Icarus Toys United Gokin UG-00 Voltron Lion Force
I really like the packaging done on this version a lot. Very bright and colorful
Same with the Dark Lion set, the box measures 18.5″ x 13″ x 6.25″
Black Lion
Black Missiles
Black Bazooka
The Black Bazooka runs on 2 pieces LR1130 (AG10) Batteries. Batteries not included. I didn’t have any with me at the time of the photoshoot. Oh well.
Mouth Blade
Black Lion can sit down thanks to the design on the hind legs.
Red Lion
Mouth Blade
Trigger button for firing the head.
Green Lion
Mouth Blade
Same with the Red Lion, the Green Lion also comes with a trigger button for launching the head. A throwback to the vintage toy perhaps?
Blue Lion
Mouth Blade
Yellow Lion
Mouth Blade
Lions charge!
Let’s form Voltron!
-To get better poses with wider range of joint movement, make sure the legs on the arm lions are adjusted so they don’t get in the way.
-To release the leg lions, just push on these tabs here. To release the arm lions, you just have to tug them really hard (no release buttons).
Voltron!
For whatever reason, the Dark Lion Force version was released a few months earlier than the full color version.
I think both versions are really good. But the colored version wins it for me over the dark one.
The arm lions come with optional heads, these heads actually seem to have a smaller gap in them (I’ll have to recheck to be 100% sure, maybe it’s just me) and make the weapons easier to grasp.
Form Spinning Laser Blade!
Voltron comes with an optional “open mouth” face plate. Swapping the parts out is easily done thanks to the use of magnets.
Like with the Dark Lion Force, the colored version also comes with the same multiple swords (Blazing, Flaming Blazing, “evil” and effects part)
Form Blazing Sword!
Icarus decided to take some liberties and added a more sinister looking Blazing Sword to the set. I guess Voltron can “dual wield” now. In the show, he did occasionally “dual wield”, but that was using his “Solar Combat Spears/ Dual Sword” attack, which were smaller swords and not two Blazing Swords.
Icarus also added a “flaming” Blazing sword. It looks really cool!
Comparison with the Dark Lion version.
Darker shade of silver on the Dark Lion Force lion legs.
I really wish I had the time to break out the SOC Voltron and do comparison shots but I was already pressed for time and was scheduled to go out of town again the next day and it was already 2am in the morning. I’ll revisit this next time and try to update this post for the comparisons (and maybe with Vehicle Voltron too.. maybe).
The Good
-The Weigh in:
–Black – 412 Grams
–Red – 94 Grams
–Green – 87 Grams
–Blue – 258 Grams
–Yellow – 278 Grams
–Voltron – 1132 Grams (SOC is heavier – 1416 Grams)
-Diecast parts include:
–Black – Most parts of the torso, Voltron’s crotch joint, tail (except connector portion)
–Red – Upper half of torso, parts of Voltron’s elbows, tail (except connector portion)
–Green – Upper half of torso, parts of Voltron’s elbows, tail (except connector portion)
–Blue – Practically entire torso, tail (except connector portion)
–Yellow – Practically entire torso, tail (except connector portion)
-Voltron stands roughly 11.5″ tall.
-Each of the lions has ratcheted shoulders. Black lion has an extra set of ratchets for his knees for Voltron mode.
-Icarus actually included a Black Missile launcher for this set.
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-While the connectors for the arm lions are plastic, they hold on really well.
-Arm lions have some degree of poseability in their torsos when in lion mode.
-Toes can flex on all of the lions.
-Mid-torso rotation and even some very minimal “ab crunch” is present in the toy.
-Ratchet jointed ankles, always a welcome sight to see.
-The use of magnets for swapping the face plates was clever.
-There’s also a ratchet joint for Voltron’s neck! Nice!
-No issues with connecting the arm lions. The connection locks in pretty well.
The Bad-Manual is the same as the black version, still black and white and still has the wrongly labeled lions.
-Heh, I can’t say I like the design of where the shoulder connectors stick out in lion mode for the arm lions. Anatomically correct lions?
-Well… this happened, luckily, it’s just a matter of putting super glue on it (release the Kragle!). Hmm.. it was because of this I figured out that the rear sections of the torsos on the arm lions were wholly plastic.
-Still no display stand.
-Legal issues….
The UglySome quality issues with my Red Lion, one of the feet is installed upside down. Also, some minor chest scrapes on my Voltron’s chest panel.
Overall, It’s not as streamlined as the SOC version but it’s got great heft and the ratchets and paint on this thing are all very well executed (loving that neck ratchet on Voltron), it stands out on any shelf. I saw this in person in Hong Kong a few months before its release and it really made me stop to stare for a while. To be honest, if Bandai didn’t release the SOC, I dare say this would’ve been the definitive diecast Voltron to get, legal issues aside.
Between this and the SOC, the SOC clearly wins it for me but If you have spare funds for this, then I recommend getting it as well. I actually enjoyed this more than the DX Combattler, to be honest. It just looks really good and impressive.
About the leg lions, there’s actually a hidden torso joint in there to allow some “left to right” mid-torso articulation.
Since Icarus published a warning disclaimer that “exerting too much force in pulling out the joint might result in possible breakage”. I don’t really recommend this as it doesn’t really add much to the leg lions overall. Just steer clear of doing this.
(I orginally posted this in the Dark Lion Force set, just mirroring it again here).
Gold
