Soul of Chogokin Gx-10R Boss Borot
Single leaflet manual (at least it’s in full color)
Jealous of Koji Kabuto and his Mazinger Z, Boss and his gang “kidnap” the Photon Power Laboratory’s “Three Scientists (Dr. Morimori, Dr. Sewashi, and Dr. Nossori)” to help them build the “most powerful robot” to match up against Mazinger Z. Unfortunately, working only with scrap, the best the group could come up with is the Boss Borot. Boss eventually does come around and usually helps out Koji in fighting off the evil forces of Dr. Hell.
Piloted by Boss and his best pals, Nuke and Mucha, the Boss Borot is powered by conventional fuel, as opposed to atomic or Photon-based power (like everything else in the show).
Mostly used as a comedy relief in the Mazinger series, Boss Borot usually tends to get captured, badly damaged or outright blown up during his appearances.
The Gx-10R version of Boss features a much more polished finish to its paint applications compared to the original.
A closer look at the design for the joints used in Boss’ arms (the same joints are used for the Gx-06 Getter 3)
Along with the original three heads that came with the Gx-10, this set also comes with three brand-new optional heads for ol’ Boss Borot, for a grand total of six heads.
The connected head can be ejected out by pushing down on this button on the figure’s back.
Boss Borot ready to fight!
While it can hardly be called “durable” by any stretch when compared to Mazinger Z, the Boss Borot does have some measure of strength, being capable of at least lifting or carrying other robots in the show.
While it’s pretty obvious that Boss Borot is not in the same class as Mazinger Z, its greatest weapon is the dedication Boss and his gang have to help their friends, as well as their willingness to stand up to vastly superior enemies without thinking twice in order to help save the day.
Display base
It’s the same display base as the original Gx-10’s only with a new sticker slapped on.
I don’t recall seeing this on my old Gx-10’s display base (I think?)
Due to the reuse of the original Gx-10’s display base, we don’t have anywhere to place the new heads. Bandai should’ve included an optional add-on platform or something for the extra heads.
This is as good as it gets, sadly.
Unfortunately, I forgot where I stashed my original Gx-10 Boss Borot (lol I’m getting old), so I couldn’t do a proper comparison. But based on what I’ve seen from comparisons by other reviewers, the paint is definitely shinier on the Gx-10R.
The Good
-Boss Borot stands roughly 4.75 inches and weighs 400 Grams.
-Diecast parts include
–Whole torso
–Legs
–Feet
-Bandai is using styrofoam again with their releases! Yay!
-Three all-new heads are included to the original three.
-Beautiful glossy paint on Boss.
-Magnet gimmicks for the head and arms still abound, just like in the original Gx-10.
– I really love the crunchy, loud ratchet joints on this figure’s waist joint!
The Bad
-The manual is just one piece of paper folded into four “pages”.
-No new accessories aside from the new heads.
-Price has roughly doubled from what we paid for back in 2002. Inflation after two decades, eh?
-Nowhere to place the new extra heads on the display base. Sigh..
-Screws holes are still a pain to see. I wish Bandai included some optional plugs for this.
The Ugly
Thankfully, no quality control issues this time around. I really like the paint finish a lot on this version!
Overall, it’s still pretty good. It’s been literally more than two decades since we saw this mold and the fact that it still can be reissued, almost straight up, in this day and age, is a testament to how well this figure was designed back then. Also, since this was never reissued until now, the price for the old one had gone up quite a bit prior to this release. So this re-run is a good thing for newbie collectors who wished to backtrack one of Mazinger Z’s most iconic characters.
That said, I really did wish Bandai added more props this time around than just three measly new heads. Given that Boss Borot had a LOT of goofy props over the years throughout his appearances in Mazinger Z, Great Mazinger and Grendizer. Throwing in a couple more items to make this guy more interesting couldn’t have really hurt their bottom line that much, I think? Even adding a bonus platform extension for holding the new heads would’ve been a welcome addition. Ah, well.
On a side note, it would’ve been also nice for Bandai to include pewter statues of Boss and his gang with this set, so we can put them next to the other pewter pilot figures of Koji and his pals from the matte black recolored versions of the SOC line over the years.
Gold
