OK, this is when I need to really geek out. And I mean “geek” in the meanest, horriblist way. We are talking back to nostalgia childhood levels of geek when I was laughed at for playing with toys. You know the geek level: sand being kicked in your face, the classroom pointing and laughing at you, dissing grown men in the comic shop and making them cry at your geek levels of knowledge.
Well, I’m not that geeky nor is my knowledge of Danguard Ace (yes, the package says Danguard A get nerdy and copy from Wiki, Wakusei Robo Dangādo Ēsu). I’m not this uber-geek that’s collected all of the Danguard Ace action figures and memoriablia. But I have been waiting years for a good, solid figure of the giant robot. I’ve been waiting years because I wanted to recreate the fantastic comic once known to all children of the times as Shogun Warriors, which was Marvel’s attempt to cash in on the Giant Robo invasion at the time, as well as tie in to Mattel’s Shogun Warriors. It was like giant robot nirvana at the time.
Marvel’s run was short lived, but it was good. It featured Combatra, Raydeen, and Danguard Ace. Sometimes Godzilla would come in for some extra cross-marketing glory. Hmm… I think I need to order some toys. The comic wasn’t great, it really was there to push product, but I loved it, I loved the Americanization of these giant robots.
I’m certain there is a story behind it, but I never saw Danguard Ace after that. Granted, giant robots gave way to Macross and Gundam and then tenctacle anime. Sometime around 2008, I think, Yamato released a version of Danguard Ace, which was very similar to the one being reviewed today. It was very poseable and it transformed. I decided to hold out. I wanted A Bandai Soul of Chogokin one. I wanted one to fit in with thier existing Combattler V and Raideen. Finally, in April of this year, Bandai made the announcement (you might remember the geek out here).
After ordering from Fwoosh sponsor Hobby Search,the long wait began. Today it ended. I ripped open the package and starting taking pictures and transforming this masterpiece of die-cast metal and plastic. It was everything that I waited years to get my hands on. Incredible design, beautiful engineering, play value, masterful painting, and a fun transformation. It was everything, everything I was expecting. And as I watch my oldest son transform and play with Danguard Ace, the circle is somehow completing.
Danguard Ace stands about 8-9 inches tall (I did not actually measure but Marvel Legends Union Jack is 6 inches tall,so that should give you an indication of the scale). The sculpt is just spot-on. I mean spot-on. Bandai is the master of robotry and they’ve done it again with this figure. Posed or vanilla, this is a figure that has a ton of presence on the toy shelf.
The figure has a ton of articulation! You can get an incredible amount of posing out of this figure. I was suprised by the engineering of the hips; they are similar to the hips that you would find on a DC Universe Classic figure in that they are hippy hinges, but they have a little bit extra. The hinge that attaches to the crotch also pulls down, allowing you to pull the whole hip down below the crotch. This is important for allowing the thigh to achieve a sitting position. You know if Danguard is tired and needs to sit for a while. This figure even has double-jointed elbows, double-jointed shoulders, and rocker shoulders. The only joint missing is a good ab joint. Brilliant engineering. The only joint that really bothers me is the thigh swivel. These are so tight that I’m not certain there is a swivel there. I think there is, but I’m not certain. Articulation breakdown:
- ball ankles
super-rocker ankles
hinged knees
swivel thighs?
super-hippy hinge
swivel waist
“double” ball shoulders
rocker shoulders
swivel biceps
double-hinged elbows
ball wrists
swivel thumbs
hinged fingers
ball head
Since this is Danguard Ace, you get an alt mode! Yes, Danguard Ace transforms into a plane! Or spacecraft. Actually, he transforms into a total of five flying vehicles. Yeah, five. Starting with the helmet, you get an extra helmet that transforms into a flying vehicle. This vehicle also combines with the legs to become the cockpit of the main flying vehicle. In addition, there is an extra plane that can be split apart into two more planes. I think that makes five.
The transformation is pretty straight forward. But I’d caution anyone attaching the legs to the chest piece; the clamps are really tight and I have to use a table knife to wedge into the clamp to let it go. Other than that, pretty straight forward. You have to pop some pieces off for the landing gear and poke some pieces for other features.
I love this toy! It is made to be a display piece. There are plenty of extras: wings, landing gear, hands, saber, etc. The only complaint that I would make about the figure is the lack of an ab joint and the loose fit of the legs to the chest. Yes, I have dropped the legs a total of three times today. Luckily, no damage.
You can still preorder this figure from:
Discuss this topic further on the fwoosh forums.
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At first, I thought I was missing a step somewhere because I couldn’t get the feel aligned with the fuselage properly in vehicle mode (like you), but turns out they’re just really tight.
Okay seeing the other parts I think I.had a us release of a toy like him. Came with littke diecast men with plastic limbs. (Which my dog ate one)
Still a cool design and neat bonus with the ship forms.
Purty.