Kunio Okawara Fun Mecha World Omoroid" Strongest Rival Mecha "Darth Boss" Example! Check out the evolution of the kit by comparing it with the old one!

When you are a working adult, you tend to have a lot of plastic models piled up in your busy life. ...... In this series, Yasuyuki Tai, a voice actor who loves robots and plastic models, takes on the challenge of building plastic models on your behalf!

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 start the 69th issue!

Yasuyuki's Weekend Plastic Model Vol. 69 "Kunio Okawara's Fun Mecha World Omoroid" Darth Boss

The "Kunio Okawara Fun Mecha World Omoroid," which was first released in the 1980s and created quite a stir, has unexpectedly been reborn in the 21st century. The first kit in the lineup was the "Pi-Bot" and "Darth Boss," two mecha kits representing the two opposing armies.

The design of mecha that can be transformed into a simple shape and then completely change its appearance is one of Kunio Okawara's specialties in his work. It is no exaggeration to say that the "Omoroid" series in particular is the series in which Mr. Okawara is most in his element. This is the quintessence of Kunio Okawara's mecha!　It would not be an exaggeration to say that this is the quintessence of Kunio Okawara's mecha!

This time, we would like to introduce "Darth Boss," a Z-grade scrambler of the Akremlin Army, from the newly born Omoroids!

As with the "Pi Bot" that we previously introduced, the packaging was drawn by manga artist Koichi Tokita, in respect of the original packaging.

On the side of the package, the Omoroid's story and aircraft settings are described.

On the bottom of the package, the package illustration of the old kit is printed. It is a cool idea that makes you grin. I hope this is the same for the future series!

Sticker and instruction manual. The instruction manual has a 2D barcode that allows you to view the web instruction manual, which includes some hints for the next installment at ....... Please check it out for yourself.

There are four runners. The runners are arranged so that the parts of each part are gathered together, making it very easy to assemble.

The round hole in the center of the eye part of the head is not just a zero, but has a little protrusion on the top, which gives the figure a rather naughty look.

Inside the eye part, there is a "C" shaped part. I wonder what it is?

It takes less than an hour to assemble. One of the charms of Omoroids is that they are easy to assemble. This kit has as few parts as possible, and ease of assembly is a top priority. Although there are only a few colors, you can easily and perfectly compensate for this with stickers.

Rear view. Although some parts, such as the thrusters and exhaust pipes, have been simplified due to the division of parts, the modeling is more in line with the original drawing compared to the style of the kits of the time.

Here is the figure with stickers attached. The stickers are slightly elastic, so if you press them with a cotton swab along the details, you can apply the stickers with a three-dimensional effect. Be careful about the tool you use and the amount of force you use, as the stickers will tear if you press them in with a hard object or press too hard.

Color-coding of the ears and ankles is a bit time-consuming when painting, so it would be helpful to complement them with stickers like this.

The slightly chubby body gives the figure a dignified appearance that is typical of the "boss. However, the sculpting of each part is very sharp, so the figure does not look sloppy and crisp.

The face part has been carefully calculated and sculpted to give a three-dimensional impression. The atmosphere of the camera's internal mechanism seen through the clear parts is also cool. The power pipe extending from the mask also has an "Okawara Mecha" feel to it.

The range of motion. The head can be rotated left and right, but the neck comes off at 90 degrees, so this is about as far as it can go.

Shoulders can be rotated by connecting to the ball joint extending from the body. They can be raised horizontally to about 90 degrees.

Since it is a ball joint, a slight swing of the shoulders is also possible.

The elbows are also connected to a ball joint, allowing for rotation and elbow bending.

The elbows can also be slightly bent in this direction, allowing you to recreate the standing posture often seen in Kunio Okawara's design drawings.

The wrists can be rotated by connecting the shaft. The position of the front legs in beast mode can be changed by removing the wrists.

The hip joint is also ball-jointed. The ankles are also ball-jointed. Although ball joints cannot be moved significantly in each direction, they can be moved in various directions with a small number of parts, so they are effective joints for small mechanisms.

As you can see, the ankles are also movable. The ground contact is well secured.

The arm claw in vertical mode is in this position. It is recommended to adjust the position depending on the direction of the arm to be moved.

This is a side-by-side view with Pi Bot, which was released at the same time. The top of the head of Darth Boss is a little higher than that of Pi Bot.

Darth Boss looks good in this pose.

Boss Punch!

Boss Kick!
His legs can be raised surprisingly high.

Emperor Buehring: "We met here for the hundredth year!

Prince Kawaras: "It hasn't been a hundred years since I've known you!"

Emperor Buehring: "...No, it's not that. What do you call it, an atmosphere?"
Prince Kawaras, you are very serious and honest, and you also seem to have this kind of naturalness about you.

Emperor Buehring: "Let me show you the true horror of this Darth Boss!　I will trample it all down!"

Now then, Darth Boss, let the deformation begin!

Remove both wrists and extend the torso.

Put the front legs in place in Beast Mode and make the arms and elbows look great.

Tilt the body forward and get on all fours.

Lift the backpack and deploy the tail from inside.

Now the transformation is complete. How easy it is!

With that few steps, the Triceratops-type beast mode is completed in no time at all! It's like a chilly dinosaur, isn't it?

When viewed from the side, the face of the vertical mode is just out of sight. It has transformed beautifully, hasn't it?

Even though the backpack thrusters are somewhat simplified in shape, they are not so uncomfortable since the meat removal is inside the backpack. This is also a design intent.

Front angle. The nostrils are also sculpted. This part was not reproduced in the kit at that time.

The movable parts are the same as in the vertical mode, so you can tilt the head and raise the front legs.

You can raise the front legs.

Plus a little more work!

Now, as one of the usual "extra touches" in this series of articles, I would like to introduce a secret technique for the inside of the face parts that I mentioned at the beginning of this article!

The "C" shaped hole can be used to mount a cannonball LED!　When mounted and turned on the light, it looks like this: ......

Like this!　The mono eye glows!　And if you look closely, you can see that the protrusion on top of the mono eye makes its expression look a little more severe!

If you have read our article on Pi-Bot, you may have already guessed this, but please give it a try, as it is easy to assemble.

Furthermore, this time I prepared another kit and painted it all. The body color is iron instead of black, to give it a heavier look. The "1" is well detailed, so it was not too difficult to paint.

The thrusters of the backpack are commercially available parts. I replaced the exhaust pipes on both sides with brass pipes. That's all about the modifications. How do you like it?

Here is a shot of it in beast mode. The pattern on the ears and ankles are done with the stickers included in the kit.

From the back, you can clearly see the modifications.

You can see the difference by comparing them like this, but at a glance, you can't tell much difference. This new kit is very well done, including the modifications.

There is one more thing to be done this time!　I also completed the kit of that time (old kit)!　I happened to own (or had in my stockpile), but this time, I dared to try to shape the kit as it was back then, with the same flavor. When I look at the new Darth Boss, I have the impression that it is a little diminutive, but that is also the flavor of the kit~.

In order to enjoy the flavor of the time, no modifications have been made at all. The shape of the legs is closer to a square than I had expected. The soles of the front legs in beast mode have holes.

Left is the old kit. The right is the new kit. How carefree the face of Beast Mode was at that time.

The thrusters on the backpack are much more simplified in the old kit. The transformation method is exactly the same. The transformation gimmick has not changed over time. It's amazing.

Looking at it from the side, you can see that the head shape of the Beast is much closer to the drawing of the current version.

Here is a side-by-side view. While the details of the body of the old kit were only carved in lines, the new Darth Boss has a three-dimensional effect, which is an evolution of the old kit. Both the old and new kits have the distinctive deformed mecha style of Kunio Okawara's work, which has been well reproduced.

From the back, you can hardly tell the difference!

So, I will part with the old kit, the unassembled one, and the painted and modified one, while putting the three side by side. As mentioned in the article on Pi Bot, LEAPRO's second Omoroids are the "Black Beetle" and the new "Darth Zahm," a new design created by Kunio Okawara based on Darth Boss!　You can see a glimpse of them in the web instruction manual that can be accessed from the 2D barcode in the included instruction manual... The new "Omoroid" was a surprise in itself, but to see the birth of a new model and a variation of a machine that was not on the market at the time was completely unexpected and secretly exciting.

When you think about it, "Omoroids" may be the pioneer of original mecha from various model makers today (there was also the old "Atlanger" from Aoshima, which is also making a comeback with new molds. ...... Kotobukiya is also developing the "Evoloid," a sibling of the Omoroid, so please enjoy the charm of "Kunio Ohkawara Mecha" in addition to the Omoroid !

See you soon!

If you cry, you lose, and you won't lose until you cry!

Product Information

Omoroid Darth Boss

Now on sale

3,300 yen (tax included)

Brand: LEAPRO

Appearance information of Taiyuki

Netflix foreign drama "Locke&Key" Season 1 and 2 (as Tyler)
Tachibana Neko Kogyo "Hundred Edge" PV narration
YouTube Gundam Base Live ch Kawaguchi Meijin no Suipura" every Wednesday at 18:00 (assistant)