Toybox REVIEW: Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger Minipla Zakutor, Parasagun & Ankydon

After a rather mediocre beginning, Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger is back with its second entry in the annual Super Sentai candy toy/minipla line. This additional set includes three new arms for Kyoryuzin, covering the remaining combos that have been seen in the show up until episode 11.

This second wave of Kyoryuger minipla includes Zakutor, Parasagun and Ankydon, each made up of one box each. The building instructions are printed on the inside of the box, and included with the contents is the usual piece of soda flavoured candy. As usual I've chosen to paint my minipla, so if you're interested how the figures look with just the stickers applied check out this blog post HERE.

ZAKUTOR

In the first box we have Zakutor, the Velociraptor Zyudenryu and partner of swordsman Souji/Kyoryu Green. Zakutor is the first of the second type of Kyoryuzin arm, sharing a mould with Parasagun and the yet-to-be-released Bunpachy. Zakutor features quite a few moving parts so is a little more complex than the smaller Zyudenryu that have come before him, but still incredibly easy for Super Sentai minipla standards.

Zakutor's stickers cover pretty much every necessary detail aside from the silver/black detailing on the back and black hand, however it should be noted that there is one inaccuracy. The stickers give Zakutor grey/silver arm claws, however the show model and DX toy both actually have yellow claws. Zakutor features quite a bit of articulation, throwing in knees and elbows to go with the standard arm and leg articulation. The tail can pop open into the 3-blade formation, and the jaw can open up and down for dino chomping action.

PARASAGUN

Ian/Kyoryu Black's Parasaurolophus partner Parasagun shares the same mould as Zakutor, however as the name might suggest there are a few differences. Alongside a different head, Parasagun houses a hidden gun in his tail. Once again, the building process shouldn't be difficult for even beginner model makers.

Sticker-wise its a similar situation to Zakutor, only this time the inaccuracy is in the arms (and admittedly more minor). The stickers add silver piping detail to the arms, however on the show model/DX toy its only present on the body and legs. The gun is left untouched, so if you want a completely accurate Parasagun you'd better dig out some red paint.

ANKYDON

Ankydon is our first additional Zyudenryu (as in, outside of the core 5) of the line and the partner to Ramirez/Kyoryu Cyan. Ankydon shares the same body type as Stegotchi and Dricera, however his spined back and giant hammer tail give the impression that he's larger than he actually is. Like the previous two 4-legged dinos, Ankydon is incredibly easy to put together. Personally although not quite up to the level of Zakutor or Parasagun, Ankydon is more fun than his body-mates. The hammer is fun, and the light blue colouring is really nice.

Articulation wise Ankydon has moving legs, a hinged tail and a mouth that can chomp to its heart's content. Painting wise the only real details missing is that the tail is silver rather than blue, and once again the fist should be black. The stickers cover all other colour details, but personally I feel the spines look much better after being attacked with a silver paint pen.

KYORYUZIN COMBINATIONS

Combining Gabutyra with Parasagun and Zakutor results in the mighty Kyoryuzin Western formation. Transforming the two in their arm formation is a little less obvious than it is with Stegotchi/Dricera/Ankydon, but as long as you keep in mind that the yellow sections fit together in a straight line its fairly straightforward. Chomping them down on the arm ports will give you the sword-wielding, gun-blasting dino warrior.

While it's important to note that whatever limbs you put on Kyoryuzin it isn't going to take away the disappointment that the thing has no elbows, the Kyoryuzin Western formation looks and feels considerable more fun than its standard one. It might be the colours clicking together, it might be the fact that the 2-legged dinosaur arms have a bit more bulk to them but whatever it is Kyoryuzin Western just looks that much more imposing.

Elsewhere replacing Stegotchi with Ankydon on the standard formation results in Kyoryuzin Macho.

So, how much better is a giant hammer than a sword/shield combo? My answer would be "very", but even if you disagree the cyan Ankydon goes much nicer with the bright red and pink than Stegotchi's navy blue. The hammer can also fold up into the arm should you feel that two long weapons are overkill.

Then of course you can choose whatever formations you like for the arms, but I took a couple of shots of ones that have appeared on the show so far. The above left is Kyoryuzin Parasagun Stegotchi, while the above right is Kyoryuzin Stegotchi Zakutor.

The base form of Kyoryuzin is a flawed figure, made up of one pretty good dinosaur and then two rather underwhelming ones. The lack of elbows is still a real problem, but the adding these extra dinos into the mix certainly makes for a more fun toy. Zakutor and Parasagun are more on the level of what I wanted out of the Kyoryuger mecha - bigger, more posable and much more fun when combined with Gabutyra. If you haven't been put off and have bought/planning to buy Kyoryuzin, getting these guys to go with him comes highly recommended. But given how Zakutor and Parasagun are part of the core team, you are probably thinking that anyway.