Assemble Borg checklist
Updated Mar. 7
Kaiyodo‘s Assemble Borg is closely related to the Japanese company’s highly successful Revoltech line. What’s not commonly known is development on Assemble Borg predated Revoltech and contrary to popular assumption, Revoltech is actually a spin-off of Assemble Borg.
Revoltech’s main purpose was to sell highly posable representations of popular manga and anime characters. Towards that end, Kaiyodo made use of the Revolver joint, which was actually developed with Assemble Borg in mind. Toytribe, a figure brand helmed by manga-ka and enthusiastic toy fan, Yasuhiro Nightow, designed the joint to facilitate interchangeability, outstanding articulation and withstand the wear and tear of play.
Assemble Borg is intended to fully exploit the Revolver joint through original Toytribe designs created to be completely interchangeable. The resulting line is the ultimate expression of the mix and match play pattern seen in Henshin Cyborg, Microman, Blockman, Mugenbine and Xevoz. Any fan of those classic and cult favourite lines will immediately appreciate the outstanding play value and fanmode creativity fostered by Assemble Borg’s interchangeability.
That said, there’s a lot going against Assemble Borg. The products are pricey for what you get. (The 13.5cm-tall basic figures retail for USD28.) The figures may lack appeal to those who collect figures mainly for their display value. The characters don’t have nostalgic appeal or history and there’s no anime or mass market manga to promote them.
Kaiyodo, perhaps understandably, seems a little nervous about Assemble Borg’s chances. The company set the line’s release back several times and is currently content to sell Assemble Borg only through its Kaiyodo Museum Store site, the Hobby Lobby Tokyo store in Akihabara and the Assemble Borg Official Shop in Nakano Broadway. Toy fans outside Japan will have to pay hefty mark-ups to get the figures through third-parties.
Still, the hesitant toy fan should keep this in mind: there’s no other action figure line available now that’s as ambitious as Assemble Borg, no line as interchangeable, no line as ingenious.
The following checklist lists the figures released thus far and includes links to Japanese reviews with a generous amount of photos.
Mr. Assemble (released 15 Dec. ’08)
Reviews: Gamu, The G, Mojya.
Barrels Speeder (released 15 Dec. ’08)
Reviews: Gamu, Tom, Taoo.
Assemble Borg Baron (released 15 Jan. ’09)
Reviews: Taoo, Tom, Maruo.
Assemble Borg Cyber (released 15 Jan. ’09)
Reviews: Taoo, Tom, Maruo.
Jarknoid XO (released 1 Jun. ’09)
Reviews: Taoo, Asakusa, Kaz.
Jarknoid Yeeg (released 1 Jul. ’09)
Reviews: Taoo, Asakusa, Kaz.
Jarknoid Zain (released 1 Aug. ’09)
Reviews: Taoo, Yo, Kaz.
Doom Diver (released 1 Sep. ’09)
Reviews: Yo, Taoo.
Barrels Speeder Lightning Cougar Custom
Note: Figure Oh magazine mail-order exclusive.
Reviews: Nekonekokoara.
Ghost Gunner (released 1 Jun. ’10)
Reviews: Taoo, Nekonekokoara.
Tristriker (released 1 Jul. ’10)
Reviews: Taoo, Nekonekokoara.
Panzer Puncher (released 1 Aug. ’10)
Reviews: Taoo, Nekonekokoara.
Sonic Slasher (released 1 Sep. ’10)
Reviews: Taoo.
Tristriker Luna Stingray Custom (released Nov. ’10)
Note: Figure Oh magazine mail-order exclusive.
Reviews: Taoo.
Wilderness Crawler (released Dec. ’10)
Reviews: Taoo.
Strato Flier (released Jan. ’11)
Reviews: Taoo.
Abyss Seeker (released Feb. ’11)
Reviews: Taoo.
Barrels Speeder Type B (released Mar. ’11)
Reviews: Taoo.
Barrels Speeder Type C (released Mar. ’11)
Reviews: Taoo.
Toy links
My Little Backstabbing Traitor.
“This is Starscream, based on the newer animated version and colors.”
Howling Tieren.
Gullwing used parts from a Tieren kit for this Busou Shinki Dog Howling power-up. (Check out his Maochao Sumo as well.)
Strength.
This Lego MOC by kawazu1120 certainly looks powerful. (More.)
Busou Renkin Shinki. [via]
mollycoddole did brilliantly to craft an anime opening out of Busou Shinki Diorama Studio screenshots.
The United Kingdom Ministry of Defence’s HM Armed Forces.
“Senior commanders who gave their blessing to the project are hoping that the highly-detailed figures will capture the imagination of a new generation of children and help boost the profile of the hard-pressed Armed Forces.”