Tetsujin 28's classic nemesis is realized in Revoltech Format!

If you have Luke Skywalker, you need Darth Vader to fight him. The same can be said of any hero and villain pair, and Tetsujin 28 and Black Ox are no exception. This glossy black robot was the nemesis of Tetsujin 28, causing havok and mass destruction whenever they clash.

This Revoltech version of Black Ox comes courtesy of HobbyLink Japan.

To be honest, Black Ox is kind of unremarkable as far as Revoltech goes. The main draw here is the character, and rightly so - the jet black armor of Black Ox is undeniably cool. Quality and articulation is on a par with previous Revoltech releases - you should know what you are getting into by now. There are a few things worth mentioning though.

Black Ox comes with various sets of hands, including one set of hands with articulation. These hands can open and close, but the execution is kind of sloppy. When the hands are open all the way, they look like gorilla hands - just too long. I assume these hands are to grab Tetsujin 28, but I don't see how they benefit over fixed pose hands.

Included with Black Ox are a replaceable arm and leg piece to replicate a cut-away view. This is a neat effect, and I love to see when Yamaguchi does some different things with his designs.

As a bonus, you get an additional head for Tetsujin 28 with grey eyes. My guess is to represent a "deactivated" T28.

Black Ox comes with your standard Revoltech stand.

If you have the Tetsujin 28 Revoltech, you need the Black Ox. You can't have one without the other.

You can get your Black Ox at HobbyLink Japan.

Get yours at HobbyLink Japan

One of the most iconic characters in Japanese animation gets the Revoltech treatment.

One of the most iconic characters in Japanese animation gets the Revoltech treatment.

Old fogies here in the US know him as Gigantor, but in Japan he was one of the most influential robots ever. Tetsujun 28 (Tetsujin Ni-Ju-Hachi-Gou) was created in 1958 by Manga legend Mitsuteru Yokoyama. Over the years Tetsujin has remained popular, and has for the most part remained unchanged.

Tetsujin 28 is available from HobbyLink Japan

The Revoltech version of the Tetsujin 28 is seemingly based off of the 2007 movie "Tetsujin 28-go: Hakuchuu no Zagetsu". This version is a little sleeker than the original version, but it still retains all of T28's signature traits.

The paint is nice and clean, with the main body being molded in a metallic purple. I know it sounds odd, but it works. Tetsujin 28 features tons of Revoltech joints in all the right places. There are two small revoltech joints on the back to hold the jetpack into place.

The head seems a bit small to me, but this is probably a feature of this design. The neck is a dual Revoltech joint and features a moveable cowl - a nice touch. The head is swappable with an "evil" head with red eyes.

Arms are your typical Revotech arms, 2 joints in each arm and then the hands. Tetsujin comes with a variety of hands, most interesting is the hands with the articulated fingers. These hands have a hinge at the palm that allow you to move the fingers as one unit. Pretty cool new feature for the Revoltech line. Tetsujin also features a "Damaged" arm to re-enact the fight with Black Ox.

The chest has a Revoltech joint right above the belt.

The legs are smooth and cylindrical and each have two 3 joints.

The backpack is removable and comes with optional flame accessories. One interesting thing about this figure is that one of the flames has a hole for the stand on it, making some more interesting poses possible.

Overall this is a great representation of Tetsujin 28. Construction is solid, design is great. You can get yours from HobbyLink Japan

Tetsujin 28 is available from HobbyLink Japan

Considered by many to be the epitome of vintage Japanese robot toy design, Bandai America's "Godaikin" release of the venerable SG-01 Chokinzoku T-28 stands as an undeniable work of art.

Perhaps American readers will be more familiar with Mitsuteru Yokoyama's classic, Tetsujin 28 Go, under the Fred Ladd-imported name, "Gigantor". Regardless of the name you use, the titular giant robot, Iron Man #28, is generally considered the first of his kind. Both Go Nagai and Yoshiyuki Tomino certainly owe much to Yokoyama for T-28's clear influence on their own respective juggernauts, Mazinger Z, the first modern Super Robot, and Gundam, the first "real-robot" or mecha. With no foreseeable slow-down in robot genre, Tetsujin's giant footsteps will, no doubt, be heard for quite some time to come...

Just as significant as the works of these pioneers of animated fiction, in this writer's opinion, are the myriad masterful works of the ingenious toy designers who wrought these characters into life with brilliantly-painted tin, vinyl, diecast metal, and plastic. Among the greatest examples of vintage Japanese robot toys is Popy's Chogokin--"super-alloy", a phrase lifted from the pages of the Mazinger Z cartoon by Popy to describe their toy line; a term now used as a catch-all term for any diecast Japanese character toy. These toys typically feature copious use of diecast metal, high-gloss enamel paint, chrome bits, and gimmicks that prioritized fun over accuracy to the source material.

Indeed, it is quite arguable that it was this artistic license taken by the Japanese toy designers of yesteryear that truly allowed their work to transcend mere commodities to entertain/distract children...and evolve into critical art. One such designer was Katsushi Murakami. In 1981, he was tasked with renewing the Tetsujin 28 franchise with a new large-scale toy design to be developed alongside a new anime series (a cartoon later brought to the States as The New Adventures of Gigantor).

1980-81's Tetsujin 28 Go

Matt Alt, of ToyboxDX (a Japanese robot toy fansite) fame and co-author of Super #1 Robot, has graciously translated portions from the book, Chogokin Chronicle. In one section, Katsushi Murakami talks about the initial conceptualization of this toy, to be called the "Chokinzoku". Please have a look: ULTIMATE: Forging the Ultimate Toy from Sheet Steel.

So, the result--Popy's Chokinzoku Tetsujin 28--served as a sort of last hurrah for the classic chogokin era. While perhaps not a huge success upon release (it retailed in the neighborhood of $80USD--early 1980's dollars), the toy enjoys a considerable amount of niche stardom as a "holy grail" of sorts in the collector aftermarket. Boxed, complete specimens in excellent condition typically fetch on the order of $3000USD. But there are certainly rarer Japanese robot toys out there. So why is the demand so high for such a commercial flop?

Simple: this toy is nothing short of amazing.

Previously reviewed on CDX was the original Popy SG-01 Chokinzoku Japanese release. Bandai, Popy's parent company, repackaged the same toy for US distribution under Bandai America's "Godaikin" line in 1984. The item number ("SG-01") and "Chokinzoku" moniker were dropped and the result, the Godaikin Tetsujin 28, is the subject of this review. (See also Robot-Japan's coverage of this toy for more info and pics.)

Foot detail showing the 1981 manufacture date (despite the 1984 US toy release).

The box, alone, for this monster is impressive. At over 21 inches tall, it rivals some Jumbo Machinder boxes. The box is over 15 inches wide and 5 inches deep. Underneath the main lid is a secondary inner lid with many punched holes covered with clear cellophane to spice up the display and add some visual appeal. The right side of the box features an opening for a thin plastic handle that hooks into the inside of the main box. Fortunately, the handle and surrounding cardboard on the box and lid with this specimen are in good shape.

Styrofoam tray, inner lid, and contents.

Right side of box featuring plastic handle.

Immediately, you can see the first flaw with this specimen: aside from the minor scratches and chrome wear from general play, the "28" stickers are missing from the forearms of the figure. Besides the main figure, we have a number of parts and accessories. First is the instruction booklet. In classic Godaikin fashion, the glossy, colorful booklet contains information about the toy's gimmicks accompanied by clear photos (please see the Gallery for detailed images of the instruction booklet pages). Also, in terms of paperwork, there was a folded postcard in Japanese. I am unable to tell if this was actually included in the original Godaikin release, but it was there when I obtained this specimen from eBay. Strange to have something in Japanese language in a US release... Then again, none of the English text anywhere on the box and paperwork makes any reference to "Gigantor" or any of the English release names.

Instructions back/cover.

Front of included postcard.

Besides the paperwork, we have four figures: two "Roboboys" (ostensibly the boy operator/partner of Tetsujin 28, Shotaro Kaneda--or Jimmy Sparks in the English cartoon) and two wonderfully chromed "Maintenance Robots". The figures are actually rather impressive: they feature a magnet embedded in the sole of each left foot; these allow the figure to attach to the main robot's armor and other areas. More interesting, however, is that each Maintenance Robot has four points of articulation, while each Roboboy boasts seven. Tetsujin 28, on the other hand, has two. Two.

Incidentally, many specimens of this toy that show up on auction sites are understandably missing these figures. Of course, to the completist collector, this is no good. But very reasonable facsimiles are available to those less worried about a complete set: Starcom! This was a 1986 toy line by Coleco, comprising astronaut-themed figures and vehicles. Most of the toys featured magnet-driven gimmicks, and yes, you guessed it: not only are the figures in scale with those included with Tetsujin, but they indeed have magnets in their feet!

Roboboy, along with Starcom's Agon-6 and a Maintenance Robot...separated at birth?

Also, eight red missiles are normally included with the toy, though this specimen is missing one (the second flaw). Not a huge problem, however, since only two can be displayed in the chest launchers at once and there are no other display/storage places for them. The missile-firing button is found on the back: pressing the bright yellow button halfway will discharge the first missile, fully will launch the second. Yes, they will put your eye out.

Locked and loaded.

Missile-launching button in small of back.

Launching missiles are, of course, a must--regardless of whether the robot character in the cartoon was actually equipped with them or not! The other obligatory chogokin gimmick is launching fists. Yup. The staple of any great robot toy: the ability to torment your pet with appendages that can fire with violent force. The fists on Tetsujin 28 can be locked into the wrists at 90-degree intervals due to their square pegs; the launch buttons are on top of the forearms. The fists also feature articulated fingers: the four fingers are mounted on a ratcheted hinge. This allows Tetsujin to grasp one of the two included chrome hatchets patterned after his helmet crest (NO, the actual crest on his head does not come off!! Many specimens of this toy show a great deal of chrome wear on the helmet crest, suggesting this popular, but unfortunate, misconception!).

Fight the Power!

For the uninitiated, you may be wondering why Tetsujin 28 appears naked in many of these photos. Well, this brings us to the main feature on this toy: the "ingenious use of powerful magnets" coupled, of course, with the use of pressed sheet steel in the manufacture of the armor pieces. There are a total of eight magnetic connections in the toy (not including the Roboboys and Maintenance Robots): the large chest plate, the rocket assembly on his back, the two upper arm coverings, the two thigh coverings, and the two lower leg coverings. The chest plate and rocket pack attach very simply by popping on and off. The limb coverings actually mount to moveable bare metal arms that hinge open like a door (without having to remove the armor piece). What fun!

Dressed to impress.

Another subtle thing you can pick up from the images is that there is a door that swings down from just underneath the missile tubes to expose them. The chest plate actually has an opening for this door, so whether the armor is attached or not, the missile door is free to open or close. Next, just below the missile launchers, in the robot's...*ahem*...crotch, is the cockpit (hehe). Seriously: this robot thinks with his...well, y'know...

What's neat about the cockpit feature besides the gorgeous mold and sticker detail (and, of course, the "crotch-pit" jokes) is that the chair is actually hinged and can swing up into the robot's abdomen--even with a Roboboy figure still sitting in it! When closed, the chair clicks firmly into place; unfortunately, the only other flaw of this specimen is that the locking mechanism appears to be broken. Now, if you're at all familiar with the original cartoon, you're probably wondering why there's a cockpit at all! Shotaro/Jimmy controls Tetsujin/Gigantor via an Atari joystick-like remote control. So what's the deal...? The answer? Shut up, it's cool.

Moving on. We next have the upper arms. Not much really to say here. If you open the hinges, you can see some nicely molded chrome detailing. Lovely for display...not terribly fun for playing. The legs, on the other hand, are great!

In the right thigh (upper left in the image above), we just have an empty room. Sure, there's some nice molded plastic detail, but still not a lot going on. This is that spare/guest room for your in-laws whenever they're in town visiting. At least it's got a metal floor, so any figures standing in it won't fall over when you're gleefully zooming Tetsujin around your living room.

What?

Anyway, I generally use that room to hold the missiles when not displayed in the launchers. Below that, however, is a much more visually interesting chamber. There's some cool, chromy doo-hickey coming down from the roof and a lot more wall detail thanks to a colorful sticker. Also, the floor is again metal, but this time, it also features a sort of turntable-like construction: the floor actually rotates. Great for having a couple figures in there, re-enacting a classic Star Trek fight scene or...I dunno...a Waltz?

Maintenance Robots hard at work...and underpaid.

The left leg, however, is where the magic takes place! Running the entire length of the leg, you'll immediately see a sort of corkscrew shaft. There is a metal platform attached to this column that folds up when the armor is in place. Figures can obviously stand on this platform, and by way of a small crank on the back of the heel, the column rotates, driving the platform up or down!

Crank knob extended.

Oh yeah, an elevator...in his leg!! How can you NOT love that!? The charm. The absurdity. The utter disregard for the cartoon the toy is based on! That's love right there, folks. That's a toy designer taking pride in his work and designing something crazy for no other reason than just plain fun.

So there you have it. The Godaikin release of Tetsujin 28. A 16 inch pillar of chromy, glossy plastic and steel...chock full of gimmicks that simply don't get boring. You just can't help it: when handling it in person, every square inch fills you with wonder--either the fired-up imagination of that young person in all of us or the more adult, art collector side of us trying to fathom just what Katsushi Murakami was thinking! Either way, you just can't help smiling with this toy in your hands.

Y'know, some people collect certain things because they see some kind of intrinsic value in them that others may not. Some people collect things simply because they're rare. Who's right, who's wrong--I'm not qualified to say. All I can say is that even if Bandai were to reissue this toy and flooded the market with thousands of identical replicas for $100 a pop, I wouldn't bat an eyelash. Oh, sure, I'd lament the cash I dropped on my vintage one...while signing a check for two or three of the reissues! But in my mind, rarity has no bearing on the value I personally see in this toy.

It's pure love!

Released in 1981, Popy's Tetsujin 28 Jumbo Machinder is one of the more popular entries in the series.

Released in 1981, Popy's Tetsujin 28 Jumbo Machinder is one of the more popular entries in the series. It is based on the updated, slimmer version of the character from the anime series New Tetsujin 28-go (鉄人２８号) which ran for 51 episodes from October 3, 1980 until September 25, 1981 on the NTV network.

Although I personally feel the design of this character is a bit on the uninteresting side, I think there are several valid reasons for it's popularity. First, there is no jumbo of the original Tetsujin 28 (Gigantor) character so this is really the closest thing you can get. But perhaps more importantly, the character design is such that it really is able to lend itself to practically any form of toy. Jumbo, diecast and vinyl toys will all look very similar, which when grouped together would make for a nice looking display. Lastly, I'm sure the 16" Popy Chokinzoku diecast plays into it as well. That is the only vintage diecast in that size and is one of the most popular and sought after toys for diecast collectors. I think that adds to the popularity of the character overall, which may then extend to this toy in particular. For instance, I think if you were to ask most Jumbo Machinder collectors which jumbos were on their want list, you may not see T28 listed. But I've heard a number of NON-Jumbo Machinder collectors say "I'm not into jumbos, but I wouldn't mind having a T28".

As for the toy itself, it's cast entirely in blue poly with the eyes painted yellow and the mouth grating painted silver. Most of the silver on the toy is from pre-applied stickers, but an additional sticker sheet is also included for further detailing. The number 28 which is on the forearms is normally yellow, but have faded to white on the specimen shown here.

Unlike the earlier releases in the jumbo line, T28 has no wheels on his feet. However, he is one of only 2 jumbos (the other being Sunvulcan Robo) that actually comes with accessory fists INCLUDED! Yep, no having to go out and spend extra to buy some XX or ZZ attachments. You get both a rocket punch accessory as well as a missiles launcher, which can be used on either arm. In addition, two rocket blasters are included and can be slid on and off a runner on the back.

A very majestic looking drawing of the character adorns the front of the box, which is labelled as a "Super Jumbo Machinder" and is slightly larger than regular jumbo boxes, no doubt to accomodate the extra accessories. (Sunvulcan, Golion and Godmars are the 3 others labelled as "Super Jumbo Machinder").

The T28 jumbo shows up with a fair degree of regularity. Like most jumbos, it's not exactly easy to find, but they are out there. It probably shows up 4-5 times a year and you can probably expect to pay between $1000-1500 for a MIB specimen. I was lucky enough to find mine at Magic Box in Kokubunji, Tokyo during a trip in 2002 for about 120,000 yen. You may see higher prices than that, but unless it's an absolutely pristine example of the toy, it's probably priced too high.

The nemesis of Tetsujin 28 finally sees Chogokin form!

When the Tetsujin 28 Soul of Chogokin came out, we knew a Black Ox was inevitable. If you have one, you NEED the other.

Black Ox was released in November of 2005 amid little fanfare. It doesn't combine or transform, but it does have a ton of cool features.

First of all, he has light up eyes. There are actually two different head assemblies - a light-up head that offers little articulation, and a non-lit head that offers full poseability. The lit head is activated by either a switch on the back of the head, or by proximity to the small remote control accessory. The heads are swapped by opening a small hatch on the back.

Black Ox also comes with 3 sets of hands; closed-fist, open-hands, and a third set of hands with outstretched fingers, each tip with red holes in them.

Also, a small figure of Dr. Franken sits atop the display stand. The stand, once again, has a molded plastic nameplate.

The feet conceal retractable foot-spikes, that automatically dissapear into the sole when standing via a spring loaded mechanism.

If youy have both Tetsujin 28 and Black Ox, you get a little added play value. If you activate T-28's lights, and you place Black Ox's fist to his chest, T-28's eyes change from yellow to red!

While all these gimmicks are cool, what really makes Black Ox stand out is the beauty of the design. He is just so.. Black. Smooth lines, Tons of metal, this hulking form has always been a favorite of mine. I am overjoyed to have him in chogokin form.

In 1981 Popy stared a new toy line that would consist of the largest and most complex die-cast toys they had produced up to that point. The Tetsujin 28 was the first, and unfortunately, the only piece to come out of this line, a victim of the waning toy market at the time.

Recently I had the opportunity to hang out with Josh at his home, for the trip I brought along a few pieces for us to look over, one of them being an SG-01 Tetsujin 28.

In 1981 Popy stared a new toy line that would consist of the largest and most complex die-cast toys they had produced up to that point. The Tetsujin 28 was the first, and unfortunately, the only piece to come out of this line, a victim of the waning toy market at the time. Standing at an impressive 16" its construction and features are like nothing found on any other pieces. On a quick glance it doesn't really appear to do much more than other die-cast pieces, with only 2 point of articulation in the shoulders, 2 missile launchers in the chest and the standard rocket punches. But then it keeps going.

The chest plate, upper arm sections and leg sections are removable and reveal a complete, and might I say quite lavishly detailed internal skeleton. In the stomach area there is normally a seat that a small figure of Shotaro can sit in, though I've never heard of Tetsujin ever being controlled by anything besides the remo-con. The right leg is fairly hollow; the ankle area has a small magnetic rotating platform that one of the mini robots can attach to and spin.

On the plus side there are several lithographed tin detail panels inside the leg, as well as chrome plastic mechanical parts. The left leg contains a screw operated lifting platform that goes the entire height of the leg, it is operated vie a crank on the back of the left foot, and works rather well. The panels on the upper arms open to reveal more chrome mechanical details.

The construction of T-28 is mostly plastic, with the back, chest, upper arms and front leg panels being constructed of steel with chrome plastic detail, an interesting move that gives Tetsujin a good amount of strength and a very "real" feel while not adding much weight (though it would have been nice if Popy had decided to smack this thing with huge hunk-o-gokin panels). By making the panels steel it was possible for them to attach via magnets attached to die-cast hinges. The rear jetpack also attaches this manner, and as I've been told, the small vehicle piloted by Shotaro can also attach in the same manner.

Well I think I've hit just about every detail aspect of this piece I can. Until I held it in my hands I was never all too keen on it to tell you the truth. This was purchased on yahoo Japan auctions as a back up plan after a sale of another item fell through. I'm glad I went for it though. The imposing size and mystique of the SG-01 can't be ignored when you're in its presence. Even though it's not all that hefty compared to other chogokin, and it might not be packed with missiles and multiple joints, it conquers all with its sheer "I'm large and in charge" factor.

It dwarfs ever other non-jumbo toy I have, including my Yamato 1/12 Scopedog. If you ever have the opportunity to pick this guy up, do it, the price is high, but in this author's eyes, it's worth every penny.

This specimen of the toy is obviously incomplete, and is missing the drivers, robots, a fist and a leg panel. The nose is a reproduction, and some parts have been touched up. If you have any spare parts for sale, contact the author.
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Tetsujin 28 is all metal. Well not 100%, but he feels like it. The body is just a big hunk of metal. The arms are removable via the standard SOC magnetic joint. The fists pop on and off with ease.

That all changed when I held the toy at the 2005 Chogokin Summit. Wow, what a great toy. Where do I start?

First of all, T-28 is loaded with accessories. 3 different sets of hands, A damaged arm, jetpack, control box, and a little Shotaro Haneda. The stand is typical SOC fare, but we're back to the embossed nameplate this time.

Tetsujin 28 is all metal. Well not 100%, but he feels like it. The body is just a big hunk of metal. The arms are removable via the standard SOC magnetic joint. The fists pop on and off with ease.

The jetpack attaches to T28's back via a magnet peg, and the panels on the jetpack are removable, showing the mechanics inside. You can also remove the whole belt assembly that holds the jetpack on, although I don't know the purpose of this feature. The jetpack does not light up, although that would have been a really cool.

The toy has a waist joint, and you can actually separate the waist to reveal the battery compartment.

Batteries?

Yep. Tetsujin 28 has a very VERY cool light up feature. Slide the switch behind his head to light up his eyes. But wait, that's not all. Place the large control box to Tetsujun 28's chest, and his eyes turn red! It's awesome!

Another cool feature is the dual hip joint. It's kind of hard to explain, but you can actually pull down his hips to allow for a greater range of motion. This, combined with the toe joints, makes Tetsujin surprisingly poseable.

This is almost a perfect toy. My only complaint is the Shotaro figure. He has no peg to secure him to the base, and he can't really stand in Tetsujin's hands. It would have been nice if Bandai could have done something more with this.

Aside from that - awesome toy.