Deluxe Kongazord
The Deluxe Wild Force Kongazord is the US equivalent of the DX Hyakujuu Gattai Gao Muscle from Hyakujuu Sentai GaoRanger.
The toy consists of 5 Power Animals:
- Gorilla
- Polar Bear
- Black Bear
- Eagle
- Bison
They all combine to form the mighty Wild Force Kongazord.
The Gorilla forms the central body and head of the Kongazord. It retains the metal from the Japanese version but lacks paint detail.
The Polar Bear and Black bear become the arms of the Kongazord. They both feature a missile firing action. One major difference between the US and Japanese version is that the US version had the chrome legs replaced with silver plastic.
The Eagle becomes the waist area, and seems identical to the Japanese version.
The biggest change comes with the Bison. Bandai America, in their infinite wisdom, thought the Kongazord needed more “Play Value”. They created an all new mechanical Bison that has a battery powered walking feature.
The bison is larger than the original, and uses a completely new large head sculpt. This bison can also transform into flatbed mode.
If you don’t like the look of this new plastic bison, you can easily swap legs with the Deluxe Wild Force Megazord.
One more notable omission in the US version is the lack of the anchor chain weapon. Normally it is stashed in the chest compartment, but my guess is it was omitted due to safety concerns.
Although not as good as the Gao Muscle, it’s an OK replacement that does most of what the original did. I’m sure kids had fun with it – it’s a fine toy on its own merit.