Cybertron Urban Defense Robot Gadep (a.k.a. e-Hobby Guardian)

I'm rather surprised no one has beaten me to this. Here is my short review and some pictures of the newest e-Hobby release, Cybertron Urban Defense Robot Gadep (a.k.a. a Cybertronian Guardian)!

For the few who don't already know this, Gadep is an e-Hobby-exclusive redeco of Omega Supreme, who was recently released in TakaraTomy's Encore reissue line. Interestingly, Gadep does not seem to be an official part of Encore -- the logo appears nowhere on his box. In its place is the triangular "Collector's Edition" logo that has appeared on past e-Hobby boxes. Other changes to the box include the obvious switch to monochrome blue and GREAT new artwork of 3 Guardians putting the smackdown on 3 Seekers. In addition, there are several e-Hobby logos, his number is 64 (rather than Omega's 09), the name is displayed as "Cybertron/[something in Kanji -- presumably 'Urban Defense'] Robo | Gadep", and the back features a story blurb. According to the e-Hobby listing, "Gadep" is short for "Groundling Auto-DEstruct Powerbroker". ... OK.

Included are "extras": a four-page comic and two sheets of faction symbol labels. Pics of the box and extras were shown in a recent news thread, but I can take more if folks wish.

On to the toy itself!

Gadep is a straight redeco of Encore Omega Supreme -- no mold changes. It does include the new face piece added for that release. The mold shows no signs of wear that are obvious to me. Everything fits together snugly and cleanly.

The color palette this time around is blue, white, gray, and black, with clear plastic for the face shield. This is actually fewer colors than Omega, but it makes for a nice uniform appearance. The blue is a very saturated medium tone, and matches my memory of the Guardians from the G1 'toon exactly.

Just like Omega (of course), Gadep's alt mode includes an ovoid track, rocket, launch "rack", and motorized tank. When switched on, the tank rolls rather briskly while the turret spins and a red LED inside it blinks.

Transformation is "parts-formation", with the exception of a few slides and pivots on the tank. While it may turn off some purists, I have no problem with it -- especially in this mold's case, as both modes are so cool.

Gadep's robot mode is very imposing, standing 10-1/2" tall at the head and 5-3/4" wide at the shoulders. With the wings arranged on his back as shown in the instructions, the tips are 11-7/8" from the ground and 7-1/8" apart. His arms are very well articulated, especially considering the age of the mold: his shoulders and elbows both have rotation and flexion movements. In addition, his three claws can each be placed in three positions, and his head turns. In this mode, switching him on once again causes the LED in his turret (now his head) to blink. But this time, he walks, actually placing each foot (slightly) in front of the other. He won't be winning any races, though.

[Side note: when I purchased my original Omega at BotCon '06, I had never actually seen one walk. I was expecting him to merely roll forward on wheels in his feet. I was very pleasantly surprised. ]

The label sheet appears to be the same as Omega's. Not sure if I'll be applying them....

Overall, I must say that Gadep is a very cool toy. The Omega Supreme mold is excellent, IMO, and this redeco is a natural for anyone who has seen "War Dawn" or "Forever is a Long Time Coming". The color scheme is very striking on the mold. Given its e-Hobby-exclusive status, it's a rather expensive purchase ($200-220 plus shipping at the U.S. online stores I've seen), but... if you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up. (Especially if someone extra-cool with a Japan address can order it and then ship it to you. Saved at least $35 that way. )

from Jarodimus.

Now, on to pics:







Attempt at getting a shot of him with his LED on (not easy):



With original Omega, who had to look impressive and wear ALL of his track. Say "Eeeyy", boys:

awesome. once i get him he will get displayed with the other omegas that i have.....

I posted box pics of him and the premiums some weeks back. But I have not had the time to open him up and play with him.

Rumble, D.D.S. - "First we crack the shell, then we crack the nuts inside!"

I like the blue, it looks great.

What are the stickers like?

This is a really great repaint.

It struck me after I posted this review that Gadep has something Omega doesn't: paint. Omega's colors are all the base plastic colors (at least on my original). But the blue trapezoids on either side of Gadep's chest are painted details.



Or if you mean the extra faction symbol labels, they're just variously-sized 'Bot and 'Con symbols, and were shown in solitudinal's News thread. I'm still at work now, but I can snap some quick pics after I get home tonight. It'll be hard to see the main label sheet, though, as it's a lot of yellow and white printing on clear labels with yellow backing paper.

The Ultra Magnus colors are very tempting, but I think I can resist.

It's the same sticker sheet as Omega? I thought they would have made all the little weird symbols blue and white to match the deco better. Oh well I had no intention of putting the labels on anyway. Thanks for the review and pics man

These are the sticker sheets:



You can see a few more in my thread here: eHobby Exclusive #64 - Guardian Robot - In-Package Pics + Exclusive Premiums!

Rumble, D.D.S. - "First we crack the shell, then we crack the nuts inside!"

I finally got my Guardian robot. Not much to say about it. All the pieces fit together very nicely, no mould degradation. The couple joints he does have are nice and tight.

I am disappointed that there was no change to the sticker sheet. All the labels are yellow like Omega's and I really wish they at least changed the colours to match the new colour scheme. This is just a nitpcik though.

Is he worth $230, no. I am glad that I have him, and I would pay the amount again, but in all honesty, he should have been in the $150 - $180 range. I only recommend him to G1 collectors or if you are a big fan of the G1 episode "War Dawn". If you are looking for a guardian to fit in with your classics collection I would say get the Omega Sentinel toy form the Energon line and save yourself the cash.