Daimos
Daimos is one of those characters that has been on the fans lists to be made into an SOC for some time now.
It appears Bandai has been listening, because here it is.
Daimos comes from the Japanese anime series Tosho Daimos (闘将ダイモス) or Brave Leader Daimos. Originally airing in 1978, Daimos is part of the Romantic Trilogy which also features Combattler V and Voltes V.
Soul of Chogokin GX-43 Daimos is available from BetaToys.com
Daimos never aired in the US, but toys of Daimos were included in both the Godaikin and Shogun Warriors lines. In the late 90s, a compilation DVD called “Starbirds” appeared on supermarket dollar DVD racks. However, in addition to its native Japan, Daimos was popular in Philippines, Malaysia, Italy and France.
I’ll say it right now. Daimos is good. Very good. But it’s going to feel a bit odd to US fans.
First off – the box is the typical SOC quality. Nice graphics, nice packaging. The toy itself is packed in a Styrofoam tray while the accessories are in the clear plastic trays.
Inside, Daimos is ready to go in robot form.
Daimos, in robot mode, is really fantastic. Articulation is great. The head moves, the arms have a dual joint that allows a wide range of motion, even up over the head. Its very nice. The elbows have a double joint and the wrists turn in two places.
There’s no waist joint, sadly.
At the legs, there are joints at the hips, double joints at the knees, and joints at the ankles.
As for metal content, Daimos is loaded with metal, In fact, he is heavier than the original DX chogokin. Chest, shoulders, legs, connectors… Metal.
In Robot mode, Daimos has the usual ton of accessories.
- Sanryuukon staff
- Snake Lock
- Daimo-Shaft
- Battle Break
- Five Shooter
- Souryuuken blade
- Daimo-Kick
- Daimos Chain Shark
- Freezer Storm
- Double Blizzard
- Fire Blizzard
Transformation from robot mode to vehicle mode (or Tranzer) isn’t really difficult, but there are a few odd areas and a few issues of contention.
For one, Daimos kind of cheats on the transformation. The Tranzer cab actually is stored in the chest and swaps out with the head, instead of just transforming from one to the other.
The arms fold down along the chest and store in near the legs as opposed to the chest.
Also, included are two different sets of back coverings. One set is fully transformable, and the other is an anime-accurate set. You need to have the transformable set on to go into vehicle mode.
Watch the video to see the transformation in action.
In vehicle mode, Daimos is a brick. It’s just a solid inarticulate piece. Unlike the vintage piece, the cab does not move on this version. The tires are a hard rubber, and do turn.
Missiles can be attached to the rear sections of the Tranzer. Also, the rear of the trailer has a door that opens that allows the miniature Tryper 75S to dock inside. Two mini-Tryper are included – one just in car mode, and one with wings open.
An additional larger Tryper is included that features rolling wheels, opening cockpit and opening wing section.
A stand is included that holds all the weapons, but honestly, we didn’t put it together. In fact, it seems that lately we just leave the extra parts and stand in the box, and just display the figure with the accessories we like most. We just don’t have the room anymore.
If you are a fan of the old DX chogokin Daimos, this toy may leave you a little cold. The transformation seems needlessly complex, the colors seem all wrong, and despite having more accessories, the new version doesn’t actually do much. It’s less fun but more anime-accurate.
However, there is hope. With the recent announcement of the “Respect for Volt-In-Box” set, the Soul of Chogokin colored like the old popy DX set, there is the hope that Bandai will continue to re-issue SOC in classic chogokin colors. And to add a bit more evidence to this – the green shin guards on Daimos are only painted green. That’s right; they are actually molded in yellow – the color of the guards on the original DX chogokin.
Soul of Chogokin GX-43 Daimos is available from BetaToys.com