Deluxe Chromium Gold BV
After the Big Bad Beetleborgs win the battle against their comic-book foes, the Magnavors, the three kids think that their lives can go back to normal. However, Les Fortunes- the twisted brother of the man who created the Beetleborgs comic book- has plans of his own, and decides to create a new kind of original villain to get revenge for all of his brother’s success! So, as Les and his new army- the Crustaceans- move in on the city, the original Beetleborgs comic book creator, Art Fortunes, draws up designs for a new type of super hero, and the funny phasm Flabber brings them to life with his special brand of magic. Now, with new armor, new weapons, and new giant beetle-shaped machines, the Beetleborgs Metallix are charged with defending Charterville from evil once more.
The Chromium Gold Battle Vehicle is one of three new giant armored robots custom designed by original Beetleborgs’ comic book creator Art Fortunes. It is based on the real elephant beetle, and spots the familiar t-shaped horn extending from the front of its body. Piloted by Drew McCormick- the Chromium Gold Beetleborg Metallix- it rolls on 6 large wheels, and has a powerful energy emitter built into the front of it. The BV is also capability of limited flight with a set of small rocket boosters built into the swing-wing armor on the back.
Even though it isn’t a part of any of the"Power Rangers" series of Deluxe transforming robots, the Chromium Gold BV stands quite well on its own, and spots a similar lineage in toy design from Bandai.
The 6 wheels, with thick rubber treads, are all free. When two small black tabs on the back of the BV’s shell are squeezed together, large arms with four of the wheels spring downwards, jacking up the main body to about a 30° angle, and pointing its large gold-plated horn towards the ground. It can still be rolled along the ground, but this simulates how the real BV could tunnel itself underground for stealth attacks. Depressing a large silver-plated button on the top of the BV’s shell causes a pair of wings to spring out 90° to either side. This reveals a small set of exhaust nozzles inside. In either case, just pressing the parts together again is easy.
As far as I can tell, the Chromium Gold BV is identical in every way to its Japanese counterpart- the DX Kabutoron, from the Metal Hero series"B-Fighter Kabuto".
It is a good little toy, and has taken a few good drops since I’ve gotten it. The paint details are sharp, and the few decals were relatively easy to apply and look good too. In many ways, it is just as good, if not better, than some conversions that were made to some of the Deluxe"Power Ranger" zords by Bandai America. The only discouraging part may have been that it couldn’t transform or combine into a larger robot like some of its tokusatsu [Japanese live-action] or Anime cousins do, but it worked out well, and I’m not disappointed. Simple, but fun!
