Toybox REVIEW: Shokugan Modeling Project GingaiOh

Release Date: June 2024

RRP: 6800 yen

It's always exciting when the Shokugan Modeling Project branches into a new Super Sentai series and it seems Bandai are keen to stay in the 90s for the time being, with 2024 being the year of Seijuu Sentai Gingaman! Although the item in question may be the only confirmed release for this year from the 22nd Super Sentai series, Bandai have been quite the tease and shown off that there's plenty more to come. Kicking things off at the very beginning and with the core robot of the series, Shokugan Modeling Project GingaiOh is a retail release that immediately displays how this beloved model kit line continues to evolve.

Straight away from the packaging alone we can see that Bandai are making a few changes to the SMP line with GingaiOh. Despite this being a retail release kit comprised of different components, for the first time Bandai have released the model in a single box rather than a number of smaller separate ones. To coincide with this, the instructions to build all five Starbeasts are contained on a single sheet AND only one piece of candy is included in the box. Scaling back on the free candy aside, this is a great move in streamlining these releases and cutting down on packaging waste. The box itself, whilst considerably larger than previous retail SMP releases, is still a faithful recreation of the original DX GingaiOh packaging – made from a much sturdier (and again more DX-like) cardboard than previous releases. The box features a variety of images of both GingaiOh and the individual Starbeast components, alongside tongue in cheek comments lampooning the specs on the original. What was once "Die-cast parts through! 280mm tall and weighing 1.6kg!" is now "ABS parts throughout! 160mm tall and weighing 0.1kg!". Inside all five Starbeasts are spread across variety of conjoined plastic bags, with runners/pre-painted parts/bags grouped together so you can still tell which parts are for what. In addition to the aforementioned candy and building instructions, there is also a separate leaflet documenting the combination.

Running through the Starbeasts in the order the instructions have them, first up is Gingaleon – Ginga Red's Starbeast. Gingaleon is a very blocky lion-like creature with limited leg articulation, but a surprising amount in its head thanks to its place in the overall combination. As well as a moving jaw, the head can also raise/lower while the neck itself is also ball jointed. The back legs have proper hip and knee movement but the front legs just clip out of place rather than having proper joints built in. Overall it’s a very straightforward build that eases you into the set nicely, with lots of nice pre-painted parts and minimal stickering. That said, of the stickers needed for this kit some are not moulded into the plastic (for example the black and white stripes), whilst others (the green triangles on its back) are very small and could be very easily damaged/misaligned/lost without care.

Next up is Gingarilla – Ginga Blue's Starbeast and the largest of the five in this set. Gingarilla is a very interestingly designed mecha with a huge cuboid chest, giant feet and spindly arms. The proportions of the kit don’t really match that of the onscreen version, but they do match the toy and as such are essential to the transformation. Despite being a model made of several larger parts there's still a few little interesting bits to do here, with some of the intricacies completely invisible when in this mould. Stickers are fairly minimal, but one area in particular (where a silver border has to be placed around a solid blue shape) could have been designed much better – had this been just one sticker the application could have been far neater. Although Gingarilla is the largest of the Starbeasts its overall poseability is surprisingly small. While the kit may boast an opening jaw, ball joint shoulders, hinged elbows and rotating fists, the lack of any articulation in the legs means the lower half is completely static. That said, the sheer size and bulk of Gingarilla certainly makes up for it.

But undoubtedly the most interesting of all the Starbeasts included in this set is the third one to be featured – Ginga Green's Gincalcon. This strange falcon/dragon hybrid isn't just a great looking model with plenty of colour and articulation, it's also got a really interesting gimmick. Moving the wings of Gingalcon back will make the make the neck shorten and tail piece extend, whilst pulling them forward will do the opposite. While the gimmick is primarily meant for its weapon mode in the GingaiOh combination (more on that further down), it does create a nice bit of extra play value on the individual Starbeast. In addition to the movement that comes from that, Gingalcon also has a hinged and jaw as well as ball jointed arms, rotating legs and hinged feet. Perfect for getting good flight poses out of the model, even if it sadly lacks a good socket to plug a display base directly into it. In addition to the grey/silver parts seen across all of the GingaiOh Starbeasts, Gingalcon also sports gold feet which (while certainly passable in Bandai's usual sickly "gold" plastic) look much better with a lick of paint.

Fourth is Ginga Yellow's Starbeast Gingaverick, which sees a move to a slightly more conventional Super Sentai mecha component in terms of build and transformation. This shouldn't be all that surprising given Gingaverick transforms into GingaiOh's (left) arm, and there are only so many ways you can transform into an arm. Gingaverick is primarily cast in yellow plastic with a number of additional grey parts, as well as one shouder piece cast pre-painted silver. Of course, the model looks much better if you paint all of the grey parts silver but if you choose not to, the pre-painted piece is what's on display in combined mode. Gingaverick also has basic articulation seen across most bipedal SMP models - a hinged jaw, four moveable legs, swivel joint in the middle of the torso and a moveable tail.

Rounding off the set is Gingat, the Starbeast of Ginga Pink. As is sometimes the case with both rangers and mecha in Super Sentai despite belonging to a Pink Ranger Gingat is primarily white, with some pink, silver and gold accents. The model itself uses the same base mould as Gingaverick (which isn't all that surprising given they both form GingaiOh's arms), naturally swapping the colours but also giving it slightly different shoulder parts and a new (pre-painted) head. As they share the same moulding Gingat's articulation is exactly the same as Gingaverick's – a hinged jaw, four moveable legs, swivel joint in the middle of the torso and a moveable tail.

Altogether the Starbeasts make quite an interesting little set of mecha, not only because of their retro blocky aesthetic but also the difference in size and shapes between them all. This also translates to the transformation, which while still fairly straightforward in some ways also has some pretty unique moments. While Gingaleon, Gingaverick and Gingat are pretty self-explanatory (although the way Gingaleon's back half pushes forward to form the chest is very cool), the way Gingarilla's torso slides down (with the arms compacting into the revealed legs) and Gingaverick's feet clip in to create a waist aren't the kind of things you usually see in a Super Sentai mecha combination. Overall it's a clever little combination/transformation without ever getting too complicated. It's also worth noting that there is some minor parts-forming to this kit - both the fists and horns of the robot are loose parts that, despite having storage points on the individual Starbeasts, are not technically part of them.

Bringing them altogether forms the mighty Galaxy Beast Warrior GingaiOh, and from just one glance at this you can see Bandai really brought their A-game to the look of this kit. Clean, colourful and with plenty of pre-painted parts, GingaiOh combines that blocky look of early Super Sentai robots with the bright colour placements of the 90s and beyond. As usual while the transformation instructions will present you with a model kit that's slightly more limited in articulation/more akin to the DX toy, straight away you can move/fold additional parts for a fully articulated model. These include pulling the shoulder joint sections out from inside the torso (in turn giving the arms extra clearance), as well as folding the backs of the lower legs down so that the knee joints can be properly utilised. One aspect to GingaiOh I never fully appreciated until building this kit were the wings, which stick out a little more than they do on the onscreen suit. It helps make them feel like more of a visible component without feeling like a reimagining. Although GingaiOh doesn't necessarily do anything different to previous SMP releases, there's just something about the presentation that makes it feel like a cleaner and sturdier kit even to an amateur model builder.

Looks aren't everything GingaiOh has going for it either, as even with that blocky design and curious transformation quirks the model shows off all of that fantastic articulation the line has made a name for itself with. Altogether GingaiOh features;

- Ball jointed head

- Three-way swivel shoulders providing swivel/hinge and butterfly movement

- Two-way swivel hips providing swivel/hinge movement

- Hinged elbows and knees

- Swivel hinge ankles

- Waist, bicep, wrist and thigh swivels

Finally the front and side skirt panels are all hinged to allow a full range of movement in the legs. In the case of GingaiOh it's not so much of the model doing anything new for the SMP line, but rather the amazing way it's gone about it. The waist joint actually comes in the form of Gingarilla's neck swivel, as the connection to the upper torso (Gingaleon) purely comes from its head pegging into the bottom. This leaves the whole joint unimpeded despite it seemingly having Gingaleon, Gingarilla and Gingalcon all fixed together in the same place. Similarly Gingarilla's transformation into GingaiOh's legs reveals all sorts of movement completely hidden in Starbeast mode, with all the joints still perfectly useable while Gingarilla's arms are stored inside! When the knees are viewed from the back this even creates a cool piston-like effect as the arms move in tandem with the knee joint. Together with the usual favourites from the SMP line like the pull-out shoulder articulation and fantastic swivel hinge ankles, GingaiOh proves to be a winner even with a cumbersome set of wings hanging from its back.

GingaiOh's accessories include two pairs of swappable hands (open and weapon-holding fists) and its signature Silver-Armor Sword. While GingaiOh might be a little different from previous SMP releases in that its hands aren't present anywhere on the individual components (not even undersized versions), it makes up for that with some very impressive parts storage! Both pairs of hands can be stored inside the feet of the robot (both in combined form and the individual Gingarilla) allowing for a nice easy release where it's easy to keep the parts altogether. The hands connect to the robot via standard peg joints, so swapping them is straightforward enough too. The Silver-Armor Sword is a nicely moulded piece with a pre-painted handle, but definitely looks a lot better with a splash of silver on the blade and gold on the top of the hilt. To attach, simply remove the handle piece and insert into the fist before reattaching the top half. With the great articulation GingaiOh has, you can get some pretty great sword-wielding poses out of the model.

That isn't the only thing in GingaiOh's arsenal though, as the upper half of Gingalcon's body can also be removed from the combination and wielded as the Galcon Bowgun. Once the section of Gingalcon has been removed, a small handle piece can be flipped out which allows the robot to hold it just as it does the sword. This formation is also where the moving parts gimmick comes into full effect, as the moveable pieces mirror the show to represent its "Meteor Bullet" finishing attack. Then on top of that, the Galcon Bowgun can also be held as a sort of pseudo-shield for a more balanced look when wielding the Silver-Armor Sword.

The sign of a good toy is when it can make you appreciate a design in a way you didn't before. The Gingaman aesthetic has never been one of my favourites but Shokugan Modeling Project GingaiOh has really given me a newfound love for its core mecha as the line continues to impress when it comes to its capabilities. While the individual components might not seem quite as articulated as usual this is all forgiven when it comes to GingaiOh itself, which displays incredible poseability alongside some of its quirkier transformation steps. Little improvements to the SMP line overall like the single box and combined instruction pamphlet also make a big difference, those minor changes to the presentation making it feel a little less "candy toy" and a lot more "model kit". If you aren't onboard the SMP train already then definitely jump on soon, because rarely does this line make a misstep.