Tag: Die Cast Metal

This is a robot I bought on a trip to japan in 1985. According to my recently found notes, I purchased the Galatt DX for 13 dollars.  I wasn’t familiar with this series but I have seen some clips of him. It appears to be a spoof about the whole super robot genre as a whole. It was generally my practice to get pretty much any robot that I saw in a toy store (even if I didn’t know the series).

Galatt DX Hicompact Model Jumbow 1985 from anime Choriki Robo Galatt in 1984

Galatt from anime Choriki Robo Galatt in 1984

DX Hicompact Model Galatt Jumbow Bandai 1985

Here’s a Daidenjin Godaikin which I purchased from a little shop in Japantown, San Francisco in 1984. I bought quite a few robot figures/toys from that store. The owner retired sometime in the early 2000’s. I added a picture of what he looks like in his Super Sentai show. I think this is the Japanese DaiDenzin GB-14 DX by Popy instead of the Godaikin version, as the shop in Japantown only sold Japanese robots. This one is another robot with heavy diecast metal content, which makes it another awesome Chogokin robot.

Daidenjin Godaikin 1984

Live action show Denshi Sentai Denziman 1980-1981

Meet Flash King from Choushinsei Flashman. He joins all of his Sentai brethren in my collection. This is not a robot I coveted in the 80’s. Mostly found out about Flash King from my love of other 80’s robots as most of the information on this guy is in Japanese. This robot is pretty light for an 80’s Popy robot. I always expect some diecast metal goodness when dealing with Popy robots. Seems to be all plastic, but he is decent looking. After looking him over, looks like only the feet and chest are metal. Oops, looks like I forgot to take a picture of the front of the box. Oh well.

Flash King  is one of the nicer designs for a Super Sentai robot, I really like the color scheme and proportions. Though most ST robots don’t have an issue with this. This usually is an issue with the DX robots like Combattra, Daimos, and Daltanias. I wish i had his bigger brother Flash in Box, the DX version which seems pretty rare. Flash King looks great for a DX. This is one of my few Popy robots. I am a bit surprised,  as Popy had been reabsorbed back into Bandai in 1983 and this came out in 1986. ***

Flash King GC-33 ST by Popy Bandai Japan 1986 from tokusatsu tv show Choushinsei Flashman(超新星フラッシュマン) 1986-1987

Flash King GC-33 ST by Popy Bandai Japan 1986

Flash King GC-33 ST by Popy Bandai Japan 1986

Flash King GC-33 ST by Popy Bandai Japan 1986 from live action show Chōshinsei Furasshuman 1986-1987

Flash King GC-33 ST by Popy Bandai Japan 1986

Flash King GC-33 ST by Popy Bandai Japan 1986 from live action show Choushinsei Flashman 1986-1987

Here is the Vavilos ST. I really don’t know why, but the ST versions of these robots are often better than the DX versions. This is definitely the case in this robot. Vavilos is from the live action ‘tokusatsu’ show Space Sheriff Shaider. So think Power Rangers.

Vavilos does not have a great design. I definitely would have liked a little more detail on the head and maybe if it was a little bigger it would feel right. But the head is more proportionate, than say the arms which are a little puny and insignificant. It is like a Tyrannosaurus Rex, big body, teeny weeny arms. Oh well, if T-Rex can kick ass, then maybe Vavilos wouldn’t get the crap kicked out of him. The robot transforms from a space ship to a robot and giant gun as well, in this case I prefer the V Spaceship form. He comes with 6 yellow missiles which shoot out of the chest. The build of the legs remind me of the Dyna Robo, Goggle Robo or Change robo. The main body of the robot is just blocky, Seems like the transformations were more important in the design than the actual robot.

That being said, I like having both the DX and ST Vavilos. It fills out my Godaikin collection which is my favorite line of 80’s robots. Though if I had to be more specific, I have a big soft spot for the Popy ST line. Check out the Vavilos DX!

Vavilos GoDaiKin ST by Bandai GC-16 from Space Sheriff Shaider tokusatsu tv show from 1984-1985

Vavilos GoDaiKin ST by Bandai GC-16 from Space Sheriff Shaider tokusatsu tv show from 1984-1985

Vavilos GoDaiKin ST by Bandai GC-16 from Uchu Keiji Shaider tokusatsu tv show from 1984-1985

Here are a few fun videos from the tv show Space Sheriff Shaider!!!

I recently added Vavilos in the Bandai Godaikin packaging which is nice. So now I have some missiles to test out! I swear that is about my favorite part.

Vavilos GoDaiKin ST by Bandai GC-16 from Uchu Keiji Shaider tokusatsu tv show from 1984-1985

Vavilos GoDaiKin ST by Bandai GC-16 from Uchu Keiji Shaider tokusatsu tv show from 1984-1985

Honestly, not really sure why I got the Britt Jetter. I must have found the box art appealing(I actually like the Srungle ST and DX which are part of this line). But when I opened the box to check out the robot, I was not impressed. This one is a chunk of metal with arms and legs that move. This is one of the worst pieces I own. At least with the Shogun Warriors they were classic and appealing to look at.  The robot itself reminds of an old 80’s robot I really feel distaste for, the Starriors or a Zoid. If they had only stayed true to the image on the box I think we would have something. Sadly they made a short, stumpy version of what looks like a pretty decent mech.

Though Clover seems to be known for making big clumsy clumps of metal they call robots. I would like to pick up one of their pieces though. The Clover Gundam pieces I feel are pieces of history and I would love to have one.

Britt Jetter is from the anime Akū Daisakusen Srungle or Mission Outer Space Srungle from 1983-1984.

Britt Jetter 1/100 scale Srungle System Mecha Colection No.2 ST Clover 1983 from anime Akū Daisakusen Srungle 1983-1984

I am curious about the robot on the side of the box Babysaurs. It looks like a cool robot, but never seen it on ebay or on the internet. It is like it does not exist, which is interesting in itself. Maybe I will find it one day.

Britt Jetter 1/100 scale Srungle System Mecha Colection No.2 ST Clover 1983

Britt Jetter 1/100 scale Srungle System Mecha Colection No.2 ST Clover 1983

Britt Jetter 1/100 scale Srungle System Mecha Colection No.2 ST Clover 1983

Britt Jetter 1/100 scale Srungle System Mecha Colection No.2 ST Clover 1983

High Complete Model MS-062R-2 Johnny Ridden’s Zaku II 1/144 HCM

This is the High Complete Model MS-062R-2. I picked up all my HCM’s on eBay. I am going to have to come back and take some better pictures for these. These are terrible. I took them with my iPhone and now I wish I hadn’t. I always get this yellowish tinge on my photos.

Let’s talk about what doesn’t suck. I love this Zaku in red. It really kicks ass. It is a much better red than I have seen in the more recent Bandai MSIA releases in 2001-2003. The size and detail on these are preferable to the 4.5″ Zaku’s that came out with the Cartoon Network Toonami. This is probably my favorite HCM. The High Complete Model(HCM) were essentially completed models of anime robots usually Gundam, aimed at younger children or adults who did not have the time or skill to make model kits. Basically, me LOL.

High Complete Model MS-062R-2 Johnny Ridden’s Zaku II 1/144 HCM

High Complete Model MS-062R-2 Johnny Ridden’s Zaku II 1/144 HCM

I just added these images of the High Complete Model MS-062R-2 and they are much better than what I had up before.  It really shows off how nice this figure is. This is one of those really cool 80’s robots.

High Complete Model MS-062R-2 Johnny Ridden’s Zaku II 1/144 HCM

High Complete Model MS-062R-2 Johnny Ridden’s Zaku II 1/144 HCM

High Complete Model MS-062R-2 Johnny Ridden’s Zaku II 1/144 HCM

This Daltanious ST is one of my only Popy pieces. I prefer this smaller Daltanious to the Popy Daltanias DX(GB-01, GB-02, PB-81) as the proportions are more appealing to look at. This is a nice hunk of die cast metal. I have the larger one, but I am missing pieces and the fists which would be nice to have. I would probably just display this one, because I am just not that hot on the design on the DX. The parts on the body look too skinny on a big robot. The foot missiles zing out a nice zing 5 feet and have a surprisingly strong spring. I am a big fan of this robot as it a great looking piece and such an improvement over the DX version. The ST version never made it to the US, but we did get the Godaikin DX Daltanias version.

I originally started out with the die cast metal Shogun Warriors and moved on to these pieces as an adult. We went to Japan Town in San Francisco to see the newest Gundam and Macross robots from Japan. My cousin just went to Japan and these pieces are a bit more than I want to pay for. But it’s nice to know I can pick them up if I have the dough.

Daltanious GA-99 by Popy ST aka Daltanias 1979 Japan

Made in Japan.

Daltanious GA-99 by Popy ST 1979 Japan

Daltanious GA-99 by Popy ST aka Daltanias 1979 Japan

Daltanious GA-99 by Popy ST

Daltanious GA-99 by Popy ST from the anime Mirai Robo Daltanias 1979-1980

Daltanious GA-99 by Popy ST from the anime Mirai Robo Daltanias 1979-1980

Daltanious GA-99 by Popy ST aka Daltanias 1979 accessories

The anime Future Robot Daltanious came out in 1979-1980 where earth has been conquered by aliens. They were going to use Daltanious for the lion robot, version of Voltron, but Toei sent out GoLion instead. They loved GoLion and it became the most popular Voltron robot. Here is the original Daltanious opener for the cartoon.