Kit Review

Straight build

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

Hands come in 2 sets total.

An extra normal forearm is also included so you can display it in a symmetrical left-right configuration.

The blades at the end of each arm can be swapped out for larger ones.

There are also clear effect parts included for the tips of the blades.

Only 2 leftover parts.

The articulation is better than expected —
the arms fold up completely, which is impressive.

S.R.D-S Soul Gain - Looking at the arm joints, there's a gimmick where the joint extends in two stages to widen the folding r

Looking at the arm joints, there's a gimmick where the joint extends in two stages to widen the folding range.

The knees can also extend one stage to increase the bending angle.

S.R.D-S Soul Gain - The shoulders pull out quite a bit to the sides — looking at the internal structure, there's a gimmick wh

The shoulders pull out quite a bit to the sides —
looking at the internal structure, there's a gimmick where the shoulder joint extends outward like shown above.

S.R.D-S Soul Gain - There's a sliding hip joint gimmick for articulation, with each leg able to move independently. For an SD

There's a sliding hip joint gimmick for articulation,
with each leg able to move independently.
For an SD-class kit, having joints like this feels almost extravagant.

The waist also moves quite flexibly in three stages.

The yellow blade on the right forearm can rotate to a certain degree.

S.R.D-S Soul Gain - Thanks to the various joint gimmicks, a kneeling pose comes together naturally. It's on a completely diff

Thanks to the various joint gimmicks, a kneeling pose comes together naturally.
It's on a completely different level from Bandai's SD kits~

Action pose 1

Action pose 2

S.R.D-S Soul Gain - Pose with the longer blades swapped in (1/3)

Pose with the longer blades swapped in

S.R.D-S Soul Gain - Aerial pose using the blade effect parts with a separate Kotobukiya stand. (1/4)

S.R.D-S Soul Gain - Aerial pose using the blade effect parts with a separate Kotobukiya stand. (2/4)

Aerial pose using the blade effect parts with a separate Kotobukiya stand.

S.R.D-S Soul Gain - Together with the non-scale Soul Gain. The size difference isn't that big, and the S.R.D-S version actual

Together with the non-scale Soul Gain.
The size difference isn't that big, and the S.R.D-S version actually looks even chunkier in terms of volume.

Together with the previous S.R.D-S Alteisen Riese.
Soul Gain really is big though..

A size comparison shot with the HGUC First.
It's way bigger than your average HGUC.

Soul Gain has been released as the 2nd entry in Kotobukiya's new D-Style lineup, S.R.D-S. Even though it's technically an SD-style kit, it boasts a runner and parts count that rivals a regular Super Robot Wars kit — and the finished size is incomparably larger than the original D-Style kits ^^;

On top of that, the color separation is just as thorough as the non-scale Soul Gain. And given how big it is, it feels less like an SD kit and more like a regular plastic model that just happens to use SD-style proportions.

The articulation is actually more advanced than the non-scale version in some ways — the elbows extend in two stages and the knees in one stage to maximize range of motion. The shoulders also have an internal gimmick that folds and unfolds in two stages, letting them pull way out to the sides, making the D-Style's shoulder articulation feel even more flexible than MG Gunpla in that regard. The hip joints also feature a diagonal sliding gimmick for better range of motion, with each hip joint able to move independently. This allows for natural kneeling poses that you rarely see in SD-style kits, and it's incredibly useful for striking all kinds of poses. Honestly, this diagonal sliding hip joint gimmick feels more efficient than anything Bandai uses in their Gunpla hip joints~

As for extra features, the blades at the end of each arm can be swapped out for larger parts, and clear effect parts for the blade tips are included as well. The hands only come in two types — fist and open palm — but even the small details on the back and palm of the hand are carefully color-separated with clear parts, so they look great. Also, the default configuration has asymmetrical forearms by design, but an extra set of matching forearms is included so you can build it with symmetrical arms just like the non-scale version.

The S.R.D-S lineup is interesting in that, aside from the different style, the parts configuration isn't all that different from the non-scale kit. And looking closely, both the non-scale and S.R.D-S kits are actually the same price at ¥4800 ^^; The durability is still a bit worrying in spots without gluing, but either way, if you're after a chunky, oversized SD-style Soul Gain, this is a fun kit well worth building.

S.R.D-S Soul Gain | 2015. 3 | ¥4,800

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.