Dinoshi is the analog to G1 Pretender Monster Bristleback
and Victory Dinoforce member Gairyu, and serves as the other arm of Ryu-Oh,
opposite Dinoni. This is another rather slender figure, setting it apart from
four of the other five team members. This takes a different approach to
combiner limb figures, as most other combiners, official product or otherwise,
maintain a generally uniform size among the four limb figures. It will be
interesting to see how Ryu-Oh turns out in combined mode with arms that will be
smaller than the legs.
This figure also kills a pretty long standing theory here at
the Coffin, that of third party companies somehow not being capable of
producing sliding parts, as the robot legs slide during transformation. Ok, we
were wrong.
Anyway, Dinoshi is a slender green and white robot with a
cool head sculpt that kind of looks like a pilot’s helmet, which would probably
have been better suited for a figure like Dinoni, who is clearly a flying
creature. Dinoshi is fairly apparently more of a ground trooper, and its
monster mode is much more land based than a pilot helmet seems appropriate for.
It is a good look, just one that seems a little odd at times. It’s honestly not
a big deal, or really even worth the time that is being spent on it; it’s just
a thing that gets a person thinking when there’s that brief second of each day
that does not demand attention to other thoughts. Much like Dinoni, Dinoshi is
fun to fiddle with while watching TV or some other idle activity, and this is
thanks to the simple transformation scheme. Ball jointed everything makes
Dinoshi very poseable. The monster head in the center of the robot chest is a
classic look, one that never gets old despite its being a dead giveaway for how
the transformation actually works. On Dinoshi the chest head is a great thing,
because without it, the figure would be pretty boring looking. The two color
green and white paint job is simple and efficient, but again like Dinoni,
doesn’t make for a very striking look, especially not in the overall matte
colors of the team. This figure comes with the best blaster out of the entire
six member set as well: at least it is something most visually reminiscent of a
blaster, unlike some of the weapons that are essentially plastic blocks. This
lack of imagination in weaponry, it turns out, is because the six individual
blasters will all combine to form the blaster for Ryu-Oh, so once more, individuals
on a combiner team suffer somehow for the betterment of the whole. Regardless,
Dinoshi has a blaster that looks good, despite being a little too large for
him.
In general, Dinoshi is the same basic figure, or maybe
employs the same basic skeleton, as Dinoni does. They even transform the same
way, but since Dinoshi ends up being a four legged monster and Dinoni a bipedal
flying one, the illusion of two totally separate toys is created. But the
similarities are only skeletal, as Dinoshi’s is covered in new parts and has a
super neat leg transformation step where the rear monster legs are mounted on
swiveling panels that place them behind the robot legs in robot mode, totally
concealing them. It is a super cool moment in the transformation process, the “wow”
moment of the figure. Other than that, the transformation is rather standard,
with monster feet that flip up to cover the robot hands and a head that tucks
down into the monster head.
Monster mode is a neat little thing, eliciting thoughts of a
small or young creature that is trying its best to be menacing; an “aw, how
cute” beast. Certainly that is not what Dinoshi is going for, and probably
doesn’t appreciate condescending response. But compared to the others in the
set, this is the cute monster. Tiny wings give the suggestion of a flight mode,
or perhaps a wing-assisted leaping ability. This is a totally unprovable
statement, but Dinoshi also appears to have the most recognizable monster mode,
as it is a clearly defined monster, not the suggestions of monsters that
Dinoichi and Dinosan are.
The beast mode is also very poseable, again thanks to ball
jointed forelegs and hind legs that offer just enough movement. The jaw opens,
a par for the course type of feature, but still generally something that is
appreciated in monster or animal modes. The robot legs slide upwards towards
the torso, proving wrong that crazy idea that third parties were not able for
some reason to master this technology. (ok, I was the only one who thought
that. AND, I should have known better, because Nemean does this also. – mr) The
paint looks better on the monster mode than it does the robot mode, even though
there isn’t a way to explain why. They look bright, something that the other
figures never really manage to do. Dinoshi doesn’t have quite the same degree
of matte appearance the others have, as he is much more vibrant, while still lacking
anything that approaches a shine or gloss. 
Overall, Dinoshi is a good figure. Previous entry Dinosan
was sort of a letdown from what was, and is, a good set of toys. Dinosan wasn’t
that bad, but was lacking in clear and defined modes, something Dinoshi gets
back to doing just as well as the initial two team members. It feels a bit
difficult to find things to say about this toy, but that should not be
interpreted as an issue of the toy itself. Everything about this is a good experience,
and Dinoshi may be the best of the first four Saurus figures. Dinoichi would
probably want to test that idea out, but still. In truth, this piece was rushed
to completion due to the arrival of Dinoroku and Dinogo, the last two
components of Ryu-Oh, and those have stolen most of the enthusiasm of the
entire set for the moment. It will be interesting to see how the combined mode
looks, as both of the arm figures are considerably slighter than the other
four. Like, considerably. Most of the time, combiners do maintain the pattern
of all limb figures being the same size, as it preserves a general symmetry for
the combined form. 
It does feel bad that there doesn’t seem to be more to say
about Dinoshi, as this is a nice toy and one that has been in hand for many
nights of TV on the couch. But the big picture is that it is good at everything
it does, and that apparently leaves little to actually point out. It’s not due
to a lack of enthusiasm or anything, as this has been a figure much enjoyed
since it was added to the collection, and as has been alluded to, the full
Saurus set is now in the Coffin’s possession, so the enthusiasm for the group
is the highest it has been since the first four came home after TFCon 2016.
Dinoshi is another one of those third party combiner figures that could absolutely
be purchased individually, with no intentions of completing the set, and
thoroughly enjoyed by itself, like if your collection just needed some generic
bad guy monster robots, something like Sharkticons, that you felt it was ok to
pay the normal e-tail price of $70 for. In fact, if the price were better, that
might actually be a pretty cool idea, as this would make for a good generic robot
soldier or generic Sharkticon-esque robot monster. Can’t imagine anyone
actually doing that though.
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