Danguard Ace

Having always loved Danguard Ace as well as jumbos and bootlegs toys, it should come as no surprise that one of my most prized holy grails as a collector was this bootleg Jumbo Danguard. I was truly stunned to learn of the regular Popy Jumbo so hearing of the existence of this version with totally wrong colors was music to my ears. I had to have it. Friend and fellow collector Tom Franck owned one, but his had been partially chewed by rats and he needed to upgrade. When he did, he knew of my lust for this piece and offered me his damaged one. Around this time, I had also just acquired my first Cosmos 2000, a piece I knew Tom was really after, and I was terrified that he would insist on getting it in trade! Fortunately for me, he made no such demands and simply sold the toy to me. Another holy grail crossed off the list!

The first thing I noticed about the toy when I received it was how light it is. It’s hollow and made of thin, cheap polyethylene so it has almost no weight to it. As a result, it has a tendency to tip forward if you pose the arms in an outstretched position. Secondly, unlike the original toy, there is almost no articulation. The arms raise and lower and the legs can be turned slightly, but that is it. The head does not move and the elbows are not jointed at all. The fists do not shoot, the chest does not open and the Gard Rancher cannot be removed. Even though the back still has a place to connect wings, none are included. And there are no double lancers on the legs. This is just a bare-bones reproduction of the original mold.

Although the double lancers are not attached to the legs, you do still get one that Danguard can hold in his right hand. It is one solid piece and the handle does not fold into the weapon like the Popy version.

The polyethylene is cast entirely in blue and yellow. The face details are painted on, but all others are from stickers. Strangely, the stickers on the legs, waist and head are from the Takatoku Jumbo Daikengo. This always seemed a very curious thing, until 2006 when it was discovered that there existed a bootleg Daikengo Jumbo that is very similar to this Danguard one and seemingly made by the same company. So that’s one holy grail cross off the list, and another added to it. IT never ends!

This yellow Danguard Ace Jumbo stands approximately 22″ tall and came sold in a bag with a header card. It’s a really neat addition to any jumbo collection, but I think this is a toy that is more rare than desirable. I was also able to recently upgrade my specimen and got a mint version for a price ($300) that I consider to be very reasonable. It’s always interesting to me how few people show a SERIOUS interest in bootlegs. It seems most simply remark that they are cool, but don’t show an inkling to spend a lot to get them. Well, more for me then!!