After a bit of a hiatus, CDX's resident Jumbo apologist returns with another JM review and makes a case for the much maligned Five Robo. With video!

Chikyuu Sentai Fiveman (地球戦隊ファイブマン) was the 14th show in the Super Sentai series and aired for 48 episodes from March 2, 1990 to February 8, 1991. It's main mecha, Five Robo (ファイブロボ), was released as in 1991 under the Jumbo Machinder banner. It was the first toy to feature the brand name since 1982's Dol Dragon and would be the last such toy, although later there would be model kits of Dangioh and Nu Gundam from B-Club that bore the name. However, those are generally not considered real Jumbo Machinders. In fact, depending on who you ask, the same could be said of Five Robo, too.

The reason for this is due mostly to the fact that the toy is made entirely out of hard plastic, unlike the polyethylene or vinyl of traditional Jumbos. This really sets the toy apart from it's brethren. It just really sticks out like a sore thumb in a lineup of vintage Jumbo Machinders. Besides that main detriment, there are a few other things that make this a pretty unpopular toy. At 21" tall, it's a bit smaller than a full sized JM. The proportions looks a bit goofy, too, especially the legs and feet, which seem quite large.

Some people also don't like the box, which is also different from classic Popy JM boxes. It's made out of thick, sturdy cardboard with full color graphics all around it and a lid on the top. Come to think of it, it's actually a lot like the first series Jumbo villain boxes, only with a lot more effort put into it.

One thing I never knew until getting the toy myself is that the image from the front of the box actually continues on to the right side, which I think it pretty neat. Also, the instructions for the toy are printed directly on the back side.

Ok, so what are this toy's good points? Well, if you look at it on it's own merits, there are actually quite a few. And when I say to look at it on it's own merits, I mean, think of it from the perspective of a child instead of a collector. First, it's still pretty large and though it looks a bit goofy compared to older JMs, it actually does look very much like the robot in the show.

Five Robo also has some neat gimmicks, including light and sound features. If you press a button on the shoulder, his chest and eyes flash and you hear a beeping sound. The next feature is similar, but a bit cooler. You can place a clear sword in his right hand and when you press the button there, the sword lights up and you get the previous sound again. On top of that, you can remove the sword and replace it with one of two different guns and then they will light up if you press the button. When not in his hand, both guns can be stored halfway up the arms. So Five Robo is fully armed and ready for battle at all times.

Unfortunately, because of the electronics involved, you do lose some other features. For instance, the head cannot be turned at all and the right fist does not launch. You have to store the batteries inside the right fist and right behind the head on the back. However, you do still get rocket punch action from the left fist so it's not a total loss.

Ok, now the next gimmick is really something that it gets a lot of flack over and rightfully so. It's quite silly. Five Robo "transforms" into a vehicle, but the transformation consists entirely of laying the robot down on it's back. That's it. Seriously. I didn't even bother taking a picture of it. There are 20 plastic rolling wheels on the back (6 on each leg, and 4 on both sides of the back) and the arms also have stickers on them the mimic wheels there. Those stickers, as well as all the others on the side, need to be applied but many collectors do not bother since the toy looks exactly the same from the front without them. All the sticker ornamentation on the front of the robot is already there when you open the box.

The Jumbo Five Robo is probably the easiest Jumbo to acquire. Not only is it very common, but most people don't even want it, which of course helps keep it very affordable. It's a very common sight on both Yahoo!Japan auctions, as well as in shops in Japan, but it's seen less frequently on Ebay so prices there are usually higher. Expect to pay about $100- 200 dollars for it depending who is selling it. I got mine just a month or so ago for about $75 on Yahoo, but one just sold on Ebay for more than twice that. If you're interested in one, make sure you shop around before buying.

Far less common than this toy is it's Korean counterpart. I remember seeing one on Yahoo!Japan auctions many years ago, but I was just beginning to collect at the time and I didn't know for sure that it was an actual Jumbo. It was listed under "Jumbo Machinder", but there was no mention of size nor anything in the pictures for scale. The legs on that version opened up and you could place action figures inside. For many years, I questioned my own memory of whether or not I really saw it until recently JoshB unearthed this picture. Now I just gotta find one!

Although most Japanese toys from the 60’s and 70’s generally still hold up well over the years Japanese model kits from the same era generally have not faired too well.

Although most Japanese toys from the 60’s and 70’s generally still hold up well over the years Japanese model kits from the same era generally have not faired too well.

Before Bandai started to produce their famous Mobile Suit Gundam Model kits most Japanese Model kits were seen as unassembled toys that one puts together and when through, still have the same play value as toys. Usually the kits had the same gimmicks as their toy counterpoints: wind up engines, shooting missiles, slot car conversions, bonus figures, collector cards just to name a few examples.

Being an avid fan of 60’s and 70’s Anime and Japanese live-action programs and an avid model kit builder things can get a bit shady when purchasing my favorite model kits representing subjects from the 60’s and 70’s. For example most the model kits from this era never pictured the actual model kit on the box. Usually it was beautiful oil or watercolor rendition of said subject on the box art. Also the kits were just as expensive as the toys. When I arrived home and opened up the box I would be disappointed to find that the model kit that I just purchased was nothing but a simplified representation of said subject with the likenesses horribly out of scale. Model kit manufacturing techniques and what modelers expect from a Model manufactures have improved signifiently since the 1960’s when many of these model kits were originally produced.

What I plan to do is review some of these older model kits and see which ones still hold up over the years and which ones should be treated like garage kits that one has to scratch build parts for or be built out of the box as historical model kit representations of our favorite subjects.

I purchased my Great Mazinger from the model kit aisle of the local drug store roughly in the early 90’s for what I remember $10.00. I believe this model kit is a Korean bootleg as it is from a company that I have never heard of before. It also looks like it was originally manufactured as a toy that was back engineered into a model kit. Also this model is called Great Maginger as opposed to Great Mazinger. A mistranslation or a licensing avoidance, perhaps a little of both. I would have to believe it’s a box scale somewhere between 1/100 scale and 1/144 scale.

Box art includes somewhat decent airbrush picture of Great Mazinger on top of and around the sides of the box and some small photos of three built, but unpainted, versions of the kit inside. It appears it was modeled in at least four different colors of white, blue, red and silver. My version came molded in dark blue and dark red with the sword molded in silver. Modelers definitely prefer kits modeled in white or light grey, as bright and dark colors are difficult to hide under lighter colors. Again going back to the toy theme most likely in was molded in so many colors so kids did not have to paint the model kit.

The kit comes with three sprue (1x red 1x blue 1x silver) 1x one sided instruction sheet and one sticker sheet.

One item I first noticed was that the kit was modeled with screw holes in Great Mazinger back inner legs and behind the arms. This is where I believe it was a toy at one time as the model kit does not include any screws and the instructions do not refer to the holes in anyway. One of the most time consuming aspect in building this kit was filling in all those holes with sheet styrene.

The kit went very well together although I wish there was some more details inside the head area, especially with Mazinger’s spaceship. The kit comes with no clear part. I would suggest scratch building some clear parts into the spaceship window, as it’s an open gap. A modified Lite Bright peg would go great here. The Mazinger face likeness looks great and modeled in crisp details and captures the Go Nagai’s design quite nice.

Many robot kits from this era had very basic movement and this model kit is no exception with movement limited to circular movement in the head, arms, wrists and very limited movement of the elbows, knees and feet. Because of this lack of movement I decided to build this kit in a static position of Great Mazinger ready to fire his rocket punch missiles. Because of the lack of internet resources back in the 90’s I did not scratch build blades coming from the forearm because simply I did not know what they looked like, although these days I would have added those blades. With its lack of movement I was still able to get a decent stance from the kit.

I scratch build the head in a looking up position with some sheet steryne. I also modified some of the enclosures on the jet pack and added nozzles to the jet back wing. I also filled in the holes in the hands, as I was not going to use the sword. The jet pack wings were curved around the leading and trailing edge with sandpaper because it looked a bit flat.

The kit was painted using Model Master flat non specular dark sea blue, Testers aluminum metalizer, Testers flat yellow and Testers flat red with a Badger 350 airbrush. I did not spray a flat or gloss sealer although looking back a flat coat would look good. The weathering ideas came from an old 1986 issue of Hobby Japan that had some pictures of a well built resin Great Mazinger model kit.

The model kit comes with a sheet of stickers for the wings and belt area. Again a very charming aspect of the kit but something that better represents the toy appeal of this model kit.

Although this model kit had some issues with the inner head details and the numerous unneeded screw holes and being modeled in some really awful colors, generally speaking this model kit is holds up quite well and with a little work could be converted into an ace looking model kit. I build this kit about at least 10 years ago and if another came my way most likely I would like to have another attempt at it and I would purchase another one. It could also be built into a nice looking toy model with the stickers and sword, perhaps best painted in glossy colors for that Popy look. Either way I think one would be satisfied and impressed with the results.

I have never seen Kamen Rider Amazon, but Wikipedia says that Kamen Rider Amazon was unique due to the fact that the character is patterned after a komodo dragon rather than a beetle or other insect. Regardless of the characters origins, I have always liked this character over the other Kamen Riders due to its unique design.

Kamen Rider Amazon (仮面ライダーアマゾン) was the fifth entry into the Kamen Rider series. The show aired from 1974-1975 and lasted for 24 episodes.

I have never seen Kamen Rider Amazon, but Wikipedia says that Kamen Rider Amazon was unique due to the fact that the character is patterned after a komodo dragon rather than a beetle or other insect. Regardless of the characters origins, I have always liked this character over the other Kamen Riders due to its unique design.

In 1990 Bandai created a series of affordable soft vinyl figures based on its popular Tokusatsu characters. In order to better organize the line, Bandai broke the figures into several different series, such as Ultraman Hero Series, Henshin Hero Series, and Kamen Rider Series. The figures are packaged in similar boxes and have similar construction.

This figure, although a modern toy, has a nice vintage feel. The articulation is limited to the arms and waist, and the toy is made of soft vinyl.

The finish on Kamen Rider Amazon is kind of sloppy, but for the price it is reasonable. One thing to notice when considering purchasing this figure is to look for wear on the front of the white belt. This part rubs against the cellophane window and often has wear in a MIB piece.

I’ve always associated Robot Keiji K with wearing a swanky red blazer and a cap, but this version shows him in his fighting form.

Robot Keiji K (Robot Detective Kロボット刑事 K) comes from the 1973 Tokusatsu TV series Robotto Keiji (ロボット刑事) created by Shotaro Ishinomori.

This figure is part of Bandai’s Henshin Hero Series of vinyl figures. These were a low-cost line of hero figures that were sold on shelves at toy stores in the 90s.

The figure is a simple 6” vinyl representation of the character. Articulation is limited to The arms and waist.

I’ve always associated Robot Keiji K with wearing a swanky red blazer and a cap, but this version shows him in his fighting form.

This unremarkable figure was the first in Bandai’s Henshin Hero Series of vinyl figures.

Barom-1 comes from the show Chôjin Baromu-1超人バロム１ (Superman Barom-1), a Tokusatsu show that aired in 1972 and only lasted 35 episodes. The story tells of two children Kentaro and Takeshi, who are given the power to transform into Barom-1. The two children use the magic of Kopuu to transform into Barom-1 to fight the evil alien Doruge.

This unremarkable figure was the first in Bandai’s Henshin Hero Series of vinyl figures. These were a low-cost line of hero figures that were sold on shelves at toy stores in the 90s.

Articulation is simple, limited to the waist and arms, but the sculpt is really nice. It’s an affordable way to get a representation of Barom-1 in your collection.

Gerukadon was from the Ultraman Movie "Ultraman - Towards The Future" made in 1990.

Gerukadon was from the Ultraman Movie "Ultraman - Towards The Future" made in 1990. Made out of vinyl, this is the standard 6-inch Ultraman villian, missing its tag.

(Ultraman villians can be like Beanie Babies in the sense that they are move valuable with the tags).

There was a later 9" version of the character released in the USA.

This is a Korean bootleg of Bandai's Pla-Dela Liverobo from the series Liveman. The original toy was produced in 1988.

This version simplifies the mold from the original. The wings on the back look like they should move but do not. The feet still turn down as part of its "transformation" process. The korean version also omits the shield and guns.

Liverobo comes packed in styrofoam with 2 characters from the show - Red Falcon and Green Rhino. They are made of a very waxy plastic, and have begun to deteriorate over time. Liverobo also comes with a sword, but not the same sword the original come with.

This is a Korean version of the ST Popy / Matchbox Voltron 3 (aka golion). It is a 1:1 scale replica of the original toy, but is made entirely out of plastic. It is interesting to note that they decided to use the US name, "Voltron", instead of the Japanese "Golion" name. You would have thought they would have gone with Golion, seeing how close Korea is to Japan.

What makes this toy unique is the additional weapons and shield. The 4-headed lion shield is an original Korean design, not found on any other version. The waist guns are original as well.

Voltron comes packed in a nice styrofoam tray, inside of a window box. It also includes with a set of trading cards.

This is one of the higher quality Korean bootleg robots I have come across. The pieces are molded nicely, the paint is good, and there are minimal sprue marks.