Gairyu was a member of the Dinoforce, a team of Pretender combiners in Japan’s 1989 Victory segment of G1. Gairyu transforms into a robotic, quadrupedal monster, and comes with a cyborg Ankylosaurus magniventrus as a Pretender shell. Gairyu can also transform into either arm of Dinoking, but he specifically includes the left fist.

Description

>Gairyu’s white and green monster form features large scythe-like blades on his shoulders, and a long, bullet-shaped head. Like most Pretenders, his shell is much more elaborately designed and decorated than the inner robot, despite lacking any articulation. The Ankylosaurus shell is cast in a hard rubber, representing an organic dinosaur with a metallic helmet and large armored platform on its shell, resulting in a look not unlike Tyco’s DinoRiders. The armored part of the shell is cast in plastic and removable, allowing the folded-up inner robot to be hidden inside. The shell hatch also has sockets and tabs to attach Gairyu’s black handgun and Dinoking fist (which itself features a gun) for storage. Gairyu folds up his legs and lifts his monster head to become Dinoking’s arm, and pegs on to Kakuryu’s square arm post.

Collector Notes

Gairyu’s simple design makes him rather sturdy. However, like the entire Dinoforce and the Pretender Monsters, his rubber shell suffers from several inevitable forms of degradation. The plasticiser (a chemical used in the molding process) seeps out over time, forming a sticky film on the surface of the rubber. This film can be cleaned away using mild soap and water.

Variants

Gairyu has no known production variants.

Availability

Gairyu was available in Japan in 1989 either alone or as a giftset with Dinoking.

Redecos & Retools

Gairyu shares his entire inner robot and accessory molds with Bristleback. Bristleback was redecorated, however, and included a completely different Pretender shell that reflected his monster form.