Dancouga
Review by The Enthusiast
Dancouga would not seem to be immediately suited for a smallish action figure. The bulkiness and scale of the design are pure classic gokin. But with strong advances in toy engineering, manufacturers like Kaiyodo and Yamato are rethinking these assumptions. Dancouga arrives courtesy of HobbyLink Japan
Dan arrives in a nice, if slightly over-sized, window box.
Accessories consist of a rear-mounted cannon, a sword, and a few sets of hands.
Also included are a little clear box (hand storage?) and a plastic chip for some sort of promotion.
I’ve been sat out most of the Revoltech releases after the first series. If Dancouga is any indication, the line has come a long way.
The complexity of the sculpt and engineering are impressive, particularly at this small of a scale. The huge amount of joints (both revoltech and monoshaft) and parts provide nearly unlimited movement.
Revoltechs are, above all, posing figures. Kaiyodo figures were infamous in the old days for their obtuse jointwork and bizarrely mannered posing. There’s still a little of the old Kaiyodo in this figure, which I find charming. While you can get Dan in a neutral pose, the logic of the joints makes it more intuitive to place him into heroic anime-inspired poses.
A typical minimal Revoltech stand is included, and allow for flying and standing poses.
Overall this is a very satisfying and fun incarnation of one of my favorite bots. And, unlike some other Dancouga figures, the Revoltech’s head actually stays on.
Posted 30 January, 2010 - 15:49 by The Enthusiast |
Comments
14 comments postedI'll give ya three guesses which Dancougar in that last shot I actually like. :)
"You can't sell it until you get it from him, but you gotta sell it to pay him to get it to sell it".
---Jerilock, talking about me trying to raise the money I need to pay for the toys I already bought....
I too have a soft spot for that homely thing.
Haha! WRONG! I can't stand that vintage abomination. No, I actually prefer the SOC. Just when you think you got it all figured out, right? ;)
"You can't sell it until you get it from him, but you gotta sell it to pay him to get it to sell it".
---Jerilock, talking about me trying to raise the money I need to pay for the toys I already bought....
Maybe by "homely thing" I'm referring to the SOC! Just when you got it all figured out...
I don't think anyone could get you "all figured out" Dave. It appears that they have broken your mold. I assume that's what you're shooting for.
No surprise here- mine has been on pre-order for several weeks already.
Grandzinga....
Not shooting for anything but a laugh, my friend.. But now that I think about it, are there any vintage Dancouga vinyls? I don't recall ever seeing one, only the big store display.
"You can't sell it until you get it from him, but you gotta sell it to pay him to get it to sell it".
---Jerilock, talking about me trying to raise the money I need to pay for the toys I already bought....
I've never heard of this store display... got any pics? I don't think I've ever seen a vintage Dancouga vinyl in all my lurking on YJA.
http://prometheusrising.wordpress.com
Here ya go. Not exactly the prettiest version of the character either, but interesting...
"You can't sell it until you get it from him, but you gotta sell it to pay him to get it to sell it".
---Jerilock, talking about me trying to raise the money I need to pay for the toys I already bought....
Wow. I could make a better one in an afternoon.
Hey, didn't he still have two guesses left?
The sculpting isn't very good on this one. It should look more like the Gigabrain Dancouga.
Not gonna lie, surprised they went to Dancouga for a revoltech, but I'm not complaining. :)
Great review. I wonder if Kaiyodo will accept Yamato's challenge and release a Nova version as well.
Why does this thing have such a machine robo revenge of Cronos feel to it?
I think the objective of those plastic orange chips is to collect them as many as you can from their Revoltech line-up so you'll be eligible for some prize. Probably a discount offer for your next revoltech action figure.
I don't know if the eligibilty is only available for customers who have a dual-citizenship in Japan & some other known country.
-R78