Shogun Warriors Gaiking (1978)

Shogun Warriors Gaiking was released by Mattel in 1978 alongside Godzilla and is considered one of the most unique and desirable figures in the Shogun Warriors lineup. Featured prominently in the 1978 Mattel catalog, Gaiking stands out with his distinctive dragon-faced chest design, chest-mounted eye rockets, and launching right fist attached to a bendable elbow arm.

Mattel Shogun Warriors Gaiking Features

• Dragon skull-style chest with firing eye projectiles.
• Launching right fist with articulated elbow joint.
• Uses the same style of triangular-fin rockets originally included with early Mazinga releases.
• Later versions commonly include standard clipped-fin rockets.
• Box artwork shows a white rocket with red fins, creating a known collector variation.

Gaiking Release Variations

Early Mattel Gaiking Release:

• Includes the harder-to-find triangular-fin rockets from the early Mazinga production run.
• Considered the more desirable missile configuration among collectors.
• Early packaging variations may exist, although confirmed differences are primarily related to printer codes.

Later Mattel Gaiking Release:

• Replaced the triangular-fin rockets with the more common clipped-fin Shogun Warriors missiles.
• Maintains the same figure design and action features.
• Some examples, particularly Canadian-market figures, may include the unusual white missile with red fins shown on the box.

Japanese Popy Gaiking Version

The original Japanese version produced by Popy includes additional features not found on the Mattel release. The arms and head can be removed and replaced with large horns, transforming the figure into a representation of the Daiku Maryu dragon spaceship face. The U5 Gaiking version also includes similar transformation features.

While the Mattel Shogun Warriors Gaiking is relatively common compared with some other Shoguns, it remains highly collectible due to its unique dragon design, missile variations, and differences from the original Popy Jumbo Machinder release.

Please note: that the item shown here has already been sold and is no longer available. Browse our shop for Shogun Warriors Gaiking or similar Shogun Warriors figures and collectibles.