Kotobukiya D Style

Dancouga

Kit Review

Straight build

D Style Dancouga - Size comparison with a cigarette pack

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

D Style Dancouga (1/6) D Style Dancouga (2/6) D Style Dancouga (3/6) D Style Dancouga (4/6) D Style Dancouga (5/6) D Style Dancouga (6/6)

D Style Dancouga - Upper body

Upper body

D Style Dancouga - Head (1/2) D Style Dancouga - Head (2/2)

Head

D Style Dancouga - Arms and backpack (1/2) D Style Dancouga - Arms and backpack (2/2)

Arms and backpack

D Style Dancouga - Legs (1/2) D Style Dancouga - Legs (2/2)

Legs

D Style Dancouga - Two weapons: a rifle and a sword.

Two weapons: a rifle and a sword.

D Style Dancouga - You can see some hollow areas on the rifle, backpack section, and inner thighs, etc. (1/3) D Style Dancouga - You can see some hollow areas on the rifle, backpack section, and inner thighs, etc. (2/3) D Style Dancouga - You can see some hollow areas on the rifle, backpack section, and inner thighs, etc. (3/3)

You can see some hollow areas on the rifle, backpack section, and inner thighs, etc.

D Style Dancouga - Articulation... both the elbows and knees bend about 90 degrees! For a D Style, that's actually pretty dec

Articulation... both the elbows and knees bend about 90 degrees!
For a D Style, that's actually pretty decent articulation, but...

D Style Dancouga - The yellow parts on either side of the chest are on ball joints, so they can move a little.

The yellow parts on either side of the chest are on ball joints, so they can move a little.

D Style Dancouga - But... the arms get caught on those yellow chest parts and can't be raised T_T

But... the arms get caught on those yellow chest parts and can't be raised T_T

D Style Dancouga - The ankle articulation isn't great, and on top of that they tend to pop off during posing;;

The ankle articulation isn't great, and on top of that they tend to pop off during posing;;

D Style Dancouga - Firing pose (1/4) D Style Dancouga - Firing pose (2/4) D Style Dancouga - Firing pose (3/4) D Style Dancouga - Firing pose (4/4)

Firing pose

D Style Dancouga - Rifle + sword action (1/3) D Style Dancouga - Rifle + sword action (2/3) D Style Dancouga - Rifle + sword action (3/3)

Rifle + sword action

D Style Dancouga - Sword action (1/2) D Style Dancouga - Sword action (2/2)

Sword action

D Style Dancouga - Sword action posed on the Kotobukiya display stand. (1/3) D Style Dancouga - Sword action posed on the Kotobukiya display stand. (2/3) D Style Dancouga - Sword action posed on the Kotobukiya display stand. (3/3)

Sword action posed on the Kotobukiya display stand.

D Style Dancouga - Together with Gunbuster. These are on the larger end of the scale for D Style kits.

Together with Gunbuster.
These are on the larger end of the scale for D Style kits.

D Style Dancouga - Together with the D Style crew. Maybe it's the big backpack, but this one seems to have the most overall b

Together with the D Style crew.
Maybe it's the big backpack, but this one seems to have the most overall bulk...

Another new addition to the D Style lineup — this time it's Dancouga, a classic robot from the good old days. It's great to see the range expanding beyond Gundam into all kinds of anime mecha, following in Gunbuster's footsteps ^^

First off, it's about the same size as Gunbuster, but the wings make it wider, so it's got quite a bit of bulk for a D Style. The overall sculpt has a nice sense of volume for an SD, and the combination of black and light gray gives it a pretty sharp, well-defined look — but compared to other D Style kits, the color separation feels like it wasn't given much thought, which is a bit disappointing T_T I was at least expecting one or two pre-painted parts, but just like White Glint, there are none at all...

Articulation is on the better side for a D Style — both the elbows and knees do bend about 90 degrees. That said, the hip, shoulder, and ankle joints aren't great, so it's really only useful when posed on a stand. But then again, the whole appeal of D Style is that they're small, cute, and well-sculpted, so articulation is just a bonus anyway ^^

Anyway, the color separation is a bit lacking compared to other D Style kits, but as a rediscovery of a classic little mecha, it's still a welcome kit... though for something with no pre-painted parts, 2000 yen feels a little steep :-)

D Style Dancouga | 2011. 4 | ¥2,000

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.