Black Wing

Review by JoshB

Black Wing is a secondary mecha from the 1985 anime series Dancouga. While Dancouga is a combiner made up of several different robots, Black Wing is not one of them, at least not in the anime. It isn't until the video game Super Robot Wars that Black Wing becomes a back accessory for Dancouga, forming Final Dancouga.

Sen-Ti-Nel brings us a nice diecast version of Black Wing as part of the Metamor-Force line.

Starting off, the box is a reasonably thick corrugated cardboard with color printing all around.

Note that my box has a sticker marked "Sales Outside Japan Only"

Black Wing stands just over 6 inches tall, and features a substantial amount of diecast. From what little i've seen of the animated Black Wing, this version has a much more detail that could only be realized in toy form.

Articulation is bonkers. Everything swivels and bends. The wing unit restricts movement a bit, but fortunately it's removable. Putting it up on a stand really sets it free.

You need to plug the stand into a hole in the crotch. Of course you do.

Black Wing becomes a giant robotic bird. Here's how you do it. Note that while you can transform the figure without removing the wing, it's easier with it off.

Open the front panel on the chest, flip down and rotate the head, close the panel with the prongs up.

Bring the arms up and around, then collapse the arms into the armor parts. Push together then down.

Close the feet, bend the knee 90 degrees on the first joint, then 90 degrees again on the second until they line up.

With the wing back on, swing out the wings, and fold back the tail. Line up the three pegs and you are done!

Black Wing can also use the stand in bird mode, but you need to use a special stand adapter. It clips on the torso and then onto the peg in the stand.

A note about the stand - the base is your typical Sen-Ti-Nel stand, but the stand arm has been strengthened by a triangular piece that holds it at an angle. In addition, two separate connection pieces allow you to have the toy held in position by friction or by detents.

In addition, if you have the Metamor-Force Dancouga, you can use the very same adapter clip to attach Black Wing to the back of the figure to form Final Dancouga. Sadly, I do not have Dancouga to show this combination.

I went into this not knowing anything about Black Wing, and despite still not knowing anything about the character, i've come to really love the toy. The engineering is great, all the joints are tight... well except for one joint...

The torso ball joint is just not tight enough, and it pops off when going through the motions of transforming the figure. It's not a deal-breaker, but it could be a bit tighter. Still, I really dig the figure.