Maxus Dragonoid

Color me surprised that 2 years later, Bakugan is still pretty hot with kids. The last one I reviewed was some time ago, and up until now I haven’t been compelled by another. Last Christmas, however, the hot toy was a combining Bakugan, and that I had to check out… uh… for my kids.

Typically, Bakugans are small geometric shapes that transform into some kind of creature when held over its base, but this one goes a bit further. The 7 in 1 Maxus Dragonoid is seven separate Bakugans, that both have an alternate mode, and combine.

Let’s first look at the individual Bakugans. Apparently, only one is a proper Bakugan, the rest are something called “Traps”.

SpyderFencer

Grafias

Brachium

Grakas Hound

Dark Hound

Spitarm

Neo Dragonoid

The actual Bakugan…

All together they look like pieces of a puzzle…

And a puzzle it is. Each piece has an unusual transformation, with spring loaded actions to go from object to component. I really have to give credit to the designers for the engineering here.

Once the limb is formed, each part connects on a simple peg in hole system. The combined unit is pretty sturdy, albeit small.

We’re talking 6 inches tall. There’s a lot of engineering packed into this small package, and it makes for a heavy, dense figure. Unfortunately, it’s got limited articulation.

I have no idea how, or if, this works with the Bakugan game, but it looks neat. Unfortunately, I don’t think neat justifies the $40 price tag. This is a kid’s toy, and it’s small. I guess if a single Bakugan costs 5 or 6 bucks, it makes sense, but still, it seems like a lot.