The "Final Dancuga" can be realized! Taiyuki is also impressed with Super Mini-Pla "Black Wing" & "Dancuga Black Color Ver!

From the Bandai Candy Division's "Super Minipla" series, which releases new products that thrill the hearts of robot-loving crusaders every time, the popular robot "Black Wing" from the "DANCOUGA" series is finally available as a kit for the first time!

This is also the first official product that can be combined with the Super Miniplat "DANCOUGA" to complete the original "Final DANCOUGA" form that only appears in the game, and many DANCOUGA fans are eagerly awaiting its shipment.

This time, voice actor Yasuyuki Tai, the biggest "DANCOUGA" fan in the voice acting industry, visited Bandai's Candy Division to find out more! Mr. Yohei Nagasawa, who is in charge of the development of the Super Mini-Plastic "DANKUGA," told him the secret story behind the development of the "DANKUGA" and the charm of the "Black Wing. We also asked him as many questions as we could about the unknown new item "DANKUGA Black Color Ver.

(*Please note that the images in this article are all prototypes under development and may differ from the actual product.)

Please also enjoy the following article!
⇒ " Weekend Plastic Model Kit by Taiyuki, Voice Actor! No. 8 Beyond Shokugan, Beyond Plastic Model Kits, and Now God! That is the ultimate Super Miniplat "DANCOUGA"! Part 1
⇒ " Weekend Plastic Model Kit of Voice Actor Taiyuki! Part 9 - Let's do it! I made the ultimate Super Miniplat "Chojyuu Kijin Dancuga" that can reproduce both the TV version and the OVA version! Part 2

It's too hot! The secret story behind the development of Super Miniplat "DANKUGA

───First of all, can you tell us the story behind the development of Super Mini Plastic "DANCOUGA"?

Nagasawa: I was originally in charge of "Star Wars" plastic models in the Hobby Division, but in April I was transferred to the Super Miniplat development department, where I am now in charge of the Candy Division. DANCOUGA" was to be released in September, and I took over from my predecessor just as the mold production was about to start.

Yasushi: At that point, you had already finished the design.

Nagasawa The external shape had almost been decided. When I first saw it, I was impressed and thought, "This is so cool! I was so impressed (laughs). Dancuga is not a character that has many opportunities to be sculpted, and the appearance of Dancuga is a little different from other manufacturers' products and our own Soul of Chogokin.

At the time, Chogokin was based on the original setting drawings and had boxed robot-like proportions similar to the Sentai robots, but when they actually move in the anime, the way they are depicted in each scene is different again, and the biggest question was where to take the image. So, I think that this Super Mini-Pla product is the greatest common denominator of the two, so that you can feel both of these images.

This time, we have added a lot of detail, but I think the amount of detail is similar to the "MG (Master Grade)" pattern in the Hobby Division. The 16.5cm size of Dancuga this time is about the size of a Gunpla MG, so if we don't add details, it will look stretched out. I think we have created a finish that respects the original anime while still looking good. Thanks to this, I think we were able to include a high density of detail.

Tai: The block division of this product is also very drastic in order to make it movable in the DANKUGA state. In the past, when you moved the legs forward, the entire waist would move. That was the way it was imprinted in my mind, so I think the idea of splitting the armor was a good one.

Nagasawa: Big Moss has a tank form, a beast form, and a humanoid form, and I think that most people display Big Moss in the Dancuga form, so I made sure there would be no complaints when posing him in each form. I have heard from the previous staff that they were particular about the movability of the hip joints, and I think this has been reflected in the design of the product.

The large size of this figure means that there are many replacement parts, but I think that by replacing them, the proportions of each form will be more pleasing to the eye. The nose of Big Moss in Dancuga form is not as originally designed, but I think the way the nose is divided is good because it makes it easier to move when the figure is picked up.

Yasushi: I can't help but notice the movement and detail of the Big Moth, but I think the focus is on the leg assembly. I thought the sliding chest of the Cougar and Liger would not be done in Mini-Pla scale anymore.

Nagasawa: You've got a good eye for detail (laughs). It's amazing that you were able to achieve the slide exactly as you imagined it at this size. This part has become difficult to assemble, so we will feed this back to future Super Miniplas.

Tai: I laughed while making this part. Also, the deformation of the cougar's nose. In the anime, they did a close-up of the deformation of this part, and it left a strong impression on me. However, it was not possible to reproduce it in Chogokin at all at the time, and it was finally possible to do so in Soul of Chogokin. What they couldn't do with the original products at the time, they were able to do with an assembly kit.

And then there is the Eagle Fighter, which has the face of Dancuga hidden on the back of its humanoid form. Unless you have a transformable toy, you probably don't know that there is a face here. I was impressed with how well they did it here.

Nagasawa: Actually, we had initially made a prototype Eagle Fighter that could transform even at this size. However, it was not strong enough to stand up to the rigors of a plastic model, so we decided to omit the deformable part. I would have liked to have included this element if I could have, but I decided to be graceful and put it together in different forms.

Yasushi: If we had made the transformations into a size that could be reproduced in a plastic kit, the balance of the Dancuga form would have been lost.

Nagasawa If only the Eagle Fighter was made larger, it would not be what the customer had in mind, so we followed the Mini-Pla format and tried to reproduce the image of the movie as much as possible by matching the size of each robot within a single product.

In Miniplat, our goal was to make one robot for 200 yen and one for 300 yen, but in that case, we could not reproduce the differences in size between the robots in the movie, nor could we include transformations. Around 2008, Miniplas began to include specifications for the A and B parts of the model, and we began to adopt a method that allows the robots to actually transform into one another. For this Dancuga, we were able to reproduce the size difference and transformation of each robot in Dancuga by applying the Mini-Pla specifications and dividing them into sets: one set for the Eagle Fighter and Land Cougar, one set for Land Liger and Flight Booster, and one set for Big Moth.

Tai: (Dancouga is also) properly lined up in each form. It was fun and enjoyable to photograph the reproduction of the transforming combined scene. ...... Actually, there is one scene in the anime where the cougar and liger are in opposite positions in the combined scene, but when they are combined, they are exactly as set up. Maybe some of you may have seen the pictures in the article and thought, "They are opposite! but that was a deliberate decision.

Nagasawa That kind of roughness is part of the charm of the animation of the time (laughs).

Yasushi: And here it is again. The hatch of Big Moth! It wasn't used much in the main anime, but I remember Ryo entering and exiting through this hatch when he was rescuing someone. I was impressed that the mold was there.

Nagasawa I also asked the previous developer, "This looks like a door, but why is it there? I asked the previous developer, "This looks like a door, why is it there? Because I was taking over the project halfway through, I hadn't completely checked the scenes in the animation. He said, "There was a scene like that. I was impressed.

Yasushi: That's amazing. I can drink good sake with someone who understands that (laughs).

Nagasawa I think this item was made possible because there were many people like that around me. To be honest, from the perspective of my time in the Hobby Division, I think we are taking on a lot of challenges. The product has really become a hit with enthusiasts, hasn't it?

Yasushi: That's right. Many times I thought to myself, "How do you break this part like this?

Nagasawa I was surprised by each and every one of them. There are ways of dividing and separating parts that are not often seen in the Hobby Division, so I thought to myself as I was making them, "The formula for Mini-Pla has been established.

Yasushi: Even so, you can make her pose in a variety of ways and keep looking at her. The wrist parts are also very expressive.

Nagasawa Dancuga is surprisingly physical, isn't it? I made sure that each wrist part would reflect the image of Dancouga in the movie. There is also a hand without a hand.

Yasushi: I thought they were just flat hands, but the fingers are angled a little bit, aren't they?

Nagasawa That's right. I think it's great that you made it so that when he sticks it out in front of him, it gives him a little bit of power. I tried to create a little bit of atmosphere or sexiness in the animation.

Tai: I was happy with the shape of the hands, but the angle of the wrists can also be very theatrical. It is such a moving kit, so if you still have it in the box, you should definitely put it together at least once.

It is not difficult to imagine that there were many things we wanted to do this time, but I think we had to give up some of them out of sheer determination due to the product specifications. Even so, we were really moved to tears to have the product put together in this way. The plastic kit I had dreamed of was here. I wonder how far this feeling can be conveyed.

Nagasawa Dancuga transforms into various forms and combines with other models, so I think it was very difficult to put it into a product. I heard this story from the planning stage, but at first, the view within the company was that DANKUGA could not be commercialized in Super Miniplat, and that it would be impossible. However, the person in charge at the time said that the Super Miniplat format was gaining some recognition, so he wanted to give it a try, and he worked very hard. To be honest, it was one or two levels higher than other Super Miniplat models, but they were very happy that they were finally able to incorporate it into a product.

Tai Yuuki: The transformation gimmick could have been done by simply downsizing the toys of the time, but the image of Dancuga has been refined through the TV series, OVAs, and movie versions, and I think that's why it became difficult to reproduce it. The biggest of all was "Super Robot Wars," in which Dancouga played an active role and was reevaluated as a cool toy. From there, through "Super Robot Wars," there was a revival boom of various robots, and that is why new products featuring Showa-era characters have been released even in 2025, but I think Dancuga has been a driving force behind this boom.

In the process, in the minds of various people, DANCOUGA has been refined more and more into something like this, and there have been a lot of products with a sense of urgency, but I wanted to have something with just the right balance for me. I wanted something that had just the right balance.

Nagasawa: I think the animation movement is important, and there are people who like proportions that are closer to the original drawings, so for Super Mini-Pla, I would like to find a relatively plain balance that everyone can understand.

The Black Knight comes to the stage! Gimmicks and details of the impressive Black Wing

Tai: And speaking of Dancuga, we are also interested in Alain Igor's Black Wing. Actually, this is the first time Bandai has commercialized a Black Wing with a transformation mechanism, isn't it?

Nagasawa That's right. When we first decided to commercialize Dancuga, there was a feeling that we had to go this far if we were going to get on the boat. That is why we started development of the Black Wing about two or three weeks after I was put in charge of Dancuga.

Tai: The Black Wing is surprisingly large, isn't it?

Nagasawa That's right. There was a scene in the movie where they appeared side by side with the Eagle Fighter, and they were quite large. I thought that in humanoid form, they might be on par with Big Moth, so we adjusted the proportions and size.

Tai: Wow! Amazing molding!

Nagasawa Black Wing is a robot with impressive wings, so we finished the overall design while also giving it a more realistic look. We wanted to include the Black Wing in the model because we wanted to create a detailed model that would be enjoyable for adults to hold in their hands.

Tai: It looks amazing as a stand-alone aircraft model. ...... Wait a minute. These claw parts. Why did you separate them here?

Nagasawa Thank you for noticing. The claw-like parts of the fighter form are surprisingly important for a bird mecha. In the humanoid form, it fits perfectly.

Yasushi: Even if you don't go that far, no one will care (laughs).

Nagasawa Hahaha (laughs). I did my best. The figure is movable here as well, so it can be posed as if it were grasping an object. The knees are triple-jointed, as they need to be reverse-jointed as well. The knees can be bent in the reverse direction up to almost 180 degrees. Of course, it can also be bent in the normal direction. Normally, we don't make this much room for movement, but we did because of the Black Wing's unique characteristics. It is possible to sit upright as a matter of course, and also to sit upside down (?). You can also sit upside down.

Tai: It is already in the MG class, isn't it? It is possible to make it this well because the target audience is adults like us.

Nagasawa That's right. This time, since Premium Bandai is going to release the product, we have to make sure that it is a product for the core customers, the people who really love DANCOUGA, who actually bought DANCOUGA and want the Black Wing as well. We made these specifications so that people can enjoy the product to the very core.

─ ─ The crotch and legs are connected with 3-axis movement, aren't they?

Nagasawa Yes, they are connected with ball joints, but we also included a roll axis, so they can be opened quite wide. This makes it excellent as a humanoid model. The waist area is a simple structure, so we are trying to make that simple part of the model properly.

Tai: Thank you very much!

（Thank you very much!)

Yasushi And then there is the engraving on the nose.

Nagasawa: I knew from the initial design stage, from the rough design stage, that I wanted to include the engraving here. I am thinking of adding gold tampo printing to the finished product. At first, we thought of dividing the parts into smaller pieces, but it was too detailed. I was thinking about whether to print on the flat parts or to add a little detail and print there, depending on how the final product will turn out.

Tai I was imagining how it would look here. I was also wondering if we would put a gold sticker on top of the detailing.

Nagasawa This is the most important part of the fighter form, where the facial expressions are shown. Therefore, I thought it would be better to use coloring to properly express this point, and I also thought that stickers would not look as good because the thickness of the sticker itself would come out. I also thought that the stickers would not look as good as the stickers themselves, which would be too thick.

Tai You went to the trouble of making a cover on the side of the nose.

Nagasawa The spacer-like area here fills in the space widened during deformation, although the final shape may change. Surprisingly, the wings and other parts make it difficult to see from the front, but I wanted to include them as a special feature.

Yasushi: It is true that it would be sad to see the space between the wings when viewed from the side, given the size of the figure.

Nagasawa I probably didn't think that much about it in the animation, but I added it because I imagined that the space would be filled in nicely with something ....... In fact, I'm thinking that the place would have to be filled in with something to make it aerodynamic .......

Tai: If we look at it as an aeronautical model, there are flap-like parts and the vertical tail is not straight.

Nagasawa In the movie, there are white lines at the flap-like parts, so I thought I would pick those up properly. I will use stickers to reproduce the flaps, but I will use stickers that resemble the flight boosters used in Dancuga.

The vertical tail fins would not look as sexy if they were finished straight. I think the Black Wing would look better in fighter form if it had an aircraft-like appearance, so I tried to create the vertical tail fin of an aircraft.

Yasushi: Unlike other mecha that can transform into a beast, bird-shaped mecha don't move as aggressively, so this is a good way to showcase that.

Nagasawa Incidentally, a stand is also included. The shape will be changed in the end, so this is just a prototype. This time, we are also focusing on the way it will be displayed, and the Eagle Fighter can be placed on the small stand shown here.

Tai There it is, there it is! There was a scene of two planes flying overhead, albeit only slightly. The Eagle Fighter didn't even have a stand. This is nice!

Nagasawa: We are thinking of molding the stand in clear material, so it will be closer to the image of the flight scene. So let's start transforming it.

Yasushi: Got it!

Nagasawa This time, we've added a slide to the chest, so when you open the nose outward, the shoulder parts will come out. And there are small hand parts for deformation, so let's take them out.

Tai This is no longer a mini plastic (smiles). The thickness of these arms and the voluminous upper body are the characteristics of the Black Wing, aren't they?

Nagasawa This balance is also adjusted in a way that it does not collapse. Then, the wings are raised and folded in.

This time, the wings are set to bounce up. We wanted to set it a little lower, so we lowered it once and raised it again so that we could adjust it to the right position. If you replace the parts here, it would be a bit tasteless, so we left them as they are so that they can be used smoothly.

Tai: For a moment, I forgot that this was a toy. If it were a toy, it could be replaced, right? No, this is a toy, but it is still a toy.

Nagasawa: We couldn't fit the face into the box because of the clearance, so we used a separate part for the face. If you insert it into the pin hole here, you can see it at .......

Yasushi: Wow, hello!

Nagasawa The shape of the wrists is still in the prototype stage, so we haven't fully adjusted the scale of the size, but there are two types of hand parts: a smaller grip hand for deformation and a larger grip hand for posing.

Tai, why don't you line them up with Mr. Dancuga for a moment?

(For several minutes, the adults silently continue to fiddle with Dancuga)

─ ─ Looking at it again, it is hard to believe that it was designed more than 30 years ago.

Nagasawa It's superb, isn't it?

Tai...... Here it comes! (and applause) They look great together, you two! Ah ......, cool!