Prime Spotlight: GigaPower HQ-03 Guttur

Prime Spotlight presents: 

GigaPower HQ-03 Guttur

GigaPower HQ-03 Guttur

Bottom Line (**** stars- <out of a possible 5>)

By Stygian360


Introduction:

I’ve been anticipating the release of Guttur since roughly the first pictures started showing up.  Here was this seeming upstart company named Giga Power who dared to challenge Fans Toys at what they were doing so well- crafting superior Dinobot homages.  First a few initial pictures and then very quick revisions as Giga wanted to ensure that they got their first release just right.  Then as time slipped by and pictures became fewer and fewer not many had high hopes that Guttur was even going to see release.  Then low and behold he’s finally come!  First he showed up only via online reviews which showcased in tantalizing detail what we had to look forward to and then more recently the full blown retail release has hit and oh glorious day!!  So, does Guttur fit the bill?  Well, I think you can already tell from my enthusiasm that the deck is stacked in Guttur’s favor, but I’ll still attempt to maintain my professionalism and give the most even handed review possible.  Oh who am I kidding?  There may be gushing, so watch out!


Articulation:

Guttur’s articulation is excellent.  All of his major pivot points and joints are covered with the appropriate degree of movement- up/down, back/forth, side/side; he even includes a ball-jointed head, excellent joint range of motion and individually articulated fingers.  My one concern with articulation is that it appears to have created some ‘looseness’- specifically in the articulated fingers, his hips and to a lesser degree his alt mode back legs (which become his arms in robot mode).  I’m not sure if this looseness particularly in the hips/arms is due to ratchets with ‘teeth’ that are spaced too far apart- thus not allowing for proper balancing and rigidity in a full range of motion- or some other factor, but it’s a tolerance concern that needs addressing as Guttur moves forward with future re-releases (if any) and with the follow up release of Grassor and beyond. 
Otherwise, Guttur’s articulation is everything that I could have hoped for at this scale and perhaps a bit more.  No complaints (other than those stated) in other words.  


Paint:

My copy has flawless paint.  No concerns whatsoever and nothing major to report that I would consider out of the ordinary.  Fortunately this is becoming more the norm with third party releases, so the odd stand out is all the more apparent when it occurs.  Fortunately Guttur owns the day with his awesomely painted self!




Transformation:

What a fun figure to transform!  I’m on record as not being a maven for complicated transformations.  At larger scales complicated movements only create greater potential for breakage.  So when a figure is done this right, this solidly, I have nothing but a huge smile on my face.  There is a time and a place for something more ‘puzzle play’ oriented- and there is always a balance to be struck between complicated and not- but Guttur knows that exact middle ground sweet spot, and I could plant a wet kiss on him for that.  SMOOCH!!

The entire transformation pays deep homage to the G1 Snarl, so if you own or have played with that toy you’ll know how he splits at about mid-waist down through the head to form the robot legs, and after some twisting and turning the top half comes together as well.  There is nothing too major to call out as far as missteps on the part of Giga Power when it comes to transformation- except perhaps for the aforementioned looseness and tolerance concerns.  Once Guttur is finally all together and standing tall in robot mode you’ll be beaming with pride, and perhaps will even be prompted to break out your phone to grab a few pics.  Sure there are endless pics and reviews online already, but what the heck why not add a few more to the pile!  Guttur is fantastic and looks the true ‘beast’ in either mode.


Bottom Line:

If you don’t own a Guttur and/or don’t have plans to buy one please, stop reading this review immediately, and run out to secure one at your local or preferred retailer.  There is absolutely no shame in having waited this long by the way.  Okay, maybe a little shame.  All done and back now?  So now we can both finally bask in how smart you are that you haven’t let this opportunity to purchase Guttur pass you by.  By the way, I don’t get a kick back if you buy one.  Instead I just want everyone within the sound of my digital voice to own this guy… soon.  He’s that good and there is nothing more that need be said about that.