I can't exactly remember when or who I acquired this nice little piece from, but it's one of the few boxed G1 Transformers KOs that I still have in my collection. From what I can tell, this is a Korean release and is obviously based off the Autobot Monsterbot, Doublecross. In small print across the bottom it says Dae Dong Co. The box is made of a very thin/cheap cardboard. The colors are still quite vibrant. The large black front at the top of the box translates to Tususa Ssangyong Robot, however I'm not sure how accurate that is. The diagonal font across the middle reads "Dragon, the son of fire, who fights for justice!" "He came to us to preserve peace on Earth."
The figure comes nestled inside a very cheap plastic tray. This insert is so brittle you have to take the utmost care removing or inserting the figure. The plastic in the bottom of each recessed area is very thin. You can see the figure comes bundled with two accessories the original Doublecross did not come with, a large red sword and a blue shield. I have no idea of these accessories were "borrowed" from another toy release or are unique to this release. The sticker on the shield appears to be some type of unicorn?
Double Dragon comes molded in a very bright huge of blue, red and yellow. The plastic quality is surprisingly better than I expected. It's not oily or too light feeling, but of course not on par with the plastic Hasbro/Takara were using at the time. The only paint apps are a small black blobs of paint on the eye visor, eyes of the dragon heads and nostrils. There are 3 stickers pre-applied to the chest, but the adhesiveness of these is all but gone on my copy.
Once you wield Double Dragon with his weapons, it's a great looking piece. If you prefer a gun, you're in luck has he can also wield Doublecross' original white blaster.
You may have noticed the lack of wings on Double Dragon and those wouldn't be the only changes made. Other than the missing wings, the top half of the robot is molded very closely to that of the original. The front of the shoulders are missing the raised circles and there are some molded details to the abdomen area that are missing (replaced with the sticker). Even the dragon heads are very close to Doublecross. The KO obviously does not contain the sparking gimmick of the original so you won't find that mechanism inside the dragon heads. The trigger fin on the back of Doublecross has also been omitted on the KO.
The major differences in the mold comes in the bottom half. Double Dragon features a set of generic robot legs and does not have the ability to transform at all, thus no dragon legs or tail halves. The upper legs/thighs however do seem to be the same.
Overall I find this KO to be a quirky, charming addition to my G1 KO collection. I wish that it had the ability to transform, but it's unique colors and weapons helps it stand out as a highlight piece. I haven't really sought out this figure on the secondary market so I can't really comment on it's availability or price, but if you are a fan of KOs in general or just a fan of the Doublecross character, I do recommend this toy.
