Collecting Super Robot Figures and Miniatures

On this page we’re going to discuss the different miniatures available for Classic Super Robots of the 70s and the 80s to be used with the MechaStellar Wargame Rules. This post will feature Super Robots Wars (SRW) Gashapon trading figures made by Banpresto and also Yujin. After that we’ll look at larger size figures such as Super Minipla and Gokin such as the Soul of Chogokin series. 

Note that Mazinger and Getter Robo are extremely popular Super Robot series with lots of merchandise so we have posts specifically about those franchises you can read about here and here.

Let’s start with Combattler V, while Getter Robo was the first combining robot Combattler V was the first combining robot with a five man team wearing color coded uniforms. It’s a classic show that appears in most SRW games, and is part of a trilogy with Combattler V, Voltes V and Daimos; with Voltes V arguably being the most popular and well known.

Pictured above we have various Combattler V and Voltes V figures of various sizes.

The smaller ones are from a Banpresto Gashapon (capsule toys / trading figures) these are around 3″ and work great with gashapon from Gundam and Mazinger as shown above.

The mid sized figures are from the Anime Robot collection (featuring Combattler V, Voltes V, Daitarn 3, Daikengo, Daltonious etc.) part of the same series as the Go Nagai Robot collection (Mazinger, Getter, Grendizer, Jeeg). This series comes from Italy and has impressive quality for a very low price, with almost all figures being 5 – 5.5 inches.

These work well with very small Gundam figures and mid sized ones as well. Remember approximate scale, not true scale, is best here so as long as Combattler & Voltes V (~60m robots) are taller than your average Gundam (18m) that’s all that matters.

You can use the Italian Anime Robot figures with larger Gundam figures, they work great with the Mobile Suit in Action (MSIA) but when it comes to the 1/144 scale such as Gunpla, Robot Spirits, Gundam Fix Figuration etc. they end up looking a small in comparison.

In that case it’s usually best to use a larger figure like the Soul of Chogokin Full Action (FA) for Combattler V pictured above. Size wise it looks great next to a 1/144 scale Gundam or an MSIA.

The taller figure on the left is Soul of Chogokin Full Action (SOC FA) which is 6.5-7″ tall (the standard Soul of Chogokin figures are taller while the FA are a cheaper entry point meant to be played with and have good articulation.) 

The taller figure on the right is a much older banpresto soft plastic figure that is made of the individual machines that can be combined into the larger robot which is 7.5″ tall. 

If you find one it’s relatively cheap nowadays but you may want to glue a few pieces in place since it’s prone to falling apart. Overall the quality isn’t great but it’s very old so what do you expect.

Personally I would recommend spending a little more and getting a modern figure with either the SOC FA or the standard Soul of Chogokin (SOC). Pictured above is the FA which has a great number of accessories.

And can do some great posing while being relatively lightweight compared to a classic Gokin (diecast) toy. That said if you prefer something with more heft, better balance and joints you may want to get the original SOC although the price is quite a bit higher.

Here’s a comparison shot with a small Getter gashapon, the Super Minipla (SMP) for Getter which is around 4-4.5″(the SMP for Combattler V and Voltes V are larger), the Go Nagai / Anime robot statues of Getter Dragon, Combattler V and lastly the SOC FA for Combattler V.

Here’s a comparison using the Super Robot Chogokin (SRC) for Shin Mazinger with the God Scrander and GGG’s Chouryujin next to the SOC FA Combattler V. While the SOC FA is a cheaper entry point for SOC, the SRC is even cheaper although not as poseable as the FA.

Here’s a comparison shot with the SRC Genesic GaoGaiGar, the SOC FA Combattler V and the Sentinel Shin Getter Robo. Sentinel does high quality gokin figures where great posing, design and articulation, they are a personal favorite of mine although the prices are generally pretty high but you may get lucky finding a used one on secondary markets.

Brave Raideen

Now onto Raideen (1975). Raideen was the 4th piloted Super Robot show after Mazinger Z, Great Mazinger and Getter Robo. Raideen also started a long line of mecha shows that clone the personalities and character designs of Mazinger Zs Koji, Sayaka and Boss. In Raideen’s case it had Akira, Mari and Dan as their version of Koji, Sayaka and Boss. They also added in Jinguji the older brash and mysterious fighter pilot as well as Rei Asuka a nun with mild psychic premonitions. 

Brave Raideen (1975) was a favorite among many early mecha fans including those who would go on to direct their own shows with Raideen influencing Hideaki Anno’s Evangelion, and the two of them influencing Izubuchi’s RaxXephon. The directors for Raideen were Yoshiyuki Tomino who would go on to to Zambot 3, Daitarn 3 and Mobile Suit Gundam and Tadao Nagahama who would go on to do Combattler V, Voltes V, Daimos, and Daltanious (a precursor to GoLion / Voltron).

Me personally I find the fight choreography in Raideen and Combattler V (at least the first halves) to be my favorite of the 70s Super Robot shows. Raideen has an Egyptian motiff and one of the few giant robots to use a bow and arrow, it can also transform into a giant egyptian god bird and crash through enemies. Raideen itself tends to display psychic powers and the SRW games tend to give Akira + Raideen a renamed version of the Newtype bonus.

Pictured above we have various gashapon toys made by Banpresto (same as the Combattler / Voltes V above) for Brave Raideen showcasing it’s bow, it’s dagger and buckler, a black and gold recolor, and lastly the transformed Godbird mode. They are alongside a Gundam 1/400 and Gundam 1/300 scale figure. 

The taller figure in the back is the Sentinel transforming figure for Raideen. One important thing to note is that Sentinel did a major redesign with a different artistic interpretation for Raideen. I personally like it quite a bit, but it’s not for everyone. I especially like the added weight and surface area on the feet which makes it easy to use for tabletop gaming.

Raideen while a popular show has received two other anime series. The 1996 Chouja Raideen (Raideen the Superior) a 38 episode TV series also by Studio Sunrise with a five man pilot team as well as the 2007 Reideen, a 26 episode TV series, by Production I.G, which is more of a retelling of the original story. Neither series received as much adoration as the original, but they did receive some figures. I’ll cover those once I come across one.

Daitarn 3

Daitarn 3 is one of my absolute favorite shows. This was created by the fledgeling studio Sunrise before Mobile Suit Gundam (the show that aired after Daitarn 3) made it a Juggernaut in the mecha production scene.

Daitarn 3 stars a 120m tall transforming robot piloted by Banjo Haran, a James Bond-esque character out to stop the Meganoids (Robot Androids who want to turn all of humanity into androids themselves). While this may sound like a serious show it’s actually an amazing comedy with some great action.

Through the course of the show you’ll see Banjo and Daitarn outwit and outsmart some goofy villanous Meganoids while also being captured, put in compromising and comedic situations not unlike James Bond being dangled above a pool of water filled with ill-tempered bass armed with laser beams. It’s an amazing show, check it out!

The anime robot collection from Italia has the most extensive range of Daitarn 3 figures to date, not only do they have Daitarn but they also have all the Meganoid Commanders who get turned into giant Megaborgs. Pictured above are some of my personal favorites.

They also have the support machines for Beauty and Reika, Banjo’s accomplices, and the Death Battles (Della Morte) which are the giant ominous looking ships of the Meganoids.

Daitarn 3 also has two Soul of Chogokin releases that are over 10″ tall and a Full Action SOC FA release at 6″ tall.

For older figures there is are two older Banpresto figures. The one featured above is around 8″ however its extremely old and the joints will fall apart so you will most likely have to either pin them (pretty easy with soft plastic / vinyl) or you can glue them.

There’s also a smaller Banpresto figure also made out of soft plastic / vinyl that stands at 6″ tall with limited joint movement.

GoLion / Voltron and GoShogun

Voltron was originally known as GoLion (Five Lion) or Hyakujuu Ou Golion (Beast King GoLion) while it had an incredibly catchy theme song by Aniki (Ichiro Mizuki) it wasn’t a big hit in Japan. It did however become beloved when it came stateside and was renamed to Voltron.

GoLion is a five man combining robot show like Combattler V, although it’s incredibly violent in comparison, not just in the giant beastmen GoLion is slicing through but also in the population of Althea that are frequently killed off by the various heinous warcrimes of the Galra Empire. Obviously all this was extremely toned down in the US Version. The US also combined GoLion with the show Dairugger to hit syndication requirements in the same way Robotech combined Macross, Mospeada, Megazone etc. Of those two, the GoLion design is most fondly remembered to this day.

In the US one of the cheaper entry points to grab a Voltron/GoLion figure would be to go with Super 7. They have a simple and small 4″ figure for around $20 or a larger figure at 8″ shown in the image above.

For Japanese figures Soul of Chogokin GX-71 is an option both for GoLion / Voltron. There’s also a 50th anniversary Chogokin annivery figure labelled the GX-71SP.

There’s also the Super Minipla (SMP) for GoLion which is a smaller plastic kit. I’ll update with photos once we put ours together.

A mecha series with a similar name is Sengoku Majin GoShogun, or GoShogun for short (known as Macron 1 in the west). While it was a relatively similar design and sword the two series are completely unrelated. Pictured above is a GoShogun figure by Yamato in front of the Super 7 GoLion figure.