I've had a long term fascination with VOTOMS, first becoming aware of it during the early days of the interwebs. I've watched a bit of it, while a good show, its not one I've ever got around to finishing. Its very much an anime where I am intellectually interested rather than emotionally invested. The thing about VOTOMS is that, acknowledging the strong 80's vibe, its very hard to come up with a more realistic take on mecha concept and still have the result be humanoid. It is the gold standard of such things.
People just end up reinventing the Scopedog, although in fairness, this may have something to do with creator Ryosuke Takahashi revisiting the basic idea frequently in other projects and thus codifying the trope. A basic argument against mecha as weapons is their size, complexity and how difficult it would be to armor such a thing. VOTOMS presents mecha that sit at the 4 metre mark, looks exactly like a robot you could make in 1983, and generally aren't armoured in any meaningful sense. Tanks and jets are still a thing, and while the first armored trooper was a game-changer, it was not a super weapon. It's like how the the original 1987 version of Robocop looks and moves like he's bulletproof; they utterly nailed the concept right out of the gate. Another defining, but possibly less realistic, aspect are the wheels in a Scopedog's feet, allowing for high-speed slalom manoeuvres. These were rugged, aggressively manufactured, and nimble. And, for most practical purposes, these replaced infantry, while being ultimately viewed as disposable in manner evoking the worst of the first world war. It was kind of a bleak series...
As a kit, the obvious comparison to make is with a Master Grade gunpla circa 2007, this coming in a similarly chonky box, and also being made by Bandai. I've dabbled in such things, but I can't make any deep comments in that regard. How big is it? Well, it towers over the 1/44 scale I normally do, and most of my Transformers, which is about typical for a master grade. There is definitely a similar "this is everything" feel to proceedings, going above and beyond the animation externally, while having a detailed cockpit, pilot figure, and other internals. That said, this kit does put me in mind of a more serious-minded scale model release, despite it being snap-fit. There's individual bolts you have to apply with an included tool, which was less annoying than I feared, as well as a metal rod for the cockpit hinge. As a build, this kit was time consuming if comparatively straightforward, with big polycap joints, translucent plastic for the rotating lens assembly, excessively numerous water slides decals and some cheap-looking metallic plastic. Do be mindful of the lenses. These rely on a tiny peg and I was somewhat brutish with it, prompting a repair job. As a completed mecha, it's got all the posability you'd expect, but not all you'd actually want. Part of this is the subject matter, and part of it is age. I can't claim that a Scopedog is in any way a ninja, so what joints it has are fine, I just feel that a touch better articulation could have been possible, had they wanted to. Achieving a two-handed gun pose is for example is right on the edge of what the arms can handle.
I opted to try a repeat of the Dirty Leo, the Scopedog being exactly the sort of design where a layer of grime makes sense. After initial assembly, I opted against the pilot figure as it looked unfun to finish. Sometimes, they colour the plastic, but not enough, and it looked to a spraypaint job. Same with the Chirico Cuvie figure, as I suck at human skin and could not be arsed with it at the time. The kit was assembled without mods or decals, and panel-lined, before weathering techniques where applied. Limited applications of Game Color Silver was used for chipping and subtle wear, most obviously on the left fist. It never photographs well, for some reason. GW's Typhus Corrosion was liberally brushed on, before being smeared with cotton buds. Stirland Mud was also used in on the feet. I do like how this turned out, these techniques dulled the plastics in an approximately military-industrial-rust-bucket sort of way.
As a project, this was quite satisfying, and if you like VOTOMS, tracking the kit down is probably well worth your time. Especially given how other merch tends to be rather expensive and elusive. Mind you, if something closer to a HG was on the table... I would probably have gone for that instead. As beautiful as it is, I'm indifferent to gimmicks. You might not be...
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