What with Gurren Lagann’s almost everlasting appeal as an upbeat mecha anime, it’s had a lot of toys over the years. However, it looks like Sentinel and T-Rex may have unveiled one of the best toys of the titular mecha yet.
First of all, this is not the first time Sentinel has released a Riobot figure of Gurren Lagann. Their first attempt was back in 2012 and was a nicely stylized piece that clocked in at 14.5 cm in height. While it lacked diecast, it made up for that with a lovely sculpt and some funky articulation (the eyes in the chest could be pivoted).
That Riobot figure went on to be a popular item on the second-hand market but was very much overshadowed by Konami’s chogokin that was released back in 2008, close to when the show originally aired in Japan.
It’s this Konami chogokin that Sentinel and T-Rex have seemingly channeled for this new Riobot toy.
Clocking in at 21 cm, it’s a fair bit bigger than the first Riobot effort and also uses diecast. However, what makes this Gurren Lagann toy so special is all the extra gimmicks and options it has.
From fully articulated fingers, to a separate Lagann figure and all manner of extra bits for the drills and the fact their ports can be flipped inward. You even get dinky Kamina and Simon figures as well.
The other big thing here is that this Riobot toy is styled as per the anime, putting it on a par with the original Konami chogokin, rather than the more stylized CCS Toys release from last year.
Released in December, this new Riobot Gurren Lagann toy will cost 32,000 yen (or around $264) and can be pre-ordered at HobbyLink Japan. In the meantime, you can pick up the amazing Blu-ray boxset for Gurren Laggan from Aniplex and enjoy the show’s presence in Super Robot Wars X.
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