Kit Review

Straight build + Stickers

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

Underside

Academy New Godphoenix - Detail shots. The color separation is better than expected. (1/5)

Academy New Godphoenix - Detail shots. The color separation is better than expected. (2/5)

Academy New Godphoenix - Detail shots. The color separation is better than expected. (3/5)

Detail shots. The color separation is better than expected.

You can also attach landing gear instead of the covers.

Academy New Godphoenix - Landing gear attached (1/3)

Landing gear attached

The stand.
When the LED module is installed, it also serves as the battery pack and switch.

The nose section opens up — there's even a movable cylinder inside.

The underarm and tail sections opening up

Academy New Godphoenix - The top section opens in a unique way — slide the black switch back and it pops open via spring tens

The top section opens in a unique way — slide the black switch back and it pops open via spring tension,
and the foothold tucked inside springs up along with it.

Academy New Godphoenix - Full open shot (1/3)

Full open shot

Figures of Unit 1 Kun, Unit 2 Hyuk, Unit 3 Suna, Unit 4 Ppyung, and Unit 5 Yong

G Vehicles for Units 1–5 are also included.

Academy New Godphoenix - The Unit 2 and Unit 3 G Vehicles can be mounted under the wings using the included attachment parts.

The Unit 2 and Unit 3 G Vehicles can be mounted under the wings using the included attachment parts.

Academy New Godphoenix - Units 1, 4, and 5 G Vehicles arranged together (1/3)

Units 1, 4, and 5 G Vehicles arranged together

Full open + vehicle shot

The wings move with satisfying click-by-click detents at each position.

Each moving section has a spring-loaded locking pin, so everything holds nice and firm.

The nose opening gimmick also has two spring-loaded locking pins.

You can choose between two different eye styles.

Bird Missiles can be attached to both sides of the nose.

Bird Missile launch pose

Clear effect parts for the Fire Bird mode

Attach them to the head and wings.

Fire Bird mode

LED Module

The dedicated LED module is sold separately (5,000 won).

Academy New Godphoenix - Being a domestic product, you really get a lot for the price — it comes with metal battery terminals

Being a domestic product, you really get a lot for the price.
It comes with metal battery terminals, a switch, 5 LEDs, a wiring set, and installation seals.

Academy New Godphoenix - LED and wiring layout diagram for the inside of the body. The routing itself isn't too difficult, bu

LED and wiring layout diagram for the inside of the body.
The routing itself isn't too difficult, but you do need to pay attention to securing everything properly.
The underarm LEDs indicated by the arrows in particular are a bit tricky to fix in place and could come loose inside.
In my case I just glued them down.

Insert the metal battery terminals into the bottom of the stand.

Twist the internal wires together to connect them, then secure with tape.

Clear tape and light-blocking stickers are also included to secure the LEDs in place.

It takes 3 AAA batteries.

The wiring connects to the metal terminals at the top of the stand post and is stored inside.

Academy New Godphoenix - It's a really convenient setup — just place the model on the stand and the contacts connect automati

It's a really convenient setup — just place the model on the stand and the contacts connect automatically.

Open the cover on the stand and press the button to turn on the LEDs.

Academy New Godphoenix - A total of 5 LEDs light up across the nose section, underarms, and engine section. (1/3)

A total of 5 LEDs light up across the nose section, underarms, and engine section.

Academy New Godphoenix - Shot with the lights dimmed to show the LED glow. (1/4)

Academy New Godphoenix - Shot with the lights dimmed to show the LED glow. (2/4)

Shot with the lights dimmed to show the LED glow.

In April 2019, to commemorate Academy's 50th anniversary, the Science Ninja Team Gatchaman command ship was released. For older fans, Gatchaman is just as nostalgic as Gundam, and I'm sure plenty of people have fond memories of building the old Academy command ship kit from decades ago. I'm one of them — I remember building two of them back in the day, painting one up as best I could.

This new Science Ninja Team Gatchaman command ship (known in the original as the New Godphoenix) was made with a completely new mold rather than the old tooling from decades ago. It's been released as a high-end plastic model in MCP format with an impressive level of color separation. True to Academy's reputation for world-class craftsmanship in the military modeling field, this kit really shows what a 21st-century reinvention looks like.

As you'd expect from an MCP kit, the straight build with just a few stickers gets you remarkably close to the official color scheme right out of the box — though it's not a snap-fit system, so you'll need to glue quite a bit as you go. The mold precision is excellent as you'd expect from a military modeling specialist, so the build difficulty isn't particularly high. That said, if you're a Gunpla builder who isn't used to working with glue, you'll want to be careful about applying it cleanly without any squeeze-out.

In terms of show-accuracy, this kit is practically fully loaded. It includes G-Vehicles 1 through 5 and five figures, and the opening gimmicks for the nose, wings, tail section, and top are all faithfully reproduced. The hatch in the center section for Vehicle 5 even has a spring inside, so when you open the cover the inner cradle pops up with a satisfying snap. The nose section for Vehicle 1 and the wing sections for Vehicles 2 and 3 also have spring-loaded locking pins built in, so they click into place at a set angle when opened. On top of that, the kit includes clear effect parts for the Firebird effect, Bird Missiles, and landing gear. The landing gear even has individually separated wheels, so even a straight build looks pretty impressive.

This kit supports an optional LED module, which is sold separately on the Academy website for ₩5,000. Since it's very difficult to disassemble and install the module after the build is complete, the instructions strongly recommend putting it in during assembly. So if you want the LED lighting effect, definitely pick up the LED module along with the main kit. For a ₩5,000 add-on, the module offers surprisingly good value — a total of 5 LEDs light up across the nose, both underarms, and the two nozzles. The installation itself isn't too complicated, but if you've never worked with wiring like this before it might feel a bit fiddly, so pay close attention to routing and securing the wires properly.

Power for the LED module comes from 3 AAA batteries loaded into the bottom of the stand. The contacts on top of the stand connect directly to the contacts on the underside of the model — no plugging and unplugging cords like with older Bandai kits. It's a much smoother and more refined solution, and the quality really shows. The LED lighting effect isn't exactly dazzling, but considering the price, it's definitely a worthwhile option.

In many ways, this is an incredibly moving item for older fans — one that really drives home just how much things have changed. It has a slightly different feel from Bandai Gunpla, but there's a deep satisfaction that comes from the clean molded colors, solid color separation, generous option parts, and faithfully reproduced gimmicks. And being a domestic product, the fact that you can enjoy a plastic model of this quality for around ₩30,000 is a huge selling point. Even for younger fans who have no idea what Gatchaman is, this is a high-quality kit that's fresh and fun in its own right — and it's got me really excited to see what else Academy has planned for the Gatchaman lineup. :-)

----------------------------------------------------
Epilogue: The Great "Gatchaman" Name Debate
A classic dad-joke debate about the name "Gatchaman" (known in Korea as "독수리오형제," literally "Eagle Five Brothers"). ^^;

1. Since the team includes one female member, calling them "brothers" is technically wrong, so the title should really be "Eagle Five Siblings"to be accurate.

2. But when you think about it, they're not actually related by blood at all — they're just five unrelated people. So even "siblings" doesn't quite work, which means the more accurate title would be "Eagle Mixed-Gender Group of Five" .

3. And "Eagle" only refers to the leader's motif anyway — each of the five members is based on a different bird. So representing the whole team with just one bird name is a stretch, which means the more inclusive title would be "Avian Mixed-Gender Group of Five"— a more democratic choice.

4. But then again, calling them "avian" is a bit of a stretch too, since they're primates. Strictly speaking, they're just humans wearing bird-themed helmets and costumes, so the most accurate title would ultimately be "Bird Cosplay Mixed-Gender Group of Five".

5. Some have argued that, depending on your perspective, the name should be revised to "Five Men and Women Wearing Bird Disguises" .

6. As for the original title "Gatchaman," taking gender balance into account, it could arguably be corrected to something like "Gatchahuman." (Much simpler, really...)

New Godphoenix | 2019. 4 | ₩38,000

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.