Reideen the Brave GX-41 Bandai Soul of Chogokin 2008

Raydeen was another of my favorite robots from the 70’s Shogun Warriors.  I read the old Marvel Comic book, but its another one where we never saw the anime here. There was no Force Five dub on this one we could watch here. We didn’t have options like Youtube or Crunchyroll to get our anime fix, but with a little imagination and a cool metal robot we were good to go. Here is the Soul of Chogokin Reideen the Brave GX-41.  I put him next to the old 5″ Mattel Shogun Warrior Raydeen from 1979 as a point of comparison.

 

Reideen the Brave GX-41 Bandai Soul of Chogokin 2008 Raydeen Raideen front of box from anime Brave Raideen, Reideen the Brave, 勇者ライディーン Yuusha Raideen from 1975 to 1976

Reideen the Brave GX-41 Bandai Soul of Chogokin 2008 from anime Brave Raideen from 1975 to 1976

Dave added this one in Akhibara. Comparing it against the old Shogun Warriors 5 inch, I can see it is a real improvement. He looks like a pharoah from hieroglyphs. Not sure why there are so many variations on his name, I have seen it as Raydeen, Raideen or Reideen. The Soul of Chogokin version is better by far. He bears a much better resemblance to his anime version and as always the articulation and poseability are amazing in comparison.  But the old Shogun Warrior holds a special place in my heart. That being said, I can’t wait till I have one of these as well.

 

Reideen the Brave GX-41 Bandai Soul of Chogokin 2008 Raydeen Raideen back of box from anime Brave Raideen, Reideen the Brave, 勇者ライディーン Yuusha Raideen from 1975 to 1976

Reideen the Brave GX-41 Bandai Soul of Chogokin 2008 from anime 勇者ライディーン Yuusha Raideen from 1975 to 1976



UFO Robo Grendizer GX-04 Soul Of Chogokin 2000

Here are some new additions to Dave’s Collection. The Soul of Chogokin UFO Robo Grendizer GX-04 came out way back in 2000. The first one we both had was the Combatler V. Dave found this and a few others in his last trip to Japan in Akihabara. While not as large as we usually like our robots, the Soul of Chogokin makes up for it is superior poseability, actual die cast metal and awesome robot goodness from the 70’s. Grendizer hales  from the anime  UFO Robo Grandizer from 1975 to 1976 which we never got to see here in the US.

 

UFO Robo Grendizer GX-04 Bandai Grandizer Soul of Chogokin 2000 from anime Atlas Ufo Robot, Duke Fleed, Goldorak, La Guerra de los Ovnis or Las aventuras de Duke Flint, UFO Robo Grandizer, UFO Robot Goldrake, Yûfô robo Gurendaizâ UFOロボグレンダイザー from 1975 to 1976

UFO Robo Grendizer GX-04 Bandai Grandizer Soul of Chogokin 2000 from anime UFO Robo Grandizer from 1975 to 1976

Grendizer is one of the few must have robots for us as he was one of the classic super robots that came over as Shogun Warriors. The Shogun Warriors hold a special place in our hearts. While it is not a monolithic chunk of die cast goodness as the original, the articulation makes it more fun and it is more true representation of the robot from the actual cartoon.

UFO Robo Grendizer GX-04 Bandai Grandizer Soul of Chogokin 2000 from anime Atlas Ufo Robot, Duke Fleed, Goldorak, La Guerra de los Ovnis or Las aventuras de Duke Flint, UFO Robo Grandizer, UFO Robot Goldrake, Yûfô robo Gurendaizâ UFOロボグレンダイザー from 1975 to 1976

UFO Robo Grandizer GX-04 Bandai Soul of Chogokin 2000 from anime Yûfô robo Gurendaizâ from 1975 to 1976

We will likely never have the original as neither of us wants to fork out the $300-$600 it would take to get the original, but this is an great alternative. After watching an episode on Youtube I realized this was an anime series by Go Nagai. It is part of the same universe that includes Mazinger Z and Great Mazinger.  I always see the original 70’s toys from France and Italy in European packaging on eBay. I appears Grendizer was popular there as well as Goldorak in France and Goldrake in Italy.

UFO Robo Grendizer GX-04 Bandai Grandizer Soul of Chogokin 2000 from anime Atlas Ufo Robot, Duke Fleed, Goldorak, La Guerra de los Ovnis or Las aventuras de Duke Flint, UFO Robo Grandizer, UFO Robot Goldrake, Yûfô robo Gurendaizâ UFOロボグレンダイザー from 1975 to 1976

UFO Robo Grendizer GX-04 Bandai Soul of Chogokin 2000 from anime UFO Robo Grandizer UFOロボグレンダイザー from 1975 to 1976



Polyfect Tornadonumber

Tornado Number is from Polyfect Toys. It is another dollar store find. It appears to be a knockoff of a series that never made it over to the US. Granbird  from the anime  Brave Fighter Sun of Great Fighbird back in 1991-1992 came right after Transformers Generation 1 ended. I am not a fan of the Brave Series robots design wise. Takara made some robots for this in DX deluxe or STD standard versions. A lot of the robots from the series are recycled and modified from the Transformers cartoon.

Sorry, I won’t be putting up any images of this in robot mode as I will not be adding it to my collection. But the quality and build looks better than most robot knockoffs I have seen. If I actually liked the robot it would be on display now. It may be cheaply made, but it does not look cheap. They are fun additions to the site, so I will put them up on my site until they stop making them.

 

Polyfect Tornadonumber Tornado Number aka Granbird  from the anime  Brave Fighter Sun of Great Fighbird in 1991-1992 Taiyō no Yūsha Fighbird 太陽の勇者ファイバード (Japanese)

Polyfect Tornadonumber

Polyfect Toys makes a number of knockoff toys or KO for short, but the quality is much better than I would have thought initially based on Construction the Devastator KO I picked up from them. Even if they do not last, $5.99 for a cheap plastic robot will not break the bank for a nice little display robot.

Polyfect Tornadonumber Tornado Number aka Granbird  from the anime  Brave Fighter Sun of Great Fighbird in 1991-1992 Taiyō no Yūsha Fighbird 太陽の勇者ファイバード (Japanese)

Polyfect Tornado Number

I put an image of the Takara Granbird below. Look familiar?

Yuusha The Brave Fighter Of Sun Fighbird DX Granbird Takara 1991 タカラ 太陽の勇者ファイバード   グランバード DX

Yuusha The Brave Fighter Of Sun Fighbird DX Granbird Takara 1991

Polyfect Tornadonumber Tornado Number aka Granbird  from the anime  Brave Fighter Sun of Great Fighbird in 1991-1992 Taiyō no Yūsha Fighbird 太陽の勇者ファイバード (Japanese)

Polyfect Tornadonumber Tornado Number


Polyfect Power Goldan

Meet Power Goldan or Ougon Gattai Goldran from the anime Ōgon Yūsha Goldran from 1995-1996. I had never heard of Polyfect Toys till I bought Construction(Devastator knock off). They seem to be the fine purveyors of knockoff robots. Power Goldan will not be a part of my collection, but I find this toy line fascinating. The quality is not terrible and these are not the worst robots I have ever seen. But they are all plastic, the color is terrible, and this one looks kinda cheap. The instructions show he can turn into a dinosaur/dragon type robot and back.

Polyfect Power Goldan Powergoldan from anime Goldran the Brave of Gold, Ōgon Yūsha Goldran 黄金勇者ゴルドラン (Japanese) from 1995-1996 Gorudoran

Polyfect Power Goldan Powergoldan

I always find cheap robots fun and really tacky(which is the fun part). So if you don’t mind spending a few bucks on Power Goldan you can add him to your collection on the cheap. I hope they keep extending this line until I see something I like robot wise.

 

Polyfect Power Goldan Powergoldan from anime Goldran the Brave of Gold, Ōgon Yūsha Goldran 黄金勇者ゴルドラン (Japanese) from 1995-1996 Gorudoran

Polyfect Power Goldan Powergoldan



Polyfect Power Goldan Powergoldan from anime Goldran the Brave of Gold, Ōgon Yūsha Goldran 黄金勇者ゴルドラン (Japanese) from 1995-1996 Gorudoran

Polyfect Power Goldan Powergoldan

More from the Bandai Museum…

More pictures from the Bandai Museum. Here are some pictures for your pleasure. Sorry, Dave took them from his phone so they are not that good. A lot of them are blurry or the focus is off. Other than that, they are still pretty cool to look at.

 

Bandai Museum Combatler V display Tochigi prefecture Mibu

Bandai Museum Combatler V display Tochigi prefecture Mibu

This is one of the robots I would love to add to my collection. This Combatler-V has nicer proportions than the DX version Combine Box. On the lower row are the ST Combatler and the little 3 inch Shogun Warrior version of Combatler.

Bandai Museum Getter Robo robot display Tochigi prefecture Mibu

Bandai Museum Getter Robo robot display Tochigi prefecture Mibu

The Getter Robo display with the ships on the left that form Getter Liger, Getter Dragon, and Getter Poseidon along the top. On the bottom row are Getter 1, Getter 2 and Getter 3.
Bandai Museum Gaiking Gunbuster robot display Tochigi prefecture Mibu
Daimos ST & DX, Don Hakka,  and Batten Robo Maru at the bottom, Gaiking, Daiku Maryu, and Gunbuster,

Bandai Museum Machine Robo display Tochigi prefecture MibuTank Transer BW-1 and Jet Transer JW-1

Bandai Museum Super Robot display Tochigi prefecture Mibu

Bandai Museum Super Robot display Tochigi prefecture Mibu

Popy Tin Gaiking, Getter Dragon, Dangard Ace Dia Battle(Diaclone).


Bandai Museum Voltes V Volt in Box display Tochigi prefecture Mibu

Voltes V Volt in Box display Tochigi prefecture Mibu

Volt-in Box Popy Voltes V

Bandai Museum

My cousin Dave is in Japan now hunting for robots and he made it out to the Bandai Museum in Mibu 100 km from Tokyo. He was a little miffed it was 2.5 hours away by train. 5 hours on a train both ways would drive me nuts. I guess they do not want a lot of tourist traffic as it is so far off the beaten track.

It does not look like much based the the pictures he took. I have a feeling it is a really small museum. His picture taking skills need a little work based the image of the Sentai robot display. Guess I will have to make it out there myself if I want better pictures.

 

Bandai Museum Sentai robot display Tochigi prefecture Mibu Japan (バンダイミュージアム Bandai Myūjiamu)

Bandai Museum Sentai robot display Mibu, Japan

Due to the quality of the image, I can only make out a few of the Sentai robots. Along the top i see the older ones. On the top left going right I see, Battle Fever J, Daidenjin, Sun Vulcan, Goggle V, Dyjupiter, Dyna Robo, Bio Robo, Change Robo. On the second row from the top I can make out gold robots, Turbo Robo, and Super Turbo Robo. On the third row Star Five, Turbo Robo the, Magma Base just dominates, it is just huge Jet Garuda, Jet Icarus . On the fourth row I can make out VicTrailer, MegaVoyager, BullTaurus, GingaiOh, Giga Phoenix

Bandai Museum Vavilos Space Sheriff Shaider(宇宙刑事シャイダー Uchū Keiji Shaidā) robot display Mibu, Japan(バンダイミュージアム Bandai Myūjiamu)

Bandai Museum Vavilos Space Sheriff Shaider robot display Mibu, Japan

Bandai Museum(バンダイミュージアム Bandai Myūjiamu) Daltanious(未来ロボ ダルタニアス Mirai Robo Darutaniasu)  robot display Tochigi prefecture Mibu

Bandai Museum Daltanious/Daltanias robot display Tochigi prefecture Mibu

Bandai Museum(バンダイミュージアム Bandai Myūjiamu) Jumbo Machinder robot display Tochigi prefecture Mibu

Bandai Museum Jumbo Machinder robot display Tochigi prefecture Mibu

So listed from the top left to right are Daimos, Daitetsujin 17, Five Robo. On the bottom row are Daltanious, Combattler V and Tetsujin 28.


Bandai Museum Popy robot display Mibu, Japan

Bandai Museum Popy robot display Mibu, Japan

Muteking on top, Eva Police, Postoller, Robot 8 Chan(Robo Hacchan), dol Giran, Godsigma ST on the second row

Polyfect Toys Construction 7″ combiner robots

This is Construction(lamest name ever, right?). I found this combiner robot at Danny’s Carwash 6 years ago. Aside from the robot’s name and brand Polyfect Toys, there is almost no English on the package. It’s all in Chinese. But what this really is, is a really cool knock off of the Generation 1 Devastator. Go figure. I had hours of fun playing with these at my desk at work transforming them when I was bored.

 

Polyfect Toys Construction 7" combiner robots Devastator Constructicon Knockoff 37 Diaclone,.  Foreign names - Japanese- Devastor (デバスター Debasutā), French- Dévastateur (Canada), Italian- Uragan, Mandarin- Hǔei-mìeh Chě, Taiwan- 毀滅者, Róu-lìn Chě, Taiwan- 蹂躪者, "Devastator"), Dà Lì Shén (China, 大力神, "Hercules"), Portuguese- Devastador

Polyfect Toys Construction 7″ combiner robots Chinese Devastator Knockoff




The only other English on the box besides Construction is the name of each combiner robot, the distributor, and the choking warning. The names are as generic as you can get(Building, Feeding, Picking, Sanitation, Ravage, Disguise). Wonder what genius figured out those names? Anyway, I lost this piece and I found it again at the Dollar Store. Guess they keep pumping out more of these, but I am glad they did.  I see some Spanish on these, so they must be selling it in Spain or Mexico too. Probably China too, seeing as there is Chinese all over it.

Polyfect Toys Construction 7" combiner robots Devastator Constructicon Knockoff 37 Diaclone,.  Foreign names - Japanese- Devastor (デバスター Debasutā), French- Dévastateur (Canada), Italian- Uragan, Mandarin- Hǔei-mìeh Chě, Taiwan- 毀滅者, Róu-lìn Chě, Taiwan- 蹂躪者, "Devastator"), Dà Lì Shén (China, 大力神, "Hercules"), Portuguese- Devastador

Polyfect Toys Construction 7″ combiner robots Chinese Devastator Knockoff


This is a fun piece to have and such a great price. I only ever had 2 of the original G1 Constructicons, so it is nice to have them all in this piece. I am wondering why they are still selling the Polyfect Construction after all these years. I am thinking Takara must have sold them rights to use the original molds as they look identical to the original Devastator. The quality is not that great(the plastic is cheap and the paint job is not that good), but now I feel much more comfortable transforming each of these as I did not spend a ton on these robots.

Prowl Masterpiece Edition MP-04 Hasbro Transformers 2014

Prowl is a nice piece to add your Masterpiece collection(probably the best one this year). I have yet to own one of the Masterpiece Editions, but this one is making me think about it. I usually try to add the cheaper new Transformers or pieces from the 70’s, 80’s and early 90’s.

Prowl is one of my favorite Autobots and one of the better Generation 1 toys.  I never had one and this piece is so much nicer than the original G1 robot by far, but for the price I wish it was a little taller than 7 inches.  It looks so close to the cartoon version it is making me itch to see the old cartoons again. From the pose on the box it has much more articulation than the original, so poses will be much more fun than what you could do before. The police car transformation really looks great, but the robot form is where the toy really shines. What a beautiful version of Prowl. Though it seems a lot of people prefer the Takara version. The only big plus I can see is that the missile launchers shoot( I actually prefer the white missile launchers to the original black ones. They look too big). One other plus I see is the Takara box is so much smaller. The Hasbro box seems like a space waster. You can get either version on Amazon, eBay or ToysRUs.com.

Prowl Masterpiece MP-04 2014 Autobot Hasbro-  Foreign names Japanese(プロール Purōru), Cantonese(Tsim-Hang-Shou 潛行獸), French (Cervo, Rôdeur), Italian (Pantera ("Panther"),   Mandarin (Pái-húai Taiwan, 徘徊, "Prowl"), Jǐng Chē (China, 警車, "Police Car"), Portuguese (Batedor or Espreitador)

Prowl Masterpiece MP-04 2014 Autobot Hasbro Intelligence Specialist


If you are going to pick up a Masterpiece robot Prowl blows away Sunstorm. And the Masterpiece Grimlock re-release is just another reissue. So they will likely put him back out again in some form or other.

Prowl Masterpiece MP-04 2014 Autobot Hasbro Intelligence Specialist back of box Foreign names Japanese(プロール Purōru), Cantonese(Tsim-Hang-Shou 潛行獸), French (Cervo, Rôdeur), Italian (Pantera ("Panther"),   Mandarin (Pái-húai Taiwan, 徘徊, "Prowl"), Jǐng Chē (China, 警車, "Police Car"), Portuguese (Batedor or Espreitador)

Prowl Masterpiece MP-04 2014 Autobot Hasbro Intelligence Specialist

Sunstorm Masterpiece Edition MP-05 Hasbro

On a recent trek to Toys R’ Us I found a stack of Masterpiece Sunstorms. It was a pleasant surprise and they were fun to look at. I am afraid that the bright yellow color is so ugly, that I will never seriously consider adding this piece to my collection. Maybe if they blow Sunstorm out here on clearance for $30, but I will not be paying $79.99 to add this Toys R’ Us exclusive due to limited funds and space.

I do not have a Masterpiece Seeker in my collection and would love to add one of the other ones like Skywarp, Thundercracker, or Starscream, but Sunstorm is very low on my list. I wish they had chosen another robot for the Masterpiece edition. Say Shockwave or Arcee.  Instead they do a redeco of Takara’s Masterpiece MP-11 Starscream mold, which kinda tells me they are too lazy to make a new mold. They are really milking this one.  The sculpt is the same one they used on the Acid Storm and Thundercracker which were also Toys R Us exclusives as well. It is an amazing sculpt and I do not blame them for re-using it, but it would be nice to get some new original product. Maybe if they used the orange/goldish color in the first cartoon I would actually be interested in this robot.

Sunstorm Masterpiece MP-05 2014 Hasbro Decepticon Spark Hunter and Seeker(サンストーム Sansutōmu)

Sunstorm Masterpiece MP-05 Masterpiece Edition 2014 Hasbro Decepticon Spark Hunter


Sunstorm Masterpiece MP-05 2014 Hasbro Decepticon Spark Hunter and Seeker(サンストーム Sansutōmu)

Sunstorm Masterpiece MP-05 Masterpiece Edition 2014 Hasbro Decepticon Spark Hunter


Jetfire Generations 2014 Leader Class 30th Anniversary

 

The most amazing Transformers robot to come out in years, just showed up at my local Toys R’ Us(For me, feel free to dispute my claim. I am partial to planes.).  I am a huge fan of the new Generations Jetfire, which puts the “Thrilling” in the Thrilling 30th Anniversary of our favorite robots. The robot looks amazing as a robot and a plane, but the robot form takes the cake.  I have been waiting months for this robot to come out and I have not been disappointed. Jetfire looks pretty darn close to his G1 roots as a robot. Which is great as the original Generation 1 toy looked nothing like the cartoon. It was based on the Takatoku Toys Macross VF-1S Super Valkyrie which I have and love(it is one of my only 1980’s Valkyries), but was disappointed as well. It was not until the Classics Jetfire Transformers Voyager line in 2006 that we actually received a Jetfire robot that remains true to the show.  It only took 20 years. So if you do not want to throw down the dough for the 2006 Jetfire(which is a great piece, this is an awesome alternative).

Jetfire comes with a few accessories a missile launcher, arm cannons, turbo thrusters, and removable battle helmet. My favorite is the helmet. It makes him look a little like the old Macross Valkyrie, but with it off he looks like the G1 robot we have all been waiting for.  The thrusters and arm cannons give him weapons and the thrusters are nice as they remind me of on the ones on my original Jetfire G1 robot. I do not really care for the metallic red on the thrusters and guns, but it is more of a matter of taste as it does not really detract from the robot itself. If you are as excited about Jetfire as I am, you can buy him from Amazon here.

 

Jetfire Transformers Generations Autobot 2014 Leader Class Skyfire Hasbro 30th Anniversary

Hasbro Jetfire Transformers Generations Autobot 2014 Leader Class Skyfire 30th Anniversary

 

Hasbro Jetfire Transformers Generations Autobot 2014 Hasbro Leader Class Skyfire 30th Anniversary. Jetfire aka Skyfire (スカイファイアー Sukaifaiā) and Jetfire (G-2, ジェットファイヤー Jettofaiyā) in Japan, Tin Fo (Hong Kong, 天火, "Sky Fire") Cantonese and Tīen Hǔo (Taiwan, 天火, "Sky Fire")Mandarin in China, Bolide (Canada, "Meteor"), Aquila ("Eagle") Italy, and Jacto (Portugal, "Jet").

Jetfire Generations Hasbro Transformers Autobot Hasbro 2014 Leader Class Skyfire 30th Anniversary

Jetfire Transformers Generations Autobot 2014 Leader Class Skyfire 30th Anniversary. Jetfire aka Skyfire (スカイファイアー Sukaifaiā) and Jetfire (G-2, ジェットファイヤー Jettofaiyā) in Japan, Tin Fo (Hong Kong, 天火, "Sky Fire") Cantonese and Tīen Hǔo (Taiwan, 天火, "Sky Fire")Mandarin in China, Bolide (Canada, "Meteor"), Aquila ("Eagle") Italy, and Jacto (Portugal, "Jet").

Jetfire Generations Transformers Autobot 2014 Leader Class Skyfire 30th Anniversary

I haven’t purchased Jetfire, but I am sure I will have one soon.

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