8.27.2014

Inside the box with Ichabod presents:

SRC Chodendou Kantam Robo from Tamashii Nations/Bluefin!


 The Hero Preorder66 deserves


 Today we're taking a long, hard look at Chodendou Kantam Robo, from the cartoon of the same name that existed in the anime Shin Chan, where the proverbial Shin Chan watched it on tv. And now we have a toy that is way better than it has any right to be. And just look at that design, clearly paying homage to Tetsujin 28, Getter Robo and Mazinger. Those lovely super-robot-of-the-70's round curves and chunky feet. Kantam here is pretty smooth, in a big, tube-legged robot kind of way. 

 I love his face - it is so damn simple, yet emotive. The head is on a swivel joint only, limiting his motion to just side-to-side. They clearly did this to maintain sculpt accuracy but it still bums me out a bit. 

 His arm articulation is pretty spot on. The elbows aren't insane, but he can move around pretty damn well. The shoulders' ability to do a  full rotation helps greatly. The torso does limit the motion inward, because of his big ole barrel chest. 

 Speaking of that barrel chest, it has a joint up near the green section, and one down near the crotch. That one does the SRC "pull out thing" to allow for a bit more motion.  His torso section is slightly limited in the forward and back motion, but it honestly doesn't bother me too much. I still feel like he can do what you want him to, even though the motion isn't as good as other releases.

 His legs, the lovely giant tube legs. The knees do that cool SRC thing(again) with a hidden section that collapses down in order to prevent a giant gap, but still allow for large range of motion. The hips, though, they don't move forward very much. The crotch area limits them, but once again, I don't want to totally shit on it because Kantam could still pull off nearly every pose I threw him in. They are limited, but not debilitating. 

 His ankles, though, are fantastic and his big, chunky feet can really stay flat. Also the hip's outward motion is better than the forward/back motion.

 And his jet pack wings are articulated. So there's that.

 With all that diecast in him -- mainly his chest, thighs, and also the hip assembly-- he is a hefty little figure. But that hefty figure has nice tight joints that don't buckle under the weight. 

 Accessories!!! Just two pairs of hands this time. Splayed out and "holding things" to be exact.

 "Holding things" you say? I know, what ever could he hold? WHY, ONLY HIS DOPE -ASS JET PACK THAT BECOMES A ROCKET-POWERED BOOMERANG. 

 I know, I know -  take a deep breath and enjoy this majesty. I seriously love when Giant robots rip pieces off of themselves and hurl them at enemies.

 Also he can do the "ROCKETTO PUNCH!!!!!" that all 70's giant robots are known for. Even though he is from, like, 1992 or whenever he first appeared on Shin-chan. Now, he does not come with this effect part. That's from the first SRC effect part set they sold back when the line launched. (It's still available for retail here.) But, because of the joint engineering they put into seemingly all the Classic super robots, they can swap parts. You just pull the elbow out and swap it in. Fits like a glove.

 Now, lets get a bit nuts here and get rid of the boomerang backpack. Yeah, that's right  - the backpacks are on the same style peg.

 Now this is what I'm talking about. Kantam stole Shin Getter's wings! Though, honestly, due to the design of the backpack (it's a got a slightly rounded curve to it), it does not fit well on Kantam.

 But Shin Getter's arms totally fit into Kantam's sockets! Now, this is a kind of line inter-playability I love to see. Just classic super robot parts swapping madness.

 I seriously hope you washed that before giving it back to me.

 Kantam is the average size for an SRC. Shin Getter is just gigantic.

 Ok, maybe he is a tad small, but not significantly. Even though he is from a cartoon within a cartoon, he totally fits in with the SRC line. 

This is a dumb toy. Like....a toy of a cartoon character in a cartoon, that you barely saw and when you did it was on the background on the TV. I am actually shocked I have it on my desk. That all being said, he is a FUN toy. Just a great little expressive robot dude who is fun to pose and play with. The colors are all great,  and even if you don't have any other SRC toys, he is still just goofy. Go run over here and grab him. He's like 33 bucks. Seriously, why aren't you buying this fun little toy?!!?

This toy was provided courtesy of Bluefin Distribution.


5 comments:

  1. This little dude looks like loads of fun. He probably shouldn't exist, but I'm so glad he does. Love it, man.

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  2. Great looking dude but the mismatched green throws me off a lot. Am I being unreasonably picky?

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    Replies
    1. Its just the way the camera picked it up, in person its all the same green has the lower legs and chest.

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  3. A great toy and a great character of a character within another cartoon. Great review as well Ichabod.

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