Tag: ST

Here is Dynaman the American incarnation of Dyna Robo from Kagaku Sentai Dynaman. This one had a Robo Machine repackaging sticker on it. I guess Bandai couldn’t sell them as Godaikins so they repackaged them as Robo Machine without creating new product, but that is what the Godaikin series was. The box is in sucky condition but the robot is mint. I would actually display these if I didn’t have to dust them. The head shoots off, and you can shoot off a missile from hole in the head. I am a big fan of the ST sized robots, this is one of them. Hopefully I can pick up a few more. Though this is one of the Godaikins where I really do like the DX version as well. The design is typical  of Popy ST robots that come with a sword, shield and shooting fists. This is one of the robots that got me into this hobby in the first place. I love this guy!

Dynaman ST GoDaikin by Bandai 1984

An Innovative Series of Super Robots

Dynaman ST GoDaikin by Bandai 1984

Dynaman ST GoDaikin by Bandai 1984

Dynaman ST GoDaikin by Bandai 1984

Dynaman ST GoDaikin by Bandai 1984

I picked Giant Gorg up because I had the DX version. I have been meaning to take pictures of all my DX and ST robots together to see how they look. I am a big fan of most of the ST models and like to compare them to their DX brethren. Giant Gorg is not one of them. This is the only one I have seen so far where the ST version is so badly inferior to the DX.  The Gorg ST is not very detailed even once you put the stickers on. They didn’t even bother to make the gun out of gray plastic. If you like the Giant Gorg, the big blue DX version is the way to go. The DX really shines in comparison to this one in detail and quality.

The robot is definitely is made of metal as it has quite a heft for a little bugger, but it’s nothing to write home about. Basically it is a big blue chunk of metal and plastic. There is almost no detail. It would have been nice if they painted a little detail on Gorg here. But it was cheap so I really can’t say too much. The anime must have been pretty bad or the anime was not that popular, because I was able to pick this up at a pretty cheap price. After a little more thought, this ST is so easy to pick up as it is just a crappy piece.

Giant Gorg ST 1/100 Scale Takara 1984 Japan from anime tv show Giant Gorg 1984

Giant Gorg ST 1/100 Scale Real Proportion Model Takara 1984

Giant Gorg ST 1/100 Scale Takara 1984 from anime tv show Kyoshin Gorg 1984

Giant Gorg ST 1/100 Takara 1984 from anime tv show Giant Gorg 1984

Tune in to the next

The same GORG time. The same GORG channel.

Had a good laugh about the Batman inspired text at the end of the Giant Gorg episode. So I watched a few episodes on YouTube and I kinda enjoyed it. It really is aimed at kids, but most of the anime for robots I have see really are. But this one more so than others. Think 13 year old boy and humongous effing robot. It’s like hanging around with ET who can kick everyone’s ass. Found a thoughtful review on the show here.

My cousin Dave bought Mugen Caliber for me in Japan in the 80’s. So I was a little disappointed back then because I wanted one of those big ass Chogokin robots he had. I appreciate having this now. It’s a nice piece. Much better by far than the Ovelon Gazzette from the same anime.  I am hoping to add the 1/55 Bonaparte Tulcas tank or 1/55 Mugen Caliber which is a little bigger than the one I have from the Dorvack line to my collection. Mugen Caliber was released in Generation 1 Transformers as Roadbuster. Mugen Caliber has a realistic look to the robot that I appreciate compared to most robots that were pulled into the Transformers line. I can actually imagine it as a real robot.

My cousin is going to Japan next month. Maybe he can pick it up for me on the way back. I am glad I still have the box, he threw away most of his so he could pack as many robots into his suitcase as he could.

I never watched the anime as it was never brought to the US. Here is the intro for the anime Special Armored Battalion Dorvack 1983-1984. It’s nice to see Mugen Caliber and Bonaparte Tulcas in action. What I have seen so far is pretty good. I will have to dig around for more episodes.

Mugen Calibur Variable Vehicle VV-54AR 1/72 Scale Takatoku 1983 Japan

Mugen Calibur Variable Vehicle VV-54AR 1/72 Scale Takatoku Toys 1983 Japan

Mugen Calibur Variable Vehicle VV-54AR 1/72 Scale Takatoku Toys 1983 Japan

The Japanese as always pack the robots with a lot of accessories which is always fun. This one comes with armor, guns, some rounds and jetpack. The orange and yellow color scheme is pretty nice. I can imagine it as a realistic desert camouflage. It gives me a break from the standard Super Sentai robot colors of blue, red, yellow and silver.

Mugen Calibur Variable Vehicle VV-54AR 1/72 Scale Takatoku Toys 1983 Japan

Mugen Caliber Variable Vehicle VV-54AR 1/72 Scale Takatoku 1983 Japan

Mugen Calibur Variable Vehicle VV-54AR 1/72 Scale Takatoku Toys 1983 Japan

Mugen Caliber Variable Vehicle VV-54AR 1/72 Scale Takatoku 1983 Japan from anime Special Armored Battalion Dorvack 1983-1984

The Hi-Metal L-Gaim is one of my favorite pieces. I have always wanted it since I first saw it on my cousin’s shelf in the 80’s.  Except for the yellowing on the plastic, L-Gaim is robot perfection. The detail and quality of the L-Gaim is amazing for the 80’s. I never knew anything about this robot, but I wanted to have one. This is definitely a must have for any Chogokin collectors. The box art is great. As far as I can see, this is the last Popy robot before they remerged back into Bandai. Popy meant high end quality robots and the the Hi-Metal L-Gaim is it! I can’t say enough about this robot.

The thing is, you can usually find the robot for a good price. I usually see it listed around $120 which is amazing for a robot of this quality from the 80’s.  Unfortunately, this white plastic is prone to yellowing like your old SNES(Super Nintendo Entertainment System). You can see what the actual color should be on the metal parts.  Dunno if its cheap plastic as they just did not plan to have these around that long.  I love the articulation and detail this figure has for an old 80’s robot. I can’t really think of any robot that matches its articulation an poseability from the 80’s. I am missing a gun, and I think I have a loose one of these hanging around somewhere.

I have a loose one as well. The brown plastic cable around the joints are broken off on the ends. I would say that is the main problem with this robot as they break pretty easily and I often see those broken when they are on sale,  but not really a deal breaker considering these are 30 year old robots. For me the cherry on the icing is the leg compartments. They open up and have some really nice detail.

Hi-Metal L-Gaim 1/100 Scale Popy Bandai ST 1984 from anime Heavy Metal L Gaim 1984-1985

Hi-Metal L-Gaim 1/100 Scale Popy Bandai 1984

Hi-Metal L-Gaim 1/100 Scale Popy Bandai 1984 from anime Juusenki L-Gaim (重戦機エルガイム) 1984-1985

Hi-Metal L-Gaim 1/100 Scale Popy Bandai 1984 Japanese instructions

Hi-Metal L-Gaim 1/100 Scale Popy Bandai 1984 from anime Juusenki L-Gaim (重戦機エルガイム) 1984-1985

Hi-Metal L-Gaim 1/100 Scale Popy Bandai 1984 from anime Heavy Metal L Gaim 1984-1985

Made in Japan Product of Popy

Heavy Metal L Gaim(重戦機エルガイム) Episode 1, anime tv show from 1984-1985

Combat Armor Dougram Takara 1984 1/72 scale from anime tv show Fang of the Sun 1981-1983

Dougram Dual Model is another cool little 80’s robot. With all the plastic add on armor, the Dougram reminds me of the HCM line from Bandai. It still packs enough die cast metal to make it a Chogokin robot. I really wish this one came with the shoulder armor. I thought it would not be a big deal, but you can see it looks off without the shoulder pad. It is pretty much the only missing piece. Oh well. You have to watch what you are for bidding on in eBay. That being said, Takara came out with another quality line of robots in the 80’s besides Transformers and Votoms.

I gotta watch the anime for Fang of the Sun Dougram some time. The robots are pretty cool. It’s not a wannabe Gundam. I love the packaging. It looks like a book, its compact and easy to store, but I wish it had a styrofoam insert.
Here is a taste of the anime Fang of the Sun Dougram 1981-1983.

You can see the quality in the robot as you pop in each plastic piece onto the base robot in the diagram below. It is like a detailed model without having to use paint and glue.

Combat Armor Dougram Takara 1984 1/72 scale from anime tv show Fang of the Sun Dougram 1981-1983

Combat Armor Dougram 1/72 scale Dual Model Decal Takara

Combat Armor Dougram Series-01 Mechanic Manual Takara from anime tv show Taiyou no Kiba Dougram 1981-1983

Fang of the Sun Combat Armor Dougram Instructions

Combat Armor Dougram(太陽の牙ダグラム ) Japanese Instructions

Combat Armor Dougram Takara 1984 from anime tv show Fang of the Sun Dougram 1981-1983

Fang of the Sun Combat Armor Dougram Takara 1/72 scale robot toy Made in Japan for Takara Toys 1984

Combat Armor Dougram Takara 1984 from anime tv show Fang of the Sun Dougram 1981-1983

This is one of the coolest Super Sentai robots, it also happens to be the first. At least the first time Super Sentai was coined. It was the third Sentai series to come around and it was inspired by Marvel’s Captain America. After the success of the Spider Man live action(tokusatsu) series(with Leopardon or is it Leopoldon?), Toei thought more robots were needed in our Sentai series. Which I am personally happy about as I have a few of these amazing robots.

So Leopardon is a heavy(so heavy for its size) ST robot that looks like a samurai. It is bigger than most ST robots and has a great design. The Popy brand which is pretty much the standard bearer for any Chogokin(Super Alloy) robot. It is from 1979, but the design is timeless and does not feel dated at all. I wasn’t nearly as appreciative of this robot when I got it, but after learning and researching about them I definitely have a better understanding and appreciation of all things Popy.

All of the Godaikins were originally Popy robots before Bandai absorbed them into the main company. So this post is in honor of the grand daddy of the Megazord. Battle Fever J.   My cousin has the Soul of Chogokin version GX-30 which is just a great piece as well. Here is a first episode of the tokusatsu show Battle Fever J(バトルフィーバーJ ) from 1979-1980.

Popy Battle Fever Robo ST GB-03 1979

Popy Battle Fever Robo ST GB-03 1979 from Battle Fever J 1979-1980

Popy Battle Fever Robo ST GB-03 1979

Popy Battle Fever Robo ST GB-03 1979 バトルフィーバーJ

The SDF-1 DX 1/3000 scale is my holy grail for robots. I have bid on this guy several times, but I still don’t have one. Having the smaller ST 1/6300 scale robot provides me some solace. But displaying this one really doesn’t have as umph as the DX.

I really hate how the white plastic parts yellow with age. I have to dig around and find out why so many robots yellow after a while(L Gaim, Macross Valkyries, and the SDF-1 for starters). Grey would have been a lot better choice for this robot. I guess they use cheap plastic in Japan. I remember my Super Nintendo Entertainment System SNES was grey and it yellowed too.

This is a nice little piece. You can tell the how white it was suppose to be when you see the metal part in the middle. Like most 80’s robots, it is not very poseable.  There is not much detail on the ST version. The Takatoku Storm Attacker Construction looks identical except it has black plastic cannons instead of red, the shoulder cannons are not included(even though the box images and instructions indicate otherwise), there is a yellow painted outline for the chest pieces and grey plastic instead of white which looks a lot nicer. I am tempted to get that as well.

Anyway, Macross/Robotech was one of the main reasons I am still into the whole robot genre as the cartoons kept going for a few years. As Shogun Warriors faded for me, I got into Macross, Godaikins, and Transformers. I really did not have any Robotech robots until I got the G1 Transformers Jetfire for $30 down at Talbot’s Toys in San Mateo. Takatoku and Bandai Valkyries were like $80+ in the 80’s in Japantown, so Jetfire was a bargain. Most of the time, I just went to my cousin’s house to enjoy his Valkyrie collection. It is quite impressive. He has them all, but 3 are reissues. I hope he puts out his Macross robots soon.

Here is intro to remember Robotech.

Robotech Miniature SDF-1 Battle Fortress by Harmony Gold from Robotech: The Macross Saga 1985

Robotech Miniature SDF-1 Battle Fortress by Harmony Gold from Robotech: The Macross Saga 1985

Robotech Miniature SDF-1 Battle Fortress by Harmony Gold from Robotech: The Macross Saga 1985

Robotech Miniature SDF-1 Battle Fortress by Harmony Gold Stickers/Decals and Instructions from Robotech: The Macross Saga 1985 超時空要塞マクロス

Its funny how the instructions are still in Japanese in the US release of this toy.

Robotech Miniature SDF-1 instructions and decals/stickers from Robotech: The Macross Saga 1985

I would be tempted to get one of the newer SDF-1 below, but they are a bit beyond my price range.