"SEVEN! SEVEN! SEVEN!
SEVEN! SEVEN! SEVEN! ..."

Strangely, Ultra Seven is actually the second Ultraman.

The original line of Masudaya talking vinyls contained at least 4 different Ultraman characters, but when the line was resurrected in the late 1990s, only one, Ultra Seven, saw production. Evidently, Ultra Seven is considered the most popular of the Ultramen (at least, according to Wikipedia), so I suppose it would make sense in that context.

This figure is the tallest of the 6 talkers that I have, punching in at about 15.5" tall. This is just a hair too tall to stand on the shelf with the rest of the gang so I've had to have him standing ever so slightly hunched forward. Now that's the only way he'll stand at all. I supposed a little work with the hair dryer would probably fix that, but until I need to, I'm not gonna bother.

I like having this figure because otherwise I actually have surprisingly few Ultraman toys in my collection. Besides the Jumbo Ultraman Leo and the Ultraman Ace that came with M1's Hipporito-seijin, this is my only Japanese Ultraman toy. (I've also got some of those 20" Ultra bootlegs from Thailand, but those are in storage and never really seen.)

Otherwise, it's not that great a toy. The body is cast in red vinyl with white and silver paint application and the head seems to have been cast in silver with gold, blue and black highlights. The head seems too big to me and the arms too small. The talk box is in the back and you pull the string to make him speak.

Maybe I'm being a little hard on it though. I remember when I bought it, I placed the order almost entirely because I wanted to combine shipping with a few other things that were advertised as in stock, but really weren't. I ended up buying it anyway, but felt sort of annoyed.

I tend to think talkers look better in a group. If you like the Ultra characters or talkers and you see this at a great price, by all means grab it. But in and of itself, it's not too amazing.

I picked up King Joe at the last East Coast Summit from my pal and fellow contributor Roger. I was jonesin’ for gokin and he had my fix.

I picked up King Joe at the last East Coast Summit from my pal and fellow contributor Roger. I was jonesin’ for gokin and he had my fix.

For those who have not read the previous three King Joe reviews, let me recap. King Joe is an evil robot from space, and an enemy of Ultra Seven. Ultra Seven, of course, is one of the Ultraman shows, airing in 1967.

This toy was released by Popy in 1978 as part of the Chogokin line of toys. Each chogokin had a number designation – King Joe is GA-94.

King Joe separates into four separate parts. The legs are sturdy and largely made out of diecast metal.

The abdomen is a small plastic part. Included are attachable antennae for when the abdomen ship is not attached.

The upper body is also largely metal. It clicks into the abdomen and features cool holographic stickers on the chest.

The head and shoulders attach to the top of the chest via a clip. The whole top assembly is plastic. Each arm features a firing fist which can be replaced with one of the included yellow missiles.

I love the funky inaccurate toys like this, with giant name stickers on the waist. It reminds us that these were toys and were primarily designed for fun, not collecting.

The Soul of Chogokin King Joe (超合金魂 キングジョー) is the 37th release in the SOC line and it comes today courtesy of betaToys.com

The Soul of Chogokin King Joe (超合金魂 キングジョー) is the 37th release in the SOC line and it comes today courtesy of betaToys.com

Jump to Video Review

King Joe was released May 26 2007, and retailed for ￥8,190. He was one of the classic villains from the tv show Ultraseven (ウルトラセブン), which aired from 1967 - 1968. King Joe first appears in the episode "The Ultra-Garrison Goes West part 1" which aired originally on 1/7/68.

King Joe also appeared in the 1999 OVT Ultra Seven Series, using the same character designs with modern special effects.

If you are an Ultraseven or Tokuatsu fan, this chogokin King Joe is a must buy. Fans who are not familiar with the series may regard King Joe as an oddity or a curiosity, but I urge you to check it out. King Joe is a fun toy.

The toy consists of 4 separate parts that combine to form the mighty robot. Each part has a flying mode in addition to being a component of the combined King Joe. Prior to this review, I didn't know that King Joe could come apart!

You can display King Joe in either Robot mode or as the individual parts. Each individual part is supported by a clear stand, which can be stored in the base when not in use.

The leg section of King Joe has the most complicated transformation of the set, and features the most metal. It is almost all diecast. Transformation is simple; just open the leg panels at the rear, rotate the legs, and close. The antenna get turned around and placed in the body. Each antenna is actually held in place by a spring, to prevent breaking. Included is an alternate set of antenna, but I don't know what their purpose is. They seem essentially the same.

The next part is the lower torso of King Joe. In flight mode, you just pull out two antenna from the top. Thats it. No metal in this one.

The upper chest of King Joe also has a lot of metal. small wings at the top and bottom fold out in flight mode.

The head unit is surprisingly light. It features an interesting method to switch from regular antenna to king Joe's antenna. Check out the video to see this in motion, but it just shows that Bandai still has surprises in store for us. The top section also features the only "cheat" on the whole toy. While most of the toy is a "perfect" transformation (meaning no parts left over), Bandai relies on a combined hand unit to tie the flight mode together. When combining, this unit is swapped out for normal, articulated hands.

In Robot mode, King Joe stands about 7 inches tall. Combination is achieved by magnetic connection points and one snap joint. It looks great, but the magnets are not very strong. If you try to pick King Joe up by the head, the head will come off. The body is just too heavy to support the weight.

The toy technically has 13 points of articulation, but movement is limited by the design. The arms and waist move fine, but the leg motion is limited especially at the hips. I don't have a huge problem with this though, as King Joe is not a dynamic character. In the show he moves rather slowly, and any quick motions are achieved by separating and flying around.

The display base features stands to support King Joe in robot or flight mode. There is also a spring loaded trap door in the base that houses a miniature Pedan Seijin spaceship.

While not a traditional super robot, King Joe is a worthy release. Even if you are not a huge Ultraman / Tokuatsu fan, this a toy that is fun to fiddle with and transform.You can get King Joe at betaToys.com.

King Joe is one of the Ultraman Sofubi to end up sold in the US as part of Godzilla’s Gang. These toys were individually bagged and came with a header card that listed all of the figures in the line. At the time, these sold for about 99 cents each!

Back in the late 70s, American toy maker Mattel struck a deal with Japanese toy maker Popy. Mattel got the rights to sell a bunch of Popy  Chogokin and Jumbo Machinder figures under the Shogun Warriors line. In addition to the toys that became the Shogun Warriors, Mattel also had the Godzilla license.

Mattel once again looked to Popy for toys to add to their new line of Godzilla toys. This line would be known as Godzilla’s Gang. These toys were taken from Popy’s series of standard soft vinyl (or Sofubi) figures. Of course, Godzilla was included in the line, but in an odd move, the rest of the series consisted of Ultraman villains! These figures were made by Popy in Taiwan, not Japan.

King Joe (キングジョー) is one of the Ultraman Sofubi to end up sold in the US as part of Godzilla’s Gang. These toys were individually bagged and came with a header card that listed all of the figures in the line. At the time, these sold for about 99 cents each!

The figure itself is nice. King Joe is molded out of a purple-brown vinyl and is highlighted with sprays of silver, blue and light purple. The figure is articulated at the waist and arms.

One thing to note is that this figure is often found with its antenna broken.

From UltraSeven, its a robotic chicken!

Windam (ウインダム) is a Capsule Monster (カプセル怪獣) from the first episode of UltraSeven, entitled “The Invisible Challenger” (1967). Windam has the ability to fire a beam of energy from his forehead.

The figure is your basic soft vinyl (or sofubi) Ultra Kaiju. These things are hung on racks by the hundreds in Japanese toy stores, and retail for about 700 yen.

Articulation is limited to the arms and waist.

This little guy has the unlikely name of King Joe, and the equally unlikely role of giant super-villain from outer space.

EDITORS NOTE

The following review is an excerpt from a work in progress. The larger project details the rather odd circumstances that led to the authors fascination with Japanese toys. The article is written from the perspective, and with the limited knowledge he had in 1978 when he was building the collection. Therefore, much of the information on the toys will be inaccurate, the toy stores listed non existent, and the prices ridiculously low.

This little guy has the unlikely name of King Joe, and the equally unlikely role of giant super-villain from outer space.

Tony, from Toys International, informs me that King Joe is indeed a villain from the Japanese television show, Ultraman. He's also toy number 01 in a series of six transformable robot monsters from the Ark Company. Except for the hands, feet, and accessories King Joe is made of die-cast metal. Like the other Arkron figures his parts fit together with a peg and socket assembly. The robot can be disassembled, re-built, and combined with other robot monsters in the series in an endless number of ways.

There is no English on the box or instructions. This is important insofar as this toy, despite its cute appearance, is not appropriate for small children. Not only are there many small parts to choke on, the shooters are just plain treacherous. (Fun, too!) At 12.95, he isn't cheap either, but the toy is almost all metal, well crafted, and genuinely fun to play with. King Joe, and his fellow Arkrons are as addictive as a bowl of pistachios. You take them apart, re-assemble them, get another idea, and take them apart again - it can go on for hours. Not only that, King Joe is a cool little figure to display on a bookshelf, or to leave on the coffee table as a conversation starter.

A word of caution, however: King Joe will not be in your possession for twenty-four hours before you decide that you need to get the other toys in the Arkron series. Resistance is futile. You have been forewarned.

King Joe is available at Toys International, and Kunimatsuya.*

*The stores (as well as the Ark company) are no longer in business.

In the early 1970s, the toy company Bullmark formed, rising from the ashes of toy maker Marusan. Bullmark quickly began churning out cheap vinyl toys from popular shows such as Ultraman and Ultraseven.

Ultraman was also broadcast in Hawaii, and Japanese Bullmark vinyls were selling like crazy, so Bullmark started making vinyl specifically for the Hawaii market. These vinyls were different from their Japanese counterparts, usually in mold or paint color, and came with a new header card for the Hawaiian market.

Today these vinyls are highly sought after, often commanding hundreds of dollars each. But you just might get lucky and find them at yard sales and thrift shops in Hawaii.

I came across this Hawaii version Icarus Seijin on ebay. A guy was cleaning out his shed in Hawaii, and listed it as Japnan Monster (his spelling). I got it for $3.

**Disclaimer - I am not a huge vinyl collector, so please fell free to correct me if I got any of this wrong.