Danguard Ace

Review by NekroDave

The second of two Danguard Ace Junior Machinders, this is the one that I have always wanted. But unfortunately, it almost never shows up for sale. In fact, the specimen pictured here is the first I have seen in my 5 years of collecting. I feel very fortunate to have acquired one in such great condition. It was made by a company called simply "GC", presumably sometime in the late 1970s and it stands 14.5" tall, or about 1.5" taller than the other Dangard Ace Junior Machinder. The box is about 8"x15" and features some excellent artwork of the robot. As with most Junior Machinders, this toy was made in Hong Kong for distribution in the Italian market.

Besides it's larger size, I prefer this Junior Machinder because it has two firing fists, instead of one fist and one rocket launcher. The white on the arms and torso looks much better than the light blue on the other version as well. It has a traditional soft vinyl head which looks identical to the smaller version at first glance, but that is slightly different in that the forehead juts out farther, in the area where it is painted blue.

Instead of having the chest details in the form of a sticker, here we have a black vinyl covering that is actually screwed into the waist and shoulders, with a red sticker over that. Additionally, there is a removable belt that features a missile holder on each side. Three missiles are included in a small bag, each with a red shaft and white tip. With the belt removed, you can place one of these missiles into the launcher in the stomach and fire it by way of a launching mechanism on the back. Besides the launching missiles and fists, the toy also comes equipped with a red hatchet that can be held in the left hand

For articulation, the arms raise and lower and the head can turn from side to side, but that's it. The red on the arms and legs, as well as the emblem on the belt, are all stickers.

Although this toy is officially called "Danguard" and is in fact licensed from Toei Animation, I still consider it a bootleg since the mold of the toy is taken from the Takemi Big Robo version of the Robo Kress character from Machine Blaster. This mold was used on many Junior Machinders.

There isn't really a heck of a lot more to say about this toy. It's not a great toy in and of itself, but if you're a Dangard or Machinder fan like myself, it's certainly one to get.