It is not a bad toy per se, but it doesn’t excel beyond merely bringing back an old-school animation technique.

Video review included!

This toy appears courtesy from HobbyLink Japan.

Thirteen generations ago, special ancient samurai warriors called the Shinkenger were authorized by the Japanese Emperor to defend their country against the Gedoushuu monsters from the mythical Sanzu River. The Shinkenger succeeded, and the Gedoushuu were defeated. Hundreds of years later in 2009, the Gedoushuu have slowly rebuilt themselves and they are slipping through all dark crevasses once more to collect human screams to flood the Sanzu River into the world for their return. Takeru Shiba, the current samurai lord of the Shiba Clan, now summons four vassal samurai from different clans, and arms them with the magical scripture power known as mojikara to become the new Samurai Sentai Shinkenger!

In Act 1- “The Gallant Appearance of the Five Samurai”, the newest generation of Shinkenger assemble together to fight the renewed threat of the demonic Gedoushuu. The Secret Playback-katana ShinkenMaru is the standard-use sidearm for the Shinkenger. While a resilient katana on its own, it is also designed to accept Secret Discs. When a Secret Disc is attached to it, and then infused with a Shinkenger’s mojikara, the associated Disc’s power will be unlocked. Most of the Secret Discs’ powers include special one-on-one attacks, and summoning & controlling busou Origami. Each Shinkenger can also morph their ShinkenMaru at will into their personal-style weapons- Rekka Daizantou, Water Arrow, Wood Spear, Land Slicer, & Heaven Fan- depending on the Secret Disc they each have.

The speaker and On/Off switch are on the right side. The front of the grip has a red trigger that, when depressed, activates one of two sword-swinging sounds. A red LED on the left side also blinks accordingly.

Ordinarily, the ShinkenMaru is utilized with a standard Common Disc (included with the Secret Disc Belt set, sold separately). However, the toy comes with Shinken Red’s personal Secret Disc- the Shishi Disc. When attached to the katana, it allows him to perform his Kaen no Mai (“Fiery Dance”) sword technique/attack. But it also gives Shinken Red authorization to control the giant-sized Shishi Origami when he is inside of it, and the Disc-equipped ShinkenMaru is place into the cockpit’s control pedestal.

. . .

The ShinkenMaru uses a very old motion picture technique for its special gimmick, called a praxinoscope. Used before film cameras were developed in the late-1800s, a series of similar images is placed around a collection of rotating mirrors. Then, when both the images and mirrors are spun at the same speed, it creates the illusion of movement because the human eye is unable to keep track of the movements of the original images (which naturally blur as they spin), but can register the specific angle of only the reflected images. (This is similar to how the centuries-older zoetrope worked, but does not depend on the images being hidden from view altogether. The praxinoscope is considered the direct successor to the zoetrope.)

The Secret Discs are designed around being used for the praxinoscope on the ShinkenMaru. A series of eight slightly-differing ‘cels’ of animation are placed on each Secret Disc, and there are eight corresponding reflective surfaces above the handle. When the Secret Disc is slipped over the handle, it at-first appears as nothing but a hand guard. But, when you spin the rim of the Secret Disc manually, the praxinoscope activates and the cels on the guard become animated on the chrome-plated plastic above!

In the case of the Shishi Disc, the left-reflected profile of the Shishi Origami is seen running & roaring alongside flames in the background.

The ShinkenMaru has an intentionally-hidden tab above the praxinoscope to register its movement. (You can easily hear it clicking loudly when it turns!) The toy can detect two different speeds- ‘normal’ and ‘fast’- and this is tied into how the Shinkenger inject mojikara into the Secret Disc(s).

• Spinning a Secret Disc at ‘normal’ speed, and then squeezing the trigger, activates an extended sword-swinging effect.
• Spinning a Secret Disc at the ‘fast’ speed, and then squeezing the trigger, produces five different sound effects, each coinciding with the Shinkenger’s personal Origami Disc. Each sound effect is pre-programmed into the toy rather than reading it off of the Secret Disc that is attached to it. So regardless of which Disc you have on it, they will each play once in random order.
  • Kaen no Mai / “Fiery Dance” (Shishi Disc, used by Shinken Red)
  • Suiryu no Mai / “Current’s Dance” (Ryuu Disc, used by Shinken Blue)
  • Tenku no Mai / “Heavenly Dance” (Kame Disc, used by Shinken Pink)
  • Kogarashi no Mai / “Winter Winds Dance” (Kuma Disc, used by Shinken Green)
  • Tsuchikemuri no Mai / “Dust Cloud Dance” (Saru Disc, used by Shinken Yellow)

The back of the ShinkenMaru can allow it to be stored into a holder provided on the separately-sold Secret Disc Belt (not shown).

I got this toy under a false pretense. I assumed that, like past card/chip/item-reading toys, this one would be able to read whatever Secret Disc was put onto it, and then provide unique sound effects only when that one Secret Disc was attached. I was wrong. And now I am frustrated because it should have easily been able to do so! Instead, when I put the Shishi Disc on it, I can just as likely get the sound of the Saru or Ryuu Origami screeching, which is wrong according to what is seen in the series. While use of the praxinoscope was cleaver and original (as well as how you activate it, by hand rather than a motor), the entire toy is built upon this one gimmick (as perhaps it should be). Additionally, I thought that having it being able to register a change in speeds was also good. (The clicking of the sensor is annoying and loud, and thus they increased the volume of the speaker to compensate… which makes my ears rattle and ring painfully at the same time!) Really, the only reason I got this toy so that I could plug other Secret Discs from other sets I bought into it to see the animation(s) of each, rather than because it was a role-playing weapon. (I usually don’t collect the weapons and devices used in Super Sentai for personal taste-reasons, so that was a strike against it in my book as well.) The Hiden Saiseitou ShinkenMaru is merely a toy sword with some average sound effects and a single LED (why even bother!?) built into it, and then has a gimmick that only meets your expectations half-way. It is not a bad toy per se, but it doesn’t excel beyond merely bringing back an old-school animation technique.

You need to look at the mecha here not just as more transformable mecha, but as folding and twisting and bending in the same way as the ancient Japanese paper craft, origami.

Video review included!

This toy appears courtesy from HobbyLink Japan.

Thirteen generations ago, special ancient samurai warriors called the Shinkenger were authorized by the Japanese Emperor to defend their country against the Gedoushuu monsters from the mythical Sanzu River. The Shinkenger succeeded, and the Gedoushuu were defeated. Hundreds of years later in 2009, the Gedoushuu have slowly rebuilt themselves and they are slipping through all dark crevasses once more to collect human screams to flood the Sanzu River into the world for their return. Takeru Shiba, the current samurai lord of the Shiba Clan, now summons four vassal samurai from different clans, and arms them with the magical scripture power known as mojikara to become the new Samurai Sentai Shinkenger!

Each Shinkenger posses a small “folding-spirit” known as an Origami, which have been passed down from generation to generation. Each Origami is an embodiment of its owner and will follow only his or her command. Their small size allows them to spy on Gedoushuu activity or act as distractions. Through the use of both mojikara and specifically-designed Secret Discs, a Shinkenger can command their Origami to perform special maneuvers or even grow to giant size to combat the second lives of an Ayakashi monster!

The Shishi, Ryuu, Kuma, Saru, and Kame Origami belong to the core Shinkenger team. Each has a dormant Emblem Mode, which displays the kanji symbol of the specific Shinkenger that controls them.

Shishi Origami

kanji: fire (火)

Ryuu Origami

kanji: water (水)

Kame Origami

kanji: heaven/sky (天)

Kuma Origami

kanji: wood (木)

Saru Origami

kanji: earth (土)

When instructed to, they can unfold themselves into Animal Mode, and act independently/sound like the animals they physically appear as. All are able to fly, though when grown to giant size, only the Ryuu and Kame Origami can still fly (the others become land-bound except for attacks and special maneuvers).

Shishi Origami (lion)

Ryuu Origami (dragon)

Kame Origami (turtle)

Kuma Origami (bear)

Saru Origami (monkey)

Though intelligent on their own, when the Origami grow to giant size through the use of the Henshin Keitai Shodou Phones and mojikara-

“Origami dai-henge” (great change)

kanji: big (大)

-they are boarded by their respective Shinkenger for more-direct control in battle. They can also modify their forms as needed, converting back to a larger version of their Emblem Mode for escape or special attacks.

For the toys, both the Emblem and Animal Modes are at 1/1-scale with how they appear in their smaller forms in the series. (Shrinking/enlarging mecha is rare [thus-far] in the Super Sentai Series, and so to have them in-scale is extra special. Only the living-mecha Engines from 2008’s “Engine Sentai Go-Onger” had their toys in 1/1-scale, which could later grow to gigantic proportions in the series.)

Samurai Gattai

This is what happens when a gattai is performed incorrectly- without mojikara…

kanji: unite (合)

“Shinken-Oh, united under Providence!”

Shinken-Oh’s primary weapon is the DaiShinken katana sword. (The blade is hollow PVC, the rest is ABS.)

Notice the simple-shaped Origami that appears on the blade…

The Hiden Shield (essentially a giant Secret Disc) is normally stored on its back. (This was also true for real samurai in ancient times.)

It can be placed on the side of the left arm…

…or it can be held in either hand, usually the left.

For the toy, the Hiden Shield can be removed from its base…

…and placed onto the Hiden Saiseitou ShinkenMaru. Thus, the Shield becomes the Shinkenger’s own Shield Disc- which is used to activate the Shinken-Oh’s finisher, the DaiShinken Samurai Slash.

The loss of poseability on the separate Origami is no big issue since smaller Super Sentai mecha usually get such treatment anyways. Poseability has never been a strong point in DX-sized mecha, and this one is no different. In this toy- if it moves, it is needed for a transformation only. The exceptions are the jaws of the Shishi, Ryuu, and Kuma Origami, and the shoulders of the combo. In combined form, it is only the shoulders that are dedicated to posing. What does irritate me, though, is the kanji symbols in Emblem Mode- they only appear on one side of the figure rather than both sides. While this is countered a little by the presence of smaller patterned shapes molded into the black surfaces, there is no such black surface on the back of the Shishi Origami- just a mass of folded-up parts. One thing to note that is different from the series is the golden crown on the helmet- it is closed on the toy, whereas in the series there is a gap between the two horns. I seriously doubt this was changed for safety reasons, and was more likely for stability of the plastic used. A returning flaw is really annoying- it cannot hold the full length of the grip of the DaiShinken in the right hand since it is closed on the other side of the fist. One must remember, though, that Bandai and Toei like using puns and play-on-words in their naming of items, mecha, and monsters- Origami (in this case, “folding spirit/god”) is meant to be a homonym of the word origami (“folding paper”). Thus, you need to look at the mecha here not just as more transformable mecha, but as folding and twisting and bending in the same way as the ancient Japanese paper craft. When you can see it that way, the value (or rather, the unusually-high price) of the DX Samurai Gattai Shinken-Oh becomes clearer.

Okay, these Engine combos have just reached the point of ridiculousness...

Video review included!

In one of the eleven dimensions, Machine World is a planet populated by Engines- giant sentient living machines with individual personalities and capabilities. They succeed in driving the destructive Ban KiZoku Gaiarc clan off their world during one of their largest planet-wide races. Unfortunately, the Gaiarc decide to move on into the dimension where Earth is since it seems to be an easier target for them to conquer in order to turn it into the ideal world of unchecked pollution and waste which they favor. Several Engines cross the dimensional barrier to pursue them, but they will begin to suffer fatal rusting if they exist in the atmosphere of the Human World for more than ten minutes at a time! To protect against this, they separate themselves into two halves- inanimate Engine Casts which are smaller versions of their physical bodies, and Engine Souls which contain their life energy and personality. Therefore, they and their smaller rust-resistant assistant Bomper chose five young humans to fight the Gaiarc in their place, and restore them to their larger forms whenever they are needed. Together they form the Flame-god Taskforce Go-On Rangers!

Sets required for this combination:

DX Engine Gattai Engine-Oh

Engine Gattai Series #4- Engine Birca

Engine Gattai Series #5- Engine Gunpherd

Engine Gattai Series #6- Engine Carrigator

Engine Gattai Series #7- Engine Toripter

Engine Gattai Series #8- Engine Jettoras

Engine Gattai Series #9- Engine Jumbwhale

Shortly after his arrival, Jumbwhale starts having quiet discussions with Bomper regarding the future of the Engines’ presence on Human World; even Hiroto (Go-On Gold) and Miu (Go-On Silver) who possess Jumbwhale’s Engine Soul and Cast are unawares of why the little white & pink robot is in their mansion. These frequent secret meetings pay-off in Grand Prix 22 - “Final Request”... Though the two Go-On Wings don’t understand at first why Jumbwhale is encouraging the thick-headed and childish Go-Onger, he tells them that it is their determination at whatever they do that makes them strong, even if- unlike the Go-On Wings- they don’t think it through first, and that can be a power unto itself when used correctly. Though initially cheering for Hiramekimedes, the Go-Onger are suddenly enraged when they learn that he betrayed their trust, and they engage the grown Bouseki Banki with Engine Gattai Engine-Oh and Engine Gattai Gunbir-Oh. Though fueled by the betrayal and waste of their earlier efforts to grant the “dying” Hiramekimedes’ last request, Jumbwhale decides that now is the time for the Go-On Wings to formally join with the Go-Onger as a single team since they finally understand the deviousness of the Ban KiZoku Gaiarc. Therefore, he recommends that the three Engine gattai put to good use the new modifications that were secretly carried out by Bomper and him earlier to all nine Engine Casts...

G9 Formation! Engine Gattai!

Hiramekimedes is stunned that the Go-Onger can make a new and even-larger gattai, which was not part of his carefully-laid plans to restore honor to himself and the Gaiarc. Indeed, as Engine-Oh G9 blasts high into the air, Speedor comments that the Wing Clan’s contribution of power is amazing. The Go-Onger and Go-On Wings change their control columns into Handle Blasters and insert their Blaster Souls into both them and the Wing Boosters. As Hiramekimedes retreats in shame and humiliation at the last moment, Engine-Oh G9 uses the combined power of all nine Engines to destroy Bouseki Banki with the G9 Grand Prix.

“Engine-Oh G9: Tune up!”

Engine-Oh G9 (back) is the next super-combo seen in the series after the Engine Gattai Engine-Oh G6, comprised now of nine Engine components. As with Engine-Oh G6, this newer and larger super-combo appears not even at the half-way point of the series, but has the distinction of being only the second nine-part combo in Super Sentai (the first being the Chou Gougou Gattai Super DaiBouken from 2006’s “Gougou Sentai Boukenger”). However, unlike the Super DaiBouken, the Engine-Oh G9’s weakness is that it appears as nothing more than a bunch of Engines casually stacked on top of one other with no real sense of combining beyond physically touching each other.

While Buson, Birca, Gunpherd, & Carrigator remain completely unchanged between this and the earlier Engine-Oh G6, Bear RV disposes of the V shield attached to the back to make way for Jumbwhale to snap in place. (The V Shield, however, is now delegated to- heh- ‘rear guard’ for the new combo- a useless and obstructive plastic lump hanging off Engine-Oh G9’s backpack to swing freely in the breeze.) With Jettoras now contributing his wings to form Engine-Oh G9’s head, Toripter swaps his tail to become stylized airman’s goggles & additional armor for Speedor on the chest! Additionally, Toripter’s rotors slide together to form two blades rather than their standard four. Engine-Oh G6/Gunbir-Oh’s head/helmet piece attaches to the back of Jumbwhale’s undercarriage, which effectively buries it in the super combo while at the same time preventing extra unused pieces from lying around after Engine-Oh G9 is formed. The boxy engines from Jumbwhale separate from beneath his wings and become additional heel supports along the back of Carrigator’s two halves, thus helping to off-set the new four-winged backpack. (Unlike Engine-Oh G6, this combo rests better on carpet despite the additional weight on its back.) Adding these heel supports, unfortunately, prevents most of the wheels on the bottom of the feet from rolling like they used to. On the new winged backpack, however, Jumbwhale’s head is once more turned around so that his eyes are covered (just the same as with his separate Jet Mode), but the light from his Engine Soul is no longer covered-up and can now be easily seen beneath the left upper wing. Remember those holes along the inside of Engine-Oh’s black upper arms that I couldn’t figure out what their use was for? Well, the answer is here... Beneath both Jettoras and Toripter are black pegs which fold down. Then, with Engine-Oh’s arms now folding outwards, the pegs are inserted into the holes, thus perching Jettoras and Toripter atop the left and right arms respectively.

With the addition of the three Wing Clan Engines along the top of the shoulders and back, posing becomes even more limited than before- what little there was to begin with! While the shoulders can still twist up and down, and Birca/Gunpherd can twist at their connection joints as usual, Toripter and Jettoras are just tall enough that they bump into Jumbwhale’s light-gray wings on the backpack. This means, now, that the arms are restricted to only 45-degrees upward motion before being forced to remain there! The only remedy to this is to carefully move the wings and Toripter & Jettoras around (separate things if you wish) until the arms can be pointed 90-degrees upwards. (Ironically, with further fiddling, the arms can continue all the way around to 180-degrees from where they started, but will not go any further. Fortunately, Toripter’s rotor can be removed, but the fact that you have to fight the arms like this to begin with....) With patience, the pose for the G9 Grand Prix finisher can be achieved to somewhat success. Needless to say, this sucks!

Okay, these Engine combos have just reached the point of ridiculousness. We knew that Toripter and Jettoras were blocks of plastic, so any larger combo might not fare well with them. That is proven here. While adding the goggles to Speedor was an odd choice (they don’t really look like goggles anyways, even though they cover just his eyes and the top of his head), it was by simply plunking the two Engines on top of the shoulders that pissed me off. And though they took great paints to hide Engine-Oh G6’s helmet in the backpack (why not?), they left Toripter’s still-free-turning rotor awkwardly on top of him, and then just let the V Shield hang of the back of the combo literally as if they didn’t care! Adding the engine pods to the back of the heels as supports is nice even though it just clutters things up down there a bit more. However, having four wings on the backpack (well... two wings and two sets of rocket engines) instead in a most-decidedly “X”-formation was a cool idea rather than just having one large pair of wings by merely recreating Jumbwhale’s Jet Mode on the back, so props there. (Again, having both halves of Jumbwhale’s tail turning instead of just the flukes would have helped a lot here too.) As a word of caution, though, I would strongly advise against picking up the toy from just the backpack and wings- those three small connection points between Jumbwhale, Speedor, & Bear RV are not that capable, and will snap it off quickly. This, of course, is another reason why I don’t like the V Shield down there- you can’t reach under properly to grab at it back there without bumping into it. (Huh- for that matter, it’s kinda hard to decide where to actually pick it up! Maybe grab one of the legs, or just above the hips...) Make no mistake, though- this is a heavy toy, nearly 12lbs! (Pick-up a gallon-and-a-half of milk, and you’ll get a rough idea how much this thing weighs.)

I think I see a trend going here for the DX toys from “Engine Sentai Go-Onger”: the individual Engines are hit-and-miss depending on your personal taste; the Engine gattai are good-and-bad mixed up cleverly; and then the super combos are not that awesome beyond the ridiculous simplicity of stacking components to make them, their weight, and their unbelievable dimensions. ...At least all the Engine Souls can be activated on the Engine Gattai Engine-Oh G9 even if they can’t all be removed in this state. (That’s good, right? *shrugs*)

. . .

One thing is nagging at me, though, when I look at this: there are still some holes and pegs that haven’t been used on these DX-sized Engines yet, and we’re only at episode 22 out of a planned 50...

The similar flight helmet-design has also been compared to another earlier flying Super Sentai secondary mecha, the DX Delta Formation Time Shadow from 2000’s “Mirai Sentai TimeRanger”; which also had a cockpit on its chest and wings on its shoulders.

Video review included!

In one of the eleven dimensions, Machine World is a planet populated by Engines- giant sentient living machines with individual personalities and capabilities. They succeed in driving the destructive Ban KiZoku Gaiarc clan off their world during one of their largest planet-wide races. Unfortunately, the Gaiarc decide to move on into the dimension where Earth is since it seems to be an easier target for them to conquer in order to turn it into the ideal world of unchecked pollution and waste which they favor. Several Engines cross the dimensional barrier to pursue them, but they will begin to suffer fatal rusting if they exist in the atmosphere of the Human World for more than ten minutes at a time! To protect against this, they separate themselves into two halves- inanimate Engine Casts which are smaller versions of their physical bodies, and Engine Souls which contain their life energy and personality. Therefore, they and their smaller rust-resistant assistant Bomper chose five young humans to fight the Gaiarc in their place, and restore them to their larger forms whenever they are needed. Together they form the Flame-god Taskforce Go-On Rangers!

Sets required for this combination:

Engine Gattai Series #7- Engine Toripter

Engine Gattai Series #8- Engine Jettoras

Engine Gattai Series #9- Engine Jumbwhale

In Grand Prix 20- “Sibling Battle!?”, after the newly-arrived Engine Jumbwhale douses the flames of a warehouse containing the trapped Go-Onger and Go-On Wings, he engages the Gaiarc’s chief tactician, Hiramekimedes, and his Bandou Moth fighters alone- demonstrating his awesome power and aerial prowess as leader of the Wing Clan. When Hiramekimedes retreats to leave Chainsaw Banki to finish off the impertinent Engine, Jumbwhale calls for Go-On Gold and Go-On Silver to summon forth Toripter and Jettoras to help him.

[Jumbwhale]- “Hiroto! Miu! Let’s form the Wings Team!”
[Go-On Silver]- “Roger that! Engine Cast- teleport! Ani? It’s finally here! Enjoy it, okay? Hurry!”
[Go-On Gold]- O.o?
[Jettoras]- “To be able to fight with the veteran hero Jumbwhale...”
[Toripter]- “I’ve been waiting for this moment!”

Engine Gattai! Mission Start!

As its name says, Seiku-Oh is the master of the skies, being a combination of three of the Wing Clan’s finest Engines. It is nimble both in the air and on the ground with both shoulder- and foot-mounted rocket engines, able to avoid incoming fire using the rotor shield on the right arm to deflect attacks, while at the same time returning in-kind with its twirling Jetori Turbulence melee attack and Seiku Sonic multi-weapon blast. To set things right, Seiku-Oh has its own stronger form of the Engine-Oh Jetripter’s Jetori Bull’s-Eye that it can use- a thin energy arrow finisher produced from Jumbwhale’s mouth on its chest, and strained on the left arm by the right, called the Seiku-Oh Seiku Impulse.

“Seiku-Oh- Tune-up!”

Engine Gattai Seiku-Oh (back) - like Jumbwhale does against the individual Engines- has the largest proportions of the three separate Engine gattai seen thus far (41.5cm wide / 28.5cm tall / 22.5cm long), so it takes up an unusual amount of space mostly due to the narrow wings being suspended from the sides of its shoulders. (Unfortunately, in case you’re wondering, the wings cannot be more-conveniently pointed downwards because the leading edge bumps into the other two arm Engines. However, if you must, Jumbwhale’s wings are designed to detach for safety reasons...) Unlike the DX Engine Gattai Engine-Oh and Engine Gattai Gunbir-Oh which had large gold exhaust pipes on their heads based on the Engines in each, Seiku-Oh’s head- which features the Go-On Wings’ silver logo- is based more on a military pilot’s helmet & air-breathing mask, and has a red visor. (The similar flight helmet-design has also been compared to another earlier flying Super Sentai secondary mecha, the DX Delta Formation Time Shadow from 2000’s “Mirai Sentai TimeRanger”; which also had a cockpit on its chest and wings on its shoulders.) Jumbwhale’s head, however, is featured prominently on the chest. However, because Jumbwhale’s Engine Soul activation buttons rest along the top of him, they become covered because of this- thus explaining why the toy’s mouth can open at all: to gain access to those buttons when Seiku-Oh is formed. While having large wings above/behind the arms is nothing new to Super Sentai, having the wings be the arms is what sets Seiku-Oh apart. This means that, in order to move its arms up or down, the wings, too, must tilt up-or-down accordingly. Now, because of their positioning at the very front of the main wings, there wasn’t enough space for both the connection points for Jettoras/Toripter and the shoulder joints at the same place. Therefore, the shoulder joint(s) are located just behind the attachment holes for each Engine, so that- when rotated- the attached Engines will pivot slightly forward of the joint itself, though this isn’t really detrimental to the overall design. Again- as with the DX toy version of Engine-Oh Jetripter- Seiku-Oh cannot properly spin the rotor on its right arm unless the arm itself is twisted at the shoulder because it bumps into the right wing! Despite the reach of the wings on the shoulders, Seiku-Oh remains well-balanced when moving the arms about due to its long feet. The legs are again splayed a little as it stands, but even though the thighs have a twisting joint, you cannot really pose it with the legs turned. (The thigh joints are there only for use in a later transformation.) I wish there had been some lever-or-something that could have rotated Jumbwhale’s tail flukes around when combined as Seiku-Oh, because they are really distracting sticking out sideways like that from the feet. (If it is meant to be a flying mecha, then wouldn’t they rather be placed on the ankles or mid-way back on the foot???)

. . .

As far as weapons go, you don’t have any hand-held weapons to deal with. Instead, you have Toripter and Jettoras which you can use the same as you always do with Engine-Oh Jetripter; which means that you get to keep those great elbow-twisting joints. As to Seiku-Oh’s range of motion, it’s pretty much the same as the Engine-Oh’s- just shoulder joints (and no Gee-Dee neck joint either). So that means you still get the standard 45°-increments forward & backwards, and the two rotating elbow joints for more average poses [for a DX Super Sentai mecha]. (It’s really a shame that we didn’t get more of Gunbir-Oh’s dynamic shoulder joints...) Now, unfortunately, if you want to recreate the Seiku-Oh Seiku Impulse finisher, you’re kinda stuck on your own for this. The legs do not move, and snap into those slightly-angled positions while changing Seiku-Oh.

All three Engines Souls are still fully accessible in this form as far as their activation buttons go. However, inserting or removing them while it is transformed like this is in no way easy. While Jumbwhale’s can be easily removed from his back, with Toripter and Jettoras you have to disconnect them since their access doors also are also their elbow connection joints. Ironically, Jumbwhale’s is the only one of the three that you can’t easily see its bright red LED light when it activates in this form; it shines out from under Seiku-Oh’s right armpit.

I’ve already given my recommendations and opinions on the three individual Engines, so I’ll not rehash that here. Despite a return to the norm for posing, this is the second-best of the Engine gattai, in my opinion. The flukes on the feet are annoying, we’re unable to fond the main wings down for a storage form, and the head cannot turn side-to-side or even tilt upwards for no-damned-good reason... again! The legs, while narrow enough and with great long feet, cannot pose once more, and really feel like the weakest-looking point on the whole toy. I also thought it kinda boring that you had to disconnect Jumbwhale’s head to make this transformation. Now, perhaps later on this would be needed, but a pair of fixed-in-place swinging levers would have been nice. While it is supposed to be slimmed down, Toripter and Jettoras literally scrape past Jumbwhale when moving those arms up and down, indicating that the shoulders are a little too close together. The head is nice (except for the complete lack of a neck joint!), as are the winged shoulders, and the two accessory Engines are not misplaced either in the combination. And, I don’t know why, but Jumbwhale’s blocky jet engines on the shoulders aren’t as misplaced as I thought they might be before I got it, so I can’t really complain there. Overall, the Engine Gattai Seiku-Oh is a good design despite its quirks.

…but hold on a moment-! Jumbwhale has one last role to fulfill before I’m done with him.

In Grand Prix 22 – “Final Request”, Hiramekimedes is banished from the Gaiarc for failing to defeat the Go-Onger and Go-On Wings as he promised. Wishing to revenge himself upon the Gaiarc, he seeks out the Go-Onger to help him. Before he dies from injuries sustained in an earlier assassination attempt by Bouseki Banki against him, Hiramekimedes challenges Hiroto (Go-On Gold) and Toripter to a one-on-one air race- if the Wing Clan Engine wins, he would divulge the location of the Gaiarc’s Hellgaille Palace island headquarters. Go-On Gold accepts, and then wins the race. But when they arrive, Go-On realizes that he has been set-up, and that Hiramekimedes wasn’t actually expelled from the Gaiarc! Go-On Silver, Jettoras, and Jumbwhale arrive ahead of the Go-Onger, and Seiku-Oh is formed to beat back the grown yarn-spinning Bouseki Banki. Due to the fake island’s suddenly-bad weather, Seiku-Oh cannot fly, and is being heavily assaulted. Then the Go-Onger arrive to cheer on Hiramekimedes, unaware of his betrayal just yet (having swam Engine-Oh and Gunbir-Oh across the Pacific Ocean to the island). Thought the two Go-On Wings still cannot see why Jumbwhale has such faith in the Go-Onger despite their immaturity, the Go-Onger are filled with rage and attack Bouseki Banki...

Engine Gattai Series #9- Engine Jumbwhale is the final component required to make a new combination which also utilizes all seven DX sets released thus far. And so, please go on to the final page to read the review on the Engine Gattai Engine-Oh G9!

Gold Ranger? I was never a huge fan of ZEO, but this is a cool figure.

Power ranger figures have never been known or their articulation, detail or collectability. In fact, most collectors seem to ignore them in general. Since their debut in 1993, The actual Power ranger figures have been aimed squarely at kids, forgoing accuracy for play value. This is fine for kids, but collectors have never really pursued them.

Then a funny thing happened at Bandai America a few years ago. Someone in a board meeting must have realized that there is an untapped collector market, and slowly, quietly, Bandai rolled out the 15th anniversary red ranger series. Unfortunately, the line was terribly misguided, as these figures were ridiculously over-muscled, like some crazy he-man offspring.

I'm not sure what became of the line, but apparently Bandai America learned their lesson. With the release of the Jungle Fury action figures, Bandai began packing in chase "Super Legends" figures, two per case, of classic Power Rangers characters.

I'm glad to say that they ALMOST got it right. The Super Legends are really good figures, but they fall just short of being "great" figures.

On the plus side, these figures have excellent, realistic proportions. The Gold Ranger features removable armor, a club like weapon, and a very detailed, unique sculpt. The articulation is very good compared to the usual MMPR figure, but it misses some key points of articulation.

For example, the arms are articulated at the shoulder, elbow and wrist, but there is no swivel joint at the bicep. The legs have fantastic ball joints at the hips, and then a great swivel joint just below that in addition to the knee articulation. But there's no articulation at the ankles, and in an even more glaring omission, no waist joint.

Still, these are minor gripes - the Gold Ranger and the other Super Legends figures are the best Power Rangers figures to date.

What Eva Unit 4A reviewed was the DX Drive Max Megazord and he already complained on how crapped up it was even before he noticed and saw the mayhem that Bandai America (BOA) caused after the Drive Max set. You would say I got tricked as well and so I got this piece of contraption that now seduces me to buy the other one to complete my set.

Alright so, Eva Unit 4A reviewed was the DX Drive Max Megazord and he already complained on how crapped up it was even before he noticed and saw the mayhem that Bandai America (BOA) caused after the Drive Max set. You would say I got tricked as well and so I got this piece of contraption that now seduces me to buy the other one to complete my set.

What was I babbling about? Well, it’s of course the DX Dual Drive Megazord set with the Sonic Streaker (Gou Gou Jet). Bandai initially released a crap piece entitled DualDrive Megazord with only 2 working auxiliary zords/vehicles, which are the Drill and the Shovel. That set came with 2 dummy pieces of Mixer and Crane which I despise a lot and of course a corrected Gou Gou Dump but was completely black in colour.

I initially thought that the DualDrive (later renamed Super Drive Max Megazord) is not a set required for all of my formations and stuffs but what a great mistake I made. Without proper research I went and bought this set, the Dual Drive that seeming and looked like it had all 5 of the working auxiliary pieces.

By just looking from the box and from the above photo, you will have a wrong impression thinking that this set is actually complete by itself. If you’re thinking so, look again as only 3 of the 5 auxiliary zords are in this set. The working pieces are the Jet, the Crane and the Mixer and they obviously made dummy pieces for the Drill and Shovel.

Behold the dummy sets of the Drill and Shovel that has no wheels. At first I was thinking to myself that the Japanese version wouldn’t be this crap and later I noticed that the real Drill and Shovel are in the earlier set (with the Black Dump). This seemed to be a marketing gimmick to tell us something like this [I am making this up]:

“For you collectors out there, if you want a complete set of the Drive Max series, you are now required to buy 3. Due to all of your rants and complaints, we had to release the one with the Sonic Streaker but since we already have stocks around that come with the Drill and the Shovel Drivers, we’re not including these 2 in the later set. Have Fun!”

That was what I think BOA was telling us collectors to do. However not, let us get to the bottom of this. Behold, the Jet can be separated into pieces and look, the cannon on the wing tips are coloured in chrome instead of gray of the Japanese Version. The emergency cockpit part (a.k.a. Ultrazord’s head) has the press to launch mechanism removed and replaced with the electronic light and sound gimmick which I said earlier. The button is right at the top, after the flipping joints to reveal Dual Drive’s face. The electronic can only be activated automatically in Dual Drive formation. Forming the Ultrazord needs you to manually press the button.

So, when you combine all 5 of these vehicles you get the real deal Dual Drive Megazord. Happy? Not even a bit. This set actually completely neglected Super Drive Max Megazord formation as the Super one was not seen anywhere in either of the Drive Max, the Super Drive Max or this one. But if you just glance through the front and the back [hyperlink photo Dual Drive Back], you’ll jump to the conclusion that this is decent. Aside from its size being actually bigger than our regular Japanese Dai Tanken, this one looks the same.

The above piece is the hook piece given in this set linked up with the Crane and yes, that’s the only hook piece for the Crane in this set. I’ll explain its uses later. This piece is actually made up of strange rubbery plastic which I think might break if you would exert too much pressure on it. Mine already has marks because of its uses and because it doesn’t stay very well and needs me to constantly press it back to place.

Alright so when you have this set and the Drive Max Megazord, you get to form the Drive Max Ultrazord [Ultimate Daibouken] which looks bigger. However, if you look at this Ultrazord, you will begin to wonder that BOA might only be creating the 3 sets just to have them displayed in Ultrazord mode. Why would I say that? That’s because it looks quite decent in Ultrazord mode. Of course, functions are completely gone but physical appearance still gets a pass from me.

As I am praising this, there are some downfalls in this set. Remember the parts of Sonic Streaker we’ve seen above? Notice something missing? Yeah, the 2 long black pipe gears that can grab an auxiliary vehicle are missing. They really didn’t include these pieces at all and that’s why need the red hook piece for Ultimate formation. You see, the black piece in the original Ultimate Daibouken adds on to the silver grill so that the Gyro has proper slots to fit. Because they didn’t include the gears, you don’t use the silver grill to form Ultimate Daibouken but instead you just need the red piece (shown above) to link the Gyro to the mid section of the main body.

Well guys, these are what I got for the Japanese version so I am having them placed side by side for you guys to see and compare the sizes. See how big the Cement Driver is compared to the Gou Gou Mixer? I am saying it’s more than 5 centimeters longer but the functions are GONE! In this case size actually doesn’t really matter. It’s even more obvious when you prepare them to combine.

The crane was also larger but as you can see, the details on the Gou Gou Crane are obviously much more superior to the Crane Driver in almost every aspect. No extendable crane arms and no strings to play with. BOA really did this too economically. It seems that almost both the colours are different.

Oh well, to end this I would say that this piece is not to be a standalone piece at all. You obviously need at least 2 sets to make a combination that can be displayed decently. So, in order for you collectors out there who don’t have access to Boukenger stuffs, here is a small listing of combinations you can do with combinations from different sets.

Drive Max + Super Drive Max = Drive Max Drill Driver, Drive Max Shovel Driver, Incomplete Super Drive Max

Drive Max + Dual Drive = Drive Max Drill Driver (not working), Drive Max Shovel Driver (not working), Drive Max Cement Driver, Drive Max Crane Driver, Ultrazord

Drive Max + Dual Drive + Super Drive Max = All good combinations.

Yeah, that’s the thing to it and finally a picture of papa feet and mama feet of the completed Ultrazord. Enjoy!

"POWER PUNCH! NOW KICK! AGAIN-! POWER PUNCH! NOW KICK!"

Oh, my god...

Video review included!

This toy appears here courtesy of Bandai America.

. . .

Three years ago, a dangerous artificial intelligence known as the Venjix virus assaulted Earth’s computers, and shut down all forms of electronic communication, radio & TV broadcasts. Then Venjix proceeded to build an army of human-like robots with which to corral and enslave humanity. Regretfully we lost the war, and Venjix conquered the world. But on the central-eastern edge of Africa, the domed city of Corinth was created and serves as the last safe-haven for any human who can make it within its protective shield. Venjix, however, is ever-watchful of Corinth, and has built strong barriers around the city to prevent more humans from making it safely there… assuming that anyone can find the city to begin with! Whenever a survivor comes to the city, the shield must be lowered and then recharged, and during these times, Venjix sends infiltration units to cause havoc and destroy the city. But fortunately, a new team has been developed by the mysterious-yet-influential Dr. K which can successfully defend the city- the Power Rangers! Armed with powerful Engine Cells, the Rangers can summon both a unique arsenal of weapons & armored suits, and giant Zord Attack Vehicles which stand many stories tall and can create a giant humanoid robot form called a Megazord! Will they be enough to defend Corinth from the terror of Venjix?

. . .

Nitro Blasters are the standard sidearm for Ranger Operators Red, Blue, Yellow, Green, & Black, which clips conveniently to the right side of their belts when not in use. Unless the Engine Cells- which also power the giant Zord Attack Vehicles- is placed inside of them, they cannot be used. Each Nitro Blaster has a second mode of operation, called Nitro Sword.

Blaster Mode

This is how it is stored on the clip-on holster on the Ranger Operators’ belts. In this form, it strongly resembles a gas pump dispenser, which fits in with the vehicle theme that the heroes have in the series. The day-glo orange nozzle is the gun barrel, and has features like fake bendable ribbed sections and a spill-prevention guard; these all, of course, being ABS & PVC plastic as opposed to metal & rubber. (Because of US toy regulations concerning ‘realistic’ gun-shaped toys, the barrel must be this stand-out coloring as opposed to the silver-and-black seen on the show.) The grip is completely solid with no moving parts, and features an On/Off switch fitting on the bottom where a fuel feed tube would attach. However, a smaller functional black trigger is still featured inside the grip. Directly above the grip but part of the overall handle design is a silver-painted molded PR-RPM logo in a notched protrusion on the left side only; this is the mounting point for the belt-mounted holster. The large main section of the toy is molded in black ABS, but is then painted red, white, and blue. On both sides are blue domes which- in the series- expose the Engine Cell in use; however here, they are painted over.

. . .

Typically in this form, the Engine Cells used to power a Nitro Blaster are inserted. Just above the top of the grip is a triangular protrusion. When pulled backwards, a black ABS cartridge holding frame manually swings out from the top. While any Engine Cell from the “PR-RPM” line can be inserted, the Wolf Cruiser Zord Attack Vehicle’s (see below) is provided with the set. The Engine Cell will only fit in sideways, but not pointed up-or-down. Then the holding frame can be pressed back in by you until it locks in place.

Under the grip is a small black switch with three positions. When turned on and you pull the black trigger, it will activate the sound effects within the toy.

The two steps for transforming the Nitro Blaster from Blaster Mode into Sword Mode are very simple, and they can be changed in any order you wish (i.e. they’re not linked together internally):

• There is a small spring-resistant black switch on the left side of the main section that needs to be pushed forward. As you do this, the entire grip free-rotates around diagonally 180°. To lock it in place, simply release the black switch as the grip comes around.
• Under the orange barrel is a gray spring-resistant lever that needs to be pressed. This will free-up the front of the barrel. Then, while pressing the lever, point the barrel downwards, and it will extend itself in three additional sections due to gravity. All of the orange ABS cylinders are independent of each other, and slip in place via friction when extended. To retract them, simply press on the gray lever again, and then press inwards to collapse them down.

Sword Mode

Despite its naming, it is not a sword-like weapon, but rather a long inflexible baton or nightstick... which, on the toy, comes out as a day-glo orange telescoping shaft. (Whereas in the series, the ‘blade’ is light gray and black.) The main section is now positioned upside down diagonally to the grip. The Engine Cell is still fully accessible, in this form, above the black grip.

Almost all “Power Rangers RPM” role-playing and transforming-Zord sets include a unique thin Engine Cell chip. They are very simple ABS accessories that have a decal on one side which has a unique number and coloring to help identify each one. Some Engine Cells are used just for morphing, some for weapons, and others to power the Zords. In the footage of the series, though, the Engine Cell(s) seem much thicker… The one provided with the Nitro Blaster is specifically the Wolf Cruiser’s Engine Cell.

On the bottom of the grip is a small round protrusion with the On/Off switch. It has three positions- “C”, “OFF”, and “ON”.

When switching to C[ommand] Mode, and pressing the trigger, you will hear a male voice say:

• Rangers! Come in, Power Rangers! This is an urgent call!
• We’ve picked-up intense activity along the Arctic Ridge.
• Use extreme caution; this is an advanced mission.
• POWER RANGERS TRAINING: ACTIVATE (mechanical monotone voice)
• Power Punch... now Kick! Again! Power Punch... now Kick!
• That was a close call, Power Rangers.
• I’m glad you’re on the team, young Ranger.

The sound clips will always play in that order. However, you can switch to the next clip by squeezing the trigger immediately rather than waiting for the current clip to end.

Alternatively, when you switch to the ON position, and then squeeze the trigger, you’ll hear a single blaster sound. But when in Sword Mode, you’ll hear metal clash once.

. . .

Now, there’s a surprising trick to the electronic feature that actually goes beyond simply switching the switch on the bottom- something like a ‘security system’. If there is no Engine Cell placed inside... then the trigger can’t be squeezed! While the On/Off switch merely turns the batteries on or off, it has no impact on activating the sounds themselves, which is delegated to the aforementioned trigger.

However, there is a way around it, a way to cheat your way around the locking mechanism, if you wish. Just in case you lose the provided Engine Cell, behind the PR-RPM logo on the left side is a triangular button cleverly molded into the silver-painted plastic. If you press inwards on it, then you can squeeze the trigger without needing an Engine Cell in place first. To re-lock the trigger, there’s a tab on the triangular button which lets you pull it out again, making the toy ‘safe’ again.

For those of you wondering what the differences are between the Nitro Blaster from “Power Rangers RPM”, and its original Japanese counterpart, the Self Henkeiju MantanGun from “Engine Sentai Go-Onger”, it’s a mix-up...

In short, they are two completely different toys. But, surprisingly, they have similarities in how they function. While the Rangers’ standard sidearm- and most role-playing sets- are usually completely different in order to make them cheaper to produce (and thus, to buy), they usually lack functions, movement, materials, or other details from their Japanese counterparts. In this case, the biggest changes were to the-

• Light-and-sound feature: The MantanGun uses removable Engine Soul cartridges all have unique built-in sound effects, whereas the Americanized Engine Cells are tiny discs with no electronics and the toy they are placed into has the electronic feature. Indeed, how to place an Engine Soul/Cell into the toy(s) is different as well. Whereas the MantanGun has a spring-powered frame that flips out on its own from the top of the toy, you have to manually pull out the Nitro Blaster’s frame from above the grip; this is to prevent [fragile] American kids from pinching their fingers. (On top of the latter, there is a non-moving red projection which mimics the moving one on top of the MantanGun!)
  • Oh, yeah- the MantanGun didn’t have a “Command Mode” switch for additional sound effects.
• Barrel: Other than the required day-glo orange, the Nitro Blaster’s barrel extends like a telescope in three sections, and has a large lock on the bottom which must be pulled out of the way. Whereas on the MantanGun, the two-section barrel is dull-silver & black, and can be freely extended/retracted, and snaps into place on its own.
  • The Nitro Sword’s ‘blade’ makes it about 4” longer total than the MantanGun’s Rod Mode. However, in Nitro Blaster and Gun Mode, they are about the same size.
• Grip: Whereas the MantanGun intentionally mimics a gas pump dispenser, the Nitro Blaster- though appearing the same- is downplayed as such. Therefore, as a gas dispenser does, the MantanGun has a large silver handle in the middle of the grip, though it did not move. As was a frequent complaint, the silver lever on the Japanese toy left little room for fingers to slide in. Therefore, the grip on the Nitro Blaster had the lever removed.

Okay, I’ll get this out of the way right now- the day-glo orange doesn't exactly kill me, but it is very distracting. And that stupid lock underneath too. No matter how hard I flick my wrist with the MantanGun, I can’t get it to fly open on its own; it stays solidly in place. Why, then, did Bandai Creation feel the need to have an external lock on the toy when an internal one would have been fine? Granted, the whole telescoping lightsaber-like blade is a cool feature, and the barrel does more-or-less look physically like the ones in the show. Next, having built-in sound effects was good, but that Command Mode is painful- just painful!- to listen to. I can only imagine kids across America getting grounded for a week for giving their kid sister a Power Punch and Kick! because their toy told them to. This thing will be returned to the store for that very reason faster than you can say “That was a close call, Power Rangers”. And then Bandai America wonders why parents don’t buy them Power Rangers toys to begin with! Oh, and this is my favorite part right here: they create this great little gimmick which requires you to insert an Engine Cell into it in order to pull the trigger... and then turn around and ruin it by having that cheat button on the side! Clearly they don’t expect you to hang on to those tiny Engine Cell chips for long, but still want you to be able to heard it audibly pat you on the back for giving your sister a Power Punch and Kick!. Ugh- baka... So, basically the only plus side of getting this toy over the MantanGun is the telescoping blade, and that there’s more room for your fat collector’s fingers to fit ‘round the grip. Oh, and you get the Wolf Cruiser’s Engine Cell for use on the Deluxe-sized transforming Valve-Max Megazord set. Beyond that, the Nitro Blaster is “meh”.

Like most of the other Engines, this one looks best when not combined in any way, though I think the Jet Mode is a little awkward even if a good idea, and throws that off a little. It’s a very reasonable design and is one of my favorites from the Engine line.

Video review included!

My special thanks go out to Jose (and his unnamed friend) over at Kicks-Hobby Japan for finding this for me.

Three 1.5 volt (LR44) batteries are required to operate electronic light-&-sound feature within the Engine Soul, and should be replaced by a responsible adult.

Adequate batteries have already been installed in the Engine Soul by the manufacturer and do not need to be immediately replaced. However, to activate the feature, you must first manually remove the small white tag from the back of the cartridge before it can work; this is a one-time issue. Nothing other than the Engine Soul on this toy requires batteries.

In one of the eleven dimensions, Machine World is a planet populated by Engines- giant sentient living machines with individual personalities and capabilities. They succeed in driving the destructive Ban KiZoku Gaiarc clan off their world during one of their largest planet-wide races. Unfortunately, the Gaiarc decide to move on into the dimension where Earth is since it seems to be an easier target for them to conquer in order to turn it into the ideal world of unchecked pollution and waste which they favor. Several Engines cross the dimensional barrier to pursue them, but they will begin to suffer fatal rusting if they exist in the atmosphere of the Human World for more than ten minutes at a time! To protect against this, they separate themselves into two halves- inanimate Engine Casts which are smaller versions of their physical bodies, and Engine Souls which contain their life energy and personality. Therefore, they and their smaller rust-resistant assistant Bomper chose a team of young humans to fight the Gaiarc in their place, and restore them to their larger forms whenever they are needed. Together with the arrogant & expertly-trained Go-On Wings, they form the Engine Sentai Go-Onger!

So far, the Go-Onger have had it rather easy in their fight to prevent the Gaiarc from taking over Earth. But now, the mighty Engines are all cowering before the evil genius of the Land-Pollution Vice-Minister & Gaiarc’s tactician Hirame-- ummm...

Hiramesusukidesu- Hirakimekimedesu-- (Hang on- I’ll get it...) Hiramekideathme- Hiramekiss- Hira-Hi-- rrrrgh!

Wait- it’s Hiramekimedes! (Yeah- that’s it.)

He is the only Gaiarc whom the Engines have never been able to defeat, and they fear him greatly for all the devastation he caused on Machine World. Unfortunately, Hiramekimedes suddenly disappeared just before the three Gaiarc ministers were defeated on Machine World, and no one’s heard from him since... until now. So his sudden arrival on Earth has shaken the Engines badly and sent them running for cover, leaving the Go-Onger near-powerless! And even when they manage to outwit him just one time, Hiramekimedes is still able to keep the upper hand! But then, suddenly, two new Engines appear from out of the clouds...

. . .

A few episodes earlier, the Suto siblings learned that their mentor from Engine World, Jumbwhale has arrived on Earth to help them as they fight against the Gaiarc. Then, in Grand Prix 20 – “Sibling Battle!?”, Mia is disheartened when she finds out that her brother Hiroto has been courting other girls in order to find another career, and that he was staying as part of the Go-On Wings team because of her. So Mia tries to strike out on her own against Chainsaw Banki, determined to show that he need not stay for her sake if that is his wish. Feeling that his kohai are conflicted, Instructor Jumbwhale launches from his giant secret hangar in a commercial airport, and extinguishes the flames surrounding the Go-Onger and Go-On Wings. Making sure that they are okay, he then engages Banki fighters alone with his fiery Jet Mode! With Hiramekimedes retreating to leave the grown Chainsaw Banki to finish them off, Jumbwhale instructs Jettoras and Toripter to join with him in the sky....

Engine Number 9 – Jumbwhale (back) As the leader of the Wing Clan back on Machine World, he doesn’t need a human partner. However, Hiroto Suto (Go-On Gold) keeps his Engine Soul cartridge safe. He is represented as a combination of a commercial airliner and a blue whale. Jumbwhale is both wise and just- able to anticipate problems that may arise, but is modest about is position and intelligence. In addition to firing the Bowhale Beam- which fires multiple energy shots from his engines and undercarriage cannons- he is also big (easily dwarfing even a 70.6m-long Boeing 747-400) and his armor is thick enough that he can simply plow straight through any attack or even swallow Bandou Moth fighters whole! Though he casually cruises through the clouds, when needed most, Jumbwhale can split his tail apart and merge the two halves with his wings to for a large flying wing-like Jet Mode with much faster rocket-powered speeds and cornering abilities. As a life form from Machine World, he ends most of his sentences with the second syllable of his name- “Bwaaae!” Jumbwhale , as leader of the Wing Clan, can initiate powerful combinations on his own, and so he serves as the head, torso, and legs of the Engine Gattai Seiku-Oh.

Blue whales- Balaenoptera musculus- are still the largest animals to ever inhabit the Earth, with an average length of 32.9m (108’) and weighing up to 172 metric tones (190t)! By contrast, the largest aircraft ever made in the world is the Antonov An-124 Ruslan Russian military transport which is 68.96m (226’ 3”)-long and has a max-take-off weight of 405,000 kg (893,000 lbs). However, because of the seven turquoise windows above the main wings and considering his name, perhaps Jumbwhale is meant to resemble a jumbo jet like the four-engine Boeing 747 passenger airliner because of its trademarked hump just behind the cockpit. While Jumbwhale does have that extended-cabin hump, it is not immediately noticeable amongst the other dorsal surface details, which makes determining this tricky. Additionally, because of their hollow design, Jumbwhale’s angular engine nacelles and T-tail design may give him connections to cargo planes as well. Undoubtedly, though, he’s a wide-body Engine...

Jumbwhale is the biggest Engine toy released yet as far as his dimensions- 43.5cm (17”) wingspan, 32cm (12½”) length, and 13.5cm (4¾”) tall; though Engine Gattai Series #6- Engine Carrigator may be slightly heavier. He has 12 small black ABS wheels along the undercarriage between his wings, on each of the cargo containers/engines on his wings, and beneath his tail which all freely spin. Along the top of each main wing is the profile of a blue whale’s ventral fins (where the silver Go-On Wings logo is also located), and each wing also features a raked wingtip. In addition to the horizontal stabilizers looking like a whale’s main flukes, the T-tail extends below the fuselage, ending in another set of wheels. This extended vertical stabilizer serves the combined Seiku-Oh as much as providing additional balance for Jumbwhale alone. While the blue whale has a single very small dorsal fin along the back-third of its tail, Jumbwhale has four multi-layered silver fins along his tail (these more for decoration at the Seiku-Oh’s knees than anything else). His head is rounded and features pre-applied yellow-&-orange eye decals along with the red-painted cockpit windows, silver-painted baleen (what looks like ‘teeth’ but are not such), and a large white jaw that can open up (which exposes part of Seiku-Oh’s head in the process). The undercarriage feature six of his wheels, but because it is the housing for the Engine Soul (see below), it cannot be retracted. However, two of the barrels that he uses for his Bowale Beam attack are set on pivot points and can flip up & down (though this is more due to how they’re used later on).

. . .

Jumbwhale has two special features that go beyond just his vehicle mode…

The first involves the two engine nacelles. These can separate from his wings, and each opens up to reveal a hollow interior. By itself, this is a pointless feature as far as the other DX-sized Engine sets (and truthfully I find no need to use it). However, Bandai created a short line of die-cast Hot Wheels®-sized (1½”) Chogokin Engine vehicles of Speedor, Buson, Bear RV, Birca, & Gunpherd that can fit one at a time into the compartment engine pods. (I don’t have-or-want any of the mini-Engines, so I can’t demonstrate this.)

The other is more relevant, and that is Jumbwhale’s Jet Mode. The back-half of the fuselage splits apart just behind his main wings, and swing apart. The two fuselage parts each connect to the inner edge of the main wings, and then each tail fluke & the wheels beneath it twist around independently to keep pointing forward. And finally, his head pops-off, is twisted around 180°, and put back on in this new inverted position. Twisting Jumbwhale’s head around for his Jet Mode (back) has the effect of covering up his eyes, so to make sure he can still see where he’s going, he now has a green-painted cockpit canopy on the bottom of his white mouth rather than the red airliner windscreens. (Does it make a convincing jet fighter cockpit? I don’t think so.) Because of the shift in weight for this flying-wing form, the landing gear are wider spaced to help keep his balance when resting on a flat surface. The point of splitting apart the fuselage, though, is to expose the multiple rocket engines along each half.

In addition to future accessory DX Engine sets, the common ‘collecting’ gimmick is the battery-powered Engine Soul cartridge. These serve as a replacement in all of the toys for a dedicated light-and-sound effect. Each Engine Soul shares an identical shape (2 ½” x 1 ¾” x 9/16”, or 2.57cm x 4.5cm x 1.5cm), has a single bright red LED light (which can project over 6ft / 2m in a dark room!), a large decal which identifies it, and they all have some generic sounds. Because of this, any Engine Soul (or Change Soul, which I won’t get into here) can be fitted into any properly-fitted toy that can accept one. But, the gimmick is that each Engine Soul has a unique set of sound effects...

The Engine Gattai Series #9 set comes with Jumbwhale’s Engine Soul. It is uniquely identified by its dark navy blue ABS casing, the stylized “9”, and the phrases “ES” & “09” on the front decal. While each of the Engines in the “Go-Onger” line can accept an Engine Soul, only Jumbwhale’s is provided; however, it will work equally in all of them since, again, all Engine Soul cartridges are the same size. The storage compartment is located in in the undercarriage beneath his main wings. To access it, you pull back on a small lever, flip the door down, and stick it in. (Care must be taken when inserting his Engine Soul as this is the first Engine to have the cartridge compartment on the bottom of the toy!) The bright red LED light from the Engine Soul shines through a hole in the right side of the fuselage, just above the left wing. (The sound hole is on the opposite side.)

Jumbwhale’s Engine Soul- unlike most previous Engine Souls- now has five unique effects- all performed by the same seiyu from the series, Tomomichi Nishimura. (He makes his Super Sentai debut here, but is best known for more-numerous anime and video game performances). He says:

• Jum-bwhale!
• 'Bwaaae!
• ???: take-off!
• Attention please!
• Mission Start!

The phrases will always play in that order, each preceded by the same sound of a jet plane flying past. Now, if you place Jumbwhale’ Engine Soul into any other DX Engine set, it’ll say the same things, but it’ll obviously be inaccurate since that’s not the right Engine for it to go with. Also, since English is the primary language used in the commercial aviation industry world-wide, it is not much of a surprise that Jumbwhale speaks a lot of it rather than Japanese for all these phrases.

Like most of the DX Engines before him, access to Jumbwhale’ alternate/generic sound effects can be accessed in both his regular mode and transformed mode:

• Go-On!
• 'Bwaaae!

This time, however, instead of a jet p[lane flying overhead, you hear a power-up sound followed closely by energy blasts (presumably from his Bowale Beam attack). But it is still Jumbwhale speaking.

As with all other earlier Engine Souls, if you press both of Jumbwhale’s sound-activating buttons at the same time, most of these phrases will be repeated (though now preceded by the crackle of a radio), but now two new phrases will also sound which can only be found in this way:

• ???: Go-On!
• Bon Voyage! (French, "Good Voyage")

One final addition is made here, which Engine Gattai Series #7- Engine Toripter and #8- Engine Jettoras also shares. And that is that when you hold down either of the buttons for any length of extra time, you will hear the respective sound effect (jet flying or weapon firing), and then regardless of which sound effect you stopped on earlier, you will hear Jumbwhale proclaim in Japanese:

• ???: take-off!

So, that makes three new effects piled into this new Engine Soul which are each triggered in different ways from each other!

The activation buttons for Jumbwhale are the small dark navy blue squares on top of the fuselage behind his head.

For those of you wondering the differences are between the Engine Gattai Series #9- Engine Jumbwhale from “Engine Sentai Go-Onger”, and its English-speaking counterpart- the Whale Carrier included in the [Deluxe] Mach Megazord from “Power Rangers RPM”- well, let’s just say that 2008 was a very good year to be importing…

In addition to being sold in a set with two other Zord Attack Vehicles (the Chicken Copter and Tiger Fighter), they are two completely different toys. Bandai America scaled down all of the DX-class Engines to make them more affordable to sell during the 2009 world financial crisis. However, this came at the cost of removing all electronic features (an Engine Cell chip is still provided), and shrinking down the toy by about a third. Materials were relatively un-changed (there was no die-cast metal in Jumbwhale), but the Whale Carrier is a complete redesign.

I have to say that this is one of my favored Engines. Though covered from nose-to-tail in connection points to be used later on, as a stand-alone it does well. Both the wings and flukes can separate if too much pressure is applied, and I found that to save space when stored on the shelf without combining it, the wings can be conveniently folded back. Perhaps his biggest weakness is those rather boxy engine pods that separate- if you don’t have Chogokin Engines, then they only prove their worth when used in combinations. While cross-breeding toy lines is not unheard-of in Super Sentai (*cough*Boukenger*cough*), I didn’t think it really did any good here. As for the jet Mode, I thought that if both the tail and flukes could have turned rather than just the flukes, it would have helped a lot, though I was impressed that the tail landing gear could also turn. But why turn the head around for that!? Oh well... Anyways, the Engine Soul is good, and I just like the overall size of this thing, and that’s it’s not just another lump of plastic. Like most of the other Engines, this one looks best when not combined in any way, though I think the Jet Mode is a little awkward even if a good idea, and throws that off a little. It’s a very reasonable design and is one of my favorites from the Engine line, so I recommend getting the Engine Gattai Series #9 – Engine Jumbwhale!

…but wait-! The story’s not over yet!

With Hiramekimedes on the run, Jumbwhale calls Toripter and Jettoras aloft to help him finish off Chainsaw Banki. Go-On Gold and Go-On Silver are honored to be with their powerful and wise Instructor once more after their training on Machine World months ago.

Attention please! Engine gattai!

Engine Gattai Series #9- Engine Jumbwhale is the final component required to make a new combination which also utilized both Engine Toripter and Engine Jettoras. And so, please proceed to the next page to read the review on the Engine Gattai Seiku-Oh!

In 2005, Toei released their annual Super Sentai show that depicted Magic as the main theme. Alongside Kamen Rider Hibiki, this show ran in the Super Hero Time slot of TV Asahi.

In 2005, Toei released their annual Super Sentai show that depicted Magic as the main theme. Alongside Kamen Rider Hibiki, this show ran in the Super Hero Time slot of TV Asahi. I’ll cut the introductions and go straight to my review, the Sentai Hero Series Legend Magiranger. This is part 1 and focuses on Legend Magi Red.

From what I know of this toy, this is part of a long running series in Bandai’s Soft Vinyl collection. Titled the Sentai Hero Series, this is part of the 3 set series with the others being Rider Hero Series and Ultra Hero Series. This figure is no exception from the earlier and the rest as there are limited movements available. Movements are only in 2 major areas, the waist and the 2 shoulders. The Magiranger Series each came with their signature weapons. For the Legend Magiranger Set, we have the standard weapon for all 5 of them, the Dial Rod. As you can see, the details of this guy is superb and cleaner compared to older versions (back in the 90s) with some smeared paint can be seen on various parts of the body. I personally like the Phoenix wings on Ozu Kai’s face in Legend mode. Do notice that the Dial Rod is detailed significantly well too and has the lion’s face made clear.

Well this is how it looks like at the back. All the details are done nicely and are clean. Originally, I don’t like Soft Vinyls due to their limited poses but when I came to my senses, only these guys are available for most of the Sentai and Rider heroes. In attaining more support for this line, Bandai Hong Kong has repackaged Sentai Hero Series figures beginning from Magiranger and re-releasing them to the South East Asian markets similar to the Rider Hero Series repacks. The only differences are they used Power Rangers instead of the original name.

This is how the box of the repackaged one looks like. Very generic but the text are what differentiates the Legend ones and the normal ones. This box is for my Legend Magi Red (or whichever one since I have 4 out of 5 Legends in these boxes, I got them confused) and the texts wrote Legend Power Ranger. The normal ones would write there Mystic Force Power Ranger (I know that because I have a Magi Red from this packaging too).

This is how the box looks like behind. It clearly shows you how many available characters are there for collection in the Legend line but no clear cut identifications of which one is in this box, making me search high and low for them to make a complete set. However not, the figures’ foot soles still have the embedded TV Asahi and Bandai China 2005 writings. TV Asahi is written in Kanji and Katakana and this would show that it is a genuine Magiranger line product. At first, I was wondering why Bandai US did this, but later I found out that it wasn’t Bandai US’ doings, but Bandai Hong Kong’s doing and I am very happy for this. A very interesting alteration on the Legend Magi compared to the normal Magi was the head can turn in the normal Magi but this function was completely revoked in the Legend lines. I am not sure what happened to their molds but I don’t often see SHS (Sentai Hero Series) with turning heads. The normal Magi Red will be reviewed on a later date. I’ll cover my other Legend Magi Ranger figures as well later as I have 1 with the original Japanese Packaging. For spoilers, Bandai Hong Kong also altered the design of the included Character Card and omitted the numberings in it.

The pictures show how different the pieces are for the cardings. Bandai 2007 is seen in the Hong Kong repackaged edition (the date Magiranger aired in Hong Kong and the date Mystic Force came to Malaysia). So, this basically settles the first part of this review. This is longer for one figure because I had to explain every detail regarding the different packaging but will do more figures in one later.

Compared to the larger [Deluxe] High Octane Megazord, this one makes-up for some of its faults and it benefits greatly from the Retrofire style by slimming it down and making it look like it’s moving even when it’s not.

Video review included!

This toy appears here courtesy of Bandai America.

. . .

"In Power Rangers RPM, in the shining city or Corinth, an elite force of Rangers must learn to drive and operate an arsenal of radically advanced biotech vehicles in order to battle the attacking machine army bent on world domination."

--from inside the cover flap

The High Octane Megazord is a combination of three Zord Attack Vehicles, and is the final line of defense the war-torn citizens of Corinth have against the Venjix computer virus and its giant robotic monsters. Though the tone of the series is rather serious from the past- taking place in a post-apocalyptic world- the individual Zord Attack Vehicles resemble modern-day machines like hot rods and cargo planes with animal-like features and large expressive eyes. In addition to their speed on the ground, the red-colored Eagle Racer could fly through the air. The High Octane Megazord is armed with only a Super Saber and defensive shield. The Zord Attack Vehicles are always at the Rangers’ disposal because Dr. K designed them to appear from the emblems on their chests and be powered by their own Engine Cell cartridges.

The 4” Megazord figure and its weapons are composed of even amounts of PVC and ABS plastics. Other than the weapons, nothing on the figure is meant to come apart; the right shoulder & fist and head can pop off if too much pressure is applied. While paint is minimal to keep things simple (rather than by BA being careless, inconsiderate, or cheap), it is rather lacking along the back and legs of the figure… something I would have paid $1-2 more for to balance it out.

The point of having the Retrofire line is for both the alternate styling of the classic Megazord designs, and the action figure-like poseability which their larger Deluxe-sized equivalents cannot do. To allow a wider range of poses, an easy-to-assemble two-part silver ABS display stand is included in each set, the base of which is shaped like the Power Rangers’ trademark lightning bolt. Because the peg at the top of the stand is angled, the figure will never ‘stand’ upright vertically, only diagonally. (For some action poses, that is fine, but if you want more level poses, just take the figure off the stand.)

. . .

Other than the basic provided display stand, the Megazord has a PVC Super Saber and hollow shield. The sword can only be gripped in the right fist, and the shield can be attached to a hole only on the left forearm.

For the High Octane Megazord, none of the joints ratchet- all free-turn with no resistance other than friction. Its head is on a ball-&-socket joint. The waist can turn all the way around. The arms, despite being nearly identical in appearance, behave in different ways. While the right shoulder can pitch outwards and the right fist can twist all the way around, the left arm is different. The upper left arm twists around but does not pitch outwards, and the left elbow is flexible while the right is not. Clearly the arms were designed to achieve a few specific, on-screen-oriented poses with the weapons rather than act as a fully-capable action figure. The hips are also very poseable- able to swing both outwards, twist vertically, and pitch forward/backwards. The only restriction on the hips is on the skirt armor, which is PVC. The skirt armor is flexible to a certain degree, but it will break or wear out if pressed too hard and for too long. And really, this is the only restriction with the figure that may be unavoidable. And finally with the legs, the knees can also pitch backwards to 135-degrees, and both ankles can pitch downwards a bit as well.

The Retrofire line is an answer to one of my long-held protests, and that is having a poseable representation of a Megazord without having the toy be a Ranger with attachable armored sections or a static-pose 3” figure with just one-axis shoulders & maybe an action feature if we’re lucky. I can completely understand [now] why the Deluxe-sized Megazords can’t be posed beyond just the shoulders, and that is because their size and the complexity of such a design would be prohibitively expensive on a yearly basis. While I wish the Retrofire sets were about 1-2” taller and had slightly better paint apps, I am still quite satisfied with what we have here. Additionally, these sets are a reinterpretation of classic designs without being completely new or reboots or skewed by some random and pointless copyright infringement issues. If a Megazord were to appear in a Japanese anime series, I am confident that they would look just like this (as if jumping out from the screen) rather than big and bulky like their Deluxe-sized toy counterparts. They may not be transformable, but this is just as good- a true action figure of our favorite Megazord!

This Retrofire set is identical in poseability to the Retrofire Mighty Morphin’ Megazord- featuring the same strengths and faults even if their outward appearance is different. Compared to the larger [Deluxe] High Octane Megazord, this one makes-up for some of its faults (most-notably in proportions) and it benefits greatly from the Retrofire style by slimming it down and making it look like it’s moving even when it’s not (thin legs, wider shoulders, smaller waist, etc.). Additionally, the shield is an actual shield with less holes in it rather than the leftover crap from the almost-as-tiny Bear Crawler on the [Deluxe]-version. I also thought some additional paint could have been used on the sides of the lower legs, and perhaps the back of the shoulder armor. However, unlike the larger transforming version- where all of the Zord Attack vehicles had large-yet-clearly-stoned eyes- they are treated as simple headlights that are painted light blue here, which I liked. The Super Saber was also better designed to look like an actual sword rather than a spear or pike, and has a slight curve on it; that was an improvement in my mind without taking away from the original design, but makes now it the longest sword of the three Retrofire sets! Considering how boring the [Deluxe]-sized version is, the Retrofire High Octane Megazord is a breath of fresh air. Highly recommended!