Kotobukiya has recently opened solicitations to previously announced kits, and revealed new ones for their The Brave Fighter lineup. This first one is to complement the already-released Sky Goldran kit.
This is the Dran and Great Parts set which, as the name suggests, includes parts to build both Dran and parts to convert Sky Goldran to Great Goldran. To those unfamiliar, Great Goldran is the final combination in this series, and is made up of three robots: the titular Goldran, Sorakage, and Leonkaiser.
This is Dran, who folds up and forms the chest piece of Goldran. And while this kit doesn’t have any transformation feature, which I really prefer, it allows for better articulation. Dran will also belong to the S-class in terms of size, similar to BP-001 Deckerd. It’s not overly detailed like some of Bandai Spirits’ HG attempts and follows the animation model faithfully.
For accessories, Dran comes with his weapon, the Dragon Sword, as well as pre-painted replacement face parts which provide more expressive display options. He also uses clear parts for the chest jewel, and those on the legs which in turn forms the chest jewel of Goldran.
On the other hand, here’s how Great Goldran looks, and he looks good. If there’s one thing that deters me from getting the Sky Goldran kit is whether I should stick with the animation model, and as seen in the solicitation photos, and keep the mostly yellow color scheme, or be true to the series title and paint it gold. Personally, I’m leaning towards the former and now that I’m seeing how the final combination looks, I’ll probably stick to that option.
Combining the additional parts to Sky Goldran doesn’t probably involve complete disassembly of the latter as they were planned from the get go. That said, I do like displaying these combinations side-by-side, so I’ll probably get two Sky Goldran kits whenever I decide to get this set. The new parts are include the Leonkaiser chest piece, the new front waist armor, and those side fins on the head unit. I’m not sure if the last one would be pieces to be attached to the existing Goldran/Sky Goldran head unit or it’s totally new.
As for Great Goldran’s weapons and accessories, the set does come with his signature Great Archery, which is a large bow and arrow made of Leonkaiser parts not used in the final combination. From these photos, it does look it will include a support stand to display Great Goldran firing Great Archery. Though I’d always prefer to display this guy without the need for such support. Regardless, it looks great (LOL) in this pose.
With Kotobukiya completing the main Goldran combinations, I assume they follow this with either a stand-along Leonkaiser or Sorakage kit. Either way, they’re doing great as far as these kits are concerned. That’s coming from someone who’s already got a couple of these yet haven’t built any of them.
Dran and Great Parts
March 2022 / ¥7,800
Order from HobbyLink Japan
