Kit Review: Moderoid Mazinkaiser SKL
ORE TACHI WA… JIGOKU DA!
The Demon God that came from Hell, bringing death and destruction to all who opposes it. Emblazoned with a skull on its head, Mazinkaiser SKL is ready to bring the burning Metal upon those who defy Hell’s justice.
The Demon God that came from Hell, bringing death and destruction to all who opposes it. Emblazoned with a skull on its head, Mazinkaiser SKL is ready to bring the burning Metal upon those who defy Hell’s justice.
After Good Smile release the Moderoid of the original Mazinkaiser with Sentinel’s Riobot mold, they realized that this style is really popular with collectors, so they released a whole bunch of Mazinkaiser variants after the original release too. And of course, SKL is also on the list. Just like their other Mazinkaiser variants, GSC put a new spin on their interpretation of the skulled Mazin as well. But GSC’s model kits aren’t on Bandai’s level, so how will this particular one hold up?
+ Build quality: Well, the SKL is several releases down the line of Moderoid, but it’s essentially stem from the same mold as the first ever Moderoid – the Mazinkaiser. Therefore, a large part of the kit are built pretty much the same way, especially the main body. It does share a majority of parts with the original Mazinkaiser with the same build quality, which means snap-fit isn’t your best friend. You have to pay extra attention to the joints, especially smaller parts like the arms. The hands are also quite hit and mix as they can fall apart a bit too easy, but you can’t glue them since you need to disassemble them to fit the weapons in.
+ Design & Proportions: The Moderoid Kaisers are all modelled after the Riobot, so they are on the muscular and bulky side, which really fits although the kit is only around a small MG size. There are also a lot of extra surface mechanical details that make the kit feel more like a robot, but not to the point of Infinitism. Furthermore, the Moderoid SKL took some liberties with the design, such as adding a face on the chest plate – which looks similar to Devilman and Ankoku Daishogun’s face. It can be viewed as a homage to those two which is quite…unique, which also means that the pistols now have half a face on each of them. The Scrander of this kit is also heavily modified, with patterns on the wings that make it seems almost organic as well as forming a face when put together in front of the chest. They really want to deliver the “Hell” aesthetic with this kit, considering the source material. Overall, it’s a daring and unique decision.
+ Design & Proportions: The Moderoid Kaisers are all modelled after the Riobot, so they are on the muscular and bulky side, which really fits although the kit is only around a small MG size. There are also a lot of extra surface mechanical details that make the kit feel more like a robot, but not to the point of Infinitism. Furthermore, the Moderoid SKL took some liberties with the design, such as adding a face on the chest plate – which looks similar to Devilman and Ankoku Daishogun’s face. It can be viewed as a homage to those two which is quite…unique, which also means that the pistols now have half a face on each of them. The Scrander of this kit is also heavily modified, with patterns on the wings that make it seems almost organic as well as forming a face when put together in front of the chest. They really want to deliver the “Hell” aesthetic with this kit, considering the source material. Overall, it’s a daring and unique decision.
+ Articulation: The Moderoid, while not as good as the Riobot, still retain the majority of its movement range, which is really really good. The shoulders, hips, torso and feet are particularly good, allowing the kit to be posed in many dynamic poses However, be careful when bending the elbows and knees as the plastic can be somewhat brittle and tight, so it’s best if you stop when feeling some difficult obstruction when moving the joints. The wings are also nicely articulated, while it’s not as good as the SRC wings, it’s still decent. With the abundance of weapons it has, playing with the SKL is a lot of fun.
+ Accessories: In addition to being the Mazin with the highest number of pilot (2 lol), the SKL is also the Mazin with the highest amount of weapons that cater to both ranged and melee combat. The original SKL wields the Ganzantou (a spiky BFS) that can extend at the handle to sort of become a Naginata x Buster Sword hybrid, and twin pistols made up of the separated Breast-plates. The Moderoid still retain those weapons but with an interesting addition: the Ganzantou and the pistols can combine and transform into a 2-handed cannon. I think it’s quite an interesting gimmick that could have been cool in the anime. It certainly doesn’t suit Ryo and Kaido, but in kit form, it’s a very nice weapon to have.
Overall, the Moderoid Mazinkaiser SKL is a very refreshing and unique take on the dual-piloted Demon God. From the metal-blasting anime comes a Mazin that certainly embodies the statement “We are Hell!”. Good Smile has taken the good mold of the Riobot and turned it into something quite good in terms of design and gimmick. However, Moderoid still needs some improvement with their plastic and snap-fit to justify the very high price tag that it’s asking for. I still do recommend this kit if you want a highly posable and unique SKL model, as it does satisfy a lot of criteria for being a good model kit, partly due to it being taken from a very very good figure.
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