I’ve always been a fan of Dragonar’s design, and it’s awesome to review this version from Bandai Tamashii’s SPEC line This very Gundam-inspired mecha gets some well-deserved treatment in this Gokin-filled homage.
Video Segments:
The Box: Beginning
Overview: 3:14
Dragonar 1: 8:15
Accessories: 16:22
Final Thoughts: 27:44
As the video shows, out of the box you’re starting with a metal skeleton that you tab the armor onto. I don’t understand the reasoning for this, since I’ve read that the armors from the Dragonar figures in this line aren’t interchangeable, but it’s nice to SEE the diecast you’re working with, which is quite a good percentage of this toy’s inner frame.
Once you’ve got it together (which takes maybe 3 minutes your FIRST time), you’re getting a great homage to a design more akin to his appearance in the “Super Robot Wars” video games than the actual anime series. While the articulation is great, I do think that he could have benefited from legs that were proportioned a bit less “stumpy”. I love that they’re thick, because that, along with the diecasting in them, makes for a very well-balanced toy, but the shortened thighs takes way from the knee bend.
Outside of proportional issues, I find it to be a very aesthetically pleasing, and well-engineered piece.
Per standard, he comes with a variety of opened and closed hands. Although, being a masked mecha, there’s no need for alternate faces, he does come with both solid and soft antennas, both looking exactly the same aesthetically. I prefer the soft ones “just in case” of a drop or placing next to something that may break the solid ones.
Weapons wise, he comes with his swords (which holster on his hip skirts), the combined “staff” form of those two swords, his shield, two knives, and his launching disc which, like his shield, can attach to his forearms. On thing that I absolutely love about this figure is the knife storage, which is actually on the backside of each calf. It’s great! And, let’s not forget his trademark blaster that does come with a movable handle for his left hand to hold as well.
He also comes with his wing pack, which looks great, with wings that can be positioned both up AND down, but the part I dislike about it is that it comes with an alternate chest to help peg the wings over his shoulders in the front. It’s fine, and non-cumbersome, but I really dislike that it covers up the crest on his chest which is one of my favorite parts about the Dragonar design in general.
A solid effort from Bandai Tamashii that resulted in a very fun toy. At around 5.5″, it’s a bit on the smaller size compared to other mecha in it’s price range, but IS a deicast–framed toy that scales extremely well with Bandai Tamashii’s Super Robot Chogokin line as well. Overall, the size may seem daunting, but you get a tremendous value in terms of the figure itself and the great amount of accessories.
Aesthetically, I do wish that his legs were a bit more slender. It’s not just in terms of poseability, but the “stumpy” look is not accurate at all to the more sleek silhouette of the mecha in the anime itself. I also dislike the chest cover needed to attach his wing pack for the reasons stated in the “accessories” section of this review: They could have engineered his backpack to attach to his back without having to change the aesthetic of his front side.
Even with my nitpicks, I’d definitely recommend this one. It’s a nice looking, extemely playable, and overall “fun” figure to own.
Overall Score: 8.5/10
Enjoy a few more pictures of this figure below! Remember to click the pictures to view larger resolutions:
