May 18, 2001 CURRENT RUMBLE GA50 vs. SOC: A Photostudy LeMel 5.18.01 When I opened the SOC box, my first words were, well, probably the same thing many of you said. "That's it?" To see the body of the Daiku shoved demurely into one small corner of that giant box, and to know that *that* was the most substantial object in the box, well, it makes the heart sink. But, having the opportunity to directly compare the SOC to the original GA50 DX Daiku, one has to come to admit that this homage to that piece is, in fact, well done. And, at the risk of taking some shine off of the legendary DX, here is a short photo essay. I am not attempting to determine that one is 'better', merely to document. Gaiki...excuse me "GAIKING!" DX Gaiking is half a hornhead taller than SOC. DX suffers from the floppies, though I don't know if that's a symptom of age or design. I find my SOC to be stiffer, easier to pose. It also is a bit flimsy as others have described, but I am less bothered by that. Poseability is nice, and it has nice weight even though it's tiny. *Tiny*. However, DX Daiku is quite a bit smaller than SOC Daiku. The SOC proportions are, expectedly, more true to the anime, leaving DX looking a bit neo-natal. BOTH sport tails that are fully plastic. I find the legs on the SOC hold position better than the DX because the detents on the DX are spaced more widely, and only exist in the lower, and not the upper joint. Feet pivot on both. Again, I don't know if that's design or age showing on the DX. The wonderful vintage stickers identifying the toy (in case in a fit of juvenile apopoletic joy you forgot what it was) are, again realistically absent from the SOC. Point, DX. But as clearly seen here, size goes to the SOC. The SOC is hereby the largest, and heaviest (substantially) Daiku diecast. Yeah, but who would win in a race? ("Don't do it Johnny, you'll crash up, crash up good!") I know everyone is pretty familiar with the features and access, and those will be/have been discussed by others in detail. I only wanted to present a clear visual comparison as to size proportions. Which do I like best? After years of wanting a GA50, and going through considerable trouble and sacrifice to attain it, it is hard to dismiss its charm, decals, chunky sturdiness, and *firing missles*. But the SOC, with increased size, increased diecast content, poseable gaiking, opening belly, real treads, etc, etc, is a fine complement to the vintage piece. I think of it as new Beetle vs old Beetle. You simply cannot deny the charms of either. Forget about investment value and 'playability' and all that other stuff for a minute: These are two great pieces, hands down - one of them just happens to be gone from the face of the earth. But don't let the mythical status of the GA50 cause you to view the SOC through jaded eyes. Perhaps the one sure effect of this excersise was that it firmly convinced me that Y9800 was, in fact, well spent. Next up, Big Scale Yamatos: The Death Match!  RUMBLE INDEX  |  CURRENT RUMBLE