Kakuryu was a member of the Dinoforce, a team of Pretender combiners in Japan’s 1989 Victory segment of G1. Kakuryu transforms into a robotic, bipedal pinch-monster, and comes with a cyborg Triceratops horridus as a Pretender shell. Kakuryu can also transform into the chest, head and upper torso of Dinoking.
Description
Kakuryu’s squat, gold and white bipedal form is the only one of the Dinoforce to be heavily decorated with paint applications. His two arms feature some sort of pinchers. His incredibly simple transformation extends his legs to a normal proportion, and lifts the robot head from the top of the monster, facing toward the monster’s back. Like most Pretenders, his shell is much more elaborately designed and decorated than the inner robot, despite lacking any articulation. The Triceratops shell is cast in a hard rubber, representing an organic dinosaur with a large metallic helmet and back armor, 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 Kakuryu’s black handgun, Dinoking’s large cannon, and Dinoking head for storage. Kakuryu unfurls completely to become Dinoking’s body, wearing the Dinoking head facing opposite Kakuryu’s face. His arms feature two large, square pegs to attach the arm members, and Rairyu’s entire upper body plugs in behind Kakuryu’s chest.
Collector Notes
Kakuryu’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
Kakuryu has no known production variants.
Availability
Kakuryu was available in Japan in 1989 either alone or as a giftset with Dinoking.
Redecos & Retools
Kakuryu shares his entire inner robot and accessory molds with Slog. Slog was redecorated, however, and included a completely different Pretender shell that resembles his squatty monster form.
