In case you haven’t caught wind of this, but Bandai Spirits Hobby Division is having their Hobby Next Phase 2022 Summer online reveal extravaganza from June 21-22. Yes, it’s a tad bit shorter than the previous one but this allows for more announcements in those two days. Despite more announcements, only one slightly caught my interest for today, and I don’t think it’s one of those no-brainer purchases.
Bandai Spirits had a string of good roll of HG Infinitism kits starting from Mazinger Z until Kotetsu Jeeg, seemingly the last one released in early 2021. They did later produce the HG Getter Arc to coincide with the anime, but it wasn’t in the Infinitism aesthetic and was a lackluster kit overall. I personally thought that kit killed the possibility of more Go Nagai / Dynamic Planning kits, but it looks like they’re back with the HG Mazinger Zero (Infinitism).
To those unfamiliar, Mazinger Zero is a form of Mazinger Z taken from the Shin Mazinger ZERO storyline, and its sequel, Shin Mazinger ZERO vs. Great General of Darkness. It’s the ultimate form unlocked when all the seven boxes containing the hidden powers of Mazinger Z are activated and can destroy all of existence in the process. It’s a much more demonic version of Mazinger Z, most notable with the fully opening mouth and the ZERO Scrander on its back.
The kit itself looks good and has all the nuances expected from an Infinitism kit, especially with that large ZERO Scrander unit on its back.
As mentioned, contributing to its demonic aesthetic is the distorted face produced after its transformation. The kit replicates this with the opening mouth grill gimmick and a removable Hover Pilder. These Infinitism kits are known for their good color separation, especially on the head, though it’s likely you’ll need to touch up those red streaks on the eyes and crown with paint.
It wouldn’t be a Mazinger kit without Rocket Punches and this one definitely has a pair. A couple of support stands outside the primary Action Base, and effect parts, are also included to display them in flight.
Besides being a back-mounted flight unit, the ZERO Scrander can also serve as a hover platform that Mazinger ZERO can step on. This is primarily achieved using the multiple stand parts included with the Action Base as there appears to be no pegs that the feet can plug into.
As you can probably tell by how I wrote this, the announcement didn’t really excite me, especially since I already have the Super Robot Chogokin version, along with other designs from the manga like Great Mazinkaiser. But if you’ve been collecting these Infinitism kits and were put off by HG Getter Arc, then this kit might turn you around.
HG 1/144 Mazinger ZERO (Infinitism)
December 2022 / ¥5,500
