Sentinel Toys Riobot Kizin Genesic Gaogaigar
Display base
The set comes with a generic Riobot display base that comes with an optional attachment for plugging into Genesic Gaogaigar’s posterior.
Genesic Gaogaigar
The true form of the King of Braves. After recovering the original Gao Machines created by Cain, Shishio Guy unleashes the ultimate version of Gaogaigar to stop the 11 Planetary Masters of Sol.
IMPORTANT DETAILS DEPARTMENT
Each finger is articulated on this figure! But be mindful as the thumb joint is NOT on a ball joint but rather a thin mushroom peg. I accidentally broke my left when I tried to move the thumb outwards instead of inwards. Sigh..
The thumb can still be plugged back in but it tends to fall out easily now.
The talons have articulated digits on this figure, so be mindful of how you place the feet on surfaces to prevent breakage (this also applies to the rear third talon in the back as well).
The chest fin panels on GGGG can collapse to give allowance for the Hell and Heaven pose.
The front shoulder plates can be lifted up to give more range of motion.
Genesic’s “mane” is composed of 3 separate moving pieces. Be careful when handling.
To operate the electronics (GGGG’s eyes and Galeon’s eyes and mouth light up), the set requires 2x LR41 batteries. Thankfully they’re included in the set, along with an attachment to work the small LED switch on his back. Make sure to use this attachment.
DO NOT flip the switch directly as it will break (it’s really tiny).
Unfortunately, the LEDS are very, very weak. You can only see the effect when no lights are turned on. Bummer…
While the leg treads do not “roll” they do compress inwards to allow Genesic to fully bend his knees past 90 degrees.
Attaching the wings are a REAL PAIN!!! The connection is based on 2 parts, top and bottom, you can cheat it a bit and not plug in the bottom connector all the way in to make things easier, but I’m not sure if this will damage the top connector over time though.
Gadget Gao’s wings are on a hinge joint and can be folded a bit to the back.
To attach GGGG to the display base, you will have to remove the posterior panel cover and simply plug him into the base attachment. There’s no real locking mechanism though, so it will fall off if the base is violently shaken, like in an earthquake.
Placing him on the base takes pressure off the talon joints on his feet.
Genesic Gaogaigar’s attacks
GADGET FEATHER
The wings open up fairly easily, as the whole thing is mostly connected to a moving mechanism that folds in and out when you move the tip of the wings. It’s an improved design from the previous Genesic Gaogaigar wings from other toy companies in the past and it is very cool to see in action from a mechanical standpoint. Retracting it still requires some manual operation but the movement is much smoother than most.
Protect Shade!
Pressing down on the left hand will automatically deploy all the fins on the left arm! It’s really super impressive to see. All the previous releases from other toy companies only ever provided parts swapping for this, but this one actually managed to execute the real deal!
Drill Knee!
Broken Phantom!
While the figure doesn’t have a firing projectile gimmick for the Broken Phantom, you can attach the detached fist onto the display base to create the visual effect.
HELL AND HEAVEN!
Optional open hands with claws are included.
The figure also features opening “energy collectors” on the shoulder units. I never realize this was a thing for Genesic?
Gemu Giru Gan Go Gufo….
….VITAS!
The Hell and Heaven chant is actually Latin and translates into “2 Powers into 1”, with Vitas meaning “life”.
Originally, Guy’s “2 Powers into 1” chant did not include the word “Vitas”. Guy only learned the full chant after fighting Repli-Mamoru in Gaogaigar Final.
11 Planetary Masters of Sol, I will destroy you all!
The Good
– Genesic Gaogaigar stands roughly 9.5 inches tall (factoring in the folded wing clearance) and weighs 683 Grams.
-Diecast parts include:
–Primary joints that connect to the torso
–Elbow joints
–Sections of the torso (?)
–Hip/ crotch area
–Sections of the legs (?)
–Connection plate of the wings to the torso
–Certain joints on the wings
-Beautiful sculpt and highlighted details!
-The little added details for visual contrast really pop out on this figure!
-Impressive engineering ideas like the added shoulder panels and improved wing deployment design over the previous GGGG toys.
-Gotta love that pop-out “Protect Shade” arm gimmick!
-Articulated fingers
-Articulated toes on the talons(!)
The Bad
-Incomplete accessories!! You will have to get the weapons kit separately.
-Not as tall as I would’ve liked.
-LEDs are next to useless in terms of brightness.
-Attaching the Gadget Gao wings shouldn’t be this difficult.
-Broken Phantom does not fire (I know I’m nit-picking, lol).
-The connection to the display base isn’t that secure. GGGG just basically sits there with no real locking mechanism (it’s not “quake-proof”).
-Display base needs something to make it pop. Sentinel really needs to use unique bases instead of recycling their generic Riobot ones. For the price they’re charging, at least give the figure a nameplate or something,
-Very, very pricey, considering how much the Max Factory release was a few years back, this is practically double the price with none of the accessories.
-No Goldion Crusher!! (lol…)
The Ugly
Sigh.. I still can’t believe I broke the thumb on my Genesic practically out of the box. I did not expect the thumb joint to be designed the way it was and for it to be so fragile. I wish Sentinel used a sturdy ball joint instead of a weak-pinned mushroom peg for the thumb.
Overall, the sculpt, tooling and engineering really make it look visually stunning. It’s also fun to handle compared to the older Max Factory GGGG thanks to the right tightness of the various joints.
However, there are some real issues with it. The ridiculously weak LEDs, the difficulty in connecting the wings, the difficulty of reaching the LED switch and the fragile thumb joint design. These issues could have been easily addressed I think. Sentinel really needs to do some sort of “end-user market testing” before they release something, especially something this pricey.
Personally, the biggest let down for me would be that this set is nowhere near complete, given the price. You will have to shell out extra bucks for the additional weapons and accessories pack, which makes an already very pricey release even more expensive. This would probably the biggest turn off for the casual collector IMHO, which is a shame really, since there’s a lot of things Sentinel did right with this figure.
Gold
