Moderoid Model Series by Good Smile

[Big s]

There’s so many options these days for classic mecha between all the different toys and model kits, it might not be the best time for mecha anime but it is feels like the best time to be a mecha collector or kit builder.

[no3Ljm]

3 hours ago, Big s said:

There’s so many options these days for classic mecha between all the different toys and model kits, it might not be the best time for mecha anime but it is feels like the best time to be a mecha collector or kit builder.

True.  

[no3Ljm]

Moderoid display at the recent Shizuoka Hobby Show 2023.

Edited May 10, 2023 by no3Ljm

[sh9000]

Voltron.

Edited August 25, 2023 by sh9000

[electric indigo]

Whoa!

 

[Big s]

6 hours ago, electric indigo said:

Whoa!

 

I saw the preorder page at hobby search the other night and had to check out the pictures. I’ve never played the games, but it was hard not to look at how much detail was thrown into it

[Convectuoso]

That looks amazing 

[no3Ljm]

Mazinger ZEST

[no3Ljm]

Moderoid display at the Wonder Hobby Gallery 2023 Spring.

 

Edited May 28, 2023 by no3Ljm

[no3Ljm]

Moderoid Tetsujin 28 Boxarts.

 

[Chas]

Just pre-ordered the  Iczer Robo from Hobby Search. Been waiting almost 40 years for a kit of that little beauty!

Edited July 16, 2023 by Chas

[Big s]

1 hour ago, Chas said:

Just pre-ordered the  Iczer Robo from Hobby Search. Been waiting almost 40 years for a kit of that little beauty!

I did the same a couple nights ago. I’ve seen many resin kits around the nineties, but didn’t have the cash. This is one I was hoping for many years to see a good plastic kit.

[Chas]

6 minutes ago, Big s said:

I did the same a couple nights ago. I’ve seen many resin kits around the nineties, but didn’t have the cash. This is one I was hoping for many years to see a good plastic kit.

Hope this does well enough so we eventually see an Iczer Sigma.

[Convectuoso]

[Convectuoso]

[Big s]

8 hours ago, Convectuoso said:

Nice box art

[no3Ljm]

Good Smile Company Moderoid VOLTRON (GoLion)
May 2024
Y7900

 

https://www.amiami.com/eng/detail?gcode=TOY-RBT-7429

https://www.hlj.com/moderoid-voltron-voltron-gsc18475

https://anime-export.com/index.php?product=71496

https://hobby-genki.com/en/moderoid/22011-moderoid-voltron-plastic-model-4580590184756.html

https://www.bigbadtoystore.com/Product/VariationDetails/251970?o=1

 

Edited August 25, 2023 by no3Ljm

[F-ZeroOne]

My Moderoid "Big Dai-X" arrived yesterday. I've only had time to open the box and look inside, and its going to be a while before I get a chance to build it, but here are some quick impressions:

The box art is gorgeous, proper old school mecha art. I'd love it as a print or poster.

Much to my relief, the white stripes on the limbs and a number of other coloured details are printed on. I initially thought there were no stickers at all, until i found a small sticker sheet lurking at the back of the manual. The stickers are tiny, and as (without having looked in the manual yet) they seem to be for detailing only, I may well leave them off except for the ones coloured yellow, which I presume are for the eyes (I can't recall yellow anywhere else on Big Dai-X in the show).

Looking at the size of the parts on the sprues, I'm guessing size-wise this is going to come in very roughly around the size of the old Takatoku DX toy and the Sentinel toy that was released a few years back.

In terms of construction difficulty, its looking like it'll be somewhere between the "First Grade" RX-93 Nu-Gundam I picked up a few months ago and the "High Grade" kits I used to build... (checks passing of time)... over fifteen years ago (!).

 

Edited September 22, 2023 by F-ZeroOne

[F-ZeroOne]

Update on Big Dai-X stickers - there's actually two arrow stickers for each shoulder, and the others are for detailing on the fists and back.The yellow ones aren't for the eyes as I thought but details on the feet.

Edited September 22, 2023 by F-ZeroOne

[Convectuoso]

[Big s]

it went up for preorder last night, crazy hair and all.

[no3Ljm]

Displayed at the 61st All Japan Model & Hobby Show.

[Convectuoso]

Great. I had been waiting for more pictures of the Nirvash

[F-ZeroOne]

So I finally got to build the Big Dai-X today. I am in no way, shape or form an expert modeller and neither am I particularly worried about seam lines, sprue marks etc. It took me about four hours, which is about the same time as the "Entry Grade" Nu-Gundam took me, even though that seemed the simpler build.  One noticeable difference is that the "points" that hold the parts onto the sprues are thicker than Bandai seems to use and more likely to leave marks on the pieces.

On the other hand, most of the kit is molded in colour, with most of the white striping printed on (as well as the eyes), the exceptions being a couple of white arrows on thee shoulders and some absolutely tiny stickers for detailing on the fists, feet and back. I opted to leave  most of the small stickers off as I knew with my skill level, only tragedy would result. 🙂

Instructions are almost entirely in Japanese but mostly straightforward to follow; just be careful assembling the arms as theres some steps I found a little confusing and I actually missed applying one of the shoulder stickers until it was almost too late. Theres no internal frame like some "Gundam" kits as such. The kit can also separate to form the various craft that make up Big Dai-X with some part swapping, and theres a few extra parts in the kit for display stands for this.

In times of size, it sits roughly between the Sentinel toy (slightly larger) and the Takatoku DX version (slightly smaller).

Overall, a pretty good kit for any skill level, not quite up there with Bandai but a massive relief that much of the most important detailed is printed. Until someone gets round to doing a chogokin or something, Star Fleet legions should be more than happy with this!

Couple images to finish off, including a group shot of some - but not all - of my Big Dai-X posse! (and I just noticed those forearms need to be fitted together better! 😄)

 

Edited October 6, 2023 by F-ZeroOne

[F-ZeroOne]

I've just checked the model again and those panel gaps are actually rather less noticeable in real life than in the above image!

[Big s]

3 hours ago, F-ZeroOne said:

So I finally got to build the Big Dai-X today. I am in no way, shape or form an expert modeller and neither am I particularly worried about seam lines, sprue marks etc. It took me about four hours, which is about the same time as the "First Grade" Nu-Gundam took me, even though that seemed the simpler build.  One noticeable difference is that the "points" that hold the parts onto the sprues are thicker than Bandai seems to use and more likely to leave marks on the pieces.

On the other hand, most of the kit is molded in colour, with most of the white striping printed on (as well as the eyes), the exceptions being a couple of white arrows on thee shoulders and some absolutely tiny stickers for detailing on the fists, feet and back. I opted to leave  most of the small stickers off as I knew with my skill level, only tragedy would result. 🙂

Instructions are almost entirely in Japanese but mostly straightforward to follow; just be careful assembling the arms as theres some steps I found a little confusing and I actually missed applying one of the shoulder stickers until it was almost too late. Theres no internal frame like some "Gundam" kits as such. The kit can also separate to form the various craft that make up Big Dai-X with some part swapping, and theres a few extra parts in the kit for display stands for this.

In times of size, it sits roughly between the Sentinel toy (slightly larger) and the Takatoku DX version (slightly smaller).

Overall, a pretty good kit for any skill level, not quite up there with Bandai but a massive relief that much of the most important detailed is printed. Until someone gets round to doing a chogokin or something, Star Fleet legions should be more than happy with this!

Couple images to finish off, including a group shot of some - but not all - of my Big Dai-X posse! (and I just noticed those forearms need to be fitted together better! 😄)

 

I personally like seeing simple builds out of box just as much as ones with a lot of extra work. Thanks for sharing.

If you want to take it up a little notch and have little to no visible nub marks the I really suggest a cheap glass file. They can be found pretty easy at most places like drug stores these days in the beauty section. Also a little set of nippers or even a nail clipper help for trimming out the parts. Just start a little further back from the part and after it’s cut out trim the nub a little closer. Then just file away the rest. It’s not a hard thing to learn ad only takes a little more time, but it really makes it appear like you did more than the actual work you put in. Kinda like a little trick on the eyes.

And Bandai definitely has much thinner connections on the sprue, but they’re probably the only company that does them that thin especially on the newer Bandai kits. Bandai definitely spoils its builders these days. But Bandai doesn’t do every subject I want to build, so I gotta buy stuff from other companies and try and keep up those older skills 

[F-ZeroOne]

Thanks, glad you liked the review! I did remember while building this kit that back when I used to build some Gundam kits some years ago I would use a file occasionally, but then I also had more time in those far-off days of yore... 🙂Might be something I keep in mind next time I try a similar kit.

[Big s]

5 hours ago, F-ZeroOne said:

Thanks, glad you liked the review! I did remember while building this kit that back when I used to build some Gundam kits some years ago I would use a file occasionally, but then I also had more time in those far-off days of yore... 🙂Might be something I keep in mind next time I try a similar kit.

I used to use metal files, and they seemed to take a while and left marks like scratches, but these glass files that have popped up recently don’t leave marks and seem much quicker. I personally didn’t see the worth when others were talking about them, but I after trying them they lived up to the hype. 

[F-ZeroOne]

I think I used to use a (normal) nail file every now and then, but TBH I was always about getting the kit built rather than prettying it up (this was in the days before things like "Robot Damashii" and the kits were the closest you could get to a "true" representation of an on-screen mecha). Thanks for the tip about the glass files!

Edited October 7, 2023 by F-ZeroOne

[F-ZeroOne]

Just a thought I had - regards the detailing, would one of these Gundam Markers I hear so much about be an alternative to the stickers for detailing, say, the arrows on the fists? 

[Big s]

11 hours ago, F-ZeroOne said:

Just a thought I had - regards the detailing, would one of these Gundam Markers I hear so much about be an alternative to the stickers for detailing, say, the arrows on the fists? 

Yes. You may even be able to use the sticker sheet where you removed the actual sticker as a template if it was cut to the exact shape 

[electric indigo]

So far I only snapped one Moderoid kit, and the large injection points are really irritating. With the substancial number of parts of the Deer Stalker, it took forever to clean everthing up even before even glueing things together. I love the range of subjects in the line, but the kits are not cheap, and the engineering should be a bit better.

[Chas]

Did you take any pics of the marks? Not sure what 'injection points' are. Maybe ejector pin marks?

Regardless, that's not the best news, not a deal breaker mind you, but still disappointing to hear.

 

[F-ZeroOne]

Big s, thanks for the reply about Gundam Markers. There are actually correct shapes moulded into the fists so presumably it's just a case of colouring in.

Edited October 8, 2023 by F-ZeroOne

[Big s]

4 hours ago, F-ZeroOne said:

Big s, thanks for the reply about Gundam Markers. There are actually correct shapes moulded into the fists so presumably it's just a case of colouring in.

That makes it easy. The markers are easily erasable in case you mess up. You may want to consider a top coat of some kind just so it doesn’t rub off too easily