Grey GaoApe
Missing
Zord Information
Toyline
Bandai Japan: Grey GaoApe — Mail-Away-Exklusiv (Artbook), Japan
Release (Japan)
-
Release (US/EU)
-
JAN Code (JP)
never sold at retail
Mecha Type
Special Edition
My version
Bandai
Mecha Condition
-
Description
The Grey GaoApe is an ape-type Power Animal from the "Hundred Beast" roster of Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger, listed as number 54 among the official 100 Power Animals. Along with GaoHowl, GaoCrescent, GaoToad and GaoKark, it belongs to a small group of Power Animals designed as an homage to the Shinobi Beasts (Super Ninja Beasts) of Ninja Sentai Kakuranger – the grey ape specifically nods to God Saruder, NinjaRed's monkey mecha. It never actually appears in the TV series; it lives on chiefly as an entry in the roster of 100 and as a sought-after collector's piece.
Visually the Grey GaoApe is a grey repaint of the red gorilla Power Animal GaoKong. GaoKong itself was exclusive to the theatrical film "Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger: The Fire Mountain Roars," serving as a guardian whose Gao Jewel was formed when two halves of a ruby were joined during three simultaneous eclipses. Because GaoKong is in turn a redeco of GaoGorilla with a newly molded head, it forms the fiery knight-robo GaoKnight (GaoKong plus GaoEagle, GaoShark, GaoTiger, GaoBison and GaoElephant, together with the Soul Bird). As its dark counterpart, the grey GaoApe accordingly stands in for the black-and-grey "Black GaoKnight" configuration.
As a DX toy, the Grey GaoApe is one of the rarest vintage pieces in the entire line: a pure mail-away / special-order exclusive that in 2002 could only be ordered through the art book "Super Sentai Mecha Visual 1975–2002" – making it the very last new release of the DX Power Animal line. It reuses the tooling of the DX GaoKong (which had a regular September 2001 release at ¥2000), but shipped in a smaller box (roughly 3 inches more compact) and cut back on accessories: it lacks both the Gao Jewel figurine and the Anchor Chain weapon that came with the Gorilla/Kong editions. Despite its repaint status, it is officially counted in the master list of the 100 Power Animals.
That scarcity is exactly why the Grey GaoApe is one of the toughest gaps for completionists to fill: a tiny print run, no regular retail sale, obtainable only through the Japanese book campaign. The grey paintwork also sets the sculpt apart from the red Kong version and can be paired with the black repaint sets to assemble a somber Black GaoKnight. A strictly Bandai Japan item – a US Wild Force / Hasbro version of this zord was never produced.
Visually the Grey GaoApe is a grey repaint of the red gorilla Power Animal GaoKong. GaoKong itself was exclusive to the theatrical film "Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger: The Fire Mountain Roars," serving as a guardian whose Gao Jewel was formed when two halves of a ruby were joined during three simultaneous eclipses. Because GaoKong is in turn a redeco of GaoGorilla with a newly molded head, it forms the fiery knight-robo GaoKnight (GaoKong plus GaoEagle, GaoShark, GaoTiger, GaoBison and GaoElephant, together with the Soul Bird). As its dark counterpart, the grey GaoApe accordingly stands in for the black-and-grey "Black GaoKnight" configuration.
As a DX toy, the Grey GaoApe is one of the rarest vintage pieces in the entire line: a pure mail-away / special-order exclusive that in 2002 could only be ordered through the art book "Super Sentai Mecha Visual 1975–2002" – making it the very last new release of the DX Power Animal line. It reuses the tooling of the DX GaoKong (which had a regular September 2001 release at ¥2000), but shipped in a smaller box (roughly 3 inches more compact) and cut back on accessories: it lacks both the Gao Jewel figurine and the Anchor Chain weapon that came with the Gorilla/Kong editions. Despite its repaint status, it is officially counted in the master list of the 100 Power Animals.
That scarcity is exactly why the Grey GaoApe is one of the toughest gaps for completionists to fill: a tiny print run, no regular retail sale, obtainable only through the Japanese book campaign. The grey paintwork also sets the sculpt apart from the red Kong version and can be paired with the black repaint sets to assemble a somber Black GaoKnight. A strictly Bandai Japan item – a US Wild Force / Hasbro version of this zord was never produced.
