Patlabor Alphonse Unit-01 Ingram Sofubi

Patlabor Alphonse Unit-01 Ingram is one of my favorite mecha and definitely thrill to get the painted sofubi of this machine. Very thoughtful of Red Shark Toys on this licensed Shinohara the mecha factory product… It’s more chubby and definitely more durable… Comes with stickers of logo and Japanese wordings which I have not apply… Those who live through and like this IP would understand… The figure shown is the Ingram AV-98, a mecha from the anime series Mobile Police Patlabor... It’s a soft vinyl figure (sofubi) produced by Red Shark… Designed with supervision by Yutaka Izubuchi, the mecha designer for the series...

Patlabor Ingram 1 Sofubi Unpainted

I don’t usually buy unpainted sofubi but this reminded me of the dark age of Patlabor merchandises that was mainly released in resin kits which resemblance this color… Those who live through and like this IP would understand… It's mainly for the nostalgia and look back on how hard it was to get Patlobor toys in the past and how fortunate we are these days. Hopefully Red Shark will eventually add colors to this line of sofubi in future.

Patlabor 1/35 Type-J9 Griffin Soft Vinyl Kit (Built & Painted)

I have cover both Master Grade Griffin on flight and aqua, still I'm going to express my passion on this mecha in its soft vinyl kit form. It's 1/35 scale so there is no problem displaying it with the other MG kits. This sculpt is based on the Griffin appearing in the manga version of Patlabor. This soft  vinyl kit is literally very very old and is released way back in 1989 by Kaiyodo. Lucky for me, I managed to this kit built and painted. I love the dramatic pose of the kit however the flight backpack is weighing the kit backwards. I could stick the kit to a base but in this case, my quick solution is using a Lego block to balance it. 

Patlabor - 1/60 Scale MPL97S Python Labor (Built & Painted)

A glimpse of MPL97S Python Labor during the first episode of  Patlabor TV series ...

Emblem of Special Vehicle Divisional 1

The kit stands approximately 15cm, almost the same size as CMS labor

If you ask me, I would say the MPL97S Python Labor is a GM in the universal of Patlabor and shared  similar ill fate of outdated, replaced and outclassed. Don't worry Python, your design is loved by me and I hope we are comrades around who share the same sentiments. Anyway, there is no shame to be overtaken by Shinohara’s Ingram! Python was assigned to Special Vehicle Divisional 1 and see little action either caught in traffic jam or on standby. Beside the visor head, I do like the Python labor as it has a design that resemble the riot Police. 

Till date, I have only come across this labor as a toy under the 'Cloth Gear System' and this 1/60 scale soft vinyl kit. Took me long enough to finally own a finished product of this kit. The kit stands approximately 15cm  (almost the same size as CMS labor) when completed with limited articulation (mainly the swivel arms, head and slight movement to the legs). Still, I prefer this kit over the 'Cloth Gear System' toy as the kit looks less bulky and seemingly more proportional and anime accurate. 

This kit is close to 30-year-old therefore the posability is seriously limited. Its major shortcomings is  those stiff hands that hardly holds anything. I managed to savage the Police shield from 'Cloth Gear System' toy for this kit and I'm still on a look out for a Police baton of the right size.  

1/35 Patlabor AV-98 Ingram 1 - B-Club Resin Kits (Nightstick Pose)

I can't be 100% certain but I think this a 1/35 Patlabor AV-98 Ingram 1 by B-Club Resin Kits. There is too little information on such out of production resin kit in the past when mecha kits were still in their infant stage as some of these kits are over 20 years old. A lot of these kits never get to be built to finished product such as this. Patience paid off and slowly but surely, I managed to obtain some of these rare Patlabor resin kits from overseas. 

1/35 scale Patlabor remains a favourite size that I would go for because they stand approximately close to Master Grade (MG) 1/100 scale Gundam model kit. I like such size despite their lack of articulation and zero gimmick. This kit feels genuinely good on my hands for its hefty weight. Good quality resin that is heavy and solid as expected from Japan goods in the past. 

The previous owner certainly did justice to this kit by building and painting it skill-fully. The 2 antennas on the collar are made of metal. The Ingram 1 takes on a dramatic pose like as though it has just taken out the nightstick from the shield, extended it and on ready stance to strike criminal Labor.