Soul of Chogokin Gx-88 Dairugger XV (Vehicle Voltron)
The English outer box sleeve can be lifted to reveal the main inner Japanese text box.
A plastic cover for the trays.
In Dairugger XV, the team names are named after their respective team leaders.
Aki Team (Air Team)
-Rugger 1 (Command Jet Explorer/ head) – Piloted by Aki Manabu/ Jeff Dukane
-Rugger 2 (Strato Weapons Module/ upper torso) – Piloted by Kai Shinobu/ Rocky
-Rugger 3 (Advanced Recon Helicopter/ right upper arm) – Piloted by Shota Kreuz/ Wolo
-Rugger 4 (Advanced Recon Helicopter/ left upper arm) – Piloted by Mutsu Yasuo/ Chip Stoker
-Rugger 5 (Falcon VT Fighter/ chest)- Piloted by Patty Elington/ Ginger
Rugger 1 (Command Jet Explorer/ head)
Deployable landing gear
Rugger 2 (Strato Weapons Module/ upper torso)
Rugger 3 (Advanced Recon Helicopter/ right upper arm)
Deployable landing gear
Rugger 4 (Advanced Recon Helicopter/ left upper arm)
Deployable landing gear
Alternate chopper blades for Ruggers 3 and 4.
Rugger 5 (Falcon VT Fighter/ chest)
Deployable landing gear
Aki Team (Air Team)
Kurugger (Strato Fighter)
Keats Team (Sea Team)
-Rugger 6 (Comms module/ mid torso) – Piloted by Miranda Keats/ Cric
-Rugger 7 (Space Prober/ right thigh) – Piloted by Kaga Haruka/ Lisa
-Rugger 8 (Space Prober/ left thigh) – Piloted by Katz Saruta/ Tagor
-Rugger 9 (Multi-wheeled explorer/ right lower leg) – Piloted by Izumo Tatsuo/ Shannon
-Rugger 10 (Multi-wheeled explorer/ left lower leg) – Piloted by Karateya Baros/ Zandee
Rugger 6 (Comms module/ mid torso)
Rugger 7 (Space Prober/ right thigh)
Rugger 8 (Space Prober/ left thigh)
Rugger 9 (Multi-wheeled explorer/ right lower leg)
Rugger 10 (Multi-wheeled explorer/ left lower leg)
Kairugger
Walter Team (Land Team)
-Rugger 11 (Jet radar station/ hips) – Piloted by Jack Walter/ Cliff
-Rugger 12 (Rotating Personnel Carrier/ right arm) – Piloted by Kirigas Moya/ Cinda
-Rugger 13 (Armored Equipment Carrier/ left arm) – Piloted by Chakker Mack/ Modoch
-Rugger 14 (All-Terrain Space Vehicle/ right foot) – Piloted by Izu Tasuku/ Marvin
-Rugger 15 (All-Terrain Space Vehicle/ left foot) – Piloted by Nagato Kazuto/ Hutch
Rugger 11 (Jet radar station/ hips)
Rugger 12 (Rotating Personnel Carrier/ right arm)
Rugger 13 (Armored Equipment Carrier/ left arm)
Rugger 14 (All-Terrain Space Vehicle/ right foot)
Rugger 15 (All-Terrain Space Vehicle/ left foot)
Rickrugger
While the teams are in their combined fighter modes, they have the ability to perform limited warp jumps as long as the three ships are lined in formation.
The Dairugger Team
Dairugger Fighting Formation On!
Formed by combining all 15 vehicles, Dairugger is the main defensive unit of the Rugger Guard exploration ship as it explores the deep reaches of space to map out the stars. The crew soon encounter the Galveston race who are bent on conquest and finding a new home for their people. The series ran for 56 episodes back in 1982 to1983, and was later aired as part of the Voltron series in 1985.
For better show accuracy, it’s best to remove the propellers on Ruggers 3 and 4.
Dairugger attacks
-Wing Beam
-Rugger Beam
-Denji Muchi (Electromagnetic Whip / Ray-Beam Whip)
-Spin Cutters (in one episode he calls them Rugger Kilders?? / Spinning Laser Blades)
-Hand beams (attack never really named)
-Shot Arrow
-Dairugger Lancer (Solar Combat Spear)
-Dairugger Sword (Blazing Sword)
Dairugger has two ridiculously powerful (dare I say, overkill) attacks, namely “Dairugger Powerful Attack (later called Dairugger Miracle Power)” and “Dairugger Typhoon”. These can literally obliterate fleets in seconds. Why they don’t just spam this left and right in every fight is beyond me.
Denji Byuto (Electro Whip)
Shot Arrow (Ray Beam Whip)
The Shot Arrow is on a flexible wire, so you can change the position of the accessory how you wish.
In the series, more often than not, the Shot Arrows are deployed as throwing darts, ejected from the sides of Dairugger’s shins.
Dairugger Lancer – combining the Shot Arrows can form the Dairugger Lancer.
Spin Cutter (Spinning Laser Blades)
Various alternate parts for the Spin Cutter.
Combining the Spin Cutters will form the Dairugger Sword (Blazing Sword)
Utilizing a hidden swing joint on the shoulders, you can make Dairugger hold the sword with two hands.
Display Base
Similar with the Soul of Chogokin Gx-71 Golion Voltron, The name plate can be swapped with either “Dairugger XV” or “Voltron”.
Fists are stored underneath the base.
To remove Rugger 5, lift from the thruster side of the figure.
The attachments for Rugger 5 involves clips, I really hope these won’t wear down over time. Worse, Since it’s red on white plastic, I hope the red doesn’t stain the white plastic over time as well.
Plugging in the antennae on Rugger 9 and 10 is insanely annoying, since you have to pull up the platforms after, there is no way to do this without using a pair of tweezers, which is not included in this set.
Remember to flip out these tiny wings on Rugger 6 for show accuracy.
Unlike the treads on Rugger 2, the treads on Ruggers 9 and 10 do roll.
Watch out for this double hinge on Ruggers 9 and 10 when you transform.
To push out the fronts of Ruggers 7 and 8, push in the metal block first (marked green) into the slot (marked red), this will loosen up the front of the vehicle so you can pull it back out.
To eject Ruggers 7 and 8 from 9 and 10, push the white bars to release them.
To eject Rugger 1, just press on the red chest button.
To combine Dairugger’s thighs, make sure the connection is pushed ALL THE WAY in, like in the image, otherwise, Dairugger will topple over.
Make sure to fold out the ankle joints properly, to get a wider range of motion, like so.
The back of Dairugger’s head can be removed and replaced with the spare panel for show accuracy.
Make sure to have the wheels on the forearm units folded.
To release the torso from the waist unit, push this button.
There is a hidden ab crunch joint, but you have to fold it out first to use it.
Remember to push the tires in and lock them in place after you combine the legs. This will also lock in the ankle connections for leg and feet Ruggers.
When posing the legs, make sure to lift the skirt plates in this order, otherwise, you run the risk of popping off the skirt plates, which are on a ball joint. Getting them back in isn’t easy so it’s best to avoid popping them off in the first place.
Box comparison for the English and Japanese prints.
Comparison with Miracle Productions Vehicle Voltron
Sigh… it seems that the paint quality is not so good on my Miracle Productions Voltron, I’ve started having paint bubbles appearing on my unit. Tsk…
Comparison with Gx-71 Golion
Related Gallery links
Soul of Chogokin Gx-71 Golion Voltron
Miracle Productions Vehicle Voltron
The Good
Dairugger stands roughly 11.5 inches and weighs 1132 Grams. For those curious, the Miracle Productions version weighs 1184 grams.
The weigh in:
-Rugger 1 (Command Jet Explorer/ head) – 15 Grams
-Rugger 2 (Strato Weapons Module/ upper torso) – 122 Grams
-Rugger 3 (Advanced Recon Helicopter/ right upper arm) – 60 Grams
-Rugger 4 (Advanced Recon Helicopter/ left upper arm) – 52 Grams
-Rugger 5 (Falcon VT Fighter/ chest) – 24 Grams
-Kurugger (Strato Fighter) – 271 Grams
Keats Team (Sea Team)
-Rugger 6 (Comms module/ mid torso) – 48 Grams
-Rugger 7 (Space Prober/ right thigh) – 32 Grams
-Rugger 8 (Space Prober/ left thigh) – 32 Grams
-Rugger 9 (Multi-wheeled explorer/ right lower leg) – 235 Grams
-Rugger 10 (Multi-wheeled explorer/ left lower leg) – 214 Grams
-Kairugger (Aqua Fighter) – 563 Grams
Walter Team (Land Team)
-Rugger 11 (Jet radar station/ hips) – 66 Grams
-Rugger 12 (Rotating Personnel Carrier/ right arm) – 30 Grams
-Rugger 13 (Armored Equipment Carrier/ left arm) – 30 Grams
-Rugger 14 (All-Terrain Space Vehicle/ right foot) – 85 Grams
-Rugger 15 (All-Terrain Space Vehicle/ left foot) – 85 Grams
-Rikurugger (Turbo Terrain Fighter) – 298 Grams
Diecast parts include:
–Every unit has diecast parts with the exception of Rugger 1(the head) and 12 and 13 (the forearms).
-Manual is in full color!
-I think this release has the THICKEST manual ever included in the entire SOC line, thanks mostly to all the little details for the transformation of each unit. A whooping 32 pages! Basically as thick as a standard comic book.
-Optional adapters are included for the Spin Cutters to attach to any Stage Act display base.
-Excellent ankle joint tightness and balance on the combined figure, making it almost impossible to accidentally tip over.
The Bad
-I’m glad Bandai went back to using their old style box (as compared to the Getter Emperor box) but for some reason, I find the box to be a fingerprint magnet. Maybe it’s all the black areas? But You can easily spot smudges on the box this time.
-No locking tabs for the tray insert? This was a nicely done idea for the Getter Emperor tray layout.
-While the treads on Rugger 2 are rubber, they do not roll.
-Getting the Ray Beam whip handle into Dairugger’s hands is a chore, you have to force the handle into the hand. Not something I’m comfortable with.
-Lack of a locking mechanism on the feet wheels. While the toy isn’t prone to falling over, there is some issue with the feet wheels still being able to roll.
The UglyNo real quality control issues this time around, thankfully. I was honestly expecting some hiccup considering the number of individual units are in this set.
Overall, it is an amazing set! Bandai really knocked this one out of the park! The paint and details are superb and it shows on the overall finish, especially when you pose it next to Golion (they match up) and the Miracle Productions version (aesthetically, the SOC wins by a mile). I will eventually pose the Miracle version next to the Toynami Lion Voltron down the road.
The negatives here for me would be the difficulty of equipping the Ray Beam Whip (have to force the handle into the hand) and the lack of a locking mechanism for the feet wheels. They’re not real deal breakers though, just unexpected.
The biggest issue I suppose for folks would be the price. It costs a lot right out the gate compared to other SOC combiners, due to the rights or because of the multiple number of parts? I can’t say. But I do feel that this beautiful set is worth the actual SRP, just not at the inflated prices on the secondary markets.
Funfacts
-Apparently, “Dairugger means youth”, if the Japanese theme song is to be believed. lol….
-For whatever reason, the Galveston army keeps changing their mecha name, from Combat Machine, to Battle Machine, to Battle Attacker.
-If any of the 15 pilots get incapacitated, all they have to do is just switch on the autopilot and the team can still form Dairugger.
-Dairugger was named after the sport, rugby, it somewhat explains why there are 15 components to Dairugger, as rugby requires 15 players per team.
-There is no “only 5 minutes of Nuclear Operating Power” time limit in the original Japanese version unlike in the US version.
-Throughout the course of the series, logistical support from Earth kept getting blown up almost every time, it’s close to becoming a running joke.
-Considering how many c0ckpit canopies that are readily exposed all over Dairugger’s surface, and how often Dairugger gets shot at by entire fleets of enemies, it’s a miracle that none of the pilots ever get killed or blown up.
-Dairugger can still be combined, even if he’s missing Rugger 1 (The head), with Sea Team’s Keats in control instead of Aki. Unfortunately, it will have all the combat capability of a targeting dummy.
-In the series, even when combined, Dairugger can still be disconnected if a powerful shot hits them directly.
-For the unfamiliar, Golion and Dairugger XV are actually different series. They only came together due to World Events Productions getting the rights to repackage the shows into the Voltron. Due to the popularity of the franchise, WEP even commissioned Toei Productions to make the one-shot, direct-to-home-video Fleet of Doom movie showcasing the two teams working together.
Gold
