Soul of Chogokin Gx-40R God Mars
Set comes with outer plastic cover over the styro tray that houses the robot components.
The manual is much better this time around, with more details on the vintage toys and characters than the original Gx-40 manual.
Background story
Set in the far flung future of 1999 (the show aired in Japan in 1981) The Emperor of the Planet Gishin, Zule, sees the Earth as a possible threat to his expanding empire and sends his Science Minister’s infant son to the planet Earth with Gaia, a robot loaded with a powerful explosive to destroy it when he grows up. The Science Minister betrays Zule and sends five other secretly constructed robots after Gaia to protect his son (he is subsequently executed after launching the Six Gods).
Upon arriving on Earth, the infant is adopted by a loving family and is given the name Takeru Myoujin. He discovers his true lineage seventeen years later. He develops unique ESP powers (he can even shoot strands of his hair out as projectiles LOL) and has since grown to love the Earth and is a valuable member of the Crusher Team. He then vows to protect the Earth from the invading Gishin Empire.
In the Anime, the Six Gods were just drones actually, with no real sentience. They travel at the speed of light to aid Takeru whenever he’s in danger.
A main plot device in the series is the connection between Takeru and Gaia. If Takeru’s life signs were to flatline, the planet-busting bomb inside Gaia would detonate.
Halfway through the series, Godmars has a showdown with Zule and by some unexplained divine miracle, the bomb is “magically” transplanted into the giant Zule and he blows up in space.
The second half of the show sees Takeru and friends have some wild adventures with Space Pirates, who are fighting to save a princess, for a good twenty episodes or so, before Zule pops up again near the end and again challenges Godmars to another fight.
The Cosmo Crusher. The Crusher team’s transport jet. The Crusher team is actually pretty useless most of the time, I really lost count of how many times they got shot down in the Anime.
The jet separates into 3 components.
Cosmo Crusher unit 1
Cosmo Crusher unit 2
Takeru’s plane, Cosmo Crusher unit 3
Cosmo Crusher unit 3 docks into the rear fuselage of the plane.
God Gaear (Gaia renamed? Trademark issues?)
God Gaear is the smallest of the Six Gods, he is also the only one that is piloted directly by Takeru in battle, while the others function as drones that only assist in combat.
Gaear’s weapon is called the Cannon Saber.
Majin Sphinx
Forms the main body of Godmars
Sphinx’s weapon is called the Cross Sword.
It attaches via gauntlets adapters.
Majin Uranus
Forms the right arm of Godmars
Uranus’ weapon (*snicker*) is called the Round Saber.
Majin Titan
Forms the left arm of Godmars
Titan’s weapon is called the Round Saber.
Majin Shin
Forms the right leg of Godmars
Shin’s weapon is called the Awesome Cutter (?)
Majin Rah
Forms the right leg of Godmars
Rah’s weapon is called the Iron Breaker.
Six Gods
Slice and Dice
Orbots Unite!
Godmars
Originally Released back in 2008, Soul of Chogokin Godmars is the latest Soul of Chogokin release to get the “R” (Reissue? Recolor? Rehash??) treatment. This set features a throwback to the original 1980s toy with a retro color scheme and added accessories. As for the actual toy itself, nothing has changed or added in terms of sculpts and gimmicks from the original Gx-40 release.
Rocket Punch! (note: I don’t think Takeru actually ever says “Rocket Punch”)
Mars Flash!
Final God Mars!
Godmars has only four moves in his arsenal.
-God fire – a big “G” shoots out from his belly logo, punching a G-shaped hole in his opponent and locking him in stasis.
-Mars Flash- Godmars’ sword appears in his right hand.
-Final Godmars- the killing slash, almost immediately follows Mars Flash.
-A fourth and rarely used attack is Godmars firing Uranus a la Rocket Punch.
To complete the “retro look” theme of the set, the R set also includes the Classic Godmars Mars Flash Sword.
Godmars can now dual wield!
Display base (same as the original Gx-40).
The Cosmo Crusher can be tacked onto the display base with the adapter.
Since the base is the same as the original, there are no additional pegs for the new fists for the Six Gods that hold the weapons.
Comparison with the original Gx-40 Godmars
Tray layouts (Original on the left)
No cardboard tray for the accessories tray on the R.
Statue for Gaear now comes without the connector piece pre-attached, instead, the connector piece is now on the base platform.
Darker gray plastic used in the original statue. Lighter gray on the R.
Cosmo Crusher units (original Gx-40 on the left)
Plastic is whiter on the R version, windows are also a lighter shade of blue clear plastic.
Six Gods
Not sure if this is due to yellowing on mine or if the new version really has a whiter finish.
Twinning!
Transformation notes
-Articulated hands are the default attachment, but it’s better if you use the optional hands for better proportions.
-To get the “dummy” Gaear head to pop up easier inside Godmars’ face window, just lift the notch on the back, it’s easier than trying to pull the fin up top.
-To make sure Godmars doesn’t have gaps in the torso area, this tab must slot in properly.
-The Godmars logo on the abdomen moves forward (just like in the Anime, when the transformation is finished), when you close the hatch down on Gaear.
-You can cheat the articulation on Godmars’ arms a little by NOT collapsing the legs of Titan and Uranus, this will make two-handed poses like this possible.
-You can open the chest panel and view Gaear in there. Just for fun.
-The manual does not teach how to disengage the legs, but the simplest way I’ve found to do it is to flip out the chest panels on the leg robots first, then push the tabs on the sides to release the legs. However this will lead to heavy plastic scrapping on the chest panels.
-Alternately, You can forgo the connection locks and just stack the locks outside the legs, without clicking them in. I think this is the safer option but just always remember that the legs are not locked down if you do this whenever you lift the toy up while cleaning the shelf.
-To pull out the arm bots, make sure to hold down this section of the torso, to avoid putting undue stress on the Sphinx shoulder.
The Good
-The weigh in
–God Gaear- 26 Grams
–Majin Sphinx- 365 Grams
–Majin Uranus- 99 Grams
–Majin Titan- 96 Grams
–Majin Shin- 282 Grams
–Majin Rah-289 Grams
–Godmars-1162 Grams
-Height measurements
–God Gaear- 4″
–Majin Sphinx- 6.5″
–Majin Uranus- 4.5″
–Majin Titan- 4.5″
–Majin Shin- 6.25″
–Majin Rah- 6.25″
–Godmars- 11″
-Diecast Parts include
–God Gaear
—Lower legs
—Feet
-Majin Sphinx
–Sections of the Torso
–Back half of the legs
-Majin Uranus
–Crotch section
–Back of legs and feet
-Majin Titan
–Crotch section
–Back of legs and feet
-Majin Shin
–Back half of torso
–Main Joints
–Legs
–Feet
-Majin Rah
–Back half of torso
–Main Joints
–Legs
–Feet
-If you look carefully, you can make out Takeru in Gaear’s chest window.
-New weapons based on the vintage toys are a nice addition.
-Tighter joints all around.
-Connector port for the legs has been painted (finally!) This was annoying for me back on the original Gx-40.
The Bad
-Still no statues for the other 5 robots (prototypes or customs statues were shown a couple of years back at one of the Bandai Tamashii Nations events)
-Display stand is still the same, no way to hold all the new weapons or new Six Gods fists for holding the new weapons.
-Aside from the weapons and minor paint adjustments, no real tweaks were done on the toys themselves. Unlike say, on the R Dancougar.
-Joints are too tight for the shoulder connections of Uranus and Titan to Sphinx. Rotating the shoulders is a bit scary. Hopefully nothing breaks over time.
The UglyQC problems? I didn’t encounter any on mine thankfully, but there have been various reports of broken parts (a friend had a cracked Sphinx leg) and paint issues right out of the box. Be sure to check yours right away when you get this set.
Overall, it’s still a solid set, even after 11 years (Gx-40 was originally released in 2008, and got a reissue run back in 2014, according to the Bandai website), the transformation and engineering still doesn’t cease to amaze. The new weapons are a nice bonus, too. But given the choice I think I will stick with my original Gx-40 since the colors match the Anime much better and I’m more partial to Anime accuracy in terms of looks more than bonus accessories but that’s just me. But if you don’t have a SOC Godmars yet, then this would be a good figure to get (considering the original Gx-40’s prices are super high now), just watch out for the quality issues and be careful with the shoulders.
(Side note)
Hmm.. some yellowing on my Gx-40, just here. I guess 11 years does that? It’s never been really displayed and kept in the box unless for photoshoots though.
Gold
