Tuesday 7 February 2012

Toybox REVIEW: Bandai Super Robot Chogokin Dekaranger Robo


I'm a little late to the party on this one, but better late than never. Today's review is of the third Super Sentai mecha to be entered into the Super Robot Chogokin line (following on from ShinkenOh and GokaiOh). Dekaranger Robo hails from the 28th Super Sentai series Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger and will also be known to Power Rangers S.P.D. fans as the Delta Squad Megazord.

Like the other SRC Sentai mecha, this cannot be split into its component parts, instead trading that and size for superior articulation. And that it has - Dekaranger Robo has a full range of motion in its head, shoulders, arms, hands, waist, legs and feet. The sculpt is excellent, with the standard inclusion of diecast in the legs to give the figure a little weight. Dekaranger Robo is a predominantly white mecha so the toy has some nice uniformity, but still retains the multicoloured aspect that makes the Sentai mecha so appealing. There are also a few extra gimmicks implemented, including is an opening panel on the figure's right leg (the Patrailer), just like the compartment the Signal cannon comes from in the show. Another is a hinged shield piece on the left arm (the Patsigner), meaning it can also replicate the "judgement" pose (albeit without innocent and guilty symbols).

There are plenty of accessories included to appease both Dekaranger and general mecha fans alike. We have Dekaranger Robo's two signature weapons - the Judgement sword and Signal Cannon, along with the gyro wappa, judgement sword hilt (which can be attached to the right arm as additional cannons), seven additional hands, one of which is a brilliant 'thumbs up' hand and a blasting effect part for the signal cannon. Early runs of the figure also come with separately packaged "boost effect" parts, which are giant spiky pieces of translucent plastic that are a bit confusing to display properly. They aren't character specific though, so could feasibly used with any figure, even ones from different toy lines.

In addition to what I've already listed, SRC Dekaranger Robo also includes some additional parts meant for GokaiOh. In order to transform your SRC GokaiOh into DekaGokaiOh, a Patstriker patrol car along with machine gun pieces are packaged within the tray (not as a first wave exclusive). Since I don't own GokaiOh there aren't any pictures included in this review, but if you're interested in seeing the figure a picture can be seen here.

I was a bit disappointed by ShinkenOh for his price, but with Dekaranger Robo its like Bandai went and fixed all those flaws. A hefty figure with plenty of details, hidden features and a great range of accessories for both himself and GokaiOh, with SRC Dekaranger Robo you're getting far more bang for your buck and enough to forget about the fact the figure lacks the combining gimmick of the larger DX version. If this is the quality of the SRC Sentai mecha to come, bring on Magiking.


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