LED Unit
LED UNIT
The LED unit takes 3 AA batteries.
Before assembly, it's essential to check that the LED unit is working properly~
Red and green lighting test. The lighting mode changes each time you press the button. (See the last section for details)
First, you need to fold certain sections of the LED cable as shown above.
If you look closely, you'll see white lines on the black cable — use those as your reference points for each fold.
When bending the LED cable, using tweezers to grip the white line makes for a cleaner fold.
A single white line means fold outward, and a double white line means fold inward.
First, thread it through the center of the cockpit unit, then secure it as shown above.
There's an important notehere.
Due to the layout, the LED that faces downward is positioned inside the torso — this is the one you folded 180 degrees at the very beginning.
If it's not secured properly, the fold can spring back and the LED will shift to one side,
causing the light to only shine out from one side of the waist when lit.
The LED needs to be fully folded and facing downward, then locked inside the peg
so that light leaks out from both sides of the waist when lit.
It'd be a real pain to finish the whole build and find only one side of the waist lighting up, so make sure to pay close attention during the initial assembly.
Attach the clear unit on top of the cockpit, then check that the LED is positioned correctly toward the back.
Thread the LED cable through the inside of the neck parts, then add the surrounding parts.
Bend the LED cable as shown inside the red circle, then thread it through the shoulder parts.
You need to bend it accurately following the manual to prevent the unfortunate situation of the LED getting swallowed up during shoulder articulation.This is a tricky area to fix later,
so make sure to bend the shoulder cable carefully and precisely.
Cover with the clear upper body part to secure the shoulder joint.
Bend the 2 skirt LEDs downward so they face the bottom, then cover with the clear skirt fixing part.
Place the power connector inside the hip joint as shown above, and route the wires as shown in the diagram.
Completed body frame
Assemble the hip joint so that it wraps around the cable.
Slide 2 clear parts onto the bottom of the hip joint in order, then
Assemble the insides of both knee joints step by step so the wires pass through as shown above.
Finally, route the LED cable inside the clear shin parts in the arrangement shown above.
If routed correctly, there's no cable interference even when the knee is articulated.
Completed leg frame with clear parts added
For the shoulders, assemble the joint section so it wraps around the cable, just like the hip joint.
Attach the forearm armor to secure the shoulder joint, then fold the LED cable in the complex arrangement shown above.
Insert the round fixing hole on the LED cable onto the peg on the forearm frame part to secure it.
Route the LED cable inside the elbow joint as shown above, then connect the joint.
Position the last LED on the arm as shown so it faces the outside of the forearm, then cover with parts one by one.
Completed arm frame
Finally, assemble the head parts onto the head LED cable.
The head has separate LEDs for the top camera and the eyes.
Attach the clear parts on the top and sides of the head to complete the head frame
Connect the power and check that all the LEDs light up properly.
Viewed with the lighting dimmed a bit.
With so many clear frame parts, the whole body has this glowing feel to it.
During the lighting test, you should articulate the elbow and check that the LED doesn't stray too far from its position.
When moving the arm around, the LED can sometimes get swallowed up and disappear..
To prevent this, you need to bend the LED cable inside the shoulder accurately, as mentioned earlier.
Also check that the LED on the outside of the forearm is pointing accurately outward.
The battery unit slots into the bottom of the stand, with the wire routed out through the back.
Route the power wire inside the stand pillar as shown above, so there's no cable interference even when the length is extended.
The completed base stand.
This stand is absolutely required for the LED lighting to work.
The angle can be adjusted and extended while the wire is connected,
and you can choose from 5 holes in the base to lock it in place.
Remove the cover on the rear end to expose the power connector, then just plug it straight into the stand pillar.
You need to open the front cover of the stand to access the power switch and the mode switch.
Since it auto-shuts off after 5 minutes, I had to keep opening and closing it throughout the review shoot, which got a bit annoying..
Pressing the button for the first time lights up only the eyes as shown.
Press the button once more and the body frame additionally lights up in a blazing red.
Intense glow at every joint..
Press the button one more time and the whole body lights up in green Awakened mode.
Now here are the lit-up shots in Unicorn Mode.
The LED effect is primarily designed with Destroy Mode in mind,
but the subtle light bleed unique to Unicorn Mode looks pretty cool too.
Shot with almost all lighting removed
Light-up shot of Unicorn Mode inside the cage.
Light-up shot of Unicorn Mode with the cage open.
You can also place the LED units on the three auxiliary stands the same way as shown above —
the wiring can be routed in a zigzag pattern along the pegs on the inside of the pillars.
There's a roller at the bottom of each auxiliary stand that lets you wind up the cable,
so you can easily adjust the wire length just by turning it by hand.
The auxiliary stand cables plug into the terminals on the back of the stand.
When you attach the shield onto the fixing pin where the LED light comes out, it spreads the light in an X-shape like shown above.
Light-up shot using all three shields.
>> Go to the full review <<
<LED Unit Operation Modes>
Each press of the round button cycles through the operation modes.
- First press: green LED lights up on the head only
- Press again: red LEDs light up across the whole body (eyes stay green)
- Press again: green LEDs light up across the whole body
- Press again: turns off briefly, then alternates between red --> green LEDs with a time delay
- Press again: lights off
* In any lit mode, if there's no input for 5 minutes, it will automatically turn off to save power.
<LED Unit Assembly Notes>
1. The LED cables are thin flexible conductor cables with a feel somewhere between rubber and metal. It's really important to fold them properly along the printed white lines — make sure to follow the manual carefully and fold every single one accurately.
2. Using tweezers makes folding much easier. Some sections need to be folded a full 180 degrees, but the cables seem unlikely to snap under normal handling. That said, it's an expensive kit, so it's worth being careful.
3. In particular, if you don't fold and position the shoulder LED cables correctly, the LEDs pointing upward toward the shoulders won't stay in place properly. The cables get pulled every time you move the arms, and with repeated articulation, the LEDs that are supposed to illuminate the shoulders can end up getting pulled inward — so watch out for that.
4. The LED inside the cockpit at the center of the body that points downward is there to illuminate the waist. Since this LED has to be folded 180 degrees into position, the cable tension makes it prone to springing back up rather than staying folded. Make sure to fold it and clip it securely onto the internal peg. Otherwise the LED can lift up and you'll end up with only one side of the waist lighting up.
5. To avoid these kinds of mistakes, it's recommended that you connect the power at each stage during assembly to check that the lights are coming on properly and in the right positions.