The God Phoenix

My submission is called The God Phoenix. This is the main hero’s vehicle in the anime series “Science Ninja Team Gatchaman” which was a popular television show in the early 1970's. It is better known in the United States as Battle of the Planets.

As a young boy, I wanted to build a model of this ship but couldn't find one. When I was 10, I was in the hospital recovering from surgery to address a heart defect.  While watching the American version of the television show in my hospital room, I wondered, “Can I build the Phoenix out of LEGO?”  Using the sets that I had in my collection, I constructed my initial version.  Having this project to work on was helpful for my recovery period. It gave me something to focus on.  Over time, I refined the construction to arrive at the present version of the Phoenix ship that I am submitting for consideration.

Japanese anime is very popular across multiple age groups right now as it has become more mainstream. By introducing today's viewers to one of the retro show vehicles, it can even be labeled as a throwback edition.

Since this is a smaller scale ship model, it is more user-friendly for those who may be new to both LEGO and anime. In the current version, it can be easily assembled in under an hour.

The ship can be displayed in two different modes: Initial Launch Mode and Normal Flight Mode. In Initial Launch Mode, the wings are down in the lowered position and the nose cone is removed along with the tail fin. With slight modifications to wing position and the addition of these pieces, the model has been converted over to Normal Flight Mode.