Though The Original Series and Star Trek: The Motion Picture designs are among my favorites, I cannot give this toy a glowing pass just because it is the first Enterprise I have ever owned. If you’re introducing your young kids to Star Trek, this’ll do fine, but for me the toy gets a “meh”.

Video review included!

This toy requires three Triple-A (AAA) batteries (not included) to operate the electronic lights-and-sound feature. There are two battery compartments- one on the underside of the saucer, and the other on the bottom of the Engineering hull. Both compartments require a Philips head screwdriver to open/close.

In the year 2233, the Federation starship U.S.S. Kelvin was quickly destroyed after encountering a massive unidentified vessel which purportedly appeared from out of a lightning storm in space. Only 800 members of the crew survived, including civilians. This single event would change the course of the future forever…

25 years later, two young men met at Starfleet Academy on Earth- the human James T. Kirk, a survivor of the Kelvin disaster with a taste for adventure, beautiful women, and cynicism; and Spock, a brilliant half-human, half-Vulcan ridiculed by his full-Vulcan peers all his life for having emotions. Destiny would draw these two and many others together for the first time aboard the United Federation of Planet’s newest exploration starship, the U.S.S. Enterprise, as she answered a distress call coming from the planet Vulcan. The Enterprise arrives late to find the rest of the Starfleet ships assigned to the rescue mission quickly exterminated by the Romulan mining ship, Narada- the same one which had destroyed the Kelvin decades earlier! The rescue mission fails as the Narada successfully destroys Vulcan, and the Enterprise is forced to retreat without Captain Pike, who is now a hostage. With Spock in command, he disagrees with Cadet Kirk’s rash and illogical actions, and abandons him on Delta Vega. Once landed, Kirk coincidentally comes across an older version of Spock from 154 years in the future, who explains that both he and the Narada fell through an artificial black hole and were transported into the past. The elder Spock tells a stunned Kirk that it is his destiny to command the Enterprise and he must force his younger self to give that up. Using a jury-rigged ultra-long-range transporter designed by a disgruntled Montgomery Scott, Kirk arrives back on the Enterprise, and forces Spock to relinquish command. The Enterprise’s crew formulates a plan to both ambush and destroy the Narada now in orbit over Earth, and rescue Captain Pike at the same time… thus fulfilling their fate to boldly go where no one has gone before.

. . .

The U.S.S. Enterprise (registry number NCC-1701) was completed on Earth in 2278CE for the United Federation of Planets, and thus falls under the authority of Starfleet Command. She was commanded by Captain Christopher Pike during her shakedown cruise, and was later by James Kirk after the Narada incident when Pike was promoted. Though acting as Starfleet’s flagship, she usually does not regularly have a flag officer attached to her. She is 718m-long (2367ft), and features two warp engine nacelles suspended just above her primary hull. A large four-level shuttle bay is placed just aft of the warp engine pylons, and can hold dozens of multi-mission shuttlecraft. Despite being designed for peaceful deep-space exploration, she is armed with a forward dual-tube photon torpedo launcher, and eight phaser banks are spread across the hulls. Her multiple matter/antimatter drive reactor cores- located in the Engineering Hull behind & below the saucer section- allow her to greatly exceed the speed of light up to Warp factor 9. To better facilitate its use when traveling at sub-light speeds, the navigational deflector dish on the front of the Engineering Hull can retract.

All of the Enterprise’s on-board scientific divisions fall under the purview of Commander Spock, while Sickbay is headed up by chief surgeon Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy, and her chief engineering officer is Commander Montgomery “Scotty” Scott.

In redesigning the future of the Star Trek franchise, the film’s director, JJ Abrams, said of the Enterprise that he wanted a “hot rod” look, while preserving the designs from the classic 1966-69 TV series (aka ‘The Original Series’ or TOS) by Art Director Matt Jefferies (RIP). This version of the Enterprise, designed by famous effects house Industrial Light and Magic, would become a mish-mash of both the TOS design and the refit version designed primarily by Andrew Probert seen later in “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” (1979), and so incorporates details and shapes from both- large saucer, cylindrical secondary hull & warp engine nacelles, and all four parts connected by narrow-profile pylons. This is because the Enterprise seen in the movie “Star Trek” is from an altered timeline, and so would have different technologies available to it.
(According to official-though-non-canon materials, this version of the Enterprise would have been launched 13 years later than the one appearing in the classic series- catching this one up with the refit seen in the first movie; though with the bridge crew being assembled latter as well due to the altered time-line of the new movie.)

This set comes pre-assembled, and includes a transparent-blue ABS display stand shaped in the Starfleet Command arrowhead logo. A ball-and-socket at the top connects to a hole in the bottom of the toy, allowing it to be turned in almost any direction without losing its balance.

(The first few times I inserted it, I had to force it a little, but afterwords it became easier. It looks fragile and I do wonder about that, but it will hold the ship sturdy. …Of course, I’m sure that in the long run the friction connection will wear out.)

The U.S.S. Enterprise (back) is 14½” long, the diameter of the saucer section makes it 7” wide, and it is 3 2/5” tall, and perhaps weights only two pounds. It is constructed entirely of ABS plastic- most of that being light gray, and minor amounts of transparent-blue and –red. Paint applications range from light gray to match the plastic’s tone for masking, dark and regular grays, and black for printed lettering & windows; very small paints apps include yellow and red.

. . .

The Primary Hull, or saucer section, is more reminiscent of the one seen in the movies for the dome sections on top and bottom. However, unlike all of its [successors], there are only windows featured along the outer edge of the hull, rather than also across the top and bottom of it. (The exception may be the glass viewscreen on the Bridge, but it is not clearly defined on this toy.) The patterns of windows along the edge are reminiscent of those from the ST:TPM version. The Bridge on top, lower navigational dome and phaser array locations also resemble TMP’s. Unlike all versions, however, the Enterprise’s name and ship registry number do not appear anywhere along the bottom of the saucer section. The small red sub-light-speed impulse engine vents appear directly at the back of the saucer section, above the neck. The dual-tube photon torpedo launcher, though taken from the TPM version, appears much smaller here- merely a small tab at the front of the neck now as opposed to being the base of it. The neck itself extends far further backwards now, ending between the warp engine pylons.

The Secondary Hull, or Engineering section, was usually portrayed as a long tube that narrows towards the back, with a large navigational array/dish at the front, and a shuttle bay at the back with clamshell doors which retracted to the sides. While the secondary hull remains circular in forward profile, it is more teardrop-shaped from a side view. However, the secondary hull is almost devoid of windows unlike all other incarnations, and seems to lose continuity with itself by not having grid-like lines like those found on the saucer section. (Indeed, the only visible lines are the narrow gaps between the plastic pieces, so that doesn’t count.) As I mentioned earlier, the bottom of the saucer doesn’t have the registry number or name of the ship on it. However, the secondary hull has the registry number below and behind the transparent-blue navigational deflector array dish. Though the dish can extend & retract from the Engineering hull, the one on the toy is fixed in place. As no big surprise, considering the size of this toy, the shuttle bay doors cannot open. (Alas, alas- that was one of the more impressive moments in the movie, in my opinion. It really gives you a sense of the scale of this new Enterprise, and showed that she was far larger now than Gene Roddenberry’s original version, which was the size of a modern-day aircraft carrier- about 230m long.)

While warp engine pylons come in all shapes and sizes across the generations, for both versions of the early Enterprise they were always straight and narrow when viewed from a forward profile. While the refit ver. had pylons which angled backwards away from the secondary hull, these new ones do just the opposite: angle towards the secondary hull and get narrower at the nacelles; and they are now slightly curved when viewed in profile. But there are still sets of vents along the back of each pylon, a trait which disappeared with later ship designs. The nacelles themselves retain that same long cigar-shape from the TOS ver.- with circular vents at the back, vane-like projections on top near the back, and dome-like Bussard collectors at the front- but now the overall shape of the nacelles has a much larger area at the front. Additionally, while the TPM ver, had long black striped areas on either side of the nacelles [presumably out of which warp drive fields would flow], those same dark strips have been moved to a singular one beneath the back-third of each nacelle. While the registry number is now much larger along the outboard of each nacelle, the inboard area has a golden Starfleet arrowhead emblem. For the film’s version of the Bussard collectors, they are now a light blue as opposed to the traditional red, but still have moving mechanisms within (movement which is not recreated on the toy). The other significant change is that, when at warp speeds, the circular vents at the back of the nacelles- which were only ever on the TOS version- now glow as if venting smokeless exhaust.

To activate the special effects, there is an On/Off switch on the bottom of the Engineering Hull behind the battery compartment cover.

The activation button for the sound effects is the blue dome on top of the Bridge. Areas that light up- though not always all at the same time- are the Bridge dome, display lights across the top of the saucer, navigation dome on the bottom of the saucer, navigational dish, impulse engines, Bussard collectors, and nacelle vents at the back. (The plastic is thin enough that all the already-bright LED lights easily shine through it!) The lighting patterns used are variable depending on which sound effect is being played. The speaker is located on the bottom-right side of the saucer section, and is sufficiently loud and clear-to-understand.

• [Spock]: Captain, Engineering reports ready for launch. (…and then the sound of the Enterprise going to warp)
• Red Alert klaxon
• [Kirk]: Maneuvering thrusters, Mr. Sulu.
• [Kirk]: Arm phasers. Fire everything we’ve got! (…and then three separate sounds of phasers firing)

The voices heard are those of actors Chris Pine (Kirk) and Zachary Quinto (Spock) speaking lines as recorded in the movie, and the sound effects are also the same as those from the movie. (I’ll vouch for that statement!) The sequence of effects will play randomly each time the Bridge button is pushed. They can interrupt each other, though they do not overlap or repeat; holding down the button changes nothing.

I will not give my opinion on this new interpretation of the classic ship here (see the video for that), but I will say that this is a faithful recreation physically: the sound effects are good and clear since they are straight from the film, the plastic is sturdy and doesn’t droop or wiggle under its own weight, and the LED lights are very bright. That’s it- that’s all the good there is, right there. Oh, and the warp nacelles & pylons have no visible screws, so props there. Now, on with the not-so-good…

• I know that the ship is light gray (referred to in-house as the “Aztec pattern” for its muted, angular-looking rainbow qualities under different kinds of lighting) and that is fine (though I would have liked basic white for the toy). But what bugs me is the other two shades of gray used. While some plain gray areas are used in raised or detailed sections, where it is added to non-marked areas is where it fails. Whereas in the film the contrast is obvious (again why I’d have liked the toy in all-white) it blends in too easily, and most non-detailed apps go unnoticed or look like errors (ex: the base of the warp engine pylons).
• The second thing about the paint apps is the low quality-control and application- there are wavy lines, ticks and scratches on almost every single paint app, save for printed lettering. Hell- I found the partial fingerprint of a factory worker (or a wipe-away cloth?) smudged in light gray on one of the warp nacelles!
• Couldn’t they have added some paint to denote the glass viewscreen…?
• Next up is construction. While trying to make a toy with no visible seam lines is always challenge, it gets downright bad in places like the impulse engines, and warp engine pylon- and neck-mounting points- flaws in the molds can be seen, unclean lines that waver oh-so slightly. And the parts were molded in such ways that I thought they could have been done differently to try to hide those lines better.
• I know that’s kinda required, but it is annoying to have that official Federal Communications Commission (FCC) notice along the bottom of the saucer.
• Was I let-down that the shuttle bay didn’t open up? Ehh… not really. For the toy’s size I can see how that would have been a challenge to pull off successfully. What I do have to pick at, though, is that the navigational dish couldn’t extend or retract. A subtle movement in the film, but nonetheless it could have been easily accommodated with a little extra effort.
• Though the stand looks pretty nice, I do honestly worry that it could break at that top point. Perhaps instead of screwing it together, they could have used posts that would separate if too much pressure was applied…? On the other hand, the ball-and-socket arrangement was pretty sweet compared to some dumb old peg-in-the-hole method. But that it balances well is a testament.
• Though the bright LEDs are appreciated, I don’t see how they could avoid the light leaking through other than to make the plastic thicker, and that could have jumped up the price a bit. But what really annoys me is that their lighting patterns are weird- for example, they light up the impulse engine when the warp engine sound goes off, and the warp engines & navigational dish flicker when weapons fire. (BTW, couldn’t they have either installed a red LED or painted the torpedo launcher up a little?) Next movie, let’s try for a lighting effect where it’ll just sit there fully lit for about half a minute without sound effects so that YOU can fly it around and make your own effects.

I know that this is supposed to be a kid’s toy rather than directed at collectors, but some of the workmanship that went into this doesn’t seem as strong as some of Playmates Toys’ past Star Trek lines. Perhaps all of this is due to the worldwide financial strains in 2009, and the lower quality was due to lower price-per-unit manufacturing for cheaper marketing. I don’t know, and cannot say with certainty. Indeed, for as big as the box was, I was expecting it to say “Some assembly required”: meaning it would have been a kick-ass 22” long! Boo-yah bitches-! Woo!! …Yeah, that didn’t happen- it came out to just a measly 14½”, which pissed me off. I would say that the $30 price tag is accurate. Though the TOS and TMP designs are among my favorites, I cannot give this toy a glowing pass just because it is the first Enterprise I have ever owned. (Did I say that out-loud? Oops… ^_^;). If you’re introducing your young kids to Star Trek, this’ll do fine, but for me the remake U.S.S. Enterprise gets a “meh”.

Time to review Ran...er, I mean ... Ley (or is it Ray?!) Who knows, what I do know that it is more awesome goodness from Beagle and Toynami with the 2nd release in their Mospeada line. HD Video included!

M.O.S.P.E.A.D.A stands for - Military Operation Soldier Protect Emergency Aviation Dive Auto and is from the Japanese anime series Genesis Climber Mospeada which originally aired in Japan in 1983. While Mospeada has achived a bit of a cult like status in Japan. Most collectors stateside where first introduced to this saga and it's technology as the third generation of the Robotech Saga. Robotech really helped pave the way for Japanese anime here in the states and still holds a special place in Old-School collectors hearts to this day.

Today we are taking a look at the Beagle 1/10 scale Mospeada Armor Cycle VR-052T (Ley type) from Mospeada. This particular line is a collaborative effort between Japanese toy maker, Beagle and American toymaker Toynami. Beagle distributes under the Genesis Climber Mospeada brand in Asia and Toynami distributes it under the Robotech brand here in the states.

These two “different” lines are the exact same toy from the exact same manufacturing plant and from the exact same production runs. The only difference between them is; the language the manual comes in, the head sculpt used and the box they are put in. That and if your a stateside collector you can get the “Rand” named and Robotech branded box and head-sculpt for an average of $50 less than the Mospeada counterpart because you don't have to pay the international shipping.

I had thrown my lot in on the Mospeada branded Beagle boxed version because having had seen photos in advance I preferred the subtler line art style of the Beagle head-sculpt. So I will continue the tradition for the rest of the series.

The box for this is identical to the first; a window on the front with the name of the piece printed across in white and original artwork featured on the back. It's an interesting hybrid between the new-school “window-box” and old-school “sealed box/original art work”. The window lets you ohh and ahh at the craftsman ship while the artwork is meant to inspire your imagination. That is a sign the toymaker knows what a toy collecting aficionado really appreciates.

This second releases box has been trimmed a bit and sits about an inch thinner. Inside all the parts and pieces are neatly arranged and entombed in clear, vacuum-formed trays. Besides the rider and the cycle you get in the box:

• Stand
• Galant Rifle
• Galant Pistol
• 3 spare hands (2 open hands and 1 gun holding hand
• Helmeted head (with working visor)
• HBT Canister

The Ley action figure itself is fantastic! The figure stands just shy of 8 inches tall and features more than 45 points of articulation. Now when I say action figure, I mean it. This isn't a “doll” or Real Action Hero style body. This is a very well constructed, highly pose-able, tightly jointed figure. What is a nice touch is the cloth suit that covers the limbs of a hard plastic underneath.

It looks like they left a bit more room in the cloth on the Ley release than they did the Stick; giving the suit a slightly less fitted look (almost baggy.) Which I think may be intentional – Ley wasn't military so the suit wouldn't have been fitted for him. The Mospeada armored cycle he uses was one he had claimed from a crashed supply ship from one of Mars Bases' failed assault attempts to reclaim Earth from the Inbit. It's a subtle nuance and not very noticeable unless you compare the releases.

The Armored Cycle Mode is equally as fantastic. Measuring 8 inches long and 5 inches high, it is the pinnacle of toy engineering yet remains a solid, playable motorcycle. Rolling rubber wheels and all.

This bike is almost identical to the Stick release except the front housing on the right doesn't have holes to hold the Beam Cannon and new wheel guards/wrist guards. Ley features a beam cannon mounted to the right side and a blank shield on the left.

... and of course. The real test of a great motorcycle mode is whether or not the rider can properly “ride” the bike and I am happy to say Ley can. You can get him posed on the bike and drop the diecast metal kickstand and let it sit there. Have a moment to play? Stow the kickstand and feel free to roll the bad boy across your desk (I know you want to...)

They even designed foot-pegs for the rider to place his feet on, something only one other manufacturer has tried (CM Corp) but the small tiny scale and fiddle bits made it impracticable for all but the most patient of collectors. It's a much more successful on this toy.

The bike is primarily high quality ABS plastic, with the engine block and joints being made of POM. Diecast metal is only used in the “arms” that hold the wheels in place, the collarbone hinge in the frame of the bike and the kickstand.

Transformation seems a bit daunting the first few times you do it. However if you follow the clearly illustrated manual in the order it presents things it's not as fiddly as some have reported. Once you've done it a few times it's not bad. But it is a piece that requires attention to detail for everything to sit right, but the end results are fantastic!

The one thing I did notice that where different from the initial Stick release is some of the hinge joints are much tighter allowing you to fold them out of the way while and staying where you put them.

In Armored mode the Cyclo.... er I mean the Mospeada looks magnificent and stands at 8 1/2 inches tall. The thigh armor connects the boots to the rest of the mecha and the shock absorbers act as pistons for the arm guards. Both actually have range of motion built into the joints to work like a “real” Mospeada.

However should you want to disconnect them to extend range of motion on the figure for posing you can.

Last, they have included an incredibly well thought out stand. Not only does it allow you to display the piece in either Cycle mode or Armored Mode...

...they also have designed a "footlocker" into the base to store all the extra parts and pieces.

A clip is included to attach it in cycle mode, allowing for angeled posing without falling of the shelves. An "arm” is included for Armored mode, allowing either standing poses or mid flight poses.

You can also forgo the stand and just use the extendable part of the arm to brace the figure in action poses without the entire base.

Which brings up a point I would like to clarify from the last review. Apparently I was not very clear when I said he can't stand by himself without the arm.

As you can see they “can” be posed in a neutral pose, but understand that it is very precarious. It's not that the joints can't hold it all up, there fine. It's that the design is too back heavy.

So I do want it known they can be posed without any sort of support but I wouldn't leave them on the shelf that way. There guaranteed to take a header sooner or later. Besides with the stand it makes it easier to fly it around your office... (Don't lie, I know you do.)

So yeah, once again I am strongly praising the makers of this toy and suggesting you get one. QC gets even better (when I didn't think it was possible) and besides we all know Ley was the cooler one, he did actually “get” the girl after all... My only complaint is, again, the big screw hole in the neck. Come on Beagle, fix that in th enext two releases and include a plug for the first two.

I got my Beagle 1/10th scale Mospeada Armor Cycle VR-052T - Ley Type (Damn. That's a mouthful.) from our advertiser Angolz.com and I love them for it. Be sure to check the Gallery for more pictures and I have made a shiny new HD video for your bemusement which is embedded below.

The last thing you or anybody else thought they needed was yet ANOTHER Mazinger Z figure. If you have been a Japanese toy collector for any amount of time you no doubt have a few in your collection already. Mazinger is an iconic figure, setting the template for super robots that exist to this day. But how many do you really need?

One more, apparently.

Includes HD video review

I was dreaming when I wrote this, so forgive me if I go astray...

The last thing you or anybody else thought they needed was yet ANOTHER Mazinger Z figure. If you have been a Japanese toy collector for any amount of time you no doubt have a few in your collection already. Mazinger is an iconic figure, setting the template for super robots that exist to this day. But how many do you really need?

One more, apparently.

Mazinger Z should need no introduction, but this version warrants a bit of backstory.

In 2009, Dynamic produced a new Mazinger series called Shin Mazinger Shougeki! Z Hen, or "True Mazinger Shock! Z Chapter". In Japan it was promoted as Mazinger Z on TV. The show is a re-telling of the classic Mazinger story, with some subtle differences in design and story. It is not a sequel to to either Mazinger Z or Mazinkaiser - this is something different.

Coincidentally, the premiere of this show coincides with the 35th anniversary of the release of the first Mazinger Z Chogokin toy.

So, in commeration of the two events, Bandai decided to release a new Soul of Chogokin Mazinger Z.

Now, you may wonder why do you need another Mazinger SOC? You've already got the GX-01, GX-01R, GX-07, GX-07I and GX-07E. We'll, here's why.

It's been 10 years since that first SOC came out, and toy design has evolved a lot in that short span of time. Bandai has learned a lot, and what collectors want has changed as well. With the advent of Revoltech and Figma, collectors now demand extreme articulation in addition to the typical SOC workmanship.

The new Mazinger Z Chogokin was revealed at the 2009 Tamashii Expo and it laid bare all of Bandai's hard work. This new Mazinger was more articluate, more anime-accurate, and more metal, albeit smaller than its brethren.

This is the one you wanted to have 10 years ago. This is the one you need now.

HD Video Review

Enough Exposition! Lets Dance!

With the anniversary comes a redesign, and the Soul of Chogokin Box is no exception. The Box bears little resemblance to the first SOC, with only the logo and numbering system to relate the two. This package has shiny foil lettering and an awesome, old-school cutaway diagram of Mazinger on the side.

Inside the box is a mixture of old and new. Mazinger Z himself is secured in a styrofoam sarcophagus, the only material to pack a Chogokin in. Unfortunately, the accessory trays are clear vacu-formed plastic.

Preconceived notions about the overabundance of Mazingers aside, this is one great SOC. It has a very satisfying feel to it. It's very heavy and glossy, with an automotive like finish. The toy is mostly metal, with plastic in the head forearms and hands. That's it. It is truly Super Alloy.

The main draw of this Chogokin is the new improved articulation. As you can see in this cutaway, The joint structure in this toy is radically different than those before.

Starting at the head, you now have ball joints at both the neck and the base of the head, allowing Mazinger to move in almost any direction. There is a small plastic hover pilder that can plug into the head. This Pilder is now hard ABS plastic with a transparent window and articulated wings. The connection with the Hover Pilder and the Head is a little weak, one of the few flaws with the toy.

The torso is three parts, with an upper chest ball joint, swivel waist, and solid metal hips. The hips feature an extending mechanism that allows for a greater range of motion in the leg area.

The legs are all metal. The unpainted metal ball joints at the hips look great and solid. These then have a swivel pin joint into the upper thigh which can also pull out a few milliliters, although I don't know if its supposed to. From there the upper thighs are diecast with slightly weathered paint applications.

The lower legs are also metal, and these are equipped with collapsible back panels that allow Mazinger to really bend at the knees. Its a great engineering job for a fantastic effect.

The feet are on ball joints and those too can extend to provide a greater range of motion. The bottom of the feet have great detail molded into them.

Back up to the arms, they are attached to the body by a clicky ball and swivel joint. The upper arms are metal and feature cavities to plug the lower arm sections into.

For the lower arms, you have the choice of two options. Normal or Rocket Punch. The normal arms have an elbow joint that end with a magnet. The elbow joints are interesting due to a panel that separates midway through bending the arm. This does not give any more movement than the standard SOC arm joint, but it does look neat.

The Rocket Punch arms consist of two launchers and two forearms. The launchers have magnet ends to attach to the upper arms and have a small trigger. Simply click the arms into the lanucher and press the button to fire. The trigger is really small so it is hard to get this to fire every time. Once you do fire, they have a fair amount of force, and will travel a few feet.

Both the regular and launching arms can be outfitted with any of the four variant hands. The hands pop on and off balls at the end of the arms easily.

But what would Mazinger Z be without his Jet Scrander?

In the past, The Jet Scrander was made so that the wings could be placed in different positions for different modes. While this was a neat gimmick, the wings were pretty ugly. This new version manages to combine style and function.

There is some assembly involved with the Scrander, namely the tail fin and the wings. The wings are designed in such a way that to change modes (flying or... not flying) all you have to do is remove and swap the wings. Now it looks great in both modes. But don't forget to move the yellow jet sections forward or backwards depending on the mode.

The whole assembly attaches to the figure by the belt, which wraps around the waist and attaches in the front. A small peg in the back fits into the hole on the back of Mazinger.

When not in use, the Jet Scrander can be stored on the display stand using a special attachment.

In addition, the stand can be re-configured with a different attachment to display Mazinger Z in flight mode.

The stand itself is pretty basic, with the engraved nameplate, options for storage, and grooves for the feet. The only letdown is that there is no place to store the additional stand parts when not in use (unless I didn't look carefully enough).

Now that I have handled this, I can say YES it is very cool and worth getting. Get this one and sell the others, because this is the one you need.

PRO

• New engineering, extreme poseability
• Great Jet Scrander with dual purpose stand
• Better sculpt
• More detailed Hover Pilder
• Loads of metal

CONS

• Slightly smaller than other Mazinger SOC releases
• Hover Pilder connection to head is loose
• Odd dual elbow joint seems to serve no purpose
• No place for stand accessories
• Yet another Mazinger

Its also worth noting that this is the first official wide release of a Bandai Tamashii product through Toynami. It seems plans to make these be released through the Masterpiece line with Masterpiece packaging have been abandoned. This toy is released in the same package as the Japanese Market release.

"POWER PUNCH! NOW KICK! AGAIN-! POWER PUNCH! NOW KICK!"

Oh, my god...

Video review included!

This toy appears here courtesy of Bandai America.

. . .

Three years ago, a dangerous artificial intelligence known as the Venjix virus assaulted Earth’s computers, and shut down all forms of electronic communication, radio & TV broadcasts. Then Venjix proceeded to build an army of human-like robots with which to corral and enslave humanity. Regretfully we lost the war, and Venjix conquered the world. But on the central-eastern edge of Africa, the domed city of Corinth was created and serves as the last safe-haven for any human who can make it within its protective shield. Venjix, however, is ever-watchful of Corinth, and has built strong barriers around the city to prevent more humans from making it safely there… assuming that anyone can find the city to begin with! Whenever a survivor comes to the city, the shield must be lowered and then recharged, and during these times, Venjix sends infiltration units to cause havoc and destroy the city. But fortunately, a new team has been developed by the mysterious-yet-influential Dr. K which can successfully defend the city- the Power Rangers! Armed with powerful Engine Cells, the Rangers can summon both a unique arsenal of weapons & armored suits, and giant Zord Attack Vehicles which stand many stories tall and can create a giant humanoid robot form called a Megazord! Will they be enough to defend Corinth from the terror of Venjix?

. . .

Nitro Blasters are the standard sidearm for Ranger Operators Red, Blue, Yellow, Green, & Black, which clips conveniently to the right side of their belts when not in use. Unless the Engine Cells- which also power the giant Zord Attack Vehicles- is placed inside of them, they cannot be used. Each Nitro Blaster has a second mode of operation, called Nitro Sword.

Blaster Mode

This is how it is stored on the clip-on holster on the Ranger Operators’ belts. In this form, it strongly resembles a gas pump dispenser, which fits in with the vehicle theme that the heroes have in the series. The day-glo orange nozzle is the gun barrel, and has features like fake bendable ribbed sections and a spill-prevention guard; these all, of course, being ABS & PVC plastic as opposed to metal & rubber. (Because of US toy regulations concerning ‘realistic’ gun-shaped toys, the barrel must be this stand-out coloring as opposed to the silver-and-black seen on the show.) The grip is completely solid with no moving parts, and features an On/Off switch fitting on the bottom where a fuel feed tube would attach. However, a smaller functional black trigger is still featured inside the grip. Directly above the grip but part of the overall handle design is a silver-painted molded PR-RPM logo in a notched protrusion on the left side only; this is the mounting point for the belt-mounted holster. The large main section of the toy is molded in black ABS, but is then painted red, white, and blue. On both sides are blue domes which- in the series- expose the Engine Cell in use; however here, they are painted over.

. . .

Typically in this form, the Engine Cells used to power a Nitro Blaster are inserted. Just above the top of the grip is a triangular protrusion. When pulled backwards, a black ABS cartridge holding frame manually swings out from the top. While any Engine Cell from the “PR-RPM” line can be inserted, the Wolf Cruiser Zord Attack Vehicle’s (see below) is provided with the set. The Engine Cell will only fit in sideways, but not pointed up-or-down. Then the holding frame can be pressed back in by you until it locks in place.

Under the grip is a small black switch with three positions. When turned on and you pull the black trigger, it will activate the sound effects within the toy.

The two steps for transforming the Nitro Blaster from Blaster Mode into Sword Mode are very simple, and they can be changed in any order you wish (i.e. they’re not linked together internally):

• There is a small spring-resistant black switch on the left side of the main section that needs to be pushed forward. As you do this, the entire grip free-rotates around diagonally 180°. To lock it in place, simply release the black switch as the grip comes around.
• Under the orange barrel is a gray spring-resistant lever that needs to be pressed. This will free-up the front of the barrel. Then, while pressing the lever, point the barrel downwards, and it will extend itself in three additional sections due to gravity. All of the orange ABS cylinders are independent of each other, and slip in place via friction when extended. To retract them, simply press on the gray lever again, and then press inwards to collapse them down.

Sword Mode

Despite its naming, it is not a sword-like weapon, but rather a long inflexible baton or nightstick... which, on the toy, comes out as a day-glo orange telescoping shaft. (Whereas in the series, the ‘blade’ is light gray and black.) The main section is now positioned upside down diagonally to the grip. The Engine Cell is still fully accessible, in this form, above the black grip.

Almost all “Power Rangers RPM” role-playing and transforming-Zord sets include a unique thin Engine Cell chip. They are very simple ABS accessories that have a decal on one side which has a unique number and coloring to help identify each one. Some Engine Cells are used just for morphing, some for weapons, and others to power the Zords. In the footage of the series, though, the Engine Cell(s) seem much thicker… The one provided with the Nitro Blaster is specifically the Wolf Cruiser’s Engine Cell.

On the bottom of the grip is a small round protrusion with the On/Off switch. It has three positions- “C”, “OFF”, and “ON”.

When switching to C[ommand] Mode, and pressing the trigger, you will hear a male voice say:

• Rangers! Come in, Power Rangers! This is an urgent call!
• We’ve picked-up intense activity along the Arctic Ridge.
• Use extreme caution; this is an advanced mission.
• POWER RANGERS TRAINING: ACTIVATE (mechanical monotone voice)
• Power Punch... now Kick! Again! Power Punch... now Kick!
• That was a close call, Power Rangers.
• I’m glad you’re on the team, young Ranger.

The sound clips will always play in that order. However, you can switch to the next clip by squeezing the trigger immediately rather than waiting for the current clip to end.

Alternatively, when you switch to the ON position, and then squeeze the trigger, you’ll hear a single blaster sound. But when in Sword Mode, you’ll hear metal clash once.

. . .

Now, there’s a surprising trick to the electronic feature that actually goes beyond simply switching the switch on the bottom- something like a ‘security system’. If there is no Engine Cell placed inside... then the trigger can’t be squeezed! While the On/Off switch merely turns the batteries on or off, it has no impact on activating the sounds themselves, which is delegated to the aforementioned trigger.

However, there is a way around it, a way to cheat your way around the locking mechanism, if you wish. Just in case you lose the provided Engine Cell, behind the PR-RPM logo on the left side is a triangular button cleverly molded into the silver-painted plastic. If you press inwards on it, then you can squeeze the trigger without needing an Engine Cell in place first. To re-lock the trigger, there’s a tab on the triangular button which lets you pull it out again, making the toy ‘safe’ again.

For those of you wondering what the differences are between the Nitro Blaster from “Power Rangers RPM”, and its original Japanese counterpart, the Self Henkeiju MantanGun from “Engine Sentai Go-Onger”, it’s a mix-up...

In short, they are two completely different toys. But, surprisingly, they have similarities in how they function. While the Rangers’ standard sidearm- and most role-playing sets- are usually completely different in order to make them cheaper to produce (and thus, to buy), they usually lack functions, movement, materials, or other details from their Japanese counterparts. In this case, the biggest changes were to the-

• Light-and-sound feature: The MantanGun uses removable Engine Soul cartridges all have unique built-in sound effects, whereas the Americanized Engine Cells are tiny discs with no electronics and the toy they are placed into has the electronic feature. Indeed, how to place an Engine Soul/Cell into the toy(s) is different as well. Whereas the MantanGun has a spring-powered frame that flips out on its own from the top of the toy, you have to manually pull out the Nitro Blaster’s frame from above the grip; this is to prevent [fragile] American kids from pinching their fingers. (On top of the latter, there is a non-moving red projection which mimics the moving one on top of the MantanGun!)
  • Oh, yeah- the MantanGun didn’t have a “Command Mode” switch for additional sound effects.
• Barrel: Other than the required day-glo orange, the Nitro Blaster’s barrel extends like a telescope in three sections, and has a large lock on the bottom which must be pulled out of the way. Whereas on the MantanGun, the two-section barrel is dull-silver & black, and can be freely extended/retracted, and snaps into place on its own.
  • The Nitro Sword’s ‘blade’ makes it about 4” longer total than the MantanGun’s Rod Mode. However, in Nitro Blaster and Gun Mode, they are about the same size.
• Grip: Whereas the MantanGun intentionally mimics a gas pump dispenser, the Nitro Blaster- though appearing the same- is downplayed as such. Therefore, as a gas dispenser does, the MantanGun has a large silver handle in the middle of the grip, though it did not move. As was a frequent complaint, the silver lever on the Japanese toy left little room for fingers to slide in. Therefore, the grip on the Nitro Blaster had the lever removed.

Okay, I’ll get this out of the way right now- the day-glo orange doesn't exactly kill me, but it is very distracting. And that stupid lock underneath too. No matter how hard I flick my wrist with the MantanGun, I can’t get it to fly open on its own; it stays solidly in place. Why, then, did Bandai Creation feel the need to have an external lock on the toy when an internal one would have been fine? Granted, the whole telescoping lightsaber-like blade is a cool feature, and the barrel does more-or-less look physically like the ones in the show. Next, having built-in sound effects was good, but that Command Mode is painful- just painful!- to listen to. I can only imagine kids across America getting grounded for a week for giving their kid sister a Power Punch and Kick! because their toy told them to. This thing will be returned to the store for that very reason faster than you can say “That was a close call, Power Rangers”. And then Bandai America wonders why parents don’t buy them Power Rangers toys to begin with! Oh, and this is my favorite part right here: they create this great little gimmick which requires you to insert an Engine Cell into it in order to pull the trigger... and then turn around and ruin it by having that cheat button on the side! Clearly they don’t expect you to hang on to those tiny Engine Cell chips for long, but still want you to be able to heard it audibly pat you on the back for giving your sister a Power Punch and Kick!. Ugh- baka... So, basically the only plus side of getting this toy over the MantanGun is the telescoping blade, and that there’s more room for your fat collector’s fingers to fit ‘round the grip. Oh, and you get the Wolf Cruiser’s Engine Cell for use on the Deluxe-sized transforming Valve-Max Megazord set. Beyond that, the Nitro Blaster is “meh”.

Beautiful Earth, I love your Caliburs.

Tokusou Kihei Dorvack (Special Armored Battalion Dorvack) is one of the many "also ran" shows that followed in the wake Macross. Real robots that transformed were now big, and after Super Dimension Century Orguss Takatoku toys was looking for another hit. At the same time, model kit manufacturer Gunze Sangyo was looking to get in on the Powered Suit craze started by Kow Yokoyama's Maschinen Krieger (SF3D) designs and Nitto's model kits. Both companies would end up as the sponsors for Dorvack. So in one part of Dorvack you have our galliant crew of anime protagonists lead by Masato Mugen who was voiced by none other than Toru "Amuro Ray" Furuya with his awesome Mugen Calibur transforming jeep and in the background were a bunch of hapless soldiers in Powered Suits who just died by the dozens in elaborate (and sometimes hilarious) ways. CM's Corporation, never shying from almost any dead franchise has taken up the mantle of releasing a new Dorvack toys that hope to cover both sides of the mecha. This particular example of the Mugen Calibur was created to resemble boxart from one of the transformable kits. This particular kit was called the Calibur Special. This toy is called the Miyazawa Mokei version and lacks the armor set included in the regular Mugen Calibur release.

The Mugen Calibur can be considered the hero mecha of the show. Masato Mugen himself is your typical anime good guy, quick witted, smarmy, and never without his trademark red goggles. The toy comes with two Masato figures, one for the driver's seat and one standing ever so non-chanlant with his hands in his pockets. The Mugen Calibur stands roughly 7 inches high (about the same size as the old Takatoku toy) and is bristling with weapons and equipment. On its legs it carries a rack of five grenades and its folded up rifle. On its back it has one shoulder mounted cannon, a jump pack, and a vehicle mounted gun. The CM's toy is quite skinny and reflects the animation model more than the original Takatoku toy. It is mostly plastic with the notable diecast parts being its thighs and the front wheel mount.

Up close we can see this version of Mugen Calibur is mostly gray with a few orange highlights. It features minimal tampoo printing, which includes a Dorvack patch on each arms and a "6" on each thigh. The head features limited movement and the visor is painted with sparkling green.

From the rear we can get a better look at the jump pack. In the show there is a special long armed tank robot that attaches the jump pack and wheel covers to the Mugen Calibur. Using the jump pack, the Mugen Calibur could make great leaps in a very Starship Troopers inspired "on the bounce" manner. The jump pack features a small antenna and two control arms. The arms are simply pegged into the pack, however on mine one of the arms was fixed in place and snapped off. This is probably from dried paint gluing it in place. I managed to fix it enough for these photos. Also be wary of the tiny antenna as its not made of flexible plastic.

The vehicle gun and assault rifle share the same gun barrel. Simple unfold the rifle and swap out the barrel to complete it.

One thing you may notice about this review is that the Calibur isn't exactly "dynamic." While the arm joints are quite nice and there is a waist joint the hips are just awful. Given the way the hips are designed there is little clearance to use them and even still they are only made to rotate along one axis. By unlocking the leg from the waist as per the transformation, the Calibur can achieve a more natural stance, but the limited ankle joints and looseness of the hips in this pose don't let you get much more than that. The tiny feet and hefty diecast body also make this guy a bit top heavy.

Each of the grenades from the leg rack are removable and can be inserted into the assault rifle. This is not mentioned in the manual. The rifle itself resembles an AR-15 or similar M-16 variant. The Calibur's articulated fingers grip the gun well enough.

Also included is a large double barrelled cannon. This cannon includes its own fist already grasping the gun so all you have to do is replace the right hand with the cannon. The small fist inside even features full details like fingers but cannot be removed without disassembling the gun.

From this side we can see the gun has some basic detail. The small peg at the bottom is removable and is used for mounting the cannon to the Calibur in jeep mode.

On our way to the transformation, we can see the working cockpit detail. The small Masato is plugged into the seat via a butt peg and goes along for the ride as you rotate the seat forward. There is also a small steering wheel that flips in and out. The toy has very little detail inside. It's all very basic.

Before transforming the toy, all wheel covers and the jump pack must be removed. The toy is actually packaged with these covers already attached. They slide off the wheel wells smoothly to reveal the toy's rubber tires.

The Mugen Calibur makes for one of the blockiest jeeps in all of anime. Given the way its so low to the ground thanks to the arms getting tucked underneath, the Mugen Calibur is also probably one of the worst jeeps in all of anime. No wonder they gave it awesome flight armor during the second half of the show. The detailing in this mode is pretty basic, but functional. I like the molded windshield wipers and winch. I do like how the transformation completely hides the orange bits. That gives it more of an authentic feel.

I guess since the driver's seat is in the middle, this jeep is pretty much street legal anywhere right?

All that's missing is a sweet vanity plate.

Loaded for bear, the Calibur looks a bit more impressive.

You can also bring the jump pack along in jeep mode. It just slots over the vehicle gun.

So to appease the Powered Suit fans, CM's included a Nove and Halk (Hulk?) suit. They have a few accessories of their own which includes a giant camera and optional chef's hat for the Nove. The Halk has a blaster.

The Nove's arms can be replaced with a Mega Man blaster while the Halk picks up a plunger gun.

In the end, CM's Mugen Calibur is an alright toy. It will probably please those who like the design but articulation may turn away the skeptical modern fan. Oh and by the way, did I mention this set costs around $200 MSRP? Don't worry, nobody is buying these so prices are plummetting. It's a shame really. A little more effort and this toy could have been the definitive modern Mugen Calibur toy on par with Bandai's SOC and Soul Spec toys or Yamato's Macross toys. At the very least it would make up for the asking price.

Thrust vectoring rules the skies! Turn on a dime, Macross Zero style!

The VF-0S represents the Macross franchise's first foray into the world of prequels. Designed for the 20th anniversary production, Macross Zero, the VF-0S serves as the predecessor to the iconic VF-1. Yamato toys originally planned to make a 1/100 scale type toy of the VF-0S. The prototype was very similar to Bandai's VF100 line in terms of execution. Yamato quickly dropped this idea and instead released a 1/60 scale perfect transformation VF-0S toy. This toy would cement the 1/60 scale line as Yamato's mainstay of Macross products. This particular VF-0S is the one released in conjunction with the QF-2200D Ghost accessory set.

Lacking typical science fiction engines, the VF-0S is built around conventional jet engines which gives it a distinct appearance. It features oversized dorsal fuel tanks, large "turbo charger" style vents in its ankles, and a bulkier aesthetic than the VF-1S. Overall the VF-0S appears to be a fusion of old style Macross with many features of Shoji Kawamori's work on Macross Plus and Armored Core. For my pictures I have used the dorsal fuel tanks that allow for the mounting of the QF-2200. They differ from the normal fuels tanks in that they have slots for the Ghost and extra missile launchers. These tanks are attached via two pegs and can be difficult to remove at first. I would suggest sanding the pegs down a bit.

The VF-0S also features a pair of leg mounted FAST packs. These packs are a "proof of concept" version of the packs that would adorn the VF-1S. These are attached via a simple magnet. As you will see in the video, they attach quite nicely.

The VF-0S also comes with several underwing stores. The VF-0S by itself had only the four AIM-200A AMRAAM 2 missiles while the accessory set adds two micromissile launchers and a set of large gray fuel tanks.

One of the recurring ideas in Macross is the presence of unmanned fighters collectively called "Ghosts." These serve to supplement the variable fighters in combat. The QF-2200D Ghost was initially sold as an accessory pack costing close to fifty dollars on its own. Fortunately, it became much cheaper to simply buy the two in this deluxe package. On its own the Ghost is a very simple toy. It features minimal tampoo printing and diecast landing gear. The two main wheels are notoriously difficult to extradite from their housing. You may also replace the Ghost's eye piece with a panel that lacks the eye.

The Ghost's engine nozzle is mounted on a ball joint to simulate thrust vectoring.

When it came time to boost the VF-0S's combat potential, the mechanics simply strapped a cut-down Ghost to the back of the VF-0S and added some more missiles. It is this very pragmatic approach that I find endearing. All that needs to be added to Ghost for this mode is a pair of mounting brackets which slot in on the underside. Simply flip the Ghosts's canards down and tuck them under the slotted dorsal tanks to attach the Ghost. Be sure the line up the slots between the Ghosts wings and body with the VF-0S's tailfins.

There is only one major flaw with this mode and that has to do with the fact that the Ghost is only secured at the front of the fighter. Turning the whole piece upside will not dislodge the Ghost, only unseat it a little. Still, it would have been better if there was a way to fully secure the Ghost to the VF-0S.

Together, the VF-0S and Ghost make for an impressive display piece.

The the interiors of the engine nozzles are painted using a brass color and look quite nice.

In GERWALK mode the VF-0S very much resembles its successor. The toy has very tight joints and poses well in this mode. Despite the fact that the VF-0S features the same terrible hand design as Yamato's 1/48 scale VF-1, it manages to clasp the gunpod without any problems. Also you can see the air intakes hidden under the removable covers.

The transformation is very straightforward and is nearly identical to both the 1/48 scale VF-1 and the new 1/60 scale VF-1.

One key difference in the transformation is that the backpack nozzles slide in and out. Also the VF-0S's hands do not fully retract.

The Ghost can be mounted in GERWALK mode as well.

Even with the extra weight, the toy is still stable.

Going from GERWALK to Battroid mode is again quite similar to the 1/48 scale VF-1 and the new 1/60 scale VF-1. In fact, the new 1/60 scale VF-1 incorporates a sliding nose section just like the VF-0S. The VF-0S is about a foot tall and looks very much like the VF-1S.

The VF-0S is a simple, sturdy robot toy. The joints on mine are nice and tight.

From the rear we can see the VF-0S's unique wing setup where one wing slides over the other. Also the arrestor hook is clearly visible on the backpack. In real Navy fighters, this is what allows them to land on a carrier by catching long cables strung accross the flight deck using the arrestor hook.

The VF-0S's head incorpates design elements from the VF-1S, later VFs, and the way the VF-1S is drawn in Macross: DYRL. The clear red and green pieces in the head look nice under any lighting condition.

The VF-0S stands a few heads taller than the VF-1S in the same scale.

Neither of them can compare to the behemoth that is the Sv-51.

The VF-0S looks really impressive when it is fully loaded in Battroid mode. It stands without any balance issues.

Even form the rear, the whole setup looks good. Nothing seems unbalanced or unnatural.

Overall I have to say that I really enjoy the VF-0S. It looks and plays well on its own or with its little brother.

I have a confession, I do not know a thing about Getter Robo and the Getter franchise but I do know a nice piece of chogokin when I handle one and the New Getter Robo Renewal (Black Version) fits the bill!

This review sample provided by Aoshima.

Yeah, you read that right. I don't know squat about Getter Robo. Anything I know I learned from the dozens of reviews of Getter variants over the years here at CDX. It's nothing personal against the Getter franchise, I just haven't gotten to it yet. So why am I reviewing this? Because Aoshima was nice enough to send a huge box of stuff over to CDX HQ and apparently all the resident Getter fans have filled their collecting quota and I do like a classic style gokin so I figured I'd give it a crack.

So here's what I do know – The box called this Shin Getter One. I shot the video review first and the Getter fans on YouTube where sure to let me know I got the style of Getter wrong. So I reached out to our fellow writers and fans and they say this is New Getter Robo (So if I still have the details royally screwed up please send the hate mail to Sanjeev. Thank You.) It's a black repaint of the renewal release by Aoshima. The renewal release features new elbow joints and the clear chest parts. Now, on to the toy...

The package this dynamo comes in is as old-school as it's diecast content. 4 color artwork decorates the front and sides. Photos of the original color scheme are on the back with only a sticker on the front to indicate this is a black repaint.

Inside the box is a Styrofoam tray with the parts and robot carefully wrapped in tissue paper. It's been a while since I've gotten a nice piece of diecast in Styrofoam and I forgot how nice an un-boxing experience that can be.

Inside the box:

• New Getter (with a pair of closed fists attached)
• One pair of weapon holding fists
• Open right hand (detailed backhand)
• Open right hand (detailed palm)
• Three pairs of back wings (1 set of small/closed, 1 set of open/down, 1 set open/extended
• Two axes

Assembly just requires you picking out a pair of wings you like and putting them on and adding the little “belt buckle beam thingy” cover to the robots waist.

The figure itself is a beauty of cool metal weighing in at close to 2 pounds. Yep it's all quality metal with the exceptions being the head, the clear chest pieces, the axe's ball and blades, wings, back plate and hands. With most of that being ABS plastic and the hands and axe ends made of a softer PVC.

Articulation is good. The head turns, arms move at the shoulder and bend at the elbow with the hands (swappable) able to rotate. The knees have a limited range of motion but do click when moved.

The arms feature the renewal style of engineering. Basically to keep the anime look they have hidden the joint for the elbow, you must extend the lower arm to reveal the joint. When bent you really can't tell the arm is extended. It's very well thought out actually.

The paint application is flawlessly applied and done in a flat, matte finish. I think the repaint would have been a little sharper if they had extended the gold to trim the legs a bit.

Precision crafted with excellent fit and finish. Honestly just a real nice, quality piece of gokin all around. My only complaint (and the reason I have no picture's of a duel axe-wielding Getter) is the left weapon holding hand pretty much separated the first time I put the weapon in his hand. Not a big deal, a little dab of super-glue should fix that. Sadly I had none on hand that wasn't dried out to a brick at the time of this review.

Well I must say this piece really makes me wish they had more franchise that I personally collect because this Getter here is everything a modern and dare-I-say vintage gokin collector looks for in a hunk of metal robot goodness. Now if only it had some firing fists or something...

You can get yourself this sexy piece of cool die cast directly from Aoshima.

Super Sexy (Improperly titled 'cause I'm to lazy to reencode it...) HD Video Review for your entertainment embedded below.

Yatter Wan (Wan-Wan being an Onomatopoeia for a dog “bark”) is a large, sentient, dog-shaped mecha originally designed as a rescue device. It now battles the Dorombo gang in their quest to obtain the Skull Rings. The two main characters of Yatterman – Gan-chan and Ai-chan, hang onto the side of Yatter-Wan when in transit.

HD video review included

Yatterman is a classic cartoon from the 70s that has been re-imagined twice in recent years. First, there was the re-launched animated series in 2008 and then the live action movie in 2009. While the live action move is a radical shift from the classic designs, the 2008 animated series retains the look of the original. It is from this remake that the subject of today’s review originates.

The mecha designs in Yatterman are childlike and fun, each a mechanical mish-mash between zoo animal and mecha. The vintage gokin of these toys are instant fun classics, but their cute design makes them not for everyone’s tastes.

Yatter Wan (Wan-Wan being an Onomatopoeia for a dog “bark”) is a large, sentient, dog-shaped mecha originally designed as a rescue device. It now battles the Dorombo gang in their quest to obtain the Skull Rings. The two main characters of Yatterman – Gan-chan and Ai-chan, hang onto the side of Yatter-Wan when in transit.

If this all seems kind of silly – it is. It’s a modern-day Wacky Races, combined with Pokemon. Due to the child-like nature of the show, the merchandise related to the 2008 remake is very much targeted to kids, which is a very good thing.

TakaraTomy’s DX Yatter-Wan is the first in a series of DX toys that are compatible with other toys from the Yatterman series. The common gimmick that binds all these toys together are these small figures called Bikkuri-Dokkiri Mecha. The small figures can be bought in sets and used with any of the vehicles and playsets in the line.

Yatter-Wan is big, about 10 inches tall and is made out of sturdy durable plastic. Very little assembly is required out of the box, and the toy needs no batteries or decals.

So what does it DO?

The main gimmick here is the interaction with the Bikkuri-Dokkiri Mecha. To use this play feature, first the mecha must be loaded into the back of the Yatter-Wan by an opening door on its back.

The Mecha are small rubber figures that attach to a base with a metal ball in the middle. The ball enables the base to roll across the floor, and provide some weight. In this case three rubber Mecha and bases are provided but others can be purchased separately.

One the Mecha is loaded, you then turn the center section forward about 90 degrees and then open the mouth and extend the launch ramp. The attached ramp is kind of small, so a larger ramp is included that just snaps on to the existing one.

With a firm grip, pull the tail down and you will hear a cranking noise. Pull a few more times and eventually the Bikkuri-Dokkiri Mecha will launch down the ramp and zoom across the floor, one after another.

Video Review

It’s pretty fun and ingenious, but on its own, that’s all it does. Kids will launch them over and over, but adult collectors will want more.

To get more, of course, you have to buy more. TakaraTomy released PVC figures of Gan-chan and Ai-chan pre-posed to hang off of the sides of Yatter-Wan – of course these are sold separately. In addition, the Yatter-Wan can combine with the DX Yatter Pelican to create an even bigger mech. Unfortunately I don’t have the Yatter Pelican but I will soon change that.

The TakaraTomy DX Yatter-Wan is a fun toy, and it looks great. As a display piece it’s a great tribute to the classic design and as a toy its fun to play with. What more could you ask for?

Bonus vid: an actual japanese kid playing with the DX Yatter-Wan

Jakq! Jakq! JAKQ!!! One of Super Sentai's most exciting opening and closing theme songs JAKQ Dengekitai/ Someday, Flowers Will Bloom features the vocals of a cornerstone of anime, Isao Sasaki.

JAKQ Dengekitai / Someday, Flowers Will Bloom Isao Sasaki & Koorogi ’73 Columbia Records SCS349

My favorite Super Sentai team of all time will always be JAKQ Dengekitai (1977). Perhaps it was because it was the first Sentai group that I had ever seen which made an impression on me at a young age. In the early 1980’s many new Japanese culture books at the library had pictures of JAKQ to represent 70’s Japanese film and television and I would sit for hours reading and admiring the mystery of the four colored spirits that I would later find out was called JAKQ Dengekitai.

While many discuss that Sun Vulcan was the only three man Sentai team, JAKQ was one of only two groups that featured a four member team, although it is a matter of contention between fans if JAKQ’s Big One was part of the group or not. I still believe that a four member Sentai group is the best team size for Super Sentai.

Many of the recent Sentai groups are also a kiss-up to mother nature with nature, elements and animal as themes. JAKQ’s theme on the other hand is gambling. Also, while today many of the actors who play Sentai characters are cute and pretty young adult actors the three male actors from JAKQ look like thugs that formally played henchman third from the left in Yazuka films.

And those helmets and uniforms! I personally think they are brilliant, iconic and perfect, and the best uniforms in entire 34 year run of Super Sentai. Although Shotaro Ishinomori (1938-1998) only created two Sentai shows, he really nailed it with the look and colorful art design of this program.

But the most important aspect of all of JAKQ is Karen Mizuki / Heart Queen’s little red shorts and boots and how she kicks ass with them throughout the entire 35 episode run of the series. Fantastic!

It is many of those little details that give JAKQ some of the charm that I like so much. But it was a hard-edged show. It was the lack of high antics in the first part of the series that the producers introduced the high spirited Big One to balance out the down beat tone of the program. Accordingly, JAKQ has the distinction of being only Sentai show to be cancelled for low ratings 2/3rds into the program’s run. Keep in mind many of the elements that would make Super Sentai what it is today were still being developed and I do not hold this against JAKQ.

With 70’s pop, rock and disco being all the rage in popular culture and with Las Vegas/ Gambling theme of JAKQ, it was no surprise that the producers choose to record two disco and rock themes for the opening and closing music credits for the show.

Columbia Records SCS349 JAKQ Dengekitai / Someday, Flowers Will Bloom by Isao Sasaki & Koorogi ’73 features a fold out sleeve with classic head shot of Spade Ace. As I am finding out many of these Super Sentai sleeves are beautiful fold out posters with pictures of the casts in and out of henshin and some choice kikaju of the series and lyrics to the songs to sing along with.

The opening theme JAKQ Dengekitai is a nice mix of rock and disco with rumbling tribal drums and bass throughout the song and singer Isao Sasaki deep emotive soulful voice. I admire the breakaway from rock to pop/disco from the verse to the chorus portion of the song and back. Many of these Super Sentai themes where performed by a group called Koorogi ’73 with various singers as the vocalist for the songs and the JAKQ theme is one of Koorogi ‘73 best. Koorogi means Cricket in Japanese.

Singer / voice actor Isao Sasaki is a cornerstone of the anime industry having voiced or sung some of the most rousing anime themes since the 1960’s such as voicing Condor Joe in all four original runs of the Gatchaman’s series and singing the themes for Yamato, Getter Robo, Casshan, Grendizer. Gaiking and Goranger. At age 61 Isao still performs to this day most notably at the yearly Super Sentai Spirits concerts in Japan.

The cryptically titled closing them song Someday, Flowers Will Bloom is another great side that would have gave French music producer Jacques Morali a run for his money back in the day and could have easily sat comfortably on a Ritchie Family or The Village People’s album. The horn and string arrangements are melodic and well arranged with a nice melodramatic and subtle vocal by Isao Sasaki and solid but smooth foundation provided by Koorogi ‘73. Some attention needs to be given to the producer and composer of both songs, Michiaki Watanabe.

While Victor Records ruled the 1980’s anime music market it is Columbia Records that cornered the tokusatsu / anime music industry in the 1970’s and this JAKQ Dengekitai single is one of the best examples of tokusatsu OST music of the 1970’s.

©2009 Leonardo Flores & Collection DX. The music and picture sleeve images for this record are owned by Columbia Records and only used here for review purposes only.