Kit Review

Straight build

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

Articulation.
Despite the boxy appearance, the range of motion is surprisingly decent.

Yotsubato! Danboard - As you can see, there are hidden mid-joints inside the arms and legs, which allows for more convincing

As you can see, there are hidden mid-joints inside the arms and legs,
which allows for more convincing poses than you'd expect.

Yotsubato! Danboard - The switch on the side of the head can be repositioned by pulling it out, rotating it, and plugging it

The switch on the side of the head can be repositioned by pulling it out, rotating it, and plugging it back in.
This switch is originally meant to light up the eyes, but..

Yotsubato! Danboard - Instead of actually lighting up, you swap out the black eye parts for yellow clear ones to simulate the

Instead of actually lighting up, you swap out the black eye parts for yellow clear ones to simulate the lit-up look.
If they were going to do this anyway.. it would've been great if they'd just put in an actual LED to make the eyes really light up.

A few accessories are included..

First up, there are some 10-yen coins that you can actually insert into the coin slot on the body.

Yotsubato! Danboard - You can remove the head and attach a cover to the bottom to recreate the stored state. The arms, legs,

You can remove the head and attach a cover to the bottom to recreate the stored state.
The arms, legs, and body were originally packed inside that head box..

Walking pose

Pose..

Sitting and resting pose

Sitting with eyes lit up

The arms and legs have small 3mm holes as shown, along with little parts to plug them up.

Yotsubato! Danboard - These holes are meant for plugging in various Kotobukiya Frame Arms or M.S.G. weapons to play around wi

These holes are meant for plugging in various Kotobukiya Frame Arms or M.S.G. weapons to play around with.
I haven't built any M.S.G. stuff at all, so I'll skip the endless variation shots.. ^^;

Danboard, the character from the popular manga Yotsuba&!, has been released as a Kotobukiya plastic model. As you can see, it's an incredibly simple and straightforward-looking character, but there's a certain charm and cuteness hidden in that simplicity. The running joke about this character is, Written as "Danboard" but read as "Danbo", or so they say ^^

Since this is priced in the ¥2,000 range — pretty reasonable for Kotobukiya, who are known for their steep prices — the contents are pretty simple. It's interesting that opening the box reveals a yellowish box cover shaped like Danboard's face. You get two large runners, some small parts, and a fairly large waterslide decal sheet. The manual is split into a color instruction section and a separate assembly guide printed on yellowish cardboard-like paper, which is a quirky touch. The waterslide decal sheet is quite generous in quantity.. and while the idea is to mix and match to your taste, Danboard's appeal is its simplicity, so it kind of feels like an unnecessary addition that just drives up the cost. ㅡ_ㅡ

With so few parts, assembly wraps up in no time. Despite the boxy looks, the articulation is surprisingly decent — a bit of a pleasant surprise. Joint strength is solid enough with no noticeably loose parts, and you can pull off a good variety of poses from the manga.

The eye light-up feature is recreated by swapping between yellow and black clear parts, and the switch is also reproduced by pulling it off, rotating it, and reattaching it. Honestly, I think this kit would've been so much more valuable if they'd used an actual LED or something to make the eyes genuinely light up. (The price would've gone up too, of course..)

This kit has multiple 3mm holes in the arms and feet, sized to be compatible with Kotobukiya's M.S.G. series weapons and various Frame Arms armaments. Page 3 of the color manual introduces this compatibility gimmick with all sorts of weapons, but personally, I don't think it really suits the character ^^;

The value for the price feels a bit thin, but still — it's always a good thing to see a variety of unique and interesting character plastic models hitting the shelves. For anyone who's been a fan of Danboard, this should be a fun little kit :-)

Yotsubato! Danboard | 2012.7 | ¥2,800

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.