Review: Soul Of Chogokin GX-31V Voltes V Volt In Box version-
I'm gonna start with an intro to this review with the opening theme of Voltes V. Aired in April of 1977, a series that put a whole new theme to the super robot genre in Japanese animation. The series was Voltes V. It soon became popular in the months ahead. Its popularity spread out as far as the Phillipines. Dubbed in both english and tagalog, the native language of the Phillipines. Even up to now Voltes V is still big in the Phillipines. At one time, Pres. Marcos had Voltes V banned in the Phillipines because of the graphic nature of the battle scenes in the show. As time passed that came to an end. Voltes V was once again aired on Fillipino TV. On what they call the Hero Channel.
A year later after the show aired on TV, Bandai had released the a Chogokin toy of Voltes V. Which grew in popularity very very quickly over the months of its release. Bandai's sub-company Popy released Deluxe Volr Machine vehicles which were sold separately. Which by concept, was to get all the Volt Machines and combine them to form Voltes V. Some of the collectors or kids were not so lucky to do this, so Bandai decided to release a set with all the Volt Machines in one box. The Volt In box. Each Volt machine is similar to the ones sold separately but packed together.
First release of the Volt In Box set. Which grew in popularity over the months after its release. Which in years ahead became a very valuable collectors item. In mint condition this set would sell on Ebay for about a little over $1000
USD.
By the 80s Bandai America bought the licensing rights for the deluxe chogokin toys. Naming it the Godaikin line to be allowed to sell the deluxe chogokin's in the United States. Among them was Voltes V. Similar to the original Japanese release. Only difference is the packaging. This godaikin also became popular among collectors in the months that followed the release. When combined forming Voltes V, it stands about 12 to 13 inches
tall. Still a sought after item among collectors.
In 2008, about late December, Bandai releases a new and welcome addition to their Soul Of Chogokin line. The Volt In Box version of Voltes V. I have the previous 2006 release of the SOC Voltes V. I was looking through a mail order catalog in a hobby shop in kaimuki and saw this guy on the page thinking i could order it. No luck It was an irrestable temptation to get it. I knew only that I wanted it. I'm not one for popular stuff or must haves, but Voltes V is an exception to that rule. I got mine compliments of Toys N Joys. Thank you, Art for your accommodation. I saw this at the store on the shelf so I grabbed it. A valuable piece i have here.
Packaging- The style of the packaging is reminiscent of the old school design. Following the look of the old Godaikin Box. It has a handle on one side so it can be carried around. The card board is a little thicker than the one used for the 2006 release. And of better quality.
Front view of the box- The image follows the old Godaikin style. Showing off the robot, standing in the center. With the lettering Voltes V to the right. And far right of the image are five images of the Volt Machines. Very nicely done.
The back of the box shows multiple images of the toy itself. Voltes V in the back ground. Infront of that is the Volt Tank. To the far left are images of the Volt Machines. I like how this was set up its very nicely done. It has a sort of eye catching effect to it. One of Bandai's touches to draw attention to the their customers. Clever. Call it good marketing strategy. Lets dive in-
A look at whats inside- There are no flaps on either side of this box like the old school Godaikin box, the top opens in a clam shell style. This makes it easier to see whats inside and take all the contents out. The set comes with the styrofoam tray insert instruction booklet and a plastic vacuform tray packed with all of the accessories.
Like the Godaikin release, each of the major parts of Voltes V, which is the Volt Machines are packed in a styrofoam tray insert. With the card board overlay that has each part labeled. Strangely enough the whole thing was packed with a lot of plastic. Well each Volt Machine was packed individualy in plastic aside from being in the foam tray. Those of you are wondering like i am, whats with all the plastic. No that anything is going to get damaged in the foam tray, but its to keep the dust off the parts. Bandai always packs their merchandise well. In fact, too well. I didn't have to worry about anything being damaged. Thats the good part. No complains there.
This plastic tray contains all the accessories. Two layers were needed to contain all the parts in the set. Like the 2006 release of Voltes V, its a lot of pieces. All the parts from the 2006 Voltes V set are reused in this set. Its not suprising because this set is identical to the previous one. There are some changes made on this new set which I will get into later on.
The Volt Machines- The five vehicles that combine to form Voltes V. Each volt machine fuction as separate units separated. When combined forming Voltes V they all act as one unit. I took each one carefully from the styrofoam tray and took them out of the plastic and lined each one up on the table.
Volt Krewezer- This fighter plane forms the head of Voltes V. Weapons are, krewzer cutters. Blades on the tips of either wing. Krewzer missiles which shoot out from lauch tubes on either side behind the cockpit. Features: opening cockpit canopy. Made of all plastic. Nicely detailed.
Volt Bomber- This forms the arms of Voltes V. A magnet on its back joins it with the Volt Krewzer when in head mode. Good detail mostly plastic.
Volt Panzer- This is the body of Voltes V. Features: Panzer claws. The cockpit of Volt Bomber is housed within the Volt Panzer when combined. I must say its heavy. Its a brick. The thing has a good amount of weight to it. Very good detail.
Volt Frigate is the biggest of the five Volt Machines. It forms the legs of Voltes V. Folding wings, retractable towers on top side. A buttion on the outside of each leg, causes the towers to pop up. When combining with the volt tank the cockpit, the cockpit retracts and joins with the bottom of volt panzer. Metal joints. Has good amount of weight to it. Nicely detailed.
Volt Lander forms the feet of Voltes V. It joins to the bottom of the Volt frigate. A lot of chrome. There are two door on the front that flip open to reveal the twin lander drills. And rolling wheels. The two halves split forming each foot of Voltes V and joining with the volt frigate. All plastic. Nicely detailed. Good design.
Voltes V front view
Voltes V back View
VOLTES!!! FIVE!!!
Choudenji String (electro-magnet whip)- This is stored with in the waist of Voltes V. Literally being Voltes V's belt. Which can be pulled out from both sides or either side. The buckle in the middle pivots downward and on the waist is this yellow tape like thing Voltes V grips and pulls out. The ends are sharp and uses this to whip his enemies with. At times bind them with the Chodenji String. This is not all its used for. There is another use for it.
Chodenji-Goma (electro-magnet tops)- The tops themselves are stored in Voltes V's belly. Doors open and the tops are shot out. Voltes V catches these tops using the "belt." To replicate that effect the tops can be attached to the ends. Looking like its been slung towards the enemy.
Chian Knuckle- This feature was also from the 2006 Voltes V release. similar. This is just a mace like weapon used to whack and damage the enemy abit the chain length gives Voltes V good range for the assault.
One of the changes made on this Voltes V from the 2006 release is the chain knuckle it can be launched out. A launcher goes into either arm and the front tip of the chain knuckle goes onto the tip of the missile set in the launcher. And it will shoot out. I had a blast just shooting the thing over and over. I could go on all day doing that. How much I missed that kind of feature. That was great.
Volt Magnum- Its a gun or well, a revolver stored in Voltes V's arm. The 2006 release only had the volt magnum extend out from the right arm. and the hand pivots down ward to clear the barrel when extended. For this new release the gun has to be installed in the right arm and its bigger. And it shoots bullets. How cool is that. I did a bit of target practice with the gun. Three bullets come in the set for this weapon.
Volt missiles- Similar to the 2006 release. A pack of missiles that Voltes V deploys from inside his arms for long range assaults.
The tenku-ken is stored in Voltes V's chest. This has always been a very cool feature. And its removeable so the final scenes in the show can be replicated where Voltes V uses the sword.
TENKU-KEN!!! V CUT!!!
Even when holding the sword in a finishing pose the joints move to accomodate the position.
This is how i will actually have this Voltes V displayed on my shelf. Standing next to the previous Voltes V release.
This was taken from the Godaikin design. And much like the Godaikin version, this Voltes V is able to transform to Volt Tank mode. It was never seen in the show but it became an added design to the toy itself. Its very easy to transform. The struts connected to the treads on the Volt Tank are extended for this one
GX-31V on the left. GX-31 on the right. Lets start with color. GX-31V has a lighter shade of blue to it. The GX-31, the shade of blue is darker. More a midnight blue color. Same red color on the head for both. The GX-31V has a white border around the face area. The face guard of the GX-31V is white. The face guard on the GX-31 is silver. Same yellow color on the belt for both versions. The GX-31V has a white line just under the buckle. Both versions have the red color on the feet. On the Gx-31V the front is white and had a number 5 on the Lander drill covers.
Even from the back view they look similar. The tank treads of the GX-31V can fold outward to the side. On the GX-31 it stays unfolded on the back.
The Volt Krewzer on both versions look similar. White along the center an on the wings. The GX-31V has some markings on it. On the center on top its ribbed with black stripes. The back of the wings it has a Voltes lettering on the left side and V-1 on the right side.
The arms. This is part of the Volt Bomber. Identical in design to both versions. On both sides, the GX-31V has white stripes on the wrists. On the shoulder it has the lettering V-2 on. And Voltes on the forearms just behind the wrists.
The legs and feet. The color on the frigate wings on both versions are similar. The missiles on the wing tips also have the same colors as well. On the GX-31V both legs have a white stripe on it just below the knee joints. The frigate wings have markings on them. The GX-31 doesn't have those markings its just clean. The feet for both versions have joints at the ankles. The feet on both versions are red with some blue trim to it. On the GX-31V it has the lettering Voltes on both sides.
The swords. Both versions come with this solid chrome bladed plastic sword in the sets. By design each one look identical. Both swords are compatible to either version. I did have the GX-31V hold both swords. It looked pretty good. The double tenku-ken.
I'm gonna start with an intro to this review with the opening theme of Voltes V. Aired in April of 1977, a series that put a whole new theme to the super robot genre in Japanese animation. The series was Voltes V. It soon became popular in the months ahead. Its popularity spread out as far as the Phillipines. Dubbed in both english and tagalog, the native language of the Phillipines. Even up to now Voltes V is still big in the Phillipines. At one time, Pres. Marcos had Voltes V banned in the Phillipines because of the graphic nature of the battle scenes in the show. As time passed that came to an end. Voltes V was once again aired on Fillipino TV. On what they call the Hero Channel.
A year later after the show aired on TV, Bandai had released the a Chogokin toy of Voltes V. Which grew in popularity very very quickly over the months of its release. Bandai's sub-company Popy released Deluxe Volr Machine vehicles which were sold separately. Which by concept, was to get all the Volt Machines and combine them to form Voltes V. Some of the collectors or kids were not so lucky to do this, so Bandai decided to release a set with all the Volt Machines in one box. The Volt In box. Each Volt machine is similar to the ones sold separately but packed together.
First release of the Volt In Box set. Which grew in popularity over the months after its release. Which in years ahead became a very valuable collectors item. In mint condition this set would sell on Ebay for about a little over $1000USD.
By the 80s Bandai America bought the licensing rights for the deluxe chogokin toys. Naming it the Godaikin line to be allowed to sell the deluxe chogokin's in the United States. Among them was Voltes V. Similar to the original Japanese release. Only difference is the packaging. This godaikin also became popular among collectors in the months that followed the release. When combined forming Voltes V, it stands about 12 to 13 inchestall. Still a sought after item among collectors.
In 2008, about late December, Bandai releases a new and welcome addition to their Soul Of Chogokin line. The Volt In Box version of Voltes V. I have the previous 2006 release of the SOC Voltes V. I was looking through a mail order catalog in a hobby shop in kaimuki and saw this guy on the page thinking i could order it. No luck It was an irrestable temptation to get it. I knew only that I wanted it. I'm not one for popular stuff or must haves, but Voltes V is an exception to that rule. I got mine compliments of Toys N Joys. Thank you, Art for your accommodation. I saw this at the store on the shelf so I grabbed it. A valuable piece i have here.
Packaging- The style of the packaging is reminiscent of the old school design. Following the look of the old Godaikin Box. It has a handle on one side so it can be carried around. The card board is a little thicker than the one used for the 2006 release. And of better quality.
Front view of the box- The image follows the old Godaikin style. Showing off the robot, standing in the center. With the lettering Voltes V to the right. And far right of the image are five images of the Volt Machines. Very nicely done.
The back of the box shows multiple images of the toy itself. Voltes V in the back ground. Infront of that is the Volt Tank. To the far left are images of the Volt Machines. I like how this was set up its very nicely done. It has a sort of eye catching effect to it. One of Bandai's touches to draw attention to the their customers. Clever. Call it good marketing strategy. Lets dive in-A look at whats inside- There are no flaps on either side of this box like the old school Godaikin box, the top opens in a clam shell style. This makes it easier to see whats inside and take all the contents out. The set comes with the styrofoam tray insert instruction booklet and a plastic vacuform tray packed with all of the accessories.
Like the Godaikin release, each of the major parts of Voltes V, which is the Volt Machines are packed in a styrofoam tray insert. With the card board overlay that has each part labeled. Strangely enough the whole thing was packed with a lot of plastic. Well each Volt Machine was packed individualy in plastic aside from being in the foam tray. Those of you are wondering like i am, whats with all the plastic. No that anything is going to get damaged in the foam tray, but its to keep the dust off the parts. Bandai always packs their merchandise well. In fact, too well. I didn't have to worry about anything being damaged. Thats the good part. No complains there.
This plastic tray contains all the accessories. Two layers were needed to contain all the parts in the set. Like the 2006 release of Voltes V, its a lot of pieces. All the parts from the 2006 Voltes V set are reused in this set. Its not suprising because this set is identical to the previous one. There are some changes made on this new set which I will get into later on. The Volt Machines- The five vehicles that combine to form Voltes V. Each volt machine fuction as separate units separated. When combined forming Voltes V they all act as one unit. I took each one carefully from the styrofoam tray and took them out of the plastic and lined each one up on the table.
Volt Krewezer- This fighter plane forms the head of Voltes V. Weapons are, krewzer cutters. Blades on the tips of either wing. Krewzer missiles which shoot out from lauch tubes on either side behind the cockpit. Features: opening cockpit canopy. Made of all plastic. Nicely detailed.
Volt Bomber- This forms the arms of Voltes V. A magnet on its back joins it with the Volt Krewzer when in head mode. Good detail mostly plastic. 
Volt Panzer- This is the body of Voltes V. Features: Panzer claws. The cockpit of Volt Bomber is housed within the Volt Panzer when combined. I must say its heavy. Its a brick. The thing has a good amount of weight to it. Very good detail.
Volt Frigate is the biggest of the five Volt Machines. It forms the legs of Voltes V. Folding wings, retractable towers on top side. A buttion on the outside of each leg, causes the towers to pop up. When combining with the volt tank the cockpit, the cockpit retracts and joins with the bottom of volt panzer. Metal joints. Has good amount of weight to it. Nicely detailed.
Volt Lander forms the feet of Voltes V. It joins to the bottom of the Volt frigate. A lot of chrome. There are two door on the front that flip open to reveal the twin lander drills. And rolling wheels. The two halves split forming each foot of Voltes V and joining with the volt frigate. All plastic. Nicely detailed. Good design. Now to form Voltes V. What do we do first? V-TOGETHER!!! Go in V formation. LETS!! VOLT!! INN!!! The question is can Voltes V be considered a Gestalt. Gestalt in german defines a unity of separate parts functioning as one entity. The team work of the Volt team operating the five Volt machines when combined to make Voltes V work. This unity is what makes Voltes V a Gestalt. It showed in a few episodes that Voltes V cannot function unless the Volt Team work together. I couldnt do the Volt in sequence like on the show so I started from with the Volt Lander and worked my way up. The robot stands about 10 inches tall when combined. The manner of how the whole thing comes together is similar to the 2006 Voltes V release. Still its very cool. It doesn't get better than this.
Voltes V front view
Voltes V back ViewJoint movement /Articulation- A very important factor for me as a collector. The one thing I look into very closely with something like this is the amout of joint movement it has and how
much articulation it has. Even after being combined, it has a good amount of joint movement. Its not a stiff rod that has movements limited to the arms or legs that can pivot in one direction. Who said sacrifices had to be made for the features its loaded with. Over the years from the time the Godaikin Voltes V was released up to this current version, the engineering and design of the toy has improved a great deal. The details and the amout of poses the toy can be put into and being able to hold that pose without falling proves it. I'm not joking. I have put this guy in a few battle poses and it held that pose and didn't fall over. I was impressed to see this. It made displaying the toy a lot easier. Fantastic results.
VOLTES!!! FIVE!!!Features / Weapons- The obvious thing. Voltes V over the years has always been loaded with features. And comes with a whole lot of weapons. I can only guess how much more impressive it is. Here are some examples.
Choudenji String (electro-magnet whip)- This is stored with in the waist of Voltes V. Literally being Voltes V's belt. Which can be pulled out from both sides or either side. The buckle in the middle pivots downward and on the waist is this yellow tape like thing Voltes V grips and pulls out. The ends are sharp and uses this to whip his enemies with. At times bind them with the Chodenji String. This is not all its used for. There is another use for it.
Chodenji-Goma (electro-magnet tops)- The tops themselves are stored in Voltes V's belly. Doors open and the tops are shot out. Voltes V catches these tops using the "belt." To replicate that effect the tops can be attached to the ends. Looking like its been slung towards the enemy.
Chian Knuckle- This feature was also from the 2006 Voltes V release. similar. This is just a mace like weapon used to whack and damage the enemy abit the chain length gives Voltes V good range for the assault. 
One of the changes made on this Voltes V from the 2006 release is the chain knuckle it can be launched out. A launcher goes into either arm and the front tip of the chain knuckle goes onto the tip of the missile set in the launcher. And it will shoot out. I had a blast just shooting the thing over and over. I could go on all day doing that. How much I missed that kind of feature. That was great.
Volt Magnum- Its a gun or well, a revolver stored in Voltes V's arm. The 2006 release only had the volt magnum extend out from the right arm. and the hand pivots down ward to clear the barrel when extended. For this new release the gun has to be installed in the right arm and its bigger. And it shoots bullets. How cool is that. I did a bit of target practice with the gun. Three bullets come in the set for this weapon.
Volt missiles- Similar to the 2006 release. A pack of missiles that Voltes V deploys from inside his arms for long range assaults. 
The tenku-ken is stored in Voltes V's chest. This has always been a very cool feature. And its removeable so the final scenes in the show can be replicated where Voltes V uses the sword.
TENKU-KEN!!! V CUT!!!
Even when holding the sword in a finishing pose the joints move to accomodate the position.
This is how i will actually have this Voltes V displayed on my shelf. Standing next to the previous Voltes V release.
This was taken from the Godaikin design. And much like the Godaikin version, this Voltes V is able to transform to Volt Tank mode. It was never seen in the show but it became an added design to the toy itself. Its very easy to transform. The struts connected to the treads on the Volt Tank are extended for this one reason. Its the first time i have ever seen the Volt Tank in a long time. It looks pretty cool. I didn't think even with all the Volt Machines combined was able to form a vehicle of some sort. It looks strange but neat.
Comparisons- Now i will point out the differences between the current Voltes V release and the 2006 Voltes V release.
GX-31V on the left. GX-31 on the right. Lets start with color. GX-31V has a lighter shade of blue to it. The GX-31, the shade of blue is darker. More a midnight blue color. Same red color on the head for both. The GX-31V has a white border around the face area. The face guard of the GX-31V is white. The face guard on the GX-31 is silver. Same yellow color on the belt for both versions. The GX-31V has a white line just under the buckle. Both versions have the red color on the feet. On the Gx-31V the front is white and had a number 5 on the Lander drill covers.
Even from the back view they look similar. The tank treads of the GX-31V can fold outward to the side. On the GX-31 it stays unfolded on the back.
The Volt Krewzer on both versions look similar. White along the center an on the wings. The GX-31V has some markings on it. On the center on top its ribbed with black stripes. The back of the wings it has a Voltes lettering on the left side and V-1 on the right side.
The arms. This is part of the Volt Bomber. Identical in design to both versions. On both sides, the GX-31V has white stripes on the wrists. On the shoulder it has the lettering V-2 on. And Voltes on the forearms just behind the wrists.
The legs and feet. The color on the frigate wings on both versions are similar. The missiles on the wing tips also have the same colors as well. On the GX-31V both legs have a white stripe on it just below the knee joints. The frigate wings have markings on them. The GX-31 doesn't have those markings its just clean. The feet for both versions have joints at the ankles. The feet on both versions are red with some blue trim to it. On the GX-31V it has the lettering Voltes on both sides.
The swords. Both versions come with this solid chrome bladed plastic sword in the sets. By design each one look identical. Both swords are compatible to either version. I did have the GX-31V hold both swords. It looked pretty good. The double tenku-ken. The GX-31's color scheme is intended to look more accurate to the original Voltes V on the show. The GX-31V's color scheme makes it look more like the retro Godaikin look and feel to it. The old school design most of us who know Voltes V grew up with. The detals on both versions have a bit of a realistic look to it.
Conclusion- I like this toy. Its just as cool as the 2006 Voltes V release I have. I have no complains about this toy. Its really well made. Everything on it works. I saw no defects. The reason why I got this toy was it was sort of a nostalgic thing to me. I remember having the Godaikin version of Voltes V when i was a boy. Unfortunately I don't have it anymore so this one was the best thing to replace it. I see it as more of an improvement of the original Godaikin over the years. Between the two versions in my opinion if your gonna get a Voltes V, I recommend this current version. Signing off. And once again Art thank you for your accomdations as always. You're best.
Comments