I remember being 10, maybe 11 years old. Every year in September we would go to the Deerfield Fair, a 4-H fair, featuring food, animals and amusement rides. We would always go in the evening, so I remember it being very cold, the smell of winter coming. The smell of fried dough permeated the air. There were all kinds of booths there, including a few devoted just to toys, small junky trinkets to keep the Kids happy while the Dads looked at the latest tractors. It was at those booths that I first met Astroider, who I would later come to know as Xabungle.

Astroider is just one of many different bootlegs of the Henkei Gattai Xabungle, originally made by the obscure Japanese toy company Seven (Under the Orion brand). You could find these toys at Dollar Stores, Flea Markets and County Fairs during the mid-1980s.

Some came on blister cards, some came in boxes nearly identitical to the original. Today they can be found in various junk lots sold on ebay.

This particular bootleg is interesting because it is actually made for K-Mart. The K-mart logo is displayed on the back of the toy.

Astroider is made entirely of plastic, and is about 5 inches tall. He can transform from robot mode to truck mode. Instructions are conveniently printed on the back of the box. The transformation requires removal and replacement of several parts; therefore, loose specimens today are usually incomplete.

This toy was my first exposure to Xabungle. It is amazing how many Japanese toys I was introduced to but never knew about... All planting the seeds of who I am today.