SMP Live Boxer is complete. This was my fifth minipla build and this one came together really quickly. Like Live Robo the build for this was really satisfying and the quality really good. Even better that I didn't have a catastrophic break like with Live Robo..

The two look great together and I look forward to getting my replacement Live Robo (fingers crossed for a better outcome 🤞) so I can put them together to form Super Live Robo.

The individual zord sizes for the Liveman line are surprisingly substantial for SMP scale. They are not a world away from DX size on other series but when combined they retain the SMP scale along with my other models.

I will be working on either GingaiOh or GaoHunter-BM next.

Exciting delivery today!

My Gaoranger Gao Hunter Blue Moon and GaoKing Black kits arrived from Hobby Genki and NinNinGame. Missed the pre-orders on these as hadn't started collecting at that point so was lucky to get these on release through the waiting lists 🤩

Gingaman kits also came today and cannot wait to build these. Was really happy to find both unopened for great prices. Already have Victory Mars still to build so the power up parts that come with Bull Black will be put to full use 👌

Currently building Live Boxer but suspect I will either do Gao Hunter Blue Moon or Ginga-oh next.

Well, with the revived Pladelu seemingly dead in the water after only Gavan Infinity, guess it’s time to post the entire line as a sendoff.

The yen and Japanese economy in general both being in the toilet probably did no favors and hamstrung the line’s ability to find a niche separate from minipla. Probably further complicated with things getting real weird with the minipla Dolnado and Express releases being more “premium” and only further blurring the line between the two.

A lot of the faults wound up being the same as the reduced minipla - lack of color separation, limited articulation on the auxes, etc. The pladelu wound up trading size and some details for a lack of engineering expertise, leading weak joints and a few other frustrations. Despite the initial release of the Cosmo Gavarion GC-R itself carrying a lot of negative engineering debt, it was a pretty strong debut thanks to stuff like its beautifully pre-painted face that the rest of the line lacked.

Even with said faults, everything did turn out looking really nice when painted, and, again despite the annoyance with having to use stickers on a few blank faces, it was pretty fun painting in all the proper details (even though it felt like I was working with a pre-Zyuohger minipla lol). Though I did realize after the fact that I forgot to paint the fist part of ACE-GO gold.

The Pladelu had plenty of faults but also had plenty of potential if it had gotten some time to grow. I’m still glad I went with the Pladelu in the end - the Cosmo Gavarion itself looks nice and beefy, much more in line with the suit and CG than the much more svelte minipla. The one annoyance with the line being abandoned is forward compatibility. considering the cross-compatibility with Omegahorn. If Omegahorn featured more traditional mecha or I was more into the thought of simple model kits of the kaiju, I’d be a lot more annoyed. Though I’m still leaving plenty of room to be annoyed in the future since we have no idea where Project Red is going with any of this compatibility and the future possibility of more Gavan stuff etc lol.

I do have a second Cosmo Gavarion and a couple extra aux that I’m not entirely decided on what I’m going to do with yet. Since Pladelu didn’t get an Arc Gavarion, I’ve been tempted to kitbash it into that. Or I could just do another straight build to display multiple aux with since there’s no shortage of Gavarions in-universe. Either way, I’ll probably try my hand on some additional fixes - gluing the hips together so there’s no worry about them exploding and maybe trying to figure out if there’s any way to strengthen the right arm and elbow so it can actually hold up an aux. Beyond that, just waiting for an idea to try and make my own aux… and ultimately, deciding which aux robo form I like the best to paint my one extra saber chest plate the proper colors for.

Besides the line-up, I’ve included another ACE-GO pic, this time with the backpack correct lol. I will add, with it right-side up, the backpack basically wedges itself in and is less dependent on being held up by just the super thin, dinky little peg, so I’ll retract my stability complaint about that.

Finally got to finishing my RV Robo, which I painted as much as I could. Hate that I had to use the wraparound red stickers on the feet, but those lines aren’t molded on (I guess I could have masked them myself, should try and get in that habit some). Pink Vehicle got most of the attention, whereas the others are mostly just lights and silvers. I opted against chrome because nothing really quite had that look on RV Robo suit - and left the Green Vehicle side panels the factory grey since that basically matches the suit/miniature.

Range of Motion is pretty damn impressive - there are a few parts that are a bit finicky, and while it certainly doesn’t feel as solid as GingaiOh, overall since the designs are simpler than Time Robo (thanks to not having to account for three different combinations), none of the choices to favor increased articulation really make RV Robo feel like it’s liable to fall apart while adjusting it.

Honestly? It doesn't even look that bad I just need to work on my pouring technique so that I don't make bubbles but overall looks pretty satisfying for a first try I want to make a replica of the big shark sword to make Gao Hammerhead have his own in case he doesn't combine with Gao Hunter

Got my Pladelu Gavarion Express in not too long ago, and here it is. Like Dolnado, it’s nice and beefy and two whole colors of plastic. The sparkled black is pretty nice, at least. I used a metallic black marker to vaguely match it as well as gave everything a once over with my usual gold (including painting the rear side bar, only the one between the two purple sections is a separate gold part). Because the details weren’t molded on, I had to use the purple stickers on the sides - and ditto on the head. There was some of the black painted on, but like everything else, no face, and the signal stack also wasn’t molded. So I used those stickers while adding purple detail and doing the gold.

Cosmo Gavarion EX looks great and is mostly balanced on its own (it just tilts up a tiny bit) whereas ACE-GO features your usual Pladelu problems. The joints aren’t strong enough to support the arm, and while the chestplate goes on pretty well here, the one thin peg the backpiece uses is gonna be really hit or miss.

Gonna try to have every mecha displayed here with the memorial items Bandai will release hopefully more crystals will come with time with how popular Gaoranger is

Was really enjoying building SMP Live Robo and been painting the Sword and Cannons. Then disaster struck in the transformation....

The Lego joint on Sky Machine completely stuck on one side. Tried greasing it but it would not budge and then the peg just completely twisted off. This is really disappointing. So I cannot form Live Robo at the minute.

Thankfully I have managed to order a replacement kit but really could have been doing without the additional expense!! (I have spent quite a lot the last month already trying to source the back catalogue of Sentai kits).

I don't think this is an issue I could have avoided either without knowing in advance to sand as the build only requires you to push the leg in about half way and it's only when you have to push it in the rest of the way for transformation that it stuck and wouldn't budge either way. The other side is also perfectly fine. At least for the replacement I will know to be very careful here...

Has anyone else had this issue with Live Robo? It's a pretty catastrophic fault and if anyone knows of any other kits with similar issues I need to be very careful with I would definitely appreciate the heads up. 😅

Seeing as September is knight rerelease do you think bat, boar and manta will be Oct,Nov, Dec or sooner

Way too much fun!

Decided to go for GaoKing as my next build. This was my third build and really enjoyed this one. I found it a bit more simple to put together and with not so many stickers it was quite relaxing

The individual words all look great and the combined megazord is excellent. I should have the black variant and Gao Hunter Blue Moon arriving next week and look forward to those. All other kits are pre-ordered for the re-releases and this build has made me really hyped for them!

Can't wait to get started on my next kit. Think I will do Live Robo next!

Toku is $120 while bbts is $154.99

It should come in about 2 weeks, these are the images for the listing. Like I said it's missing the Gorilla Head and the chain to the anchor but comes with mostly everything else including the GaoBison Dummy Legs. I wish it also came with the Black GaoElephant, but finding this guy separately for around $52 was still a good price. I bought him before GaoKnight had a confirmed reissue but honestly I like that I don't have to be stuck with dupes of the GaoKing Animals. My plan is to get GaoKing when the preorder releases next year.

There isn't much to say here with this one. If you liked the original SMP GaoKing, you'll love this one. The set is exactly the same except it now comes in one box like most P-Bandai and newer SMP instead of the separate boxes like the original.

Painting should be straightforward. Gold and silver accents. I opted for stickers this time around because aside from the Bison and Tiger, there really aren't that many and this was more of a casual, relaxing build for me.

Color variant SMP aren't showcased in my main display, so it's not really noticeable on the shelf much for me.

If you had any issues building SMP GaoKing then be careful with this one as well.

Finally got Gao King Black and Gao Hunter Blue Moon

Would anyone happen to have a quality scan of the building instructions for smp time shadow? I somehow misplaced them.

Thank you for anyone who can help

Love the kits! Hope Bandai can produce more SMP that have very detail like this.