Voice actor Yasuyuki Tai reviews "MODEROID Garland," the main mecha of "Megazone 23! Can transform from robot form to motorcycle form without replacement!

The concept is "even busy working people can make it this far on their weekends off! The only two rules of this article are that the model must be finished in its unassembled state and that you can only spend one or two days building it! Read this series, and you will surely find the plastic model you want to build.

Taiyuki's Weekend Plastic Modeling Vol. 94 MODEROID Garland

In 1985, another legendary and famous deformable robot "Garland" from "Mega Zone 23," one of the legendary works that appeared during the heyday of OVA, made its debut from Good Smile Company's plastic model series "MODEROID!

Although this mecha has been sculpted by various manufacturers in the past, there has probably never been a kit that is as easy to assemble as this one, and yet is able to perform a complete transformation. The deformation gimmick is also designed to be highly durable, and is probably the easiest garland to touch nowadays.

As a side note, I reviewed "Mega Zone 23" again and found that it is set in the 1980s in the Shibuya-Shinjuku area, and although there are many secrets as to why, I really nodded my head in agreement that this period was chosen as the setting because it was "the best time.

If you have not seen it yet, please take a look.

MODEROID Garland

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The package is illustrated with a sense of speed. The image may seem a bit removed from the world view of "the Shibuya-Shinjuku area in the 1980s," which we opened earlier, but we are sure you will agree when you see the full version.

When assembled according to the instructions, the humanoid form, the "maneuver slave" form, is completed. Looking at the film, you may be tempted to start with the "Maneuvercraft," which is a motorcycle form, but this time we will start here.

Since it transforms from a human-riding motorcycle, it has a set height of 3.85 meters, which is compact for a passenger robot. According to the settings, it transforms with the pilot "Shogo Yahagi" riding the bike, but this time only the figure kit of Shogo, which can be placed on the maneuvercraft, is included.

The shape is a really good reproduction of the Garland's features. The balance between the large forearms and legs, etc., is just how well it was put together despite the deformation mechanism.

The back view is interesting to see the design of the motorcycle in various parts. The wheels on both shoulders might lead some people to think that the figure transforms into a three-wheeled motorcycle, but the wheels on both shoulders are placed with the front tires split to the left and right, so the figure becomes a two-wheeled motorcycle when transformed.

The range of motion is also quite excellent, and it can even lightly stand on one knee. The shoulders can be lifted horizontally, the arms can roll and rotate, and the ankles have good ground contact. The wrists can also be fitted with flat hands.

Due to the design, the hips do not rotate and the legs are not very good at opening, but instead there is a roll rotation axis in the thighs. The knee armor can also be opened slightly. The fists are proportionally larger in size.

The orange clear parts on the shoulders are selectable. If you mainly use the maneuvercraft form, you can choose the clear parts, and if you mainly use the maneuver slave form, you can choose the normal parts that were not used this time.

The "Laser Orb Gun" weapon is also included. The grip can be pulled out and held by the weapon's handle.

It is a small gun, but it was used as the main weapon.

Since many of her actions were light, posing her with THE Simple Stand (sold separately) is also suitable.

These fist parts. The left fist is the proportion-oriented fist and the right fist is the transformable fist.

I replaced the fist with a transformable fist, but it doesn't look that different.

MODEROID Garland

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Now, let's continue with the deformation gimmick.

First, open the tire parts of both shoulders. Unfold the forearms and store the wrists.

Compact shoulders and close the forearms. Then, open the elongated hatches on both sides of the chest to expose the grooves.

Pass the arms through the groove area and move the tires on both shoulders forward.

Rotate the heel disks and close the toes.

Open the calf hatches to contract the legs.

Disconnect the joints of both feet that were connected to the rear wheel section.

Slide the body back and forth to open.

Open the hatch of the clear part in front of the head and tuck the head forward.

Once the head is tucked in, close the clear parts to form the front cowl.

Lift up only the front cowl part.

Then, align the front tires together.

Tilt the front cowl forward again and move it into position.

This is what it looks like from the front. It looks much more like a motorcycle.

Bounce the waist block up so that the rear tire is visible.

Lift up the rear cowl and raise the seat.

Rotate the rear tire into position.

Lower the rear cowl and contract the body that had been extended front and rear.

Move both legs through the frame.

The rear of the body is completed by moving both foot blocks to the sides of the seat.

Re-close the narrow hatches on both sides of the body, and the transformation is complete. Garland" has this shape. Perhaps some of you have seen this motorcycle form before.

At this stage, I added a little more work. This time, I used a PIGMA 0.3mm pen in black. I used a PIGMA 0.3mm black pen to smear and fill in slits and other areas. I think this made the details clearer and sharper. It's easy to do, so please give it a try.

MODEROID Garland

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However, it really was a brilliant complete deformation, wasn't it? Although there were some minor deformation gimmicks in its own way, it is not that difficult and can be transformed in a fun way.

The tail lamps and left and right blinkers are clear parts. The atmosphere is perfect. There are also details like the fuel tank and maintenance hatch.

The side view of the figure is also well done. It is a big size for a motorcycle.

The selectable shoulder parts are the parts that come on both sides of the front tires. Therefore, if you consider the maneuvercraft form as the main part, the lights should come here, so I chose clear parts.

Whether to choose clear or opaque parts is really a matter of personal preference.

When touring with other motorcycles, you can see the rear view like this. It looks very stern.

The grips and panels are also well reproduced.

Shogo Yahagi figure is molded in gray color. If you want to display the figure in maneuvercraft form, you will want to prepare a painted Shogo if possible. When painting, take your time and do not rush. I appreciate that Shogo is also included.

The parts of the Shogo are kindly divided so that the mating lines are hardly noticeable. Since it only needs to be painted and assembled, you will want to make time to paint it properly.

Although it is almost invisible, parts like a clutch pedal are also placed under the feet.

In this form, there is no hole to insert THE simple stand, so if you want to reproduce the jump scene, you will have to fix it by inserting it like this.

MODEROID Garland

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Let us also introduce the smeared maneuver slave form. The white parts would be especially effective with smiile.

The slit part is also a recommended processing point because the details become clear just by painting it.

It may take some time to paint all the parts, but since the design does not have a lot of details to begin with, it will only take a few minutes. When you pose the smeared and tightened figure, a different image comes to mind.

It is a really simple process, so please try it out while listening to "Sentimental on the Back" or something.

MODEROID Garland

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Product Information

MODEROID Garland

Now on sale

Manufacturer: Good Smile Company

Price: 7,500 yen (tax included)

Price: 7,500 yen (tax included) ・Non-scale

Height: 160mm (height of the top of the head)

Sculptor: Astray's

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. 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.

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