Meet Son Goku, the well known protagonist of the well known manga and anime series Dragonball Z - in plastic model kit! XD
How can Bandai ever think of such idea in the first place? Beats me. ^^;
Annouced in the beginning of this month, Bandai is planning to release Son Goku in 1/8 scale as a Master Grade model. What's rather shocking though, is that the Master Grade (aka MG) is usually known as a very high standard model line for the Gundam franchise (and to a lesser extend Patlabor and the Dunbine) - the "symbol" of what gunpla are about to many Gundam fans.
Kamehameha!!!!
Which means that the decision of having Master Grade model for an individual character is something rather unheard of. Bandai has therefore put it under a sub-branch called Figurerise. Instead of those mechanical looks and details, we now have flesh and muscles.
MG Gouf ver2.0, showing its normal apperance as well as its inner frame
Images from Dalong
In additon to the articulations and mechanical details, MG gunpla models are well known for having a workable moving inner frame, which is like the skeleton of the mechs. So... Will Son Goku have movable skeleton frame too?
Image from AmiAmi blog
Judging from the runners seen in the display case from the 49th All Japan Plamodel Radicon Show, I can't see any "skeleton"-related parts, so I think I can safely assume that this won't happen (I guess).
Kamehameha!!!!!!!
Image from Akibahobby
Despite the unusual idea, this Goku does seem to have a lot of joints inside, making it rather articulate (well hopefully it should be). Optional face expressions and hands will be provided too.
Speaking of Dragonball, anybody been watching the "remake" Dragonball Z Kai? It's not exactly a remake, but apparently more like a director's cut that cut down length fights as well as other parts that dragged the story down a bit, making it much more watchable in this shorter version. I haven't watched it, but I've heard those who are fans of them enjoyed this version better.
Goku will be released in December at a price of 3675 Yen. So... Anybody interested at building your own Goku figure? A wild idea, but I have to pass on this one as I am not into Dragonball ^^;
Official images from Happinet Online
Info from Ngee Khiong
Bandai.. why would yu do thaaaat ;-;
ReplyDeleteI hope the provide all the textures, because something as round as goku will be hard to colorise >.>...
What's wrong with a normal figure? The end result of this doesn't even look accomplishing to build.
And figurerise sounds partially stupid.
I don't really feel that strongly about it though ^^; Don't give much more than a meh for dragonball.
Want Vegeta, not Goku^^;
ReplyDeleteIm getting "Frankenstein vibes", and Im not a madman, do believe me I'M NOT MAD!!!
Holy shit, this is actually pretty cool! Hopefully, this does well and we get more characters to build.
ReplyDeleteThe articulation may be of MG but the details of the face looks far from it. Bandai's decision in this certainly looks baffling, if not, out of character.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a huge fan of Dragon Ball, but Goku does look awesome. The articulation is amazing. Maybe this will result in some even newer ideas for MG and PG kits.
ReplyDeleteNow this IS new. A DIY action figure, from Bandai. Could be interesting.
ReplyDeleteI smell more DB characters along the way (knowing Bandai)...
That's kind of nice. Not a fan of male figures though, but I like it.
ReplyDelete@ Ningyo:
ReplyDeleteAfaik how Goku looks here will be the final product - it may look a little plain but it's true to the anime I suppose.
Bandai is releasing Goku in Super Saiyan form and Piccolo as SHFiguarts action figures sometime next year if you're interested. I know some people will be going for that instead of the model kit already. Figurerise is quite a crazy idea in the first place, and even I have to take some time to get used to it ^^'
@ GunStray:
I would think that Vegeta will be somewhere down the line soon or later ^^;
@ Snark:
It's a wild idea, and I am interested to see how it will perform and whether people will accept this. Quite a "revolutionary" concept I'll say.
@ Jacques:
Does the face really much details other than how it looks in the anime?
The move to make a Goku figure as an MG plastic kit sure seems bizzare and unexpected. A lot of people (including me) will need time to get over this. Moreover I really do wonder how many people will actually buy and build this when it's out o_o
@ Apt-1B:
Articulation sure looks good, and there are some linked movements too like in the arm. You may be right about how this will be something for Bandai to test new ideas for future products. We shall see.
@ BD77:
With new moulds built like so, it's very likely that Bandai will put them to good use for future DB characters as you've said ^^;
@ Yi:
Male figures are often overlooked, but they can still be nice. However we will have to see whether Bandai's idea of making them as a plastic kit will be a good idea or not.
It is kinda cool but I feel that the "MG" title is no longer "pure blood mecha" only...
ReplyDeleteI am interested in this model actually... but I'm gonna wait for the inevitable SSJ Goku instead xD.Goku makes for such a great cash cow for Bandai...
ReplyDelete@ B-Mecha:
ReplyDeleteAccording to Ngee Khiong, the only other "organic" MG that was released was Dunbine way back in 2000, but it's still a mecha of some sort. On the other hand, the introduction of Figurerise will pretty much break that pure-mecha rule now - I kinda wish that it'll have its own line by itself ratherh than being under the Master Grade label.
@ Z:
I am very curious about how this line will go. Knowing Bandai's marketing strategy, it's pretty much certain that Goku will have his own 'variations' soon or later ^^; On the other hand, you can also try out the SHFiguart action figure line, which will have SSJ Goku and Piccolo out sometime next year :o
So...the parts are pre-coloured so you can get by without painting like MG Gundams?
ReplyDeleteI don't like Goku, but might consider it if the right character comes up.
As for the inner frame/skeleton, early MG Gundams didn't have a inner frame neither. It's something more recent. But I doubt they'll have Goku's skeleton since there's no real function to it.
@ Tommy:
ReplyDeleteYep I would assume that the parts come as they are like those for gunpla, except with a few decals needed to apply for the eyes and other facial features. Other than Dragon Ball characters I have no idea what other characters they will plan to release in the future.
You are right that the very early MGs don't have an inner frame either, and they slowly have more and more of it until inner frame becomes a complete endoskeleton for later MGs. Such things are probably not needed for fleshy characters as we probably are not so interested about the interiors... ^^;