Grendizer

Review sample provided by HL Pro

Metaltech Grendizer’s blister card immediately tells you that this is a different kind of toy. This figure is defiantly middle-brow. The middle has been missing from the mecha game for too long. Bandai and a host of boutique toy companies have spent a decade releasing exquisite diecast fetish objects for hundreds of dollars apiece, while Hasbro produces ever-cheaper mass market products at the same modest price points. Children and well-heeled adult collectors have been well attended to. Other fans, not so much.

So there’s something refreshing about a six inch diecast toy packaged on a blister card. I like that this feels like it could be hung from a peg at Target. The $50 street price is a little high, but pretty reasonable for a semi-obscure licensed figure from a smallish company.

Accessories are minimal. A set of neutral hands and Grendy’s sickles are included. I welcome the spareness of the set. The focus is clearly on the figure itself, as it should be.

Grendizer is a hefty piece. Hand feel compares favorably to SOC. Diecast content is generous. Obvious metal content is shown below, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s additional concealed metal in the shoulders.

Plastic parts are crisp and solid. The sculpt is tight and dynamic throughout, though the stance is a little awkward and lanky. Something about the arms doesn’t look quite right.

While fit and finish is respectable, I have a few quibbles. The always vexing conflict between Grendizer’s pointy gauntlet trim and a bendable elbow has not been solved; the rubber pointy bits must bend. To be fair, Bandai couldn’t solve this either, but it’s still a goofy detail.

The lower arms connect with a small, weak peg connection. These pop off easily and my not age well. The whole elbow connection just feels flimsier than it needs to be.

There’s a distracting gap at the waist joint.

Otherwise a solid piece. Joints are satisfyingly heavy and clicky. Poses well, though nothing too dramatic. Looks damned good from any angle. The shiny chrome foil parts really pop.

The Metaltech Grendizer is a promising piece. I look forward to future releases in the line. Its limited awkward aspects can be reasonably attributed to the growing pains of a new company who seems to be on the right track. [Correction: while I’ve only been aware of their products for a couple of years, High Dream/HL Pro has been around since 1997].