Volkein

Despite being labeled “Volkein” on the box, this robot is actually “Vulcan” from the anime GUNxSWORD. It’s not the main mecha of the series, but instead plays a supporting role along side the lead robot – Dann of Thursday.  Vulcan is basically a mining robot that has been retrofitted for combat.

Robot Spirits Volkein is available at HobbyLink Japan

This is a fantastic Robot Spirits release. I know nothing about the character aside what i’ve learned after a few minutes on Google, but I fell in love with this design when we first saw it unveiled at Tamashii Nations. Through my research though, I have decided that I need to start watching this series.

Out of the box, Vulcan is a wonderful steampunk-ish robot. He’s got great color and design – with large limbs and beefy construction you can tell he was designed for hard labor.

The circles on the back are missile launchers.

I really like the blue hoses that adorn the figure. Some kind of hydraulics system?

Articulation is mostly great. The head has little movement due to the character design.

The waist can rotate but there is no tilt.

Otherwise, everything is awesome. I could go over each joint in detail like I usually do, but that gets boring after a while. Ball joint blah blah swilvel joint blah blah. Instead I will talk about the curiosities and highlights of the articulation.

At each forearm, after the elbow, the joint pulls out a bit for some reason. Pull too hard and the forearm pops off. This seems like it was a design feature meant for an alternate arm, but no other arm is included.

The legs meet the body at an interesting ball joint – there’s a hinge in the crotch connected to a small rod which then has a ball joint in the leg. What this in effect does is allows for the leg to be pushed up closer or down farther from the body. I have no idea which is the “correct” standing position, but I suppose it does not matter.

Look, he can can do the Iron Man pose!

Several variant hands are included. Each hand attaches to the arm via a peg. Some even have wrist joints.

Two guns are included. One is a simple pistol, but the other is a larger gun with a real rotating barrel. Both have special hands to hold them.

One of Vulcan’s defining features is his energy absorbing cloak. This part is actually made out of several different pieces of flexible plastic. Each connects to the top part with a joint resembling a revoltech joint. The cape has enough points of articulation to not hinder movement much.

The other really cool accessory is the magnificent Beam Howitzer. This large gun is twice as long as Vulcan is tall, and comes packed in several different sections. Assembly is straightforward.

The side has a sliding handle that can be removed and replaced with an angled handle that makes it easier to grab when kneeling. The legs on the front of the gun are telescoping.

There are also three “vents’ on the back of the big gun. They actually enable you to display the gun upright, although I don’t think thats their original intention.

Overall, this thing rocks. I love the steampunk meets devil design, and of course you can’t go wrong with a big gun!

Robot Spirits Volkein arrives courtesy of HobbyLink Japan