Category: Voltron

So coolest thing this year, Netflix and DreamWorks revamped Voltron.  Can’t believe I missed this. So the same guys who made Kung Fu Panda and Shrek just put out Voltron Legendary Defender Netflix and just made my summer. To make it even better, the people working on the show Lauren Montgomery and Joaquim Dos Santos both worked on Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra. Avatar being my favorite cartoon tv show of all time! If you have Netflix, you can find Voltron: Legendary Defender HERE.

I was not a fan of the original show, just the robots(For me the original anime lacked in production value, I hated the voice acting, and I did not care for the characters. So pretty much everything). But I actually like this show. It just came out June 10th.

Check out this fresh take on the old 80’s show. It’s something you actually can watch with your kids and relive your own childhood a little too. I have been waiting for a good robot anime to pop up since watching Gurren Lagann last year. Netflix just dropped 10 episodes 2 weeks ago. I have watched 3 and I am hooked! On to episode 4, catcha later…

So I am thinking, when do the toys come out?
Spring 2017 from Playmates Toys

Can’t wait! Guess this was more about the show than the merchandising. More on this later…

I bought the Popy Golion DX  GB-36 in Hong Kong in 1985 for 24 dollars. On that trip, we went to Japan and Hong Kong.  I went back to Hong Kong in 2011 and I saw nowhere near the amount of toys I recall as a child. I mean, I remember I would go to the malls and there’d be toyshops everywhere and that these toys were relatively in my price range.  Fast forward to 2011 and I only saw about 2 toystores and I went to a bunch of malls.  I guess the robot toys of my youth are an adult hobby these days…

Here’s Golion aka Voltron and the cartoon image.  He’s got a massive sword which I understand was not included in the Matchbox version, but was in the Bandai Godaikin release.

Golion DX Godaikin Bandai 1981 GB-36 aka Voltron III 1984 from anime Beast King GoLion(百獣王ゴライオン) 1981-1982

Still from Beast King GoLion 1981-1982 or Voltron: Defender of the Universe 1984-1985

Albegas was the Voltron we never got to see over here. One would hope Voltron II would be better dubs than the vehicle and lion Voltron cartoons. Due to the popularity of the GoLion Voltron and the lack of interest in Dairugger vehicle Voltron, the Albegas version was canceled so they could focus on new Lion Voltron cartoons.

I plan to watch the Japanese versions as they have edited out all the violence in the US versions for kids. I have already seen one GoLion episode and it has more promise than Voltron at this point.

The Albegas Gamma Robo is from the Victora line. These are cheap plastic versions of the Popy line that could be sold at train stations without tarnishing the Popy name. I was disappointed initially that these were all plastic and smaller, but I got them cheap so what can I say. After opening them up to work with them, they are not bad and have about the same functionality of the metal versions. Only thing missing are the swords which would have been nice to have.

Kousokudenjin Albegas Gamma Robo ST Victora Popy 1983

Kousokudenjin Albegas Gamma Robo ST Victora Popy 1983

Kousokudenjin Albegas Gamma Robo ST Victora Popy 1983

Kousokudenjin Albegas Gamma Robo ST Victora Popy 1983

Kousokudenjin Albegas Gamma Robo ST Victora Popy 1983

Check out the intro to Albegas, the Voltron that could have been.

I will have to watch a few of these!

Victora Albegas and Gamma Robo 1983

I had the Denjinbox DX Albegas by Popy, but I can’t say it did much more than this one does. The DX had 3 swords that combined into one long skinny one.  The robots themselves are short and blocky, but the anime has a much better look. If I never get the Denjinbox again, it would not be a huge loss as this version is as functional as I need it to be. I did not really care for the design as the arms needed to be folded into the back and hidden. It looked ok from the front, but not the sides and back. They have a few new releases by Evolution Toy and Dynamite that look much better.

The Victora products were train station versions that could be bought on the cheap. Yup, they are pretty cheaply made, but solid so I am not worried they will break like the DX version.

Albegas ST Victora Popy 1983

Albegas ST Victora Popy 1983

From the back you can see it is just one big chunk of red plastic and the top is a chunk of black plastic. Hopefully more than glue is holding them together.  

Kousokudenjin Albegas St Victora Popy 1983

Kousokudenjin Albegas St Victora Popy 1983

Kousokudenjin Albegas St Victora Popy 1983

Here is the big guy with Gamma Robo.

Victora Albegas and Gamma Robo

Here is a taste of the anime Lightspeed Electroid Albegas.

Voltron is one of the robots that started it all for me. Where we fell in love with our big metal robots. The Golion DX as a Godaikin is the one my cousin Dave had. It came with a huge amount of accessories, like most DX Popy robots. Damn Matchbox for not providing Voltron with his sword. Voltron was all about his sword in the cartoon. Man, that is one terrible cartoon, ain’t it? And the dubs are terrible too. I wish I could unwatch those. Maybe if I watch them in Japanese they will be better. Hmmmm…

Matchbox Voltron III Defender of the Universe The Deluxe Lion Set

Anyway I have a lotta love for this robot. This robot has 5 lions that tranform into one of the best robots out there. Even the lions forms are excellent. I will have to pop him into robot form later for this post. This robot has been very popular over the years, so there have been a lot of releases. Lets see, Popy, Bandai America, Matchbox, Trendmasters, and now Toynami. I figure they will release it again within the next few years, so maybe I can try picking up a new one with all the accessories or even the Lionbot set made from the original molds(but vastly inferior paint applications!).

Matchbox Voltron III The Deluxe Lion Set from the anime Voltron: Defender of the Universe tv show from 1984-1985

Matchbox Voltron III The Deluxe Lion Set from the anime Voltron: Defender of the Universe tv show from 1984-1985.

See that styrofoam? Not a single accessory! The Popy and Godaikin versions had the full arsenal of missile launchers, daggers and a huge sword! I picked up Voltron III as an adult and I was really disappointed in the castrated Matchbox Voltron.

Matchbox Voltron III The Deluxe Lion Set from the anime Voltron: Defender of the Universe tv show from 1984-1985

I gotta admit there is a bit more violence in the Beast King GoLion, than in Voltron. The story works a little better and I am actually enjoying the first episode. Checkout the anime tv show from 1981-1982.

I picked up Abega because it was a Godaikin and it was cheap. Can’t say I care for any of the robots, They don’t combine or look good as robots. Definitely some of the worst robots I have ever seen. The jets themselves look much better. The Gamma Jet is not too bad and I actually like the Alpha Jet and the Abega as the combining super spacecraft are its saving grace. That being said, this is the worst or least favorite Godaikin I own because of those horrible robot forms.

I guess they had a hard time selling these. They were released as initially as Godaikins and re-released as Robo Machine by Bandai in the early 90’s based on the sticker on the box.

Abega GoDaiKin by Bandai 1984 aka Super Abega DX PC-39 Popynica 1983

After a little more research, it looks like this was part of the Albegas cartoon which was supposed to be released as Voltron II in the US. Now I can see why Albegas was released as part of the Voltron pantheon of toys. Got this info thanks to CollectionDX. Those guys know their stuff. I may just have to dig up the cartoon for some late night viewing. I watched a bit of Golion and the story was much more watchable then the old Voltron anime. I am sure Albegas will be an interesting watch.

Abega GoDaiKin by Bandai 1984 aka Super Abega DX PC-39 Popynica 1983

Abega GoDaiKin by Bandai 1984 aka Super Abega DX PC-39 Popynica 1983

I may need to revisit these with pictures of the robots, the jet combined and some pix of Super Abega with his buds Gamma Robo and Albegas. ***

Sadly, we never got to see Voltron II in the US. Here is the opening for what could have been.