Toy Fair 2004: Bandai

Submitted by JoshB on 18 February, 2004 - 10:41.

Bandai did not allow photos to be taken in their showroom. instead, they provided attendees with cd-roms full of images, but not all products displayed were represented on the CD's.

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A rep for Bandai said that although they have largely ignored the adult collector market, they are beginning to recognize it's importance to their lines, and we may see more products geared to collectors in the future.

We begin with Power Rangers Dino Thunder, the US incarnation of Abaranger. Bandai has already released the DX Thundersaurus Megazord (abarenoh), and will continue the line with the DX Dino Stegazord (Killer-oh, StegoSraidon, and Dime-Noko-Don), DX Arctic Force Megazord (bakurenoh), and DX Triassic Megazord (Max Oja). The DX Triassic Megazord will be a store exclusive, but no store has been announced. There will also be another Jumbo Megazord in June, most likely the Dino Stegazord.

Some other Dino Thunder products slated for 2004 are:

5" Thunder Power Rangers Action Figure
5" Quadro Battlized Power Rangers Figure
6.5" Dino Morphin Power Rangers Figure (Zord Mode)
12" Talking Power Rangers Figure
12" Battlized Power Rangers Figure (Ranger Mode)
Action Cycle for 12" Figures
Hovercraft Cycle with 5" Figure
Dino ATVs with 5" Figure
Deluxe Dino Vehicles with 5" Figure
Die Cast Action Racer
Die Cast Morphin Racers
Role Play Dino Morphers
Role Play Dino Weapons

2004 is the year of Gundam Seed for Bandai. Most of the line is an import of the Japanese line, with several alterations.

Action Figure Model Kit Level 1 - Duel Gundam, Mobile Ginn
Action Figure Model Kit Level 2 - Blitz Gundam, Freedom Gundam
Action Figure Model Kit Level 3 - Aegis Gundam, Buster Gundam
Action Figure Model Kit Level 5 - Aile Strike Gundam, Launcher Strike Gundam
4.5" Gundam Seed Action Figure - Strike Gundam (Active Mode), Duel Gundam
4.5" Gundam Seed Deluxe Action Figure - Sword Strike Gundam, Launcher Strike Gundam (ADMSIA)
4.5" Gundam Seed Mobile Suit & Vehicle - Aile Strike Gundam & Sky Grasper

Bandai showed a lot more in their showroom than they provided pictures for. In addition to the above, There was also;

7.5" action figures (The same toy as the Metal Material Strike Gundam, but they are replacing the metal with plastic. No word on whether the armor will be removable. The Japanese version was shown at toy fair)
DX Freedom Gundam (This will be a toy based off of the 1/60 "Big Scale Real Detail" Freedom Gundam kit. They are going to assemble it and add lights and sounds, the weapons may still require assembly. This will obviously undergo a major re-tooling.)
Arch Enemy MS-14S Gelgoog
4.5" Battle Scarred Figures
4.5" DX Battle Scarred Figures

Superior Defender is going totally insane. They had so much product on display, that I can't even begin to describe them. There were dozens of standard SD Gundams, kits, playsets and more.

1.5" Mini Defender Playset - Dark Gundam Playset
Superior Fortress Playset - Musha Fortress Mega Castle Playset
5" Action Defender Figure - Mobile Defender Gun Diver 01, Knight of Storm Vieate
5" Deluxe Action Defender Figure -Musha Defender Ashuramaru, Gundam GP-02A
5" Action Defender Combo Set -RX-78 & G Fighter, Captain Gundam & Gun Vehicle, Knight Tallgeese & Golden Griffon
5" Deluxe Vehicle Set -Gundam Bike & Side Car

There was also a prototype of a Superior Defender vehicle. It looked like a gray dump truck, and the front turns into a giant SD Gundam (while still attached to the back). The back can fit several full sized SD Gundams. The truck had wheels on the front, and rubber tank treads on the back. A switch made it move forward or backwards. It was absolutely beautiful. I also got my hands on a SD Rx-77 Guncannon & Rx-75 Guntank Action Defender Combination Set. It features 2 fully transforming core fighters that fit in the figures, and you can swap parts out between them. Absolutely insane. Expect a full review of it soon.

There was a LOT of Astro Boy merchandise out. Astro himself was shown in several different scales, and with several different poses, but there were also vehicles, villains and playsets.

5" Super 7 Abilities Figure - Hyper-Cannon Astro
5" Super 7 Abilities Figure - Searchlight Eye Glow Astro
5" Super 7 Abilities Figure - Jet-Leg Feet Glow Astro
5" Figure - Atlas
8" Build Your Own Astro - Completed 8" figure, Individual pieces & skeleton (this toy looked great, but no word on whether the internal skeleton is die cast or not.)
Experiment Chamber Playset

They also showed a different villain that could have been designed by Go Nagai himself. A green robot with large spikes on his shoulder with a steam punk aesthetic. We saw two versions of him - one that transformed, and a regular action figure. He is the green character seen here. Another cool product was a small car that looked like it could have came right out of a Time Bokan series. In addition we saw 2 large size astros that looks suspiciously like the Takara DX atom toy. There were 2 versions, regular and a clear version. You can open up various panels, extend rocket flames out from the feet and open the chest panel. The design on this series of toys is wonderful.

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Wow these guys are shiny. I don't know too much about them except for the fact that Bandai says they are going to be huge.

5" Action Figure - Black Phoenix
5" Action Figure - Black Swan
5" Action Figure - Black Dragon
5" Action Figure - Black Andromeda
5" Action Figure - Ares
5" Action Figure - Knight of Golden Leo
5" Action Figure - Knight of Golden Sagittarius
8" Action Figure - Knight of Golden Sagittarius & corresponding zodiac symbol figure