From near-jumbo sized vinyls to a fully transforming Deluxe Gaiking the Great, MW has been milking it for all its worth.

Unfortunately, when you put out so much product, some of it isn't going to be all that hot. Which brings us to their 7" series of Super Robot vinyls.

These toys (There are 8 in this scale) do have kind of an old-school charm to them, much like the cheap bagged 4" Popy robot vinyls from the 70s. And, like the old vinyls, the quality is just not what it should be.

But first, let me preface this - you are getting a 7 inch fully painted vinyl rendition of an awesome mecha design for under $13 USD. That in itself is pretty awesome. You just have to keep that fact in mind as we move forward. THIRTEEN DOLLARS.

First off, the box is awesome. High quality, nice printing, nice windowbox. Well done overall. The sticker was placed on the window by the retailer, not the manufacturer.

Freeing the toy involves a few dreaded twist-ties, but once you get him out, that's it. He is ready to go.

Once out, a few things hit you right away. For one, it's hard to get him to stand up. He has a very noticeable lean to the left. His right arm is about 1 cm longer than his left arm, and now that I look at it, the lean is caused by the left leg being about 8mm shorter than the right.

Paint detail is mediocre at best. There are paint rubs on the tips of the gold parts and overspray on the white on the back of the legs.

The molding of the figure isn't terrible, but you can tell this thing wasn't done in a CAD program. It has a very soft feel to it - to the lines that is. The vinyl is of good quality and very rigid.

All of Gaiking's pointy horns and such are actually glued on instead of being molded in one piece of vinyl. The only point of articulation is the arms at the shoulders.

Promotions!

But, keep in mind, THIRTEEN DOLLARS. For that price, it's really not all that bad. Perhaps if they spent less on the packaging and more on the QC it would have been a better toy.

Fortunately, not all of the toys that I have in this line are stinkers, as you will see in the upcoming Balking review. Perhaps I just got a Dud?

Should you choose to take a gamble on one of these, you can get yours at Toyrocket.com