Tag: 1983

Macross VF-1J ST 1/100 scale Hikaru Battroid Valkyrie by Takatoku Toys 1983 from anime Super Dimension Fortress Macross( 超時空要塞マクロス)

The Takatoku 1/100 scale Valkyries as a whole are a lot harder to come by than the 1/55 scale version. Except for the Hikaru VF-1J ST. This appears to be the only one that keeps coming up on the sites I usually buy from. I hope to add a few more of these to my collection next year. This is actually my first Takatoku Valkyrie. I actually added the brown cannon fodder 1/55 scale this year as well from David’s trip to Japan. Before this I only had the 1984 Bandai VF-1A, so it is nice to have one of the original Takatoku toys that started it all. I consider the these the gold standard of  robots from the 1980’s.

The toy captures the robots from the anime in great detail. The VF-1J looks fantastic both as a robot and a plane! The toy is solid with a great design and fun to transform. Normally when the robot looks good the form suffers. But  this is definitely not in this case.  The Valkyries easily outclass any transforming robots from the 1980’s with their perfect transformations(kanzen henkei). Plus it helps that the anime was one of the better ones to watch in 80’s. I like this particular color scheme as I can imagine an actual combat jet with these colors.

Macross VF-1J ST 1/100 scale Ichijō Hikaru Battroid Valkyrie by Takatoku Toys 1983 from anime Chōjikū Yōsai Makurosu( 超時空要塞マクロス)

Macross VF-1J ST 1/100 scale Hikaru Ichijyo Battroid Valkyrie by Takatoku Toys 1983 from anime Choujikuu Yousai Macross( 超時空要塞マクロス)

So this is my first post in a while. I have been meaning to put up some of my new robots. Here is a new one from my cousin’s trip to Japan.

Aura Battler Billbine 1/46 scale SF Fantasy Figure from anime Seisenshi Dunbine 1983-1984

My cousin found this Aura Battler Billbine in a Mandarake in Akihabara. I was surprised it was only 1,080 yen(about $10 ) for an 80’s die cast metal robot. When I got it, I realized it may be a knock off. I was looking for the little Clover leaf emblem like I see on my other Aura Battler robots. But I did not see one. See the box on the bottom right? Usually the ST icon is there. The Aura Battler Dunbine robots were the last toys made by Clover. I have read conflicting reports that this Billbine may have had the molds created by Clover, then manufactured by Tomy who picked up their licenses when they folded. The box looks a lot like the Clover boxes for Aura Battler Dunbine robots. The ST icon is a Japanese safety standard not required on exported toys. So this is likely a Tomy toy made for export, as the box was unbranded/unmarked with English instructions,  but the box and robot markings indicate it was made in Japan. So yay! I have a Tomy produced Billbine.

Aura Battler Billbine 1/46 scale SF Fantasy Figure from anime Seisenshi Dunbine 1983-1984

Even if this is a bootleg, it is solid/decent die cast metal robot. Nothing about it wows me, but Clover robots rarely do. I am guessing it was probably made in the same factory as mold seems pretty solid for this robot. I do not care for the color scheme (white, red and yellow plastic with some metallic metal stickers). The legs, arms, wings, and head are plastic. But the body is mostly metal. It would have looked a lot better if the robot was bluish gray as it shows on the images in the back and box art instead of the white plastic and paint application. The hands have big bird claws on the end, but they remind me of Wolverine’s claws from the X-Men.

Aura Battler Billbine 1/46 scale SF Fantasy Figure from anime Seisenshi Dunbine 1983-1984

It’s interesting how much time they spent on wrapping this. That is a lot of time to spend on a $10 robot. I am trying to figure out if they did this to protect the packaging from water or for some other reason. After spending some time with the box, it is pretty musty. I am starting to understand why it is under wraps. As with most of the Clover robots, the box art and images are one of the nicest parts of the toy sadly enough.

Aura Battler Billbine 1/46 scale SF Fantasy Figure from anime Seisenshi Dunbine 1983-1984

Aura Battler Billbine 1/46 scale SF Fantasy Figure from anime Seisenshi Dunbine 1983-1984

The toy comes as a robot and transforms into as some kind of flying bird form. The bird form reminds me a bit of the Brave Raideen’s transformation. The feet can be squeezed together to resemble bird feet.  The wings on the back actually provide the largest range of motion and I think this is my favorite part of the robot. I was able to pose the robot with various wing configurations. The robot comes with 2 cannons you can mount on the back or put in his hands. It comes with 3 orange yellow missiles. The sword on the box illustrations is nowhere to be found though. It would be nice to pop one of those into Billbine’s hands. The robot itself barely moves or has any articulation,  but the knees and hips rotate.

I will put out some pictures from the robot itself when I get the time…

Aura Battler Billbine 1/46 scale SF Fantasy Figure from anime Seisenshi Dunbine 1983-1984

About 10-15 years ago I picked up a few cheap Aura Battler Dunbine robots when I really did not know much about robots. Mostly I was just curious as I had never seen them before. These were not robots I wanted when I was young(like the Macross and Transformers robots), so I picked up a few for fun. None of them were amazing and I really didn’t care too much about them until I learned more about the history of them and the company that made them.

Clover made a few cool robots like the Daitarn, Zambot III, Daioja and the first Gundam robots. So having these robots now is a little bit of history. So even if I cannot pick up the Clover DX Gundam’s anytime soon, the Dunbine robots will do for now.

I found the first episode of Aura Battler Dunbine on YouTube which is kind of a kick. I did not think they ported it over to English. Go figure.

Watch out for Aura Battler Dunbine, the insect mecha! Friend of your friendly neighborhood Insecticon. Just kidding. These are kick ass robots of the Middle Ages from a dimension far, far away. It’s a land of knights with horses, castles, fairies, and robots with flying transport planes. Really? If you can build robots and planes, why would you still be riding horses? I guess you really have to suspend your disbelief on this one. Still I like the idea, no matter how far fetched it sounds. For me robots are like bacon, they make everything better. Check out the video below if you want to check it out.

Here is Dunbine. He looks nothing like his anime image. Clover could have done a much better job with this robot. They did not last long as a company after this line came out. The image reminds me of the Guyver from the manga series. It would be a cool robot if it looked anything like the Guyver. Still, it is a cool 80’s robot for what it is. Clover loves making clunky heavy die cast metal robots and I love those super alloy Chogokin robots(though this is a wanna be Chogokin). Most Clover robots have a nice heft to them. Dunbine has what looks like an arrow/antennae coming out of the middle of his head and wings.  It’s not pretty, but it is a nice little robot to have in my collection. They are fun as I really do not have any other pieces quite like it in my collection.

Here is the opening of the episode of the anime Seisenshi Dunbine from 1983-1984.

Dunbine by Clover 1/46 scale 1983 Japan from anime Aura Battler Dunbine 1983-1984

Dunbine by Clover 1/46 scale 1983 Japan from anime Aura Battler Dunbine 1983-1984

Dunbine by Clover 1/46 scale 1983 Japan from anime Aura Battler Dunbine 1983-1984

Dunbine by Clover 1/46 scale 1983 Japan from anime Aura Battler Dunbine 1983-1984

Dunbine by Clover 1983 Japan

Aura Battler Dana-O’Shee Clover 1/58 scale 1983 from anime Aura Battler Dunbine 1983-1984

Gotta love those Japanese! I laugh every time I look at the placement of this insect mecha’s “tail’ as it were. Reminds of the Zone of the Enders robot or the trigger on the Shockwave before they made it a Transformer. Do a quick image search and you will know what I mean. LOL, I am dying here. Sorry, I have to figure out how to move on. I have never seen the anime, but after reading the synopsis it makes me think of Vision of Escaflowne. Robots, knights, and fairies in the time of chivalry. Sounds like fun if they set it up right.

Checking out Dana O’Shee, the robot has such an organic feel. Rounded body parts, insect like, its kind of awkward looking for a robot. The legs look like they walk the other way. The design is kind of funky, but it does have character. I can imagine this would have been a great Insecticon if it could transform, but it doesn’t. I got these around 2003-2007 because I was curious and I got a cheap run of them for about $40 each. I had never seen or heard of them before. When I got them I remember being disappointed. Now oddly enough, I am glad I got a few of these, as they have an ungodly amount of die cast metal. It’s a heavy little bugger. They have a satisfying heft to them.

The design, articulation and build are pretty standard for a Clover robot. Clunky poor design, lots of metal, barely any articulation, and does a poor job of representing the anime robot. Now that I know more about theses robots and have watched a little bit of the anime.

Here is the opening for the anime Aura Battler Dunbine from 1983-1984. Fun stuff.

Aura Battler Dana-O’Shee Clover 1/58 scale 1983 from anime Aura Battler Dunbine 1983-1984

Aura Battler Dana-O’Shee Clover 1/58 scale 1983 from anime Aura Battler Dunbine 1983-1984

Aura Battler Dana-O’Shee Clover 1/58 scale 1983 from anime Aura Battler Dunbine 1983-1984

This is a robot from the 80’s I have only seen online. I knew nothing about this series before I bought it, but I found it when I was searching for the Clover Gundam. It is from an anime series from one of the guys who brought you Mobile Suit Gundam. The Aura Battler Dunbine is a series based on knights  with robots  instead of armor. So if you dig medieval times with dragons and fairies, just throw in some kick ass robots and voila you have Aura Battler Dunbine.

Unfortunately, this is the last batch of toys Clover came out with before they went out of business. These little robots are amazingly heavy and full of die cast metal goodness. Too bad these are a bit clunky when compared to Takatoku’s amazing Valkyrie but this may be part of the reason Clover is not around anymore. The Gundam robots Clover made are really terrible design wise, but they have a heavy die cast metal appeal for me. The Virunvee is one of the better looking robots this line.

Here is the opening trailer. The robots are pretty sharp in the cartoon, not so much as a Chogokin. Looks like it might be worth an episode or two to check out.

Aura Battler Virunvee Clover 1/58 Scale 1983

Aura Battler Virunvee Clover 1/58 Scale 1983

Aura Battler Virunvee Clover 1/58 Scale 1983

Aura Battler Virunvee Clover 1/58 Scale 1983

Here is a loose piece that I’ve been casually looking at through the years – the full size Scott Bernard Armored Cyclone. I never had him as a kid as I concentrated on getting the Alpha Fighters. Fast forward 20 years and I thought it would be cool to have him as part of my Mospeada collection although he’s usually been out of my price range as I’ve usually seen him for about 250-300 in box. I bought this very nice loose cyclone for 100 on Ebay.

Armored Cyclone Mospeada Gakken 1983

As part of this series, I also have 2 out of the 3 Alpha fighters (there’s a red/blue/green ones).   I have the red and blue versions, while my cousin had the green Alpha fighter at one time. Scott Bernard flies the blue alpha fighter I believe.

Armored Cyclone Mospeada 21 Scott Bernard 1983 Gakken

Armored Cyclone Mospeada 21 Scott Bernard 1983 Gakken

Scott Bernard from anime Genesis Climber Mospeada(機甲創世記モスピーダKikou Souseiki Mospeada) from 1983-1984 also seen in Robotech: The New Generation

Macross VF-1S Armored Valkyrie with GBP-1S 1/55 scale Roy Fokker – Takatoku Toys 1983 from Super Dimension Fortress Macross

This is the VF-1S Armored Valkyrie and I thought I got this as a set but looking at my old handwritten notes, I got the armor for 25 dollars in Japan in 1985 and the VF1S in Hong Kong in the same year. During my last trip Japan trip 2013, I saw this in a 2nd hand store for about 140-150 (I think) and I was thinking of getting this for my cousin but I noticed that the plastic was starting to yellow and I so, I ended up getting him the Orguss. In the Macross cartoon, you see the armor is on the VF-1J as showing in the cartoon still (and not the VF-1S as shown below).

Macross VF-1J Armored Valkyrie