Kit Review

Straight build

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

Chunky upper body

Ewok-style head

Virtual On Belgdor [Ver. 1p] - Arms and weapons (1/3)

Arms and weapons

Massive containers on the shoulders

Back section

Virtual On Belgdor [Ver. 1p] - Thick legs (1/3)

Thick legs

Virtual On Belgdor [Ver. 1p] - There are 3 hands in total.. The right hand only comes with a rifle-gripping hand, while the l

There are 3 hands in total..
The right hand only comes with a rifle-gripping hand.
The left hand, on the other hand, includes both a fist and an open hand.

The shoulder containers can be split into two..

allowing you to swap in the missile-related parts like this.

Virtual On Belgdor [Ver. 1p] - The missile open unit, born after a somewhat complex reassembly process. The 4 parts on the ri

The missile open unit, born after a somewhat complex reassembly process.
The 4 parts on the right are the leftover pieces after reassembling into the deployed state.

For the missile warheads, you can choose between clear parts or standard plastic parts.

Deploying the V-Converter unit on the back.

Virtual On Belgdor [Ver. 1p] - To deploy the V-Converter unit, you have to fully detach/disassemble it, swap in the separate

To deploy the V-Converter unit,
you have to fully detach/disassemble it, swap in the separate parts, and reassemble.
It's a bit of a hassle.. It really could've been done as a transformable mechanism, so that's a little disappointing.

Virtual On Belgdor [Ver. 1p] - Once swapped into the deployed state, you can also open/close the cover. (In the default confi

Once swapped into the deployed state, you can also open/close the cover.
(In the default configuration, it doesn't open at all.)

A separate adapter is also included for mounting on Kotobukiya's dedicated stand.

Leftover parts

For its size, the articulation isn't bad at all.

Virtual On Belgdor [Ver. 1p] - The massive Ewok-style head only lets the inner face portion rotate slightly. The whole thing

The massive Ewok-style head only lets the inner face portion rotate slightly.
The whole thing does turn, but it's basically fixed in place. -.-;

Virtual On Belgdor [Ver. 1p] - There's a slide gimmick that extends the knee and ankle joints — this is meant to compensate f

There's a slide gimmick that extends the knee and ankle joints..
This is meant to compensate for the limited articulation.

Virtual On Belgdor [Ver. 1p] - The left shows the joint bent without extending, the right shows it bent after extending. Hone

The left shows the joint bent without extending, the right shows it bent after extending.
Honestly.. the difference doesn't seem all that dramatic, but you've got to give the dev team credit for the effort.. ^^

Virtual On Belgdor [Ver. 1p] - Firing pose (1/5)

Virtual On Belgdor [Ver. 1p] - Firing pose (2/5)

Virtual On Belgdor [Ver. 1p] - Firing pose (3/5)

Firing pose

Virtual On Belgdor [Ver. 1p] - Super dynamic missile launch pose (1/6)

Virtual On Belgdor [Ver. 1p] - Super dynamic missile launch pose (2/6)

Virtual On Belgdor [Ver. 1p] - Super dynamic missile launch pose (3/6)

Virtual On Belgdor [Ver. 1p] - Super dynamic missile launch pose (4/6)

Super dynamic missile launch pose

Virtual On Belgdor [Ver. 1p] - Detail of the missile launch section. Maybe because it's a swap-out rather than a moving part.

Detail of the missile launch section.
Maybe because it's a swap-out rather than a moving part.. the proportions look great.

Virtual On Belgdor [Ver. 1p] - Fully armed action pose on the stand. It's got serious presence~ (1/6)

Virtual On Belgdor [Ver. 1p] - Fully armed action pose on the stand. It's got serious presence~ (2/6)

Virtual On Belgdor [Ver. 1p] - Fully armed action pose on the stand. It's got serious presence~ (3/6)

Virtual On Belgdor [Ver. 1p] - Fully armed action pose on the stand. It's got serious presence~ (4/6)

Fully armed action pose on the stand.
It's got serious presence~

Together with Temjin. Way chunkier.

Virtual On Belgdor [Ver. 1p] - Together with Raiden — it may lose out to Raiden in sheer size, but it's got way better stabil

Together with Raiden
It may lose out to Raiden in sheer size, but it's got way better stability. ^^

After what felt like a long drought with no new releases — almost like the line had been discontinued — Kotobukiya's Virtual-On lineup finally gets a brand-new 100% original kit. The star of the show is the Belgdor [Ver. 1p], which brings to mind a stocky, heavyset soldier, and true to its long-awaited status, it shows noticeably cleaner and more refined quality compared to the early Virtual-On kits.

First off, true to Kotobukiya fashion, the price is a rather unforgiving ¥7,800. When you actually open that big box, the contents might look a little sparse, and some folks may feel a bit let down. Quality over quantity and all that, but it's hard to shake the feeling that it's a bit pricey for what you get.

The overall assembly process feels smoother compared to the older Virtual-On kits, and the parts snap together more satisfyingly. Sure, some gluing still seems necessary in places, and there's still a bit of stiffness to the fit — but at least it's an improvement over the early releases. In short, it just feels easier to build. The biggest impression I got while building it was that this kit went through more prototyping and refinement than others, resulting in a more solid, stable quality. I can't help but suspect the developer had a special fondness for the Belgdor [Ver. 1p] and put extra care into its development.

Articulation is neither great nor terrible — but given that this is a design that sells itself on looks alone, it's perfectly acceptable. What's particularly interesting is the gimmick where the knee and ankle joints extend to work around the chunky design. Because simply bending the joints is limited by the design itself, as you can see in the review photos, the knees and ankles can be pulled out an extra step before bending. The effort is admirable, though it's a little disappointing that the difference between using this gimmick and not using it isn't all that dramatic. ^^;

The centerpiece of the Belgdor [Ver. 1p] is the massive missiles that deploy when both shoulder containers open up. The missiles are way bigger than the storage compartments, which makes zero logical sense, but in terms of sheer visual impact, it absolutely delivers. I remember this character being seriously imposing in the actual game, and that massive missile unit has been faithfully recreated here.

One thing to note — compared to previous Virtual-On kits, the optional moving parts seem to have been intentionally kept to a minimum. For example, most other Virtual-On kits feature opening/closing covers for the back unit, but the Belgdor [Ver. 1p] goes with the more cumbersome swap-and-reassemble approach instead. The shoulder missile units are also purely swap-out, even though the size and space would've allowed for at least some kind of hinged mechanism. I suspect this was a deliberate choice — trading the convenience of moving parts for better proportions and a more secure fit.

The accessory swapping is admittedly a bit involved and fiddly, but the sheer impact of a fully armed, fully open action pose is genuinely impressive — credit where it's due. It naturally invites comparison to its predecessor Raiden in many ways, but being the newer kit, it does feel like a step up in build quality and overall cleanliness of design.

If you're a Virtual-On fan like me, this should be a very satisfying kit. That said, if you like the Belgdor [Ver. 1p]'s look but don't know the source material and can't really connect with it emotionally, the price might be a dealbreaker. Some gluing is still needed, and the assembly feel is a touch stiffer than Bandai kits — but it's clearly improved over the early releases, so if you're interested, I'd say go for it without worrying too much about quality. It's a solid item. :-)

Virtual On Belgdor [Ver. 1p] | 2010. 2 | ¥7,800

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.