Tag: Bandai

The Machine Robo line came out in 1982 in Japan as Popy robots and later from Bandai itself when they were absorbed back into the parent company in 1983 as robot sales fell. These robots came out as Gobots from Tonka in the US a couple of years later.

These are easily some of my favorite robots. I love the packaging they come in. You can take them out, transform them, then put them back in and they take up so little space. They are so easy to transform and they are the same size of Matchbox or Hot Wheels cars so they can be run on their playsets and tracks. They are by far superior to the Mini Vehicles that came out for Generation 1 Transformers in 1984 and even the Transformers Generation 2 Go-Bots line that came out 1995.

These are great little robots. It is a shame that Bandai has not seen fit to re-issue these amazing little robots. I have been looking to pickup a few more of these, but my cousin could not find them in Japan and some of them are so expensive on eBay. With a little luck, I will get one or two more.

I bought at least 6 of these in the 80’s when I went to Japan in 1984 or 1985, because they were pretty much the only ones I could afford. I remember paying 600 yen for them. I think that was around $6 at that time. That’s why I picked up Albegas in Singapore. For $40 it was the biggest, cheapest big robot I could afford at the time. Though it was definitely not my first choice. There were a bunch of awesome Popy DX robots just out of my price range at $80 a pop(which was pretty much my whole budget).  The first line of Machine Robo came out in 1982 running out to 1985.

I have been meaning to watch the Machine Robo: Revenge of Cronos anime that came out in response to the Transformers cartoon coming out. I have watched the first episode below which interesting and so much better than the GoBots cartoon here in the states. A newer cartoon in 2003 aired called Machine Robo Rescue came out with in intriguing line of combiner robots that I am considering adding to my collection. The robots combine into robots that look like they came from the first series. I would love to add more of these to my collection. I will try to get some pictures of the individual robots later.

Here is the first episode for Machine Robo: Revenge of Cronos anime that ran from 1986-1987.

Machine Robo Popy Bandai 1982-1985

Machine Robo Popy Bandai 1982-1985

Machine Robo Popy Bandai 1982-1985 vehicle side

Machine Robo Popy Bandai 1982-1985

Machine Robo Popy Bandai 1982-1985

Machine Robo Popy Bandai 1982-1985

Machine Robo Popy Bandai 1982-1985 robot side

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

Maybe some day I will put the decals on Jetman DX Jet Icarus here. Looks pretty good without them though. This is so close to being a Godaikin I had to pick it up. Since so many Godaikins came from the Super Sentai series, it’s not a surprise that they have another solid piece like this one. I am sure there are a few more robots I have seen before that would be great to add to the collection.

This is the European release of the Tenkugattai Jet Icarus that came out in 1991. I can’t really see any differences from the Japanese release based on images I see on eBay. I really enjoyed the design on this one and the solid build. The legs and body are not too flat and blocky like Sun Vulcan or one of the Fiveman robos. The color scheme works pretty good too.

I am not a Super Sentai fan, but some of the robots from the series are pretty cool. I was not collecting robots when this came out, but it still tugs on the same heart strings I feel from DX Popy robots from the 80’s. Here is the commercial for the Jet Icarus toy.

Jetman DX Jet Icarus Bandai Europe

Jetman DX Jet Icarus Bandai Europe instructions

Jetman DX Jet Icarus Bandai Europe from tokusatsu Chōjin Sentai Jetman 1991-1992

Jetman DX Jet Icarus Bandai Europe decals/stickers from tokusatsu Chōjin Sentai Jetman 1991-1992

Jetman DX Jet Icarus Bandai Europe from tokusatsu Chojin Sentai Jetman 1991-1992

Jetman DX Jet Icarus Bandai from tokusatsu Choujin Sentai Jetman 1991-1992

So my Vavilos has never been taken out of the styrofoam. I can tell as I never took the twisty tie thing off. This is a robot from the Space Sheriff Shaider series which is very much like the Power Rangers(Is that show still running in Japan?). Godaikins were a bunch of robots from various anime series with no cartoon tie in to back it up here in the United States. This is likely the reason they were not that popular. I think if they had released some of these anime here, we would be remembering them as nostalgically as Voltron.

Design wise, Vavilos would look much better with a larger more defined head and arms that are proportionate with the rest of its body. It is the main reason this was not a must have robot for me. But it is nice to have. The rest of the robot looks ok. The legs are similar in design to Goggle V and Dyna Robo. The chest is a bit blocky like Sun Vulcan, like a cube with a triangle on top. Its decent in ship form, in fact I prefer it. That is likely why I have never pulled it out to transform Vavilos. Overall it is a decent robot, but it is on the lower end of what Bandai released in their Godaikin line. More yellowing white plastic from these old 80’s robots. Guess these toys discolor after a while.

Check out the first episode of Uchu Keiji Shaider tokusatsu show from 1984-1985. The cheesy 80’s tv music on this video was just killing me along with all the cheap special effects!

Vavilos GoDaiKin DX Bandai from Uchu Keiji Shaider tokusatsu tv show from 1984-1985

I have a post on the Vavilos ST as well. I should post a picture of them both the Vavilos Godaikin DX and Vavilos ST together later.

Vavilos GoDaiKin DX Bandai from Uchu Keiji Shaider tokusatsu tv show from 1984-1985

Vavilos GoDaiKin DX Bandai from Uchu Keiji Shaider tokusatsu tv show from 1984-1985

The DX Dancougar is a solid piece, but I can’t say I love this one. I got it without the box. I should have held out for a boxed copy(though maybe I never would have picked one up). I will have to change this into the large robot one day and redo some of these pictures as my old iPhone really does provide the detail I would like to see in these photos. I keep forgetting. This one is like Abegas, but the robots are a little better. The largest robot is a decent piece and they didn’t forget to make sure there was some diecast metal. Sorry, I hate cheap plastic robots. Probably should get around to the better pictures for each robot and as one large robot. ***

I plan to add the ST Dancougar to my collection, but I haven’t seen it for a while. I will have to keep an eye out for it.

Dancougar DX GoDaikin by Bandai 1985 aka Popy GC-30 from anime Dancougar Super Bestial Machine God

Here is the intro from the anime Chōjū Kishin Dancougar in 1985

Voltes V ST GoDaiKin aka Popy GA-80 1977 from anime Chōdenji Machine Voltes V(超電磁マシーン ボルテスV) 1977-1978

Voltes V is one of my favorite pieces. The ST version is a hefty piece of metal. It would be nice to have the DX counterpart but I don’t have the dough for that piece. My cousin has it, but it tilts a little bit from playful overuse. I am more picky about the pieces in my collection, but at least one of us have it. I picked up Voltes V on eBay. It comes with the sword and the chest piece becomes part of the sword.

Finally a robot based on anime. The anime was Super Electromagnetic Machine Voltes V. This cartoon was popular in the Philippines and translated to English. I definitely need to get around to seeing that version of the cartoon. When my cousin and I get together, we will need to do some binge tv watching.

What can I say about Goggle V? It’s almost everything I want in a robot. Near robot perfection. This is one of the better Godaikins. Lots of great accessories, all metal for the most part, well designed and in pretty good condition. The design is solid and does not look out of proportion like other DX Super Robots say Daltanias DX(skinny arms big chest), Sun Vulcan(a block with thick chucky legs and a head),  or Combattra(narrow waist, overly top heavy) It does not have some of the silliness of many Sentai robots like Senpuh-jin, OhBlocker, or MaxRyuuOh. Clunky, clumsy looking, robots that represents most of the Sentai robots from the 90’s on. Let me sum up those robots in one word. MEGAZORD. You know what I mean.

Darn the fact that it is Super Sentai. That kinda ruins it as I was never an Ultraman or Power Rangers fan. Ultraman was my first exposure to tokusatsu shows, but I never really got into it. Anyway, doesn’t matter. I still love this robot. I just won’t watch the show (doh, maybe just one just to reinforce why I should not watch these shows)Dai Sentai Goggle V, but I would have loved to see anime on this guy here.

Gotta admin they did make some pretty good robots in the 80’s and early 90’s(but like all 80’s robot, there is almost no poseability or articulation). Can’t say the recent Super Sentai shows have really produced any robots I want to purchase. But some the the 80’s stuff I still wouldn’t mind adding to the collection like Live Robo, Turbo Robo, Great Five, and Change Robo.

Goggle V GoDaiKin 1984

Goggle V GoDaiKin 1984

Goggle V GoDaiKin 1984 aka Goggle Five Cross In Box DX GB-70 Popy 1982 Japan from Dai Sentai Goggle V 1982-1983

Since I have the DX and ST version, I can pop in a picture of both of them together into this post later. Pop in a comment below and I will get to it a little quicker. ***

Dai Sentai Goggle-V from 1982-1983