I built the DX, I don't want to do these one at a time, so we're gonna cover all of the remaining Knights & Magic kits today.
MODEROID DX-SCALE Ikaruga
Let's start with this one, because it's the most interesting of the line-up for multiple reasons. Firstly, it's Moderoid's first time returning to a kit they've done previously, which is pretty cool as the original Ikaruga wasn't great. But as the name suggests, this is the first "DX-Scale" kit, making it essentially Moderoid's first Master Grade kit. There's a lot to talk about here, so let's get into it.
The Good: So the original kit was very bare bones when it comes to details and gimmicks, which this one very much fixes. Just like you might expect from a MG or RG, every detail is accounted for, it's a much more solid piece. The general build and parts layering isn't as good as something from Bandai, but it's also not bad.
The kit is very posable, and while there are a lot of joints to keep track of, it's more intuitive than you'd think. You can pop open the back hatch to reveal the Behemoth Heart Engine (yes I know what it's called; I love this show), it comes with four movable wire tethers which was something the original lacked, lots of hands, and when constructing there's both a plated and toothed face.
And hey, just learned this while doing a little research, there's this weird port in the back vernier that had me confused. Turns out, it's for the Kasasagi, a light novel only unit that combines with the upgraded Ikaruga. Also, didn't know the story continues until today, I am going to buy all the light novels.
The Bad: While the construction is much better than most of the K&M kits, it isn't flawless. The horns and front skirt both have a habit of popping off with too much play, though they are easy to pop back on. My biggest issue, though, is the hands meant for the swords constantly fall apart and have to be put back together. It's more tedium than anything, but it would have been nice if the pegs were a little longer so they held together better.
The Details: As this is a higher end kit with all the details present, there wasn't a lot to add here. I only used panel liner and black fill to add a tiny bit more detail, like holes and verniers. Also, I chose not to use the stickers because... there's, like, 150, and it looks fine without them. The sword blades are also prepainted.
Overall, this is a great kit. A fantastic redemption for this design. Watch the show if you haven't, then pick up this kit. But we're not done yet, and sadly, our next entry isn't nearly as polished.
MODEROID Tzendolg/Tzendolimble
I might hate this kit. I built one, then built the other, and because of that the second build was just nightmaric in its tedium. I think this was also the turning point where I stopped using all the stickers, because I did it to the first one, which was again very tedious, then had to do it all over again. And cherry on top of all of this? While I was posing them all together for the first photo up top, one of Kitt's Tzendolimbe's shoulder sheered because it only attaches to the top half of the pseudo-ball. Gosh darn it.
The Good: So this is a very unique design. Centaur robots are pretty rare, and those legs have a ton of posability to achieve a very horse-like appearance. It also comes with different chest stickers so you can differentiate Kitt and Addy's if you're crazy enough to build two like me, as well as a mass-production head if you're crazier than me and want to troop build.
The Bad: Things are not solidly put together, like the shoulders. The back plates are on very thin, easily breakable and bendable poles that you can snap by putting your thumb on them too hard. The limbs have bad flow, so it's hard to get them to look good. Also, the runners on this one were bad, with a lot of them connecting on curved edges, which require quite a bit more work to not accidentally destroy.
The Details: Unexpectedly, given my frustrations, I didn't do a lot to this kit. Panel lining and stickers. I don't think there were really any places to fill, but I don't know if I'd have the patience to do it, anyway.
Overall, this kit is pretty bad. If they do a DX of this one, I'll definitely give it a try, but I'd only build Addy's. But we've got one more kit to look at, and it's a doozy in a more positive way.
MODEROID Toybox & Type-3 Equipment
Finally, some good f*****g food. After the first, subpar Ikaruga (not the one we just talked about) and the not very fun Tzendolimbe, the Toybox was such a breath of fresh air. It was so good I actually tried, unlike the other two. I even painted the chariot, which should say something.
The Good: Much more solid than the previous kits, maybe even more so than the DX Ikaruga, great sculpt, pretty easy to mod into a mass-production model if you want that. Not a lot to say about it, it's just a cute, solid kit.
The Type-3 is a monster. It's not hard to build since most of its parts are huge. It has a compressed mode, its chariot formation, legs so it can stand without the Tzendolimbe but can also be towed by two of them, giant side blades, posable flags (thought I'd mention it), and you can remove the artillery so the Toybox can wield it like in the anime.
The Bad: My only real complaint with the Toybox is it lacks accessories. It has 4 arms, but only a sword and shield, so all the arms don't get used unless you add other weapons or get creative, and even then I think it only has the four hands. Also, would have been nice it it had a tether for the Lightning Flail.
The Type-3 is so big it's kind of hard to display, especially with the blades deployed. Mine kinda just sits in a nook...
The Details: Like I said, I really tried on this one. Not only did I panel line and fill, but I filled more areas than I would usually, such as internals in the shoulders and the back of the neck. I also added a lot of red and silver paint for many openings, verniers, the tip of the Lightning Flail, etc. Speaking of, I added light blue and black to the Lightning Flail to flesh out its detail, and a darker blue to the hands. I also included a lot of stickers, but not all of them, mostly just the major ones and in areas where it felt blank.
While the Type-3 is mostly panel lining, I did paint the wheel covers and flags light blue and gold instead of stickering them.
Overall, I might like these more than the DX Ikaruga. They're just solid little guys. Not overly complicated, better flow of parts, and I'm happy with how the paint job I did turned out.
And that's the end of our coverage of the Moderoid Knights & Magic kits for now. It looks like they're doing a kit of the light novel's upgraded Ikaruga and Kasasagi, which I will definitely be getting. Also probably going to track down the light novels.
