So looks like goodsmile's the gattai thunder gridman is out and as much as I hate to say it, it doesn't seem like it's worth the cost at all. It's very basic and barely improves on the original dx. Looks like qc is a bit shoddy as well.

 

I dunno, looks pretty decent to me. Only questionable things to me here is the looser locking system for the Tracto tank (don't know the JP names for the vehicle components), and the loose-ish finger hinges on Thunder Gridman. Should be able to fix those up pretty easily.

Biggest improvements overall go to God Zenon. The locking backpack is a pretty big deal, the enhanced arm articulation is nice (legs still suck, though), plus the legs don't free-spin if you've got them separated now. At least on my SSSS version, the Borr tank halves didn't clip together super well in that mode either, so if you split the legs, there was a decent chance of the entire lower body separating and falling away.

Gridman's proportions are better. Thunder Gridman has much better articulation, and arguably better proportions in the waist area (your mileage may vary on the skinnier limbs, though, compared to the DX's chunkier proportions).

Maybe if you still have the original DX, then the new figure might not seem that worth it to you. It doesn't really offer a new or revolutionary experience to the play pattern, just enhances a few things here and there. But good luck getting a hold of the DX nowadays.

 

Well it being just decent is my biggest problem.
- Gridman has just the bare standard for articulation. No butterfly, no ab crunch, limited head movement etc.
- The two halves of the driller are constantly splitting apart. This might be just the reviewer's copy.
- Alot of bare plastic with stickers to pick out details. We knew this already when images first surfaced, but it's still a dumb decision, especially when they're also releasing the tokusatsu edition that rectifies this problem.
- God Zenon's articulation is still trash. The upper body is very much improved outside of the head which is still limited, very loose on the reviewer's copy, and has lightpiping for whatever reason. But at the end of the day, what's the point of the arm articulation when the legs are always going to be stuck in different variations of the a stance. It's better than the SSSS version, but alot of things are better than that figure.
- Thunder Gridman does have much more articulation, but the tradeoff is that he's quite rickety and loose now, especially in the legs. It doesn't help that parts of the backpack as well as the chest piece don't tab in. Reviewer also has a qc issue with the fingers being loose.

I would be fine with all this if it they weren't charging 32,000 yen for it. The tokusatsu edition is getting close to pose+ prices, and this thing really just doesn't hold up to comparison.

 

Hmmm I think the slight looseness we are seeing in the legs are coming from the wiggle room between the gears of the ratchet joints. As long as the leg armor doesn't fall off and it holds a pose it shouldn't be an issue. Good to hear the ratchets are loud and seem to hold up the weight. The set overall looks nice, but still looks like GSC is still behind the curve when designing combining robot toys. They are learning so that's a plus.

I'm not sure why the designers made his waist swivel so limited in motion. I can see two peg holes on the back of Thunder Gridman so you would think some pegs would be made onto the nosecone to tab in the back. Also those fists for god zenon are underdetailed and need to be redone.

I'm debating if I should keep my pre-order or not. Lately, alot of their hagane works toys disappear from shelves once they are released with no reissue in sight. Would be nice to have a good looking Thunder Gridman on the shelf and I don't know what other company will take a stab at one in the future.

 

i'll wait for a reviewer who doesn't sound like he's terrified of waking his parents up in the next room.

Gonna be honest though - kinda glad I canceled my pre-order now, cause this doesn't look great.

I really wish somebody would just make dedicated figures. Just give me SRC/SoC FA-equivalents of Thunder/King Gridman and God Zenon.

 

Does he have a factory sample or something? They don't ship out from GSC until the 28th.

 

So far only Evolution Toy has recently done a Thunder Gridman, but it doesn’t look good. Given how weak their standalone figures are I have serious a doubts about how stable it is combined.

This appears to be the only review on youtube for it.

 

The HAF figure is just the Hagane Works figure, except with far worse engineering and far uglier as a result.

 

Definitely better than evolution toys, but doesn't say much when they make some of the worst designed products I have ever seen. No idea how that company has managed to stay afloat for so long.

 

Has Mega house confirmed if they'll be doing an Actibuilder Dynazenon set or not? I'm thinking of selling my DX Max Combine set since I've got all the Actibuilder sets but I kinda don't wanna miss out on a combining Dynazenon & Gridknight combo.

 

Where can I get some inexpensive gridman figures/bots? Even knock off's are ok.

 

Not really a thing. The OG figures are sky-high now in the way that all vintage toys go, especially after renewed interest in the brand after the SSSS Gridman anime. The Bandai D-Arts figures outside of Gridman himself were web shop exclusive, so always expensive and moreso now on the secondary market. The Super Minipla are long out-of-print, so subject to secondary market value now. The Evolution Toys and Hagane Works figures are priced as high-end collectibles.

I'm not aware of any high quality KOs. I vaguely remember a KO of Gridman himself in the early 2000s (maybe the Galaxy Defender line that showed up at Big Lots in the US that also had KO Brave figures?), but if that existed, is probably somewhat difficult to find now.

 

thanks for the explanation.

 

First impressions:

Thunder Gridman is here and he's mostly a good time, but I would say the combined is the weakest aspect of the set. Individually, God Zenon and Gridman are fun figures and look great. God Zenon holds together well and has a little more articulation than the vintage toy. I loved the vintage God Zenon so this is a nostalgia bomb for me. Thunder Gridman himself, holds together well and looks pretty. However, it sucks you can only get 2 clicks out of the shoulder joint because of a blockage on the back and the ankle tilts are super limited in range. I also do not like how the feet are just friction pinned on and can come off if you tilt the joint too far. I also disagree with putting diecast on twin driller's treads which end up on Thunder Gridman's forearms. Diecast on forearms + just friction joints is not a good idea, especially with the sword, the elbow and bicep swivel can't hold all the weight. Transformation for all modes is very fun and easy to do. The set displays well and the modular interaction of the stand is well done. Worth the price tag? No, not really. BUT man this is a wave of nostalgia for me.

 

Day 2 of Handling the GSC Gridman. I've noticed a wee bit of paint chipping off the lower abdominal section as it moves against the crotch piece. I wish that part was also molded in red plastic. I also really wish Gridman himself had more downward ankle movement (plantar flexion) to balance out poses, without it posing can be awkward at times especially with the hard knee and hip ratchets.

 

Definitely glad that I canceled my pre-order for this just in time, cause I'd definitely have buyer's remorse judging by what i've seen of it.

 

i have the entire original DX line, in the form of the mid-90's U.S. PLAYMATES SYBER SQUAD editions.
had them since new, i must have been like 12 or so at the time.

while the likes of MACROSS, GUNDAM and such have long-since spoiled me,
those old GRIDMAN DX toys remain exceptionally fine sentai mecha examples all the same...

 

So, got my GSC Gridman in today. A few minor niggles, but I really like the set overall.

The overall hand-feel of the set is very good, IMO. Everything feels nice and sturdy and stiff, and the deco-work is clean as hell. I went for the Standard edition, versus the Deluxe one with the extra panel-lining, and honestly, I can barely tell the difference in-hand, vs the online pictures of the other version. The nice matte finish on all the parts catches the light and shadows and picks out all the details beautifully.

The play experience was almost exactly as I expected it to be, having owned the original Playmates DX release in the past (but sadly not anymore). Godzenon/Xenon feels like an improvement, simply for the fact that I can now split the legs without the toy being a floppy, unstable mess, between the spinny lower legs, and Twin Driller/Borr's drill pieces splitting apart. Slightly disappointing that they couldn't manage to fit in at least some leg articulation, ala the Super Minipla version, but I do enjoy that the toy works pretty much exactly like the original DX, instead of how high-end toys tend to feel a bit fiddly, because they try to do things like hide the visible pegs and such. Thought the toy would at least have bicep articulation with the new arm joints, though, so that was a minor disappointment. Leg connection is a little bit wonky, though, in that while it's overall quite secure, the trick for quickly disconnecting them is to "bend" the knees outwards, which immediately causes the lower legs to drop off. This is a problem because you can easily engage this motion by just plunking the toy down firmly on a surface. So, adjust the toy's weight distribution by the legs, not by pressing down firmly on the torso. The under-detailed transformable hands are kinda blech, but the other set seems over-large (although probably somewhat show-accurate).

Combination into Thunder Gridman works quite nicely, although I find it a bit odd that despite the rest of the toy clipping together fairly well, they didn't seem to deem it necessary to have the backpack lock itself together. Not actually very problematic, just a little odd. Yeah, the proportions in this mode don't look quite as nice as the original DX, mostly due to Gridman's scrawny biceps poking through - a concession for a more show-accurate Gridman, in terms of proportions, instead of the impossibly super-heroic proportions of the original toy. The leg joints in this form unfortunately do wind up a little bit "spongy", due to the extra weight imposed by the large boots and a bit of diecast content. All that tends to mean though, is when posing him, just move the limbs one less click then you think you would want, and then gravity will settle the toy pretty much where you want it to be. I don't bother disconnecting the waist armour. It's nice that the option for waist articulation is there, but there's not too much range in that joint, and the chestplate doesn't really lock down without the waist armour to hold it in place (although it's not floppy, either).

I really appreciate the stand option, and the fact that you can use it to store all the optional parts when not in use.


I like it. But if you have the original DX, then it might not feel worth it. The play pattern is virtually identical, with only slight articulation enhancements to show for it, along with a pretty damned immaculate paint finish, without any of the stickers that tended to peel. But nothing feels particularly revolutionary about it, either. But if you want a Thunder Gridman, and don't want to suffer trying to hunt down the OG, this is a perfectly good substitute, IMO. I honestly like the smaller scale of this toy a bit better, as well. The original DX is just sorta big for the sake of it (also to accommodate electronics in Gridman, although I believe those were stripped out for the US release. At least in the version of Servo that I had). This new one feels as big as it needs to be.

 

Are you talking about the bicep swivel in God Zenon? It is there you just have to slide the joint down far enough and it will swivel.