Six Scale Sickness

The figure is from the “Kerberos Saga,” created by Japanese director Mamoru Oshii (Patlabor, Ghost in the Shell). If you want to learn more about the KS world, I would recommend the excellent animated motion picture “Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade,” as well as the translated manga series “Hellhounds: Panzer Cops” published by Dark Horse Comics years ago. You can also search “Protect Gear” on Wikipedia.

The figure was released December 2006, nearly 3 years later it remains as one of my favourite 1/6 pieces.

When I first picked up the figure two and a half years ago, it cost me $200. It was one of the most expensive toys I owned at the time. Today, the figure can be had for about $150 USD on eBay. The price may seem high, but it’s actually not too bad when you compare it to other similarly priced 1/6 figures by other companies. Yes, this hobby gets expensive!

The box is very impressive. It’s really large and is adorned by a nice picture of an MG34 (the machine gun) on one side and the Kerberos Saga emblem and a wolf’s head on the other side. The box folds out to show the interior contents and the halves are neatly held shut by magnets. When you open it up, all of Chuichi’s Protect Gear armour and weapons are displayed nicely on the left side with the figure on the right side. What’s neat is that the space that houses the figure is slightly larger, so once you dress Chuichi up in his bulky Protect Gear armour, you can still place him back into the packaging. There are also extra slots to put his machine gun and backpack to display the Panzer Cop with his main accessories in the same tray. That was a really cool touch.

The figure comes with seven gloved hands, a backpack that can be broken down into a radio an ammo drum, a C96 pistol, and a MG34 heavy machine gun with spare barrel.

The C96 pistol is nicely sculpted and one of the hands is specially designed to hold the pistol. The C96 has a removable clip, and also comes with a stock that attaches to the butt end of the gun, but unfortunately, the figure is unable to hold the gun properly with the stock attached. The stock also doubles as a holster for the C96 and slides nicely into the armour.

The MG34 looks great as well. It has a built in spring and moving parts as well as a removable barrel. The MG34 would overheat in battle and the barrel would need to be changed in the field so machine gunners would be carrying spare barrels. The spare barrel when not in use fits snugly into slots on the ammo drum. The bullets are just made of plastic but look good and connect nicely from the ammo drum to the machine gun. The best feature of the MG34 is the bipod which can actually detach and be reattached towards the middle of the gun so that the figure can grip it like the Protect Gear soldier. He comes with an extra hand that can do just that, which is terrific and great to see included. Unfortunately, I found my MG34 to be quite flimsy after a while and I ultimately had to crazy glue it together as it kept falling apart.

If there are any shortcomings about the figure it would be the accessories. I would have liked to see more gear, like a combat knife. Even though you dont need it there wasnt a figure stand and I wish the accessories had been less delicate.

The figure’s Protect Gear suit is very elaborate and detailed with many pieces. It’s just gorgeous and looks very menacing. The figure’s outfit includes a tank top, faux leather pants, a leather jacket, a flak jacket, leather gauntlets, and the hard armour that goes on top of everything. There are little intricate details everywhere on the armour, like circles in his helmet and the hinges in his chest plate.

The armour has some detachable parts which offer opportunities to customize the figure’s look; the shield can be removed, and the shoulder armour and hip protectors can be swapped around. The aforementioned radio pack and ammo drum snap on snugly and you can attach either one or both for different looks. Included are a set of decals with different numbers and rank symbols that can go on the helmet and shoulder armour. However, I like the plain look just fine.

The gas mask looks great with its red reflective eyes and fits over the balaclava easily. The gas mask hose has been reported to deteriorate over time, although mine is still fine at the time of this writing. One other thing you should look out for is the balaclava staining the face. The simple solution is to wrap the head sculpt with cling or sandwich wrap prior to putting on the balaclava.

I did find some fault with the shin guard armour straps which keep getting looser over time. The armour and tight jacket also restrict some of the figure’s mobility. However, overall, the outfit is fantastic both in looks and quality and is the figure’s greatest strength.

The figure uses Takara’s male GenX Core body. It is a fantastic 1/6 body and I totally love it. It can do almost any pose you can imagine with no loose joints even today. To date, the only other figures using the male GenX Core body is Takara’s Batman Begins Batman and their other two Protect Gear figures.

I don’t know if Chuichi Koshiramaru was a real character before this figure and so I have no idea how close his head sculpt comes to the original source material it was based upon. As a head sculpt, it’s actually pretty simple and it goes for a more stylized anime feel, rather than realism looking. To me, it’s perfectly fine and does the job. It’s nice to see that underneath all that scary armour and deadly weaponry, there’s a guy just doing his job.
I could take pictures of this guy all day. It never gets old. He looks great at any angle, poses really well, and the quality is there. You just can’t ask for much more from your 1/6 figure.

The popularity and value of this figure has gone down a bit since Takara’s release of two other Protect Gear figures which sport different head sculpts. One of the new releases also comes with a pair of shades but otherwise the three figures are the same. Still, if you can only own one Protect Gear figure, I personally think Chuichi is the best one out of the three as he looks the most ‘military,’ with the crew cut.

Medicom and Dragon have both released several different incarnations of the Protect Gear figures but none of them touches Takara’s which is overall hands down the best at this time. Takara also released a fantastic female Panzer Cop Midori Washio figure under their Cool Girl line which is worth seeking out.

As for the price, $150 is not bad at all, especially when you compare it to similarly priced releases by other companies such as Medicom, that come with far fewer accessories. The shortcomings of the figure are all rather minor and with Protect Gear Chuichi, you really do feel you’re getting your money’s worth.

In February 2009, we will see Takara attempt to outdo itself with the release of a brand- new grenadier-type Protect Gear figure. Meanwhile, this figure remains one of the brightest gems of my collection even after three years.

9/10



Review & Images By Kaido


2NDOPINION


I picked up Tak PG only 4 months ago on a recent trip to japan. The box is pretty bulky but it was worth bringing him back. I made the purchase from Mandarake in Akiba so the box had been opened but he only cost me $110 USD. The figure comes with alot of stuff and in the current climate of figures that include no accessories i feel you are getting your moneys worth. The detail on the accessories is excellent! the outfit is really detailed and the armour plates are impressive. the posing is a little restricted by the outfit but you can get alot out of him. Head sculpt is pretty generic and not that impressive by todays standards but it does have a nice anime feel and i doubt this guy will be displayed with his helmet off. To me Takara took the armoured charecters to another level with this release and its 3 years old! He is possibly my favourite 1/6 piece and you wont be dissapointed if you pick him up. I think Kaido's score is right on the money 9/10. - eRock