As promised, the world's worst Combattler...

I have sunk as low as I can go.

I can't say that I have any particular love for the character of Combattler V, but even if I hated it, I would never wish this sort of rendition on him. This is almost a slap in the face to the poor guy. Galba's Robo Kress toy was bad, but at least it stole the overall design from the Takemi Big Robo toy and just dumbed it down a bit. This....this is atrocious...

But for as bad as it is, in a way, I love it. Because it reminds me of the sort of cheap, generic toy you might see drawn into animated Christmas special. Yes, I'm pretty sure this thing was made by elves. A human mind would just never conceive of something like this, much less create it with the belief that you could sell it for money. Nope, no human would make this and no right thinking human would buy this.

I said "right thinking".

It almost looks like it's laughing at me, doesn't it?

Combattler V stands 14" tall, is made entirely of cheap polyethylene and was sold in a bag with a generic header card. It features SEVEN dots (4 yellow, 2 black and one red!) among it's very elegant stickers. One sticker even says "Star Boom".

Star Boom, indeed.

Header Card

Combattler V was one of three characters designated as "Deluxe Jumbo Machinders" by Popy.

Tadao Nagahama's Robot Romance Trilogy began with Super Electromagnetic Robo Combattler V (超電磁ロボ コンバトラーＶ) in 1976. It ran for 54 episodes from April 17 until May 28 of the following year and was followed by Voltes V and Daimos. All three robots were released by Popy as Jumbo Machinders with Combattler being the easiest of the three to acquire. I got mine at Magic Box in Kokubunji, along with New Tetsujin 28. These would be the only two Jumbos I'd actually buy in Japan as two subsequent trips would be fruitless, at least in terms of Machinder-hunting.

I think Combattler V is a Jumbo that I should like more than I do. I'm not really sure why, but for some reason it's never really excited me too much. I'm perfectly happy to have it and wouldn't ever consider selling it, but whenever I am looking at my jumbos, this is one that I tend not to focus on. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that when I got back from Japan with it, I had no more money left to try for the Spartan K5 and Taihou Buffalo Jumbos that were on auction at the time. Maybe when I look at Combattler, I just see the two villains I could have gotten instead (and still don't have).

This must be the reason because the Combattler toy itself is great. It's very colorful and has the best sculpt of any vintage toy of the character (in my humble opinion, of course). It features a launching fist, gimmicks, accessories, rolling feet... really everything that a Jumbo fan is usually into. For this reason, Combattler was among the first in the line to be designated as a "Deluxe Jumbo Machinder" (along with Gaiking and Daiku Maryu.). While only the right fist shoots, you can replace the left with an included "claw" hand, which is articulated at the "thumb".

The back features an opening compartment in which you can store a set of wheels. This can be insterted into a hole in the stomach of the robot when he is transformed into vehicle mode. Transformation consists of simply folding the robot down at the ankles and lying him on the ground.

Ok, yeah, the transformation is lame. But I suspect kids in 1976 weren't complaining too much. They had a Combattler toy you could ride on, as the catalog suggests. Note also that they show the prototype toy, as well as a drawing depicting several fists that unfortunately were not included.

While I may not be as enthusiastic about this toy as I should be, I will say that the box it comes in is probably my favorite from my collection. The artwork on the front is fantastic and really stands out. I think perhaps the Voltes V and Daiku Maryu boxes might be the only ones I like more.

Popy's Combattler V Jumbo Machinder generally sells for about $1000-1500 and is probably about middle of the pack in terms of rarity. It shows up about once a year on average. Sometimes it even shows up where you would least expect it. :)

A far less pricey alternative was once in the works as Unifive had planned to re-issue this in their line of "Jumbo Machine" toys. A prototype was created but sadly, the line was discontinued before it was ever produced.

The ST Combattler holds a place in my collection as the Shogun Warrior that never was.

I remember this day well.

It was a cold and rainy day in Tokyo. Dave and I were on day 2 of our toy hunting expedition. We were armed with a printout of the web page of a small toy store in a town called Machiya. I distinctly remember the taste of pink grapefruit flavored halls in my mouth as we exited the station.  Under the grey sky we made our way past the koban, our umbrellas barely keeping us dry. Around the corner and across from a kendo supply shop we saw it.

It was one of the better stores we had seen on our trip, and it was previously unknown to us. The shop was small, but it was packed full of all kinds of goodies. Large glass cases lined the walls while vinyl hung in bags over the counters.

Dave went right up to the shopkeeper to ask about some Jumbo Machines while I quickly spotted some Gao Animals that a friend needed. As I looked deeper into the cases I noticed that a lot of the boxes weren’t in that great condition. This was actually a bonus for me – tattered boxes brings pieces that I wouldn’t be able to afford within my budget. I spied this Combattler V toy in one of those cases, and it was a little steep – 9800 yen. Still, I hadn’t seen another Combattler toy on my trip so far, so I decided to get it.

Bringing the toy up to the counter, I handed the shop owner my business card, and he handed me his. We exchanged some nods and some of the only words we both knew.. “Chogokin”….

I then took out photos of my collection to show him. He was amazed that this big American had such a collection. After all was said and done he ended up giving me  15% off of my purchase.. He was a really nice guy. This encounter was worth the price. My ST Combattler may not be in the best of shape, but my memory of acquiring it makes it one of the most valuable pieces in my collection.

Combattler V ( コン・バトラーＶ) comes from the 1976 Japanese Television series Chōdenji Robo Combattler V (超電磁ロボ コン・バトラーV Super Electromagnetic Robot Combattler V). The show was the first of Tadao Nagahama's Robot Romance Trilogy, which would later include Voltes V and Daimos.

This is the ST or Standard size Combattler V chogokin. Popy also released a deluxe combining chogokin made up of individual popynica vehicles.

If you are looking for a large chunk of metal, look no further. It is suprisingly heavy despite its small size.

The ST Combattler V does not have a sword or any kind of missiles. In fact, the only accessories included with the toy are four fists. But that is not to say that Combattler is lacking in play value. Combattler can actually transform from robot mode to Grandasher mode by lying the figure down, moving the leg treads around from the back and pointing the fists forward. Each fist can fire by pushing a button on the forearm.

While this is the ST version of Combattler, it has some of the transformation features of its bigger brother. First, the head can launch off by pressing a button on the back. Secondly the toy separates at the waist where it is secured by a magnet. This results in three separate ships (as opposed to the DX's 5).

Supposedly there are two versions of this toy, but I do not know what the differences are.

I've always been a fan of the Combattler V design since the Shogun Warriors comic book was released. I was always curious as to why the character was in the comic book, but the ST toy was not in the Shogun Warriors line. (The DX was released as U-Combine Combattra, and a 3" version was released). Further confusion was brought on when some of the Shogun Warriors appeared in Force 5, but others, like Combattler, did not.The ST Combattler holds a place in my collection as the Shogun Warrior that never was.

The GX-03 Combattler V was the first combining Soul of Chogokin. He comes with a ton of accessories packed in a styrofoam coffin, ready to assemble. But how does this Combattler V compare with the classic Popy toy? Is it a worthy successor? Read on to find out.

Combattler V is made out of 5 vehicles:

	Battle Jet becomes the head and is all plastic. The two spinning blades on the side are removable
	Battle Crasher forms the chest. Wings slide out from the side. Booster jets have to be added on the back of the shoulders in jet mode. These are removed and stored in robot mode.
	Battle Tank becomes the torso, and is mostly metal. The treads are real rubber, and rotate smoothly. The antenna move up and down, and the claws retract from the body. The claws are very hard to get in and out, but s you transform it a few times, it gets easier.
	Battle Marine forms the legs of combattler. A small wheel descends from the cockpit, and wings fold out on the sides and rear. The wings on the side have a tendency to fall off. Battle Marine also comes with brackets to carry Battle Tank, but Battle Marine is too rear-heavy to display in this mode.
	Battle Craft forms the feet and features spring loaded wheels and push out drills. small locks fold out inside to keep the two halves together.

Transforming Combattler V is pretty simple:

1. Slide the top and bottom of Battle Jet apart to reveal the face. Remove the spikes on the wings.
2. Remove the jet exhausts from Battle Crasher, fold up the wings, unfold the arms, and open the chest cavity. Insert Battle Jet, then lock in cavity. Pull hands out of arms.
3. Push in the claws of Battle Tank, then move the treads to the back position.
4. Snap the Battle crasher into Battle Tank.
5. Fold down the wings and landing gear of Battle Marine, and compress the hip joints.
6. Insert the cockpit of Battle Marine into the back of the Battle Tank firmly.
7. Separate the two parts of Battle Craft, and then push the yellow top parts into the legs of Battle Marine.

As with all other SOC releases, Combattler V has many accessories and weapons, including:

1. Atomic Bomber
2. Twin lancer (a metal twin lancer was offered as a Hong Kong exclusive)
3. Super Electromagnetic Spin
4. Closed fists
5. Super Electromagnetic Yo Yo

The Twin lancer can be combined into one lance, and attaches to the hands via a peg in the palms. These same pegs also hold the Yo Yo. The Atomic Bomber, variant fists, and Electromagnetic Spin all clip onto the arms once you have pushed the hands back inside. All accessories nicely fit onto the display stand.

Combattler V can also transform into Grandasher Mode, with the help of some extender bars for the tank treads.

I think the GX-03 is a fantastic toy, but like all Soul of Chogokin, it is not without its flaws. For one, the toy is very floppy, especially in the feet. If not balanced properly, it's going to fall over. Also the shoulders do not like to keep certain positions due to looseness. The other major complaint is the claws on the Battle Tank are impossibly tight. Trying to get them to come in or out when the toy is new is frustrating to say the least. Also, the tread assembly on the Battle tank, when in robot mode, tend to fall off.

Still, Combattler V is one of my favorite Soul of Chogokin toys. He is loaded with metal, and he is fun to transform. Now only if Bandai included the missile firing gimmicks of the original DX Combattler V. I still prefer the sheer mass of the original toy, but this version is a welcome modern rendition of a classic character.

Combattler V was first released in Japan in June of 1999, and retailed for ¥13,440. Bandai re-released the GX-03 in October 2004, but without any changes to the toy. A black version, GX-03B, was released in July of 2000.