Unifive Great Mazinger


Unifive Great Mazinger


When Unifive released their second jumbo machinder I basically refrained from purchasing. I already had several examples of Great Mazinger as Shogun Warriors and I could basically live with the shooting fist instead of the regular left fist. Also, with this release U5 went up a bit on the retail price to around $100-115 (if memory serves) and at the time I was still finding loose examples of the Mattel Mazinga for $20 and boxed versions for less than $100 - the value just wasn't there. I finally relented when Diamond Comics put these on close-out. I think I paid around $60 for this example, which is in a pretty beat up box. I'm not glad I went ahead and purchased it.

I shot a few photos comparing it to the 1st Mattel issue Mazinga so you can see some of the differences. Like the Mazinger Z released previous to this one, the proportions are dead-on. 

Unifive Great Mazinger (left) vs Mattel Mazinga (first issue - right)

Looking at the chest pieces, you'll notice that Unifive did two interesting things - first the missile banks are molded into the torso (like the first issue Mattel) and second, the chest "V" is made like the first issue rather than the later Mattel issue.

Unifive Great Mazinger Chest Detail

Mattel Mazinga (first issue) Chest Detail

For Great Mazinger, Unifive did a much better job reproducing the original torso sitcker with pretty much the exact same font.

Unifive Great Mazinger Torso Sticker

Mattel Mazinga (first issue) Torso Sticker

The knees are also a fair approximation to the original release "split" knees rather than the later Mattel issue.

Unifive Great Mazinger Knee Detail

Mattel Mazinga (first issue) Knee Detail

Finally and perhaps the most important - the Unifive Great Mazinger came with the Scramble Dash! This appears to have been molded after the original only the wings are fixed onto the backpack rather than is separate pieces (the original Popy version came in box that's rather small, that belies the overall size of the Dash). This is also the same Scramble Dash that was made recently as an aftermarket accessory that can still be ordered (you see it a lot in eBay auctions). This will fit the Popy issue but be careful as it's a tighter fit and it can rip the torso sticker - ask me how I know?

Unifive Great Mazinger Scramble Dash

All Mattel images and captions are copyright Mattel, all Popy, Bandai, Banpresto or Unifive images and captions are copyright Popy/Bandai and used without permission. All other content, including images and editorial, is Copyright © 1997-2017 John Eaton and/or contributors unless otherwise stated. If there are any comments or objections, please contact John Eaton, by clicking here.

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