I’ve been curious with Aoshima’s new Gattai line for the longest time ever since they announced Atlanger a couple of years back. And although I’m still holding off on getting a copy because it’s a bit pricey, the third release may sway me to finally give in.
First announced around mid-2021, the third kit in the line is Gattai Musashi which, like Gattai Atlanger, is also based on an old Aoshima kit released in the 70s. Thanks to the popularity of Space Battleship Yamato, they released the Gattai Kyokan Yamato set, which translates to Combining Giant Ship Yamato. The set is comprised of four vehicles that combine to from a Yamato-looking ship that has a super robot called Musashi as the bridge tower.
The new Gattai version ditches the whole battleship aspect and focuses on the super robot Musashi and its mecha musume partner Jinguji Nagisa. Musashi has the obvious battleship aesthetic with those three-barrel turret feet and the bridge tower-looking torso. More importantly, it has the obvious benefit of modern kit engineering which should mean better proportions and great articulation. The general design gives me Giant Robo vibes with the gray and red colors with matching rivets, I really like it. You can also see above the weapons Musashi comes with, providing more display options.
Speaking of display options, let’s not forget that Musashi is able to separate into four vehicles, just like the original Gattai Kyokai Yamato: Zet Machine, Cord Machine, Slide Machine, and Bulldog Machine. As with your typical combining super robot, these vehicles don’t make any sense when you look at them separately. You can also combine them in different configurations besides the primary robot form.
Let’s not forget its partner mecha musume, Jinguji Nagisa who appears to be a scantily clad sailor girl on high heels. She shares the same base body as Hosaka Atli but with the obvious retools to match her sailor girl outfit. This means she also has multiple hard points where you can attach parts of Musashi in whatever configuration you choose.
They do recommend a couple of combination options, like this one where Musashi looks like a battle station Jinguji can sit on. Or you can just equip her with a bunch of missiles and cannons.
Either way, this kit looks to be promising, but I still need to check out reviews of Atlanger to have a feel of its assembly and engineering. To learn more, I’ve included a short promo video released by Aoshima to solicit this kit.
Gattai Musashi
July 2022 / ¥11,000
Order via HobbyLink Japan
