The first video overview of threezero's upcoming Robo-Dou Dancouga showed up online just the other day, and it raised my excitement level by a factor of 10. Threezero's Dancouga is one of my top three most anticipated figures due to be released in 2022 (the other two are threezero's Panzer World Galient Robo-Dou Galient figure, and CCSToys' Shin Getter 1). The Robo-Dou version looks magnificent! Then, just yesterday I caught a quick video showcasing
yet another Dancouga release. It wasn't in English, and so it was a bit hard to tell, but this one looks like a Good Smile model kit version. The owner of the video said it included die-cast parts, but I'm doubtful after watching through the video. That said, my lone experience with Good Smile's Moderoid line did not result in a good smile for me, so I would probably pass on that one.
I never knew of Dancouga growing up. Released in 1985, I would have been just a bit too old to have watched it. It was brought to my attention last year, when BBTS put threezero's Robo-Dou version up for pre-order. Their Shin Getter 1 figure was one of my absolute favorite figures of 2021, and I'm pretty much all-in for the Robo-Dou line moving forward, so when I saw this guy, I pre-ordered it without knowing anything about the source material. I then went ahead and bought the entire series on Blu-Ray, and have been enjoying it ever since. The story-line is sophisticated enough to keep things interesting. In fact, I liked it so much that I used a handful of gift cards from the holidays to pick up this Soul of Chogokin GX-13R figure.
It stands at a really impressive height (towering over my other Soul of Chogokin figures), has a good bit of die-cast weight to it, and looks great on the shelf. That said, I did encounter some significant problems with this fairly old release (re-release, I should say). The biggest problems for me have to do with the articulation. The joints in the knees and hips are terribly loose, to the point where he can really only stand (and precariously, at that) in a straight-legged vanilla pose. Additionally, the waist is so loose and floppy that the entire upper torso tips forwards or backwards at the slighted touch. As a result, this figure is not at all pleasurable to try to pose, despite the fact that it looks great as it is. My final issue is with the hands, which cannot close tightly. This means Dancouga cannot hold the rifle one-handed, and even the sword tends to fall out of his flaccid grip. Once the threezero version arrives, I may seriously consider transforming this version to vehicle modes (Land Cougar, Land Liger, Big Moth and Eagle) and leaving them for display that way.
The upcoming Robo-Dou version looks amazing. The sculpt is a really great take on the classic look, tweaked. I also love the weathered paint apps it looks to be getting. It seems to be about the same size as the Chogokin version, with many of the same accessories and transformation gimmicks. I will say that I don't like the way the feet (land vehicles) attach (much like the SOC version, there's a small tab that flips up and the legs of Big Moth clips onto this - it's such a small connection point). But otherwise it looks like it's going to be a real winner. And I'll just have to see what that Good Smile Dancouga was all about...
