Kit Review

Straight build

Super Robot War 1/144 Big Scale Dygenguar - Size comparison with a cigarette pack. It's such a massive kit that the cigarette

Size comparison with a cigarette pack.
It's such a massive kit that the cigarette pack looks tiny next to it. ; Total height approx. 38cm.

Comparison with PG, MG, and HGUC.
Hard to believe the PG looks that small...

Super Robot War 1/144 Big Scale Dygenguar (1/6)

Super Robot War 1/144 Big Scale Dygenguar (2/6)

Super Robot War 1/144 Big Scale Dygenguar (3/6)

Super Robot War 1/144 Big Scale Dygenguar (4/6)

Super Robot War 1/144 Big Scale Dygenguar (5/6)

Super Robot War 1/144 Big Scale Dygenguar (6/6)

Upper body close-up

Head section

Back section

Giant shoulder front and back

Arm section

Leg section

Feet

Etched parts are even used on the underside of the heel.

Super Robot War 1/144 Big Scale Dygenguar - The hands include one set each of articulated hands, weapon-holding hands, and fi

The hands include one set each of articulated hands, weapon-holding hands, and fists, plus one extra weapon-holding hand.

Super Robot War 1/144 Big Scale Dygenguar - The grip shape of the hand varies depending on the size of the Zankantou being he

The grip shape of the hand varies depending on the size of the Zankantou being held.

This is Kotobukiya's signature fully articulated hand...

Super Robot War 1/144 Big Scale Dygenguar - As you can see, every single knuckle joint is broken out as a separate part. Quit

As you can see, every single knuckle joint is broken out as a separate part.
Quite a contrast to the PG's one-piece molded hands.

Super Robot War 1/144 Big Scale Dygenguar - The hand articulation is pretty natural, but if you're not careful the joints can

The hand articulation is pretty natural,
but if you're not careful the joints can pop out.

Super Robot War 1/144 Big Scale Dygenguar - The articulated hands don't fold into a full fist — they only close to about this

The articulated hands don't fold into a full fist — they only close to about this point.

You choose one of three face options to attach.

The three expressions...

Super Robot War 1/144 Big Scale Dygenguar - Behind the clear parts for the eyes, plated parts are used so the eyes have a ref

Behind the clear parts for the eyes, plated parts are used so the eyes have a reflective glow.
I kind of expected LEDs in the eyes for a big scale kit like this... a bit of a surprise, honestly.

Super Robot War 1/144 Big Scale Dygenguar - The absolutely massive Zankantou. The ones at the bottom are the previously relea

The absolutely massive Zankantou.
The ones at the bottom are the previously released non-scale Zankantou swords...
The blade is so huge a person could actually grab it.

Super Robot War 1/144 Big Scale Dygenguar - Befitting a big scale kit, the silver on the grip section has nice, clean color s

Befitting a big scale kit, the silver on the grip section has nice, clean color separation.

Super Robot War 1/144 Big Scale Dygenguar - The large Zankantou is so big and heavy that metal parts are used between the gri

The large Zankantou is so big and heavy that
metal parts are used between the grip and the blade to help support the weight.

Super Robot War 1/144 Big Scale Dygenguar - There are LEDs in the shoulders — remove the top shoulder armor and you can see t

There are LEDs in the shoulders —
remove the top shoulder armor and you can see the switch and the battery compartment.
Each shoulder requires two LR44 batteries.

Super Robot War 1/144 Big Scale Dygenguar - There's a risk of the wires snapping when you install the battery compartment. Mi

There's a risk of the wires snapping when you install the battery compartment.
Mine actually snapped clean off (-.-;) so I had to resolder it with a soldering iron...
I'm an engineering type so I had one at home and it wasn't a big deal,
but for the average person this could be a pretty awkward situation..

And here it is — the voice unit.

The round part is the speaker, which mounts in the center of the chest.

Super Robot War 1/144 Big Scale Dygenguar - The battery compartment for the voice unit is located inside the torso — you remo

The battery compartment for the voice unit is located inside the torso —
you remove the head to insert the batteries.
The switch for the voice unit is the two red nipples (-.-) on the chest.
It also takes two LR44 batteries.

Super Robot War 1/144 Big Scale Dygenguar - Lift the back panel and the verniers are exposed. A nice little bonus worthy of a

Lift the back panel and the verniers are exposed.
A nice little bonus worthy of a big scale kit.

The verniers inside the rear end also have excellent depth and detail.

The soles of the feet have a claw gimmick.

Super Robot War 1/144 Big Scale Dygenguar - There are movable cylinders on the heels — be careful, as they pop out easily if

There are movable cylinders on the heels —
be careful, as they pop out easily if you bend the ankle the wrong way.

Super Robot War 1/144 Big Scale Dygenguar - The rear heel armor has a spring mechanism that lets it slide up and down. When y

The rear heel armor has a spring mechanism that lets it slide up and down.
When you bend the knee, the rear armor naturally gets pushed down.

Super Robot War 1/144 Big Scale Dygenguar - The elbow armor has a sliding armor gimmick, but it's pretty stiff and a bit of a

The elbow armor has a sliding armor gimmick,
but it's pretty stiff and a bit of a pain to move. ;

Leftover parts.

Articulation is roughly an honest 90 degrees across the board.

The shoulders can raise quite high.

Forward and backward shoulder movement is decent enough too.

Super Robot War 1/144 Big Scale Dygenguar - Befitting a big scale kit, the front skirt is split into three sections for artic

Befitting a big scale kit, the front skirt is split into three sections for articulation,
but it doesn't really help the leg articulation much... ^^;

Super Robot War 1/144 Big Scale Dygenguar - Posed holding the Zankantou. Hard to tell from photos alone... but in person, the

Posed holding the Zankantou.
Hard to tell from photos alone...
but in person, the sheer presence that comes from its massive size is something else. ;

Super Robot War 1/144 Big Scale Dygenguar - Zankantou slung over the shoulder. (1/4)

Super Robot War 1/144 Big Scale Dygenguar - Zankantou slung over the shoulder. (2/4)

Zankantou slung over the shoulder.

Absolutely imposing!

Super Robot War 1/144 Big Scale Dygenguar - Articulation aside, the sheer size and weight make it really hard to pull off a v

Articulation aside,
the sheer size and weight make it really hard to pull off a variety of poses;

Super Robot War 1/144 Big Scale Dygenguar - Action poses with the smaller Zankantou before deploying. (1/3)

Action poses with the smaller Zankantou before deploying.

Super Robot War 1/144 Big Scale Dygenguar - LED ON! With a whopping 3 LEDs lighting up per side simultaneously, it's actually

LED ON!
With a whopping 3 LEDs lighting up per side simultaneously, it's actually quite dazzling — more than I expected.

Looks pretty awesome with the lights off...

Super Robot War 1/144 Big Scale Dygenguar - LED action (1/4)

Super Robot War 1/144 Big Scale Dygenguar - LED action (2/4)

LED action

Super Robot War 1/144 Big Scale Dygenguar - Pressing the red nipples (-_-) on the chest is supposed to cycle through 5 differ

Pressing the red nipples (-_-) on the chest is supposed to cycle through 5 different voice clips from the voice unit...
but whether I assembled it wrong or what, I couldn't get any sound out of mine. T_T
I tried swapping the batteries and fiddling with the wires but I have no idea why it won't work. Sigh.

Together with the non-scale Dygenguar.
The size difference is incredible.

Super Robot War 1/144 Big Scale Dygenguar - All three Dygenguar kits together, including the Ichimonji. The Ichimonji was a p

All three Dygenguar kits together, including the Ichimonji.
The Ichimonji was a pretty hefty kit in its own right, but next to the 1/144 Dygenguar it looks adorable..;

Kotobukiya, who never fails to drop some wild kit on us, has done it again. This time it's the 1/144 Dygenguar — the biggest and most expensive Kotobukiya plastic model to date. When the Ichimonji came out I thought, "that's so Kotobukiya!" — but a 1/144 scale kit of Dygenguar, which stands 55.4 meters tall in-universe? That's a little mind-boggling. The price is close to ¥30,000, which puts it in a league that laughs at most PG kits.;

First of all, the assembled height comes in at 38cm, making this an absolutely massive model robot that easily dwarfs any PG. Sure, there was the insane HY2M Gundam, but as a pure injection-molded kit this is probably about as large as robot model kits get. This kit was clearly designed from the ground up to win on sheer size, and the presence that comes with that bulk is genuinely striking.

The build process isn't drastically different from a typical Kotobukiya kit, but the sheer volume and size of the parts makes it feel less like assembling a model and more like constructing a ship or an aircraft. The previously released non-scale Dygenguar at around 16cm already had solid color separation, but the 1/144 Dygenguar naturally has even finer part breakdowns. That said, the overall feel of the finished product does give off a bit of an "enlarged photocopy" vibe compared to the non-scale version.

With a kit that surpasses even PG in scale, the weight of individual parts becomes a pretty significant issue. Rather than using polycaps for the joints, the Big Scale Dygenguar primarily uses very stiff ABS joints with screw-shaped or polygonal profiles. In other words, the joints don't move smoothly — they click into position in discrete steps. Given the enormous weight of the kit, this approach to joint construction was probably the right call.

That said, Kotobukiya still has some room to grow when it comes to joint engineering, and even these ratchet joints have some durability concerns. Once you actually build it and try to stand it up, you'll see what I mean — the ratchet joints don't click into position precisely enough to hold a straight standing pose. In other words, getting it to stand upright in a neutral pose is... genuinely difficult. T_T You basically have to spread the legs and shift the center of gravity inward just to keep it standing. The ratchet joints do work to some extent though — they're reasonably effective when you want to lock the arms or knees at a specific angle.

The articulation itself is about average, but for the reasons above, actually moving the kit through its full range of motion is very difficult. It's unavoidable given how big and heavy it is, but either way, joint strength is one area where this kit is hard to score highly...

The kit includes several electronic gimmicks — the LED gimmick in the shoulders is pretty bright and works well. The voice unit in the chest is a bit of a problem though... for whatever reason, no matter what I tried, I couldn't get any sound out of mine. Sigh. T_T
It might be because I assembled it wrong, but either way, it's a shame I couldn't confirm the actual effect. To power the LED and sound unit, this kit requires a total of 6 LR44 batteries — probably because of its size, it really eats through a lot of batteries..

Overall.. this kit wins purely on "sheer size," and the charisma that comes from its overwhelming scale is truly impressive. If you're into big kits, this is one item that's hard to pass up.

But beyond that, honestly, it's pretty riddled with drawbacks. The joints are unstable, so don't expect any dynamic posing — just barely being able to stand on its own is the biggest hurdle. And aside from just being "big," it's hard to say it's structurally in a completely different league from a non-scale kit at 1/10th the price. Sure, there are various extras like fully articulated fingers, internal verniers on the back, articulated cylinders on the heels, and etched parts — but they fall way short of meeting the expectations that come with such a steep price tag. In short, this is absolutely not a kit you can call good value for money..

That said, the presence it commands from its sheer size is enough to put even PGs to shame.. so setting aside the price issue, it should definitely appeal to those drawn in by its bulk.

Personally, more than anything, I just love that Kotobukiya has the guts to attempt something this audacious. ^^ Even if the technical execution falls a little short, I want to give them a round of applause for that rough-and-bold spirit of experimentation. :-)

Big Scale Dygenguar | 2008. 12 | ¥29,800

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.