HLPRO Metaltech Series (Grendizer, Giru Giru, etc)

[magengar]

are we there yet?




.....just kidding. Congrats on your new acquisition!
Looking forward to your video.

zozo-mag

[B-]

Not going to be a video...and Im gonna post it here,keep an eye out in about 10..

[magengar]

Ah, okay. I thought a video would be involved.
Cool, even a written review would be a treat.
Heading off to work right now....
I'll check it out tonight after I get home from work.

zozo-mag

[Gettershadow]

standing by...

[B-]

Ok kids here goes..as you guys know I tend to be over critical,but Im honest.Figure looks Fantastic,paint apps are super.First thing i noticed..less diecast than the Grendy,i have teh chrome one,so comparing to that.

Articulation...well nothing new or great but does the job.I do like the way the knee caps cover the joints.The inner joints look like the clicky type,but dont really click.They are beefier than the Grendy,but a softer click.He poses well,the upper leg to teh pelvis is a nice new touch the legs dissapear into teh pelvis but can move side to side,forward and back very well,and they are hidden sort of,KUDOS!

The shield to arm attachment could be a bit tighter,but its serviceable.Everything fits decently,but would have liked a more snapped in sound.

As far as diecast,they did add more plastic in this one than the Grendizer,it has a good amount though,the upper chest, pelvis{red part on pelvis is plastic} and lower legs are all diecast.The rest not.As far as the all of the arms including shoulders and upper legs,knees and stomach,NO diecast,unlike the Grendizer.

My favorite part of SRs is color,this robot has the best colors in the shields bright lime greens and very glossy,the rest of him is well a bit flat,the upper chest sky blue is very nice,but the leg color reminds me of Daioja a bit,he just isnt very glossy,the colors seem muted,the shields definately help in brightening that up though so A+ there.There is rumour of a manga colored version..so we shall see..

The surprise of this set is the TFO its DIECAST TOO!!! Like a solid thick coin,very nice!

I didnt put teh UFo itself together as I dont want to remove the shields,but youve seen the pics,he comes with a third sawblade with pegs on both sides so it can snap in at the middle holding both shields together.NICE!

Overall I give it a very solid 7.5. the best thing is he is VERY different looking and adds tons of flair to my collection,Im glad to have a second villain for Grendizer and next to GIruGiru he looks fantastic!!

Box art beautiful,even shows GinGins pilot!!

Thanks guys,I highly recommend him,aesthetically he brightens up any collection,with 70s funk and what a unique figure! thanks Go Nagai! and HLPro!






By request comparisons..without shield to view better..



Shields and cutters..

[Gettershadow]

Good review.. are you sure Grendy had diecast arms? I don't think he did.. But you like the figure.. that's great . A 7.5 from you is alike a 8.5 or 9 to the average guy.. metal TFO! That's fantastic!

[B-]

The bicep on my Grendy is chrome,I assumed it was diecast,probably wrong if you think not,BUT teh joints in his upper arms are metal and clicky ,GinGins are not.

[greengetterguy]

Nice one Baron.
Very thorough and fair review seems like.

When you get a chance could you post "a very dynamic pose?"
"IronMan tripod pose" comes to mind.
NOT that I'm expecting it but I just want to see a articulation range or limits there of...

Thanks in advance.
Oh and thanks for the Grendy comparison shots.

[70's Super Robot Fan]

Great review Baron! The metal TFO is a great bonus item! I was able to get the TFO with enemy Minifo(?) ships from an eBay France seller, but that TFO isn't metal....

[B-]

thanks guys! i'll be sure to post a dynamic shot soon but there's not too much you can really do with the range of his legs. but i'll do my best

[Gettershadow]

Pretty sure that Grendy has plastic arms all around. so the die cast is actually the same..

[70's Super Robot Fan]

Hey Baron - It would be nice to post your photos on HL PRO's Facebook page, but I think only HL PRO can do so.......
Also, how many variant hands are in the set?

[Gettershadow]

IM seeing at least two different sets in the photos Ive seen.. fists and grasping hands

[B-]

Yes 2 hand sets. Ill try post on their FB 70s fan..

[70's Super Robot Fan]

Baron - hope you'll be able to post your photos in FB, as the first reviewer
Gettershadow, looking forward to your video review on you tube soon.....

[droutmaster]

congrats Baron for getting Gin Gin

question, is the legs of Gin Gin limited on the upper part? for me it looks like it in comparison to your Grendizer.

[B-]

Yes and no,they do have a range of motion,they are deceiving,they did a good job of covering the joint on teh upper leg it up inside the figure! They are not quite as articulate as grendizer,they arent clicky,in that they dont stay in a strong clicked position,but you can move them well,just not exactly that posable,thats what I meant earlier about not really being able to put him in seriously dynamic poses,he sort of is a one trick pony,meant to be in that shield up position,thats what hes good at,and it looks good!The arms are well poseable.

[magengar]

Excellent and Thorough review Baron!
If anyone is still on the fence about Gin Gin
they can look to your review as reference to help
them decide about getting one.
And why not... If fans have an HLPro Grendizer, that Gin Gin
should also be acquired to go with Grendy.

While Bandai and the others are into just producing the
hero robots, this toy line so far is very good at accommodating
enemy robot figures to go with its hero robot figures.

Those are nice pics of Gin Gin, and it certainly compliments
your Grendizer collection... it looks good beside any and all
of the other Grendizer figures around its height range for
some cool Battle scene dioramas.

Thanks for your review, Baron!

zozo-mag

[Gettershadow]

HLpro is super pleased with the reaction to this figure and was pleased with Baron's review. He went out and had a celebration last night with his friends and some tequila. Hes basically telling me "If hey like that one, wait until they see what is coming" (paraphrased). He is also talking about how he is going to address Grendizer in the "V2".

Its now possible for me to talk about the articulation on this new one. Hlpro is real proud of that seamless system on the upper thigh and the shoulders. It allows for enough movement to have a figure but at the same times makes him look "solid"... Gin Gin is the prototype for this kind of articulation and there are going to be more like this. They have also engineered a new way to make a shoulder and it looks better than a normal shoulder but I cant remember if this was used on Gin Gin or if it was something coming out on Zmazinger or Gattiger.

HLpro is in a situation where it has to be innovative but cannot "copy" other brands. To copy is to lose your brand identity. HLpro chose to go the "traditional" route and used Popy as its main spiritual influence. To do this, you have to keep that "70s Charm" on one hand but the figures have to have modern articulation and the two ideas don't mix that easily. So, they are trying to strike a balance between sculpt and articulation.. what that means is that MT figures are never going to be able to do things like "Kneel" or do super dynamic stuff like a SRC can do BUT they WILL pose and look real good in your display.. and you CAN play with them like an old Popy and get a lot more articulation out of a MT than you can a classic Popy. Everything is a trade-off. I cant wait till I get my hands on my Gin Gin..its looking real good from the photos and Baron's review, Im pretty sure Im gonna love it. I also love the direction Hlpro is going... the characters that are coming are "must-haves"

Baron, make sure to check your facebook..

[B-]

Yeah I love the GinGin! FB messaged you back.