One of the ten large Super Robots chosen for the first series of Bandai America's Godaikin line, Godsigma was originally a Chogokin dating from 1980.

Godsigma (sometimes parsed as God Sigma; I'm going with the version used by ToyboxDX , and on the Godaikin box) was modelled on the starring robot from the Anime Space Emperor Godsigma . The robot was powered by Trinity Energy, a power source designed to renew the Earth - this was reflected in the elemental names of the three individual robots - Air King, Sea King and Land King.

As per usual, several versions of the toy were made. The two best known are from the Chogokin range - the ST version (GB-17) was a six-inch representation which had few special features beyond articulated legs (for 'walking' motion) and rocket punches. The DX version separated into the three component robots. These had three separate Chogokin codes - GB-18, GB-19 and GB-20 respectively, but were only sold in the DX Godsigma set together. A non-separating polythene Jumbo Machinder was also made. The DX version was issued for Godaikin, with the names of the component robots modified slightly - Air King became Thunder King, Sea King became Ocean King, while Land King got to keep his Chogokin moniker.

Godsigma might not be the most collectable Godaikin, not matching the prices for Tetsujin 28, Combattra or Voltes V, but he's firmly in the second price bracket, often comfortably fetching the ~£300 that Daltanias, Golion and God Marz fetch.

This being the case, I've gone for the bootleg. Sorry, 'Taiwan version'. Named GodBot, this is a similar sort of deal to the God Tron God Marz knockoff I own - the graphics are largely drawn from the original Popy packaging, with a few names changed and English text added.

The toy inside seems to cut slightly more corners than the GodTron one - there's not a lot of diecast on it at all. The front and back of Thunder King and the legs of Ocean King and Earth King are about it... Comprehensive reviews of the original are tricky to find to confirm, but this doesn't seem like a lot compared to his contemporaries. What I can confirm is that the paint used for detail applications isn't as well done - not as thick, and not as carefully applied. As ever with knockoffs, you get what you pay for...

[Click here to see the original toy commercial]

GODSIGMA

Combiners with three core robots are a hard thing to do... Most of the ones I've seen are Takara's designs for Transformers, ranging from Road Caesar (shit) to J-42 (much better, but at a horrible cost to the individual members). Godsigma makes a fairly good stab at getting the proportions of such a tricky layout right, though the head is a fraction too small - you have to wonder why a larger helmet wasn't worked into the Big Wing or just included as a separate part seeing as the extra parts were already needed to beef up the chest and forearms.

The proportions aren't perfect, even aside from the head - the legs are a little big, the torso a little small, though this does give him the same feel as his component figures. It does make the figure look quite tall, though, even though it's the standard DX height of around 10". It's a figure that looks best from low angles, so display him from a higher shelf for maximum impact.

The look is good, but not great. I do like the proliferation of flat v-shaped lines, which is something a bit different, and the shape might not be anatomically precise, but Godsigma is chunky and powerful. However, the colour scheme doesn't quite come off. Symmetry is something you either adhere to or ignore completely in my opinion, and because of his three-part construction, Godsigma is left sitting on the fence a little. The top half of him is symmetrical due to just being Thunder King with a breast plate, something that only makes the different colour legs stand out. That said, I'm not sure it would be worth the price of having two identical figures for the legs.

Articulation is, as usual, limited to just the shoulders - and even these are limited if the shoulder rod parts are left in place, as these clash with the wings. Features are also generally limited to the basics - Rocket Punches (Thunder King's springs still launch the fists with considerable force), the usual giant sword the same height as the robot, plus a shield (which is far too small to be of any convincing use to Godsigma - on the plus side, the way it hooks onto the backpack is neat).

Forming Godsigma is a rather interesting process. There are a series of small buttons and levers on the back of the three robots that release certain parts, and lock them in place for the combined form. It's quite complex. And then they spoil it somewhat by having the Big Wing module fold over the top, and a pair of fists (the Sigma Punch) clip over Thunder King's arms. It's cheating a little, really - I'd be interested to see what Bandai do if Godsigma makes it to Soul of Chogokin. I do like the way Ocean King and Land King's arms fold in and are completely covered, though - that's a very neat piece of design.

THUNDER KING

Thunder King forms the torso and arms of Godsigma. The figure is a respectable 7.5" tall, much larger than ST figures. The robot shares a head with the combined robot, which doesn't help give him much individuality.

The colour scheme is quite sharp, more than a little similar to the (later) Bio Man - black white red details, plus chrome. Lots of chrome. Thunder King looks rather boxy, especially the chunky legs. It's not actually a bad thing, and the proportions are well done. There's only minimal articulation, mainly in the shoulders, though the feet can be moved apart a little.

Aside from this, there's not an awful lot to do with him. The old rocket punches are there, and he looks alright, but Thunder King isn't much fun.

OCEAN KING

Ocean King forms the left leg of Godsigma, once again standing at 7.5". The design is a little more slim, but without losing the solid proportions. Considering Ocean King's legs form a foot on Godsigma, this is good work - compare him to Majin Shin or Majin Ra from God Marz; the same compromises aren't made here.

The blue colour scheme looks good, but of the trio, Ocean King is the one that suffers the most in knockoff form - notably, the visor is uncoloured, while the yellow paint is especially thin and badly applied.

The arms have a nice range of articulation, rotating and bending at the shoulder, and bending at the elbow. The rather weedy hands can fire also, though it's a bit of a reach calling them Rocket Punches. Regarding these, this might just apply to the knockoff, but I'd advise removing the hands from their sockets before putting any of the accessories in them - the fit is quite tight, while the actual connections are rather thin and fragile, and the soft accessories are designed to wedge into the fists, rather than simply being placed in them.

EARTH KING

Earth King forms the right leg of Godsigma, and is again 7.5" tall. More than any other Chogokin I've yet got, Godsigma's components really do look like a uniform team, with consistent sizes and design ethics.

The layout of Earth King is roughly the same as Ocean King, but Popy have put some considerable effort into redesigning the robot - the head, chest and legs have all been retooled, giving him a notably different look. And the medium yellow with black and silver is a killer colour scheme - a bit of a shame some of the paint apps are quite badly done on the fake.

The physical attributes are much the same as Ocean King as well - decent arm articulation (though the static nature of the rest of him makes this only partially useful), Rocket Punches using the same small, weak hands, and a few accessories (he does get an Earth Sword, but I forgot to place this on him before taking the pictures, sorry...).

Godsigma makes a good fist of a tricky concept. The three component robots are low on individual interest, but carefully defined from each other, while the combination sequence holds the interest with its' series of catches, buttons and levers. The angular design of Godsigma himself is an interesting divergence, and while his perspective work isn't perfect, the toy manages to be imposing and stick to the line's boxy feel. I am, however, quite glad I picked up the bootleg instead of spending a fortune on the real deal.