A farewell post to Dinoking

Earlier this month I said farewell to a group of Transformers that easily was the feather in my cap.  Dinoking.  I've told the story of how I acquired them when I did a review of each Dinoforce member last year, so I won't bother to repeat myself.  I had always viewed these guys as "off limits" and I never entertain the idea of selling them.  Funny how things change as we grow older.

When I started collecting I was younger, not married and the prices of vintage TFs were by far cheaper than what they are today.  I was on a quest to obtain all of the Pretenders, both US and Japanese releases.  At the time I started I knew little of this group, but as I researched them my interest in owning them continued to grow.

A few months back I started my own big collection purge, devoting more shelf space and attention to G1.  During this re-organization phase I decided to also reset my one lone Detolf cabinet where most of my Japanese G1 exclusives reside.  It was during this time that I was yet reminded of just how "unstable" these Pretender shells seem to be.  I was first reminded of this almost a year ago when I carefully transported my set of Dinoforce Pretenders to put on display at Charticon 2013 in Charlotte, NC.  As I was packing them up for transport, I noticed the rubbery dinosaur Pretender shells had left oily foot prints on the glass shelf inside the case.  It also appeared that some of the gold paint on parts of the shells and the backpacks were starting to fade.  This got me thinking about the longevity of these toys.  The US Monster Pretender versions of these toys seem to share this same fate, however some of those shells are starting to get purple dots setting into the rubbery shells.

Even though I had marked these guys in my mind as being off limits, their secondary market value had risen since I acquired the six and there were times I just couldn't shake the thought of what I could do with the money had I sold them.  When life is going well it's easy to push things like the value of your collection to the side, but when life ain't so pretty...well sometimes things like this slowly creep back into your mind.  

I've made it clear to my wife that while I don't prefer selling things from my collection for just any reason, I'm not the kind of guy that will let my family suffer (financially).  My dad didn't raise that kind of person.  In just the last 5 years since my wife lost her job around the same time we started a family, I have been the primary bread winner so to speak.  Trying to make ends meet and support 3 other people all while trying to maintain a hobby hasn't been easy, but we've made it work.  I've sold a great deal of toys over the years to make ends meet when things fell a bit short, but it was something that I was glad to do.  So now you're probably thinking Dinoking fell casualty to me being short and needing cash to pay some bills, right?  Nope.

Dinoking is the first major sale I've made where my decision to do so wasn't because of a need, but of a want.  Yes, you read that right.  I wanted to sell Dinoking.  I still love Transformers and I still love collecting, but sometimes there is just a time to say goodbye and this was the time...assuming I could find a buyer.  Once the decision was made, I told my wife what I had planned to do and she asked if I was feeling alright!  She knew how I felt about these toys and asked why I was selling them.  I told her that I wanted to spend the money on her, well us.  This upcoming January will mark my wife and I's 10th wedding anniversary and I wanted to do something special.  With finances already being tight as is, planning something big just doesn't happen very often for me and my family.  I knew if I sold Dinoking that I'd have more than enough money to do what I wanted to do for my wife.

So the first step was taken, I made the decision to let Dinoking go.  The next step was finding a good home for him.  Do I break him up and sell all six Dinoking members individually?  Or do I try to find a buyer for the whole lot?  I did a little research to find a fair asking price for them each and for the lot.  That is when I immediately thought of a fellow collector that didn't have these figures and had been wanting them.  I also knew that they would be well cared for and a valued part of his collection.  I then reached out to this individual and we worked out a deal.  Just last week I carefully packaged up the lot and shipped them off to their new owner.  It does feel a little odd referring to these guys in the past tense now, but I don't have any regrets.  I have bought myself plenty of Transformers over the years so it feels nice to spend this money on someone other than myself.  While I do have an obvious empty space on my Destron Victory shelf in my display case, I'm currently working on something that will fill this void created by my recent sale.  Stay tuned for just what this 'bot could be!

Transformers G1 Victory: Dinoking D-328 (Dinoforce)

It's been a long journey, but we've finally arrived with the culmination of the last 6 posts...Dinoking! Now for those of you reading that follow Transformers and know a little about these toys specifically, you already kind of know what to expect here. However I know I have several readers that aren't as well versed in G1 Transformers (especially the Japanese stuff), so Dinoking may not knock your socks off. I guess in some ways these toys are an acquired taste, especially since you'll have to put a lot of effort and money into acquiring them.

I've had a lot of fun documenting these toys. Because of the slimey shells and my fear of breaking the toys in any way, I don't handle these guys much. In fact if I hadn't transported them to Charticon 2013 a few months ago for display, I'm not sure if these series of posts would have ever happened!

I should mention that all of the Dinoforce characters in the Victory anime didn't use guns, but used blunt type melee weapons. Of course these guns are the same weapons that the U.S. Monster Pretenders came with, only in black. I'm not sure why the toys come w/ guns while their animated selves used melee weapons. Perhaps a cost savings move? Takara and Hasbro worked together back then so perhaps the plan from the start was to use these molds in both the East and the West.

Dinoking and Monstructor join Devastator & Liokaiser as the only other Destron/Decepticon combiners that are comprised of 6 members. Dinoking uses Kakuryu and Rairyu to form the chest and torso. Because of their unique designs they cannot be switched out. The arms can be switched with each other as well as the legs. However you can't use a leg as an arm and vice versa.

I personally love the combined form.  Yes the toys are small and as a combiner he can barely compete with the likes of Devastator or Predaking. I like the uniformity. What I mean by that is the limbs all look fairly similar, while yet different. It's not like one arm is an eagle while the other arm is a panther. The unified deco also is very nice.

While some may think the gold stands out too much, it helps break up the darker colors. Just like the dinosaur Pretender shells being a huge improvement over the U.S.'s monster Pretender shells, the colors Dinoking sports completely blow Monstructor's wild colors out of the water. I wanted to have a few comparison shots of the two combiners, but true be told I'm afraid to handle Monstructor much because of his GPS issues.

The Dinoforce team was the first Japanese combiner that I managed to build by buying each individual boxed piece. It was a challenge and ultimately set me back several Benjamins, but he was worth the time and money spent. With him being my first "holy grail" I really hope that I don't part ways with him anytime soon. While he may not be the rarest Japanese G1 TF out there, he proudly owns a place in my TF collection.

RELATED POSTS:
Doryu D-325
Gairyu D-323
Goryu D-322
Kakuryu D-324
Rairyu D-327
Yakuryu D-326

Transformers G1 Victory: Rairyu D-327 (Dinoforce)

If you have been reading these posts in the original order as they were posted, this is the last entry before we get to the Dinoforce's combined form, Dinoking!

I love how TFWiki describes Rairyu as the idiot amongst a team of idiots. I really need to go back and watch my Shout! Factory Victory DVDs so I can remember just how dumb these Dinoforce guys really are!

If I had Bill Gates' wallet I would like to upgrade Rairyu's box. You'll see on the pictures below how parts of the white box appear to be dirty. I don't know what has caused this, but I'm too afraid of trying to clean the box due to harming the cardboard.

Rairyu's Pretender shell is that of a brontosaurus aptosaur. Your guess is as good as mine as to what his robot's alternate mode is. He comes packaged with his Bronto gun and Dinoking's waist piece. His U.S. equivalent is the Monster Pretender Birdbrain.

Overall the box isn't in horrible condition, but can you see how the white parts just aren't as vibrant as compared to some of my others?

 

Right and Left sides

Another beautiful shot of this box art. Too bad they didn't sculpt the Pretender shell's dinosaur head angled up more like the artwork.

Here is another example of the "back" of the tech spec card. The back can be found on the inner left side box flap.

Rairyu is the only gray dinosaur of the group and while his Pretender shell should probably be the largest, it's pretty small. All of this teammates look more menacing, but that doesn't mean this isn't a cool looking toy. If you look closely you'll notice a little bit of gold paint on the forehead. Just like w/ Goryu and some of the others, this gold is notorious for wearing off easily. The hard plastic backpack stores his gun and Dinoking's waist piece, but I gotta be honest when I say I don't care for the look w/ the combiner part. I guess it could be considered a rocket launcher of sorts?

Where as Yokuryu's beast mode fairly resembles his Pretender shell, Rairyu's beast form I guess comes close to matching the Aptosaur...or not. On second thought, it looks more like a rhino.

Interesting enough the gun that Rairyu is wielding in his box art doesn't even come close to the weapon he is packaged with. Shame too as the mini gatling gun looks much cooler than his double barreled Bronto gun. I really can't find too many negative things to say about Rairyu or his teammates. While the robots are small and fairly simple all of them are stand out as individual toys.

Up next is Dinoking himself!

RELATED POSTS:
Doryu D-325
Gairyu D-323
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Yakuryu D-326

Transformers G1 Victory: Yokuryu D-326 (Dinoforce)

This is the Dinoforce member I've been waiting to get to. Yokuryu is hands down my favorite member of the team for several reasons.

With Swoop was my favorite member of the Dinobots, it should come as no surprise that I gravitate towards Yokuryu as my favorite Dinoforce member. There is just something about the Pteranodon that still fascinates this mid 30's guy. Perhaps it's the fact that this is one of the better looking Pretender shells. Or perhaps it's the figure itself that stands out as the best of the bunch. Whatever the reason I love this guy.

It also helps that Yokuryu's box is in great condition and he has all of his paper work (sans catalog, but I'm sure I have an extra) and unapplied stickers! (Hmm, I wonder if ReproLabels would want a scan of that sticker sheet?)

Yokuryu forms either arm of Dinoking. He comes packaged with his Pterano gun and Dinoking's right fist. Just like every other Dinoforce member his accessories can be stored on the back of the Pretender shell. His U.S. equivalent is the Monster Pretender Wildfly.

Even though my pictures don't really show it, the box still retains it's vibrate colors. The white is still white and the purple and artwork really pop. Little wear to the edges, but barely any flap crease.

 

Right and Left sides

While the rest of the Dinoforce members have "cybernetic helmets" on the dinosaur heads, Yokuryu seems to have a complete robotic head. Interesting.

Love the tech spec cards. I can't tell you how tempting it was to cut the flap off so I could trim down the card to match the others I have, but I just couldn't do that to the box.

I'm glad Takara opted to mix up the colors of the dinosaur Pretender shells with the use of brown. Of course Yokoryu isn't completely devoid of green as some of his armor is green with gold accents. I'm so glad they opted to paint his eyes red as it gives him a menacing look...even though in the Victory anime he was incapable of much harm! I also find the backpack piece of his shell fascinating as it appears he has several rocket boosters to help him while in flight. Just like all the other Dinoforce toys, this shell has the tendency to be slimy to the touch so handle him w/ care. I usually pick up the figure by the dino head if I have to move him around.

In my opinion Yokuryu features the best robot and beast mode. While most of the Dinoforce toys have an alternate mode that doesn't even come close to resembling their Pretender shell, Yokuryu comes close. Sure the wings are small and he's got big hind legs, but you can see the resemblance of a Pterandon...can't you?

I may be biased here, but Yokuryu is a great toy in terms of his Pretender shell and the actual Transformer figure. Great design, great colors = fun toy. If I could only have one of these guys, Yokuryu would be my man.

RELATED POSTS:
Doryu D-325
Gairyu D-323
Goryu D-322
Kakuryu D-324

Transformers G1 Victory: Doryu D-325 (Dinoforce)

Doryu, the Stegosaurus of the group, may look familiar...at the robot. Doryu shares the same mold as their leader, Goryu. Swap out the green for blue and you have Doryu. This is another 100% complete piece that I proudly claim in my collection.

There isn't much to say about the character of Doryu. He's yet another Dinoforce soldier that is obedient, strong, but dumb. Doryu comes packaged with his Stego gun and one of Dinoking's feet. Forms either leg of Dinoking. His U.S. equivalent is Scowl.

The downside of plastic being used for the inner tray over styrofoam is that the tray can easily become warped over time. Here is yet another box of mine where the side box flap doesn't want to close properly due to the tray inside. Thankfully the rest of the box is in great shape. I never get tired of that classic G1 grid design and the simplistic transformation sequence found on the top of the box.

Flap crease is present, but not too bad.  Same busy design on the back that we've already seen.

Right and left sides

One thing I never noticed on the shell until I got a good look at the awesome art work found on the box bottom are the two guns on the front of the shell. See the two small silver guns? Nice!

I always figured the cards were put on the inside flaps of the box so you could remove them without having the butcher the box. The bigger question is why Takara stopped making the Tech Spec cards individual in the first place!

 

Doryu has a great looking Stegasaurus shell, but there are a few aspects I wish had been changed. First of all the dinosaur eyes aren't painted! Nor are the teeth. A small bit of red for the eyes and white for the teeth would go a long way. I also don't care for the positioning of the tabs on the side of his armor where Dinoking's foot pegs in. That design to hold the combiner piece just looks forced. Where the fists form additional guns when stored on the dinosaur shell, what are the feet supposed to be? Shields?

With most of the Transformer combiners I'd be tempted to buy two of each toy, one to use in the combined form while the other used to display individually. However I don't have a desire to do that with Dinoking or Monstructor as much. The robots themselves leave a lot to be desired. While the robot modes aren't bad, the alternate modes just make me think WTF were the designers thinking?! TFWiki calls this "beast" mode a howling monster. Whatever.

Doryu isn't without his flaws, but that can be said about all of the toys thus far. He features a decent Pretender shell and a inner robot that shares the same mold as the leader of the Dinoforce squad. Then again people aren't collecting these toys for their individual toys. Hang on guys, we're getting ever so closer to the Dinoking post!

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