Soul of Chogokin Gx-118 Voltes V Legacy
STORY
With the threat of an impending invasion by the Boazanian Empire looming over Earth, scientist Neil Armstrong collaborates with the world’s governments to create the ultimate super robot—Voltes Five!
The mighty machine is piloted by Armstrong’s three sons—Steve, “Big” Bert, and Little John—alongside Mark Gordon and Jaime Robinson. Standing united, the five young heroes pool their strength, skill, and bravery to drive back the alien invaders and safeguard humanity from destruction.
Background
The 2023 live-action TV series is an adaptation of the original 1970s Anime, with all battle scenes done in CGI. The plot also featured expanded character arcs and more in-depth backstories for all of the characters.
TRANSFORMATION NOTES PART 1
Note that the Volt Machines are configured to be ready for combination when opened from the box. To form the individual Volt units, some tinkering needs to be done for them to be screen accurate.
The Bomber’s arm sections need to be compressed and the shoulder sections collapsed.
It’s dorsal wings also need to be flipped out and central fin pulled back.
The Panzer’s back section needs to be plugged in.
The Frigate’s pylons need to be raised by pushing the front section of the thighs upwards. The front section needs to be pulled forward as well. To pull that part forward, be sure to untab this lock before pulling.
Before folding down the Lander’s top halves, make sure to swing down these red inner plates out of the way to give the ankle joints clearance.
Make sure to flip out the Lander’s clear canopy sections when it’s not in combined mode. Likewise, flip up the antennae up top.
VOLT MACHINES
Volt Crewzer
Piloted by Voltes Team leader and eldest Armstrong sibling, Steve Armstrong, the Crewzer is the fastest unit among the five Volt Machines.
Volt Bomber
Piloted by Mark Gordon, the Volt Bomber carries the most firepower when Voltes Five is not combined.
Volt Panzer
Piloted by the second eldest Armstrong brother, “Big” Bert Armstrong, the Volt Panzer is the slowest Volt Machine due to its thick armor plating. The unit also houses Voltes Five’s main power generators
Volt Frigate
Piloted by the youngest Armstrong, Little John, the Volt Frigate is meant for undersea operations. It also carries mechanical repair components in order to carry out necessary field repairs for any damages the other Volt Machines suffered during combat.
Volt Lander
Piloted by Jaime Robinson, the daughter of Earth Defense Force’s top general, the Lander’s specialty is underground Maneuvers, carrying deployable massive drills inside its frame that allow it to tunnel underground.
V FORMATION!
Display base
A new display base is included for displaying the Volt Machines in their flying “V Formation”. Do note that some assembly for the base is required.
LET’S VOLT IN!
TRANSFORMATION NOTES PART 2
Remember to rotate the Crewzer’s canopy to “covered” mode for screen accuracy.
The canopies on the Volt Lander need to be rotated to their “covered” mode” as well.
VOLTES…..
…..FIVE!!!
Built as Earth’s primary—and only—frontline defense against the Boazanian army’s heavily armored giant Beast Fighters, Voltes Five is a towering 58-meter combat super robot, engineered for exceptional mobility and equipped with an array of devastating weapons.
Based on the modernized look for Voltes in the Legacy live-action series, Voltes’s design has been redone to look bulkier with visible thick armored plating all over its body in the same style as Mazinger Z Infinity.
To get the proportions to look better, it’s better to swap out the default fists.
Diecast metal joints all over this figure.
Thanks to the new design for the Crewzer, you can untab the front section and plug the lower half of the jet into Voltes’ back to give the head more range of motion.
There’s also a hinge joint for the neck, so Voltes can now look up.
VOLTES’ ATTACKS
Ultra Electro-Magnetic Whip
Voltes’ “belt” is deployed as a pair of whips. Some assembly for the ends are required.
A nice little effect here, Voltes’ belt pieces are on a hinge, so you can pull them out and recreate how they’re initially deployed. Too bad you can’t attach the whip handles to the exposed posts though.
Remember to remove the default “belt” pieces for screen accuracy when the Whips are deployed.
I really love how well the whips can hold their poses! Great execution here.
Ultra Electro-Magnetic Tops
Voltes deploys giant tops from its belly to be used as projectiles in conjunction with the Ultra Electro Magnetic Whips.
While the whips are incredibly bendy, they’re also durable enough to hold the tops in mid air without drooping.
Voltes Bazooka
Voltes deploys a giant cannon from its forearm.
Do note that some parts swapping is required for the Voltes Bazooka, you will have to detach the forearm from the triceps area. The Voltes Bazooka can be mounted on either arm on Voltes, though usually its on the right arm.
Laser Sword
Voltes Five’s deathblow attack. The red section of its chest ejects and forms the hilt of the Laser Sword. A giant blade then generates out of the hilt.
For screen accuracy, remember to remove his chest plate, which forms the hilt of the sword.
Laser Sword V-Slash!
Thanks to the really good shoulder joints, Voltes can hold this overhead sword slash pose no problem!
Display base (robot mode)
Admittedly, using the base for the combined mode is a bit of a letdown, as you can see the vacant slots used for the pedestals of the individual Volt Machines. It would’ve been cool if the bottom side was solid, so you can flip the platform over, so we could have a usable display base for robot mode.
Volt Tank mode
Originally just an unused concept for the 1970s toy that never appeared in the Anime, the Volt Tank gets a few seconds of screen time in the live-action adaptation near the end of the series (during the revolutionary battle for Boazania).
Do note that Volt Tank requires heavy parts swapping to transform, Panzer’s tank treads need to be removed and repositioned, as well as Voltes’ forearms. All of which will be mounted on faux Panzer track extensions for holding Voltes up.
Comparison with Gx-31SP Voltes V
The Good
The weigh in:
-Volt Crewzer – 19 Grams
-Volt Bomber – 94 Grams
-Volt Panzer – 152 Grams
-Volt Frigate – 296 Grams
-Volt Lander – 127Grams
-Voltes V – 687 Grams
-Voltes stands roughly inches 9.5 tall.
-Diecast parts include
–main joints on Voltes
–Entire torso section
–Panzer’s treads
–Lower legs
–Sections of Voltes’ feet.
-Toe articulation for Voltes.
-Thanks to the neck design, Voltes can finally now look up!
-Shoulder butterfly joints allow for a wider range of shoulder articulation.
-All of the joints feel really solid.
-Ultra Electro Magnetic whips are really fun to work with. It’s a HUGE improvement over the Gx-31. I’m really impressed with what they did here.
The Bad
-The Panzer does not roll. It would’ve been nice to have even just metal wheels under the tank treads so it can roll.
-Unlike Combattler V or Dairugger XV, which featured rubber wheels, the Legacy’s Lander’s wheels are fully plastic. There is also no working suspension to keep the wheels from rolling when in combined mode (this was a cool gimmick with SOC Vehicle Voltron). Be mindful of this.
-Getting the fins on the Volt Bomber to fold out is difficult, you will need some sort of tool to pick it out of the shoulders’ recesses.
-No Chain Knuckle accessory? That’s unfortunate, it’s the first special attack we see Voltes do in the first episode.
-No deployable Lander drills for the Volt Lander this time around (it was a gimmick on the Gx-31 molds).
-Parts forming for the Volt Panzer (rear plate cover).
-Parts forming for the Volt Tank mode.
-While the whips are fun and very malleable, getting them back to their original “straight” form when returning to the tray might be a problem once you’ve bent them around a lot.
-No “fold out” faux Laser sword like how it was with the Gx-31’s chest piece.
-No firing bullets for the Voltes Bazooka.
-The display base doesn’t come with a nameplate.
-No place to display the various Voltes accessories on the display base.
-Likewise, the display base isn’t intended as a display platform for Voltes Five in combined mode due to the visible slots on its surface. It’s only suited for the individual Volt Machines.
The Ugly
Not really a serious quality control issue, but this piece fell out. I’m not entirely sure if this is a problem with just my unit but I had to use simple glue to get it to hold back in place, otherwise it kept falling back out.
Overall, this is a strong release for the Soul of Chogokin line. It’s a joy to handle, thanks to its impressive sculpt detail, excellent articulation and well-engineered joints, along with the highly flexible Ultra Electro Magnetic Whips. The figure perfectly captures Voltes’ on-screen appearance in every mode—it truly looks like it stepped straight out of the TV screen. While it might not quite look it, the figure has premium heft to it when you lift it up when in combined mode.
Admittedly, it’s not perfect. There are a few omissions I wish Bandai had addressed—most notably the absence of the Chain Knuckle accessory, the lack of rolling wheels for the Panzer.
That said, there is plenty here for the typical Voltes V fan to truly appreciate and enjoy.
Funfact: The original Anime ran for 40 episodes, while the live-action adaptation ran for a whooping 90 episodes in its original format when it aired on Philippine television.
Funfact 2: The Japanese airing was heavily edited, removing much of the non-central character arcs and most of the filler screen time. Primarly focusing only the show’s main story arc. The Japanese version ran for only 20 episodes in total.
Gold
