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New KO Takara Dinogeist vs the Real DG


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http://forums.TFormers.com/talk/index.php?app=gallery&album=1490

 

Picts are in my gallery above, though not officially a Transformer, this bad arse from Takara should have been one. From the POST G1 Japanese Brave series, here is the one and only evil Dinogeist and his white KO remake, Skygeist? Jetgeist?

 

At any rate, years ago I found a nice box of Junk Takara brave toys, and inside was a headless DG. Found the head inside the box (thank the Transformers Parts GODS) and was able to repair it with ease. But replacing the missing Jet nose, which is designed to come off, why I do not know, was not easy.

 

I used the nose from Headmaster Snap Dragon and it came out pretty well, not quite finished but looks good to me. I especially like the ridges from the SD jet nose, that match the legs and rear jet section of DG. Note the real DG jet has ridges as well, but very small ones up towards the nose.

 

SO, mine was missing the nose, which I fabricated from SD, the shield, swords and the little chrome wings for the dino head. Honestly, I'm still getting used to the head wings, looks pretty good without them, but for $10 to get the KO and swap some parts, it's well worth a try.

 

I actually spent $20 and purchased 2, however only one has shown up so far. Reason for this is that the KO comes with the shield, and 1 sword, where as DG came with 2. Hopefully I can straighten that out with the seller and get the other KO.

 

Comparison. Well, besides the fact that the KO is made of mostly that Shampoo Bottle type low grade plastic, it's very good for $10. Last time I saw a real DG on sale on the bay it went for over $150, DARE I even say around $200. My Junker, I got for under $20, along with some other cool items.

 

The plastic is annoying in the fact that to really get the toy's full potential, one should take the time to take key sections apart and use a razor knife to smooth out the rough edges. The spring loaded leg guns stick, as does the landing gear. Also annoying, is the stickers, most of which are identical to the original toy's, which if you are looking for repro stickers and weapons + some parts, this is an ideal purchase, but since the plastic is so poor, the stickers fall off with too much ease. (note the last picts one of the foot stickers fell off in the photo shoot.

 

It comes with some rinky dink stickers, like the Stars on the shoulders. They needed to go. The stickers on the wings are identical to the real toy, cept they got some backwards. DG Emblem on the bottom of the side wings instead of on the top as it should. Or else the wings themselves are on the wrong sides.

 

I had to tighten the screws on one of the legs and the dino head, tricky balance there to leave it tight enough to close the gaps in plastic but not too tight as to restrict the movement and or transform. For a collector and a display piece, this $10 gem is great. For a kid who will actually play with it, not so nice. Will wind up broken in no time so for a kid, don't waste their time.

 

It is the same size and scale as the original toy, retooled head is actually rather nice, though the cheap plastic gives it more wobbly movement. At the end of the shoot I was able to swap the dino head wings with some difficulty, but it's nothing a dot of hot glue can't fix. The sword fits great in the back holder, which the KO does not have. I fear that the other sword from the second KO I purchased will not sync up with this first sword to make a double edged sword, think Darth Maul, but I can live with that, as long as they can both fit in the back holder. Looks sharp.

 

Differences. Well the KO took some liberties with changing the mold. First off they came out with this weird green bracket, that lets you mount the jet nose detached section to the robots fist. Now the real DG has a hole in the side of his wrist for mounting the shield, which the KO does not. I'm not sure if the jet nose was intended to be mounted to his arm at all, bracket or no bracket, it kinda reminds me of Overlord, but really not needed since he comes with a shield. I don't see the need to remove the jet nose from the bracket in the first place, that's why I designed the SD nose NOT to come off. It doesn't restrict the sword carrying bit, so just makes no sense. They also dummed down the jet nose, I'm sure there was more to the tip section of the nose to just bend 1 time, but I don't have the real one to compare it to.

 

The shield, unfortunately has been redesigned so there are 2 long pegs in the center, which mount to 2 holes in the chest of the KO running vertically. Problem there is the real DG does not have these holes, I believe it worked with 2 smaller pegs at the top that ran horizontally. , so it does not work in dino mode or jet mode as a replacement. So far. It also does not work well as a hand held weapon for either. Despite the fact that it does come with the original DG decal, I find it useless for the real DG, unless I figure a way to get it to mount to the jet and dino modes properly.

 

The retooled head, I know the first review out there for this toy, the reviewer made a custom slide out cover that fit inside the shield, so that it could slide out in dino mode and cover the robots face. I find it easier to turn the head around in Dino mode, just as you would on the real DG. This trick does not work for jet mode, with the forehead wing attachment, so unless you make the upgrade as that other guy did, you just have to ignore the kinder, robot face staring downwards.

 

All things considered, for a parts donor, this thing gets a B+, the sword and the wings for the dino head were great, the shield and the jet nose not so great. But for $10? I'm sure if the real swords in a set appeared for sale, they'd be asking $40+ easy.

 

As a sort of G2 update to DG, I like it a lot. I might try painting the green bits and making one a Skyfire update, since the jet is already white and red. OR, the real custom, Grimlock The Destroyer? The thing is based on Grimlock + jet mode, so why not.

 

If you are a collector and always wanted to have a Dinogeist of your own, I believe this is a pretty good deal. If we were lucky enough to get a re-release of the original DG in the future, I'd definitely recommend you wait for that.

 

I'd LOVE to get in touch with some KO makers and suggest they retool the other Dinobots into the unmade evil dino's that were in the cartoon series along side DG.

 

With all the hype of the new TF game, featuring Grimlock, I believe the basis for DG came from a left over Grimlock concept, so for a Grimlock Collector, one of these KO's, retooled and painted to become a Grimlock looking robot might be the ultimate addition...

 

At least, thats one I'm planning to make.

 

Check out my other gallery for more picts of my DG.

 

WEET!

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Oh I wish takara would reissue this guy... I like to pretend he is Paddles with a vendetta against the dinobots for just leaving him to die.

 

So it seems someone on ebay is selling a butt ton of this ko. I ordered 3 for customizing, will see if its worth my time. XD

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Oh I wish takara would reissue this guy... I like to pretend he is Paddles with a vendetta against the dinobots for just leaving him to die.

 

So it seems someone on ebay is selling a butt ton of this ko. I ordered 3 for customizing, will see if its worth my time. XD

 

 

That's probably the same guy. Make sure he sends you all 3. He forgot one of mine, but is hooking me up.

 

I noticed in a different review, some of the parts are different colors. Blue underbelly of the jet nose and dino teeth, insted the other's yellow.

 

I started swapping parts, and once the other one gets here, I can decide which is best for a custom Jetfire (basically the same as it is) and which will become, Grimlock the Destroyer.

 

my idea was that Grimmy in the future, lost the other dinobots and was left for dead in an all out attack by the seekers. He bashes him self a jet mode and tracks them all down, one by one.

 

My favorite line, in my head, for Dino Grimmy. Walking from out of the shadows in Dino mode, he mutters, "What's worse than a giant robot dinosaur... click clack out comes the 2 cannons from his back... A giant robot dino with GUNS!"

 

 

ALSO, note, with some crafty cutting you COULD make the back section of the KO have the slots for the swords, so it could hold them as good, or almost as good as the real one. If you need better picts let me know. I thought about getting 3, and having a display for all 3 modes at the same time. I mean $10 bucks, like WOW!

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