Review - Fans Hobby MB-11 God Armour
Fans Hobby brings us the final piece of the puzzle to complete their already phenomenal Power Baser figure. The MB-11 God Armour!
As an homage to the Autobot Godbomber, this standalone vehicle and robot can also disassemble into armour to turn Fans Hobby MB-06 Power Baser into a complete homage to God Ginrai from Transformers Super-God Masterforce!
*This review and photo gallery is based on a production sample provided by Fans Hobby*
Vehicle Mode
MB-11 God Armour becomes an APC of sorts with vertically mounted wings and a giant cannon mounted on top. Fans Hobby has done a wonderful job of translating this rather quirky late era G1 design into their stylized Master Builder line. It has all the classic lines and features of the original design, with the added tampographs and mechanical details that Fans Hobby is known for. The end result is quite spectacular.
The silver and chrome paint and accents combined with the translucent blue cockpit windows make for a striking visual experience. Flipping up the front section reveals a roomy and feature filled cockpit. The interior sections feature some of the same metal etched console pieces that Fans Hobby used in their Double Evil release. I really love how these pieces look when mounted into the plastic in the cockpit areas. It adds a fantastic level of detail and to date I believe Fans Hobby is the only company I’ve seen doing this.
There is a flip out hinge that allows you to connect the vehicle mode to the back of Power Baser, or the Power Baser Trailer, to make an extra long convoy! In terms of accessory integration, You can mount the included launcher on the top of the vehicle, and the two swords can be tabbed in on the bottom. Everything included in this set can be utilized in this mode, with the exception of the extra projectile for the large missile launcher.
Power Pilots
The God Armour set also includes 3 Power Pilots, meant to represent the Autobot Headmaster Jr. characters of Go Shuta, Cab, and Minerva, that can be placed inside the front cockpit area. You simply remove the helmets and tab them onto the rear of the drivers section, Then the pilots lock in between tabs so that they fit perfectly within the frame of each window. These are fully functional, transforming Headmaster figures as well! I expect we will be able to use them with the upcoming Fans Hobby MB-12 Athena and any other Headmaster Jr. Homages that Fans Hobby intends to create! What an awesome bonus, you get 4 characters for the price of one! These little bots are pretty well articulated as well!
Robot Mode
Transformation of the God Armour is an interesting experience. Unlike most transforming robots you actually disassembled the God Armour into multiple components, that are then transformed, and combined to create a fully articulated robot mode. The transformation is not particularly difficult, however there are a few tabs that can be damaged easily on the silver plastic so take care when disassembling and combining this figure. Make sure to give the instructions a read so you don’t repeat the same mistake I did! Luckily even with a damaged tab (caused by my insistence on trying to transform without reading instructions) the figure holds together fantastically and he is gigantic!
God Armour boasts some heroic proportions and a wonderful suite of articulation.
From the top down:
- Ball jointed head. A bit limited due to how the head transforms. Cannot turn 360º.
- Ratcheting universal shoulders.
- Deep elbow bends that go well beyond 90º.
- Ball joints at the wrist, for awesome sword and blaster posing.
- Individually articulated fingers.
- Limited waist swivel, similar in design to the head. Cannot turn 360º.
- Ratcheting universal joints at the hip.
- Thigh swivel.
- Double jointed knees.
- Sliding ball joint at the ankle.
- Hinged heel and toe.
There is some really brilliant engineering going on with this design. The way that the figure comes together, other companies would have skipped on engineering things like a waist swivel but thankfully Fans Hobby went the extra mile and created something that works despite the vertical split down the entire torso. I’ll take a limited waist swivel over nothing any day! His forearm mounted blasters provide a locking point for the forearm to the elbow. (This is a mind-blowing piece of engineering by the way. Super intuitive and effective but also really unique!)
The figure is made of a very sturdy, but light weight plastic. Meaning it can hold some pretty acrobatic positions considering it’s rather hefty size. This also means once you armor up Power Baser he should be able to still pose and hold the weight well.
The launcher weapon can be held in either hand, or mounted on either shoulder. Swords can be mounted on the hip, held in hand, or technically mounted on the back of the leg however this will restrict articulation. The pilots can remain in the cockpit throughout the entire transformation if you prefer not to remove them.
Aesthetically the only real bone I have to pick is with the face sculpt. Fans Hobby has come a long way from their first face sculpts but it seems they tend to stumble whenever a character doesn’t have a face plate. The optics are painted brilliantly but the lips are a bit awkward looking similarly to the face sculpts for Double Evil and Lightning Eagle. I’m glad to see they keep working on it though. Remember Fans Toys old face sculpts? Now they look awesome! I’m sure we will see improvement from Fans Hobby as well as time goes on.
Armored Mode
I know this is the part everyone was looking forward to, and Fans Hobby did not disappoint! Splitting the God Armour up into its component pieces and adding him onto Power Baser is fun, intuitive, and results in a solid and massive display piece.
This thing is absolutely, insanely, mindbogglingly gigantic in all dimensions when fully combined. You’re gonna need a deep shelf/cabinet to display this guy! The armor all locks in securely and thanks to the light weight plastic Power Baser loses very little in terms or posability. The hips may strain a little bit under the added weight of the boots and cannons on the feet, however they are still very serviceable. Articulation is basically the same as Power Baser in his combined mode, with the added bonus of ball joints at the wrists.
There are mounting spots for all of Power Baser’s original equipment on the wings, backpack, and feet. The only thing I couldn’t find a home for is the Power Pilot that would typically be mounted on his chest. This has to be removed to add the God Armour chest plate.
The God Armour figure also includes a replacement head for Power Baser. This head omits the LED feature of the original, in favor of a transformation gimmick to be used when in full armor mode. You can slide the ear fins outward, and the head crest up, to create a larger and more dynamic look for the fully armored bot mode. Thanks to the transformation gimmick you don’t need to swap the head if you want to take the armor off, just revert it back to the standard configuration!
Accessories
1x Cannon/Missile Launcher w/ 2 projectiles (Spring loaded mechanism with a locking safety switch)
2x Transforming Swords
3x Transformable Power Pilots
1x Replacement Power Baser Head
Final Thoughts
At the end of the day I am absolutely blown away by this final product. It’s certainly not flawless but the few minor issues I had were not enough to dilute the experience. On it’s own, God Armour is a fun and serviceable toy with a lot of play value and accessories. But as a finishing touch on the already awesome Power Baser figure? It’s invaluable. If you have a Power Baser, you need this God Armour figure to finish him up.
