Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water....Dun, Dun....Dun, Dun....Dun, Dun......

From Wikipedia

The Brave of Gold Goldran is a Japanese anime television series series begun in 1995, created by Sunrise under the direction of Shinji Takamatsu, and was the sixth in the Yuusha meta-series funded by Takara and produced by Sunrise. Goldran follows the adventures of three young boys who are tasked with finding alien robot fighters, or Braves, that are sleeping in the form of crystals. Their major antagonist is the flamboyant and thoroughly incompetent Walter, and the villains that follow him are often similarly humorous. The entire show is extremely focused on comedy and silliness almost to the exclusion of much in the way of storytelling, although the series does develop some running plot lines towards its end. In terms of television ratings, Goldran was the peak of the Brave series' popularity.

Today I will be reviewing the Captain Shark DX re-issue, made by Sonokong/Takara. The sample for review can be purchased rather cheaply from our friends over at Big Bad Toy Store, Please check them out or just click on the Ebay links at the bottom of the page for links to help find any live auctions for the item reviewed today.

Captain Shark is hails from the anime The Brave of Gold Goldran. Captain Shark is basically a space pirate/battleship in the familiar shape of a shark, hence the name. He has an excitable demeanor with a keen mind and will often play the straight man. His right eye is hidden under an eye-patch until it is used as a targeting scope for the HYPER GALACTIC BURST MODE ATTACK.

Captain Shark is a very formidable adversary, his weapons include:

Shoulder Cannon
Captain Sword
Spiral Launcher
Spring Shot
Shark Cannon
Hook
Harpoon

To start off with, Captain Shark comes to you in the now familiar, beautifully illustrated, heavy corrugated cardboard box shown below.

I wanted to show you a close up of Captain Shark's head. Notice the pirate hat and eye-patch. Its an unusual design to say the least. Even though it is unique, who doesn't like pirates and giant robots? They go together like chocolate and peanut butter!

Captain Shark stands approximately 11.5 inches tall in robot mode and made of quality heavy plastic. He weighs in at a stout 1 1/4 lbs. Articulation is limited to the elbows and upper shoulders.

Heck, who needs articulation when you have some much firepower? This guy is heavily armed! His giant shoulder mounted cannon can fire 16 of the 48 included red missiles by a simple twist of the back of the cannon. But wait, the eye poking goodness doesn't end there! He is also equipped with a wrist mounted firing harpoon and hook. Also, lets not forget his 4 rotating cannons mounted on both shoulders and his swashbuckling sword.

Here is a feature that I really like about the Brave toy line so far, Every accessory has a place to hide. The sword attaches to a clip located on the Captains backside, hook, harpoon and extra missiles store in a shoulder compartments, even the cannon mount can be concealed away neatly. The designers really thought of everything.

If you don't wish to store the sword on the back of the figure, you can always put it clenched in the Shark's teeth.

I know this is showing my age, but you older Saturday Night Live fans might get a kick out of my "Land Shark" mode LOL!

OK, enough fooling around and lets get onto the Space Battleship mode of Captain Shark. In this mode he actually has two different configurations, Spaceship and what I would call a Shark Tank.

In Space Battleship mode, Captain Shark kinda reminds me of something you might see in a Captain Harlock anime. It really looks cool from all angles. I especially like all the guns mounted atop its Shark body.

Moving along to the land based, Shark tank mode. You can see that the cannon mounts atop the body and it now has caterpillar treads that fold out from underneath.

Here is a close up of the caterpillar treads, unfortunately they do not move. However, it does have wheels on the bottom. I really wish that they put rolling treads on this toy.

Here is a close up of the bridge area. I think this could have been alot cooler if they included stickers for the windows. I have been seriously considering doing some custom work to add these.

Finally we have the last few pictures. In these pictures you can see that the shoulder cannon can also be mounted underneath the shark body. You would think that the round shape of the cannon would make this very unstable. Surprisingly, it actually turns out to be very stable due to the fins on the sides of the cannon.

In conclusion, I really enjoy this toy for its design and play value. It is very sturdy and displays really well with my other Brave figures. Furthermore, I think the price of $29.99 at Big Bad Toy Store really makes this toy a steal, so pick one up already!

"I love GOLD!!!!!"

-Goldmember
from Austin Powers

From Wikipedia

The Brave of Gold Goldran is a Japanese anime television series series begun in 1995, created by Sunrise under the direction of Shinji Takamatsu, and was the sixth in the Yuusha meta-series funded by Takara and produced by Sunrise. Goldran follows the adventures of three young boys who are tasked with finding alien robot fighters, or Braves, that are sleeping in the form of crystals. Their major antagonist is the flamboyant and thoroughly incompetent Walter, and the villains that follow him are often similarly humorous. The entire show is extremely focused on comedy and silliness almost to the exclusion of much in the way of storytelling, although the series does develop some running plot lines towards its end. In terms of television ratings, Goldran was the peak of the Brave series' popularity.

Today I will be reviewing the Goldran DX re-issue, made by Sonokong/Takara. The sample for today's review was provided graciously by our friend Jeff Stein over at High End Transformers. Please check them out or just click on the Ebay links at the bottom of the page for a direct link to the item reviewed today.

Goldran is the main mecha character from the anime "The Brave of Gold Goldran" He is essentially a two component robot. One component being a robot that can turn into a car (Dran) that becomes the chest of Goldran. The other being a Mecha Godzilla like robot (Golgon) that turns into Goldran when combined with the first.

To start off with, Goldran comes to you in a beautifully illustrated, heavy corrugated cardboard box shown below.

In the photo below we have Golgon and Dran together in their alternate modes. These are the two mecha that I mentioned above that become Goldran

First up is Dran. Dran's robot mode stand about 5" tall is made out mostly gold chrome plated platic. The Gold Chrome plating looks really sharp and has no visible flaws that I could see. Articulation for Dran is limited to the elbows, so he is basically a "static pose" figure. Dran comes with a sword that can be held in either hand via a peg molded onto the sword. Drans robot mode is rather boring and is pretty underwhelming when compared with the other figure in this set.

Dran's alternate car mode isn't much better than the robot mode. As you can see below, The car has an elongated chassis, giving it awkward looking proportions. However, the car is very solid and its wheels roll freely.

Onto Golgon! Golgon is the Mecha Godzilla looking robot you see below. Golgon stands about 10" and sports a beautiful golden chrome finish like Dran above. This figure has articulation in its arms and jaw, that's about it. Golgon is a pretty impressive figure but sufferers from a few odd proportions due to its design. As you can see, the chest area is rather large, rendering his tiny arms useless. Also, his legs just look odd because of having no visible knee joint. These issues are only minor and I can live with them.

Here is where the real fun begins! Goldran!

Goldran is a truly stunning figure, standing at nearly 12" tall also makes him pretty large. As you can see in the photo below, Goldran includes a sword and sheath. the sheath holds securely to his side and gives Goldran that old Samurai look, very cool indeed!

After examining the five photos above, you can clearly see that Goldran looks great from any angle. Heck, he even looks menacing close up! Proportionally, Goldran is awesome in this mode. I would say he is one of the better looking mecha characters from all the Brave Series.

Goldran doesn't just have good looks.....He also has fire power and tons of it! He has 12 launching mechanisms for plenty of that "you'll shoot your eye out goodness"! Don't worry if you loose a few projectiles testing it out on the family pet or wife, because he includes a total of 48 red missiles!

Shoulder mounted Gatling style launchers that are activated by turning a knob on the backside of the shoulder.

Wrist cuff launchers, just in case the shoulders weren't enough to take out the enemy.

Finally, shin mounted launchers that are almost a concealed weapons at first glance.

Yup, Goldran is alot of fun, but let me show you a few more tricks he has. In the photo below, you can see that it is quite possible to play with Goldran without Dran figure mounted to his chest. I know that this is not in the anime, but its still a cool feature whether it was made this way intentionally or not

In the next photo below we have Goldran with his buddy Sorokage mounted to his back. Sorakage is used a a flight pack giving Goldran the ability to fly. Don't you just love wings on a giant robots? Below that pic we have Goldran's ultimate form, Great Goldran! By the way, don't despair, I will be reviewing Sorokage and the Great Goldran in future reviews

Even with the odd proportions of it's alternate mode, Goldran is a wonderful, quality made toy and should be part of your collection if you love giant transforming robots. And really, who doesn't?

Having already reviewed Fire Dagwon, Power Dagwon, Lian and Gunkid from Sonokong re-issue of Brave Command Dagwon series toys. I figured I would give you a short, mostly pictorial review of what all the figures together transform into..... Get ready for Super Fire Dagwon!

Having already reviewed all the figures in the picture below, Fire Dagwon, Power Dagwon, Lian and Gunkid from Sonokong re-issue of Brave Command Dagwon series toys. I figured I would give you a short, mostly pictorial review of what all the figures together transform into..... Get ready for Super Fire Dagwon!

Please check out the video below. The actual toy transformation is very close to the video.

Here is the impressively huge Super Fire Dagwon standing nearly 15" tall! Not only is the figure tall, it is very heavy, at a little over 3 lbs of quality plastic.

You may recognize Super Fire Dagwons headpiece as the chest piece from Power Dagwon. This is an example of what I really like about the design of Brave Series toys, almost all parts have a place and purpose when transforming.

Articulation of this figure is very good considering its blocky design. Articulation can be found in the shoulders, elbows and the hands can rotate, Oh and lets not forget the articulation in the massive crane arm. Even though this figure does have decent movement, for the most part it is what I would consider a "static pose" figure, due to its size and weight.

The final combination of Super Fire Dagwon with Lian and Gunkid is really "busy" as you can see below. I don't think that he would be able to battle too well in this mode...LOL. He is very overloaded in this mode and weighs in at a staggering 5.5 lbs!

I feel that Super Fire Dagwon is possibly one of the best of all the combined Brave Series Robots. Well, maybe the second best.... I really like Great Goldran but I'll cover that later. If you dig this figure as much as I do, please check out Big Bad Toy Store to get your own!

For a repaint, it’s not that great. No special or unique details beyond the original Jetfire mold. But, those same molds are still awesome.

Multi-video review included!

The distant planet of Cybertron was the home to a race of intelligent, feeling alien robots who could change shape at will- the Transformers. For reasons no longer remembered by anyone living, a war broke out between the two factions of robots- the Autobots and the Decepticons- which eventually drained Cybertron of all its power sources, including all-important Energon. In the quest to get more Energon to sustain their fight, the Autobots created the Ark and some of them left Cybertron. But the power-hungry Decepticons were waiting for them in their great flagship, the Nemesis, and boarded the Ark to stop them. A battle between the two ships eventually brought them both crashing down onto Earth. With their leaders and greatest warriors lost, the war on Cybertron continued on to a stalemate. For over four million years, the Ark rested hidden inside a volcano located in what would eventually become Oregon, its occupants unconscious and helpless in stasis lock. Then in 1984, the volcano harboring the Ark erupted, reawakening the on-board computer system Teletraan-1. The computer, realizing that the ship and its crew were in danger, awoke the Transformers aboard the Ark, and reformatted them to change into disguises matching those of modern day Earth vehicles so that the giant robots could move among the population in secret. The surviving Decepticons, having lost their great ship millions of years earlier, also gained new disguise forms and hid themselves on Earth until they could rebuild their forces and gather enough Energon to destroy the Autobots, subvert the intrusive and annoying humans, and renew the war on Cybertron in their quest for total galactic domination.

Tread Bolt is a member of the Autobots’ Air Patrol; one of the few of their numbers capable of sustained flight. As such, this means he usually operates alone far from support, and thus needs to eliminate any Decepticon threat quickly or risk being overwhelmed. But he isn’t concerned about being detected, since his entire chassis is covered in radar-refractive armor, making him invisible to all but the most advanced enemy sensors. And his speed & aerial prowess make him a formidable opponent as well. His fellow Air Patrol bots often team together high in orbit around Earth with their rocket engines for high-speed air drops & interception missions behind Decepticon front lines, taking them by surprise. Unfortunately, in his off-time, Tread Bolt likes to practice his stealth techniques on fellow Autobots much to their chagrin, making him an honored-yet-less-favored member.

. . .

This Transformers Universe (aka Classics 2.0) figure is a repaint of the original 2006 Voyager-class Autobot Jetfire set- itself based on a character that appeared in the classic Generation One cartoon series in 1984. The first (and, thus far, only) version of Tread Bolt appeared as a Micromaster-sized (1½ - 2” tall) robot during the debuting Generation 1 era (1984-86). He was not a part of the original cartoon- re-colored or otherwise- as the first toy was an original design made after the series ended in 1986.

Vehicle Mode

(unarmored)

Robot Mode

(unarmored)

Tread Bolt’s original vehicle mode was a “sub-orbital craft”, and his color scheme was metallic blue and basic yellow, and highlights of silver. The gold “Air Defense” label across the Classics 2.0 version is a carryover from the Micromaster toy which had it in an identical position (but said "Air Patrol" instead). Unlike earlier toys from the Transformers Classics line in 2007, Tread Bolt lacks the temperature-sensitive decal which shows his allegiance- a gold Autobot logo has been printed behind his cockpit, which eventually ends up in front of his head on top of his chest.

Accessory armor

(details)

Vehicle Mode

(armored)

Robot Mode

(armored)

I got this specific set because I missed my chance to get Jetfire the first time around, being that he was so popular with Trans-fans. While the toy itself is still fantastic (I didn’t like the arms not transforming at all and just hanging off the sides), the color scheme just doesn’t work for me. Blue and black, with highlights of orange and yellow would have been fine, but it’s the brown which throws that off. For example, if there was no blue or even yellow, the brown would have worked. Starting out as a supped-up F-14 Tomcat in a livery reminiscent of the United States Navy’s Blue Angels flight demonstration squadron is fine, but then to dump a lot of dark coloring on the robot mode spoils that.

For a repaint, it’s not that great. No special or unique details beyond the original Jetfire mold. But, those same molds are still awesome. So, if you can ignore the coloring (maybe repaint it yourself so you don’t have to damage your Jetfire), then the Voyager-class Autobot Tread Bolt set will satisfy your needs.

Be sure to read the more-detailed description of Voyager-class Autobot Jetfire, reviewed by CollectionDX’s own Atom.

And now, for some special bonus material!

Great Might Gaine Perfect mode is achieved through the combination of the 3 mecha: Mightgaine, Might Kaiser and Might Gunner. I will be covering these figures individually in future reviews from The Brave Express Might Gaine series.

From Wikipedia

The Brave Express Might Gaine aired during the 1993-1994 Japanese television season and is part of the Yuusha (Brave) series of anime shows produced by Sunrise. The Brave Express Might Gaine takes these newly-crafted themes to their logical conclusion. Here the robots are no longer "spirits," but have personalities granted by advanced Artificial Intelligence. These robots were designed and built from the ground up by the late father of the main character: billionaire crime-fighting teenager and railroad magnate Senpuuji Maito. He acts as a Bruce Wayne character of sorts, taking command of the Brave Express robots in the field and fighting crime himself on the front lines. A unique further step is taken by separating the antagonists into multiple criminal factions, some at odds with each other; Might Gaine especially stands out from much of the Brave Series by taking a darker approach with the actions of some of these criminal overlords, as they cause severe harm to others in the midst of following their own ambitions.

Today I will be reviewing the ultimate version of Might Gaine, Great Might Gaine Perfect Mode!

Great Might Gaine Perfect mode is achieved through the combination of the 3 figures shown below. The figures are: Might Gaine, Might Kaiser and Might Gunner. I will be covering these figures individually in future reviews from this series.

Before I get into Perfect Mode, I wanted to show you Might Gaine with Might Gunner pre-combined. Note that the Might Gunner I am utilizing in my review is a Takara re-release from a few years back. The Takara piece works and looks beautiful with the Sonokong version of Great Might Gaine

The first striking feature, well atleast for me it is how the chest piece of Might Kaiser becomes the head crest for Great Might Gaine. In my opinion, it looks odd and kinda overwhelms Might Gaine's tiny head.

Great Might Gaine is an impressive figure, standing at almost 13" from head to toe and weighing in at a whopping 3 lbs of heavy plastic goodness! Articulation is limited to the shoulders and elbows. The articulation does allow Great Might Gaine use of his single or dual swords.

Finally we have Great Might Gaine in Perfect Mode. Perfect Mode increases this huge figures height by 4", making this figure stand a height of nearly 17"! The weight is now up to almost 4 lbs! You gotta admit, its a pretty impressive figure.

I have to say that I do like this figure overall, even if I do find some of the proportions to be a little odd. The figure has some serious shelf presence and a ton of play value. My advice is to track down all three figures mentioned above to create your own! Happy hunting!

I love this toy and I am proud to have it displayed in my collection. I think the design is really cool and it just looks absolutely stunning on the shelf next to my other Brave Series figures.

From Wikipedia

The Symmetrical-Docked form of HyoRyu and EnRyu, formed when their "SympaRate", a measure of their synchronization and unity of purpose, reaches 100%. ChoRyuJin is a defensive specialist with his Mirror-Coating Chestplate (which he uses at the risk of his life) and ability to use the Eraser Head tool. He also possesses HyoRyu and EnRyu's Gun, Rifle, and Tonfa attacks, usually used in "Double" form firing from both sides at once. He can also fire both guns and both rifles at once for a full-burst-style attack. After the initial Primeval attack, ChoRyuJin is retrofitted with the ability to fire Ul-Tech beams in place of heat or cold, which appear similar to most beam weapons in anime.

In technical specifications (and finally shown in FINAL), he also has the desperate final attack "Super Nova" - in which HyoRyu and EnRyu turn their respective dials to "Infinite" and simultaneously blast the enemy with their Chest attacks. Due to the placement of the chest plates on ChoRyuJin, he could not in fact use this attack while Symmetrical-Docked.

I didn't write the above paragraphs, so please no hate comments..LOL

Today I will be reviewing Sonokong's re-issue of GekiRyuJin giftset. The set includes both symmetrical docking robots, RaiRyu & FuuRyu that make up the larger GekiRyuJin. RaiRyu and FuuRyu are one of two sets of symmetrical docking robots that appear in the anime The King of Braves GaoGaiGar, the other set being EnRyu and HyoRyu that make the larger robot ChoRyuJin. I will cover ChoRyuJin in a future review.

Since you can purchase the set combined or individually, I have included photo of all below. The packaging on the combined giftset version is the nicely illustrated heavy corrugated cardboard box with the plastic tray insert that in the norm for Sonokong Brave Series re-issue. As for the individual pieced boxes, well...they are nicely illustrated but the box is very light cardboard that I suspect will not hold up to years in storage of moving.

Lets start off the review with the vehicle modes of the two separate robots. In the first photo below you have both the green cement truck (FuuRyu) and yellow dumptruck (RaiRyu). As you can clearly see, they share a very futuristic look, which is appropriate for the anime they come from. Each truck is just under 10" long in this mode and is comprised of quality feeling heavy plastic.

The only feature or "gimmick" that RaiRyu has in dump-truck mode is the fact the dump body actually can tilt back to dump. Nothing really impresses me with his vehicle mode.

Onto FuuRyu, again, like RaiRyu above, FuuRyu's vehicle mode also doesn't really do it for me and is lackluster at best. The cement chute can be raised or lowered and the cement drum can turn, woo hoo....

Now we are getting down to the good stuff! RaiRyu's and FuuRyu's separate robot modes are arguably the best mode of these figures, due to their almost unheard of articulation for an early nineties transforming robot figure. Each figure stand approximately 8" tall, and like I state above, both have some really good articulation. The joints are nice and tight with that "click" that all mecha collectors love.

Transformation to robot mode is a snap, and as you can see below, for the most part they look great, if you overlook the kibble on their backsides.

Just like in the anime, you can turn the dials on both RaiRyu's and FuuRyu's chest to "Infinite" and simultaneously blast an enemy with their Chest attacks. You can see below that the chest changes from white to yellow or vice verse to achieve the above mentioned effect.

Now lets take a look at FuuRyu alone. In the first pic you can see the nicely detailed face and chest that really contribute to this figures cool factor.

Here is a quick shot of the articulation that I had mentioned earlier in the review. You gotta admit that it is pretty awesome for a Brave Series figure.

Well, check this out! What I originally thought to be useless kibble shown in the backside shot up above, becomes a nifty shoulder mounted cannon with targeting system. The cannon actually can fire 4 of the 16 supplied red projectiles by simply rotating it. Don't you just love toys with firing gimmicks?

RaiRyu shares the same chiseled good looks as FuuRyu above as well as the pretty cool articulation. Only this time, the play gimmick is different.

RaiRyu can actually use his dump body as a skateboard! Hang 10 dude! or whatever the skating lingo is...LOL.

The next photo illustrates how the storage of the extra ammo and the arm for GekiRyuJin are stored in the lower legs of RaiRyu and FuuRyu. I think that this is pretty cool and I love toys where everything has a place. Also, you can check out the video further below and you will see that the left arm of GekiRyuJin actually stores in the exact place as the toy! Pretty trick huh?

As you can see below, RaiRyu and FuuRyu are starting to get impatient and would like me to hurry up to the part where they can do their ultimate symmetrical docking form, GekiRyuJin!

OK boys, lets go, SYMMETRICAL DOCKING!!

Here he is, GekiRyuJin in all his glory! If you watch the video above, the transformation of the toy to GekiRyuJin is practically exact to the anime.

GekiRyuJin stands a little over 10" and is basically a solid brick. Articulation is limited to the elbows and the head does turn back and fourth slightly between his massive shoulders. Even though the articulation is limited, I still think the figure is beautiful and well proportioned. I like the way the cement drum becomes his gun and the dump body is his shield.

Maybe its just me but I think GekiRyuJin and Optimus Prime have a striking resemblance.

All said and done, I love this toy and I am proud to have it displayed in my collection. I think the design is really cool and it just looks absolutely stunning on the shelf next to my other Brave Series figures. If you don't have it, track it down. It is worth hunting around for.

In my continuing effort to bring the readers of CollectionDX some interesting Brave toys, I bring you this gem....

I've been covering Brave toys on and off for about the past 2 months or so and no other toy so far has surprised me in a good way like Sonokong's DX Goldymarg re-issue.

Goldymarg is a secondary character in the anime "The King of Braves GaoGaiGar". Goldymarg is basically the means of which GaoGaiGar can wield the "Goldion Hammer". The Goldion Hammer is an awesome weapon, but without Goldymarg ability to transform into "Marg Hand" GaoGaiGar would not be able use Goldion Hammer properly and without incurring damage. So you see the relationship between GaoGaiGar and Goldmarg is sort of symbiotic.

Goldymarg also has the ability to transform into the GoldyTank, which has a powerful Fusion Beam Cannon called Marg Cannon made up of what becomes Goldion's Hammer handle.

Well now that you get the idea of what role Goldymarg plays in the anime GaoGaiGar, on to the review of the toy.

Goldymarg comes to you in a beautifully illustrated, heavy corrugated cardboard box shown below. On the boxes inside Sonokong uses the flimsy plastic tray instead of quality Styrofoam that us toy collectors would really prefer...sigh. Oh well, stleast the box is nice.

After taking Goldymarg out of his cardboard tomb is when the real magic begins. He is an impressive figure, standing about 9.5" tall from top of hammer to toe. Goldymarg is made from quality feeling plastic with nice, solid clicky joints. As you can see below, Goldmarg may be a brick but he does actually has some decent articulation in the legs.

Just like in the video above, when Goldymarg transforms the top of his helmet closes over his eyes. I kinda dig the way it does this so I had to snap a pic of before and after. Actually Goldymarg's whole transformation in this toy incarnation is pretty much dead on to the anime.

Moving along to Goldymarg in GoldyTank mode. In this mode you can use the 3 foam projectiles included with the figure. You do this by simply placing the projectile on the end of the pivoting fusion beam cannon and squeezing the flexible bellows of the Goldion Hammer. I prefer spring loaded, take out your eye weaponry on my toys, again, sigh. Is it just me or does this mode look alot like the Transformers G1 Roller? Anyway, very solid in this mode and rolls great, very rugged.

Before I get to Goldymarg's final mode, I figured I would include a token picture of Goldy in robot mode with the big guy, GaoGaiGar!

Onto Goldymarg's final mode, Marg Hand and Goldion Hammer. Like I said earlier in the review, the transformation is exactly like the anime, so just enjoy the pics of GoaGaiGar wielding what is his best weapon.

Oh, almost forgot, one last feature is what is called "Hammer Heaven" which is the two pry bar like devices shown below. You can see them in use in the video at the top of the review.

All said and done, I like this toy alot. It is solid as a brick and will surely last through years of rough play. Fortunately, mine will never see such play. I would suggest if you have Sonkong's re-issue or Takars's original DX GaoGaiGar and do not have Goldymarg to go with it, you should really track one down. You can use the Ebay links provided below to help you on you quest to find Goldymarg.

I know I have been reviewing alot of SonoKong/Takara Brave Series toys as of lately, and I have many more to do. Some of you may ask, so what are you going to review after the Brave Series figures are all covered? Well, I am glad you asked this question........

I know I have been reviewing alot of Brave Series toys as of lately, and I have many more to do. Some of you may ask, so what are you going to review after the Brave Series figures are all covered? Well, I am glad you asked this question. I am going to give you a sorta pre-review of the next toy line that I am going to bring you. The toy line I am speaking of is Eldran.

To sum this up, Eldran is the toy line launched by Takara Tomy after the Brave Series franchise was already well established. Some of the more well know characters from this series are Raijin Oh and God Raijin Oh which JoshB just reviewed.

Today I will be reviewing Go-Saurer from the anime Nekketsu Saikyo Go-Saurer. Go-Saurer is the main mecha character that is made from the combination of 3 mecha dinosaurs, Mach Ptera, Land Stego and Thunder Brachio. These 3 mecha dinosaurs can also form Saurer Jet, which is basically a transportation mode that has some defensive capabilities.

The sample for today's review was provided graciously by our friend Jeff Stein over at High End Transformers. Please check them out or just click on the Ebay link at the bottom of the page for a direct link to the item reviewed today.

To start off with, Go-Saurer comes to you in a beautifully illustrated, heavy corrugated cardboard box shown below. Even though this toy is Takara/Tomy, the box is very similar to the packaging used by Sonokong in the past Brave Series re-issues I have reviewed. The only real difference is that the flimsy plastic inside tray is replaced with an even cheaper feeling flimsier cardboard insert.

I will begin now showing you the 3 mecha dinosaurs that make up Go-Saurer. The photo below shows all the components that make up Go-Saurer in their dinosaur alternate mode. From left to right is Land Stego (red dino), Mach Ptera (blue dino), and Thunder Brachio (white dino). Each figure is comprised of quality ABS plastic as well as flexible PVC. The construction is light but very sturdy allowing years of play.

First up, Mach Ptera, the blue mecha pterodactyl that makes up Go-Saurer's arms and wings when in robot mode. Mach Ptera is the largest of the 3 mecha dinos with a wingspan of nearly 17 inches! The figure has articulation in the wings, legs, and neck. Notice the light blue clear plastic pilots cockpit. You can almost make out a pilots seat.

Moving along we have Land Stego, which is the red mecha stegosaurus that makes up the head and torso of Go-Saurer. This part of the team has very little articulation with only minor movement is the legs and adjustable lasers mounts on its tail. As with Mach Ptera above, Land Stego also features a light blue clear plastic pilots cockpit canopy.

Lastly, we have Thunder Thunder Brachio, which is the white mecha brachiosaurus that makes up the legs of Go-Saurer.. Thunder Brachio features articulation in its legs and tail as well as the jaw and the cannons mounted on it back. Like the rest of the team above, it has the visible cockpit canopy.

Before I get into this group of mecha dinos ultimate form I want to show you the very cool alternate Saurer Jet mode. In this mode, all the parts come together to make the impressive jet you see below. In this mode Land Stego's tail becomes the front fuselage and cockpit but all other components remain in the same place they would be in the ultimate form of Go-Saurer. Notice how this mode has a very Gundam like appearance. It reminds me of Gundam Wing or a Gundam Wave Rider.

Finally, all these above dino's can combine to make the very impressive Go-Saurer! As you can see below, Go-Saurer includes a sword and a shield. You may notice that the shield is made from the back of Land Stego.

In this mode Go-Saurer stands approximately 10 inches from head to toe and features articulation in the wings, shoulders, elbows, and oddly enough in the knees. Go-Saurer is able to have the wings opened or closed. I prefer them closed. I think its just looks more proportioned that way.

As you can see, Go-Saurer is able to wield the included sword and shield for battle. Again you may note that the color scheme of this figure looks very Gundam-ish with the combo of the red, white, blue and yellow. On a side note, this is a re-issue, the original figure had gold chome in place of the yellow parts.

In conclusion, I feel that Go-Saurer is a great toy and I am very happy to display it with it's other Brave Series brethren. The figure is fun and is well made, these factors are 2 of the most important things to me when I evaluate any toy. The only thing that I would wish to change about this figure is possibly adding a firing gimmick and maybe a little more articulation. Even without those extra gimmicks, the figure still remains fun, making it a must have for a Brave Series fan like myself.

The shadow warrior. Calm, mysterious and a puzzle even to his team members. He's the only one to have "subordinates", animal robots stored in the form of cards.

A very brief description of Shadow Dagwon from Wikipedia:

The shadow warrior. Calm, mysterious and a puzzle even to his team members. He's the only one to have "subordinates", animal robots stored in the form of cards.

Today's review will be centered around the re-issue of Shadow Dagwon manufactured by Sonokong/Takara. This toy can be purchased from ebay using the links provided below the review.

Shadow Dagwon DX comes to you in a beautifully illustrated, heavy corrugated cardboard box shown below. Once again, I have to say that I am a fan of the packaging used on these Sonokong re-issues so far.

I decided to do this review in the order of Robot mode, Beast mode then finally the combined mode. The first photo is the group shot so that you can see all the players on the Shadow Dagwon team in Robot mode. As you can see, the team is made up of Shadow Dag (Purple robot), Guard Hawk (Blue Robot), Guard Wolf (Green Robot), and finally Guard Lion (Yellow Robot).

Lets start off with the big guy, known as Shadow Dag. Shadow Dag comes with a sword, sheath that becomes a ninja star launcher and 6 yellow ninja stars (shown below). The figure stands approximately 6" tall and is mainly comprised of quality plastics. Articulation is limited to the shoulders and elbows. Shadow Dag is the main robot that becomes the chest of Shadow Dagwon.

Shadow Dag in robot mode

Shadow Dag is the only figure in the bunch that actually can transform into 3 modes. This second mode is called Shadow Jet.

Shadow Dag in Shadow Jet mode

Shadow Dags final mode is Shadow Dragon. Shadow Dragon it the fierce looking robotic Dragon shown below. Articulation can be found it Shadow Dragons front legs and the wings.

Shadow Dag in Shadow Dragon Beast mode

Now on to the 3 Shadow Guards, Wolf and Lion are up first in robot mode. Wolf and Lion are basically the same robot with slightly different molds as well as the obvious green and yellow color difference. Both figure include a hand gun as well as a back mounted cannon that can fire one of the 12 included missiles (6 yellow and 6 green). Both figures are able to transform from robot into beast forms. In robot form articulation is very limited. Only the elbows are really movable. You can move the shoulders but this will make the backpack cannon fall of easily. When in Beast mode, both figure can move all four legs and the cannon can be raised or lowered. Also note that the hand guns from robot mode can be attached to the side of the cannon mount, Guard Wolf and Guard Lion become the arms as well as the feet of Shadow Dagwon

Guard Wolf and Tiger in robot mode.

Guard Wolf in Beast mode

Guard Lion in Beast mode

Now, the last part of the puzzle is Guard Hawk. Guard Hawk utilizes a three bladed star like weapon that also becomes its tail feathers when in Beast mode. Guard Hawks wings can be opened or closed as well as move up and down. Articulation is limited to the shoulders in robot mode and wings in Beast mode. Guard Hawk becomes the head and winged backpack of Shadow Dagwon.

Guard Hawk in Robot mode

Guard Hawk in Beast Mode

Here is the whole team together in Beast mode.

Now on to Shadow Dagwon! Below in a picture of Shadow Dagwon from the anime and the transformation sequence from the TV show.

Shadow Dagwon is very impressive at nearly 10" tall. When all the figures are combined into Shadow Dagwon, they are extremely sturdy. Articulation is limited to the shoulders, elbows and wings. In this mode all of the weapons can be utilized or stored. Note the Sword sheath mounted to Shadow Dagwon's back and the hand guns mounted to the top of what was Guard Hawks talon's. Very cool looking indeed! The back almost reminds me of the Soul of Chogokin GX-13 Dancouga.

To sum it up, I really like this toy. It is a quality item that has a ton of play value. I love all the firing gimmicks and the fact that it is relatively easy to transform into the different modes. I also like the way the weapons all seem to have a place in all modes. In my opinion it is a very well thought out toy.

Even though this toy has the articulation of a brick it still has a ton of play value, making this a must have for Brave Series or Transformers collectors alike......

Today I will be reviewing the Death Garry Gun DX re-issue, made by Sonokong/Takara. The sample for today's review was provided graciously by our friend Jeff Stein over at High End Transformers. Please check them out or just click on the Ebay link at the bottom of the page for a direct link to the item reviewed today.

Death Garry Gun is from the anime "The Brave of Gold Goldran" and is the personal flagship of the main antagonist Zack Walther. Death Garry Gun or DGG for short is the successor to Zack's old flagship, Zazorigun. In robot mode it DGG is armed with chest beams and rocket punches. DGG's alternate form is that of a gigantic battleship. Death Garry Gun was so strong that only "The Great Goldran" himself could defeat it. Because of this fact DGG was mass produced with a total of five units made. Note* The original toy was the Autobot Sky Garry from the Japanese "Transformers: Return of Convoy" toy line.

To start off with, Death Garry Gun comes to you in a beautifully illustrated, heavy corrugated cardboard box shown below. I know I have said this before, here goes the broken record......I am a fan of the packaging used on these Sonokong re-issues and the quality continues with DGG.

Upon opening the box you will find a very sturdy, well made figure that should handle years of hard play due to the quality plastics used in manufacturing.

Space Battleship Mode

Space Battleship mode is one of 3 modes that DGG is capable of transforming into. In this mode DGG is over 14" long when carrying its full payload of transport van/containers.

The 3 containers have opening door that allow you to carry the included mini figures inside them.

The 3 included mini figures are:

1 red Missile Gear (MISAIRUGIA) transforming figure
accompanied by
2 light blue Custom Gear (KASUTAMUGIA) static posed figures.

DGG's Containers can be deployed by simply pressing the yellow button shown in the picture below.

DGG's mid-section can be lengthened or shortened depending on the amount of containers you may want it to carry into battle.

Here is a few photo's the included Missile Gear (MISAIRUGIA) transforming figure with DGG and transport containers.

Battle Platform Base Mode

The next mode of Death Garry Gun is the Battle Platform Base mode. As you can see in the photo's below, it is a very simple mode that basically has DGG in a handstand with the mini figure manning strategic battle posts.

Robot Mode

Robot mode is DGG's final mode of transformation and is my most favorite. You can check out the transformation of Death Garry Gun in the video below.

In robot mode DGG stands 9.5 inches tall and has limited articulation found in the shoulders and elbows. The legs are just a solid mass making the figure almost a brick. DGG can be equipped with 2 laser rifles that are shown below.

Death Garry Gun's head looks strikingly like Transformers G1 Ultra Magnus. Long lost brother maybe?

In conclusion, even though this toy has the articulation of a brick it still has a ton of play value, making this a must have for Brave Series or Transformers collectors alike.