Nacoral Bootleg Great Mazingas I just got my 2nd one of these and the head is a different color. Updated 11/28/00


Bootleg?
I love bootlegs almost as much.. Nah...who am I kidding? I like them more than the originals. What's better than a Shogun Warrior Bootleg? A Shogun Warrior bootleg Great Mazinga! What's better than a Great Mazinga bootleg? Two of them. Many Shogun Warrior Bootlegs were made in the 70's in Western Europe. I purchased the "silver" bootleg from a man in Germany, who was the original owner, so many of the following details are from him. I have found out that these Bootlegs was made by Nacoral in Spain. While there are many difference between the two, I have designated them "silver" and "gold" in reference to the color of the mouth vent sticker on the face. I purchased the "gold" version to complete the one I already had under the impression that the "gold" version was the same, just missing the paint details. Was I ever suprised!
Size does matter.
Lets start with the body Size. They are about one half to one inch shorter than the standard Great Mazinga. I believe this to be caused when the bootleger uses an original figure to make the molds. Knowing some folks in the toymaking business really helps with this part. Seems that when making a figure in a certain scale the molds must be made a bit larger to accommodate the increase in volume of a heated plastic. When the plastic cools it pulls itself away from the mold and is easy to remove. As these bootlegs was probably made using an original to make a mold and not the original molds, they would be smaller than the original. In the picture to the left the upper arm of the "silver" bootleg (left) compared to the original (right). Also note the difference in color, the silver" bootleg arm has a slightly darker blue cast (note: the "gold" version is closer in color to the Popy and Mattel versions).
Six shooter.
All of Mattel's Mazinga's had a Left missile firing hand and a right fist. These bootlegs has 2 missile firing hands and no fists. This is an improvement at they look balanced with matching missile launchers, just like the popy Great Mazinga looked balanced with matching fists. The missile launchers themselves are slightly different from the Mattel version, as they have less raised detail. The bootlegs also use slotted/standard screws and the original uses Phillips head screws. In the picture to the left the original launcher is on the right and the bootleg is on the left. The missiles are also different as the look and feel more like the popy unclipped missiles, but are clipped like the later Mattel ones. In the picture to the left the original is on the bottom and the bootleg is on the top.
Legs.
Next is the leg/sword issue of these bootlegs. These bootlegs appears to use the body of the 3rd Mattel Mazinga as it has a sticker on the chest, but uses the legs of the 2nd version Mattel Mazinga. The knee sticker is on the lower portion and it has 5 missile holders instead of the 3 missile holders used on the 3rd Mattel Mazinga. All other Mazinga's have two red swords that can be held in the figure's right hand. These swords are stored in the slots in the upper leg. These Bootlegs do not have the slots to store the swords and according to the original owners did not come with any swords (kind of a given, considering they have no way to hold a sword).


Face lift.
I saved the best for last. The head is where the real differences come out. The head has a non-removable headship just like the 3rd version Mattel Mazinga, but it is very different. The head is more rounded with the tops of the headcavity rounded off. The Headship/Brain Condor is rounded off to the point of looking totally different from the Mattel Mazinga. The horns that curve upward on all other Mazinga's, point straight out like the horns of Mazinger-Z and are red rather than yellow. It would appear that the horns and headship are one piece. The eyes are gold stickers rather than painted yellow like all other Mazingas. The mouth vents area is also a sticker and the vents are not molded into the head. The head to the left is from the "silver" Nacoral and the head to the right is the "gold" version.

The "silver" version head is molded from a very dark blue plastic with details painted grey. The Brain condor is molded from red plastic and has the cockpit painted black not blue like the standard mazinger (note: this is the only paint on the brain condor, it does not have the wing stripes that the standard mazinga has). It has a silver sticker for the mouth vent area.

The "gold" version head is molded in a very light royal blue, slightly thinner plastic and has no painted details. The Brain condor is molded from red plastic and has no paint details. It has a gold sticker for the mouth vent area.