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Variable Action Hi-Spec Orguss by Mega House (Part 2: Review)

By Cacophanus from Mecha Damashii

Variable Action Hi-Spec Orguss by Mega House (Available From HobbyLink Japan – HLJ.com)

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Following on from the unboxing, here is the review of Mega House’s frankly rather magnificent Variable Action Hi-Spec Orguss. Considering that Mega House doesn’t have a habit of handling transforming mecha toys, the fact they have really nailed it here is quite impressive.

Before I delve into the toy, there is something I need to cover first. I omitted it in the unboxing intentionally but now with the review it’s time I covered what makes this particular toy so special.

It starts with Kazutaka Miyatake.

One of the founding members of Studio Nue, he was responsible for all the wonderful and strange looking Zentradi and Meltlandi alien mecha designs in Macross. He also designed the eponymous SDF-1. He is a truly incredible mecha designer and is known for creating very different designs.

Take his work on Dunbine. Each of the aura battlers are built from the parts of giant insects and animals. Their overall shape is very curved and slender. Like his alien Macross designs his approach to design often caused issues back in the 80s when toy and model kit companies tried to recreate the mecha. The technology of the time was very limited by what it could do and Miyatake’s designs were too advanced.

Then there was the Orguss.

This was and still is one of Miyatake’s finest designs and definitely one of his most complex. Not only did it retain his difficult aesthetic but also transformed across four modes; fighter, gerwalk, tank and orgroid.

While the kits and toys of the time did their best, with the Takatoku toys being actually rather decent, none of them really got close to the original anime design.

Not until now…

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This figure uses a lot of diecast and is quite weighty. Many of the joints use diecast, too, and with the amount of transformation involved that’s definitely a good thing. Each of the modes is transformed easily enough, though there are additional parts to be affixed for things like the tank — but that’s not a bad thing, especially as the focus has been on recreating the original design so faithfully.

This is the key point though: the toy looks spot on to the original Miyatake designs. The sculpt, detailing and paintjob are brilliant. This is a really big deal and is worth the price of entry for me alone. The fact it handles the transformation so well on top of that is amazing, really.

However, there are a few things to consider. Due to the nature of the design, transformation is an important feature. As such there are a lot of screws visible holding some of the joints together. There are also seams on the thighs. The joints are a little wobbly, but all still hold their positions well.

The hip joints have the most give but this is to help with posture when standing, which brings me back to the diecast. While the joints are catered for on that front, there is also a lot of diecast in the lower legs. This really helps with the overall balance and allows the figure to stand well on its own.

There is also a stand included, and the joints perform properly when you want to do various aerial type poses.

Overall, then, this is definitely the nicest Orguss toy we have ever had and likely will have for a very long time. Mega House doesn’t do transforming toys very often but they have done a thoroughly great job here. If you are in any way a fan of Orguss or just classic 80s mecha design, then you owe it to yourself to pick this beauty up.
 

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