Siclonoid is one of the few Convertors whose everyday form is hideous and frightening. Because of this he has to be an expert in concealment to avoid being spotted by earthlings. He's so evil, Siclonoid must be approached with complete caution. He is one of the deadliest robot Convertors, capable of converting into a robotic tarantula, mosquito, or spider at a moment's notice.
Siclonoid
Siclonoid is one of the seven licensed Takara toys used for the Grandstand Convertors lineup. As with the majority of figures this is very much unchanged from Takaras original Japanese release; however this is the second Takara figure to be released in the Convertors line which comes with the Italian Diaclone GiGs styled safety "mushroom" missiles (the first being Silorg Warrior) rather than the original 6 yellow missiles which came with both the original and North Americas Kronoform version.
The safety missiles with this version are black differing from the red GiG versions, though the box art depicts the red missiles. Siclonoid has been mistransformed slightly on the main box artwork where the legs have not been fully extended giving it a squat appearance.
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| Siclonoid |
Siclonoid was released in the UK market around 1985 for an expensive £18.99 which in todays money works out around £55 ($80 USD). Price is one of the reasons the Convertors line didn't do so well especially when competing with the Transformers. When faced with the choice at the time I'd say Optimus Prime would have been more preferable, and even Optimus was cheaper in 1985 (around £13.99).
Siclonoid is a giftset of 3 vehicles shaped like insects / arachnids: Mosquito, Spider and Tarantula. I'm not sure why they changed the names to Spider or Tarantula, they should really have stuck with Ant and Scorpion respectively.
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| Mosquito |
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| Spider |
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| Tarantula |
Although there is space in the box, this figure did not come with the 3 Waruder pilots.
The 3 vehicles do not turn into individual robots but combine into a large robot. Mosquito is the head, Spider is the torso and arms, Tarantula is the leg section. Transforming the figure is simple enough though it does feel a little on the fragile side, perhaps this is one reason it was never released in the Transformers toy line as well as not turning into Earthern styled vehicles. It is predominantly made of plastic with some die cast metal part of the Tarantula (Scorpion) leg section.
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| Instructions scan |
As with the majority of Diaclone figures at the time there is minimal articulation, you can turn the arms at the elbow and thats about it. The arms can also be rotated upwards at the shoulder but that is really part of the transformation. It features spring loaded wrists where you can either slot in the robot claw hands or missiles. Unlike Transformer releases, the springs were kept in this figure so the missiles / fists do spring out a fair distance.
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| Unused sticker sheet scan |
Overall, its part of Diaclones rich history and it is an interesting figure; if you are after a Warudaros / Siclonoid figure, the Grandstand Convertors is probably the one to get mainly as its much cheaper on the secondary market. In saying that however it is less common to find the Grandstand Convertors version; it really only goes cheaper as not many people have heard about Siclonoid. From the Convertors line it is third most expensive to get on the second hand market, the top two being Zetanoid and Silorg Warrior.
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| Vehicle Modes: Siclonoid with the 2004 e-Hobby Insections which are based on the original Diaclone versions |
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| Robot Modes: Siclonoid with the 2004 e-Hobby Insections which are based on the original Diaclone versions |
Origins
Warudaros (Diaclone)
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| Warudaros giftset (Source: eBay) |
Originally released late 1981 under Takaras Diaclone line, Warudaros was available in a giftset of all three vehicles for 2980 yen, you could also buy the three vehicles separately for 980 yen each. The copyright stamp on these figures reads "Takara Japan" which is the only way to tell the difference from the original Diaclone figures from the later releases in other toylines.
Part of the Waruder Army, this was one of the first villains released for the Diaclone toyline. The three vehicles are called Mosquider (head section), Arinder (torso section) & Sasorander (leg section).
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| Mosquider (Source: Yahoo Auctions) |
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| Arinder (Source: Yahoo Auctions) |
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| Sasorander (Source: Yahoo Auctions) |
Warudaros (Mini Diaclone Series)
As well as its release in the main Diaclone series, Warudaros was also released in the "Mini Diaclone Series" which were smaller model kits which you had to detach parts from plastic sprues and assemble yourself. The three vehicles were sold separately for 100 yen each, there was no giftset available in this line.
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| Mosquider Mini Diaclone Series #4 (Source: Yahoo Auctions) |
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| Arinder Mini Diaclone Series #5 (Source: Yahoo Auctions) |
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| Sasorander Mini Diaclone Series #6 (Source: Yahoo Auctions) |
Warudaros (GiG Diaclone)
Identical to Takaras original Warudaros, the only difference with GiGs Italian release is the inclusion of the 6 red safety missiles which replaced the smaller yellow missiles of the original.
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| Warudaros (Source: eBay) |
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| Warudaros (Source: eBay) |
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| Warudaros (Source: eBay) |
Wargon (Kronoform)
The Kronoform toyline was a continuation of Takaras North American "Diakron" toyline which was released in 1984. Wargon was one of the villains of the line called the "Terminators". Sold for around USD $15.97, Wargon was only available in the giftset of all three vehicles. The original 6 yellow missiles came with this release but like Siclonoid, this did not come with the three Diaclone pilots. The three vehicles were called: Stinger Insect Robot (Mosquider), Gorp Insect Robot (Arinder) & Scorpion Insect Robot (Sasorander).
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| Wargon (Source: eBay) |
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| Wargon (Source: eBay) |
Waldalos (Revell Diaclone)
This was another model kit released in France by model maker Revell under the Joustra Diaclone banner.
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| Waldalos (Source: eBay) |
Insect Warrior (Knock Off)
This is the only knock off version of Warudaros that I have come across. Its a Taiwanese knock off which is reportedly of good quality.
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