Kit Review

Straight build

Size comparison with a cigarette pack.
It came out smaller and more compact than I expected.

Together with the included Casshan figure.

Casshan Non Scale Tsume Robot - Non Scale Tsume Robot (1/4)

Casshan Non Scale Tsume Robot - Non Scale Tsume Robot (2/4)

Non Scale Tsume Robot

The Casshan figure.
True to Kotobukiya's reputation for great figures, the sculpt is pretty impressive.

In the default state, there's a gimmick where the hands extend out slightly.

Casshan Non Scale Tsume Robot - If you disassemble the arm and swap in the longer wrist rod, you can extend the hand out furt

If you disassemble the arm and swap in the longer wrist rod,
you can extend the hand out further like shown above.

Casshan Non Scale Tsume Robot - Articulation is pretty meh... The knees and elbows barely move at all — it feels just like lo

Articulation is pretty meh...
The knees and elbows barely move at all — it feels just like looking at an SD kit.

Casshan Non Scale Tsume Robot - Walking pose (1/3)

Walking pose

One-handed attack pose

Two-handed attack pose

Casshan Non Scale Tsume Robot - Tsume launch pose with the Casshan figure (1/3)

Tsume launch pose with the Casshan figure

The Tsume Robot — the villain from Casshan, Robot Hunter — has been turned into a plastic model kit by Kotobukiya. The Casshan anime actually aired in Korea back in 1978–1979 on TBC, a broadcaster that no longer exists. I remember being really impressed by it as a kid, but since it aired so long ago, it's really only going to bring back memories for fans in their 40s and up like me. (Time flies T_T)

The theme song — "Fly, Casshan~ Fight, Casshan~" — was especially memorable, and I remember desperately wanting that robot dog that could transform into anything, kind of like Transformers... Anyway, it's remembered as a classic alongside the likes of Mazinger and Cyborg 009, so seeing the Tsume Robot from the show get a plastic model kit is honestly pretty moving.

"Tsume" means "claw" in Japanese, and as you can see, this is a robot that attacks with three pointed, cylindrical claws. Koreans are actually pretty familiar with the Japanese word "tsumekiri" (nail clippers — "kiri" being the noun form of "to cut"), so "tsume" might actually ring a bell — and either way, it's a pretty simple and straightforward name for the robot.

It's priced at ¥2,500, which is on the cheaper side for Kotobukiya, and the kit reflects that — small box, low parts count, nice and simple. The parts breakdown is so straightforward that even if you take your time, 10 minutes is more than enough to put it together. Unusually for a Kotobukiya kit, there's absolutely no color separation at all. I'm guessing it's meant to appeal to painters who want to build and paint it alongside the Casshan figure, but it's still a little disappointing to see a kit with zero color separation after such a long time. On the plus side, the included Casshan figure has great depth and sculpting, so once it gets a paint job, it should look really sharp.

It seems like they went with a design that prioritizes sculpt and visual appearance over articulation — the range of motion isn't great, but the joints have a clean finish so the moving parts are completely hidden from view. There are also two wrist rod parts of different lengths included to recreate the tsume launch scene, but you have to fully disassemble the arm to swap them out, which is a bit of a hassle. Structurally, a simple pull-out-and-swap design would've worked just fine, so it's a bit of a puzzling design choice.

All in all, this is pretty much a nostalgia item — if you're an old-school painter who remembers Casshan, it seems like just the right kit to build for a trip down memory lane. :-)

Casshan Non Scale Tsume Robot | 2016.4 | ¥2,500

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.