Category: Takemi

Marushin Toy Machine Blaster Bull Caesar Takemi 1976 from anime Blocker Gundan IV Machine Blaster

This is the Machine Blaster Bull Caesar by Takemi in 1976. I paid $38 for each of these(Bull Caesar and the Robo Kress) whenever I bought these.  I could not figure out what these two robots I picked were. The box and catalog were all in Japanese. The internet was not nearly as fast as it is now, so it took hours(forever) to do the research I can do in a few minutes now.  So I never really bothered until I setup this site. The seller I picked these up from had no idea either.  These were likely listed as die cast metal Japanese robots.

Marushin Machine Blaster Bull Caesar Takemi 1976 Accessories

When I got them, I thought they were ugly, cheap, poorly made pieces of metal. Maybe even bootleg versions of some cool anime. I was spoiled by the quality of other Japanese toy companies like Bandai, Takara, and Takatoku robots. I was so disappointed with these, that I promptly stuck them in a box and did not look at them till I took this picture three years ago. When I finally found a little more about them, I was a little intrigued. This is the 5″ Machine Blaster Bull Caesar by Takemi from their Bigger Gokin series. Its from the  anime Blocker Gundan IV Machine Blaster(ブロッカー軍団Ⅳマシーンブラスター ) in 1976-1977. It is an early super robot, so I could forgive how crudely these were made and give them a little leeway.

The anime was popular in Europe and especially in Italy, so you can find the robots there too. These robots have a beefy Gokin heft. There is plenty of diecast metal in each robot. The Machine Blaster robots came out around the same time as the Shogun Warriors 5 inch robots, so I am little sad they did not put more thought into the design and quality of these. When I look at them, they remind me more or cheap Taiwan knock offs of the time. That being said, these are nice little time capsules of early super robots before Popy put out the Chogokin we reminisce about today.

So I finally updated the images on this post. This is the old image below. The yellowness really seems to come out on my old iPhone 4 pictures.

Bull Caesar 1976 diecast metal robot from Takemi from anime Blocker Gundan IV Machine Blaster 1976-1977 (ブロッカー軍団Ⅳマシーンブラスター ) aka Astrorobot Contatto Ypsilon in Italy (Army Corps IV)

I bought these old clunky robots 10 -15 years ago and they were pretty cheap. I really had no idea what they were. I do not think the seller did either. They were listed on Ebay with the most generic terms. Probably something like die cast metal Japanese robot. I was curious and they were listed around $15-25. So I figured what the heck. When I received them, I was so put off, I promptly stuck them in a box and did not look at them till I took these pictures in 2013.

Over the years, I finally found a little more about them. This is the 5″ Machine Blaster Robo Kress by Takemi which is an odd little robot from their Bigger Gokin series. Its from the  anime Blocker Gundan IV Machine Blaster(ブロッカー軍団Ⅳマシーンブラスター ) in 1976-1977.  The anime was popular in Europe, so you can find the robots there as well. If you like your diecast metal, this one has plenty. They feel like they are completely made of metal based on their weight. They remind me of the Shogun Warriors 5 inch robots of the 70’s, but so crudely made. The design and finish are pretty poor. They are like the ugly cousins of the Clover Dunbine robots I have.

I took these pictures way back when I first created the site. The quality was so bad and the pictures were so yellow that I decided not to use them. But, since I have been too lazy to post anything. Well, here it is. I used a photo editor but these are still really bad. These are pictures from when I used my iPhone 4 for pics. I promise to put up better pictures when I find these again.

Robo Kress 1976 diecast metal robot from Takemi from anime Blocker Gundan IV Machine Blaster 1976-1977 ブロッカー軍団Ⅳマシーンブラスター