Soul of Chogokin Gx-73 Great Mazinger D.C. Version
Brain Condors
Same with D.C. Mazinger Z, Great Mazinger comes with optional “Fire on” eyes!
When D.C. Mazinger was announced, I think we all had a pretty good idea that Bandai would soon release Great Mazinger in Dynamic Classics style as well.
Same as D.C. Mazinger Z, optional pelvic plates are included so you get an expanded range of motion for Great Mazinger.
Thanks to some well-balanced design work, you can pose Great Mazinger in a running pose, similar to D.C. Mazinger Z.
Navel Missile!
Great Boomerang!
Bandai included a “notchless” Great Boomerang for the D.C. Great Mazinger, as an added improvement, the figure’s chest also provides it’s own cavity cover automatically when you remove the Boomerang from the chest. Pretty cool!
Knee Impulse Kick!
Backspin Kick!
This took some trial and error on my part as I couldn’t tell from the manual which end of the blade connected where. Also, you have to open up the ankle cavity a bit to access the notch. I accidentally removed the foot (it’s on a ball joint) twice while trying to pry open the ankle space. Don’t worry, the foot easily pegs back in.
Basically, the small piece connects at the knee area and the bigger piece at the ankle area.
Mazinger Blade!
Scramble Dash!
To get Great Mazinger to look up all the way for “flight mode”, you have to angle the “mullet” so it slides into the gap at the base of Great Mazinger’s neck.
One of the things that really wowed me with Gx-02 Great Mazinger were the spring-triggered pop-up fins on the back of the legs. Sadly, that gimmick has now been replaced here with a manual approach to getting the fins out. It’s a bit tricky to do at first too. I wish they had kept the Gx-02 gimmick, it makes the legs look flush too, compared to here.
The little Scramble Dash doodad is also included. In the Anime, you don’t see it unless Great Mazinger activates the Scramble Dash.
There’s a hinge joint at the base of the connector on the Scramble Dash so you get some range of space for the lower back. Nice.
The Scramble Dash comes with 2 sets of wings. Similar with when Mazinger Z goes top speed, the wings are supposed to fold back. This is done here by swapping the wings out with the “folded wings” pieces.
Drill Pressure Punch!
Also included are optional “elbow plugs” so you can cover up when you launch the forearms.
Breast Burn!
Thunder Break!
Great Booster
In the Anime, the Great Booster didn’t appear much and when it did it was usually to give Great Mazinger an added pair of wings whenever his default set got damaged. It was also occasionally used as a projectile to crash into enemies when launched from a flying Great Mazinger in mid-battle.
Display base
With the Gx-70 Mazinger Z.
Double Breast Fire!
For the curious, you can’t swap Great Mazinger and Mazinger Z’s hands around (unlike with Gx-01R and 02R), the wrist pegs are bigger on Great Mazinger, that said, you can’t use Great Mazinger’s hands on Mazinger Z (hole’s too loose for the peg). This means you won’t be able to do a “Mazinger Blade team up pose” since Mazinger Z Does not come with “weapon holding” hands. Too bad.
The good news is that Bandai included a spare “handshake” hand for Mazinger Z. This will lock in better compared to the open hands we get with the Gx-70.
Iron Cutters and Drill Pressure Punches!
Comparison with the Gx-02R
I have to say, the Gx-73 really does look more Anime accurate than its predecessor.
The Good
-Figure weighs about 306 Grams without Scrander and 320 Grams with Scrander
-Figure stands 7 inches.
-Diecast parts include:
–Chest
–Forearms
–Pelvis plates (both versions)
–Thighs and Lower legs
–Top part of the feet (I think the bottom is plastic?)
-I love that we get a clear c0ckpit for Brain Condor in Great Mazinger, too bad the undocked Brain Condor only comes with a painted canopy.
-A cover pops up for the chest cavity when you do the Great Boomerang attack pose. The cover pops up automatically. There’s also a cover on Great’s back for the Scramble Dash port.
-Great show accuracy.
-Screw holes have all been covered up. This was one of the few things that bugged me on occasion with the Gx-02 and Gx-02R releases.
-Great Boosters’ wings can be flipped around now, for show accuracy. This wasn’t possible with the old Gx-02/R
The Bad
-No more “firing” Atomic/ Drill Pressure punch gimmicks.
-Likewise, I miss the “firing” Navel Missile gimmick of the old Gx-02 as well.
-No spring pop-up rear leg fins.
-“Drill Pressure Punch” forearms aren’t diecast.
-Sigh.. my Great Booster has some paint drippings on one of the wings.
-I kind of miss the old magnet attachments for the Great Booster and Scramble dash, it made swapping the wings around much easier.
-Mazinger Blades aren’t chrome? Sigh…
-Slight oversight on Mazinger Z’s handshake hand, the paint for Mazinger’s knuckles and interphalangeal joints is supposed to be silver, they painted black instead by mistake
The UglyWith the exception of the paint drippings on the Great Booster, I think I’m pretty satisfied with this figure. No major issues that really stand out.
Overall, amongst the released D.C. figures I like Great Mazinger the best. It looks really good from any angle and it captures the look of the character perfectly. This guy is definitely my new “go to” Great Mazinger for the SOC group displays.
Gold
