Soul of Chogokin Gx-116 Dimension Pliers
DP-C1
DP-C1 is the defacto leader of the group. Similar to his pals, it can only communicate through beeps (like Star Wars’ R2-D2) due to its simple A.I.
Articulation on this guy is very limited. But at least the main joints are diecast.
Too bad the shoulders can’t rotate forward.
Like the rest of the group, it comes with spare hands.
I feel like something’s off with the ankle design here. Either I transformed him wrong or the design was not executed right?
DP-R2
DP-R2 is the second member of the group, it forms the right arm of the Pliers. The A.I. for this one is a bit clumsy for some reason and it usually serves as the comedy relief for a scene while the team’s on the way to Gaogaigar.
I love the sculpted details on its backside.
It’s a bit more posey compared to DP-C1.
DP-L3
The third member of the team. DP-L3 forms the left arm of the Dimension Pliers.
The Dimension Pliers Team – Created by NASA to help Gaogaigar. The Pliers run on simple A.I. which strictly follows Isaac Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics from 1942:
First Law: A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
Second Law: A robot must obey orders given by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
Third Law: A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law. ).
Go, Pliers!
Originally just three, the Pliers team would later be mass produced with three more simple A.I. robots added to the team, Welding Worker (or Gensan), Flying Adhesive, and Senju-Kannon, together, the six robots would be collectively now known as the “Carpenters”.
Display Base
The display base has different pieces that can be added or removed so that the platform can be reconfigured, based on which mode of the pliers you’re going to use.
The base comes with an optional adapter plug for holding the Goldion Hammer sans the Marg Arm.
To connect the pliers together, you’ll have to remove C1’s hands and plug in these posts.
Spanner mode – in this formation, the Pliers can attack enemies by drilling into directlly them, independent of Gaogaigar.
When in this mode, the Pliers span roughly 17 inches in height.
To get this mode right, make sure C1’s arms are positioned like so.
Lining this thing up onto the display base can be a bit tricky. Make sure it looks like this before letting go. It will topple if you don’t get this lined up right.
Pliers Mode
With Gx-68 Gaogaigar
PLIERS CONNECT!
DIMENSION PLIERS!
A Hyper Tool created by NASA exclusively used by Gaogaigar for gripping onto and removing extra dimensional space and even holding onto the Goldion Hammer when Goldy Marg isn’t around. The Dimension Pliers have saved the day for GGG on more than several occasions in the series.
When connected to Gaogaigar, you’re going to need 18 inches of real estate to display him like this.
Hmm… the height seems mis-aligned? Really strange.
There’s an optional piece included with the set so that the pliers can grab onto the Goldion Hammer just like the first time the latter appeared in the series prior to the arrival of Goldy Marg. It was a long day and I just didn’t have the energy to dig for Goldy from storage just for one picture. I’ll revisit this down the road.
The Good
Stats:
–DP-C1 stands roughly 6.25 inches tall and weighs 287 Grams.
–DP-R2 stands roughly 6.5 inches tall and weighs 132 Grams.
–DP-L3 stands roughly 6.5 inches tall and weighs 161 Grams.
-Diecast parts include:
-DP-C1 – main joints, thighs.
-R2 and L3 -shoulder joints
-The individual bots are bigger than I thought they’d be. Nice.
-Beautiful sculpt and detail work.
-Looks great in all modes.
-Connection between each bot in Pliers mode is fairly decent enough.
-Add-on piece for holding the Goldion Hammer was not something I was expecting. A nice bonus.
The Bad
-No styrofoam tray, the first in the Gaogaigar-related SOC releases to not have it.
-No stand for displaying the pliers in individual robot mode.
-the limited poseability for C1 is really disappointing.
-Connection to Gaogaigar isn’t as solid as one would’ve hoped.
-When connected to Gaogaigar, the Plier’s height on the display base seems awkward.
-Being a P-Bandai/ Tamashii Website exclusive release means it will be harder to backtrack for folks who missed the pre-order window.
The Ugly
No factory-based QC issues on my copy.
But I have to say, the connection to Gaogaigar is very poorly done. I wish Bandai had some sort of add-on part to make the connection feel more solid and less risky, particularly considering when the Pliers are horizontal, they can’t stay that way without being connected to Gaogaigar for balance.
Overall, not bad, but not particularly impressive. The lack of poseability for C1, plus the really awkward height and connections to Gaogaigar really left me wishing for better execution of this set. Being a P-Bandai/ Tamashii Web exclusive means the price isn’t that welcoming, either, considering how little diecast we’re getting here.
This one can be a hard pill to swallow and is definitely one for the Gaogaigar fans and completists of the SOC line.
Gold
