Master Ranking

A giant elephant king riding a whale spaceship bus? I had to have it! I had always spied this thing on Yahoo Japan for seriously cheap, and wondered what the deal with it was. When I say cheap, I mean I got this for something like $10 USD plus shipping. Of course, since the thing was huge shipping was expensive, but still I needed to have it.

After a little research I found out that this toy is called DX Master Ranking from the series Robotack, a live-action metal hero show from 1999.

Master Ranking is called in to cast judgment on a game played in the series. In the show his carrier transforms into an arena, and so does the toy’s.

The box consists of a huge styrofoam tray with a lid – there is no back cover. I thought mine was missing it, but after seeing a few examples they are all like this.

In carrier mode, Master Ranking is enormous. The long blue and white carrier is all hard, toy-quality plastic with many decals needing application.

All of the wheels roll, and the back door opens for storage for all the parts.

What do you think this warning decal means?

Master Ranking sits in the back, and is just the top part of the character. He plugs into a hole at the rear of the ship.

The gray elephant resembles a Hindu god, with ornate decoration and a removable gold crown. He is articulated at the shoulders, hands, and trunk.

The ears are softer rubber and can be removed. At the end of the trunk there is a TV screen that can show scenes from the game via cardboard cards that slide in and out.

Master Ranking has three modes: Transport, Arena, and Ranking Arena.

To go from Transport to Arena, you need to disconnect all the sections of the ship.

The middle of the ship folds out like an accordion and then the goal is attached to one side. You mount Master Ranking behind the goal, and use the ball and launcher. The ball actually comes on a sprue and needs to be assembled.

Also on a sprue are four Baby Elephant robots that assist Master Ranking.

They are:

Preparing Elephant

Watching Elephant

Interfering Elephant

Reflecting Elephant

How very Zen-like…

The next mode creates an Award ceremony called the Ranking Arena area that utilizes a few more parts of the set. The blue part from the transport makes an arch for the winner, and the other part makes a platform for the other contestant’s badge.

Check out the great Engrish on the stickers.

In theory, you are supposed to pose your Robotack figures here with the golden CondraTrophy, but I have no other Robotack figures, so these figures will act as stand-ins!

It’s a cool set for sure, and if you see one for cheap be sure to grab it. The downside is that shipping is a killer, and this thing takes up a lot of display space. It’s just so goofy and charming, with a lot of play value and rock-solid construction. A very cool toy indeed.