Finally got my replacement set. Gonna have to be extra careful with it...
GX-56 is the last set of the Ninja Senshi trio. It is also the most expensive of the three.
It has the biggest box of the bunch so at least from the outside it looks like it was worth it...
Two trays as always.
As always, the instruction manual shows a lot of rough drafts of Tobikage, Zerokage and the Ninja machines.
Some art of the stylised versions of Tobikage and Zerokage.
More designs for 'Mike Roader'.
More concept art and those of (I think) more enemy designs.
The most 'interesting' part of the manual is this page. Cencept art for three/four Ninja Machines that Zerokage would have used. —ó‰Î‹ (Rekkagyu? Translates to Burning Ox), an aerial type machine (no name is given), b‹S (Juki which translates to beast oni), ‹S—³ (Kiryu Oni Dragon) and b‹S‰¤ (Jukioh Beast Oni King) who are formed from both Juki and Kiryu. These designs are pretty cool and its a shame they were never made. It also shows what Zerokage would've looked like as a 'block'.
Onto the actual figures. First up is the smaller figure of the set, Zerokage. Not really elaborated upon but the Zerokage is in the hands of the Zaboom army and is piloted by Ylbora, who betrayed the Ellshanc. The Zerokage serves as the main weapon against Tobikage and his Ninja machines.
He comes with just as much accesories as Tobikage. Nice.
Zerokage has 9 points of articulation in his arms, 10 in his arms and 9 in his body. In total he has 47 points of articulation. He is just as articulated as his rival Tobikage (Action type) is. The only diecast parts are his toys and maybe his heels.
His shoulder pads double as thrusters so they can move outwards (exposing some inner detailing).
He comes with a trident like weapon.
as well as twin ninjato that can go into a scabbard that mounts on his back (via a extra interconnection part)
He also comes with a longer version of the ninjato (only one).
He comes with a throwing star type weapon (that you have to piece together).
You can also mount this on his back.
Be VERY careful when taking out the panel on his arm when you want to attach the chain. It is VERY small and hard to remove and is easily lost. Also be careful when taking the chain out of his arm. This part is really poorly designed...
As we saw previously Zerokage is slightly taller than Tobikage (Action type).
And of course he towers over the combination type Tobikage
.
Crap attempts at action poses.
Zerokage is very nice. He is just as good as Tobikage is although he has quite a few parts that get in the way because of his design aesthetics. A nice bonus considering they could've just released this set as Bakuryu (Well its not really a 'bonus' since he inflates the price somewhat :lol).
Now the one that everyone buys the set for. Bakuryu or Burst Dragon. Bakuryu is pilotted by Mike Coil who affectionately calls Joe 'Aniki' (Big Brother). He comes with significantly less that his pack-in partner but thats similar to the previous releases so its not a big deal.
I find it interesting how the cannons mount onto balljoints. This allows it to change position with easy without requiring extra hinges and such. He has 8 points of articulation in his arms (including the front claw which moves to adds slightly more range for his elbows), 9 in his legs (thats pushing it because I'm counting the inner part of his lower legs) and his head and neck. Thats 32 points of articulation in all. Along the same lines as the previous sets. Which is fine.
The diecast parts are his toes (though they are hollow), his arm claws some parts of his chest and joints. Not much. Especially considering he is the most expensive of the three. Now most important parts in previous releases have some pretty good 'locking' mechanism but they totally dropped the ball on his lower leg armour. It doesnt lock in at all and WILL move when you are posing it. Disappointing. I like how his elbows extend slighly if you need extra moving room though the elbow can only bend 45 degrees at most.
Preparing to fire his shoulder cannons.
His main weapon is the 'Pole Axe'. a mix between an axe, a spear and a mace.
He comes with parts to make the 'spear' part slightly long.
Of course as cool as Bakuryu looks, he also holds a hidden form that is unlocked once Tobikage arrives onto the scene. The most powerful of the Ninja machines combinations, he becomes Kaima (Sea Demon). Transformation into this form is a bit fiddly and some parts can easily be damaged if you are not careful. Like mine...
Other than that there are other problems with the transformation. First of all, unlike his compadres, he can NOT have a perfect transformation. His fists need to be removed and an extra back part needs to be placed in order to 'complete' his look. Otherwise he looks quite incomplete. The big plus (for some people) would be he actually comes with a 'dummy' unit. Except its only a plate that covers the front unlike Baikungfu's dummy units.
Like robot mode, his leg armour doesnt quite lock in but kinda kept in place by his inner leg part. But this a lot of wiggle space so it doesnt feel secure. Poor.
He has 9 points of articulation in has arms, 9 in his legs, 3 in his neck/head and 3 in his tail. 42 in all. More than his robot form thanks to his neck and tail.
The pack part needs to be attached to 'complete' his back. But that part can scratch the red paint on his shoulders.
His back without the extra part.
He comes with two dragon heads. The bigger default head (for robot mode) and a smaller head to be more proportionate in Kaima mode.
Missile hatches open just like in the anime
.
Finally the Tobikage that comes with Kurojishi can also combine with Bakuryu though as others have noted, it looks a little small and disproportionate. Still not too bad. It is a pain to get him in there though. More so than with Kurojishi thanks to those tiny plates that flip down to locktobikage in being so hard to get down.
Tobikage with his Ninja machines.
You can finally make the scene with all the machines combined with Tobikage (Houraioh's Tobikage is VERY disproportionate.
Anime re-enactment wherein Zerokage defeats Bakuryu before Tobikage shows up and combines with him.
There are some bits that are improved. Some parts that look to be prone to breaking are molded in rubbery plastic (Zerokage's head, parts of Bakuryu's head). But theres also some flaws with the design in Bakuryu's leg armour and the collapsing/expanding chest (easily the worst part of the whole design). Clearly there were good ideas going for this set but it doesnt quite have the same 'brilliance' as the Houraioh, or the sturdiness of the Kurojishi. Its an okay set and recommended if you like the design but be wary of that chest. Also another problem I suppose is that there s no Zerokage to go with the combinable Tobikage but we cant all have what we want :lol.
