Soul of Chogokin Dragonzord Review - Part 3 (FINALE)

Last time, we viewed what is arguably the best mode of the original Zords, despite its lacking name...
Today, we look at the final mode - at least the last regarding these six machines.

SOUL OF CHOGOKIN GX-78 DRAGONZORD PART 3:

MEGA DRAGONZORD

Firstly, we'll have to have our five Dinozords in their Megazord formation.

Real quick, we'll take a one-pic size comparison between the Dragonzord and the Megazord. Including the head horn, the Dragonzord comes up to the shoulder armor of the Megazord.
Officially in Zyuranger, the Dragon Caesar is 38 meters whilst the Daizyujin is 41 meters. This seems to be pretty close to accurate, since the SoC's are about 9.3 inches and 10.5 inches, respectively, this places both at around 1:157 scale, with about a .5~.7 discrepancy.

Okay, starting with the Megazord, we'll fold the shoulder armor down. Be sure to straighten the arms before doing so, as the armor covers the elbow joint, meaning the arms will become very limited in their articulation.

Next, fold the horns of the Megazord's crown back, as they are when its about to be active. Be sure the head stays looking straight forward.

Final step in prepping the Megazord is to lower the tail from its secured position. Cannon is removed for better visual, but they will remain in the upcoming mode.

Now, going to the Dragonzord, get it back to how it was at the beginning of its formation into the Dragonzord - Fighting Mode (I hope this is the last time I have to type that...) with the tail and brestler removed.

The arms will fold back into the wings as before. What is new here is we will now "secure" the wings to the body. At the bottom of the wall of the wing, there's a recess, just within the axis of that arm track. That will plug over a peg on the black part of the body.

Now we'll split the body again, unfolding it 90 degrees so the both parts are straight out to the sides of the head. You should notice them practically snap into place when you're almost there, which means that their suspension is self-sustaining.
Then, you'll rotate the waist parts back down 90 degrees. The joint is tight, so get them where you want them now to reduce fiddling once atop the Megazord. Fold the legs back up the same way you would on the (I WAS WRONG) Dragonzord - Fighting Mode.

The final change before the combination will be to raise the head horn of the Dragonzord up. This will loosen a hatch on the back of the head, which you'll want to lower about 90°. This may be easier if this step is done before you fully unfold the body but isn't that difficult to work around if you do so at the instructed point.

Now for the combination! We'll place the Dragonzord over top of the Megazord so that the legs drape over either shoulder. I couldn't get a good shot of it, but and the underside of the Dragonzord's helmet are two tabs that L forward. These will slide into the slots where the Tyrannosaurus's face hinges into. 
You'll have to angle the whole Dragonzord to achieve this whilst avoiding the Megazord's central crest. That yellow is paint, and if not careful, could be very easily chipped.

Back to the back, fold that hatch on the back of the Dragonzord's head down to snap into the clip that normally is used by the Tyrannosaurus's tail. Along with those L tabs under its head, this secures the Dragonzord to the Megazord completely. A new clip is available on the inside of that hatch to re-secure the tail to.

And with that, the Mega Dragonzord is now complete!

The addition of the Dragonzord adds a LOT of weight to the Megazord, making this mode top-heavy. In fact the manual recommends you expand the Megazord's thighs outward (like used in Attack Tank mode) to better stabilize its stance. I do not like the way it looks, though, so I prefer keeping them in their more natural position. And, honestly, I've not had any issues with it so long as I'm not jostling it around carelessly.

It's neat that they added panels to the inside of the cavity the Megazord's head goes into that sort of mimic the cheek armor parts connected to the horns. It's minor, but adds a cohesiveness that makes the two head parts feel like one.

Another name rant incoming, but this one was a bane to me even when I was a child. I could have sworn that this mode was called Dragon Megazord, not Mega Dragonzord. I guess in my mind, it made more sense, because I thought the Fighting Mode WAS the Mega Dragonzord...
If they wanted to compromise with the Japanese name, Zyutei Daizyujin (Beast Emperor Great Beast God), they could have called it Emperor Megazord, Empire Megazord, or even just KING Megazord... 
Or Gigazord, but what do I know about quantifiers?

A gimmick exclusive to toy versions of the Mega Dragonzord is attaching the brestler and tail parts to the legs of the Dragonzord, like a mounted spear and shield.

Starting with the brestler, the only thing you'll need to do is flip it upside-down, and rotate that large black bar toward the back so it lies flat against the now-top of the core block.

That beam has a port in it which the peg on the underside of the left leg plugs into. As yo attach this, the ends of the heel need to lock into two cutouts on the core block, which will hold the shield into place.

Now, the tail will have to take a new combination for this. Separate it as it was in the package, with the 2 base segments removed from the rest of the length. Then remove the drill tip from those remaining parts, and replace it onto the base segments.

Using the same port as connects to the backside of the Dragonzord, the tail will snap into the right leg port of the Dragonzord, forming a shoulder-mounted spear.

Here we have the unused armed version of the Mega Dragonzord. Since neither part have any large amount of gokin to them, they don't add much to the weight, which is good, thankfully. My only issue with this is that the tail, even with those missing parts, is still just too long. It barely props up that side of the Dragonzord, and may likely damage the tip of the tail if not careful. 

One improved step that can be done to better this mode is, before adding the Dragonzord to the top of the Megazord, and before lowering the shoulder armors, is the rotate the biceps so that elbow joints are angled outwards from the body. Once the Shoulders are lowered, this will allow part of the Mammoth's transformation joints to act as a secondary elbow joint. 

Even though it's deviating from its intended layout, this adds a lot to the dynamics of the arms again, allowing it to do some of its combined attacks, such as the Kaiser Burst and Empire Attack. It also allows it to do something even less canonical than just having the dragon spear and shield...

I can't lie, this looks utterly impressive, and if it weren't for the limits of the fact that the suit actor was human, they could have totally done something like this for its few battles before joining with the Titanus later to form the Ultrazord...
Something I have a feeling we'll be able to do with this set before too long...

Comparison with the DX Mega Dragonzord

Right away, the mass is noticeably different, but expected. In fact, the two force me to leave my normal stand area, as the width surpasses my photo booth...
Even with the arms in their intended positions, the stance of the SoC is far improved over the "harrumph" static nature of the Deluxe iteration. Missing details aside, the bigger-is-better mentality cannot be applied here. 

I don't know if I plan on keeping the Chogokin version in this mode or if I'll keep the two sets separate for now, but I am definitely impressed with how this looks in person.

What I do know is that this visual would probably my my former child self ecstatic.

My quick decision to switch my order to HobbyLink Japan subverted what I experienced last year with the Megazord, where I had countless reviews to temper my expectations of the Megazord. Despite that, I do really love this. Aesthetically, it's the best the Dragonzord has ever, and likely will ever, look. Though I do feel some of the limitations on the poseability could have been worked around, it still had some added points that surprised me. And because the Dragonzord was my favorite growing up (Not because of the Stockholm Syndrome), I'm gonna have a bias toward a masterfully crafted and sculpted figure of the rogue beast.

My nitpicks this time are considerably more valid, but I don't feel like this is an overall bad deal. Thankfully, the $100+ difference between the Megazord and this help soften that blow. Its a case of "It looks just good enough for me to ignore these issues." However, because of my bias toward it, this may not translate well to others.

But I do love this and am far happier with this in my life than without. I do hope we get a small break before the Titanus is inevitably announced, because I know there's little chance of that being less than $400. But, I've never had a Titanus, and I definitely feel like if there's a definitive Ultrazord set to get, this will be it.

FINAL RATING: 4 OUT OF 5

Technically, I'd give this, like, a 3.75 or 3.85, but decimals suck. 
It has several bizarre points of limited articulation, but adds enough new points to lessen those problems. And over all, it looks gorgeous, and much more cohesive than the Legacy Dragonzord. Though if you own that and aren't worried about the combination with the SoC Megazord, I could see one going for the cheaper option.


Links to all parts
Part 1: Dragonzord - Beast Mode
Part 2: Dragonzord - Fighting Mode
Part 3: Mega Dragonzord (Finale)