The Official "Cliffy witters on about Vehicle Voltron" thread

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Thu Jan 17, 2008 9:09 pm

I picked up one of the cheapo Voltron DVDs the other day, and scoped out ebay for this thing... Wasn't that surprised that the original fetches a fortune, but I was just wondering why the Hell it hasn't been reissued yet? Is the series a bit unregarded in Japan?

angloconvoy · Post by **angloconvoy** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 2:07 am

Hmmm, actually, I've seen the lion voltron about, not sure about the vehicle, mind you, it wasn't the sturdiest toy. I'll keep an eye out next time I'm in the geek district.

Post by **Hound** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 3:12 am

The vehicle voltron cartoon wasn't nearly as popular with kids in the US as the lion counterpart. So much so that the plan to translate a third anime series for a third version of Voltron was canceled and instead they created brand new lion Voltron episodes from scratch.

That probably accounts for why vehicle Voltron toys are so much rarer even though they are so much better.

Civ · Post by **Civ** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 3:37 am

I've seen a really good knock-off of Vehicle Voltron but I don't know if that has anything to do with it not being reissued.

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 10:55 am

Yeh, I think the Lion one was redone for Soul of Chogokin - but then weren't the two unconnected in Japan (well, aside from being Bandai Chogokin) or something? I'd be interested in a decent knock-off, though - anyone know any good sources?

I'm quite tempted by the 5" non-seperating version, which seems a lot cheaper... not sure if that would just frustrate me more, though...

Civ · Post by **Civ** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 11:10 am

I'll be honest, I have no idea. I just saw the KO in person at one of the TF meet-ups in Philly. I'll have to ask the guy who owned it where he got it from.

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Sat Feb 09, 2008 12:53 pm

Cliffjumper wrote:I'm quite tempted by the 5" non-seperating version, which seems a lot cheaper... not sure if that would just frustrate me more, though...

Frustration ahoy.

Give it a week to arrive from the colonies, and then watch as I try to sell my liver to buy the full version.

NO LIVER REQUIRED! GET IN THERE!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0196225556

Missing the chest jet, the feet, the hands and the sword, plus a nick to the head, but at that price, well... And he can still stand and display moderately well. HAPPY!

Okay, stupid, ultimately redundant question: -

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0212611350

Does this actually look 3" to anyone? I can't find any reference to the figure being made in that size, and if it is that small, it carries over every visible detail from the 6" version (which I have the damaged one of), which seems improbable. Felt like a bit of a tit asking the guy "Are you sure it's 3" tall?" and decided even if it was the 3" it'd be nice to go with the 6" and 14" versions I have, especially in a box, and if it is the 6" version, great, as now I've seen just how cool the chap is, that my 6" one is missing a rotor and the chest plate is bugging me. Anyone got any thoughts?

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 10:39 am

I mean, yeh, no-one cares, but if everyone else stopped posting stuff just because no-one cared this place'd be a graveyard.

Vehicle Voltron now has feet, thanks to http://www.bigislandtoys.com - sadly, I was unaware there was meant to be an ankle connection on both sides, so I need another example of one of the 'shin' vehicles - there's one on ebay I'm weighing (a KO whic, if it's 100% size, would have the connector I need - sadly, the seller seems to have made shipping up on the spot), though with one foot connected the figure balances surprisingly well, though this just doesn't feel right. That aside, I'm after fists and the chest jet - the sword seems a little optimistic and I'll settle without, I'm sure I can rustle up something similar enough to appease me. I'm kinda regretting not throwing a small fortune at the chest jet that was up recently, but the rest of the figure hadn't actually arrived at the time and I didn't want to be stuck with just a model jet if anything went tits up... Stupid paranoia...

All that said, there's a complete, boxed Japanese one on ebay for ~£100 including shipping, and I'm really starting to wonder if getting him piecemeal was a sensible idea... I've worked it out that I've spent £40 so far including shipping, but finding the remaining pieces looks like being a long, arduous process - I'm braced to pay a lot for the rest as they seem to be the bits everyone's missing. Even then mine will probably only be C7 anyway... I'm mildly tempted to list what I have now with a £50 reserve or something to fund buying the boxed one, but that has the potential to go totally tits up... And the auction for the boxed one finishes before payday, when I'd have the funds to buy and then sell when the completed one arrives.

Argh.

Post by **Denyer** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 3:55 pm

Cliffjumper wrote:Does this actually look 3" to anyone?

Looks like the 6" one, down to the chrome thighs and the shape of the fist holes.

Stick the other 6" and larger versions on auction with a starting bid used as a reserve and a slightly higher B-I-N to encourage impulse buying?

The series doesn't seem well-known enough to have many people listing parts.

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 5:17 pm

Yeh, I'm 99% that is the 6" version - if it's 3", every single detail seems to have been carried over - a 3" version of something with so many different details would be a needlessly complicated bit of work

Just the waiting it is...

The seller of the boxed Japanese one sells (well, lists) a lot of MR toys in the shop format... as the Dairugger XV set is in the same format, I'm hoping it comes around again, in which case I'll get the whole thing with my pay, then sell the 6" and 13" loose versions... it won't be quite as satisfying, but there's a fair chance I'm actually going to go insane otherwise. I suppose, though, that I've managed to get my hands on a complete enough version to gauge whether I like him without spending a fortune

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 5:19 pm

Wait, this one's 8 inches... http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0185891595
This is giving me a headache :\

Post by **Denyer** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 5:33 pm

Downscaled large version?

There's a little info on the Popy version here --

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kikou_Kant ... erchandise

In the early 1980s, the original ST Dairugger toys were released by Popy Pleasure under the toy release number of GB-72, as part of the Chogokin label, and constructed of high-quality die-cast materials. A GB-73 would follow, with a transforming DX Dairugger, which could separate only into the three larger combined vehicles. A larger version of Dairugger XV was also released, which did not contain die-cast materials, as the metal content was too heavy for the design and for the Friction motors installed in many of the vehicles. The smallest non-transforming ST Dairugger and the fully-transforming plastic Dairugger XV would be resold in the US as part of the Voltron series by Matchbox, entirely under the Voltron name. However, the Popy version came with a sword, missiles, and stickers that the Matchbox version did not.

edit:

http://www.collectiondx.com/node/1063

What's the difference between the standard and DX versions?

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 5:45 pm

Ah-ha! I was under impression the version I had was the GB-72 version

Hmmm, that middle version looks a little odd for my money, TBH. Kind of a mixed blessing - it means going rate on ebay is around £150 inc. shipping for a full one, so I've still got a long way to go before I end up looking an idiot for going piecemeal... There's a chest plate on ebay I intend to chuck a fair bit at, it shouldn't be a problem sorting out the leg connection, and then it's mainly the fists - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0185831866 look like they have the right connections, but it's a lot to put down for a substitute that may not fit... What I'm seriously considering as I have two of each forearm vehicles now is buying a pair of Metroplex (or similar) fists, filing the connections off and just gluing them to a pair of forearms.

Why the Hell couldn't I just like the Lion one? That'd be so much simpler...

EDIT: As I understand, the standard version is the 6" non-transforming one...
http://www.toyboxdx.com/datafiles/data/ ... b/gb73.htm - there seems to be a seperating KO of this that's rarer than any actual release - http://www.collectiondx.com/node/1393 - which is a shame.

Then there's this 8" version -
http://www.toyboxdx.com/datafiles/data/ ... b/gb72.htm (which really doesn't look so good... those ankle connections look nasty... very glad I didn't have the money to slap down on that before it clicked). This version looks like it was skipped for Voltron.

The 13" version reviewed in that there link seems to have been released without a code, and is the Deluxe version released for Voltron, which is the one I'm after...

Post by **Denyer** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 5:55 pm

Found some boxed pics...

GB-72: http://www.robot-japan.com/Gallery/Popy ... rXV_DX.asp (separates)

GB-73: http://www.robot-japan.com/Gallery/Popy ... /Dairs.jpg (chrome thighs, doesn't separate)

Then there's the big one --

Deluxe Kikougattai KikouKantai Dairugger XV
http://www.collectiondx.com/node/1063

-- which had a release by Matchbox, but also a Japanese release that (we can assume) isn't marked as GB-72 or GB-73... don't know if it even has a parts designation. Despite some boxes claiming it to be die cast, it isn't.

* * *

Trivia: there is a GB-73 size one that separates, but it's a bootleg --

http://www.collectiondx.com/node/1393

Even further off the beaten track, I never knew Voltron II existed --

http://www.robot-japan.com/Gallery/Matc ... ltron2.asp

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 6:11 pm

Aye, I think I'm starting to get my head around this... the medium-sized version seems to combine the worst of both, though thankfully it doesn't seem to have come out in the West, which should cut down on the chances of me shelling out for a pair of fists and finding out they're tiny. The 6" KO looks a lot sharper, TBH. Getting a good condition 6" and a complete if not necessarily C10 14" version would do me, I think. The rubber one (which memory puts at around 6") doesn't seem to be half as common as I expected - I might otherwise go for a cheap one for nostalgia.

Now I'm looking at the 8" version I can't believe I got it mixed up with the 14" one - the glaring thing is the lack of chrome hubs & rubber tyres.

Cheers for the help with this, btw

Erm, providing that definitely is the 6" version I bought boxed, do you want the slightly nicked-up one as a thanks?

Re: Voltron II - I didn't know about him, until very, very recently, which is odd, as somewhere I've got the red one (a pre-ebay car boot find, when I was just after anything robot-y as it was that or BM in the shops - so that's, what, 8 years ago...), Always wondered why it seemed to 'transform' but not actually into anything. I wonder if I've still got him... Probably in with the Power Rangers stuff I got at the same time.

Post by **Denyer** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 6:56 pm

Ta for the offer, but can't claim any strong interest.

It's weird reading the phrase "violence sensitive U.S." isn't it? Like some kind of parallel universe history...

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 7:05 pm

Aye... mind, Googling for parts saw me end up at a few sites on the VV series, and the amount of cuts made to Dairugger XV are pretty astonishing - by the sounds of it, in Japan the 15 pilots basically hate each other, and all of that was cut out for Voltron... And it's difficult to watch the cartoon now, with the constant "Take that, Robots!"/"My ships with all my robots destroyed!" stuff. It's hammering the point home somewhat...

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 1:23 pm

Latest update:

Thanks to Notabot, I have the chest jet on the way, as well as a bootleg of the broken leg I'm hoping I can get the connector off. And Metroplex fists are a good enough substitute to stop me going mad - had to file the posts slightly for the sideways-letterbox holes, and they sit a little too far away from the body, but it's good enough for the robot mode. It should at least keep me happy until someone lists the hands, anyway.

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 6:19 pm

Unofficial Vehicle Voltron Blog, bought to you by Abuse Of Powers Ltd.

The boxed little version turned up today - definitely 6", so I'm chuffed with that - still had the twist tie on it, so it's absolutely mint, and at not a bad price at all. And vintage boxes are always nice, though it has one of those annoying side flap things that don't really look right whichever way you bend them. Don't know what possessed them to make the chest plate jet detachable on this one, though - I'm guessing it was so it would fall off rather than break off, but this didn't stop them with the rotors...
---
And don't point it out. Please. The listing's bringing tears to my eyes just thinking about it.

martyboy70 · Post by **martyboy70** » Sun Feb 24, 2008 2:46 am

A triple post is this a record???????????????????????????

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