Among Robot Factory jumbos, the Battle Fever is definitely the easiest one to find.

TV Asahi aired the 3rd Super Sentai series, Battle Fever J (バトルフィーバーJ), for 52 episodes during 1979-1980. While a new element was being added to the series, namely a giant robot, Popy was also trying something new with their series of Jumbo Machinder toys. Gone were the large boxes containing one piece toys that had been the norm for 6 years. In their place was a new system of unbuilt robot toys that had to be assembled using a simple series of plastic nuts and bolts. This allowed for smaller boxes, which in turn likely decreased shipping and storage costs. Battle Fever was the first jumbo released like this, followed by Daltanious, Gordian, Daidenjin and God Sigma.

The original design for the robot is quite appealing and most toys of it are as well. The jumbo is no exception with a beautifully rendered head sculpt and nice proportions on the body. The red shoulder shields can be raised and lowered to allow the arms to be posed.

Both fists can launch and there is a single missile launcher located in the stomach as well. Three short-vaned Machinder missiles can be stored on either side of the legs. The "BF" insignia on the chest is molded plastic but all the other ornamentation is from stickers. I think this is the one complaint I have with the Robot Factory jumbos. Although the finished products look great, I'm not a huge fan of applying stickers. I get really picky about having them placed just perfectly. On Battle Fever, every single yellow stripe on the stomach and chest is a separate sticker that you have to apply, as is the red on the legs and arms. The waist sticker with his name is pretty easy to apply but I had a really hard time with a red sticker that is supposed to go on the mid-chest area. No matter how I tried, it just didn't want to stick on there nicely and I eventually decided it wasn't worth it and placed it back on the sticker sheet. I think it looks just fine without it anyway.

Assembly of the toy is pretty self explanatory, but there is an instruction sheet included as well. One thing I would recommend is to pay attention to which bolt goes where. The bolts that are for the arms are longer than those for the legs and it's easy to not notice if you are in hurrying to assemble the toy. Also, don't tighten the back nut too much or you might bend the insignia on the front.

The artwork on the boxes are ok, but honestly they pale in comparison to the traditional jumbo boxes. While each Robot Factory jumbo is nice in it's own right and the unique assembly system allowed for some different looking toys, as a big fan of boxes, I would have preferred the old style boxes to go with my other jumbos.

Among Robot Factory jumbos, the Battle Fever is definitely the easiest one to find. It is most often priced at roughly $1000, but if you are patient and keep your eyes peeled, you may be able to get one cheaper. There is also a bootleg version of this jumbo that was released in Italy. It is called "UFO Robot" and says "UFO" on the chest, in place of "BF". It is pretty rare, though.

Here is the very very odd opening sequence to the show. No time to show the robot, you gotta see the stock footage of animals instead for some reason...

Battle Fever Robo is another quality entry into Bandai’s Soul of Chogokin line. It is also one of the Smallest SOC robots released, just a bit taller than Xabungle. In fact, Battle Fever Robo is almost exactly the same size as the original Popy toy.

Battle fever Robo comes from the Sentai show Battle Fever J. In it, a multinational team pilots the Battle Fever Robo against the monster of the week. Originally intended to be a sequel to the Japanese Spider Man show, Battle Fever became a hit in its own right, and earning a place in history as the first Sentai show to feature a giant robot.

This SOC version of battle Fever Robo is a faithful recreation of the character from the show. It looks equally like a guy in a suit and a giant robot. It is both chogokin and action figure. It is awesome.

Battle Fever Robo comes in a box measuring 24.3 x 20.3 x 7.5 cm and weighing in at 620g. Upon opening the box, you are presented with a styrofoam tray (yes!), a tray for the accessories and a tray for the stand parts. The accessory tray has an additional cover of decorative die cut cardboard, with windows and names of each accessory.

Display Stand

The stand comes in pieces, and there aren’t any instructions as to how to assemble it. Fortunately, it’s easy to figure out based on the box art. The nameplate is engraved, and there are grooves cut out to position Battle Fever Robo’s feet. Pegs on the back hold the extra fists. Each one of Battle Fever Robo’s accessories can fit on the stand – nothing is left in the package.

Weapons

Battle Fever Robo comes with an impressive array of SOLID METAL weapons. That’s right; each weapon is made out of metal. The weapons alone are amazing. Included are:

• Knuckle Puncher (2)
• Fever Axe
• Sword Fever (2)
• Stick Attacker
• Cane Knocker
• Attack Lancer
• Lightning Sword katana w/scabbard
• Battle Shield

Battle Fever Robo

Ok, so it’s not the biggest SOC, and it doesn’t have the highest metal content. But it is awesome nonetheless. The head crest, upper chest and legs are all metal, giving the toy enough weight to make it feel good in your hand.

The head is an interesting part. The metal horns are a nice touch, but it’s the neck system that is really unique for an SOC. It’s a rubber tube, anchored to the body at one end, and the other accepts the ball on the bottom of the head. The result is a particularly lifelike range of emotion, but I wonder about the long term durability of this part. Will the rubber dry up and rot away? Only time will tell.

The body contains a chest joint and a waist joint. The arms attach at the shoulder with a multi position joint underneath flexible shoulder pads. The forearms have small compartments that contain Battle Fever Robo’s Chain Crusher. Each chain has a small spring loaded clasp at the end for attachment to weapons such as the Attack Lancer.

The legs appear to be metal, aside from the armor and the feet. 2 yellow holsters on the legs can hold the Sword Fever Attack Knives.

Battle Fever Robo also comes with 7 hands in varying positions. The hands feel sturdy, and I had no problems with them whatsoever. Putting the metal weapons in them requires a bit of effort, and sometimes the hands pop off their pegs, but they snap back on.

Overall, I am ecstatic about Battle Fever Robo. He is fun to play with, has a ton of accessories and is solidly built. He also looks badass.

Unfortunately, Battle Fever Robo cannot fit inside the vintage Big Scale Battle Shark. The leg armor keeps it from fitting in.

Battle Fever is really one of the best standard chogokins to ever be made by Popy. No other ST Popy toy packs in so many gimmicks, so many accessories, and so much presence.

Battle Fever is really one of the best standard chogokins to ever be made by Popy. No other ST Popy toy packs in so many gimmicks, so many accessories, and so much presence.

Good old Battle Fever actually holds a place in Super Robot history. After the success of the Japanese Spiderman show, featuring the giant robot Leopardon, Marvel and Toei started to team up on another live action show, this time based on the Marvel superhero Captain America. For one reason or another, Marvel and Toei split ways, and the show became centered on Battle Japan and his robot, Battle Fever. The show is known for being the first Super Sentai show, and the first Sentai Show that featured a giant robot.

The toy itself is really everything you could want in a die cast metal toy. Battle Fever is heavy, and a bit taller than most others in the chogokin line. It features more gimmicks than you can shake a stick at, and he comes with an insane arsenal, including:

• Lightning Light Sword
• 2 Sword Fever Throwing Knives
• Stick Lancer
• Trident
• Shield
• 2 Chrome knuckles
• Fever Axe
• 2 pilots
• 2 Launching head blades
• 6 missiles
• 4 fists

Battle Fever can launch both fists. He can also fire missiles out of launchers hidden in his legs. The silver head piece can be launched out, and the drawer on his chest pops open to launch 2 small pilots. Be aware, that if you launch these, you may never find them again. Both Sword Fever throwing knives can be stored on removable holders on the legs.

By far, the coolest feature on Battle Fever is the long chains attached to each arm. These chains themselves are weapons. Nothing attaches to them, but they just look so great on the toy.

There have been a few releases of the Battle Fever toy, including:

• Original Popy Release 1979
• Eternal Masterpiece version 1984
• Etarnal (sic) Heroes version 1986
• Battle Fever Battle Combination 2 (the Battle Fever packaged with the Battle Shark) 1979

All appear to be the exact same toy. There is also a version in a European box with the English Popy logo on it, as well as a bootleg version.