Category: Takara

Here’s Optimus Prime!  This one is the Convoy 01 Takara 15th Anniversary Edition re-issue. But I never had the original Optimus Prime as a kid. I bought him in Akihabara during my last trip to Japan. I got him for 40 dollars at Mandarake. Which was a very good deal. I haven’t taken him out of the box but will at some point.

Convoy/Optimus Prime 01 Japanese Generation 1 Transformers – 15th Anniversary Edition Takara 2000

Convoy – Optimus Prime Generation 1

Optimus Prime/Convoy Ultra Magnus

I finally took my 15th Anniversary Edition Optimus Prime out of his box. Check him out next to my Ultra Magnus. I pretty much have all the Generation 1 Transformers I want. You can see them all on Dave’s Collection page on the link above!

I picked Giant Gorg up because I had the DX version. I have been meaning to take pictures of all my DX and ST robots together to see how they look. I am a big fan of most of the ST models and like to compare them to their DX brethren. Giant Gorg is not one of them. This is the only one I have seen so far where the ST version is so badly inferior to the DX.  The Gorg ST is not very detailed even once you put the stickers on. They didn’t even bother to make the gun out of gray plastic. If you like the Giant Gorg, the big blue DX version is the way to go. The DX really shines in comparison to this one in detail and quality.

The robot is definitely is made of metal as it has quite a heft for a little bugger, but it’s nothing to write home about. Basically it is a big blue chunk of metal and plastic. There is almost no detail. It would have been nice if they painted a little detail on Gorg here. But it was cheap so I really can’t say too much. The anime must have been pretty bad or the anime was not that popular, because I was able to pick this up at a pretty cheap price. After a little more thought, this ST is so easy to pick up as it is just a crappy piece.

Giant Gorg ST 1/100 Scale Takara 1984 Japan from anime tv show Giant Gorg 1984

Giant Gorg ST 1/100 Scale Real Proportion Model Takara 1984

Giant Gorg ST 1/100 Scale Takara 1984 from anime tv show Kyoshin Gorg 1984

Giant Gorg ST 1/100 Takara 1984 from anime tv show Giant Gorg 1984

Tune in to the next

The same GORG time. The same GORG channel.

Had a good laugh about the Batman inspired text at the end of the Giant Gorg episode. So I watched a few episodes on YouTube and I kinda enjoyed it. It really is aimed at kids, but most of the anime for robots I have see really are. But this one more so than others. Think 13 year old boy and humongous effing robot. It’s like hanging around with ET who can kick everyone’s ass. Found a thoughtful review on the show here.

Here is the Dual Model Soltic Round Facer from the anime Fang of the Sun Dougram. I have been meaning to watch the anime, but I keep forgetting to watch. Looks like there are quite a few episodes on Youtube. I never opened the Soltic robot, so I never got excited about it. I think I will need to purchase a loose one just for display purposes.

The Takara Dougram series of robots are pretty cool robots. I liked the Soltic and Dougram armors as they felt like realistic mecha would, like the Votoms or Gundam robots. The dark green coloring gives the Soltic a nice military vibe and evokes an image of  tank in my mind or military vehicles in general. The modern feel of the Soltic robot reminds me of newer Gundam designs as opposed to the clunkier Votoms robots.

Soltic H8 Round Facer 1/72 scale Takara 1981 Japan from anime tv show Fang of the Sun Dougram 1981-1983

The Soltic is a perfect example of a solid 80’s robot. Good design and quality, realistic in its look, a good portrayal of the robot in the anime, solid build, and diecast metal awesomeness. It is one of the reasons I love robots from this era. It was nice as they actually released Dougram robots in the USA and Japan. They were not that popular, as the anime was never released here or dubbed. But a lot of the models for Dougram were released by Revell as part of their Robotech line.

Soltic H8 Round Facer 1/72 scale Takara 1981 Japan from anime tv show Taiyou no Kiba Dougram(太陽の牙ダグラム) 1981-1983

Soltic H8 Round Facer 1/72 scale Takara 1981 Japan

Soltic H8 Round Facer Series-02 1/72 scale Takara 1981 Japan from anime tv show Fang of the Sun Dougram 1981-1983

Soltic H8 Round Facer Series-02 1/72 scale Takara 1981 Japan

Episode 1 of anime Fang of the Sun Dougram 1981-1983

Combat Armor Dougram Takara 1984 1/72 scale from anime tv show Fang of the Sun 1981-1983

Dougram Dual Model is another cool little 80’s robot. With all the plastic add on armor, the Dougram reminds me of the HCM line from Bandai. It still packs enough die cast metal to make it a Chogokin robot. I really wish this one came with the shoulder armor. I thought it would not be a big deal, but you can see it looks off without the shoulder pad. It is pretty much the only missing piece. Oh well. You have to watch what you are for bidding on in eBay. That being said, Takara came out with another quality line of robots in the 80’s besides Transformers and Votoms.

I gotta watch the anime for Fang of the Sun Dougram some time. The robots are pretty cool. It’s not a wannabe Gundam. I love the packaging. It looks like a book, its compact and easy to store, but I wish it had a styrofoam insert.
Here is a taste of the anime Fang of the Sun Dougram 1981-1983.

You can see the quality in the robot as you pop in each plastic piece onto the base robot in the diagram below. It is like a detailed model without having to use paint and glue.

Combat Armor Dougram Takara 1984 1/72 scale from anime tv show Fang of the Sun Dougram 1981-1983

Combat Armor Dougram 1/72 scale Dual Model Decal Takara

Combat Armor Dougram Series-01 Mechanic Manual Takara from anime tv show Taiyou no Kiba Dougram 1981-1983

Fang of the Sun Combat Armor Dougram Instructions

Combat Armor Dougram(太陽の牙ダグラム ) Japanese Instructions

Combat Armor Dougram Takara 1984 from anime tv show Fang of the Sun Dougram 1981-1983

Fang of the Sun Combat Armor Dougram Takara 1/72 scale robot toy Made in Japan for Takara Toys 1984

Combat Armor Dougram Takara 1984 from anime tv show Fang of the Sun Dougram 1981-1983

I really enjoyed the anime for this robot, but I never finished it. The show was dark, mysterious, and much more serious than most of the anime. It felt like it was more aimed at adults than most robot anime I have watched. We got to the fourth season God Planet Quent and never got around to finishing it. It looks like they came up with a few follow series after that as well that never quite made it over.

Darn, moved my site to a brand new domain and broke all my images. Luckily, adding the images back is not as bad as I thought and I don’t have that many posts to fix. I didn’t really like these robots when they came out, but after watching the anime I came to appreciate them. I like the solid build and the detail is pretty good. Can’t say I love the pink. The cover art is a little redder, woulda been nice if the toy was too.

I just added some better images of the robot. I think I took the originals images in on my iPhone. That’s why they are so yellow. I’m thinking using a tripod will do wonders. I will probably come back and revisit these when I have more time. Looks like dusting may be needed. My cousin said Q-tips and water would do it.

The knees on these robots remind me of the  knees on the Clover’s Mobile Suit Gundam which is big and clunky as well. This is Fyana’s Brutishdog. If we ever did make combat suits, I really do think they would be more like these.

Here is the opening for the anime tv show Armored Trooper Votoms(装甲騎兵ボトムズ) from 1983-1984.

I watched these as rentals on VHS tapes and I enjoyed them. I saw them at the local library as DVDs as well, so you can purchase or borrow these. I have to see if they are on some of my Roku channels too. ***

Fyana’s Brutishdog ATM-09-GC booklet

Fyana’s Brutishdog ATM-09-GC

Fyana’s Brutishdog ATM-09-GC from anime tv show Armored Trooper Votoms(装甲騎兵ボトムズ) 1983-1984

Fyana’s Brutishdog ATM-09-GC

Fyana’s Brutishdog ATM-09-GC