Combining Voltron is a fairly intuitive process that never seems to get old. It's a little tricky at first as you get the hang of the idea that a little force is required for some points, but worthwhile.

It's especially fun that you can combine it roughly as shown in the cartoon (though obviously just a little bit slower...). I guess the connectors wear the more you do it, but then I collect toys, not museum pieces, so I'm not likely to stop any time soon.

I'm also not too proud to report how long bits last, so anything that does give out will be noted here in future updates. So far, after around a year of at least one seperate-and-merge a day, he's holding up fantastically.

The combined robot looks fantastic. At 14", he's imposing without being stupidly large (Popy's Jumbo Machinder figures have never appealed to me).

Considering he has trucks for feet, the robot is very stable (the little chromed stabilisers don't appear to do a lot, so this is lucky...), and the connections are really good - with a decent example, you can lift him by his head and the connection will support the weight (I tried in the interest of science, over a bed... not museum pieces, people...).

The plastic isn't spectacularly sturdy, however - a fall onto a hard surface would not doubt really wreck the figure, so careful storage is necessary.

Voltron looks fabulous - in my mind, it's a classic design. The asymmetry is at just the right level, as the base colours are generally the same on both sides, with the details the difference. The proportions are spot on, and when you consider it's made up of fifteen vehicles the look is incredibly coherent. The robot is packed with neat details too, such as the chromed knees and the way the transparencies on the upper torso/midriff/hips lining up nicely. And the head design is great, with a surprising amount of character for what was a non-sentient robot.

The robot even looks respectable from the back, with all the wheels and a completely enclosed body (for me, this is always where Popy score massively - I don't display figures facing backwards or anything, but it just makes them feel a lot more solid).

About the only place Voltron doesn't score huge points is in terms of articulation, which is limited to the shoulders and elbows - though the joints at the hips and knees can be moved a little to simulate a little walking, they can't be posed (the give in the joints does make the figure feel a lot less static than it really is, however).

The forearms can also be 'posed' as the square connector plugs allow the sections to be removed, turned and reattached. Some device for turning the neck would have been nice, but then that might have cost the fine detailing on the back of the Command Jet Explorer...

The all-plastic might be something that compares badly with the Chogokin range, but the finishing maintains the very high quality Popy are renowned for. It's not like they've skimped on the chrome or paint applications as well, and the sheer care that's gone into the engineering shines through.

Despite a widening affection for the Godaikin range in general, a large figure still has to make good use of its' size to really appeal to me, and Voltron certainly does that.

Having recently acquired Lion Voltron and compared the two, I'm still baffled as to how this one was the flop - despite the myriad colour schemes it gels more effectively, and it has less of a kiddy feel to it.

Vehicle Voltron comes out on top in just about every comparable aspect - the individual units work better (whatever minor compromises are made on the individual units, there's nothing that blows the game quite as badly as Black Lion), the combined mode looks better, the combination itself is more fun...

This is just one of the best designed and best produced figures it's been my good fortune to ever own. Not many toys can double so effectively as something fun to actually play with, or as quite such an imposing display piece.

He costs a fortune, and he's worth every penny.