Sorakage
Review by Shogundan
Today I will be reviewing the Sora-Kage DX re-issue, made by Sonokong/Takara. The sample for today's review was provided graciously by our friend Jeff Stein over at High-End Transformers. Please check them out or just click on the eBay links at the bottom of the page for a direct link to the item reviewed today. Sora-Kage is the support mecha character from the anime "The Brave of Gold Goldran" He is essentially a 3 mode robot. First mode being a robot, next is a hawk and lastly he can be a flight pack for Great Goldran/Goldran and Leon Kaiser. The video Below shows Sora-Kage combining with Goldran to make "Sky Goldran"
To start off with, Sora-Kage comes to you in a beautifully illustrated, heavy corrugated cardboard box shown below.
The first mode will be Sora-Kage in his hawk mode. Sora-Kage is very impressive in this mode with a wingspan of nearly seventeen inches!
Sora-Kage is made of high-quality plastic materials including some gold chromed parts that make him really stand out in the crowd. Just check out the nicely sculpted gold chrome head with the flaming red eyes! Very cool indeed!
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Next up, note the twin racks of five eye-blinding missiles that are mounted to Sora-Kages back. The missiles pods are adjustable so they can be utilized in all 3 modes. Sora-Kage includes only 24 red missiles, so don't have too much fun shooting your cat! Also, note that the hawks mouth can be opened to let out the scream shown in the video above.
In the next two photos, you get a look at Sora-Kage's hind side. Note the tail feathers...they will become a sword and sheath when he is in robot mode.
Onto Sora-Kage in Robot mode! In this mode, he is a walking arsenal of weaponry. He has a sword, a sickle that is attached to a launching ball, and 6 throwing stars that can also be launched. As you can see, he is loaded with firing gimmicks!
Here is what the tail feathers that become Sora-Kage's sword and sheath look like mounted to his back in robot mode.
Close up of Sora-Kage's face. you will see the strong resemblance to other Brave Series figures.
As you can see in this next picture below, Sora-Kage is blessed with some pretty good articulation for a Brave Series figure. He has articulation in the shoulders, elbows, hips, knees, and wings.
Lastly, I have included a few photos of Sora-Kage combined with his fellow Brave of Gold Goldran figures.
So in conclusion, Sora-Kage is a must have figure if you have Goldran or Leon Kaiser. Don't get me wrong, Sora-Kage is a fantastic figure on its own but he really shines (no pun intended) when you add him to make the other cool combo's.
Comments
13 comments postedDan,
Unless I'm missing something, I've found no way to store Sorakage's sickle when not in robot mode. Given that everything else can store in some way on the figure, it may just be an oversight in the toy's design, or merely lame-brainedness on my part. Any insights?
Good point Matt,
usually the brave stuff is great for everything having a purpose and place. Sora-Kage is the exception, I can't find a place to store the sickle either.
-Dan
CollectionDX LLC
Vice President/Co-Owner
Actually theres also a lot of braves who cant hold their included equipment. God Silverion's (who comes from the same line)? No. Might Gaine's sword and Gaine's gun? Nope. Sky Saber's weapons? Nope. Big Volfogg's? Surprisingly no even though he came from the last series. It seems to be hit and miss.
Wow- the combo in that last pic, and the Leon Kaiser are bad lookin'. But this Sorakage is kinda nifty.
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CollectionDX Staff
you review of this make me want to start going after the goldran figure but i thing im going to finsh the two seris im working on now first, btw are giong to to reviews on Tribomer or Battlebomer?
You finally got me with this review Dan. I was not too interested in these Sonokong/Brave releases until this arsenal laden robot. Hell, I'm gonna pick this up for the firepower alone!
Grandzinga....
My $35 just bought one from high end transformers. 3 left- FREE SHIPPING!!!
Thanks for the great review.
Grandzinga....
Thank you for the complement, and I am sure Jeff over at High End Transformers appreciates the business.
-Dan
CollectionDX LLC
Vice President/Co-Owner
That avatar makes you look like a serial killer!
Geez! thanks Kidnicky..LOL, You really know how to make a guy feel good about himself! That's actually a pic of me. What was I gonna do, I had to take down my killer klown pic, that was just for Halloween.
-Dan
CollectionDX LLC
Vice President/Co-Owner
Well you're glaring at the camera like you're trying to melt it with the force of your hate!!! lol
I like the quiltlike pattern on the limbs. Kinda reminds me of the Shocker. (Spider-Man villan,not the other thing lol)
Wow Dan, you got yourself a keeper there. Sorakage is quite a jewel. It's design, engineering, & quality is very appealing to the collector's eye.
I've noticed that Sorakage's design is a possible homage to G1 Divebomb of the Predacons from The Transformers because he's a robot bird w/ a sword & gun. It's either that or it's just a coincidence
This is a very suprising toy review. I'm go get one up when I'm done w/ my other TF collections.
Oh and BTW Dan, will you ever grow your beard back? No offense, but I kinda like you better with the beard on. It matches your husky, beer-drinking Boston accent. This whole beer talk is getting me thirsty for some Rolling Rock.
-R78