Rairyu was a member of the Dinoforce, a team of Pretender combiners in Japan’s 1989 Victory segment of G1. Rairyu transforms into a robotic, quadrupedal boar-like monster, and comes with a cyborg Apatosaurus ajax as a Pretender shell. Rairyu can also transform into either leg of Dinoking, but is usually portrayed as the right leg.
Description
Rairyu’s stout black and white form appears to be a robotic boar of some sort, as it has a pointy face and features what look like tusks. His incredibly simple transformation extends his robot legs from the rear of the monster, tilts the beast legs back to balance, and reveals a robot head from beneath the long-snouted monster head. Like most Pretenders, his shell is much more elaborately designed and decorated than the inner robot, despite lacking any articulation. The “Brontosaurus” shell is cast in a hard rubber, representing an organic dinosaur with a large metallic armored section attached to its back, head, and neck, 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 Rairyu’s black handgun and Dinoking waist connector for storage. Rairyu folds up and uses his square robot head to plug into Kakuryu to form Dinoking, and the inlcuded waistplate plugs around his hindquarters. The waistplate attaches to both leg robots.
Collector Notes
>Rairyu’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. Also, this process can cause the gold paint on the shell’s head and neck to tinge green, or turn green. Unfortunately, both of these processes are inevitable regardless of storage conditions, and even sealed examples are affected.
Variants
Availability
Rairyu was available in Japan in 1989 either alone or as a giftset with Dinoking.
Redecos & Retools
Rairyu does not have any known production variations.
Description
Rairyu shares his entire inner robot and accessory molds with Birdbrain. Birdbrain was redecorated, however, and included a completely different Pretender shell.
