The main draw here is the glorious golden skull. This screaming face is the embodiment of Gaiking. It features large opening jaws that really accentuate the ferociousness of this mode.

The Revoltech Gaiking (Open Face Version) comes from the recent "Gaiking: Legend of Daiku-Maryu" anime series. I have to admit that I haven’t yet watched the TV series, but any show that brings new Gaiking merchandise to the shelves is alright with me.

The toy is the 39th release in the standard Revoltech line. If you don’t know by now what Revoltech toys are, you must be living under a rock. Gaiking comes courtesy of HobbyLink Japan.

This black version of Gaiking represents a “Powered up” berserk mode. The face plates have come off of the chest of Gaiking and he is ready to kick some ass.

Gaiking features 35 points of articulation and a bunch of accessories including two Counter Crosses, a Hydro Blazer energy ball, six optional hands, and a display base. The crosses on the knees can be removed as well.

The main draw here is the glorious golden skull. This screaming face is the embodiment of Gaiking. It features large opening jaws that really accentuate the ferociousness of this mode.

It’s essentially the same figure as the Revoltech 024 Gaiking, with the main difference being the skull sculpt and paint job. The paint here is a dark charcoal grey with dark purple accents. It’s quite striking.

You can get your own Gaiking at HobbyLink Japan. You know you want to.

http://www.hlj.com/product/KYD01161

It's a big giant Daiku Maryu and that's what you need!

Since I knew I was not likely to ever drop the sort of money it would take to acquire a vintage Popy Daiku Maryu Jumbo Machinder, it was pretty exciting when news of this new jumbo sized vinyl broke back in early December 2006. I knew going in that this wouldn't be comparable to the original, but for the money it would be a very nice option. After nearly 6 months of waiting, I finally received it a few days ago.

Daiku Maryu (大空魔竜) is of course the "Great Space Dragon" from the classic anime Gaiking. Though there is an image of the vintage show on the back of the box, from what I can tell the old and new shows (the new show being "Gaiking: Legend Of Daiku Maryu") both feature basically the same design. The head of Daiku Maryu launches to form the body of the Gaiking super robot.

This toy is an excellent, accurate vinyl rendition of the character, but it is more in keeping with the "Soul Of Chogokin" aesthetic than the Jumbo Machinder, though it is likely jumbo fans who are most interested in it. Fortunately, I collect both lines so either way I'm happy to have it.

Though there are 13 points of articulation (3 on the tail, 3 on each leg, both horns, the jaw and the neck), you would do well to consider this more of a display piece than a toy. I'm just not sure how well the joints will hold up to actual play wear over time. It feels like the tail would fall off if you lifted this by just the body and the legs seem a little too soft to withstand the weight of the figure. So far it seems fine on mine, but I've been keeping the legs pointing almost straight down. It just seems like it would be stronger that way. Maybe I'm wrong and time will prove otherwise, but for my part, I'd rather play it safe and keep it just for it's looks.

And it looks great! The sculpt is detailed, though not overly so, and the paint is fantastic. The metallic silver, gold and blue really shine and honestly this will look better displayed with your SOCs than your jumbos or vinyls. All the wheels are molded in place so there's no movement there and the fins on the back might be position a little closer together than I would prefer, but these are minor complaints at best. It's a big giant Daiku Maryu and that's what you need!

But it's not JUST Daiku Maryu. Nope, included are 3 mini vinyls of Skylar, Nessar and Bazoler. A mini, in-scale Gaiking vinyl would have been perfect to complete the set, but maybe we'll see that later. In the meantime, apparently the new Revoltech Gaiking makes a great companion piece.

A couple words about the size of this thing. It is a legit 24" long, but that's diagonally from the tip of the tail to the front of the face. Actual front to back length is more like 20" but that's nothing to sneeze at either. It comes disassembled, but putting the necessary parts together is a piece of cake. Just pop the head and tail parts on and you're good to go. The box measures 14.5" long by 9.5" high and 9.5" deep. Not only the toy, but even the box is reminiscent of the Soul of Chogokin line. Not exact replicas, just similar in style.

I never heard of the company "Most Wanted" before this release and for all I know this is the first thing they've done. It's certainly the first in the "Project Super Robot" line, but hopefully not the last. It's a very impressive piece to have in your display and I highly recommend you pick one up.

Another Gaiking Jumbo, this time Venezuela's take on the Mattel Shogun Warrior toy.

Although Mattel's Shogun Warrior Gaiking is generally regarded as an inferior product to it's Popy ancestor, there is no denying it's enduring popularity. Kids at that time loved the toy and as adults now have nothing but the fondest of memories. Furthermore, the Shogun Warrior Jumbos were such a smash hit that they were copied by two different toy manufacturers. Nacoral in Spain and Famosa in Venezuela were two companies that produced toys mimicking the Shogun Warriors. Both produced versions of Gaiking that are nearly identical to each other, but are significantly different than the Mattel version. I once won the Nacoral version on ebaY but it was destroyed in shipping and I've never managed to replace it. But I do have the Famosa version so I can tell you about that.

The first thing you might notice about the Famosa version is that it has two jointed elbows instead of just the one on the Shogun Warrior. Furthermore, both fists can be launched. (Although I can't see any specific reason why, the left fist on my specimen likes to fire off on it's own.) The Famosa Gaiking (which is actually labeled as "Robot Lanze Punos" on the box) also comes ready for battle with 10 extra missiles that are stored on the legs. These are the same legs as the Great Mazinger and the missiles clips are held in place in part by a screw.

Next, you'll notice that the head on this version is also different. Instead of being made of soft vinyl with painted highlights, it is hard plastic with stickers for details. The mouth grill is a gold foil sticker with black lines and there is also supposed to be stickers in the eyes, but my specimen is missing them. The same stickers as the Mattel version adorn the torso. The torso itself seems to be a harder plastic and the yellow is also brighter. Overall, I really like the look of this toy, even though it is even further removed from what the original Jumbo Machinder looked like.

I suppose the final thing to mention is the box. As I said in the Great Mazinger review, all the Famosa jumbos came in the same box. Each shows Great Mazinger and says "Mazinger Z", regardless of which robot you are getting. The way to know what you are buying was to read the name checked off on the top of the lid.

The Famosa Gaiking seems to be the second most common jumbo in the line (following Great Mazinger) but is still not easy to get. I think I've seen or heard of something like 5 of them selling. But the line as a whole is still a fairly new discovery so I'm sure more are out there. Price-wise, so far the going rate seems to be about $150-250 or so.

Gaiking was broadcast in Latin America in a show similar to Jim Terry's Force Five. It was called "El Festival de los Robots" and featured Gaiking ("El Gladiador"), Starzinger ("El Galactico"), Gakeen ("Supermagnetron") and Jeeg ("El Vengador").

EL FESTIVAL DE LOS ROBOTS

EL GLADIADOR

Though inferior to the Popy toy it's based on, the Shogun Warrior Gaiking is one of the most famous and beloved Jumbos worldwide.

Among the characters that Mattel chose to import from Popy's Jumbo Machinder line, the Shogun Warrior Gaiking is easily the most different from it's predecessor. It's almost a completely different toy. Since I don't actually own a Popy Gaiking, for the purposes of this review I'm actually comparing the Mattel version with the Unifive version, which is basically the same thing.

The first difference you can't help but notice is that the torso has been changed. Instead of separately molded parts that open to reveal the missile launchers/storage racks, the entire torso of the Shogun Warrior version is one molded piece. Stickers provide the black of the eyes as well as the silver and red off the mouth and the effect is far less impressive. The missiles still shoot from the eyes, but now the firing mechanism is located on the back. It utilizes the same mechanism as the one found on the Popy Dangard Ace Jumbo. Of course, what this means is that now there can be no wings on the back like the Popy Gaiking.

The firing right fist was carried over, but here Mattel added a hinge that allows for greater poseability than before. But the downside to that is that now the symmetry of the design has been compromised. And the extra black on the right arm has always sort of reminded me of Canada's Greatest Athlete. With the missile racks no longer available inside the chest, they are now stored on top of the shoulders. Most of the Shogun Warrior Jumbos had the regular red shaft/white fin missiles, but my Gaiking has the opposite color scheme.

The "Counter Cross" weapons that could be removed from the legs of the Popy toy have been replaced with simple stickers on the Mattel toy. Most people hate this, but in a way, I think it works better on this toy, since the chest has also been simplified. I think if you had separately molded "Counter Cross" weapons on the legs, they would stick out much further than the now flat torso and the effect would be strange looking. Of course, it would have been better if none of these changes were made at all.

About the only things that were not changed here are the hips and the head. The head looks like the exact same sculpt, but the paint job is much, much poorer on the Mattel toy. Not only is it more sloppily applied, but there is no color within the grills of the mouth. That missing detail makes a huge difference. The horns were molded in yellow instead of gold, but I have to admit, even though the gold looks nicer on the head, I sort of like that it now matches the color of the chest.

Now, you're probably reading all this and thinking, "Gee, Dave really hates the Shogun Warrior Gaiking" and that couldn't be further from the truth. I'm just acknowledging that it is in fact inferior to the Popy toy. But it's also the toy I grew up with and loved as a kid. Due to it's inclusion in the "Force Five" cartoon, which was widely loved where I grew up, Gaiking was a VERY popular robot and remains so to this day. Though the cartoon wasn't one of my favorites of the group, only it and Getter Dragon were chracters from the show to be released in Jumbo form in the United States, so familiarity alone made me love the toy as a child. And despite it's flaws, I still love it as an adult.

It seems all the Mattel Shogun Warrior Jumbos were produced in great numbers and are pretty easy to findon ebaY. You can expect to pay about $100-200 for one in the box. However, as easy as it is to get the Shoguns, it's not so easy to get them in PERFECT condition. Often the boxes are pretty beat up and things like inserts and paperwork are missing. A perfectly deadstock example will command a much higher premium.

I've listed the original price for Gaiking as $13.88 because I've seen a picture advertising Mazinga, Dragun and Raydeen for that much, and until I know better, I'd assume that Gaiking was the same cost. If you know otherwise, please let me know.

First of all, let's get one thing clear. This is not the classic Gaiking from the 70's. This is the new version of Gaiking from the 2005 series "The Legend of Daiku-Maryu". It looks just like the classic Gaiking, but with some subtle differences.

Revoltech Yamaguchi Series Gaiking
リボルテック・ヤマグチシリーズ 「ガイキング」 （THE　LEGEND　OF　DAIKU-MARYU）

First of all, let’s get one thing clear. This is not the classic Gaiking from the 70’s. This is the new version of Gaiking from the 2005 series “The Legend of Daiku-Maryu”. It looks just like the classic Gaiking, but with some subtle differences.

Gaiking is the 24th entry into the Revoltech line. Never has one toy line covered so many different licenses and done it with such quality. I really hope Kaiyodo and Organic continue to do more of the modern super robots. Gaiking (and the rest of the Revoltech line) can be found at HobbyLink Japan.

Included with Gaiking are the following accessories

• Counter Cross x2
• Hydro Blazer
• Optional Hands x 6
• Display Base

Gaiking features 11 Revoltech joints and stands about 130mm (5.1 Inches) tall. The figure is comprised of 37 pieces and went on sale Sunday, April 14, 2007.

Gaiking’s head is a double Revoltech joint that allows for a full range of motion. It seems to be that this double joint is now the standard for Revoltech releases.

The skull chest assembly is actually 2 parts, with the lower jaw being movable. The whole assembly is removable and attaches via 2 pegs. It actually comes off a little too easily, if you ask me.  The shoulders are swivel joints and the elbows are Revoltech joints. The hands are removable and can be swapped with any of the option hands.

The lower legs are your standard Revoltech fare, but it is worth noting that the leg crosses are removable (although smaller size than the other Counter Cross weapons.)

In terms of accessories, the only weapons included are the 2 large Counter Cross weapons and a Hydro Blazer ball. The Counter Cross weapons can be held by two of the option hands, but they don’t hold them well.

The Hydro blazer is a ball that is held by another optional hand. A peg in the Hydro Blazer fits into a hole in this special hand.

The base is your standard Revoltech base, with a slight difference. This base has a long arm with a Revoltech joint on the back, which we have seen before with Getter 2. The difference with this base is that it has an additional peg on the base. What this means is that you can connect Gaiking to the base in 2 places. This makes for a much sturdier display. Another new thing with the stand is that Gaiking has 2 connection points on his back – one on his back and one in the exhaust port of his back jet.

The only problem I had with this figure is that there was a small area on the outside of the leg that looks like a factory defect. Not sure if it is a scuff mark or what, but as HobbyLink Japan says, these figures may have minor imperfections. Another thing I was a little disappointed in was the lack of spear and shield that the new Gaiking uses.

Still, it’s a cool new poseable Gaiking action figure, and a no-brainer for any classic super robot fan.

The last Jumbo to come from Japan......

The fourth and last entry in the Unifive line of Jumbo Machine toys would be Gaiking (ガイキング). The original anime aired in Japan from April 1st 1976 to January 27th, 1977, but would later be shown as part of the "Force Five" program in the United States. Popy would release a Jumbo Machinder of the character in 1976 and Mattel would release a radically different one as part of their "Shogun Warriors" line the next year. Most US collectors had to settle for the inferior Mattel version, until the Unifive re-issue of the Popy classic.

I have never owned the original Popy version, so I can't say for sure, but to the naked eye, the Unifive looks completely identical. One of the first things I noticed when preparing this review is just how many parts this thing actually comes with. It had been awhile since I'd taken it apart so a little dusting was in order. Much like the other two heroes in the line, Mazinger Z and Great Mazinger, I've really grown so used to this toy that I don't often appreciate how nice it really is. It's really got alot going for it besides just it's great design. The missiles in the eyes of the chest both shoot by pressing a tab just next to them. 5 missiles are included, and the spare three are stored in the chest by lifting the Daiku Maryu face and snapping them into the holders.

Gaiking also shoots his right fist and his left fist, which doesn't shoot but can be removed, has a hole in it so that it can hold one of his "Counter Cross" weapons. Both of these can be removed from the legs so it would have been nice if each hand could hold one. In addition to these offensive weapons, Gaiking also features a removable set of wings that can be easily slid on and off via two hooks that are placed into openings in the back.

Gaiking also comes with a pair of great big horns so that you can create the head of Daiku Maryu. In order to do this, you need to remove the wings, head and arms. The head just slides out of a hole in the shoulders. You should remove the wings before trying to remove the arms. This is because the arm sockets have two openings, one big and one small, that allows that shoulders to separate when they are lined up properly with the plastic of the shoulder joint, which is molded to match the two holes. The arms need to be pointing backwards, where the wings would be, in order to achieve this. Then, simply replace the arms with the horns and you've got your Daiku Maryu head.

I suppose this is a pretty interesting feature, but personally, I'm not sure it's worth the downside it creates. That being that because the arms are designed to come off, they sometimes seem a little loose and frankly I don't like that the head comes off so easily. I mean, honestly of all the people I've ever met who own this toy, I don't think any actually display it as the Daiku Maryu head. I guess anything that adds play value is nice, but I just don't see much appeal of a Daiku Maryu head with legs.

One last thing I don't like about this toy is it's packaging. While the previous entries tried to emulate the original boxes, this one just has a lame picture of the toy on front. Of course, if the original Gaiking box wasn't so beautiful maybe it wouldn't hurt quite so much to get this one.

I'm not complaining though. Had U5 gone ahead and kept producing these toys, I'd have bought every single one, regardless of how the boxes looked. But as it stands, this is not only the last Unifive Jumbo, it is also the last Jumbo produced in Japan. It's still a pretty easy find and will generally cost about $100-150.

GAIKING:

Although I have a few minor complaints, for most part, Gaiking is really, really nice. It looks great, has nice proportions, and is fun to play with. The fists shoot far, he can recreate many poses from the show, and the power-up mode is an added bonus.

There is a surprisingly large segment of the American Japanese toy community that grew up watching the Jim Terry produced TV show, Force Five. Each day after school, a different cartoon, a different obsession created. Force Five would eventually lead us to reclaim that part of our lives, by collecting toys from the shows that had such an impression on us.

The Soul of Chogokin line from Bandai has brought many of the best representations of these characters to us. Danguard Ace will likely never be made. Grandizer and Starvengers (aka Getter Robo G) have already seen the SOC treatment, and nobody really cares about the Spaceketters. The only one we all really were waiting for was Gaiking.

We now have our SOC Gaiking. But can it possible live up to the legend?

Inside the box, you get a Styrofoam tray that holds the body of Gaiking, a cardboard box featuring stand parts, and a plastic tray to hold all the accessories. This is pretty standard SOC fare, but I would really love to see Bandai go back to the one piece Styrofoam tray of the old days.

There are really too many parts included to mention, but here are some highlights:

• Powered up arms, legs, hands, feet, and head
• Head with removable faceplate parts
• Open and closed fists
• Wing, with changeable Back Shredder
• Miracle Drill weapons
• 2 sets of Counter Crosses

Gaiking in normal mode is the Gaiking we most remember. He is about the same size as Getter Dragon, about 8 inches tall. Initially, Gaiking comes in the individual components as seen in the show. The leg unit features removable feet and collapsing legs, to create a shorter component part. The feet can be removed by pressing a button on the back of the foot. Once locked into place, the feet are very secure. The legs can be pulled down and a click will secure them into place. However, the legs on mine can unlock pretty easily. It will stand fine, but when posing it can get a little annoying. Removable spikes attach to the side of the legs to replicate the look in the show. These are stored in the base when not in use. The leg stars attach securely via small slots in the lower legs. The stars are a softer rubber, probably to prevent breakage or injury. A button on the back of the waist secures the chest unit to the lower half. The waist, upper legs and feet are all metal.

The chest unit features the most significant feature of Gaiking, the giant gold skull. The skull attaches to the body via 2 hinges, which allow for a surprising range of motion. The top portion of the skull is metal. You can recreate Gaiking's Killer Bite move with ease. Any one of the three included heads can attach to the peg on top of the skull. The best way I've found to attach the head securely is to open up the skull head from the top a bit, apply pressure to the red tab while simultaneously attaching the head. The head rests on a kind of elevator, which hides the head when the skull is being displayed as a stand alone component. When the head is hidden, the red tab rises.

The arm assembly separates from the chest to form the third component of Gaiking. Here, only the upper arms are metal. The shoulders have expanding shoulder pads, to give it more girth in super mode. The wing attaches to the back via a tab, and features a neat gimmick. On the center of the wing there is a thin strip with a tab at top. Pull that tab down to reveal the Back Shredder weapon. The piece hinges at the bottom, so pull it all the way out, slide it up on the hinge, and snap it back in place. No swapping parts, and no chance of losing it!

Gaiking comes with regular style arm connectors and launching (Counter Punch) fist connectors. The launching fists are really powerful. You can also attach the Miracle Drills to any of the hand connectors. Also included are hands that can hold the leg crosses.

You can also replicate the powered up mode of Gaiking with a series of accessories. For the legs, you get larger feet, legs and leg stars. The legs are actually shells that slide over the existing legs. Unfortunately, these leg shells do not like to stay in place. This is the weakest feature of the toy. The arms also get power up sleeves and hands. Gaiking comes with a handy little red tool used to pop off the power up parts due to the tight fit. If only the legs had such a tight fit. You also get a large sized head for this mode. Also included is a third head with removable faceplates for when Gaiking does his Open Face attack.

The stand comes in several parts and needs to be assembled. The nameplate is molded plastic again, something that Bandai can't seem to make up its mind about. All the parts have a place on the stand except for the red tool, but that makes sense. Some parts plug securely into pegs, but other parts, like the extra feet and the hip spikes, fall off with the slightest movement. The base is actually 3 parts, and it is just held together by tabs. You cannot move it without a bunch of parts falling off of it. Why can't Bandai give us a base that will hold everything securely? You would think that with Japan being earthquake prone, these things would be a bit more secure. Another nitpick I have is there is no support for Gaiking in robot mode. There are no grooves for his feet, and no clips to keep him in place. Gaiking tends to be a bit top-heavy, and the extra support would have been nice. The individual components however do secure resting places on the base. Go figure.

Although I have a few minor complaints, for most part, Gaiking is really, really nice. It looks great, has nice proportions, and is fun to play with. The fists shoot far, he can recreate many poses from the show, and the power-up mode is an added bonus.

On the down side, the legs are a bit weak, and the power up legs are not tight enough. The base kind of sucks and Gaiking is a little top heavy. Some people might disagree with me on this next point, but I actually think there are too many parts. Just give us articulated hands, for example, and let me pose them.

Regardless, Gaiking is cool, and a must-have.

I wonder how long until we see a yellow belly version?

Are you listening Bandai?

Gaiking was released May 2005 with a retail price of 9,240 yen

Gaiking is a cool and clever little novelty, and guaranteed to get attention.

EDITORS NOTE

The following review is an excerpt from a work in progress. The larger project details the rather odd circumstances that led to the authors fascination with Japanese toys. The article is written from the perspective, and with the limited knowledge he had in 1978 when he was building the collection. Therefore, much of the information on the toys will be inaccurate, the toy stores listed non existent, and the prices ridiculously low.

OK, so what do you do with an extra fifteen bucks burning a hole in your pocket? You could take your girlfriend out for dinner. You could fill up the tank and take a couple of buddies to go see Star Wars again. You could buy a toy robot. For fifteen bucks? Well, twelve dollars and ninety-nine cents plus tax, actually.

As far as I know, the Gaiking is a hundred foot tall robot warrior from a Japanese cartoon series. The toy is made by the Popy Company of Japan. It is precisely crafted, beautifully finished, well packaged, and almost all metal. This is one of those toys that you pick up, handle, and then say, "That's not really a toy". The Gaiking would look equally at home on a twelve year old kid's toy shelf, or a corporate executive's desk. It's the kind of thing that has "Collector's Item" written all over it.

What is unique about these Japanese figures is that they have no motors, lights, or other battery powered gimmicks. Instead, they disassemble like some exotic puzzle, and then transform into something else, usually a space ship or vehicle of some sort. The Gaiking, after launching his spring-loaded fists, drops his legs, and opens up like a clamshell. His shoulders detach, and his head folds back into the torso leaving a horned demon skull in place of the humanoid robot. My guess is that the transformed figure serves as the head for another, larger machine, but the box gives no indication of what that machine might be.

Gaiking is a cool and clever little novelty, and guaranteed to get attention. You can find him, and dozens of other equally ingenious figures at Toys International, or Kunimatsuya.*

*The stores are no longer in business. Popy returned to its parent company, Bandai

This bootleg is based off of the Max Factory Gaiking Vinyl kit. It stands 9" tall and is fully assembled and painted.

The sculpt and paint are fantastic. It is articulated at the head, shoulders, arms and legs.

It ships in a plain blue window box. The original Max Factory kit comes in a full color box.