Review: Includes regular release, light artillery, and heavy artillery
Packaging & Extras: (2/5)
The first release of the KitzConcept Battlepod comes packaged in a purple KitzConcept badged box (25.5 x 24 x 14.2 cm) made of thin cardboard housed within a sleeve that prominently shows off the Battlepod. Inside the box is a plastic tray containing the Battlepod and instructions. The top lasers are housed within a second tray behind the toy. If you would like to employ the light-up effects, you will need to separately acquire 12 LR626 batteries. This was the most basic release of the toy, not including a Gluu-Gerr pilot figure. While some smaller Regult/Battlepod toys like the HMR and Revoltech included display stands, this toy is very heavy and would have required something more substantial.
The Artillery Battlepods come in the same box with “ARTILLERY BATTLEPOD” sticker on the sleeve with an image of the type of armament behind the words. I think KitzConcept would have done better to state “Light Artillery” for the smaller horizontal missile set and “Heavy Artillery” for the larger missile-equipped vertical weapon set. The downside of reusing the packaging and differentiating only with a sticker is that if you store these boxes somewhere in any position other than pointing forward, you won’t be able to tell which is which so a unique sleeve for each Battlepod would have been a nice touch. Neither the regular head turret from a standard battlepod nor a pilot figure is included. The additional artillery parts are included in a tray behind the battlepod. Both versions include the artillery weaponry in a tray stapled beneath the top tray; the staples have to be removed to access the parts. I was surprised the instructions didn’t include an insert specific to the artillery parts but the weaponry is intuitive to install and use.
Charm & Collectability: (4/5)
Though this toy doesn’t transform and is of an enemy mecha (which are generally less collectable than protagonist toys), there’s ample reason to expect this toy to be sought after. First, this toy has metal content and weighs an impressive 742 grams (more than TWICE the weight of an old 1/55 Takatoku VF-1 or Jetfire toy) and is nice to handle, significantly heftier than the 172 grams of KC’s VF-1 toy. The toy is a popular scale at 1/72 or about 25 cm to the crown, which is roughly appropriate to the Robotech canon height of 17.4 meters. In Macross, the height is listed as only 15.12 meters which would make this toy 1/60 scale. That puts this toy right in the wheelhouse for a lot of collectors though some will find this jarring since the vehicle is often depicted as being MUCH larger in the show. If you remember Zentraedi pilots being similar in size to a VF-1 battroid (such as the guy who grabs Rick’s VF-1D or the uniform Max dons in his VF-1A), then you’re going to be perplexed by the notion that someone of that size could ever fit in this Battlepod.
KitzConcept’s first release may be controversial in that the preorder listing specified it would come with a pilot figure, but the toy shipped in September 2024 did not include one. I can’t find the original listing on the KitzConcept site today, but the first release was supposed to be a pilot figure and Battelpod bundle at $166.60 (before preorder discounts). The pilot figure was initially described as being articulated. I later heard that it would come with an articulated figure AND a smaller cockpit only figure. By shipping early adopters the version without the pilot, KC is in a situation where it will be obligated to ship everyone a ‘sold separately’ pilot at another date which doesn’t feel professional. KitzConcept is now selling the version without the pilot figure for the same $166.60 price. A two-pack version was sold briefly on the KC website that included the light and heavy armor attachments for the Battlepods (seemingly without pilots) at the same $166.60 price tag which seems like an incredible deal giving they’re now asking that amount for a single pilotless Battlepod without accessory weapons. Stay tuned for reviews of those Battlepods when they are available.
Sculpt, Detail, & Paint: (9.5/10)
I have only one nitpick about this toy, and it’s the same nitpick I would level at Bandai’s Hi-Metal R toy, the housing for the eye protrudes too far. I qualify that as a minor quibble because otherwise this toy is a very impressive recreation of the line art. If you’re very particular about the line art, you’ll also notice that the feet are large but the toy benefits from the big platform. Paint details are generous and well done. The mold captures the contours and panels as indicated in the art.
The cockpit contains ample mechanical details and controls with many paint applications that bring everything to life. The beam weapons have hollow barrels to facilitate the light effects which is a huge improvement from the sometimes solid barrels on toys from the past. Some people will wish the paint had more of a matte finish but I’ve never been a stickler for that and, if you are, it can be viewed as an element that makes this mech more ‘alien’ than your other toys.
KitzConcept deserves high praise for giving each variant the unique alien text on the front, sides, and heels as was depicted in the original artwork. Interior details remain magnificent and unchanged. The weapon pods feature nice molds and detail work also taken directly from original artwork. The weapons pods themselves strike me as a little too large, which may exacerbate some of the issues with placing weapons at the end of a small hinged extension.
Design: (9.5/10)
If the cockpit of this toy can accommodate a 1/72 scale pilot figure, it will likely need to be a fixed-posed figure on the smaller side of the Zentraedi range. I was able to fit the classic Matchbox micronized Zentraedi figure but the ‘full height’ figure wasn’t get close. Features include:
1) Opening back bay door
2) Opening front door (maybe not canon but I don’t know that you’d ever be able to do a pilot figure without it). Door works with artillery parts installed but the weight of the artillery parts can pull them out of the top of the head so open things slowly.
3) Removable panel in the legs to show off interior detail
4) Light up effects in the side boosters, main turrets, eye, and cockpit (see video review for demonstration).
5) Built with interchangeable weapons in mind (sold separately)
6) Hidden joints with huge range of articulation
Some people might complain about the required number of batteries. I wish the various switches were more easily accessible. If we were going for true perfection, the tops of the side boosters and the eye could be buttons that when pressed engage the lights. While I prefer accessible switches, I can appreciate that these switches are completely hidden. I’m very pleased with the features and they significantly add to the fun factor.
Unfortunately, I don’t see any forethought into how a display stand could work with these toys. There are no holes on the toy’s underside that would make for a good mounting point. The weight and curves of the legs will make using router style display stands challenging though I was able to get a good flying pose. A really dynamic display with the regult on one leg or off the ground will prove challenging.
The artillery Battlepods are the same base toy mechanically but with different attachments that plugs into the head. The heavy artillery has four missiles (two on each side) slide into the barrels where they latch into place with a spring mechanism. This feels like there should be a button somewhere allowing you to launch the missiles but there is not. Instead you can press onto the missiles to release the latch and the spring gently pushes them forward for removal.
The light artillery weapon pods do not have individual missiles or other gimmicks. As with the heavy artillery, the individual weapon pods can rotate like a ratchet around the connecting peg. The connector also has a pivot point in the middle.
The back of the heavy and light artillery weapon pods include lights. Like previous light effects, the position of the switches is difficult to access and makes the use of the lights an infrequent occurrence. To access the light switch and battery compartment, you must wiggle the back of the missile pod off. Once the three LR626 batteries are in place (it might work with two), you’re treated to an undulating purple light show. The heavy armor set lights shine directly out while the light artillery set has a black lens in front of the light, dimming the show.
Durability & Build: (8.5/10)
This is always a tough score to judge when a toy is new but my experience has been entirely positive so far and I haven’t found many people complaining about QC issues. Paint applications, and there are many, we very well done on my toy. The chin whiskers seem like the most likely weak spot in the event of rough handling or a fall. I’m hedging on this score a little initially because the toy has warnings about how to store it to prevent the joints from getting weak. Given how heavy this toy is, there seems to be a high likelihood joints (particularly the hidden knee joints) will soften over time. The hips have strong ratchets and the knees can remain in a compact position that might reduce the impact of looseness in the future. I will update this review as I handle this toy and subsequent releases more.
The connector to the head on the artillery versions has a screw that seems to be stripped or too short, leaving a gap and insufficient friction in the pivot joint. This causes the weapon pods to droop or fall backward unexpectedly during handling but can usually be gently restored to the right position for display purposes. Line art shows the joint in the full forward position which is generally stable. Since the artillery rotates independently, KitzConcept should consider eliminating this joint entirely on future releases.
I had one peculiar build issue with my heavy artillery; one missile doesn’t want to lock in the rear position. I have to slide the missile in as gently as possible for it to latch. One issue not caused by KC that you may see in the pics or video, are mysterious black scratches or rubs on one of the pods. This happened while in my possession (as they aren’t on the opening box pic). I suspect it happened when I pried the pod out of the very tight plastic clamshell and it ejected and must have slid against something.
Articulation: (9/10)
The main turrets on the head can angle very far out and ALMOST strait forward. The back of the head turrets, which are fixed on the Bandai Hi-Metal R, have a nice circular range of motion. The boosters on either side of the toy have ratcheted joints (which seems gratuitous) and can rotate in a complete circle. The whisker guns are fixed. The hips are ratcheted and can move forward and back until they hit the body while also featuring an extension gimmick that lets them angle steeply away from center. Directly below the hip is a rotation point allowing the leg to twist outward nearly all the backward. There knee hides a pair of joints that extend away from the body. When fully extended, these knees allow very steep angles in the leg, including the iconic squatting pose. Within the foot housing is a joint that allows the foot to angle left or right or title forward and back. Below that is a ratcheted heel joint allowing the heel to move up or down while the big toe has several ratcheted positions. Given this toy doesn’t have arms, this is about as good a score as I can imagine giving this mecha.
Total Score: (42.5/50)
This toy has easily surpassed the very impressive Bandai Hi-Metal R as my favorite Regult toy. It’s a little a light on accessories and I’ll reiterate that I’m concerned there’s no obvious support for a future display stand. Beyond that, this is an amazing toy, even if you never intend to use the lights. If KitzConcept is going to bring this level of love and care to destroids and the Officer’s Pod, then the future for this 40+ year old show is very bright!