Kit Review

Straight build + Stickers

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

With the hatch closed, it looks pretty simple.

Peek through the clear pink window and you can see Vegeta sitting inside.

Figurerise Mechanics Saiyan Space Pod - A dedicated stand is included for the spherical pod, and a square peg keeps it sittin

A dedicated stand is included for the spherical pod,
and a square peg keeps it sitting nice and stable.

Figurerise Mechanics Saiyan Space Pod - Hatch open (1/4)

Figurerise Mechanics Saiyan Space Pod - Hatch open (2/4)

Hatch open

Vegeta crammed into the narrow seat

Detail inside the hatch

Figurerise Mechanics Saiyan Space Pod - The control panel is nicely done with two clear parts layered together, though it's a

The control panel is nicely done with two clear parts layered together,
though it's a bit of a shame that the stickers cover up so much of it.

Figurerise Mechanics Saiyan Space Pod - The hinge cylinders move smoothly in sync when opening and closing the hatch, but the

The hinge cylinders move smoothly in sync when opening and closing the hatch, but the insides are completely hollow.

The seat on its own

Figurerise Mechanics Saiyan Space Pod - The pod body is assembled from 6 large block-like parts, and getting the panels to li

The pod body is assembled from 6 large block-like parts,
and getting the panels to line up perfectly is a little tricky.

Figurerise Mechanics Saiyan Space Pod - Vegeta taken out and viewed from various angles. He's a fixed-pose figure with no art

Vegeta taken out and viewed from various angles.
He's a fixed-pose figure with no articulation whatsoever.

Figurerise Mechanics Saiyan Space Pod - The face turned out looking pretty handsome. The eyebrow area is achieved through sep

The face turned out looking pretty handsome.
The eyebrow area is achieved through separate parts.

Together with the Figure-rise Standard Goku / Gohan.

Goku's head is too big to fit inside, but Gohan is so small there's room to spare.

Figurerise Mechanics Saiyan Space Pod - Just for fun, tried sitting a Frame Arms Girl Materia inside. You could definitely ha

Just for fun, tried sitting a Frame Arms Girl Materia inside.
You could definitely have a lot of fun playing around with it like this. :-)

A new category called Figure-rise Mechanic has been added as yet another spin-off lineup from the Figure-rise series. It's a product line that combines mechanical elements with the Figure-rise series, which has mainly focused on character figures — and the first release is the Saiyan Space Pod from Dragon Ball.

If you've seen the original series, you'll know that they ride this tiny pod all the way to Earth. How anyone manages to travel in something so small and cramped is beyond me, but regardless, it does a great job of recreating the look from the source material. The exterior is extremely simple, and when the hatch is open, the interior detail is depicted at an appropriate level matching what appeared in the original. If you're expecting super-fine detail you might be disappointed, but then again, making it overly complex would probably look weird for this design anyway. ^^;

The control panel in particular is beautifully rendered by layering two clear parts — one green and one pink — giving it a lovely translucent look. That said, it's a little disappointing that stickers cover more than half the surface area. The stickers also look pretty out of place, so I imagine some people will end up painting just the control panel section.

There's a Vegeta figure included inside, but he's a fixed-pose figure with zero articulation. Vegeta has never been released as a poseable Figure-rise kit, so it's a bit of a shame he's fixed here — though on the plus side, his eyebrows are done with separate parts and his face turned out looking pretty handsome (more so than in the original, actually).

Anyone who builds this kit will probably feel the same way — it goes together absurdly fast for the size of the box and the parts. In my case, I was slowly opening the bags and building while watching TV, and I don't think it even took an hour. It's faster to build than most HG Gunpla, but the parts breakdown is so clean and satisfying that the short build time actually feels like a bit of a letdown. The finished size is also bigger than you'd expect — it fills up your whole hand when you hold it.

That said, assembling the pod from its 6 large block-shaped sections can be a little tricky when it comes to getting everything to line up cleanly. It's nothing a beginner can't handle if they take it step by step and pay attention to the joints while following the manual, but if you just try to jam things together thinking "eh, it'll fit somehow," you'll run into trouble. Don't underestimate the parts just because they're big — take your time and carefully check how each section connects before pushing things together.

You can fit figures other than Vegeta inside the Saiyan Space Pod, but the space is tighter than you'd think, so anything other than a pretty small figure probably won't fit properly. As you can see in the photos above, Goku doesn't go in right because of his signature spiky hair, and Gohan is actually too small and leaves extra room. For what it's worth, a Frame Arms Girl fits in at just about the right size, so I think FAG collectors might actually pick up this kit as an accessory...

Anyway, it's an interesting new lineup, and it looks like major mechs from the anime will be getting releases alongside the humanoid character figures. The build quality is clean enough that the short assembly time feels like the only real downside, making it a kit worth recommending to all ages — and if you're a Dragon Ball fan, this is definitely one you won't want to miss. :-)

Figurerise Mechanics Saiyan Space Pod | 2016. 10 | ¥3,800

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.