Convertors Defender Wheels

Completing the Dorvack mecha trio, I finally have the mini Henkei-type Mugen Calibur (or Wheels, if you prefer its Convertors namesake.) The version I have here is actually the Takatoku/Mark original Japanese version, as it has the chrome stickers & a Mark stamp on the bottom.



Wheels' bio reads:

"Rugged and swift, converts into a jeep that is able to cruise over rough terrain while seeking invaders that may have landed in areas undetected by central computer or other Defenders."


Out of all the Dorvack mechs, the Mugen Calibur definitely has the most personality (In that he doesn't have a mono-eye like Chopper, or the physique of a gorilla a la Tanker.) Aesthetically, he's second only to First Track.



Unfortunately, he's somewhat lacking articulation. Only the shoulders articulated, which normally wouldn't normally be a problem, but the gun is clearly meant to be two-handed, so it looks a bit silly when held in a "firing" position (hence why I have it mounted on the back of the figure in the other photos. Also, I personally believe there's no reason why they couldn't have incorporated jointed hips and knees, which would have shot this figure straight out the the ball park.



The transformation is...interesting. You would think they would have used the kind of sliding/telescoping joint in the hips that most transforming robots used...but instead, the legs are joined together by a metal bar & they basically just dangle there when they aren't tabbed in anywhere. It's not bad, per say...just odd...



However, the tranformation is satisfying enough. Once you get everything tabbed in place, it holds together pretty well.



The vehicle mode is something of an oddity. It's clearly supposed to be some sort of military off-road vehicle, akin to something like a jeep. If the scale (around 1/72) is to be believed, however, it would be more similar in size to an armored truck. Apparently the actual animation model is equally awkwardly large, so I guess it's not that big a deal.



All scale issues aside, the vehicle mode is actually pretty nicely detailed. The chrome-sticker headlights and windshield are nice touches, as are the molded driver seat and steering wheel. There are also some grenades molded in gray plastic on the side of the vehicle, which ironically look better in vehicle mode than in robot mode.



I actually had a very difficult time coming up with things to say about this figure. It's the flagship mecha for Dorvack, and is definitely the most interesting to look at...but there's something kind of bland about the figure itself.

I'm torn between 3.5 and 4 out of 5. If you're a fan of Dorvack, this is probably the cheapest incarnation of the Calibur you can come by, but be warned: it's basically a transforming statue with moveable arms. If it's Dorvack you want, I reccomend Chopper over this guy.

Convertors Defender First Track

First Track, like all the Defenders & nearly all of the Convertors figures, originated from the bankrupt toy company, Takatoku. At the time of their demise, Takatoku was contracted to produce toys for such well-known anime shows as SDF Macross and Orguss, as well as some slightly-less-successful shows as Galvion and Dorvack...and another show called Galactic Whirlwind Sasuraiger.



Sasuraiger was the third anime in the "J9" series, which included Braiger and Baxinger. The series was a sort of a nod to the book "Around The World in 80 Days," with a host of characters with very American names ("Blues Carl Bernstein" and "Beat Mackenzie," to name a few) and the lead-hero-mecha turning into 19th-century-locomotive capable of space flight, on a quest to navigate all 50 planets in the system within the course of a year.



Interestingly, while the lead mecha is the TV-83X Sasuraiger, it was originally known as the "Batrain." This name can be seen emblazened on the tender of Takatoku's larger Sasuraiger toy. The smaller toy was picked up, like many of the other smaller Takatoku mecha toys, by Mark, and in turn, Select for the Convertors line.



The figure pictured is, in fact, the American Convertors version. The box comes from a knock-off of the Japanese version (the knock-off is virtually identical to this, except its hands are blue and it's broken now because the quality is TERRIBLE.)



First Track's bio reads:

Fast and clever. Converts into a train designed to protect Earth's rail transport networks which are important to supply defense systems.



Perhaps the most striking of the Defenders color-wise, First Track is actually made of 4 different colors of plastic. He's also the only Defender with chrome parts. Add to that the painted visor & chrome stickers and you end up with a very attractive robot. The colorscheme bears many resemblances to other Japanese mecha of the time, especially Super-Robots.



The amount of articulation is also noteworthy, if still a bit lacking (such is the mark of 80's transforming toys.) The head & shoulders can rotate 360 degrees, the elbows can bend, the wrists rotate, and the knees bend a little.



An unfortunate side-effect of the transfor--excuse me, conversion, the smokestack ends up in a somewhat awkward place. It's supposed to fold up against the back of the robot, but age has made my example a bit loose. The elbow joints also have a tendency to work loose, but this can be easily remedied with a small phillips screwdriver.



Another unfortunate aspect of the conversion is that First Track is a bit of a "parts-former"; the arms have to be removed, then pegged together underneath the boiler of the locomotive. Other than that, the transformation is a satisfying sequence of flips and twists.



The vehicle mode might turn some away, but I think it's every bit as attractive as the robot mode. A bad-ass robot with a big gun turning into a 19th-century locomotive colored like something that should be encircling your Christmas tree is something I find endlessly amusing. There are interesting nods to the robot mode all over, like the chest sticker atop the cabin & the red hands forming the cow-catcher.



I've seen pictures of the original Takatoku mini-Sasuraiger that show some additional stickers on the sides of the train's cabin. I have yet to see a figure with these stickers for sale, though...which is a shame, as the vehicle mode is just a touch bland without them. Nevertheless, all the colorful quirkiness of the robot mode is retained in the train mode. Also retained from the robot mode is the looseness of the elbows, which can cause the undercarriage of the train to hang just a bit askew. However, as previously mentioned, this can be fixed by tightening the screws. You likely won't even have to worry about it unless you plan on swooshing the figure around in the air, in train mode.



First Track is, to put it simply, awesome. The inescapably Japanese robot mode, with its wacky colors & giant chrome gun, coupled with the borderline ridiculous vehicle mode make the figure just as badass as it is fun and quirky. However, the parts-forming & the slightly daft alt mode might not appeal to some. Still, his superior design & slight scarcity (relative to other Convertors), as well as being one of the very few Sasuraiger toys, makes him definately worth tracking down.

4.8 out of 5 for the Batrain.

Convertors Super Defender X

Here we have another Super Defender, X. I'm currently kicking myself because I broke my D. A. Tona, then sold it for $10 (they go for nearly $100 on ebay. -_- )

X's bio reads:

Still in the experimental stages. Is not only tougher but potentially faster than the rest of the Defenders. The Maladroids are truly concerned over the development of X.



Like the other Super Defenders, X shares traces his lineage from the anime "Super High-Speed Galvion" and from the defunct toy company, Takatoku. At present, I cannot find the mecha in the show from which X originates, so if anyone has any information, please let me know.



X's robot mode is around the same height as other Convertors, but he is much thicker & more squat. The unavoidable half-bent stance of the arms doesn't help things. The chrome spoiler mounted atop the body is actually rather nice, though. However, all this aside, the thing that really cripples the robot mode is the weak joints in the legs. As part of the transformation, the diecast calf part of the leg extends from the thigh. Being that this is a near-30-year-old toy, these joints have worn, making the figure VERY difficult to stand without the legs collapsing. Very annoying.



Transforming the figure begins with folding the forearms up, lifting the canopy/cockpit of the vehicle up from the chest & folding the head into it (doing this exposes some nicely molded chrome engine bits), then flipping the spoiler up, collapsing the legs, and folding the feet down.

The end result resembles what one might call the 80's equivalent to a "Cybertronian" alt mode, and in this case, that's NOT a good thing. It basically looks like a folded-up robot. Retaining all the chunkiness of the robot mode, it doesn't look particularly fast, either.

Perhaps the worst thing about the vehicle mode, however, is the fact that it is completely without any rigidity. The legs and arms are constantly flopping out of place & the ugly vehicle is hardly worth the trouble of fixing them.

I suppose if chunky, futuristic racecars are your thing, then you may not mind this figure's flaws. However, if you really want to track one of these down, try to get one in mint condition. I payed about $5 for this example, and it's in relatively okay shape. However, the loose joints completely cripple the vehicle mode & the robot mode is a squat, ugly thing.

Were it not for the loose joints, I'd actually probably like this figure. In light of this, I'll give this figure a (generous) potential score of 2.5-3 out of 5. For my example, however, I wouldn't give it a point over 1 out of 5, and it hardly deserves that.

Convertors Knock-Off Defender Tanker

Tanker is well-known among Convertors fans. It turns up quite frequently on ebay in lots of Gobots and "vintage Transformers." He catches a lot of hate for not being a super-humanoid robot, but I rather like him.



Tanker is based on the Bonaparte Tulcas from Special Armored Batallion Dorvack. I think that, as a variable mecha, the Tulcas is quite appropriate. His non-conventional design looks more like something people would actually build, not some stylized robot in a patriotic color scheme.



My example is a knock-off. The actual version is still grey, but not metallic like this one. The official one also has slots so the orange things on the feet go on its shoulders. Mine has those slots, but the arms aren't attached correctly, so they don't attach right.

All things considered, the knock off isn't any worse than the actual version. He may have a cheaper feel, but it doesn't bother me any.

NOTE: Notice the little gray missile attached to his arm? That's what Tanker is supposed to look like. Many people buy this figure missing that missile then wonder why he has a shovel for a right arm. It still looks wonky, but at least the missile gives it a sense of functionality.



Transforming Tanker is a quick and easy process. The legs straighten, the body unfolds, the arms click together, and everything compacts itself against the main body. The alternate mode is...um...well, it's a tank. But it's....cute. It's so small and chubby, and it looks like it's got little eyestalks, like a crab. A cute crab.



Unfortunately, there are no wheels on the tank treads, so he doesn't roll, and the turret doesn't rotate. Also, there's no place to store the missile, which may account why it's missing on so many other examples. The tank mode is one big, cheap compromise. It doesn't look like anything that actually exists.


In short, Tanker is for 'converts' only (hyuck-hyuck.) He's got just enough querks to keep you interested, but the cheapness of the figure cannot be overlooked. I, myself, like it, but I can understand why lots of people choose to avoid it. The good thing is, he's cheap, so if you do want one, he won't cost you an arm and a leg.

Rating: 2/5

Convertors Super Defender D. A. Tona

How are Super Defenders different from the normal Defenders, you might ask? They turn into souped-up, futuristic, non-realistic race cars! They are also unique in that they contain both diecast and plastic.

As with the other Convertors, the Super Defenders find their roots in a largely unsuccessful 1980's anime. The name of this anime was Cho Kosoku Galvion (Super High Speed Galvion, Road Fighter Galvion, or just Galvion to most people.) The premise of the anime revolved around a secret organization known as Circus, who recruits two convicts to pilot their transforming racecar mecha to fight another faction, Shadow, that is attempting to take over the world. The show was edgy, with a good soundtrack & mecha designs by Ohata Koichi (who also designed for Gunbuster, another anime of greater popularity.) However, apparently the show aired at a very impractical time slot & because of this, it mostly failed.

Takatoku was the company contracted to make toys for the show. However, Takatoku was making its final circle down the drain at about this time. No official Galvion toys were ever made, but a small number of molds were created; one for a dealer sample of a 1/48 scale transforming Circus-1 (the main mecha of the anime) and molds for the small, cheapie versions of 4 different mecha, including the Circus one. The former went to a small company called Toyco and practically vanished, while the latter went to Mark (who, as Convertors fans know, sold the toys to Select for the Convertors line.)

The Super Defenders are the only production Galvion-related toys ever released. However, their headsculpts were seemingly...well...resculpted from the original Galvion lineart, giving them a more humanoid appearance (disappointingly.) D. A. Tona is based on the Excalibur, an antagonist mecha from the series.

D. A. Tona (no idea what the D. A. stands for) is about the size of the other Convertors figures. His bio reads:

"Known to friends as D. A. Perhaps the fastest of all the Super Defenders. Strikes terror in the hearts of the Maladroids."

The robot mode looks good, but it's got a few problems with it. The legs are pretty stable, so it's got no problems standing. However, the "spoiler" works loose very easily. I had great difficulty getting him to look like this:

instead of this:



'Nuff said. Other than that, as far as the robot goes, he's pretty nice. Transformation's good, too, very reminiscent of the Valkyries from Macross.



The vehicle mode...I dunno...it seems rather thrown together, but at the same time, it's pretty sleek. I don't know what to make of it.



I like the way it looks, but some of the parts are pretty loose & it doesn't roll very well. This is probably because it's got six wheels & the leg pivot joint makes it difficult to keep the wheels in-line. The exposed diecast, while cool, doesn't do much for the aesthetic of the toy, either.



D. A. Tona is a flawed figure. He's also a fairly rare figure. I wouldn't pay too much for him, but beware of loose/broken/less-than-perfect examples, as I'm sure the problems get much worse than this in looser ones. He looks good, and he is good in theory. However, appearances can be decieving, and unless you're SURE you're getting one in pretty good condition, I wouldn't pay more than $10 for it.

Rating: 2/5

Macross Henkei-Type SDF-1

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Well, here we have another SDF-1! This is a surprise to me, as most SDF-1 toys are pretty expensive. I got this little bugger for only $20, and it was well worth it!

(for more information about the SDF-1, see my review of the Matchbox Robotech Miniature SDF-1)



This version of the Macross is pretty small, roughly the same height as my Chopper figure. That makes sense, since this figure was also released in Select's "Convertors" toy line as a Maladroid.



Notice the name "Nofka" branded on the card. There is another Convertors figure called Nofka, based on an Orguss figure.



I've got to say, I've got mixed feelings about this toy. It's made entirely out of plastic, and as you can see, the "reflex cannon" booms are hollow and look REALLY crappy from the back.



However, this is a minor setback as far as I'm concerned, and the figure makes up for it by having passable articulation, very similar to the large Matchbox SDF-1 figure that I have. BUT...unlike that figure, this one TRANSFORMS!



This is the Macross in its "cruiser" mode. Normally, the tips of the main cannon booms would spin around, but Takatoku was too cheap to accomodate this feature on the toy. However, the fact that this version is "variable" makes it a thousand times better than the larger version. The colorscheme, however, does not. Most of the silver you see on the figure was painted on by me, except for the top of the main torso & head (bridge) and the front of the legs. The detail on the Daedalus and Prometheus arms is in the form of foil stickers, which is nice, but doesn't blend well with the blue plastic of the arms themselves (which, incidentally, don't blend with the rest of the figure!)



Another thing about this figure you may find unappealing: To transform it, you have to remove the reflex cannon parts.

This is a cheap alternative to the $100-$500 SDF-1 toys out there. They seem to be a bit rare, but when they show up, they don't go for much. I wouldn't reccomend paying more than $20 for it, and some of you who own these probably think it isn't even worth that much. However, I'm happy to have a transforming SDF-1 figure that I didn't have to pay a kidney for. (considering my left kidney is gimped anyway -_-)

Rating: 3/5

Convertors KO Chopper/Gazzette

The first figure up for review here is the knock-off version of the Convertors figure, Chopper. However, Chopper's got quite a bit of interesting history attached to him.

It began with an anime program called "Special Armored Battalion Dorvack" which featured a team of elite fighters who each piloted a "variable" (transforming) robot. One such robot was the Ovelon Gazzette piloted by Louise Ovelon. Takatoku released a large, 1/55 scale, transforming Gazzette figure (which was later recolored and released as the Autobot Whirl,) and a smaller one. However, Special Armored Battalion Dorvack didn't do very well, and Takatoku went under.

The molds for the Dorvack figures were bought by a company called Select and released under the Convertors toy line. The Ovelon Gazzette was sold as "Chopper," under the "Defenders" faction. His bubble-card read,

"Very clever and elusive. Converts into a helicopter. Flies low over the Earth, protected by stealth system making him invisible to radar or other sensory equipment."

In the Convertors fiction, alien robots known as Maladroids attempt to destroy/take over the world (?) but, sensing impending danger, the world's computers "converted" Earth's machines into transforming, fighting mecha dubbed "Defenders."


Now, on to the review...



As the title suggests, this version of Chopper is a knock-off. The original version is a much richer, brighter blue, and was released on a card-backed plastic bubble.



This version, as you can see, is released in a nice little box with a plastic insert. However, mine came with the wrong box. The box reads that there are three "Convertors" available: Caliber, Gazzette, and Tulcas. Whereas Gazzette and Tulcas are correct to their original Dorvack forms, the Caliber is shown as being the Orguss figure. My Chopper came in a Caliber box.






When we remove Chopper from his plastic insert, we find that he is incomplete! He should have two claws, two large guns, and one small chain gun that goes under the nose of the helicopter. However, I'm in the process of retrieving these parts, and once I do, I'll post new pictures. He's a very small figure, only a little larger than your average Gobot.

The Ovelon Gazzette/Chopper's alternate mode appears to be inspired by the AH-1 Huey Cobra helicopter, sharing a similar fuselage design, as well as nose and wing-mounted weapons, like the 3-barreled gattling gun (which I'm missing.)

Transforming Chopper is a fairly straightforward process. The underside of the helicopter flips down and extends to become the legs, the engine pods becoming the arms, and the fuselage folding in half for the body.



The quick transformation reveals a tall, lanky robot. The claws can be fitted into the holes at the tips of the arms, or replaced with the large helicopter guns. I would prefer to have claws, personally, but seeing as how I'm missing one....*ahem* anyway, as you can see in the first picture, Chopper is articulated in the shoulders, hips, ankles, and head, enabling some poses that would give most G1 Transformers a run for their money. Speaking of which....



This is a comparison shot between Chopper and the G1 Transformer, Whirl. They are actually pretty similarly articulated, only whirl has ball-joint shoulders and no head articulation. The similarity is understandable, though, since they both have the same origin.



Here you can see just how small Chopper is next to his long-lost cousin. I have a couple of Whirl's weapons somewhere, but I didn't feel like digging them up.



In short, Chopper's an excellent little figure. The articulation he has, combined with a nicely done alternate mode make him a great addition to any transforming robot collection. However, you may be hard-pressed to find one complete or with tight joints. The claws have nowhere to go in helicopter mode, making them easily misplaced, and vice-versa with the small chain gun. Also, the propeller blades can come loose.

Rating:
4/5


Thanks for reading!