HG Scopedog" is the perfect introduction to the "VOTOMS" kits, with a limited number of parts and extreme mobility! Voice actor Yasuyuki Tai challenges to create an example!

The concept is "even busy working people can make it this far on their weekends off. There are only two rules: bare bones assembly and a production period of one to two days! If you read this series, you will surely find the plastic model you want to build.

So, "Weekend Plastic Model Making by Voice Actor Taiyuki! Let's get started with the 84th issue!

Taiyuki's Weekend Plastic Model Vol. 85 HG Scopedog

The anime "Armored Trooper Votoms" is celebrating its 40th anniversary. The "Armored Trooper Votoms 40th Anniversary Exhibition" that was recently held at the Seibu Shibuya Store Movida is still fresh in our minds, and now a new plastic model of "Scopedog" has been released by Bandai Spirits under the HG brand for general sales, creating a big buzz.

HG Scopedog

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For the purpose of this article, the editor in charge of the project himself lined up at a store in the morning on the day of release to purchase the model! (The writer, Taiyuki himself was in the middle of his reading period.)

Various manufacturers are currently releasing plastic models of the "Armored Trooper Votoms" with different interpretations, but what kind of approach did Bandai Spirits take in creating this kit?

Incidentally, "Scopedog" is a generic term for a type of humanoid mecha "Armored Trooper (AT)" that appears in the "Armored Trooper Votoms" series, and various other ATs also appear in the series.

The package depicts a Scopedog making a roller dash through an explosion. You can also see a motionless aircraft lying on its right side. It seems to depict the world view well.

The first thing that surprised me when I opened the box was the surprisingly small number of runners ...... i.e. parts.

Even though it is a scope dog in basic condition, can it take shape with this number of parts?　I assembled the box and found that ......

It took shape beautifully.

As for the specifications of this kit, only the heavy machine gun is included. Other than that, armaments such as solid shooters and parts inside the cockpit are sold separately, making the configuration very simple. By keeping the design of the fuselage as simple as possible, the number of parts has been kept to a minimum.

However, as you can see, the style is outstanding. The head is smaller, the legs are longer, and the body has not been rearranged to conform to modern trends.

The abdomen and knee bars, which I thought would be a major obstacle for the HG brand, are also assembled without the need for glue.

On the back, there are hooks for carrying the mission pack. The only seam that looks like an alignment is on this back part. I was also surprised that none of the rivets in the shoulder armor were distorted due to the use of slide molds.

At a quick glance, there are no cracks to be noticed.

The lens in the scope is reproduced with the included plastic stickers. Only near the root of the two antennas on the head, there is a support to prevent damage. The hooks on the shoulders are free as separate parts.

The shape of the abdomen and waist is also good. The forearms also have a modeling of the exhaust port.

I would like to see a variation of the wrist with a clenched fist without a hole, but that is included in the set, which is sold separately.

The wrists have ball joint connections. The armor on the back of the hands is also movable.

Legs. The color scheme is perfectly reproduced with the part divisions, as the coloring is simple, even for the setting.

After looking at the figure up to this point, we can see the so-called "Bandai edge" (*Ed. note: This is a common name for a specification that reduces the sharpness of parts by adding blunt angles to the sharp edges in the settings, in accordance with toy safety standards. It can be said to be a manifestation of Bandai Spirits' care to ensure that even children can play safely! )" does not seem to have influenced the design.

The hook on the back is probably a "C-shaped joint" and the mission pack is likely to be fixed with a "snap! and the mission pack will be fixed with a "snap! The joints on the back will not be visible once the mission pack is carried on the back, so I am looking forward to the release of various equipment in the future.

As expected, the movable turn picks on the sides of the ankles have been omitted, but if you are particular about the three-dimensional effect, you may want to add something sharp to the ankles.

The legs are also exquisitely designed with no joints at all.

The skirt armor on the waist can be raised both front to back and left to right. Even though the armor is molded in one part, there are details on the back side.

The soles of the feet are clearly marked to distinguish between left and right. The rollers are also detailed.

The turret lens can be rotated. In addition, the pedestal can move the rails on the head to the left or right.

The head itself is ball-jointed to the body. In addition to left and right rotation, it can also be moved slightly up and down. I think that this movement was added to reproduce the drawing in the anime.

HG Scope Dog

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The shoulder blocks do not use poly parts, but perform the roles of connection with the torso, attachment of shoulder armor, and connection with the upper arm. This design was a surprise to me, as it has been popular in the past for character models to attach the shoulder blocks from the left and right sides and then install the poly parts inside.

The shoulders on the torso side are also movable and can be pulled out to recreate the action in the anime.

The body also bends forward, a feature that is not included in the design.

To fulfill the magic of two-dimensionality in the anime, more movable parts have been added than in the setting, but this does not detract from the design itself.

The "additional movable parts" are a feature of the HG VOTOMS series.

The arm punch is of course movable back and forth. The back of the armored back of the hand is also molded.

Still, one part of this thickness is ....... In the past, this would have been a spectacular crack.

The knees are also movable thanks to the double joints. It is also possible to stand on one knee.

The included weapon is a heavy machine gun. This is also easy to assemble with only a few parts. As long as you can clear the gray parts, it will not be too difficult to remove the joints.

The hexagonal magazine on the side is also one part with this thickness. This is a bold move.

The machine gun can be held on the wrist as it is.

HG Scope Dog

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Reproduce the two-handed by moving the fore grip and replace the left hand. Movable parts of the shoulder joints are alive.

It also stands on its own in a posture as if it is in the middle of a roller dash, with its weight on one leg.

Additional movable head, shoulder and torso parts allow for powerful poses such as this.

The hip joint connection is basically a ball joint, but there is an additional split in the thigh for roll-rotation movement. However, this split line is almost invisible due to the waist armor.

The ankles are well grounded.

The hip joints are ball-jointed, so the leg spreading motion is not that great, but it is sufficient for an AT, since ATs are not supposed to show 180° leg spreading action.

This time, she is standing on one knee with her right knee on the ground. The lack of a bar on the left knee is probably more natural.

The secret of the groundability of the legs is in the ankle parts structure, but the number of parts here is also very limited, and I wonder how such a large amount of movement can be secured with such a small number of parts.

Speaking of AT, the "landing pose" is also reproduced in the HG in a fully transformed form.

First of all, flip up the rear skirt.

Lift the leg part from the thigh to the rear.

Deform the shin part, and then adjust the joints inside the knee and ankle to a good position and angle to complete the pose.

As you can see, you can reproduce the landing pose without any difficulty.

Bandai Spirits, which has produced many variable kits, may have excelled in this area.

HG Scope Dog

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A little extra work was done with a dry brush to make it more austere!

Now, since the equipment was minimal this time, let's stop with the introduction of the kit, and casually add a little extra work.

This time, I used Gaianotes Gilding Wax (silver), which has been a personal boom lately, to drybrush the image.

The silver dry brush looks great on the dark color of the kit. What do you think? This work is recommended because it is easy to create a metallic look.

Especially, AT is not a mechanical part that is used neatly, so I think it will give a better atmosphere than if you just finish the kit without any assembly.

Dry-brushing is mainly applied to the edges, while considering where it is likely to rub or bump against.

That's all there is to it. Sounds easy, right?　Actually, it is very easy.

The edges of the body and shoulder armor look like they might have paint peeling off, don't they? So, we will drybrush mainly those areas.

Painting the shoulders red will have to wait for another time.

Weapons may also be used after being stolen from the enemy, so the paint will never be clean, so it's a good idea to stain them to the point where it will not interfere with their use.

The legs are likely to run into rocks and debris during the roller dash, so you may want to dry brush them with a lot of flair.

The rest is up to the imagination of the purchaser.

I felt that the HG Scopedog is suitable as an introductory kit for the "Armored Trooper Votoms" in terms of both price and size. It also seems to serve as an introduction kit to the "VOTOMS" plastic models that are being developed by various companies in various concepts and sizes, and I think it is a very meaningful product.

In addition to the Scopedog variant, there are many other attractive ATs such as the Berzelga and Fatty. Among the planned future lineup, there is also a spin-off title "Armored Hunting Mellow Link" in which the main character does not ride an AT, and again, we cannot help but have high expectations for future developments.

HG Scope Dog

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Which ATs will appear next under the "HG" brand, whose size seems to allow for more flexibility than the 1/20 scale series released by Bandai in the past?

Let's keep an eye on it!

Product Information

HG Scope Dog

Now on sale

Price: 2,750 yen (tax included)

Manufacturer: Bandai Spirits

Tai Yuuki

Born two days before the broadcast of "Invincible Superhero Zambot 3. He has loved toys (especially robots) since his childhood and started building plastic models in elementary school. Even after becoming a voice actor, his love of robot toys and plastic models has not changed, and he debuted as a writer at Akiba Research Institute.