Mazinger Z - Soul of Chogokin Dynamic Classics action figure review

 I've had the GX-70 Soul of Chogokin Mazinger Z D.C. (Dynamic Classics) figure in my display case for over a year now, but I've never really spent time checking out all of its "bells and whistles." In fact, I've discovered that my collecting habit often goes this way: a new figure arrives, I excitedly crack it open, I take it out, look at the accessories, fine tune the vanilla pose, put it onto a shelf, and promptly forget about it. This year, I'm planning and hoping to spend a bit more time enjoying each figure, posing it, testing out the accessories, and generally getting more of my money's worth. In that vein, I decided to spend some time with my GX-70.

I have a few Soul of Chogokin pieces, but most of them are actually space ships, rather than figures. In fact, I only own 2 other SOC robots besides this guy, and one of them is a brand new purchase. The first thing that strikes me about an SOC figure is its heft and solidity. With lots of die-cast metal content, this is a figure that absolutely does NOT feel cheap. The paint is glossy and expertly applied (check out the level of paint detail around the eyes of this guy in the pictures below), and features some beautiful shades of blue and red throughout the piece. Bandai takes the opposite tack of a company like threezero with these figures - there is no weathering, washes, dry or airbrushing to highlight fine details. Mazinger Z is largely smooth and featureless. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. If you want a Mazinger that is true to the animation, this is pretty good!

SOC Mazinger Z stands about 6.5" tall and is a significant jump up in terms of quality and amount of accessories from the smaller Super Robot Chogokin version I reviewed previously (this version also cost me about $120 18 months ago, and the price is currently slightly higher than that).

Mazinger Z comes with a pilder that can go wings out for flight mode, or wings up for docking. There's a magnet embedded in the underside, and it sits flush and snugly  in the landing platform of the head. There's also an alternate faceplate with eyes dim, to simulate "off" mode when the pilder is not docked:

We get six hands (2 fists, 2 karate chop, and 2 splayed), alternate elbow joints to simulate elbow missiles, or for rocket punch (but there are no effect parts or stands to support the rocketing arm), a pair of iron cutter forearms, an alternate diaper front to allow for deeper crouches, a scrander with a launching pad or with a docking belt (the wings can detach and flip as needed), a display stand with a couple of different locking mechanisms for supporting the figure as well as a flip top to allow for much of the smaller parts to be stored inside. It's a lot for one figure, and just about everything you could possibly hope for, with the exception of a "launched navel missile" or some rocket punch effect parts and support rod. The figure has some decent articulation, but I didn't expect it to move like a SH Figuarts Street Fighter. The torso is fairly restricted, and the legs weren't easy for me to work with. That said, it's a lovely figure and I really enjoyed playing around with the accessories and seeing how they all went together!

I will be displaying Mazinger Z with fists, pilder on, and his scrander on the launch pad (I feel like Z doesn't spend much time in flight, so he's more anime-accurate to me without the scrander attached).