Soul of Chogokin
Soul of Chogokin (????, Ch?g?kin Damashii) or "Soul of Super-alloy",
The Soul of Chogokin Line, or also known as "SOC", began in 1997. The name Soul of Chogokin means "Soul of Super Alloy", and is known for it's relatively high content of die-cast metal. The line almost exclusively focuses on robots taken from various 1970's/1980's Anime TV programs. Bandai has also expanded the line to include other mecha from the '70's such as Super Sentai and Tokusatsu.
Reports have the Soul of Chogokin series starting as the Hi-Complete Model line was being phased out. The last figure in the line was meant to be Mazinger Z, but Bandai decided to turn that prototype into the first Soul of Chogokin robot. It was a smart decision. The Soul of Chogokin series debuted in 1997 and was an instant success. Later Bandai chose to refine models and resculpt special renditions, resulting in R or Renewal SOC versions.
Soul of Chogokin robots take the joint systems to an entirely new level. Previous diecast Chogokin toys of the 1970's primairly used rotating arms and legs and that was it. So with the new Soul of the SOC toys came multiple axis of movement. Most all toys in the line feature heads, legs, wrists, arms, knees, and interchangeable hands.
Soul of Chogokin
Accessories
Some accessories, die-cast weapon or special items...
| Number | Figure | Edition |
|---|---|---|
| GX-01X | Motorized Hangar | Hangar for Mazinger Z |
| GX-02? | Great Mazinger Box | Metallic box display for Great Mazinger |
| GX-03? | Com-Battler V Kunaï | Weapon "Kuna¨" in metallic version |
| GX-04X | Drill Spacer & Marine Spacer | Add-ons to Grendizer (included in GX-04S) |
| GX-06? | Getter Robo Mobile strap | A kind of key chain with pictures of each getter |
| n/a | Nambara Base | Display base for GX-50 Combattler V |
| GX-48? | Big O Expansion set | Sold by Bandai Tamashii web site |
Black version, recolors and renewal versions
Bandai released lots of variants of the original releases. Most are just repaints, while some of them have a totally different sculpt or add more features to the original SoC.
| Number | Figure | Edition | Release Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| GX-01B | Mazinger Z | Black version | 1998.09 |
| GX-01R | Mazinger Z | Restyling | 2002.11 |
| GX-02B | Great Mazinger | Black version | 1999.07 |
| GX-02R | Great Mazinger | Restyling | 2002.11 |
| GX-03B | Combattler V | Black version | 2000.07 |
| GX-04B | UFO Robo Grendizer | Black version | 2001.06 |
| GX-04S | UFO Robo Grendizer | Perfect Set | 2002.12 |
| GX-05B | Daiku Maryu Gaiking | Black version | 2002.03 |
| GX-05R | Daiku Maryu Gaiking | Restyling | 2004.03 |
| GX-05RB | Daiku Maryu Gaiking | Restyling black | 2004.03 |
| GX-06M | Getter Robo | Training version | 2001.11 |
| GX-08MA | Aphrodai A | Mazinger Angels | 2004.09 |
| GX-09MA | Minerva X | Mazinger Angels | 2004.12 |
| GX-10B | Boss Borot | Black version | 2002.12 |
| GX-11MA | Dianan A | Mazinger Angels | 2004.10 |
| GX-12MA | Venus A | Mazinger Angels | 2004.11 |
| GX-23A | Zambot 3 | Zamboace | |
| GX-24M | Tetsujin 28 | Metallic | 2008.10 |
| GX-28R | Blue Gale Xabungle | Recolour | 2005.12 |
| GX-31V | Voltes V | Respect for Volt In Box | 2008.12 |
| GX-32SB | Gold Lightan | Two robots: one silver and one black | 2007.08 |
| GX-37B | King Joe | Black Version | 2008.02 |
| GX-41B | Raideen | Black Version | 2009.03 |
| GX-41S | Raideen | Fade-in set | 2008.04 |
| GX-44S | Taiy? no Shisha Tetsujin 28 & Black OX | Tetsujin 28 with Black OX Pack | 2008.11 |
| GX-49G | Mazinger Z | Gold version |
Limited items
Even though they were never too difficult to find, the following versions were never released in shops. Most of them required the use of coupons found in manga/magazines/CDs. Some were released in fairs/exhibitions.
| Number | Figure | Edition | Release Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| GX-01RG | Mazinger Z | Restyling Gold. Tamashii Expo 2004 Pre-Exhibition | 2003.04 |
| GX-01R+ | Mazinger Z | Weathered paint. Tamashii Nation 2008. Limited to 3000 pieces. | 2008.03 |
| GX-07E | Energer Z | Sold at the "40th Anniversary of Go Nagai's Works" exhibit | 2008.12 |
| GX-07I | Iron Z | Mail-in coupon from the manga "Mazinger Z Angels (???? Z)", vol. 1 | ? |
| GX-08MAW | Aphrodai A | Mazinger Angels Snow white. Mail-in coupon from Magazine Z | 2004.09 |
| GX-09MAB | Minerva X | Mazinger Angels La Sirene De Noir | |
| GX-09SS | Minerva X | Mazinger Angels Shining Shadow. Mail-in coupon from the manga "Mazinger Z Angels (???? Z)", vol. 2 | 2009 |
| GX-11MAM | Dianan A | Mazinger Angels Marine Blue Mermaid | |
| GX-12MAG | Venus A | Mazinger Angels Queen of Gold | |
| GX-24 (DVD) | Tetsujin 28 | DVD Special Edition. Mail-in coupon. | 2007 |
| GX-24N | Tetsujin 28 | Naked version. Sold at Spring 2009 Tamashii Nation Expo | 2009.03 |
| GX-40G | Gaia | limited metallic version. Mail-in coupon from the book "Soul of Chokogin Project (??????)" vol. 3 | 2009.10 |
| GX-45A | Mazinger Z | Atami Night version. Sold at Autumn 2009 Tamashii Nations Expo | 2009.10 |
| GX-47P | Energer Z | Proto Type. Mail-in coupon from the book "Soul of Chokogin Project Z (?????? Z)" | 2010.04 |
| GX-47N | Energer Z | Normal Color version. Sold at Autum 2010 Tamashii Nations Expo | 2010.10 |
Special items
The following special items were released in predetermined limited numbers. They have all reached incredibly high prices in secondary market.
| Number | Figure | Edition | Limited to | Release Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GX-01RB | Mazinger Z | Restyled Black chrome. DVD Limited Edition | 1000 | |
| GX-01 (??) | Mazinger Z | Kurogane no Shiro (????). Reward from the book "Iron Castle: Mazinger Z Disassembly" (???:?????Z??) | 10 | |
| GX-06G1 | Getter 1 | Sold at San Diego Comic Con 2008 | 500 | 2008 |
| GX-11B | Dianan | Black. Questionnaire reward from Dekgeki Hobby Magazine | 2 | 2004 |
| GX-13R | Dancougar | Recolour. Sold at the Chogokin EXPO 2004 | 500 | 2004 |
| GX-18M | Getter Dragon | Metallic. Diamond Comic Distributor | 1 | 2006 |
| GX-18SP | Getter Dragon | Shine Spark. Award in Hyper Hobby Magazine's Getter Gattai Contest | 1 | |
| GX-45C | Mazinger Z | Comic Color Vesion. Sold at Go Nagai Wonderland Museum opening | 100 | 2010.04 |
