Following on from Bandai’s reveal of a Super Robot Chogokon Shin Getter-1, we’ll also be getting a Mazinkaiser too later in the year. Whilst this design was featured in an OVA, its origins stem from the Super Robot Wars games. Over the years we’ve bought all manner of toy variants of this design from the Aoshima figures as well as the Max Factory and even Revoltech versions. However, this looks like a great little toy and unlike the previous bigger releases this won’t cost crazy amounts either. Priced at a very reasonable 6,800 yen and released in November, this Mazinkaiser looks great. If you’re at all tempted you can also pre-order the toy here.

In an interesting move, Sentinel have announced one of the Blodia variants from Cyberbots to join their Riobot ranks. Specifically that of the Blodia Riot. Like the base unit, the torso is shared but the legs and arms are somewhat different. The latter being the most notable as it has a Rocket Arm. As with the other Riobot toys, this too will be fairly gimmick ridden as well as sporting a good amount of diecast too. However, all this comes at a price and at 16,590 yen it’s considerably more than the standard Blodias set for release this July. In any case, you can pre-order the Riot variant for its October release here.

Bandai have done the decent thing and announced a BluRay boxset for Blue Comet SPT Layzner. This will include the TV series and OVA as well as a variety of other trinkets (such as a 32 page booklet). However, all this will come at a price as the boxset will cost pretty close to 50,000 yen when it is released September 18th in Japan. Unlike the recent Macross Plus BluRay Boxset, this release of Layzner sadly won’t come with English subtitles. This begs the question on whether any Western distributor will do the right thing and pick this classic series up. As to why Layzner matters, well when it comes to gaming the series has been consistently and hugely influential. From Anubis to Armored Core For Answer to Omega Boost and even Bangai-O, Layzner’s functional parameters have inspired all manner of mecha games over the years. That aside the series is also thoroughly excellent in its own right and considering that the last release of Layzner (on DVD) was over 10 years ago now, this announcement is very welcome.

Following on from their VF-1J re-release it seems we’ll be getting a YF-19 toy in 2014. Now it’s not clear whether this will be a re-release of this. What we do know is that it will come with FAST packs, which were originally sold separately on Yamato’s version (though it was packaged together in a later release). Personally, we’re hoping the updated engineering seen on the Macross 7 era VF-19 toys will make it over to this new Arcadia release. The fact that the toy will be available next year also helps to indicate that as well. In other Macross Plus news, the awesome Japanese BluRay boxset (with English subtitles and dub) is now out in the wild. So pick that up whilst you can!

After Yamato shut its doors, we heard rumours that Arcadia had bought the remnants of the company out. It now seems that those rumours had an element of truth to them, as we’ll be getting a 30th Anniversary 1/60 scale VF-1J toy in August. Whilst it looks pretty hideous and is no more than a re-paint of an already existing toy, this is still good news for Macross fans. Especially as Arcadia are also still planning to release Nekki Basara’s guitar too. In the meantime, if you really want you can pre-order the new VF-1J here

Bandai are deciding to grace us with a new Super Robot Chogokin figure of Shin Getter-1 this August. At 7,140 yen, it’s not exactly cheap but neither is it overly expensive either. Like the other toys in this line, expect a lot of diecast and an overall excellent sculpt and finish. As for the design itself, its gaming heritage is extensive and was originally premiered in Super Robot Wars 4. Admittedly it was work in progress for the manga and then later for an OVA but Shin Getter has been a staple of Super Robot Wars for as long as I can remember. It’s likely we’ll get the other Getter Machines too, with Shin Getter-2 being notable with its influence on the drilltastic Gurren Lagann, with the Getter Rays and subsequent Spiral Energy being also of note too. Whilst this isn’t the first Shin Getter-1 toy, with the Aoshima figures being really quite something, it will be more reasonably priced and slightly less huge.

We now have our first trailer for Armored Core Verdict Day (shown below) and it looks pretty cool. It also thankfully lacks any wubwub nonsense that we got with the last game’s trailers. In addition, we also have details on a collector’s edition release of the game. This will come with (in addition to the game itself) an artbook, soundtrack and a figure. The latter won’t be part of the Super Robot Chogokin toyline annoyingly but instead will be just made of ABS plastic, so it’s likely to be a bit pants. It will be priced at 16,800 yen. Finally, don’t forget that the first livestream for Verdict Day is today.

Sentinel have updated their site for the forthcoming Riobot Blodia toy from Cyberbots. Showing all manner of new shots of the figure, which emphasises its use of diecast (see above), and a promotional video that shows of its various gimmicks. All told, it looks fucking amazing and is definitely going to be the best Blodia figure we’ve ever had. Whilst it is somewhat pricy (10,290 yen) it is a lot cheaper than many of Bandai’s high end outings, which is impressive. It will also be available in 2P colours as well (blue basically). The toy is released this July and you can pre-order yours here.

Courtesy of our good friends at HobbyLink Japan we’ve been sent the Robot Damashii Nu Gundam and Robot Damashii Sazabi as seen in the climactic film Char’s Counterattack. In addition, we’ve also included some game and anime footage of the mecha in action at the end of the review.

So the much loved Blodia from Cyberbots will be getting a rather lovely looking toy, from Sentinel’s increasingly amazing Riobot line. We’ve covered this before but now we have some very nice pictures of the toy in question. As an aside, Sentinel’s Tumblr is worth bookmarking too. Despite the different player colours, which is a nice touch, the paint scheme on the figure looks very nice indeed and it also appears that the toy will have some manner of diecast (this being a good thing obviously). Still no word on a release date or price but it’s nice to know that Sentinel haven’t forgotten about the Blodia.