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.

The official whipping boy of Jumbo Machinder collectors, this toy is probably better than you've heard. Video inside!

Although there were previous Jumbos that were from Sentai shows, the Jumbo Astro Megazord is the first one to be released in the United States and bear the name of the Power Rangers. It was released in 1998 in support of the "Power Rangers In Space" series. It's an interesting piece because unlike the subsequent Jumbos released in the US, this toy actually has a transformation gimmick like the DX version. The method is different here though and requires a small amount of parts swapping, but the end result actually looks pretty cool. It's certainly better than many of the vintage "transforming" Jumbos, which often just lay down to transform. My only real gripe with the vehicle mode is that the feet don't connect in anyway. As a result, the nose of the ship doesn't line up quite right.

This toy was not very popular among Jumbo collectors. There are probably a few reasons for that. First, it isn't a full sized Jumbo. It measures only 18" tall. Secondly, many people didn't like the design of the robot itself, particularly in comparison to the old school super robot aesthetic that most Jumbo collectors know and love, although I think they'd prefer this to the later designs with all the animal parts.

Another problem with this toy is the feet. To allow for the transformation to vehicle mode, the feet need to rotate down. Where the toy fails is that there is nothing really holding the feet on the toy. They just slide sideways onto a peg, and more often than not, slide right back off again. This also causes the toy to lean just a tiny bit forward, too. Lastly, I can't help but think there is just a little bit of Power Ranger hating going on, too. As popular as the show was with kids when this came out, I seem to remember just as much hate for it from adults. I know I couldn't even stand to hear the name back then. I just can't help but think that if toys like this were on the shelves at about $20 a pop now, they would get more respect than this did at the time of it's release. Many collectors disrespect it by spelling "Astro" with an extra "s" and I think they are giving it a bum rap.

In addition to transforming, the Jumbo Astro Megazord comes with a sword and shield that can be placed in the hands. The head turns and the arms move up and down. Simple like all Jumbos.

Although this toy was released initially in the United States, the overstock was later shipped back to Japan and sold there. Everything was exactly the same, except that the box had a gold foil sticker slapped onto the lower right corner with Japanese writing on it.

US box

Japanese box

Additionally, it seems that this toy was released in Korea, too. I've only seen the box for that release, but judging by that, it looks like the exact same toy. However this time a whole new box design was created and the show was called "Mega Rangers".

While I can't say I love this toy, I do think it's better than it's generally given credit for. And it really makes me wish that Bandai had gone ahead and followed through on their plans to release a second toy in the line. The Jumbo Mega Voyager sadly never made it past the prototype stage. It's a shame too since it looks like it might have been an even better toy.

Although the transformation is simple, I've recently been given a video camera so I figured I'd join the fray and do a quick video to show you how it's done. In the process, I actually managed to break the knob on one of the arms. And here I was thinking that polyethylene was practically indestructible.

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.

If Bandai still made them like this, I would still collect Sentai.

I'm not going to even try to describe what the series was about. For that, check wikipedia.

What I can tell you though is that this figure is very cool, and one of my favorite releases from Wild Force / Gaoranger. The Deluxe Animus Megazord is based off of the Deluxe Wild Force Megazord. While the design is similar, very few of the parts are actually the same.

The Deluxe Animus Megazord consists of five power animals:

Saw-Shark

This shark features wheels on the bottom, a moveable jaw, fins, and a detachable tail.

Lion

The lion appears to be the same as the one used in the Deluxe Wild Force Megazord, aside from different coloring.

Condor

The condor features a new head and tail unit, redecorated wings, and metal feet.

Bison

The Bison is similar to the Bull used on the Wild Force Megazord, with different detailing, coloring, and different horns.

Leopard

The Leopard is similar to the tiger used on the Wild Force Megazord, with different coloring.

The combination is similar to that of the Wild Force Megazord, with a few notable exceptions.

On the chest of the Animus Megazord, the wings point upward and outward.

The horns on the head become a kind of bow weapon that can be held in the mouth of the Leopard.

Once again, this release retains all the metal of the DX Chogokin version. This is one heavy bot. If Bandai still made them this way today, I would still be a Sentai Fan.

So, what's different in this release from the Japanese release? The only thing I can see is that the gold metal shoulder plates are re-used from older US zords and not the ones that come with the Japanese version, which also has paint detail. Thats about it as far as I know, but perhaps purists will correct me.

Titanus is a HUGE toy: 22 inches long, around 10 high. Even knowing the beast’s size, I was still surprise when I got it. Out of the box, Titanus is easy to assemble… safe for the FORTY or so stickers to place. You’ll never convince me that a 4 year-old kid can do it, but I digress. Even left alone, Titanus is a heck of an addition to a collection.

First, a bit of history.

When Tommy and Jason went on a quest to find weapons capable of destroying the super putties, they stumbled upon Titanus, who was guarding them. After getting the weapons, Zordon informed them that Titanus was an ally, and would lend a hand when needed. A few episodes later, Titanus combined with the (yet unnamed on screen) Megadragonzord and formed the Ultrazord, the mightiest zord in that season. Titanus was forgotten when the Rangers powered up to the Thunderzord, but was re-activated and modified to combined with the Ninja and Shogun Megafalconzords to form a new Ultrazord.

Now, let’s talk about the real thing.

Titanus is a HUGE toy: 22 inches long, around 10 high. Even knowing the beast’s size, I was still surprise when I got it. Out of the box, Titanus is easy to assemble… safe for the FORTY or so stickers to place. You’ll never convince me that a 4 year-old kid can do it, but I digress. Even left alone, Titanus is a heck of an addition to a collection.

The monster has two modes: “carrier mode” and “attack mode”. In “attack mode”, the tail becomes the cannon, the back opens up to reveal a compartment design to house a Megazord, and the chest comes out. And of course, it has a motor, meaning you can make it roll around and dribble while watching it.

But the real fun starts when you combine it with the Original (sometimes called “mighty” or “Dino”) Megazord and the Dragonzord. Titanus was released three times. First during the MMPR season 1, Then MMPR season 3 (dubbed The Return of Titanus, including a non-functional version of the Dragonzord chest plate) and finally “Space Titanus”, during the PRiS arc (the poor thing got the head and pawns cut off, and a modified chest).

The Ultrazord is definitely something to be reckoned with. Huge, heavy and scary. The Dragonzord’s tail and chest become Titanus Tail and “chest”. Titanus’ chest and pawns become chest pieces and gloves for the Megadragonzord. The chains are used as reins. Even if that combination is smaller than the next season Ultrazord, it has a little something making it more impressive.

You can also use Titanus as a “carrier” (hope so, that’s its name “The CARRIER zord”) of sort, by connecting the chain to the harness, snap them under the Megazord “Tank mode”. When the motor is activated, he’ll move around like Titanus.

Finally, you can combine Titanus with either the Shogun or Ninja Megafalconzord (or any megazord that is roughly the Original’s size), to form new ultrazord combinations. A re-release of Titanus, dubbed “Return of Titanus”, including the Dragonzord’s chest plate, have been specially made for that purpose (and to make some extra money).

To be honest, Tenkuu Gattai Saint Kaiser actually looks a little meaner to me than WolKaiser; this white devil with a golden spear, flaming soul and racing heart.

In the direct-to-video “MagiRanger- The Movie: The Bride of Infershia”, Kai Oz’s soccer team manager and [not-so-secret] crush, Yamazaki Yuki, is kidnapped by King Glum. This Infershia general plans to marry her in order to release and awaken Emperor N. Ma. Though Yamazaki resists, the Sky Saint traitor Memmei casts a spell over her using a diamond ring. To get her back, the five Oz siblings climb a huge Mandoru-boy to reach the sky-bound lands of Magitopia, and its leader the great Sky Saint Magiel [played by the late legendary Super Sentai actress Machiko Soga in her last on-screen role]. When Magiel is convinced of their intentions, she gives to Kai a Majuu Unigolon to help him travel into the Hades underground. As a point of interest to the Oz siblings, their father, the fallen champion Sky Saint Blagel, had used this Unigolon as his steed in battle. The two arrive just in time to prevent the Infershia wedding between King Glum and the Bride of Infershia, and MagiRed rescues Yamazaki. After returning her safely to the surface, King Glum engages the five MagiRanger and is defeated. But the madoushi Memmei uses his dark magic to grow Glum and rebuild him into the giant Sword of Glum- a monster with metal blades and spikes, shaped like a scorpion. To combat the Sword of Glum, MagiRed changes into Saint MagiPhoenix and then merges with the Unigolon to form Tenkuu Gattai Saint Kaiser. Together with MaRyuu Gattai MagiDragon and Mahou Tetsujin Travelion, the Sword of Glum is destroyed with a series of magical attacks.

...

In Stage 34- “Bond of Courage” in the series, Wolzard is unexpectedly & shockingly revealed to be the lost Magitopia champion Blagel. Not only that, but this also makes him father of the five Oz siblings, whom they thought had died in the war fifteen years earlier! He changes into his human form, Izamu, and teleports them all to the surface of Infershia. There, he explains that he had been trying to seal the Infershia from the inside, but because of damage done in the final battle by the traitorous Sky Saint Raigel, it left open the opportunity for Emperor N.Ma to transform him into the loyal Madou Knight Wolzard, and blocked out his real memories. But before the five siblings have a chance to absorb all of this, Memmei and Vancuria take Blagel back into Infershia, and unleash the meshed Chimera creature once more on the MagiRanger. Just in the nick of time, MagiShine and Lunagel arrive riding a Majuu Unigolon- a legendary horned horse that can freely travel between Marudeonna universes, Magitopia, and the real world. The Unigolon takes the MagiRanger back to the real world; the two Sky Saints, however, chose to remain behind to settle the score against the traitor Memmei. Chimera follows the MagiRanger and grows to gigantic proportions. While the others are still weakened with grief and shock, MagiRed impatiently and aggressively transforms himself and Unigolon into their giant forms and then into Tenkuu Gattai Saint Kaiser. MagiDragon soon follows and is overpowered by Chimera, but Saint Kaiser, in a rage, is able to defeat the monster. Sadly, no sooner does he do that when Mahou Gattai WolKaiser appears, and the two engage in a heated battle... avenging youngest son against cursed trapped father.

Since Saint Kaiser appeared in the OVA movie as well, which had no real continuity with the series, there is no way to tell which version is the ‘correct’ version. However, for the sake of less confusion, I will use the series as basis for this review, since it was more important to the plot that way than it was in the movie.

Maagi Magi Magika!
[change- soldier- element]

To the uninitiated or untrained eye, Tenkuu Gattai Saint Kaiser is virtually identical to its dark counterpart, Majin Gattai WolKaiser. There are several differences, other than just its coloring:

• Saint MagiPhoenix (back) is nothing but a repaint of the MagiPhoenix figure from the DX Majin Gattai MagiKing (sold separately). The silver on its legs, metallic blue for its belt, and the artistic ‘M’s on both its chest and head have been repainted gold. There is also a small diamond on his forehead that was originally painted gold that has been left the original red color of the hard PVC plastic. Aside from these few paint alterations, MagiPhoenix and Saint MagiPhoenix are exactly the same. Saint MagiPhoenix forms half of the chest of Saint Kaiser.

• The Majuu Unigolon (back) is fairly close to the dark Majuu Barikion, but there are differences other than coloring. The most obvious one is that Unigolon’s head has been redesigned to incorporate a long unicorn’s horn with an ‘M’ molded on either side, and a screw-like pattern running across it’s length. Its mane has also been changed, with the screw pattern running its length as well. The tail has been re-sculpted to make it curve in a different angle. While the color of the plastic has been changed from black to white, some very minor paint apps were changed as well, such as removing silver paint from all four lower legs and leaving them the natural white of the plastic. Unigolon forms the head, torso, part of the chest, arms, legs, and weapon of Saint Kaiser.

As MagiPhoenix did with Barikion, Saint MagiPhoenix can ride atop Unigolon in an unnamed configuration; there are no reins for the toy to grasp like there are in the both the movie and series. Because MagiPhoenix wielded the Phoenix Sword, Unigolon’s horn was designed to detach so that Saint MagiPhoenix would be provided with a sword as well. However, the unnamed sword was not used or mentioned in the show or movie.

Maagi Magi Giruma Jinga!
[change- soldier- power- combination]

“When light and flame become one, the holy Majin will [now] appear!”

Saint Kaiser, in channeling Kai Oz’s rage and raw determination, proves to be a powerful opponent against the multi-faceted and multi-faced Chimera. While he may not have had absolute control over the Unigolon’s power, it was enough to destroy the monster. Then when WolKaiser appeared, Saint Kaiser dueled against him to an unprecedented but much-anticipated stalemate. Like WolKaiser, he wields a double-blade staff composed of Unigolon’s mane, neck and head & horn. With it, Saint Kaiser can perform the Saint Horn Finish- where he jumps high into the air, and impales the unicorn horn into his enemy.

Tenkuu Gattai Saint Kaiser (back) now more closely resembles Yuujou Gattai FireKaiser because of the similarity between Unigolon & Barikion, and Saint MagiPhoenix & MagiPhoenix. There are still differences... Saint Kaiser has a golden ponytail with a smaller unicorn horn on his forehead, and a red-&-gold phoenix-like emblem over his face around his green eyes. There are also two bronze stallions emblazed on his shoulders. The unnamed double-sided staff is also nearly identical to FireKaiser’s, except for Unigolon’s head and golden PVC horn. However, Saint Kaiser’s long ponytail-like queue is shaped differently, adding the smaller unicorn horn which unfolds from his forehead, and a new face design. The mane, also, was changed and has the screw-like pattern woven around it instead of the layered armor blade FireKaiser has on his.

Sets suggested for these combinations:

DX Majin Gattai MagiKing

DX Majin Gattai WolKaiser

DX Mahou Tetsujin Travelion

DX Densetsu Gasshin MagiLegend

DX Tenkuu Gattai Saint Kaiser

Because Saint Kaiser and FireKaiser are nearly identical, what one can do, the other can do as well; and that is the chest swapping and riding features common to almost all of the DX “MagiRanger” line. Though never seen on the show, this means that:

Saint MagiPhoenix can:

• ride on top of MagiDragon
• ride on top of Barikion
• ride on top of MagiLion
• be combined with MagiFairy to form an alternate chest for the MagiKing (though it would look no different when combined)
• be combined with MagiFairy to form an alternate chest for the Travelion
• be combined with Barikion to form an alternate chest for the FireKaiser (though it would look no different when combined)
• be combined with Barikion to form an alternate version of the WolKentauros
• be combined with Unigolon to form an alternate version of the WolKentauros

MagiPhoenix can:

• ride on top of Unigolon
• be combined with Unigolon to form an alternate version of the WolKentauros
• be combined with Unigolon to form an alternate chest for the Saint Kaiser(though it would look no different when combined)

the Head Train from Travelion can:

• be combined with Unigolon to form an alternate chest and head for the Saint Kaiser

Wolzard can:

• ride on top of Unigolon
• be combined with Unigolon to form an alternate version of the WolKentauros
• be combined with Unigolon to form an alternate chest, head, and weapon for the Saint Kaiser

It is this last point that needs clarification- Wolzard merging with Unigolon. Because Wolzard also shares a similar shape with Saint MagiPhoenix, and Unigolon is nearly identical to Barikion, an alternate white & gold version of WolKaiser can be formed. Bandai did not intend for there to be a rotating face under Unigolon’s jaw like there is on Barikion. So instead, they designed a single, non-moving piece to represent a ‘face’. This is because MagiPhoenix and Wolzard have different neck structures for FireKaiser and WolKaiser, respectively. And so here, since Wolzard requires the horse head for his combination, Bandai placed an alternate ‘face’ under Unigolon’s jaw so that he wouldn’t need Barikion’s. Also, since Unigolon’s head is needed for the alternate WolKaiser, his tail becomes useless, so it is incorporated into the staff, giving it a wicked golden sheppard’s hook on one end, and Unigolon’s mane on the other. This makes it look near-identical to the Bari-Javelin used by WolKaiser.

For those of you wondering what the differences are between the DX Tenkuu Gattai Saint Kaiser from “Mahou Sentai MagiRanger”/"MagiRanger- The Movie: The Bride of Infershia", and its English-speaking counterpart, the Deluxe Steedergon Fury Megazord from “Power Rangers Mystic Force”, I have stunning news...

There are no differences-! They are perfectly identical in every way except in packaging and instructions! Actually, the Steedergon Fury Megazord is about $30.00 less since it’s not imported directly from Japan. All paint apps, materials, and moldings are exactly the same, and there are no decals for either toy. For 2006, you need not have to worry about importing the rare DX Saint Kaiser unless you are concerned about its connection to the “MagiRanger” line and the packaging. (And, if you already paid for an expensive import like I did, I completely sympathize...) Additionally, Bandai America never released the DX WolKaiser in American toy stores due to marketing strategies. They said that the black robot would not sell very well, though they thought that they may have released it later in 2006 as a store-exclusive; alas that never came to pass.

To be honest, Tenkuu Gattai Saint Kaiser actually looks a little meaner to me than WolKaiser; this white devil with a golden spear, flaming soul and racing heart. I didn’t get it just because it was just a movie-exclusive release or repaint. It has a different aura to it, and has its own look aside from WolKaiser. I completely recommend getting it... (Although, between just you and me, I’d go with the Deluxe Steedergon Fury Megazord because it’s exactly the same toy, but cheaper, and you don’t have to pay for those expensive S&H costs.)

On a more personal note, as this is my last “MagiRanger” review for CDX, I want to give my special thanks to Siu-Wai, owner of Kicks Hobby-Japan (ships across US only), for holding onto this set for me even though he was out of stock. I got all of my DX “MagiRanger” sets from his only physical store (located outside Northgate Mall in northern Seattle, Washington), and I will continue to shop with him.

The last of the Jumbo dragons, the Ryu Sei Oh is also a child's ride on toy!

Mythical Chi Beast RyuuSeiOh (気伝獣龍星王) is from the Super Sentai series Gosei Sentai Dairanger and was released as an enormous riding toy by Bandai in 1993. It features a small seat on it's back that a child could sit on and a pair of handle bars by which to steer both the head and the front wheels. Though released long after the official line had been canceled, this toy is generally considered a part of the Jumbo Machinder family due to it's large size and heavy use of polyethylene in it's construction. It also has two dragon shaped predecessors in the Jumbo line in the form of the Daiku Maryu and Dol Machinders.

This toy is often overlooked by Jumbo fans. It's sentai stylings as well as it's odd shape are two likely factors contributing to this. The box for this thing is quite silly looking. There's no fancy artwork to admire, but instead just a child riding on the back of the toy wearing a sentai helmet. Some collectors get a kick out of this sort of thing, but it's not likely to attract sales. Also, while the average Jumbo is about 23.5 inches tall, Ryuu Sei Oh checks in at 47 inches long! A drastic change from the norm to be sure and difficult to display as a result. Also it comes in a large box (21.5"x12.5"x17") so shipping on this thing can be prohibitive, even in the event that you find one for sale in the US, which is unlikely.