Getter Dragon

The Famosa Jumbo Getter Dragon (listed on the box as “Robot Lanza Discos”) is what I consider to be the “last” in the succession of jumbos of this character, completing the sequence begun by Popy and followed by Mattel and Nacoral. I consider it the last because not only was it the most recently discovered, but it’s also the furthest removed from the original, in terms of changes being made to the toy.

As a point of reference, I’ll compare this version to the Nacoral one, since that is the closest in design. Like the Nacoral, it has black fists and cape, a hard plastic head and a different waist sticker than the Popy or Mattel toys. Like the Nacoral toy, the Famosa one comes with a clip one star shooter, 6 stars (3 green, 3 yellow) and one yellow ax. But there are differences between the Nacoral and Famosa versions, too. The Famosa toy actually comes with the legs of Great Mazinger. Furthermore, the wheel casings are molded directed onto the bottom of the feet.

Perhaps less obvious in pictures is the fact that the head, body and legs of the Famosa version is a deeper red than the lighter, almost orange of the Nacoral, while the blue is a lighter blue. I much prefer the coloring of the Famosa version to the Nacoral.

The last difference of note between the two is that even though they share the same sticker, it has been applied upside down on the Famosa version (at least in relation to the Nacoral. Who can really side which side up is “right”?). And it’s not a mistake either as I’ve seen many specimens of this toy and they have all been consistent with this inverting of the sticker.

Like all the other Famosa jumbos, this guy comes in a box that says Mazinger Z, yet pictures Great Mazinger on the front. The other jumbos in the line are pictured on the sides of the box and you know which one you’re getting by the check mark next to to the name on the end of the box.

Point of fact, to date no specimen of a Famosa Daimos has appeared and the general opinion seems to be that it was never actually released.

From a personal standpoint, it’s a relief to finally have a good condition specimen of this toy. My first attempt at acquiring a mib one was thwarted by the good folks at US customs. My second attempt was only slightly better as they again opened the box and caused damage, this time tearing and losing the left leg sticker. However, all’s well that ends well, as the seller was a really great guy and about a month later, free of charge, he sent me a replacement sticker for the Getter Dragon leg and also replacement eye stickers for my Famosa Gaiking, which I didn’t even buy from him! Of course, customs opened even that package, but this time they managed not to do any harm. Unfortunately, I took the pictures for this review before I got the replacement sticker for the leg so it’s still incomplete in the pictures.