We first saw threeA‘s gorgeous looking Metal Gear Rex exactly two years ago today. But virtually nothing been said or seen ever since. To the point that those who still remember it have naturally assumed that the statue was quietly cancelled. Then earlier this year, threeA passed along a blog post of what looked to be a rail gun, one similar to what Rex was sporting, but which also lights up. A feature that no one knew about, at least based upon the prototype pics.

No further information was given, but at least it was evidence that Rex was still alive. And just a few days ago, another update was provided, with concrete info at long last. Aside from looking better than ever, we can also see that the cockpit and its “eyes” also lights up. A timeframe in which all interested parties was also given: this upcoming January. No word how much it will weigh, but it sure looks heavy, especially since we do know its height: 42 cm, or 16.5 inches.

And according to Ashley Wood, who is not only Hideo Kokjima’s go to illustrator for all things Metal Gear these days (aside from Yoji Shinkawa, of course), but is one of folks who runs the threeA empire: because every part is ABS and requires injection molds, the price tag will be steep. It’s also worth noting that he still considers Rex a toy and simply a statue, which given its size and cost is what most of us were viewing it as. The rumoured price is somewhere between $400-500.

Courtesy of our good friends at HobbyLink Japan, we’ve been sent the Robot Damashii L-Gaim Mk. 2 toy from Heavy Metal L-Gaim. To help give the toy some context we’ve also included some videos of it from the original anime and a few games it has been featured in over the years at the end of the review.

The early to mid 80′s were really a halcyon age for real robot anime, from the likes of Dunbine and VOTOMS to classics such as Heavy Metal L-Gaim. Written by Yoshiyuki Tomino, the series featured the unique (and then new) talents of one Mamoru Nagano. Set in the distant Pentagona star system, it told the plight of the young Daba Myroad trying to usurp the evil and equally mysterious Olda Poseidal. What was especially interesting about the mecha, called heavy metals, was that they were very much industrial machines with armor hinged upon an internal endoskeleton.

The L-Gaim Mk. 2 was the mid-season upgrade to the first L-Gaim for Daba Myroad, which was based upon the prior Amon Duule “Stack”, and as with most mid-season upgrades in real robot anime shows this one also transformed (into “prowler” mode no less). It was also one of the most powerful heavy metals in existence at that point in the show as well, as it could wield the beefy buster launcher and use it with impunity as its generator capacity was more than enough to handle the power output (something that normally plagued other heavy metals). The only other heavy metal that was even a match for the Mk. 2 was the ancient Original Auge, piloted by Poseidal himself.

Coupled with Nagano’s sleek and almost ethereal aesthetic L-Gaim resulted in some of the most striking mecha designs in anime and ones that have been hugely influential ever since. Following L-Gaim, Nagano also went onto pen the truly epic Five Star Stories manga, with many of the heavy metals being re-birthed as beautifully ornate mortar headds.

In terms of gaming, the Mk. 2 has been quite prolific to the point of it being featured in the recently released Another Century’s Episode Portable, with it’s buster launcher still packing an epic punch. It’s also been a moderate regular in the Super Robot Wars games, with the latest being XO.

Despite the show’s popularity and the large number of toys for the L-Gaim Mk. 1, the Mk. 2 hasn’t been as lucky. Apart from the rather lacklustre HCM toy, the Mk. 2 has been somewhat neglected over the years. However, Bandai recently held a poll at one of their Tamashii Nations events and the overwhelming response by fans was for an all new L-Gaim Mk. 2 toy.

Bandai have dutifully complied and done so brilliantly. As with their other Robot Damashii line, the Mk. 2 has very solid articulation as well as a very accurate sculpt. For the price, it does feel very sophisticated in terms of the engineering at work here. The transformation is also very interesting as it has been very accurately re-created, something that takes a little getting used to because the mode shifts look simple but there’s actually more going on than first meets the eye.

Toy: Robot Damashii L-Gaim Mk. 2
Price: 4,640 yen
Size/Weight: 34.2 x 21.0 x 8.0 cm / 400g

The transformation into “prowler” mode is actually quite complex and does, unfortunately, require some parts swapping. The latter becomes apparent when it seems that Bandai have literally gone to town on trying to accurately re-create the transformed aesthetic from the show. The legs have additional hinges above the knee that then click into place at the back of the thighs. The hips also slide back to make room for it to kneel into position. The final result, whilst simple to look at, is quite striking and it’s clear the emphasis was on visual accuracy throughout. Naturally, in order to display this mode off to its fullest requires one of the Tamashii Stands (sold separately).

As with all Robot Damashii toys, Bandai have done a really nice job on the Mk. 2. Whilst the transformation is a bit fiddly, the toy is very poseable and accurate to the show. Even all the power lines and piping are in full effect too, something that’s surprising for a toy this cheap.

Overall this is very much a labour of love by the team at Bandai and, most importantly, a figure done for the fans of the show. It also gives us leave to blithely sing “Say Mk. 2″ an awful lot, which is always nice.

Along with a slew of other toy announcements today, Bandai have finally come clean on the fact they are indeed going to release Robot Damashii toys of both the L-Gaim Mk.I and Mk.II respectively. If you remember the Heavy Metal L-Gaim mecha, designed by the glam-rock-tastic Mamoru Nagano, topped the wishlist of fans for new Robot Damashii figures not that long ago.

Unsurprisingly, with such a classic Yoshiyuki Tomino real robot series it’s been featured in numerous games over the years. From a variety of Super Robot Wars titles to the more recent first two Another Century’s Episode games (not to mention Real Robots Final Attack, but we prefer to ignore that little “gem” if we can).

L-Gaim has also had quite an impressive toy history too, from lovely HCM figures to a very recent and utterly amazing Soul of Chogokin Spec toy. These new Robot Damashii figures will hopefully be a bit more affordable though. Currently there’s no word on whether the L-Gaim Mk.II toy will retain the transformation but it’s quite a simple sequence so it’s quite likely it will. Both toys will be release early next year in Japan and can be pre-ordered here and here. What with us being massive L-Gaim nerds, we’ve also linked the lovely openings from the series as well as a few game clips of the respective mecha in action below.

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Update: GAGraphic has some nice shots from the current Tamashii Nation show.

As part of Bandai’s increasingly infuriating Tamashii Web shop exclusives, they have finally announced that they’ll be releasing Soul of Chogokin Spec toys of both the Dragonar 2 and 3 units from Metal Armor Dragonar. Now, Dragonar has had somewhat of a resurgence since it was featured in all three of the PS2 Another Century’s Episode games (though it had obviously been featured in a multitude of Super Robot Wars games prior to that). Up and till this point however, Bandai had only released toys of the Dragonar 1, specifically two variants of the design; one with original proportions from the show and another that was stylised by Masami Ōbari. These new toys obviously seem to fall into the latter Ōbari stylised camp, not that we’re complaining. At present it’s not clear whether these toys will also sport the “lifters”, backpacks with wings on effectively, that were used in the show but we may see more options surface in the oncoming months. Both toys will be released in December, though you’ll obviously have needed to pre-order them online first. Personally, we’re holding out for the day when they finally release a Dragonar 1 Custom.

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