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GIGATRON

The "Dark God of Destruction" from the Japanese Car Robots line is an overwheming toy with six, count'em, SIX modes of devastatation. Not since Sixshot have Transfans had such a toy. This, then, is Defcon's humble review for Gigatron!

(NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: The toy is packaged in its Robot mode. I will begin by describing its transformation to Bat mode, and describe each of its forms, ending with Robot Mode)

TRANSFORMATION TO BAT MODE ("Gigabat")

Set aside the hand weapons. Unfurl the wings and open the wing talons. Pull on the forearm guards of each arm, twisting it while doing so. Extend the bat's feet. Flip down the "shoulder pads". Close the robot's feet and completely bring the legs on the robot's back. Turn the tail's tip 180 degrees, giving the tail a curved line. Open the robot chest and take out the bat snout, placing it on the robot's face. Close the chest. Take each of the hand weapons and insert them on the pegs on each wing.

GIGABAT MODE:

This is perhaps the least impressive of Gigatron's modes. Gigabat is a black and purple bat, with red feet and some gold and silver highlights. His spark crystal, proudly displaying the Destronger (Predacon) sigil, is centred on his chest. He stands about 5 inches tall (Not counting the weapons on his back), but his wingspan is approximately 13 inches. The robot's arms now form his legs, giving him a "gimp like look" The head is unimpressive: kind of like giving someone a bat snout mask and puting it on one's face. Gigabat has 18 points of articulation.

The weapons on his back can fire clear red plastic missiles by pressing on the red "ball" (This feature is present in all modes, so it will not be repeated).

TRANSFORMATION TO TWO-HEADED DRAGON (Gigadragon)

Remove the wing weapons and set them aside. Open the chest and flip down the bat snout. Fold the "head wings", and push the robot head in the chest cavity. Close the chest. Flip the bat's legs so they now face up. Rotate the newly-created legs' shins 180 degrees so the feet face the front. Extend what used to be the robot's legs and flip them 180 degrees. Open what used to be the robot's feet, revealing the dragon heads. Extend the dragon arms out from the chest. Rotate the wing assembly up on its axis and lock them in place using the peg on the dragon's back. Rotate the tail on its axis and lock it where the robot's head used to be. Rotate the middle section of the tail to give it a more "fluid" like appearance. Insert the weapons on the pegs on Gigadragon's back.

GIGADRAGON MODE:

While Gigabat is the robot's weakest Alt mode, Gigadragon is its most impressive. The color scheme carries over, but he now stands 11 inches tall (Heads extended). The wingspan is exactly the same as Gigabat's. He now has a whopping 33 points of articulation!

The twin heads are incredible, complete with working jaws. Just like Gigabat, the wings are fully articulated, and now each neck is incredibly flexible, which means you can give Gigs just about any pose you think you can give him. Balance is another thing altogether, however: This mode is very top-heavy and has difficulty standing. Most people I conversed with have been using the tail as an additional point of contact with the ground to allow Gigadragon to stand. The arms are very small, however. But, considering the beast has 2 heads, that can be overlooked...

TRANSFORMATION TO JET (Gigajet)

Remove the back weapons and set them aside. Close the wing talons. Straihten the wings so they are 100% straight (They will lock in place if done correctly). Straighten the tail by twisting the midsection and tip. Fold the dragon's arms back on the chest. Close the dragon's heads and straighten the necks. Turn the legs around so the knees face the other way. Rotate the dragon heads and flip the legs over the entire assembly. Open the robot chest and flip out the landing gear. Flip both dragon legs down. straighten the feet. Push the wheels to reveal the robot hands. Close the chest. Bring both wheel sections back, so the wheels face outwards and level them with the landing gear by bending the robot's elbows. Insert the weapons on the pegs each side of the cockpit assembly, where the robot's arms used to be.

GIGAJET MODE:

The first thing that comes to mind when seeing this is "This is the Jet from Hell". Same wingspan than Gigadragon and Gigabat, same color scheme (Giving it a really "evil" look), clear red plastic cockpit, and wings resembling those of a bat. A frightening sight if you see that contraption flying overhead.

Not surpringly, there aren't any articulation points on this mode (Or, more accurately, you have to completely ignore any articulations in order to keep this mode). It is 11 inches long (from tip of the cockpit to back) and will roll on a flat surface. Great looking jet mode!

TRANSFORMATION TO RACE CAR (Gigaformula)

Remove the side weapons and set them aside. Open the robot's chest and fold back the landing gear in. Straighten the robot legs. Flip the wing assembly on its axis and lock it in place by inserting the peg near the base of the cockpit in the hole on the wing assembly. Fold the wings in and fold the wings on their axis, revealing the front wheels of the car mode. Rotate the back wheels so they are on level with the front ones. Open the "shoulder pads" the robot used to have. Rotate the robot legs so the knees face outward. Using the inner knee hinge, pull the lower legs out and up. Lock them in place using the pegs in the robot's arms. Insert the weapons on the top of the car.

GIGAFORMULA MODE:

If they ever make a new "Batman" movie, this is the look they should look for in the Batmobile. Yep, that's exactly what it looks like. The color scheme carries over, and it's a foot long by 5 inches wide. Just like Gigajet, it has no points of articulation but will roll on a flat surface (and quite nicely, too!)

TRANSFORMATION TO HAND MODE (Gigahand)

Remove the weapons (Gee, that hapens a lot, no?) and set them aside for the moment. Straighten the robot legs. Straighten the wing assembly. Bring down the wing assembly on its axis and lock it in place in the cavity underneath the tail/cockpit. Flip the tail/cockpit assembly on its axis, and rotate the mid and tip sections to form the thumb. Rotate the legs and arms to create the other fingers. Insert the weapons on each side of the robot's chest using the pegs.

GIGAGAND MODE:


I was actually surprised when I saw this mode. I was expecting the lamest thing ever but it's actually quite nice. Just imagine a huge hand coming down from the skies, grabbing you and dropping you 100 feet in the air? You consider yourself lucky if it just squashed you where you stood.

The color scheme carries over once again, and the hand is fully articulated (Yes, you can give a "Thumbs up" sign or even flip someone off), with 20 points of articulations overall. It is slightly larger than a human hand (Adult), meaning that if someone at Takara was actually insane enough to create a Gestalt using THIS scale, it would be standing over 7 feet tall!!!!!!!!!!

The hand has a nice "Grabbing Action" gimmick built in. On its back, you will find the robot's chest.Flip open the black "crotch piece" (God I wish I had a better term) . It becomes a lever: Pull it and the fingers actually close in on whatever the hand is over at the moment!

TRANSFORMATION TO GIGATRON

Once again, take out the weapons and set them aside. Make sure the "Grabbing Action" lever is locked in place. Straighten the legs and rotate the feet. Open them up (By opening the dragon jaws) to form the feet. Straighten the tail/cockpit sections, and fold the tail on the robot's back (You might have to unlock the wings and re-lock them after) Open the chest and place the arms back in position. Push the forearms to reveal the hands, and rotate the dragon's feet on the forearm guards. Flip up the shoulder pads. Pull the robot head out of the chest cavity and close the chest. Flip open the "head wings". Insert the hand weapons in the hands.

GIGATRON MODE:

Now THAT'S a Bad Guy leader. Standing 7 inches tall (about as tall as Fire Convoy), Gigatron truly lives up to his reputation. With 29 ponts of articulation, you can give him any pose you can imagine (But be careful standing him up: his feet are hinged with a ball-and-socket articulation. It gives you freedom but can be difficult to ballance). His hand weapons can be used as energy swords or, by joining them at the base, can be held in one hand to give Gigatron's weapon a "Darth Maul Lightsaber" look. The wings are completely articulated, and can be used to make this bad boy even more menacing. His eyes are metallic red, and on his helmet is a clear red plastic "horn". By focussing a light source (say, from a laser pointer) on this, it gives a nice red glow to the entire head! As in the Gigabat mode, the Destronger symbol is centered on the chest.

OVERALL:

Kick ass toy, complex transformations, incredible robot and dragon modes, fun jet, car and hand modes, but weak bat mode. Well worth the money, A- (Would have gotten an A+ but the bat mode really brings it down)

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