have a confession to make. Forgive me, but with a few exceptions, Japanese robots never seemed to be visually stunning. Neat, yes. Cool, of course. But stunning, fearful and awesome? Unh-uh. Grendizer comes very close. Getter Dragun is closer (his head design blows ALL others away imho, but his blue t-shirt somehow makes me feel like I am watching Giant Robo-bowling).

And then I spotted a tiny black and white pic of Mazinger 1901 in a hobby magazine. I grasped the Mandarin-speaking owner of Fata Models by the scruff of the neck and demanded what this was. He boggled before me, thinking I had discovered a cheaper price for an item I already purchased at his store. He punched me in the ribs and then smashed me over the head with a crate of Soul Of Chogokin Daikumaryus. I was dead before I hit the ground.

When I was brought back to life by a strange loop-hole in the plot, I came to the conclusion that I MUST have this robot. It was everything I thought giant robots should be... it had seething red eyes, a powerful, locomotive physique, and an opening cockpit, complete with a removable pilot.

In short, it had PRESENCE.

Review:

I decided that the best way to review this creation was to categorize the things I find valuable in the items I collect, and give them all an equal mark out of ten for a total of fifty:

• Attention to Detail - How much is the item like the anime from which it was derived? How much work went into the detailing of the sculpt?
  
• Paint Job - I hope this is self explanitory!
  
• Gimmicks - it'll poke yer eye out kid! Yaaay!
  
• Playability - can it do a barrel roll or action pose without losing any major parts of its fusilage or anatomy (really emabrassing in a fight!)?
  
• Packaging - I tend to rip my stuff out of the package like the barbarian ancestors of my kin. However, when I notice a nice box, I tend to keep it.

So here is my review of the Mazinger 1901 figure from Fewture Models.

Attention to Detail:10

Since the anime for this character last appeared as an OVA some time ago, and it used a completely different design, it would be unfair to compare it. However, based on appearance alone, I LOVE this new Mazinger's styling. It could kick your arse just by lookin' at ya. It looks better than any design of the Mazinger series that I have seen. It incorporates elements from the original Mazinger anime, such as his "Rocket Punch" and the "Tomahawk Punch". They refrained from the "Spiked Punch" and the "Hawaiian Punch". Ha, ha. Right.

I'll shut up.

It doesn't have a hover pileder, due to the fact that the scale has been changed. The Mazinger robot is only 12 metres tall, so unless the mystery parts the future 1901 figures come with have a cockpit add-on, Koji has to walk to work.

It has tonnes of detail, down to the grease marks leaking from the bolts. It has an opening cockpit that is SUPER-detailed, a removable "Iron Guard" for spitting and eating lunch, removable wrist covers, changable fists, MOVABLE FINGERS and a backpack that fits together with parts from other 1901 figures, whcih, as I stated, make a set of wings that can help him get from place to place without having to pay for a plane ticket).

There's only one question I have. Since Sakura Wars and Escaflowne, there seems to be a new surge in "Steam-punk" designs. I love them.

The paint job is amazing. It is shiny and sparkly, yet muted so as to not look too gaudy. It's dark, almost a midnight blue that reflects the light in a very creepy way. You don't want to mess with this dude. And moreover, the plastic is effectively disguised. I had to tap parts to see if they were plastic or not.

However, it doesn't get a 10 because of two things. One - Fewture models has to learn that assembling plastic toys while the paint is wet will make the more fragile parts stick and may lead to damage. It was stuck on the right wrist and the forearms. Also, there was a major paint scratch on the back of mine. Fortunately it was on the plug that will eventually hold the backpack, but it still bugs me.

Okay. This is always the part where a great toy can shine. Give me something neat and I will always play with the toy. My valkyries transform. My S.O.P. Yamato is always having its wings deployed and Wave motion gun fired.

I WAS expecting those things to frikkin' work, however. The Tomahawk does not fit in very well, and the wrist cover constantly comes loose when the Tomahawk is placed in.

Moreover, there are tiny hinges holding in the flip-up wrist guards, and mine broke five seconds after opening it. This was partly due to the fact that the paint had glued the wrist cover to the wrist, but it is a small hinge that should have been made out of tougher palstic.

The opening cockpit with the pilot and the movable fingers are extremely cool, however, and the posability of the thing is incredible. You can create some real drama in your collection with this dude.

Mazinger 1901 is one of my faves. He is in a prominent postion on my toyshelf. It would have been nice if the "Metro Police" base had some sort of foot peg to secure him there (especially for the Aflodai figure, who is real loose -"loose" as in JOINTS, gutter-brain!).

With the exception of the wrist fiasco, this is an amazing toy. I was actualy thrilled to have this guy jump around my room. His poses are incredible, and almost limitless. I want MORE! If Boss Borot and their enemies are made with the same quality I will definitely buy them all.

The package is a standard window box design allowing you to view the entire figure, save for the secret part that he comes with. There is little variation for the other figures in the line, although I suspect that the Garada and Doublas figures will come in a pinkish shade to the packaging.

Conclusions

Mazinger is awesome. I can honestly say I have not been this thrilled with a toy since the Godphoenix (and without the disappointment at some serious glitches). It feels heavy and solid to hold and play with. It has some minor flaws, but I can live with them. I picked mine up for $75.00 at Toy2 in Markham, which had the best price in the Greater Toronto Area. I picked up Aflodai for $90.00 at Kikiwai, but it was the only place that had one.

Is it worth the price? If you can afford to wait, it may be carried later in the year by Diamond Comics. If you are uninterested in containing the kid within, like me, it's definately worth it.

And the evil folks of Fewture have hooked me in... each figure comes with a part to complete Maz's backpack into what I figure will be a "Scramble Dash" as depicted in the original version.

Yuki!