GigaBitus: The Shark That Opens into a Launch Base

A carrier that stands up

A shark-shaped ship has become a towering robot, but its broad feet are still on the ground and its bow still points forward. GigaBitus changes the height of its hangars. That is the useful trick behind its two forms.

In Seijuu Sentai Gingaman, this giant Steel Starbeast carries the machines that form GigaRhinos and GigaPhoenix. The long, low Cruiser Mode becomes the upright Scramble Mode. Follow the white shark bow in the pictures: it rises into the chest, leaving a second level beneath it. The two blue towers that stood behind the bridge now slope toward the lower hangars. Artbook, p. 043.

The toy’s side view catches the change halfway through. It is a useful angle for seeing how much of the ship lifts together.

Roads below, runways above

Standing up gives the two fleets different exits. The GigaWheels, the ground machines associated with GigaRhinos, leave through the lower bays. The GigaWings, the aircraft associated with GigaPhoenix, emerge from the chest and side pods. The design drawings show both kinds of door doing a second job: opened panels become routes out of the carrier. Artbook, p. 043.

Look for three red vehicles sharing one lower compartment. Upstairs, three blue aircraft occupy the shark’s mouth, with the other two in the side pods. Opening everything makes the toy’s body readable as a small building. Original toy photographs.

Ten small passengers

The photographs show Bandai’s original Japanese Super Starbeast Fortress GigaBitus. Its cargo is a set of ten miniatures. These are the little red and blue machines pictured below; the separate DX combining toys do not fit inside this carrier. Original package and contents.

The artbook records a tantalizing alternative: an overseas deluxe version able to store the DX Chogokin toys was planned, but never realized. It does not explain why. That makes the miniature fleet a significant part of the released toy’s identity: you can open a complete network of hangars without assembling a much larger collection inside it. Artbook, p. 043.

The launch came first

Drawing 47 shows an earlier GigaBitus surrounded by departing machines. The book identifies the carrier as a preliminary design. Its blunt, angular front looks different from the finished shark, yet the action is already familiar: aircraft fan out above while vehicles roll down ramps below.

Compare the sketch with the opened toy. The silhouette changed, but this particular drawing already makes the two-level launch the center of attention. It lets us see the intended spectacle before the polished blue-and-white exterior. Early Sketches, p. 145.

Find the second face

There are two faces to find. The enormous shark bow is easy. Above it, the small blue bridge becomes a head of its own. The artbook points out the toothlike trim shared with the other Steel Starbeasts; a silver face sits beneath it. Artbook, p. 043.

That little head makes the carrier look back at you. Open the bays below it, and the rest of the design reveals its job: a mouth becomes a flight deck, doors become ramps, and a closed shark-shaped hull becomes a place from which an entire fleet can leave.