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!

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.

This toy is a monster. It is grand in scope. It makes me feel like I am 10 again. It makes me feel small.

One of the most brilliant things about the Animated Clone Wars series is the opportunity to explore the evolution of technology. Whether Lucas meant it or not, there is a certain visual aesthetic that evolves over the course of the series.

Episode 4 featured worn out technology. Everything looked used, dirty, cannibalized. With episode 1, all the technology is new and shiny Chrome ships and bright neon lights. From episode 2 into Episode 3 we begin to see glimpses of this technology being used, getting worn and battle scarred. But It is in the clone wars that the designers have an opportunity to explore the technology of the saga. Already a myriad of new vehicles have been introduced to the series, but we’ve also gotten to see the origin of one of the rebellion’s most classic vehicles – the Y-Wing fighter.

The Y-Wing we grew up with in the 80’s was a skeletal vehicle. It doesn’t have a big part in the movies, and is seen only briefly in the hangar on Yavin and during the death star run. But once Kenner decided to make a vehicle of it, it instantly became a more important part of the mythos.

The original toy was fantastic. I had one as a kid. It was loaded with gimmicks like dropping bombs, a rotating turret, and an electronic buzzing sound. Another cool feature was the ability to place your own astromech droid behind the pilot – something the X-Wing lacked. All that plus lever activated landing gear and an opening cockpit – well, damn that was a great toy. It is no wonder we all have such fond memories of it.

The one from my childhood is long gone, in a dump somewhere I am sure. So when a re-release came out recently I was all over it. It brought back memories. Unfortunately, they took a lot out of the toy. No electronics, no motorized turret, no removable droid. Hasbro had done a new x-wing a few years ago that was in-scale with their 3/34 figures and it was epic – why not do this with the Y-Wing?

Someone must have heard my wish, because at this year’s toy fair Hasbro announced a new Y-Wing…. From the Clone Wars.

This Y-Wing appears to be in-scale with the 3 ¾ figures and represents the ship as it was new, before all the armor had been removed. The rebellion modified the hell out of their ships, and one way was to remove unnecessary plating to increase speed and maneuverability.

This toy is a monster. It is grand in scope. It makes me feel like I am 10 again. It makes me feel small.

The box is big, but not as big as some of the recent offerings. It’s sturdy cardboard, with a die-cut front showing an action scene through the holes. This is part of a gimmick where part of the box becomes a diorama.

Taking the toy out is simple, and there is little assembly. The long engines need to be snapped in, and the missile launchers attached. Included is an instruction sheet, catalog and sticker sheet.

The stickers are old-school. They feel like they are made out of paper, and all they do is add a little texture around the vehicle. There are maybe 30-or so stickers, most of them off-white.

The cockpit holds two figures – one pilot and one gunner. The pilot cockpit opens from the side (like the old one) and features a separately molded steering wheel and detailed interior. The rear seat is covered by a smoky translucent dome with tilting cannons. This too has a molded steering apparatus. Unfortunately, the turret does not rotate, and they don’t tilt that much.

On either side of the cockpit are buttons to launch missiles under the nose. These buttons are sort of flat and easily missed. In fact, what ends up happening is I forget the button is there and when I grab the vehicle I end up launching the missiles.

Behind the cockpit is a place to store an astromech droid (not included). You need to lift the panel up to fit the droid inside. The space seems too deep to fit a clone wars droid, as the head of the droid just barely pops out. Perhaps if you leave the third leg in?

The next major gimmick is the opening bays on the body. Pressing buttons on either side opens the spring-loaded top doors in a slow, fluid motion. The missile launchers on the doors can each hold two missiles which fly off at the press of a button. The cavity left inside is huge, and can store all of the missiles and then some. Extra details like the detailing inside the ship really make a big difference.

The two large engines on the back are removable. The instruction book actually lists this as a play value item, saying it simulates Battle Damage. Once each engine is removed you can see the same engine that is visible on the classic Y-Wing.

Underneath the ship you have three landing gear that need to be lowered manually, as well as two bombs that can be dropped by pressing buttons above.

So what’s not to love?

That diorama I mentioned? Useless. It’s not long enough to fit the 27” long Y-Wing.

Also - it’s about $65.00. And for that we should get a little something more. Maybe lights? Included figures? Weathering detail? Removable panels? Who knows. But this is how these things are these days. Everything costs more, and if we want vehicles of this size, we will have to pay for them.

Personally, I don’t regret this purchase one bit. Now, where to put it?

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.

The AMP Suit (aka the "Iron Lady") is very cool, but the 3d webcam control gimmick is amazing. A first of its kind.

Includes HD video of the iTag system in action

Avatar is not the story of the Last Airbender. That was the cartoon. This is James Cameron's Avatar, his latest big budget extravaganza. People are anxiously awaiting this movie, due out in December 2009. Me, I have mixed feelings about it so far, from viewing the trailer. We'll see.

In anticipation of the release of the film, Mattel sent out a bunch of sample toys to us to take a look at. I had been eyeballing this powered suit so their timing was good.

The main gimmick of the Avatar line is the iTag system. The iTag system enables you to have a 3D model of the toy you bought on your computer. But it is not just any model. The iTag system uses a webcam to detect the iTag included with each Avatar toy. Once it locks on, it displays a 3D model of that toy on your screen, on top of the tag you are holding. Turn the tag and the model turns. Tap the info square and an information block appears. It is very, very cool.

To use the iTag system, you must first go to http://www.avataritag.com and download a small application. Once installed, it runs in the browser and allows you to interact with the website.

The AMP suit uses this iTag system to great effect. Just watch this video:

The iTag system is worth the price alone. But the powered suit is not bad either, and for $20 bucks you can't go wrong.

The name "AMP Suit" is short for "M-6 Amplified Mobility Suit". In the movie the AMP Suit is 13 feet tall and six feet wide, with verbally activated cockpit commands, hip mounted 30mm cannon, flamethrower and slashing knife. The toy however is only 9 inches tall, and does not shoot flames.

The box is interesting. It's heavy cardboard and an odd polygonal shape. It looks as if a toy like this would not fit inside, as the box is only 2.5 inches deep. The trick is that it's in a bunch of pieces.

To say some assembly is required is an understatement. You have to attach the cockpit cover, torso, arms, legs and cannon.

Once assembled, you've got an honest-to-goodness solid, playable TOY. It's a lot of fun.

Oh - the pilot figure is not included. I'll review him later.

The cockpit of the AMP suit looks a bit like the front of a helicopter. The clear canopy can open and close. Inside the cockpit there is no painted detail, no stickers. any 3 3/4 figure should fit in just fine as you just stick the figure in a hole - you don't bend the legs. There's nothing for the figure to hold on to, but once again, TWENTY BUCKS.

The shoulders each are on a long curved track that allows the arms to slide backwards. Unfortunately they do not "click" in any position so they have a tendency to move on their own. The shoulders are detented, ans they also have a hinge that swings out. Above the hinged elbow is a swivel joint, and the range of motion is pretty good. The hand is hard rubber and only swivels at the wrist. The hand details are a bit mushy.

The top half can swivel at the waist, but motion is restricted by the attached knife and holder. Why a giant powered suit needs a big crocodile dundee knife is beyond me, but whatever. The knife can be removed from the holder and placed in either hand, but you have to place it just so else it will fall right out.

The hips are solid detented joints, the knees are simple swivel joints. The feet bend at the ankles and then there is another joint at the toe.

The big gun that comes with the toy is actually pretty cool. First, there are rubber ammunition belts that clip into the gun and the back of the body. On the gun it looks like it can clip in two positions. While you can remove the gun from the hand, the ammunition and clip are permanently attached to the figure. The gun is nicely detailed, and big, with several places to hold onto. The main gimmick with this gun is that it is a missile launcher, but the launcher is weak and the thing only comes with ONE missile. Also, the AMP suit has a loose grip on the gun.

It may sound like I am complaining here, but I really am not. Keep in mind, this thing was $20. It's a toy, it's gonna have a few minor flaws, and kids won't care. Collectors may bitch and moan but you just know a company like Hot Toys or Aoshima will make a high-end gokin toy of this. But it is fun to play with, looks good, and the iTag gimmick is fun.

AMP Up Your Avatar Toy Collection

"With infinite complacence people went to and fro over the earth about their little affairs, serene in the assurance of their dominion over this small spinning fragment of solar driftwood, which by chance or design man has inherited out of the dark mystery of Time and Space. Yet across an immense ethereal gulf, minds that to our minds as ours are to the beasts in the jungle, intellects vast, cool and unsympathetic, regarded this earth with envious eyes and slowly and surely drew their plans against us......."

The H.G. Wells science fiction novel "The War Of The Worlds" was brought to the big screen for the first time in 1953.

This 1/48 scale model kit is based on the invading saucer from that film and was produced earlier this year by Pegasus Hobbies. The kit could be purchased either unbuilt for $24.99, or in a completed form for $34.99. I'll be reviewing the completed version.

The completed kit comes packaged in a beautiful cardboard box with a clear window allowing you to see the product inside. The box measures approximately 13" x 11" x 8" and inside the ship rests in a clear vacuform tray and held in place by twisty ties. This fact is the only problem that I have with the entire production. The outer shell of the ship has a beautiful reflective gold chrome plating and the plastic ties had a tendency to scuff the surface. It's slight, but with such a beautiful, shiny outer hull, you really want to preserve the pristine condition as much as possible.

Beneath the ship itself rests a base representing the top of the planet Earth with a "The War Of The Worlds" logo. A curved plastic stand elevates the ship above the planet and makes for a great looking display.

As you can see in the pics above, they also went the extra mile and decorated the interior of the box with burning buildings and rubble. The ship looks great against such a backdrop.

At 1/48th scale, the Martian War Machine is about 10.5" across from wingtip to wingtip. The antenna on the top of the ship can be turned. The tip of the antenna has a clear plastic end. The nose of the ship, the wing tips and 3 circles on the bottom have clear green plastic. You should be able to insert some small lights into these areas to create a great effect. I haven't done so as yet, but I'm not sure why. It looks like it would be pretty easy. If you remove the ship from the stand, there is a screw in the hole where the stand attaches. It appears that all you'd have to do is unscrew it and you'd have easy access to the interior of the kit. I really should look into adding lights to this thing.

Of course, as a model kit, other than the rotating antenna, this doesn't do anything other than look really nice. But it succeeds at that admirably. Perhaps the best thing about it is the price. Between the packaging, the base and the completed kit, you really get a lot of bang for your buck.

Of course, this being Halloween time, although I'm reviewing a collectible based on the movie, I feel like I need to work in the infamous Halloween 1938 radio broadcast by the Mercury Theater somehow. So I'll just say that I'm a big fan of old time radio and if you haven't listened to the show, you owe it to yourself to do so now. It may sound a little dated now, but it's historical significance can't be denied. For you younger readers who may be unfamiliar with it, the show caused a panic as some listeners tuned in late and believed the show to be an actual news report of a martian attack, due to the show's news broadcast format. Enjoy! And remember...

It's only a radio show....

...only a radio show....

...only a radio show....

(If the above embedded player won't play, the mp3 is HERE.)

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.