When I was a Kid, I was already bombarded with Japanese some Anime with transformable mechas. One such as anime was Macross but due to our local TV Programming and VHS distribution, I never got past first or two exciting episodes. The majority were gleaned from Hong Kong Anime magazines despite the language barrier.
But let’s talk about Mospeada (Military Operation Soldier Protection Emergency Aviation Dive Armor). After the first episode, I wanted more and for a Kid growing in the pre-internet era, it was not easy to source for more information apart from the Sellers in the Night Market and the Video shops in the Heart of the City. And pretty soon, just like any other Kid, the interest waned and School was more important. But, that scenes where they first used the Ride Armour and transformed, was always in my mind. A decade later, there was some transformable Toys in the market but for the price of less than RM200.00 (I think), it was too much for me. Even my Mom agreed despite all my persuasions. Nevertheless, by the time I was able to get it, it was gone.
And so, for the coming decades, the only way I could get my hands on a Ride Armour was the Aoshima model kit and that was still expensive. So I had to contend with a 3-inch die-cast Rook Bartley which I eventually and successfully lost. And it being a die-cast, there is mothing much it can do beyond limited posing. Over ther years, manufactureres such as Sentinels (1/15th scale), Toynami and Riobot did try to fill that gap but for the asking price, it was too much. And during each opportunity, I was quite perticular with their sculpt, accuracy and trasnformation despite my limited memory.
And now, for 2025/6, we have Moderoid. Looking at the images, they look quite spot on except for the visor which I think could do with a transparent deep blue tint. But yeah, maybe I should be able to get one…
The actual bike design was the Suzuki Katana.
