The official whipping boy of Jumbo Machinder collectors, this toy is probably better than you've heard. Video inside!

Although there were previous Jumbos that were from Sentai shows, the Jumbo Astro Megazord is the first one to be released in the United States and bear the name of the Power Rangers. It was released in 1998 in support of the "Power Rangers In Space" series. It's an interesting piece because unlike the subsequent Jumbos released in the US, this toy actually has a transformation gimmick like the DX version. The method is different here though and requires a small amount of parts swapping, but the end result actually looks pretty cool. It's certainly better than many of the vintage "transforming" Jumbos, which often just lay down to transform. My only real gripe with the vehicle mode is that the feet don't connect in anyway. As a result, the nose of the ship doesn't line up quite right.

This toy was not very popular among Jumbo collectors. There are probably a few reasons for that. First, it isn't a full sized Jumbo. It measures only 18" tall. Secondly, many people didn't like the design of the robot itself, particularly in comparison to the old school super robot aesthetic that most Jumbo collectors know and love, although I think they'd prefer this to the later designs with all the animal parts.

Another problem with this toy is the feet. To allow for the transformation to vehicle mode, the feet need to rotate down. Where the toy fails is that there is nothing really holding the feet on the toy. They just slide sideways onto a peg, and more often than not, slide right back off again. This also causes the toy to lean just a tiny bit forward, too. Lastly, I can't help but think there is just a little bit of Power Ranger hating going on, too. As popular as the show was with kids when this came out, I seem to remember just as much hate for it from adults. I know I couldn't even stand to hear the name back then. I just can't help but think that if toys like this were on the shelves at about $20 a pop now, they would get more respect than this did at the time of it's release. Many collectors disrespect it by spelling "Astro" with an extra "s" and I think they are giving it a bum rap.

In addition to transforming, the Jumbo Astro Megazord comes with a sword and shield that can be placed in the hands. The head turns and the arms move up and down. Simple like all Jumbos.

Although this toy was released initially in the United States, the overstock was later shipped back to Japan and sold there. Everything was exactly the same, except that the box had a gold foil sticker slapped onto the lower right corner with Japanese writing on it.

US box

Japanese box

Additionally, it seems that this toy was released in Korea, too. I've only seen the box for that release, but judging by that, it looks like the exact same toy. However this time a whole new box design was created and the show was called "Mega Rangers".

While I can't say I love this toy, I do think it's better than it's generally given credit for. And it really makes me wish that Bandai had gone ahead and followed through on their plans to release a second toy in the line. The Jumbo Mega Voyager sadly never made it past the prototype stage. It's a shame too since it looks like it might have been an even better toy.

Although the transformation is simple, I've recently been given a video camera so I figured I'd join the fray and do a quick video to show you how it's done. In the process, I actually managed to break the knob on one of the arms. And here I was thinking that polyethylene was practically indestructible.

The 18 Inch Super Robot is the second largest Carnival Machinder known to exist.

Carnival Machinder Overview

Back in the 1970s when super robots were at the peak of their popularity in Japan, many of the programs were exported to other countries around the globe. They really took root in Europe and many toys were made there. Some of the most simple yet interesting ones were never sold in stores, but were instead given away as game prizes at traveling carnivals. These toys were of very poor quality and only barely resembled the robots they were based on. There is no official name for these toys but since they are most closely related to the Jumbo Machinder family of toys, they have become known as "Carnival Machinders". In fact, many of these toys have a sticker on them that seems to resemble the missiles from classic Popy Jumbo Machinders.

18 Inch Super Robot

A very significant entry into the line of carnival machinders is the 18" Super Robot toy. Like the 12" version, it is meant to represent Getter 1, although it is a different sculpt. The plastic on this one is thicker, but other than that it is of the same poor quality. Only three points of articulation again, at the shoulders and neck. The details on the face and elsewhere are again simply crude sticker designs.

With the poly on the feet being thicker, this is sturdier than the 12" Super Robot and isn't likely to bend and fall over. Again, there is a sticker on the left arm that depicts Machinder missiles.

It's interesting to see that though Getter 1 is the character being mimicked, there is a "V" sticker on the chest, much like Great Mazinger. I've so far managed to aquire two different specimens of this toy and one is missing that sticker. I bought the second one to upgrade to one with the complete stickers, but when it arrived I was surprised to see that it was cast in a darker blue than the first. I couldn't see this in the auction I won, but was overjoyed to discover it in person. Especially since I had actually lost the auction for the toy, but the person who won it never paid and it was then offered to me. Had I realised it was different than my existing specimen, I would have bid much higher in the first place!

Though this is again a very cheap and ugly toy, it's size may make it more appealing to fans of large sized robots. At 18" tall, it is the second largest Carnival Machinder, trailing only the 20" Cosmos 2000.

Sometime last year there was a sudden appearance of large bootleg toys originating in Taiwan calling themselves Jumbo Machinders.

Sometime last year there was a sudden appearance of large bootleg toys originating in Taiwan calling themselves Jumbo Machinders. Three robots were included in the set-Mazinger Z, Great Mazinger and UFO Robo Grendizer. Before reviewing the toys themselves, let's look at the packaging.

Each toy is sold in a bag with a colorful header card. The header cards may be the most interesting thing about them. The say made in China, by a company called "Boby" ("Popy? Never heard of 'em") which is written in Japanese on the lower right hand corner. The upper right hand corner says "Jumbo Machinder Power Punch Model" in English, even though no power punch feature is included. Below that it says "Jumbo Machinder" misspelled in Japanese. Lastly each card says "Grendizer" on the front, regardless of which robot you are actually buying.

As for the toys themselves, they all share the same generic body slightly modified to suit each robot. The red ornamentation on the chest of Mazinger Z is a separate piece of molded plastic and he features his name on a sticker on his waist. The silver on the legs, arms and waist are also just stickers. Mazinger Z's head is a pretty well done mold and the paint job is more than passable with just some slight overspray on the Hover Pilder, which is fixed in place. Probably the worst part of the toys is the tops of the fists. The mold here is very flat, which is a shame because the fingers on it my be the best part of the body.

The toy is made of both hard plastic and polyethylene and stands at 18", not the 20" that it is often listed as. Still, these things cost less than $10 and are a great way to add some sizable toys to your collection for short money.

Sometime last year there was a sudden appearance of large bootleg toys originating in Taiwan calling themselves Jumbo Machinders. Three robots were included in the set-Mazinger Z, Great Mazinger and UFO Robo Grendizer.

Sometime last year there was a sudden appearance of large bootleg toys originating in Taiwan calling themselves Jumbo Machinders. Three robots were included in the set-Mazinger Z, Great Mazinger and UFO Robo Grendizer. Before reviewing the toys themselves, let's look at the packaging.

Each toy is sold in a bag with a colorful header card. The header cards may be the most interesting thing about them. The say made in China, by a company called "Boby" ("Popy? Never heard of 'em") which is written in Japanese on the lower right hand corner. The upper right hand corner says "Jumbo Machinder Power Punch Model" in English, even though no power punch feature is included. Below that it says "Jumbo Machinder" misspelled in Japanese. Lastly each card says "Grendizer" on the front, regardless of which robot you are actually buying.

As for the toys themselves, they all share the same generic body slightly modified to suit each robot. Great Mazinger has a separately molded piece of plastic for the V on his chest, though it is a little too flat for my liking. He also has a sticker with his name written in Japanese on his waist. The sculpt and paint job on the head are very good, but unfortunately the neck seems to be a bit asymmetrical. It's very slight, but noticeable when you look for it. The Scramble Dash is fixed in place. Probably the worst part of the toys is the tops of the fists. The mold here is very flat, which is a shame because the fingers on it my be the best part of the body.

The toy is made of both hard plastic and polyethylene and stands at 18", not the 20" that it is often listed as. Still, these things cost less than $10 and are a great way to add some sizable toys to your collection for short money.

Grendizer has just a sticker to depict the V on his chest and the
flares on
his arms. His name is also written in Japanese on a sticker on his
waist.

Each toy is sold in a bag with a colorful header card. The header cards may be the most interesting thing about them. The say made in China, by a company called "Boby" ("Popy? Never heard of 'em") which is written in Japanese on the lower right hand corner. The upper right hand corner says "Jumbo Machinder Power Punch Model" in English, even though no power punch feature is included. Below that it says "Jumbo Machinder" misspelled in Japanese. Lastly each card says "Grendizer" on the front, regardless of which robot you are actually buying.

As for the toys themselves, they all share the same generic body slightly modified to suit each robot. Grendizer has just a sticker to depict the V on his chest and the flares on his arms. His name is also written in Japanese on a sticker on his waist. The silver on the legs, arms and waist are also just stickers. He features the biggest difference among the three toys, that being the sickles in his shoulders. These are unfortunately way too big and if he were to launch them, they would rip his head right off by the horns. You can remove them if you turn his head sideways, but they do not have any handles to be held by nor is there any place you put them in his hands. On the plus side, Grendizer probably has the best head sculpt of the three and the paint job is again surprisingly good for a bootleg toy. Probably the worst part of the toys is the tops of the fists. The mold here is very flat, which is a shame because the fingers on it my be the best part of the body.

The toy is made of both hard plastic and polyethylene and stands at 18", not the 20" that it is often listed as. Still, these things cost less than $10 and are a great way to add some sizable toys to your collection for short money.
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