HI-METAL R Layzner (HI-METAL R レイズナー) is the new die-cast figure from Bandai Spirits’ Tamashii Nations, made to mark the 40th anniversary of Blue Comet SPT Layzner. It’s scheduled for September 2026 at 29,700 yen (appx. $195), tax included. I’ve wanted this one for a while.
The HI-METAL R Layzner is a painted ABS, die-cast and PVC figure of the SPT-LZ-00X Layzner. Bandai Spirits produces it under the Tamashii Nations label. Release is listed for September 2026 at 29,700 yen (appx. $195), and it stands about 16.5 cm (appx. 6.5 in) tall.
Okawara’s Big Head, Taken Literally
This is an all-new sculpt built straight from Kunio Okawara’s original line art. That means the oversized head stays oversized. Plenty of modern robot figures quietly shrink a 1985 design’s head to fit current taste, and I’m glad Tamashii didn’t. The Layzner’s head houses the cockpit, so the volume is part of the story, not a sketching quirk.
Blue Armor That Opens Up
The blue armor carries dense surface detail, and the shoulders, arms and calves all have panels that slide open. Opened, they show the inner frame and stand in for the heat venting after V-MAX kicks in. It’s the kind of reveal gimmick I usually associate with METAL BUILD, here squeezed into a 6.5-inch frame. That’s a real feat. From the photos, the paint keeps the blue clean and flat, which suits a cel-era design better than heavy gradient work would.
A Cockpit Worth Opening
The clear canopy hinges open over a detailed pilot seat. You get two figures of Eiji Asuka, the half-Gradosian hero, one seated and one standing, so you can stage him rising out of the hatch. The eyes also light up green, a first for the HI-METAL R line. That’s the headline.
Built to Fight on Three Fronts
The joints are tuned for the poses the show threw at Eiji on Earth, on Mars and in orbit. A swap-in neck part lets the head tilt back further for flying poses that look ahead. The laser rifle takes a replaceable magazine, the missiles detach from the back of the calves, and the wrist mechanism plus split fingers handle the knuckle-guard strike. Nothing feels tacked on.
The Collector’s Survival Guide: How to Justify This
The Collector Math: Comets come back on a schedule, and the Blue Comet just came back for its 40th anniversary. At 29,700 yen, that’s about $5 for every year it was away. Skip this pass and the next one’s in 2066.
How to tell your wife: Eiji flew all the way from Mars just to warn Earth an invasion was coming. So consider yourself warned: a 6.5-inch blue robot is landing on our shelf. Nobody believed Eiji, and look how that turned out.
How to tell your parents: You always told me to respect my father’s work. Eiji’s father designed the Layzner, and Eiji spent the whole show defending it. I’m carefully honoring a family engineering business in 6.5 inches of die-cast metal.
How to tell your kids: When the Layzner’s armor panels slide open, V-MAX just fired and the robot is venting heat. When they’re closed, V-MAX could fire at any second, so admire it from the couch. The safe time to touch it is never.
Forty years on, the boldest move here is refusing to fix Okawara’s proportions, and giving that big head both the cockpit and the line’s first lights. If you’re a Layzner fan, this reads like the figure you’d have designed yourself, and we’ll update this post when pre-order details firm up.
🟢 Product Specifications 🟢
- ✅ Product: HI-METAL R Layzner (HI-METAL R レイズナー)
- ✅ Series: Blue Comet SPT Layzner (40th anniversary)
- ✅ Manufacturer: Bandai Spirits / Tamashii Nations
- ✅ Price: 29,700 yen tax included (appx. $195)
- ✅ Release: September 2026
- ✅ Height: approx. 16.5 cm (appx. 6.5 in)
- ✅ Materials: ABS, die-cast, PVC, painted
- ✅ Features: V-MAX armor panels, opening canopy, light-up green eyes, swap neck part
- ✅ Accessories: laser rifle with swap magazine, detachable calf missiles, two Eiji Asuka pilot figures
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