Minipura: Engine Dai-Shogun Review

Let’s Go-on!

For more toy reviews and just other Toku-related stuff come over to OSSIA: http://adrienzo.wordpress.com/

Hey guys, it’s Adrienzo again. Today I am going to review some Go-onger Candy Toy!

Another one of my favourite line is the extremely popular Minipura Candy Toy line. Minipura offers cheap mini model toy kits that have featured many of the recent Sentai Mechas. One thing I love about this line is it’s articulation. The models are extremely well designed and have more movable joints than the way more expensive DX Mechas. I have no model making skills at all, so it’s really a shame that I can’t put these guys at its fullest potential since if you can actually paint these, they look AMAZING!

Moving on….

I was rather reluctant about getting this set since I hated the actual design of Engine-oh, but when they announced the release of Dai-Shogun, I knew I was going to get it. I was shopping around for this but most shops packed these three sets (Dai-Shogun’s version of Speedor, Bus-on,  Bearrv) with Birca, Gunpherd and Carrigator. I didn’t really wanted to get all six sets since it was rather expensive but as time went by, these started to disappear fast. So in the end I resorted into getting all 6. But first I am going to review just the Dai-Shogun.

Here’s some pictures:

 

 

So what’s the Verdict:

 (For more info on the review system plese go to this page: http://adrienzo.wordpress.com/2008/09/09/review-system-10-explained/

Design: This model is probably 100% show accurate. Every little detail is added though it doesn’t show up that well. As 315円 (per Engine) you really can’t ask for more. Like I said, I am not into model making and therefore I just simply put the stickers on. But if you are one of those Gundam collectors these are probably a set for you. I see them being displayed in many Gundam shops around town. When they are painted they are truly incredible, like this:

I can’t really do that in a million years. But I know a lot of people out there can. Nevertheless, it still looks great as a simple model with stickers.

Playability: Although my picture doesn’t truly capture how fun these things are, I am sure that painted one up there does. The articulation is swell. You can put these guys into any pose you can think of and since they are light they stand well. One more good thing about Dai-shogun is that it does not have a lot of loose pieces that other Minipuras had (like DaiBouken). And once again I have to mention that these models have way more and better articulation than any of the DX stuff. I remember one DX Mechas can’t even move their legs…cough..Sirenbuilder..cough.

These things are also really easy to build too. They don’t require any tools and the pieces rip off cleanly.

Durability: They are plastic models so they aren’t that strong. Though on occasion when I have to detach a piece the pegs never ever broke and get stuck in the other hole. They use nice plastic. But I can’t say the same for the stickers. They start peeling off after a while but its not a huge problem, it’s really inevitable that it does. Another aspect that is worth noticing is that these joints are pobably the strongest I have seen in any toy. Way better than S.I.C. joints. You can constantly play with these and the joints won’t get loose.

Value: For just about $3-4 U.S. a piece (even though you really need to get all 3 so its really about $9-12) it’s a great deal. You get to waste some time building these things and even more time if you want to paint them. No matter which you decide on you end up with a stunning looking toy. So let’s sum it up, it looks great, it’s cheap, it’s fun, it’s better than the bulky and expensive DX mechas and…did I mention…you get a piece of Candy! Come on what’s stopping you from getting this!!! …oh maybe the fact you think Go-onger stinks, but hey, I am not going to defend the show, because I agree, but it didn’t stop me from getting this awesome model.

By: Adrienzo