Yeesh. For 73 dollars I can get 6 kgs of stuff, not just Ganbaruger. But then again, I'm not familiar with the shipping cost from china to your area, so maybe the cost is substantially higher. International postal service is weird that way.
Pictorial Review of Ling Dong's KO Great Ganbaruger ("Same-Sized") These two huge boxes were waiting for me the other day... Okay, so this "review" isn't really about that gigantic ROTF Leader Optimus (but I must say that if you're an Optimus Prime fan, you should get him! He's a perfect Calibre statue stand in, if I must say so), so let's get down to business... Here is Ling Dong's KO Great Ganbaruger ("Same-Sized"), in box Here are the contents of the box. Main figure, all accessories, instruction sheets. Please note that all accessories which should be chromed gold are plain yellow in this set (although I think TOMY also released a non-chrome set). Here's a side-by-side with the original (left). Most striking differences, from this view: chrome horns vs yellow; gold sticker on chest wings vs yellow; off-centered yellow mid-section sticker on KO; darker shade of red on the KO. I would tend to agree with DasaMan that this KO is of good quality, the same way some Brave Sonokongs are of good quality when their Takara counterparts are of great quality. This difference is more evident in terms of weight as the KO is considerably lighter (maybe 30%?) than the original. Side-by-sides at different angles: Now for the manufacturer's stamps. Here's what you'll find on the original: On the KO.. Instead, what you get are: Some close up shots. Notice the sloppy application of some stickers. Now for individual robot and alt-mode shots. Joints are tight and ratchets work fine. I did not sense any of the looseness that I had with the "mini" KO. Final verdict? If you can have a Chinese friend order and ship it for you for around 60 USD shipped, he's a steal. If you get him through an agent for around 100 USD, I would say he's worth it. Closer to 200 USD, though, you'd be better off camping on Yahoo Japan for the original (may set you back around 300 USD, shipped). If you can get him cheap, then he's a suitable replacement for the original. You can also have him as a replacement if you're missing any one of the three "main" bots; the original Gekiryuger, in particular, can be very hard to find. Like I said, this KO is of good quality and its size and heft makes for a great display piece. EDIT: This is the Taobao guy DasaMan recommended and where I also ordered. Taobao KO Great Ganbaruger
But you're in Indonesia and Schide's in the US, mate. So more expensive for him. Although yeah, airmail for this figure might have cost just 50 USD.
Sweet, thanks for the review. Can't wait to get mine. Even with the expensive shipping I think it's going to be worth it.
Thanks man. Yeah I think he's still worth it at the total price that you paid for. Plus you're going to get him sooner.
Thanks for the great pics and info Archieboy! Can't wait to get that guy. He's so full of chunky early 90s goodness. Love it.
man, I am tempted to get that KO Great Ganbaruger even though I did not watch its series. Unfortunately I have no idea how to buy from Taobao lolz
Excellent review! And I thought KO Ganbaruger is heavy, but 30 percent less than the original? Wow, the real deal presence is overwhelming!
ShadowMagnus, you can get a friend get one for you from china, I think there are many people from the KO TF thread that can help, or you can use one of those taobao buying agents. I named one a few pages back, and there are many others.
Thanks man! DasaMan and Schide ordered from here Taobaoring. Be sure to choose airmail shipping; it cost Schide 73 USD to have this shipped to the US.
Great pics! The more I see the more I want to hunt down. The next con can't get here fast enough! Did anyone have any issues with the Sonokong versions of their figures? From some video reviews I've read they non-factory stickers are pretty subpar, which is why I haven't applied any of mine. The thing is, I'm waiting on Toyarena to send me a replacement Kaizer 4 because when I opened mine, part of the junction area where it connects to Kaizer Drill was broken off when I opened it. It seems the black plastic is rather brittle, I hope that's not a major issue throughout the line, I'm loving it so much.
Ok guys I was just looking through taobao and found a lot of listings for this guy....I have no clue whats the price if its in usd or hkd hope you can help me out here is the link genesic gaogaigar CM brave gokin
Yeah most of the stickers on the Sonokong reissues can be pretty poor. Thunder baron is the worse as I recall. Most of the Braves look so much better with stickers though, it's worth sticking them on
Nice. I want to get it for the sword and to replace a broken part (the clip inside one of the dragon shoulder pieces). Thanks for the interesting review. It looks like the only problems appearance wise is the stickers. Similar to Sonokong I guess.
I find it hard to believe. Plastic would have to be very thin to substact almost a third of the weight. 10-15% maybe, but 30%?
Yeah not too sure about the exact difference mate, but the difference is significant. And the difference is not in the thickness of the plastic but in the density.
