As mentioned in my earlier post the SMP Alternative Destiny Brave Exkaiser set was announced together with Premium Bandai-exclusive complementary set that should allow you to build its final form, Great Exkaiser. Before I forget to mention, these versions of both King Exkaiser and Great Exkaiser were previously garage kits by Toshihisa Miyauchi who’s now working for product design of SMP Alternative Destiny sets.
To those needing a refresher, Dragon Jet is the alternate mode of Dragon Kaiser, the second machine that temporarily replaced King Exkaiser when the latter got damaged. For this version, they’ve also stripped out the transformation feature into Dragon Kaiser and focused on two primary functions. First is the jet mode where King Exkaiser can hop on and ride, and second is to serve as parts to combine and form Great Exkaiser.
And as you can see, this set will come with a display stand similar to the one included with Gunbuster.
And here it is, the combination both kits are ultimately leading up to, Great Exkaiser. Compared to what was seen in the anime, this version has the same design beats but looks entirely different thanks to the copious amounts of panels and uneven details and angled edges. I bet once this set is released, those building this kit will likely make comparisons to Kotobukiya’s version to check how different both are.
As an additional option, clear parts are also included to display the Dragon Jet parts during the process of combining with King Exkaiser and are made to look as if the parts are floating in space as they combine.
Despite the increase in mass, the resulting combination still retains the poseability and articulation of King Exkaiser. In fact, it’s able to flawlessly do its signature attacks, Dragon Archery and Thunder Flash.
Speaking of accessories, here’s everything that comes with this set. Besides the Dragon Jet and parts for the Dragon Archery and Kaiser Sword in both regular and exaggerated proportions, the set also includes replacement face parts to display the exposed Exkaiser face and another for when the face plate is formed in front of it.
As much as I was really excited with the King Exkaiser set, I found myself hemming and hawing with this one. And it all comes down to the price. At around $120, this set is a little too expensive, especially if the largest piece you’ll build is the display base. But then again, these are made-to-order Premium Bandai sets so they can charge pretty much however they want. I can wait unitil it gets released and check out the secondary market, but I’d risk just paying more as prices would definitely go up.
I’ll probably have King Exkaiser on pre-order while I wait until next week to decide if I’ll pick the Dragon Jet set over at our local Premium Bandai online store.
SMP Alternative Destiny Dragon Jet & Super Giant Combination Set
September 2022 / ¥12,000
