Dai Attacker
Review by The Enthusiast
While I certainly have a soft spot for strange robots, my favorite toy line is unusual in the remarkable nature of its vision, execution, and influence. Many know of Diaclone as the largest progenitor of the first generation of Transformers. Indeed, Diaclone gave us such iconic designs as Optimus Prime, the Constructicons, and the Dinobots, but many of its finest pieces never saw the light of day in the English speaking world.
A handful of molds were licensed in the US by Takara, including Dia Attacker, which was repackaged under the Kronoform label. The Kronoform release was, I believe, practically identical to the original, though I am aware of a purple variant.
Dia Attacker's vehicle mode is a vague spaceship-type thing, though a pretty great looking vague spaceship.
Because this is a Diaclone, there are plenty of cockpit details.
The ship at the rear conning tower detaches. It's often missing from loose specimens.
The design lends itself to a few variations which bring to mind the SDF-1 and Irongear.
You can see with this mode the unique mechanism connecting what will be the legs to the main body. The dual swing bars remind me of the DX Daidenjin. This connection seems precarious, but the construction is solid and I've never seen a broken specimen.
These small ships are usually missing from loose specimens too.
I still can't figure out where they're supposed to go. They don't fit in any ports except for the undercarriage/arms. They look awkward shoved underneath, though that's the only logical place I found to put them.
Transformation to bot mode is simple. You swing out the legs, unfold the arms, bend back the conning tower and you're done. The addition of fists completes the mode.
Dai Attacker's a very regal bot. The face looks unusually old. Note the horns, which are another easily lost accessory (basically, if these are loose, everything's missing; if they're boxed, everything's there).
Articulation is limited to the elbows, but who cares when it looks this good? I love the chrome accents and impeccable proportions. The figure is hefty (the front of the torso is diecast), and the fit, finish, materials and construction are of the highest quality. The chrome finish is typically a little thin, and most of these are at least partially yellow (the color of the underlying plastic) at chrome sections.
Dia Attacker is a solid mid-level piece in a line where the poorest designs are beautiful and timeless. Complete specimens are hard to find, but definitely worth the price.
Posted 28 April, 2013 - 17:25 by The Enthusiast |
Comments
7 comments postedVery nice :)
Hey, great timing! The only one that appears in our Ebay link above happens to be being sold by yours truly. :)
But according to the instructions on that one, yes, those little ships do go underneath the body of the main ship when transformed in that mode. It is awkward looking, but I really liked some of the other modes you made. I'm not sure if those are "official" or depicted in the Diaclone version, but the Kronoform one only shows the two forms.
Hah! I'm watching that auction (though I'm sure it will get too rich for my blood). I didn't take you for a Diaclone kinda guy. A couple of those variant modes are shown on the Diaclone box.
Well, I hope you win. But to clarify, the toy itself actually belongs to Sanjeev. Everything I'm selling now is his (except the Shogun Solar Saucer), although I DO like it and was tempted to keep it for myself. But since it's not perfect and not exactly what I normally buy, I decided to pass. But I kept his 1:48 scale Dougram instead. :)
...and would love to find a new one, but they're a bit too expensive for me at the moment (even yours, ND!). I actually had to ask people for help identifying a piece from this recently (and amazingly, from my crappy drawing and description, someone did!).
Great to see you posting on CDX, PG! I'm a longtime fan and reader. I was particularly geeked to see the news of the new Stonedar and Rokkon figures. I covered Stonedarr awhile back for CDX. We'll have to do some cross-coverage when they come out.
Thanks! Glad to be here, and thanks for reading. Yeah, the Rokkon/Stonedar set looks great, though I'm a bit apprehensive about the price...it could be in the $60-$70 range...