Tag: Japan

The Clover Dunbine rears its head one last time. This one is a bit smaller. The 1/86 scale Dunbine appears to be a much smaller ST version and the  1/46 scale is likely the DX size of this robot. The figure is much smaller with a lot less detail than the 1/46 scale. It reminds me a bit of the 1/100 scale Giant Gorg I had. It is a small clunky robot with very little detail and was a disappointment that had a surprising amount of die cast metal. Sadly, the robot is poorly conceived, negligible articulation, and robot size is a bit small. I think it would have made more sense to make the 1/46 scale an ST model and a slightly larger model the DX version.

For me, the packaging is my favorite part of this toy. It is a great box and the cover art eclipses the toy itself easily. It’s sad when the best thing you can say about a robot is that it has a nice box. In fact the robot looks quite a bit better on the back of the box than it does in real life. Anyway, the fact that this is the last hurrah for Clover before they went out of business is telling.

Aura Battler Dunbine 1983 Clover 1/86 Scale

Aura Battler Dunbine 1983 Clover 1/86 Scale

Aura Battler Dunbine 1983 Clover 1/86 Scale styrofoam insert from anime Holy Warrior Dunbine 1983-1984

Here is the Giant Gorg DX. The DX robot is actually pretty rare. I hardly ever see this one listed for sale. I bid a few times on this one in a few auctions and it was long time before I ever saw it listed again.

Since it was not the most popular anime, I am thinking this piece came out in limited distribution. I actually watched a few episodes and it was pretty solid. I found review of it online here so I may get around to watching the whole series later. It’s about a boy who makes friends with a big blue robot in the South Pacific on mysterious Austral Island. A large international corporation GAIL pursues them as they search for treasure on the island.

Big Blue is pretty cool. It does not transform, but I really like the idea of a big blue robot aside from Tetsjujin 28. The DX version is so much better than the ST version I have. This ST robot is really disappointing based on the ST versions from Popy which came out at the same time which seem superior to DX versions in many cases. The proportions, detail and, quality really show on this piece. It really makes me wonder if the same company made both of them. Articulation kinda sucks on Gorg, but I really don’t expect much on robots from the 80’s. I just want a good looking robot with die cast metal. Based on what I see. The Giant Gorg DX has it all.

Giant Gorg DX 1984 Takara from anime Giant Gorg(巨神ゴーグ Kyoshin Gorg?) 1984 1/48 scale

Giant Gorg DX 1984 Takara 1/48 scale from anime Kyoshin Gorg(巨神ゴーグ) 1984

Watch out for Aura Battler Dunbine, the insect mecha! Friend of your friendly neighborhood Insecticon. Just kidding. These are kick ass robots of the Middle Ages from a dimension far, far away. It’s a land of knights with horses, castles, fairies, and robots with flying transport planes. Really? If you can build robots and planes, why would you still be riding horses? I guess you really have to suspend your disbelief on this one. Still I like the idea, no matter how far fetched it sounds. For me robots are like bacon, they make everything better. Check out the video below if you want to check it out.

Here is Dunbine. He looks nothing like his anime image. Clover could have done a much better job with this robot. They did not last long as a company after this line came out. The image reminds me of the Guyver from the manga series. It would be a cool robot if it looked anything like the Guyver. Still, it is a cool 80’s robot for what it is. Clover loves making clunky heavy die cast metal robots and I love those super alloy Chogokin robots(though this is a wanna be Chogokin). Most Clover robots have a nice heft to them. Dunbine has what looks like an arrow/antennae coming out of the middle of his head and wings.  It’s not pretty, but it is a nice little robot to have in my collection. They are fun as I really do not have any other pieces quite like it in my collection.

Here is the opening of the episode of the anime Seisenshi Dunbine from 1983-1984.

Dunbine by Clover 1/46 scale 1983 Japan from anime Aura Battler Dunbine 1983-1984

Dunbine by Clover 1/46 scale 1983 Japan from anime Aura Battler Dunbine 1983-1984

Dunbine by Clover 1/46 scale 1983 Japan from anime Aura Battler Dunbine 1983-1984

Dunbine by Clover 1/46 scale 1983 Japan from anime Aura Battler Dunbine 1983-1984

Dunbine by Clover 1983 Japan

Aura Battler Dana-O’Shee Clover 1/58 scale 1983 from anime Aura Battler Dunbine 1983-1984

Gotta love those Japanese! I laugh every time I look at the placement of this insect mecha’s “tail’ as it were. Reminds of the Zone of the Enders robot or the trigger on the Shockwave before they made it a Transformer. Do a quick image search and you will know what I mean. LOL, I am dying here. Sorry, I have to figure out how to move on. I have never seen the anime, but after reading the synopsis it makes me think of Vision of Escaflowne. Robots, knights, and fairies in the time of chivalry. Sounds like fun if they set it up right.

Checking out Dana O’Shee, the robot has such an organic feel. Rounded body parts, insect like, its kind of awkward looking for a robot. The legs look like they walk the other way. The design is kind of funky, but it does have character. I can imagine this would have been a great Insecticon if it could transform, but it doesn’t. I got these around 2003-2007 because I was curious and I got a cheap run of them for about $40 each. I had never seen or heard of them before. When I got them I remember being disappointed. Now oddly enough, I am glad I got a few of these, as they have an ungodly amount of die cast metal. It’s a heavy little bugger. They have a satisfying heft to them.

The design, articulation and build are pretty standard for a Clover robot. Clunky poor design, lots of metal, barely any articulation, and does a poor job of representing the anime robot. Now that I know more about theses robots and have watched a little bit of the anime.

Here is the opening for the anime Aura Battler Dunbine from 1983-1984. Fun stuff.

Aura Battler Dana-O’Shee Clover 1/58 scale 1983 from anime Aura Battler Dunbine 1983-1984

Aura Battler Dana-O’Shee Clover 1/58 scale 1983 from anime Aura Battler Dunbine 1983-1984

Aura Battler Dana-O’Shee Clover 1/58 scale 1983 from anime Aura Battler Dunbine 1983-1984

God Sigma DX 1984 Godaikin from anime Space Emperor God Sigma 1980-1981

Here’s God Sigma DX from the Godaikin series. This wasn’t a must have except only in the context of completing the Godaikins collection and I didn’t want to spend a whole lot on it.  I was about to spend 200 on this piece last month, but then decided against it.  Fast forward two weeks later and my cousin saw this awesome listing on Ebay for 80 bucks!  (Thanks cuz!)  This piece went for 80 because the leg on the blue robot (the left leg) is broken but luckily it doesn’t prevent the robot from being combined.  It was also missing a few of the weapons and the box top, but overall, I’m VERY satisfied as you can’t even get the Soul of Chogokin version for this price!

God Sigma DX 1984 Godaikin Bandai from anime Space Emperor God Sigma 1980-1981

God Sigma DX 1984 Godaikin Bandai GB-18 GB-19 GB-20 Popy

Here is the opening of Space Emperor God Sigma!

The Gerwalk Nikick is another of my favorite robots from the 1980’s(Takatoku made some great robot toys before they went out of business). I watched some of the Super Dimension Century Orguss series in the late 90’s on VHS tapes at my old video rental store, remember those days? I enjoyed them, but it was not hard core sci-fi like Super Dimension Fortress Macross. The storyline felt a bit hokey. My cousin already had the Orgroid and Nikick robots back in 1984, but we really had no context for them back then. I never finished the story line as they never finished the dubs on VHS. Looks to me like they only dubbed the first 17 episodes and never completed the entire 35 episodes. The only dvds I see for these are the Japanese set and Japanese dvds are so expensive!

Gerwalk Nikick MBG-24C 1983 1/40 scale Takatoku Toys from anime Super Dimension Century Orguss 1983-1984

I always liked the design of the Gerwalk Nikick MBG-24C. It looks like a walking tank. The color scheme seems right for a military robot compared to the Orgroid. The head seems a bit small, but overall I really like the design and feel of this robot. I prefer it over the Orgroid, the other robot in this series(which is still a pretty cool robot). It transforms to a Gerwalk and flight form as well, making it much like the Macross Valkyries. The Nikick is another great transforming robot from Takatoku Toys.

Gerwalk Nikick MBG-24C 1983 1/40 scale Takatoku Toys from anime (超時空世紀オーガス Chōjikū Seiki Orguss) from 1983-1984

Gerwalk Nikick MBG-24C 1983 1/40 scale Takatoku Toys from anime Super Dimension Century Orguss 1983-1984

Gears is a cool little mini vehicle is a nice design and easy to transform. Since you don’t have to extend the legs, he stands a lot easier than say Bumblebee and Cliffjumper from the same collection of G1 mini vehicles. Mini vehicles in general are simplistic robots in form and transformation, but that makes them a lot of fun. I find myself transforming them back and forth as I take pictures, write about them, and research more about these pieces. This one is in pretty good shape except for the Autobot sticker. It’s not too bad in either robot or truck form.

Gears Generation 1 Autobot Hasbro 1984

When these came out in the 80’s I really didn’t care much for them. I only came into them recently in auction lot of which now makes up the bulk of my G1 Transformers.  This line of robots really remind me of the Gobots or Machine Robo. I find the original Japanese Machine Robos superior in packaging and design. They transform easier, you can keep them in their original packaging, and they look good both as robots and vehicles. Because of these similarity and the fact that I don’t care if I break them, I find them just as fun. This is probably my favorite one to play with so far. =)