Big Moth

Piloted by Ryo Shiba, the calm and collected martial artist of the CBF Team, the Big Moth has three modes: Heavy Tank, Woolly Mammoth and Humanoid Form. It forms the body (and bulk) of Dancougar.

Okay, so if you’re a Godzilla fan, then “Big Moth” doesn’t mean the same to you as it does to Dancougar fans. I don’t have the faintest idea about where the name for this thing came from, other than it is big, and its beast form is a mammoth. So, if you take the big, and put it with the last part of mammoth, you get “Big Moth”. I know, I know… don’t ask me, I didn’t make it up!

Tank Mode:

The Big Moth has real rubber tracks for the tank mode, and the cockpit canopy is clear red plastic, unlike the Eagle Fighter’s solid painted metal. The five-gun installation on the tank’s back perfectly captures the anime version’s armament, right down to the slotted muzzle breaks. The muli-tube trainable rocket launcher pods are also present and fully articulated, and the four AA cannons beside the cockpit are nicely done, as well.

The only flaw, to me, is that the tank looks like something else folded up (which, of course, it is). It doesn’t have the nice slab-sided appearnce it does in the anime, but it does hold together fairly well. To help with this, there’s a clip that connects the front “legs” to the back ones.

Front three-quarters view of the Big Moth in Tank mode. There are many guns and rockets on this thing. This toy weighs a ton!

Rear three-quarters view shows that the Tank really looks like something else folded up. The guns still rule!

Here you can see the rear bogeys and the clip that holds the front and back legs together; it’s at the extreme right of the shot.

A closer look at the Big Moth’s best feature; the trainable missile boxes! Cool in the show, these are even cooler to play with in real life!

Mammoth mode:

The Big Moth’s beast mode is that of a woolly mammoth, complete with tusks and trunk! Its huge size gives it a mass advantage in ramming and stomping enemy mecha, and the tank’s full arsenal of weapons is also at its disposal.

The mammoth mode is basically a walking fortress, and is difficult to defeat. However, it is also difficult to right if toppled, so Ryo has to watch out for holes, ledges and any other traps that could render the Mammoth immobilized.

The SoC gets the mammoth mode very well, far better than the tank mode. The trunk has some limited articulation, thanks to a ball joint in the middle, but it’s painted to look like each section is separate. This is a nice touch.

The mammoth was my favourite machine in the show, and this mode doesn’t disappoint me at all.

This elephant never forgets! It also never misses, thanks to its immense arsenal of weapons! Note the nice ribbing on the trunk to simulate the separate links as seen in the show.

This view serves to illustrate the size of the Big Moth, as well as how small the beast’s “eyes” are. They’re the little red slits down low on the head.

Humanoid Form:

The Big Moth makes a suitably big Humanoid, and this form is likely the most imposing of them all. With a build that would put most football players to shame, the Big Moth is definitely the muscle of the CBF when in humanoid form.  Despite having the tank turret on its back, this form is very stable, thanks to the weight of the Big Moth and its large metal feet.

Also, the humanoid form is quite poseable, something that comes in handy when forming Dancougar.  Like the Eagle, the Big Moth has a rifle. However, this massive gun is as big as the Moth itself! The gun dwarfs the other mecha in the CBF, and only the Big Moth can handle it. Like big robots and big guns? Good… you got them both with this guy!

Stalky, heavy and armed to the teeth, the Humanoid form tells the Muge troops to expect a beatdown. He never lies…

This gives a good idea of the size of the Moth’s rifle, or, more appropriately, BFG. Bad idea to be on the receiving end of that thing…

The rubber tracks for tank mode are clearly seen here, on the back of the legs. These even have tread print on them!