September Purchase (2) - Bootleg DX Sengoku Driver with Lock Seed Holder Set

Bought this from Taobao.com at a price of approximately $43.40, inclusive of shipping (and 2 fake leather belts), through my Taobao agent... There was an earlier bootleg / KO version of the DX Sengoku Driver but was quite done badly, so one of the Taobao shop seller requested the manufacturer to tune up that driver, particularly the ability to activate authentic lock seeds (which was missing in the earlier version)... Apparently there was some miscommunication between them, as in the end, the manufacturer still left out this activation function, and instead added a small pin to be able to activate the "weapon mode" button of the authentic DX lock seed... However, this newer version is now more closer to the authentic version, with (supposedly) removable cutting knife, removable face plates, proper belt straps (but they are molded from another DX driver's belt straps) and connector, and such... There are some forum talks in the China sites that discuss how the lock seed activation mechanism can be done, so I am very eager to try to start doing that... hehehe ...

Here's the item's packaging box, and the last picture shows the de-tombed item... I believe it uses the authentic gift-set's design as reference... Looks good so far...





The main driver's body. Plastic material is almost similar to that of the authentic one - transparent/opaque dark blue at the correct parts, not brittle feel... In fact, when I look at the back, the details (less the Bandai words) are almost the same, right down to which parts are matte and which are shiny. Battery cover works exactly the same... The lock seed locking piece can also be opened like the authentic version to let the lock seeds be pulled out, in case the lock seeds are accidentally removed without opening the lock ...



As the inside the body seems to have some parts dropped out or such, I dismantle it to take out / repair any loose parts and at the same time have a look inside.... Turns out an extra piece of on-off switch cover is left inside accidentally... There should have quite a lot of space to put in the lock seed activation mechanism and also some sound chips to add / replace the bootleg sound (weird weird sword clashing sounds)...



Unlike the earlier KO version, this bootleg set comes with 2 interchangeable face plates (KR Gaim's and KR Baron's), just like the authentic version... Nice... But of course, just like any other bootlegs, do not expect this KO Baron's face plate to be able to work on the authentic DX driver to produce the KR Baron henshin music, as it uses the same mold as KR Gaim's... The drawing on each face plate is actually a transparent sticker..



The cutting knife is now "perfect" without joint lines on the blade. But this makes it less show accurate, as many episodes show the knife with joint lines as seen in the DX toy... But anyway, this cutting knife looks better to me... And it is made of hard plastic...


Sadly, my cutting knife is missing the 2 tabs at the side to lock it into place... Should not be too tough to make 1 though... Just need some time...



For the belt straps, the straps themselves seemed to be slightly thicker and less flexible than the authentic one. The buckle and straps themselves are actually molded from that of DX Double/W Driver's... Not surprising, as the manufacturer came out with quite good bootlegs of the DX Double/W Driver before... The connectors are very well made (though I have not try putting them into the driver yet...), and could even pass off as the legit stuff...




The lock seed holder is a bit lighter (I think), but still a relatively good bootleg. The back of the holder is actually more well-made than the front side... And the tabs are still spring-pressed to allow the lock seeds to be held securely..



And now, the lock seeds... I really don't like them... or perhaps just the sounds... I have strongly in mind to use their bodies (after some light mods) to replace some of my gashapon/candy toy lock seeds bodies... Yeah, I think I will do that...... There are only 2 sounds (same for all 3 lock seeds) - (i) When open the lock seed - " ~(lock seed open sound)~ P~i~n~e !" (ii) when the only small button on the back is pressed - " ~(machine start sound) Battle start! Y~o~u l~o~s~e..." Sigh... forever losing... hahahaha...


The bootleg Orange lock seed has transparent yellow plastic inside, and the stickers are not Orange's but Pineapple's... strange... maybe the manufacturer cannot differentiate between orange and pineapple... The bootleg lock seeds do seem to have retain the spring-flip function of the cover though...


..As well as the on-off switch... Nice... Notice the mold uses a 3 battery compartment as used in the authentic DX versions... The 3 back buttons are now reduced to only 1 (the middle one), the the other 2 are molded together with the main body... And NO SAD PAC-MAN !!!!!! hahahaha....



Overall, this is a very very very nice bootleg... More so if considering the very poor quality of the first KO version, this is indeed a very improved version... Will try to fix up the cutting knife's pegs and also the mechanism for activating the lock seed button asap... After all, Kamen Rider Gaim series will be ending this coming Sunday...

Quick Demo of KO / Bootleg DX Daidaimaru

A quick demo of the KO / Bootleg DX Daidaimaru that I bought recently... The figurine was thrown away, as promised...

Update: KO / Bootleg DX Musou Saber - Lock Seed Activator Restoration

The super simplified bootleg DX Musou Saber looks good on display, but it is seriously lacking in the most fun part for most KR Gaim toys involving lock seeds - activating the sounds of the lock seed!!! So I borrow the method of triggering the switch of the lock seed from a forum page in Baidu.com to do this mod, a very special thank you to the forumers there!!!


Unscrew and take the Musou Saber apart. Take care not to loose any parts (though it has no much parts left after such simplifications....)


The authentic lock seeds cannot fit initially, due to the bottom of the lock seed has a small tab that will stop the lock seed from sliding into the hole. Mark out the area to cut using any authentic lock seed. This space, after cutting, will allow the lock seed to go in (as in the authentic ones, there is a small lock mechanism at that position...)


Cut out the hole in any way you can... Not easy, as this type of "shampoo bottle" plastic cannot is too 'rubbery' to be cut properly, as it wll tend to leave thin rubbery burrs that is hard to remove on the cut edges... Filing is also out of question... Anyway, finally done...


Do trim flat the side "clips" too, they are making the hole way too tight for the lock seedsto fit in...


And now the authentic lock seeds can fit in... Next, to make the lock seed activator...


Open up any DX lock seed to obtain the back piece. Be careful when opening, watch out for the small spring inside and not lose it. Keep all pieces safe.


Use the lock seed back piece to locate the positions of the top 2 switches. You can use something sharp to scratch the surface to mark out the holes...


Once holes are marked out, they can be cut/drilled... Remember to assemble the DX lock seed back safely asap...


I use a small Tamiya plastic pin (to attach from behind) for activating the lock seed's 2nd switch (to switch DX lock seeds to weapon mode). You can also use a small screw to screw in from behind... The pin should protrude around 4mm out...


Then I proceed to make an extension lever (with some spare plastic sprue rims) to attach to the trigger. The lever will slide in to push the main activation switch (a pan head machine screw is attached to the tip) on the lock seed, when the trigger is pressed. Trial and error need to be done to check for the joining positions. Hot-melt glue is used for joining.


Next, glue up more pieces of waste plastic to support the lever so that it will not flex but slides horizontally nicely. The final positions of the top supporter piece is drawn in red dotted lines (maybe I will take some pics of the new position next time when modding for the sounds)


Looking from the other direction. The lever has to be inside the supporters pieces... The tips of the 2 supporter pieces are hot-glued but with a gap left in between...


Edit: A picture on how the final positions of the supporter pieces and hot glue to join them...


A small spring is cut to size and placed here to aid in the springing back of the activator (and trigger)...


And here is how it works: Before pulling the trigger...


When trigger is pulled...



And a demo clip...

September Purchase (1) - DX Henshin Onibue - Onteki (変身鬼笛.音笛), DX Henshin Kigen - Onjō (変身鬼弦.音錠), Candy Toy KR Ichigo Lock Seed (Loose), KO Musou Saber, KO Daidaimaru

My haul this month... The first 2 items are bought at the Robinsons Expo Sales, at a very cheap price (and with a price... ) of $5 for 3...



DX Henshin Onibue - Onteki (変身鬼笛.音笛)
Super!!! Have been wanting to buy these 2 henshin devices for a long time, ever since I had the DX weapons... I had bad experiences with KR Hibiki stuff, so I decided not to take risks and bought 3 each (1 for my little niece, 1 for myself, and another just in case of non-working ones...)... And I did not regret, as only 1 of the 3 are working fine, 1 has bad sound level, and another has no sound!!!! However, have manage to replace the speakers (though took a long time to dismantle and reassemble, and replace bad worn-out screws...)...



DX Henshin Kigen - Onjō (変身鬼弦.音錠)
When using the supplied battery, initially there is a long "tackling" sound from the speaker after switching on that I thought is a faulty toy, until after some time the weird sound die off and resume back to normal operations. Think might be old batteries dying... Will try out new ones next time...



Candy Toy KR Ichigo Lock Seed (Loose)
Gotten it from Taobao.com, cost about $9.65. Sounds are quite similar to the Rider War version I think, but with Rider Punch, Cyclone "go"(???), and Rider Kick for the special attacks instead... Since it is a candy toy version with opaque rim, it may be quite difficult to install lights into it...



KO Musou Saber
The KO version!!!!! Gotten this (and the KO Daidaimaru set) from Taobao.com too... With the good experience I had with the KO/bootleg Gokai Saber / Gun, I thought this (and the KO Daidaimaru) will have 95% the same casing mold as the original one... But I was wrong... Many parts are now molded together... And the plastic used (for all items) seems to be the "shampoo bottle" type of plastic, only slightly more rigid... Print quality on the packaging is good though... Cost around $20, after shipping...



De-tombed the toys... Pulling the trigger will activate 2 alternating types of sword clashing sounds, as well as an LED lights up at the bullet-indicator area... Not too bad actually...


This KO is super light (and I like this), and as mentioned, many parts are simplified to a single mold... The Lock Seed locker part is now transparent yellow in colour, and looks very very nice.. of course, the piece is thinner and no activation switch for the "Lock on!"... The blade is also molded together with the gun body, so I'll need to cut the molded blade off if I want to replace a new/longer blade...


... And the pull-tab for changing to gun mode is also molded together with the main body... sigh...


The holster that comes with the toy works well, though a little flimsy...


Looks like it is a Melon Energy Lock Seed, disguised under the codename of L.S.-04!!!!! Because of the soft material used, the lock gets stuck easily... The cover is flipped up and secured to the main body with a small clip-peg...


No sticker inside the cover... Sadly the casing of the lock seed is remolded, otherwise I am tempted to switch the cover over to my Gashapon Melon Energy Lock Seed...


Pressing the lock release button at the side releases the lock (supposedly) and activates 2 alternating types of sword clashing sounds and an LED light, just like the KO Musou Saber. In fact, all the toys have the same sound circuit inside... No other buttons...


The KO lockseed can attach to the KO Musou Saber... with no additional function or features, of course... but looks good...


..Sadly, the KO Musou Saber cannot fit in the authentic lock seeds, unless some trimming is done...



KO Daidaimaru
It is the dark version of the Daidaimaru!!!! Superb colour choice!!!!!!! Also costs around $20... Almost everything for the KO Musou Saber can be said for this KO Daidaimaru...



De-tombed...


Only 1 LED light will flash with the sword clashing sounds, when trigger is pressed... Should I add in blue light??? Hmmm....


Similar to the other one, this set has a KO Lemon Energy Lock Seed...


This set comes with a small figurine that I don't know is which Amour Rider... anyway, will be throwing this figurine away very soon... Already broken the pegs on the armour when taking them apart...



Important question: Can the KO Musou Saber and KO Daidaimaru be combined????


Yes they can!!!! Naginata mode!!!!!! There are no spring-locking mechanisms; the parts lock in by small narrow protruding tabs... a little little shaky but not loose... Nice... And because they are light, I can use little force and hence no worries when swinging them around. Double nice!!!! And because there are no buttons to push when taking out, I can separate them so much faster and easier! Triple nice!!!!!


And can the KO Musou Saber combine with the DX DJ Gun???


Yes they can!!!!! Taiken mode!!!!! Hahahaha.... Did not try if this Taiken mode retains its gimmicks but believe it should be able to... nice...



Now waiting for my Bootleg Sengoku Driver (version 2) to arrive... hehehe...