It doesn’t raise the bar as far as DX toys go, but it doesn’t drop that 32-year-old ball either.

Includes Video review!

This toy appears courtesy from HobbyLink Japan.

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. Three 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 three 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!

. . .

Speedor, Buson, and Bear RV were the last Engines to pursue the three fleeing Gaiarc Pollution Ministers off of Machine World. The three Engines then crossed the dimensional barrier into the Human World to finish what they started. Quickly realizing that they could no longer maintain their true giant size on our planet, the three Engines separated themselves into Engine Souls and Engine Casts to prevent from rusting to death. With the help of their smaller companion Bomper, they found three humans at a race track that were trying to protect the spectators from Gaiarc’s Ugatz foot soldiers. Speedor, Buson, and Bear RV bestowed their Engine Souls to the three humans so that they could be used for their weapons and powers as the Go-Onger. Through their GoPhone henshin devices, the Engines can communicate with the Go-Onger with kawai holographic version of themselves. And when the Gaiarc present city-wide threats, Bomper back in the Ginjiro recreational vehicle/mobile HQ can launch the Engine Attaché Case which contains the scaled-down Engine Casts to the Go-Onger. And when the Engine Souls are placed back within the Casts, the Engines are restored to their original giant forms!

Engine Number 1 - Speedor (back) His partner is former stock car-racer Sousuke Esumi (Go-On Red). He is represented as a combination of both a red hot rod and a condor. In fact, he can deploy wings and thick bird legs for flight when battling Gaiarc giants, though he tends to remain on the ground with his fellow Engines; using his flaming exhaust to burn enemies to a crisp. As a life form from Machine World, he ends most of his sentences with the last syllable of his name, “Dooru, dooru, dooru!” Speedor forms the head, arms, and upper torso of the Engine-Oh.

Engine Number 2 - Buson (back) His partner is former bus driver Ren Kousaka (Go-On Blue). He is represented as a combination of both a passenger bus and a lion. Through the sign on the top of his head, he can display words of encouragement or strategy to the Go-Onger, but if words aren’t enough, his strength and pop-up Buson Missile racks on his back will do the trick. As a life form from Machine World, he ends most of his sentences with the last syllable of his name, “Onn, onn, onn!” Buson forms the lower torso, legs and Go-On Sword of the Engine-Oh.

Engine Number 3 - Bear RV (back) Her partner is former race track concessions vendor Saki Rouyama (Go-On Yellow). She is an all-terrain Engine, hence her squat chassis but large suspension system & tires; all of which can be used to make her jump high and bite into Gaiarc’s transforming Bandouma fighters. As a life form from Machine World, she ends most of her sentences with the last syllable of her name, “Vee, vee, vee!” (However, her seiyu voice actress, Miki Inoue, sounds more like she’s saying “Bee, bee, bee!”.) Bear RV forms the center torso and V Shield of the Engine-Oh.

Animals imitating vehicles? Umm... isn’t it usually the other way around? We’ve seen plenty of machines that looked like animals, well, since “Choujuu Sentai Liveman” (1988); then the 25th anniversary series “Hyakujuu Sentai GaoRanger” (2001) made them actual animals that were always mecha, which just took the concept to a whole new level. But we’ve never seen vehicle mecha that are alive, have animal features, and are sentient on top of that. It’s actually rather confusing- a real chicken-or-the-egg-type paradox. But let’s be honest here- the Engines’ design style is a direct shot aimed at appealing to young kids. It’s a very lighthearted series thus far. They’re meant to look kawai [“cute”, “adorable”], potentially appealing to young girls as well, which Super Sentai usually doesn’t target. And nothing says “Take that [car manufacturer]- you uncaring, greedy, polluting so-and-so!” like cars and buses with animal features. Just look at the big emotional eyes on combat mecha if you don’t believe me on that. But I digress...

Speedor is a big ol’ red muscle car, with a huge-ass engine block sitting right in front of the green-painted windshield, a set of four exhaust pipes in back, a streamlined spoiler curving up from in front of the back wheels, and stylized silver hubcaps. And he has a bird’s head on the nose of the vehicle. Speedor has a special feature in vehicle mode, and that is the ability to flip down wings for flight and thick bird legs from below. I suppose it needed to act like a bird in some fashion. (BTW, since the elbows only lock in one position, it cannot hold itself up. So don’t have a heart attack over it like I almost did. You can’t imagine how frustrating it was to spend 5 minutes getting it into this pose... only to have it promptly tip over just after I pressed the button on the camera.) Buson looks like a bus, yes? Big blocky blue thing with a band of painted-in black windows, six wheels, and a display sign decal above the windshield. But does he look like a lion? Meh... The subtle hints to this are the puffy cheeks with very tiny molded whiskers, painted-on gold mane, and small square silver-painted teeth beneath the cheeks/front bumper. (For a good while there before “Go-Onger” came out, rumors swirled around that Buson was actually a bison... which would have made much more sense to me than a friggin’ lion. If I have to look that hard to recognize a lion’s head on the front of a bus, then somethin’ isn’t right...) Buson carries the ranged weapons of the three in the series. The Buson Missile are fired from pop-up launchers which are located on top of him. Now, the only reason the launchers appear is because the doors are needed for something else. But in acknowledgment, the front edge of each door feature three molded missile cones apiece; the doors will not partially open, so you have to wedge them open (as I have done here) or hold them open yourself. Bear RV is about as special feature-less as Buson is. As with all of the Engines (including others not released yet), they can move some parts of their chassis at will, such as Buson’s face, or Speedor’s beak, when they talk. With Bear RV, however, she does not have a mouth per se. So- in true Terrance and Phillip or Pac-Man fashion- her entire yellow half hinges upwards away from the black lower half. It will snap upwards at 45°. One way you can make it open only slightly and hold there is to lift up the V Shield’s handle inside there and then Bear RV’s head can rest on it.

In addition to the numbering system, if you look closely the hubcaps from each Engine is represented on either side of their respective Go-Onger partner’s helmet.

After beating dozens of nimble Bandou Moth fighters, the Engines and their Go-Onger partners find that this has just been a ruse to draw their attention away from the real threat- the air-polluting monster Shoukyaku Banki, giving him time to restore himself. Using a new technology given to him by the three Pollution Ministers, Shoukyaku suddenly grows to gigantic proportions! But, the human heart has provided a new power to the Engines that they did not have before...

Engine Gattai!

In this new form which the Gaiarc have never encountered before on Machine World, Engine-Oh can now take on fully-grown monsters. The V Shield is stored on its back, which can deflect many objects thrown at it, and it can also deploy the Go-On Sword from the left leg’s storage compartment. And when it dashes forward with the sword, it can perform the powered-up Engine-Oh Go-On Grand Prix slashing finisher.

"Engine-Oh: Tune up!"

Engine Gattai Engine-Oh (back) has some interesting proportions to it. Looking at it from a side view, its head and arms are placed rather far back, giving it something of a thick, almost-borderline beer belly. The faces of all thee Engines remain intact along the front of Engine-Oh’s body, stacked on top of each other like some strange Native American totem pole. (Trust me- I live in the Pacific Northwest, and these things are littered all over the place, if you know where to look for them... like gift shops and tourist traps.) The head has what look like metallic blue sunshades with yellow eyes, a simple silver Go-Onger logo printed on the forehead, and three gold plated exhaust pipes on either side. The arms are very simple, with large horizontal shoulders, and smaller lower arms which are actually hollow because of how it transforms. The four light gray fingers are molded in one piece and can open & close quite well. Now, this may be me being paranoid, but the rectangular bars that the shoulders are attached to seem to stick out a tad more than seems necessary; certainly they’re more accommodating than need-be for transforming it. It feels like something might go between them like shoulder straps in a later accessory upgrade. Bear RV is sandwiched in between the other two Engines as the waist section, and serves no greater purpose than that, but the V Shield is angled up behind it against Speedor. However, you cannot put just Speedor and Buson together because they won’t fit against each other at all, and need Bear RV in there. Unlike the other two, Buson perhaps go through the least noticeable changes, the biggest mentions being the extension of the feet, and how the face flips down. The legs snap into position slightly diagonal from each other, but cool part is that the footprints have been intentionally sloped to accommodate this so that they’re always even and flat against the ground! (The legs cannot extend any farther to the sides than this, contrary to what I thought before I got this set.) So instead of one big brick, it splits into two equally-sized but inarticulate bricks.

So, like most Super Sentai mecha toys, the DX Engine-Oh suffers from ‘two-seventy syndrome’- it only looks good when viewed from the front.

. . .

For weapons, Engine-Oh has two. The first is the V Shield which is stored on its back. A small “L”-shaped tab flips out from the back, which then slips over the top of the grouped fingers. Now, the thing is, the instructions and all promotional materials show the V Shield pointing forward on the left arm, which requires the left lower arm to be bent inwards 90°. However, because the elbow only snaps into two positions- and 90° isn’t one of them- you can still use it with the arm fully extended. But regardless of how the V Shield is held, it’s still a pain to fit on that hand. It actually pinches the finger(s) so tightly that it tends to squeeze itself off! So, short of holding the V Shield up vertically, it’ll fall off just about every chance it gets due to gravity. The other weapon is theGo-On Sword, which is stored in a collapsed form inside the back of the left leg. The Go-On Sword, when folded up, is shaped just like an Engine Soul. (Since the collapsed Go-On Sword can fit into any Engine Soul compartment, it is always stored in the left leg since Buson’s Engine Soul only works properly in the right leg.) As with the V Shield, the Go-On Sword doesn’t fit very well in the hand(s) because the friction of the finger joints isn’t that strong; so it tends to droop as soon as you let go of it. (I’m guessing that, over time, if Engine-Oh holds both weapons, it won’t be able to hold them anymore because it’ll wear out both finger joints...)

In addition to future accessory DX Engine sets (which you know are coming), 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 (2½” x 1¾” x 9/16”, or 2.57cm x 4.5cm x 1.5cm), has a single bright red LED light, 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 DX Engine-Oh comes with Speedor’s Engine Soul. It is uniquely identified by its red ABS casing, the stylized “1”, and the phrases “ES” & “01” on the front decal. While each of the Engines in this set can accept an Engine Soul, only Speedor’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 for each Engine has a small door that must be unlatched in order to place the Engine Soul inside; Buson’s is the compartment opposite the Go-On Sword’s. When inside of them, the Engine Souls in Speedor and Bear RV can be activated by pressing in on their noses, while you have to press up on Buson’s back wheels (which explains their mysteriously spring-like suspension).

Speedor’s Engine Soul has four unique effects- all performed by the same seiyu from the series, Daisuke Namikawa (who has also performed for two other recent Super Sentai series, but is better known for more-numerous anime and OVA performances). He says, in Japanese:

• Spe-e-e-e-dor!
• Door doorae! (see above)
• Let’s go, partner!
• I won by a wide margin!

The phrases will always play in that order, each preceded by the same sound of a car racing by. Now, if you place Speedor’s Engine Soul in either Buson or Bear RV (or 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. (Since, as of this review, I have no other “Go-Onger” toys, I can only assume that it’ll say those same phrases regardless of where it’s placed.) Also, because that LED light is so intense, when it shines through that hole in the top of Speedor’s hood/head, the light (which alone can project over 6ft / 2m in a dark room!) actually reflects off of the engine block, and then you can see the light from the front even though it’s pointed upwards! (Intentional or not, that’s a cool idea!) However, because that part of the engine block flips over to make Engine-Oh’s head, the light can’t be reflected anymore.

Now, here’s something interesting... When Speedor has his Engine Soul inside, and he is a part of Engine-Oh, a new set of sounds can be heard! Well, just two:

• Go-o-o-o-o On!
• Door doorae!

This time, however, instead of a car whooshing by, you hear metal clashing first. But it is still Speedor speaking. (These two sounds, I’m assuming, are the generic one-size-fits-all effects that would be heard if you put this Engine Soul in something other than a DX-sized Engine toy. I’m also assuming that all other Engine Souls cartridges act like this as well, as I explained above.)

The Power Rangers’ version of the Engine-Oh has not appeared yet (hell- the show only started in February), so comparisons are impossible. If I were to take a shot in the dark, I’d say the chrome and gold parts are replaced with painted equivalents. I’d also venture that all Engine Soul cartridges (whatever those will be called) will be either modified to have fewer-or-no electronics, or completely eliminated from the line. There’s no PVC or die-cast metal, so that’s not a problem. (No metal in a car-shaped vehicle... who’d‘ve thunk it?) I doubt any plastic coloring will be changed, but there may be very minor paint changes.

. . .

I’ll tell you right now: when I saw this set, I was much more enthusiastic about it than I was of the previous year’s DX Jyuken Gattai GekiTouja. Of course, I said the same thing about the DX Gougou Gattai DaiBouken, and we all know how that turned out in the end... So, I’m being cautiously optimistic about this line. I can already tell that it won’t be just straight limb swapping either. (Attachment joints for lower arm accessories are located on top of Engine-Oh’s shoulder armor, which guarantee swapping at least there.) But there are several unused attachment holes all across the torso & lower legs, so we may be looking at different components swapping out, particularly with how the three Engines slide into each other. Oh, yeah- the attachment between the Engines is great; you never have to worry about these things randomly separating unless you pull the separation triggers on the side and back of the torso. Great! As I said earlier, this thing is designed to shoot for that younger audience. I’ve heard several theories on this online, most having to do with competition from other franchises and toy manufacturers. Hey, this may even be a step towards creating a Super Sentai series that has monsters that come out of playing cards, except we have the collectable Engine Souls instead. (Great- that means that I’ll have to go out and get other sets that I don’t want in order to complete sets that I do want! Not good...) Otherwise, I think this is a cool idea- using just a few unique Engine Souls to activate electronic F/X inside of a whole range of toys. Now, what could they have changed?

• Better grip design for both the Go-On Sword and V Shield, for starters; the Shinobi Machine sets from “Ninpuu Sentai Hurricanger” (2002) had poseable hands, and they could comfortably grip the dozen-plus weapons that that line had.
• That’s a sword??? Umm... no. It looks like some kind of weird nightstick or staff crossed with a spear. Try again, please! At least the holes in the V Shield aren’t too large or in really bad places. Some shields in the past, man... (*cough*TimeRobo Alpha*cough*)
• I can see why incorporating poseable legs would have been both difficult and expensive for the consumer. But couldn’t they have at least left an indent or a line or something to indicate that there is supposed to be this fictitious knee joint there!?
• Head swiveling. Why didn’t it have this???
• We finally got legitimate elbow joints in, like four years. The problem lies in the fact that you can’t do anything with them!

Even though I kinda scratched my head over the picking of vehicle-shaped animals (if that makes any sense), they did it with moderate success here. Buson, though... here we have yet another Super Sentai lion after getting one last year and then two years before that. Besides- does that really look like a lion? I don’t think so. Probably no better than Speedor looking like an official condor... But, overall, I’m quite satisfied. It’s simple, but not dumbed down. Detailed, but not overly so that it clutters up the plain shapes of the vehicles. Coloring and paint apps are also up to standard, with a nice return of decals in subtle ways even though they are pre-applied (which, nowadays, I have no problem with). It doesn’t raise the bar as far as DX toys go, but it doesn’t drop that 32-year-old ball either. Recommendation: go get the DX Engine Gattai Engine-Oh.

Buson’s Engine Soul can be purchased along with the Self Henkeijuu MantanGun set, available from HobbyLink Japan.

Bear RV’s Engine Soul can be purchased along with the DX Highway Buster set, available from HobbyLink Japan.

Another Telco Halloween decoration, the Wolf Man is the closest thing in my collection to a Muppet!

Even though it's a far cry from looking anything like he does in the movie, I really like the look of this figure. Although the sculpt of the face is somewhat simple, it does have an elegance and personality to it that is appealing to me. I love that they added so much hair to this thing. It's got a really wild look on the one hand, but it also sort of reminds me of a Muppet, too!

Although some might consider it excessive, the hair protruding from his sleeves and pant legs is another nice touch. But honestly, it sort of makes me wish I had a nice, creepy looking scarecrow one. Telco did release a scarecrow in one of their earlier batches of Motionettes, but it's more cute looking than scary.

This Wolf Man figure has much more poseability in the arms than the Creature did. You can actually bend the arms to whatever pose you want basically, as beyond the vinyl hands the arms are just a flexible wire armature.

You know what else is great about this one? That bright yellow shirt! It's a welcome change in a genre dominated by gloomy blacks and greys. It's the closest thing to sunshine that the Wolf Man will ever get anyway...

You get the same features here as on the other Motionettes...light up eyes, moving arms/head and sound effects. The sound is much more appropriate to the character this time around, too. 17" tall to the top of the head, it actually looks more like 18" with all that hair standing up. The Wolf Man was included in both series' of 17" licensed Universal Monster Motionettes, but I don't think there's any significant difference between the two. My favorite part of this thing? I got it for a measly $5 on Ebay! When the last time you bought a Japanese robot for $5?* ;)

Today’s I am reviewing Dragon Shiryu from the Saint Cloth Myth line. Saint Cloth Myth is Bandai’s premium line of collectible figures based on the Manga and animated series called Saint Seiya.

This figure came courtesy from Angolz.com who have been nice enough to provide us with all of our Saint Cloth Myth figures for review.

If you are just joining us and want to know all about what is going on with Saint Seiya I suggest heading over to wikipedia and checking things out.

Now on to the actual toy - Bandai has consistently banged out some quality collectibles with the Saint Cloth Myth line the figures are always well produced and loaded with ton’s of accessories. Figures are made of plastic, stand about 6 inches tall and feature lot’s of poseability. The armor the figures wear are always made of a high amount of die-cast metal and honestly I am running out of nice things to say about this line.

This time around I am reviewing Dragon Shiryu, one of our main heroes and a Silver Saint of Athena. Shiryu is the oldest and wisest of our band of heroes. Shiryu wears the Dragon Cloth (armor for those not in the know.)

From Wikipedia:
“The Dragon Cloth represents the constellation Draco, which is associated to Ladon, the hundred eyed dragon who guarded the golden apples of the Hesperides, in Greek mythology.”

“The Bronze Cloth of Dragon is legendary for its large shield on the left arm guard. Its reputation is unmatched by any other cloth among Athena's saints, and only very few have ever shattered it. The Dragon Cloth itself is noted for its ultimate durability, as it had spent the last 200 years bathed under the mineral-rich waterfall of the Rozan mountains, which made it harder than diamonds.”

This is Dragon Shiryu as his Cloth appears later in the series and Hades OVA’s. The armor is almost all die-cast metal with only the waist skirt and head piece being made of plastic. Paint detail is nice with no chipping or flaking.

The figure itself is made of plastic with over 40 points of articulation with the feet being made of die-cast metal. Included in the package is an alternate head which sports Shiryu with his eyes closed (Shiryu goes blind in the later part of the series and tends to have his eyes closed.)

Lastly the armor pieces do assemble into a statue when our heroes aren’t wearing them. In the series the armor shrinks a bit to make the statues small, because these are made from the armor the figure wears the statue stand about as tall as the figure.

As you can see from the pictures, Dragon Shiryu looks good and as always Bandai has made a fantastic collectible. Fans of the series should run, not walk to add Shiryu to their collection and if you don’t watch or read the series it may still be a sharp enough design to pick up. The Saint Cloth Myth line always delivers a quality product and it is well worth finding a design you like and giving one a try.

I have included a video review below and as always you can get your Saint Cloth Myth figures at Angolz.com.

This set is known as the Astro Galactic Megazord to differentiate it from the original Deluxe Astro Megazord released the previous year from “Power Rangers in Space” (1997), but in-series during “PR Lost Galaxy”, it is still referred to as just the Astro Megaship.

The Earth-built colony vessel Terra Venture is humanity’s first attempt to reach the stars. But in the midst of this glorious adventure, on the distant planet of Mirinoi, its people are being terrorized by the evil Scorpious and his minions. Several humans from Terra Venture are pulled through a wormhole to the besieged planet, and there they, a museum mechanic, and one of the natives of Mirinoi successfully remove the five legendary Quasar Sabers from their stone thrones. In their attempt to escape on the famous but worn-out Astro Megaship, one of their own is lost, and Scorpious orders Mirinoi turned into stone as punishment, and then turns his wrath on the peaceful colony vessel. The four human owners of the Quasar Sabers and the younger brother of the fallen soldier manage to unlock the power of the bladed relics in order to become protectors of Terra Venture- the Galaxy Power Rangers!

The Astro Megaship was once a powerful space vessel. It could travel between stars in the blink of an eye, and it fought against many foes both above and on the surface of planets, so its metal was proven many times over. But after the end of the climactic battle against the Alliance of Evil which threatened to crush the entire Universe at one time, the Astro Megaship was finally worn out after its gallant duty was finished. The ship- and her onboard computer personality known as DECA- was retired with high honors on Earth, and delegated to become a planet-side museum so that future generations could marvel at her and learn the value of dedication, courage, and teamwork. But when a desperate GSA officer from Terra Venture tried to commandeer the ship in order to save his teammates on a distant planet, the Megaship’s sole mechanic begrudgingly stepped in to fly the rescue mission. After saving all but one of the stranded Galaxy Power Rangers from Mirinoi, the Astro Megaship docked with the colony vessel, and then became their secret private transport as Terra Venture crossed the stars. Unfortunately, the Megaship’s previous owners- the Space Power Rangers- had chosen to remove key components before she became a museum, so the vessel was no longer capable of transforming into the Astro Megazord until their return.

. . .

This set is known as the Astro Galactic Megazord to differentiate it from the original Deluxe Astro Megazord released the previous year from “Power Rangers in Space” (1997), but in-series during “PR Lost Galaxy”, it is still referred to as just the Astro Megaship. (I will do the same here. I’m not gonna type that whole repetitive name out every single frickin’ time unless there is a difference to be pointed out; no way!)

• Astro Mega Shuttle (back)- While it is not seen in “PRLG”, it still forms the head of the Astro Megazord.
• Astro Megaship (back)- The larger of the two halves, Megaship is a sturdy design that features several hangar & storage bays throughout its hull, and has a highly sophisticated computer system with a limited female-sounding artificial intelligence of its own, known as DECA. While it operates mostly in habitable regions of the universe, it can easily travel into deep space, or make landfall, with only a crew of five. The Astro Megaship forms the torso, arms, and legs of the Astro Megazord.

In flight mode, the Megaship is a compacted flying saucer shape, with two red diagonal stabilizers on top of the engine housing (though in both series, they’re really vertical), a set of cargo & access bays hanging beneath which also serve as landing pods, and a pair of twin energy cannons to either side of the bridge. The turrets can spin a full 360º, but the twin barrels cannot pitch up or down. When not in use, the Mega Shuttle is stored inside a large bay inside the split section of the nose; the only sign of its presence being the small V-tail stabilizer projecting above the hull. The hull detail is quite impressive and well executed. To simulate flight, you can either hold it in your hand, or roll it along a smooth flat surface using the four wheels on the bottom of the landing pods.

Unlike the original 1997 set, the Astro Galactic Megazord had the light-and-sound feature removed, which helped to reduce the cost of the toy by about $10. In order to remove the feature:

• The large transparent-red “M” on the chest is the same, but the two trigger buttons inside of it are replaced with non-moving parts to fill the gaps.
• While the battery compartment door remains the same along its back, the part immediately below it where the On/Off switch used to be has been replaced with another which eliminates & covers that switch, but otherwise they are identical.
• The hidden switch at the back of its neck- which would activate the F/X when attaching the Mega Shuttle to the torso- has obviously been removed as well.

Aside from coloring (which I’ll address later), these constitute all of the changes between the original Astro Megazord set and the Astro Galactic Megazord.

Very well proportioned compared with many of its own kind, the Astro Galactic Megazord (back) is well detailed and solid. The joints are nice and tight, and the decals don’t take away or distract from the overall look. The arms rotate 360º at the shoulders, and snap at every 30º. The legs, while not really designed for action poses, can be moved into some interesting if limited positions for a look of flying through space. The two small engines for the Mega Shuttle hang off the top of the shoulders and act as the main propulsion for the megazord. The only paint apps on the entire toy are the face of the megazord, and the cockpit of the Mega Shuttle. My only complaint might be that there was no joint at the elbows or shoulders; I can accept what they did with the legs.

. . .

For accessories, the toy has three: the Astro Megazord Saber, Astro Megazord Shield, and Astro Megazord Blaster. The Saber is a soft, very light gray PVC weapon about 5 inches long. The black plastic Astro Megazord Shield is actually the belly of the Megaship, but split down the middle horizontally, and rotated in half. There is a small PVC handle for the Shield that the megazord can hold in either hand, though it’s preferred in the left. The Blaster is actually the booster assembly for the Mega Shuttle, with a PVC handle and cannon barrel folded out. As an added bonus, the Blaster can separate into its three different components, and attach to the Megaship as extra armament. The two small turrets the Megaship uses are not used on the megazord, but are still capable of spinning all the way around. So, if you want to take a cheap shot at your enemy one day...

The Deluxe Astro Galactic Megazord is a repaint of the Deluxe Astro Megazord; which in-turn is a re-release of the original Japanese toy, the DX Denji Gattai Galaxy Mega from “Denji Sentai MegaRanger” (1996). In general, aside from the differences addressed above physically between the Astro Megazord, the biggest difference here is the coloring used. Instead, for the Astro Galactic Megazord, all blue and silver plastic was swapped for black and gold respectively. All red, white, and light gray parts remain the same. The Megazord now features red eyes instead of yellow, and a gold-painted face instead of silver. The cockpit windows of the Mega Shuttle were also changed from brown to gold. The decals, also, have been updated. While retaining the same filling patterns and detail lines, again a simple color swap was made- silver for gold. The only exception on the decals is that the- shall I say- small rectangular belt-buckle decal was changed from bronze to black- the only modification made other than the gold swap. There are two decals on the outsides of the ankles that were originally blue that also swapped for black.

This also means that since the Deluxe Astro Galactic Megazord is the same as the Deluxe Astro Megazord, it is fully compatible with the Deluxe Delta Megazord also from "PRiS", which means you can make an alternate-colored version of the Astro-Delta Megazord.

Y’all remember that episode of the original “Star Trek” series from the late ‘60s, where some of the crew from the U.S.S. Enterprise were accidentally transported into a parallel universe in which their counterparts were the complete opposite of them in both appearance and personality? Well, this set represents what a mirror version of the Astro Megazord might look like- black for terror & death, gold for opulence, arrogance, & wealth, and red for blood. On the other hand, this set is rather unique to the PR franchise- it is a US-exclusive release! Many times in Japan, Bandai has released special black-and-gold repaints of certain DX sets from certain Super Sentai series, but almost none of them ever made over to American shores under the PR trademark. There were super-rare black-and-gold releases of the Deluxe Galaxy Megazord (minus all the metal parts of course).and the first Deluxe Megazord from 1993, in the US. However, this is the first US-exclusive repaint as well as the first US-exclusive black-and-gold Deluxe repaint (and so far the only of both). And usually with any of these black-and-gold repaints in Japan the price of the toy nearly doubles, but in this case it actually dropped about $10 due to the removal of the electronics. And so, with the exception of those missing F/X (which I really don’t think is a loss), the Deluxe Astro Galactic Megazord remains a winning toy, if you can find it anymore.

You would think at this point when I find certain product in the clearance bin I would stay far, far away. But noooooo, even at 1.99 I feel ripped off. Here’s my review of one of those silly Super Deformed Veritech’s by Toynami.

Released in 2002 with a bunch of other Toynami produced Robotech product, the Super Deformed Veritech’s ended up as peg warmers very quickly and ultimately in the clearance bins of most specialty stores.

The figure transforms between Fighter and Robot mode and isn't designed to hold any sort of Guardian mode.In fighter mode it has pull back motorized feature to make your fighter fly along which is not a feature that has ever impressed me in a toy.

Paint detail is ok, it's not great and it's not horrible. Articulation is almost non existent and the arms and legs are loose, as are the wings. I realize that this is just supposed to be a “cute” toy but I don’t really think it’s cute or fun and feels kind of cheap for the original retail price.

Even on clearance it’s a waste of money. If someone tries to give you one, say no. If they insist on trying to give you one, take it … then throw it out when they are not looking. It is better to spare their feelings than ridicule their taste in toys. Sorry Toynami, you probably should have re-released the old Bandai Super Deformed toys or at least taken more of a design nod from them.

Space Valour is a composite Jumbo Machinder bootleg, utilizing parts from Daimos, Leopardon, Daikengo and others...

I admit, I have a bit of a soft spot for Space Valour because it's one of the very first Jumbos I ever got when I started collecting, right after all the Unifive Jumbo Machines and some Shogun Warriors. I suspect I'm not the only one that this was the scenario for since this one is often on Ebay at a relatively cheap $100. It's far and away the most common full size Jumbo bootleg so it's often a quick way for the new collector to add something to their lineup.

But is it a good toy? Well, not really. Most bootleg Jumbos are pretty poor quality and these Robot Factory style ones that were released in Italy are often among the worst. Because there are so many pieces, many of which were taken from molds that were never intended to be combined with other pieces, they often don't line up very well. When an original Popy Robot Factory Jumbo is put together, it feels like one solid piece. Not so with Space Valour. Everything stays together, but nothing seems to "fit", if you know what I mean. If any of you have a dad who isn't a carpenter, but likes to imagine he is, then you know what I'm talking about. That homemade bookcase he made looks like a bookcase and it does hold books, but owning it only makes you want to get a real bookcase. That's Space Valour.

The arms and legs both feel floppy. The plastic is not high quality and tends to crack, especially the clips that hold the missiles on the legs and sometimes the clip that holds the firing fists in place. This can cause the fists to shoot off themselves and they can be a pain in the neck to load, too.

With that said, the makers of this toy were at least ambitious. They loaded it up with tons of firepower. Almost too much. Both fists can shoot, it shoots two spinning discs from launchers in the midsection and the legs also have missiles launchers. All the missiles and discs can be stored on the sides of the legs, which makes the toy look even more heavily armed. A sword rounds out the weaponry.

On top of that, they actually sculpted an original head for this toy. Most of the other Italy Jumbos, and most of this toy, are cast right off of existing molds, but Space Valour has his own unique look. Not only is the mold original, it's even an original design. No other robot has the same head as Space Valour.

Ok, so now you may be wondering where the rest of Space Valour originates. Well, you probably recognize the main torso from Daimos, even though it's been modified to hold those disc launchers and the shoulder shields. Speaking of which, both them and the legs come from Battle Fever Robo, but four small wheels have been added on the bottom. The arms are from Leopardon and the fists...well, I just noticed the fists seem to be unique, too. Although they are very similar to the fists from Battle Fever, Daltanious and GodSigma, they are in fact different. The circular "layer" nearest to the elbows is actually raised up, whereas it's lower on the others. Interesting.

Anyway, back to the rundown, the sword is from the Takatoku "Daikengo" Jumbo and although I'm not sure if it's the exact same mechanism, the "Super Jumbo Jeeg" from Takara utilizes the disc launching gimmick. It wouldn't surprise me if it's from there considering the popularity of Jeeg in Italy. The missiles look very much like the missiles from the Nakajima line of Jumbos, but are a different size and usually not interchangeable. Of course, there's always slight variations on these things so your experience may be different, but I wouldn't count on it. Lastly, you can see nods to both Dangard Ace and Daltanious among the sticker designs. Oh, speaking of the stickers, you'll notice that mine is missing the stripes that go around the forearms.

Back to variations for a second here. Although this toy is most often called "Space Valour", you might find it from time to time in other boxes. The second most common one is called "Zork", but there is a third. I can't remember the name of it right now since I've only seen it once and apparently forgot to save the picture. But I think it's something like "Warrior Of Space" in Italian or something like that. I'll try to find out. All three boxes feature similar artwork on the front.

So, basically, if you're looking for a quality toy, you can give Space Valour a pass. If you're just looking for a cheap jumbo to tide you over until something more appealing comes along, it might be a good option for you. Just know what you're getting into ahead of time and don't expect too much.

Queen Emeraldas or Hindenburg? You be the judge.

Anyone who is familiar with the works of Leiji Matsumoto, has surely heard of Galaxy Express 999 the movie. One of the characters in this movie is Pirate Queen Emeraldas. She appears in this movie along with Captain Harlock, another well know Matsumoto character.

Today, I will be reviewing, the movie version of Pirate Queen Emeraldas flagship, ironically named the Queen Emeraldas. This will be my third entry into Taito's Super Mechanics line of UFO catcher prize toys.

The Queen Emeraldas comes packaged in the now familiar window box. As usual Taito has done a great job on the packaging. You can always count on Taito using vibrant colors and detailed illustrations on their boxes.

After getting the Queen Emeradas out of its box, you have to install two small wings on the left and right sides, hardly a challenge.

The Queen Emeraldas ship is much smaller than Taito’s Yamato and Arcadia. It’s length being only 30cm or about 12 inches. The ship is comprised from quality plastic and ABS.

Unlike previous entries in this collection, Queen Emeraldas really lacks paint detail and gimmicks. However, it does have a small 17th century pirate ship slung underneath it's hull.

I have to say that I was expecting a little more "bang for the buck" from this toy. I know, I know, its a prize toy, but I was not impressed with it. It is really nothing more than a fixed pose model with no actual play value. I truly had high expectations after reviewing Taito's Yamato. Its hard to believe that this is from the same Super Mechanics line of toys. My opinion, at the original cost of $15.00 USD, its hardly worth it. I would pass on this “Hindenburg” unless you are a really dedicated fan of Leiji Matsumoto.

Next up for review in my Saint Cloth Myth series is another Gold Saint, Libra Dohko.

From Wikipedia:

Libra Dohko is a fictional character in the manga Saint Seiya, authored by mangaka Masami Kurumada, that was later adapted to anime. He is one of the oldest characters in the manga next to Aries Shion, as they both appear in the previous Holy War, and is most known by his role as Dragon Shiryu's mentor. He is also referred to as Old Master (Rohshi) by all of the Saints of Athena as a sign of respect, even though his only true student is Shiryu.

Why “Old Master”? You see for the first 120 episodes of the series (he looks like a little blue Yoda. His legacy as the Gold Saint Libra is shrouded in mystery for the first half of the TV series. So for all of the TV series the Libra Cloth (armor for those just joining us) like the Gemini Cloth has no known wearer. That doesn’t mean we don’t see the Cloth in action, because we do.

The Libra Cloth is the only Cloth that incorporates weapons into the suit. Athena has banned the use of weapons feeling it is dishonorable for Saint’s to use them. Despite this she has charged Dohko with keeping the Libra Cloth and its weapons for the very rare instance they are needed.

In the series the weapons are given to our band of heroes (the Bronze Saints - Seiya, Shiryu, Hyoga and Shun) at several points when they need the extra help, so needless to say when the Libra Cloth’s weapons show up it tends to be during very dramatic moments of the series.

Much like most of the Libra Cloth, all of the weapons included are diecast metal with the chain for the shield and the very ends of the Tridents being plastic. Twelve weapons come with the Libra Cloth, 2 Swords, 2 Tong-Fas, 2 Lances, 2 Nunchakus, 2 Three-section staves and 2 Shields attached with chains.

So it’s not until the later OVA series Hades – Inferno that Dohko is restored to his former glory and dons the suit. Dohko was granted the gift of long life by Athena to watch for the return of Hades Specters who had been defeated in the last great Holy War, 243 years earlier) the trade off for this long life was he had to remain in one spot near the 5 peaks in China. Leaving this spot to confront the resurrected Aries Sion in Sanctuary removes the spell and Dohko dons the Cloth.

The figure looks very nice in the suit, with the head sculpt looking very much like Dohko in the series. The suit is almost completely diecast metal with only the helmet, belt and shields being plastic. This release comes with a Generation 1 type body so the figure has limited articulation in the waist, which is fine as the design of the cloth while worn limits the characters flexibility.

While the completed figure looks very sharp, getting all the parts and pieces where they belong was much more fidgety than previous Saint Cloth Myth figures. All of the Libra Cloth’s weapons come in their full size mode and in their shrunk down mode.The shrunk down weapons go into slots on the suit and these kept popping out while trying to slide the armor pieces on, swapping hands and generally posing the figure.

Also included is a Dragon Shiryu (Dohko’s student and Bronze Saint) head so you can display him in the Libra Cloth (the Bronze Saint’s don some of the various Gold Cloth in the TV series finale.)

With that said the final figure looks very nice and the statue mode of the Cloth looks wicked. Because of the place the cloth itself has in the mythology of the show I will be most likely just displaying it in statue mode.

I really like the Libra Cloth and the Dohko figure and recommend it for any Saint Seiya fan. Non fans probably won’t be swayed to try it just based on its design, but your mileage may vary.

Saint Cloth Myth figures are always top notch, with lots of shiny diecast and great character designs I whole-heartedly encourage our readers to find a design you like and give one a try, you won’t be disappointed. You can get all of your Saint Cloth Myth figures at Angolz.com just like I do.

Ahoy Matey! Captain Harlock's Arcadia, off the starboard bow!

In my mind, the name Captain Harlock, always conjures images of swashbuckling space pirates with eye patches. Captain Harlock, is probably one of the most popular of Leiji Matsumoto's space operas, second only to Space Battleship Yamato.

Today, I will be reviewing, the TV version of Captain Harlock's Arcadia. This will be my second entry into Taito's Super Mechanics line of UFO catcher prize toys.

Like Taito's Yamato, Arcadia does not disappoint. Packaged in the now familiar window box, you will see a striking illustration of Captain Harlock himself.

After Arcadia is removed from its box, some light assembly is required (wings, front knife, and front 2 ailerons). Then, and only then, will you truly appreciate the detail and beauty of this toy.

Arcadia is a full 40cm long. Thats almost 16 inches from it's Jolly Roger flagged stern, to the tip of the bow mounted knife blade. The Arcadia is well made and