Now before anyone points a finger and tells me that I’m such a shill for Bandai Spirits, here are some MODEROID kits from this year’s All Japan Model & Hobby Show that I found interesting. Note that none of these are actually new announcements, just prototypes of kits revealed earlier this year.
And note, these are not all the kits they have on display, just those that I found interesting.
MODEROID Nirvash type ZERO
Initially revealed during Mecha Smile Impact 2023, it looks like MODEROID Nirvash type ZERO is still in development, although they’ve managed to show a couple of prototypes on the show floor. We’re shown the colored prototype of the kit in robot mode along with its ref-board, as well as the gray prototype of its vehicle mode
Based on these, I’m inclined to believe the transformation will require some parts replacement, especially if you notice how the large ref-board becomes proportionally smaller as it turns into the spoiler in vehicle mode. I don’t think the transformation is too complicated, but I’m inclined to believe this is the kind of transforming kit that I’ll prefer to get two copies.
MODEROID Black Sarena
Also shown are gray prototypes for MODEROID Black Sarena from Nadesico: The Prince of Darkness. I haven’t watched the movie despite it being some twenty or so years old, but I do know that the Black Sarena is basically a heavily armored Aestivalis unit and based on the photos here. You can build the inner unit and put all the Black Sarena parts on top.
But again, knowing me, and similar to how I built my HGUC Gundam NT-1 (CATALOGUE Entries #1007 & #1008), I might get two copies of this kit to build one as the fully armored Black Sarena unit and the other as the inner Aestivalis unit. I’ll first have to check out reviews of the construction and all.
MODEROID Megaton Musashi
We also have colored prototypes for MODEROID Megaton Musashi from the series of the same name which I also intend to watch at some point. It looks pretty solid, and I believe it does fit within my preferred model kit scale, and not along the same ones as their MODEROID Big O or Giant Robo kits.
One thing I haven’t seen, and I’m inclined to think they’re not including this gimmick, is the ability to split and/or combine to/from its component machines that the only other toy of this guy prominently features as a gimmick. And I’m totally fine with this since the component vehicles don’t look anything notable anyway.
MODEROID Nelly Brain [Initial & Revival]
When I got the MODEROID kits for both Yuu and Hime Brain units, I didn’t expect to get anymore from this series. But upon seeing these two MODEROID Nelly Brain kits, I might change my mind. I don’t know the background of this unit but according to the greatest internet research platform (i.e., Wikipedia) Nellie Brain is the fusion of two damaged Brain units in a Chakra wave. It then takes on the appearance you see here.
In its “Initial” state, it is similarly colored to Hime’s Brain unit, not sure why but I believe this kit would be a good display piece along with Hime Brain. Then it undergoes some revival, I guess, and turns into a blue hue now similar to Yuu’s Brain. Which again makes for a good display piece with that MODEROID kit. You can clearly read how I’m attempting to justify getting both kits.
There’s also one other kit that I would like to cover, but that would require a separate post of its own. In the meantime, none of the kits shown here currently have release dates or pricing information.
