Robot Spirits 7-11 Japan Exclusive Gipsy Avenger Clear Blueprint Version Gallery

Born ready. War ready.

Last month we took you on a tour of all things Pacific Rim Uprising with a complete look at the line of Robot Spirits figures produced for the film from Tamashii Nations. 6 solid releases, each with it's own strengths and weaknesses. Now, we get to add an extra step on that journey with a look a this recent 7-11 Japan Exclusive release. Robot Spirits Gipsy Avenger Clear Blueprint Version!

Packaging
Feeling very much like a Takara Tomy Transformers exclusive, Blueprint Gipsy comes in a color shifted version of the original releases's box. The package is identical in design, just done up in light blue with white accents. The new "Clear Blueprint Ver." name has also been added to the box. Otherwise it's still the same innovative box design we've gotten to know with this line.

Main Figure
The $20 price tag that accompanied the original Gipsy Avenger release is what truly sold me on it, and ultimately the entire toyline. Bandai really did an excellent job marketing and releasing these figures. As an exclusive Blueprint Gipsy is a bit different. It wasn't available in the US, it was only sold at Japanese 7-11 locations, it retailed for 5180 yen, and given it's release method to import it here you'd have to pay some middleman and shipping fees. I got lucky and had a friend hook me up with mine so it came out to around $60 USD when all was said and done. So it's a good thing I really love this mold already.

My review of this figure is going to essentially be word for word the one I wrote for the original Gipsy Avenger release. The "Clear Blueprint" part of this figure is pretty obvious. This figure has been recast in almost entirely translucent blue plastic. Essentially every part of the body is made from this material. The only parts that aren't, are the joints. Which are cast in a very pale blue that compliments and blends with the clear parts quite well. That's basically the ankles, knees, hips, shoulders and neck. You'll also notice some subtle ice blue paint apps on certain parts such as the shins/calfs. Much of the paint applications that the original Gipsy had are also applied here in that same ice blue. Like the ID numbers on the thighs as well as the chest details. These colors are absolutely stunning on this mold frankly. Now back to some articulation notes.

The Gipsy Avenger is a very flexible robot with a few caveats that leave it just short of perfect. After reviewing all 6 of the mainline releases, it's easy for me to see that Gipsy is still the best and most balanced of them all. And much of it's Excellence is still owed to the implementation of it's leg articulation. Gipsy has ball-jointed ankles with a ton of open range thanks to the ankle armor design. You'll find this mech can pull off very wide and stable poses thanks to these ankles and balances very nicely. Another one in the win column is Gypsy's very flexible knees, allowing you to bend the leg back far enough that the calf touches the back of the thigh. That odd waist/hip/thigh assembly that carries through the line is still present, and it still works really well. Each thigh has a rotating section within it attached to the hip ball joint which let you turn the leg in or out, but they themselves are also attached to another balljoint down within the thigh. In essence Double jointed thighs.The hip balljoints are also attached to the interior of the waist on a shared panel and moves independently of the waist/crotch itself. This entire assembly can swing in and out of both sides of the waist allowing for maximum movement.

The upper body, while not as dynamic, is still sculpted beautifully. We get an upper body on a "floating" joint allowing you to rotate it within about a 90 degree range. You can basically get Gypsy looking directly sideways thanks to this joint. The ab section is attached to the waist so it won't move independently i.e. no waist joint, but it all still looks great. On Gipsy's back there are some peg holes that you can plug his shoulder wings/binders into, to complete the basic look out of box just go ahead and throw them on. I actually really appreciate this upgrade to the design over Gipsy Danger's bulkier shoulder pad and hunched down look.

Gipsy's arms do leave a little bit to be desired. In a similar fashion to the thighs, the shoulder joints are double jointed. There's a ball joint in the shoulder and one within the upper arm giving you an exceptional range of motion up and down. The issue lies in the way the shoulder pads have to maneuver between the torso armor and wing binders on the back. Depending on how far up or down the arms are positioned and where the shoulder plate is at the time, it can be a little difficult to give the arm proper clearance. Because of this armor you do lose the potential to extend the arms straight out to Gypsy's sides which is a shame to me. To the side you're limited to about 45 degrees, pointing forward the arms only get about 30 degrees of movement. Luckily a swiveling bicep helps alleviate some issues. Thankfully we also get a double jointed elbow, which is a by-product of the toys ability to swap forearm weapons. I should mention that removing the forearms is quite easy to do. The wrists are the only other real letdown of the arms. The wrist guards block the hands just enough to impact the fists and keep them from getting in a few standard poses. The wrist joints across the line have been quite weak and sadly there's more of the same here. The hands pop off quite easily.

Gipsy Avenger's head is the last component to touch on. As with the rest of the design, I find this sleeker design to be superior to Gypsy Danger's. Avenger has a very super robot-esque look that the head complements quite well. Like the arms and legs, the neck is on a double ball joint. So you get movement within the chest and at the neck joint. And there's only minimal impact with any of the armor around the head to worry about. Overall this is a very well balanced (in more than one sense) figure. [The new color scheme makes it even sexier than it was before as well. I did my best to illustrate how the clear parts look under heavy lighting, but this is a bit harder than I'd imagined as well. In any case I really love this version of the figure.

Accessories
Accessories are a bit lite on the Robot Spirits Jaegers but Gipsy comes with just the right balance of items:

2 - open palms hands. I would have like maybe one more set of hands at least, like a pair to hold things, but these are fine. I do wonder why they're molded with the wrist bent back though. It can make the number of poses they're good for fairly limited.

1 - Chain Sword forearm. The classic weapon of it's predecessor, Gypsy Avenger of course wouldn't be complete without one of her own. It's attached to a replacement forearm that's very easy to install on the left arm. As with the other included weapon, Gipsy should really come with two of these. But if leaving one out kept the cost down to this very affordable introductory price, then I'm all for it. Like the first release, this arm is not compatible with Obsidian Fury's Chainsaws. It wasn't designed to be able to plug these on in a similar fashion to the film.

1 - Gravity Sling forearm. Though the Avenger does feature a successor to Gypsy Danger's Plasmacaster cannon arm, and technically this accessory can double as either arm weapon, it's meant to be the Sling. I appreciate the built in energy effect of this arm, and again, the ease with which you can install it. The energy effect is lost a bit when the entire thing is clear this go around. But it still looks great.

Final Thoghts
As the 7th release I've handled from this film, I'm still pretty pleased. Gipsy was my introduction to the Pacific Rim Uprising line of Robot Spirits and it really just didn't disappoint. Now, this exclusive repaint/recolor has managed to impress me just the same way. Clear Blueprint Gipsy Avenger is an extremely intelligent reissue of this mold and I'd hope to see more figures like it down the line. I know that if you were able to purchase this figure physically at 7-11, that trading cards featuring Gipsy Avenger & Saber Athena in Blueprint form were included. I think any Jaegers from Uprising (or the first film for that matter) would look great in these colors. So bring it on!

Part 2
- Gravity Sling
- Chain Sword
- Lighting effect

Oh damn that looks great. I got a friend the original figure so I won't tell him about this lol

It's easily the best release in the entire line. It's a fantastic mold in the best color scheme. Don't tell your friend, he'll want one

Hes so......blue

I have the original which is a great figure, this just looks incredible. It hits that little bit of translucent love that I think all collectors have.

The figure looks fantastic under light, considering the price of both versions its a great figure.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68ugkg9RePc

Not a fan of these fully clear figures, they always feel like a cheap reuse of a mold.

This figure is gorgeous; it's such a joy to look at. It was an excellent concept for a repaint and was pulled off wonderfully. Would definitely be cool to own one of these and I wish they had made some more like it.