Votoms is one of the definitive “real robots” out there, we have been getting great and accessible 1/35 “desktop-scale” kits of various armored trooper units from Wave. Bandai Spirits has also released a larger 1/24 scale kit, but it looks like they’ve decided to get into Wave’s wheelhouse by releasing their own HG 1/35 scale line, and they’ve given a teaser of what we should expect in this year’s Shizuoka Hobby Show.
I have no plans to throw away any of my Wave Votoms kits in the backlog, but I am curious on what Bandai Spirits is going to bring into the table. They do mention great color accuracy with fewer parts thanks to smart parts layering, as well as great articulation that lets you reproduce those Scopedog landing poses.
Before going further, I want to mention how Wave is releasing their Votoms kits. They basically have two versions: ST and PS. ST probably means standard where you get the basic kit, completely articulated, and have great external detail, but has no opening cockpit/canopy. The PS versions, and I don’t have any idea what PS is supposed to mean, have opening cockpits with internal details, and a pilot figure.
Bandai Spirits does things a little differently. The standard HG kit allows you to build the kit on its own and all the nuances of articulation and detail they mention, but they don’t have opening cockpits. If you want a torso with cockpits that open and pilot figures, you can get option sets to replace the torso that comes with your standard High Grade. Given that the standard kits have articulation embedded to the construction of the torso, these option set parts will likely have less articulation in exchange for those detailed internal views.
If you’re the type who builds kits as fixed pose displays, then this option is definitely for you. If you don’t really care about the internal cockpit details, and this is where I probably fall into, then you’re good with the vanilla kit. Either way, it’s always good that we have options from different manufacturers for the same kit, especially if it’s on a scale I prefer.
HG 1/35 Scopedog
October 2023 / ¥2,500
