While not a great toy on it's own, all collections must start small so this little Kong was a worthwhile pickup for cheap money.

The first of the two Bandai’s 1986 SF Spiral Zone optional backpack units was Act 8: Personal Floater. Nearly 25 years later Personal Floater is still one of the easiest items to locate inexpensively in mint sealed in the box condition.

Act 8: Personal Floater

The first of the two Bandai’s 1986 SF Spiral Zone optional backpack units was Act 8: Personal Floater. Nearly 25 years later Personal Floater is still one of the easiest items to locate inexpensively in mint sealed in the box condition.

Act 8: Personal Floater includes: 1X Preassembled floater backpack, 3X green sprue, 1X Black sprue, 1x plastic wire, 2x preassembled Floater fans, 2x screws, 1x decal sheet, 2x screen mesh, 1x instructions, and 1x file card.

The box is small compared to the other Spiral Zone releases but still has some of the great features found on Spiral Zone packaging. The two display windows feature the preassembled floater backpack and the mesh screen parts, screws and floater fans. The back of the box features another beautiful painting of Act 1: Bull Solid in flight with the Personal Floater with the backdrop of another abandoned skyscraper and a lighting filled purple and orange sky.

According to the file card Personal Floater was first used in 2005 with a maximum flight distance of 250km and hovering height of 6000m. There are no weapon systems on Personal Floater and although PF can be used with all the Spiral Zone figures it is colored for Act 1: Bull Solid.

The core of the Personal Floater is already preassembled for the collector but take about three hours out to build up PF not because it is difficult to build but many of the parts are extremely fragile and I highly suggest purchasing sprue cutters from a local hobby shop to get a clean cut of the parts of the sprue. A small crosshead screwdriver is also needed to assemble the toy in three places.

One of the best features of the PF is the screen mesh that is used in the cavity of the PF fan, which looks great in scale with the figures. They are inserted into the fans and are firmly held in place with screws. The jet nozzle fans are also some of the most intricate looking pieces of PF but also the most fragile parts and are easily broken. Great care is needed in putting the parts on the nozzle.

Also the Handle (Part 7) should be taken off if you are going to put the parts back in the box as the Styrofoam does not have an opening for the part and is easily broken in the tray. The PF direction handle also comes with a plastic wire that attaches to the bottom of the handle, which is a great detail in scale.

Although PF is a great looking accessory for the Spiral Zone figures I never really liked the look of the backpack on the figure, as it sits to high on the back and looks to top heavy and unrealistic. It really looks quite boring with backpack on the figure just standing there and I always liked the look of the figure holding the PF from the carrying handle. Considering the availability of aftermarket anime figure action stands I think it would look great in flight mode as action seams to be missing when the figure is just displayed with the backpack on.

Act 8: Personal Floater is still the easiest Spiral Zone item to locate. They are always on Yahoo Japan and I just recently just purchased an NOS sealed PF floater for $10.00, $5.00 less than for I what I purchased my original PF for back in 1986! It is a quick pick up for the Spiral Zone collection and with a good anime display action stand it has the potential to be a standout figure and accessory set in the display case.

© 2008 Photos & Article by Leonardo Flores ModCineaste & Collection DX.

Act 6: Bull Solid “Machinehead” was the second and last recolor of Bull Solid. I bought my Machinehead armor from Pony Toy Go Round back in the late 1980’s for $20.00.

Spiral Zone Act 6: Bull Solid “Machinehead”

From a line toys and accessories that are already difficult to locate, SF Spiral Zone’s four protect suits extra uniform sets are the hardest pieces of the line to locate. The extra protect suits were designated Act 4 through Act 7, two of them recolor of Act 1: Bull Solid and the other two, a recolor of Act 2: Hyper Boxer. No recolor armor was made of Act 3: Sentinel Bear.

Act 6: Bull Solid “Machinehead” was the second and last recolor of Bull Solid. I bought my Machinehead armor from Pony Toy Go Round back in the late 1980’s for $20.00. There was some odd issues when it came to Bandai pricing the extra uniforms. I would assume that most kids and collectors would bypass the $20.00 uniform sets and purchase the deluxe sets that come with an action figure for $25.00. An extra figure sold for $15.00 meaning purchasing an extra figure and extra protector suit set would cost $35.00. The extra protect suit sets were also not as attractive as the regular sets, three of sets being released with a silver threaded uniform, although I think the silver suit works well for Machinehead.

The Spiral Zone package consist of:

1x helmet, 2x arm pads, 2x armor plates, 1X Real cloth suit, 2X rubber boots, 3X sprue (1x vinyl, 1x silver, 1x blue), 1x backpack, 1x rubber hose, 2X grey replacement hands, 1X clear vinyl, 1X belt buckle, 4X rubber bands, 1x instructions, 1X file cards, 1x name tag.

If you have read my Act 1: Bull Solid review, the Machinehead set has the same issues as Bull Solid as it is simply a recolor minus the Spiral Zone figure. I like the color match of navy blue armor and the silver real cloth suit. In fact I believe Machinehead might even be a Navy version of the Army Bull Solid uniform as its logo is an armored lobster and the colors might work for a maritime soldier.

Unlike the silkscreen painted logos on Act 1: Bull Solid, Machinehead comes with a set a stickers to apply to the armor and backpack, I suggest cutting them out with a fine X-acto blade so no clear film is shown. Over the years the stickers have come loose, so I would suggest not applying them to the figure’s armor. I do like the Machinehead logo on the backpack.

I am only missing three of the twelve Spiral Zone Acts and the three Acts that I am missing are the extra uniform Protect suit sets. Because of the unusual price point the extra protect suit sets had, I do not believe many were sold and every set that I have seen for sale is always missing important pieces, perhaps pirated for parts to make one complete set. Extreme caution and a sharp eye is needed when picking one of these sets up and always double check with references before purchasing one.

© 2008 Leonardo Flores “Modcineaste” & Collection DX.

Pony Toy Go Round, Los Angeles California - circa 1986: I was given a choice by my parents to make the decision to purchase one of two Spiral Zone toys that was needed for the collection: Monoseed or Sentinel Bear. Both were priced at $45.00 which was a lot of money those days. I correctly chose Monoseed but for the next 20 years I always dreamed of owning the third Spiral Zone figure Sentinel Bear.

Spiral Zone's Sentinel Bear:

Pony Toy Go Round, Los Angeles California - circa 1986: I was given a choice by my parents to make the decision to purchase one of two Spiral Zone toys that was needed for the collection: Monoseed or Sentinel Bear. Both were priced at $45.00 which was a lot of money those days. I correctly chose Monoseed but for the next 20 years I always dreamed of owning the third Spiral Zone figure Sentinel Bear.

A Hong Kong toy dealer has been listing original 1985 Bandai Spiral Zone figures on Ebay recently and up went a N.O.S. unassembled mint copy of Sentinel Bear. Seven days later and $100.99 less in my paypal account it was headed to my door step from Hong Kong. Here was a great chance to do a review of a 20-year-old unassembled Spiral Zone action figure.

SFG Spiral Zone #3 Sentinel Bear was the third and most heavy armored and armed of the first three figures. There were many unique features that Sentinel Bear had over the other releases. One such unique feature was that the other two Spiral Zone figures, Hyperboxer and Bull Solid, armor was recolored and issued three times each, Sentinel Bear armor was only available through this release. It appears that a brown Sentinel Bear armor was photographed for promo reasons but it was never released.

The Sentinel Bear full color package includes:

• 1x System injection 1/12 scale 36 point articulated figure
• 1x real cloth uniform
• 1x sticker sheet
• 2x hoses (rubber & plastic)
• 3x sprue ( 2x plastic & 1 vinyl)
• 3x paper inserts (2x file cards & 1x one color instruction sheet)
• 2x rubber boots
• 1x clear visor sheet
• 4x rubber armor parts
• 9x Armor parts (1x shield, 1x Helmet, 1x backpack, 2x body amour, 2x shin armor, 2x wrist armor.)
• 2x extra “gloved” hands.

Like all of the Spiral Zone releases, Sentinel Bear’s full color packaging is a sight to behold. The back of the box reproduces a beautiful oil painting of a unit of Sentinel Bears on patrol through a barren wasteland with smoke fuming out of their backpacks. It’s great to read some of the stats on Sentinel Bear the back of the box. It appears that the SB Armor was first issued in 2004 AD and the armor weighs 117kg wet! It is also good to note that the box is wider than the other two figures boxes; most likely because of the extra parts needed to assemble the figure.

As described in the auction Sentinel Bear was N.O.S. condition as none of the parts bags have been opened and all the parts were in original condition. One issue that all Spiral Zone collectors should take note is that the rubber the boots are made out of have some kind of chemical reaction with the Styrofoam packaging tray. All of my Spiral Zone figures boots have eaten through the Styrofoam and my Sentinel Bear is no exception. I suggest taking the boots out of the tray placement and put them in one of the plastic Baggies provided when not on display or long-term storage.

The molds were crisp on the figure and sprue although some of the waist armor had to be cleaned up on the very fragile tabs in order for it to fit in the holes on the belt. This has been the only time I’ve experienced minor flash on a Spiral Zone figure.

One of my favorite features is that, besides the brown wrist and shin armor, Sentinel Bear armor is molded in three shades of light blue-grey that gives it somewhat of a subtle patched up look and is aesthetically appealing to the eye. No small detail went unnoticed with Spiral Zone figures.

Assembly is straightforward. Give yourself about an hour of build time and I suggest some good sprue cutters available from most hobby shops to get a clean cut for the parts. I had some trouble with putting the barrel cap of the hand Laser gun on the rest of the gun. I had to file down the peg for it to fit properly. Another feature unique to Sentinel Bear was that the SB Laser Gun Is not held by the figures’ hand but has a peg inside the gun that when the hand and wrist armor is removed the peg inserts in its place. That gives it a nice solid connection for display. But even better Bandai included the extra hand and wrist armor parts so if you would like to display Sentinel Bear without the laser gun, it will still look complete.

Assemble of the armor and backpack is straightforward. Just be extremely careful when putting the armor plates in the holes on the belt and squeezing the belt tabs onto the body armor. Bull Solid had somewhat of a design flaw in the body armor tab area that was fixed with Hyperboxer and Sentinel Bear. Also be very careful when attaching the backpack to the tabs on the body armor. This can be broken as well if forced onto the body armor. Keep in mind that these toys are made of plastic and 20 years old. Plastic becomes very brittle over the years so handle accordingly.

The backpack is huge with many crisp molded details. 4 holes are provided for the hoses from the laser gun and helmet. Another hose protrudes from the bottom of the backpack.

Sentinel Bear also includes a shield that is unique to this figure that snaps into one of the wrist armor. There is a bar for the hand to fit around for that High Complete look.

The helmet is full of many wonderful details that are expected from Spiral Zone figures. Three hoses come from the helmet, one goes to the chest armor and two go to the backpack. A clear sheet of plastic is provided for the visor. Again no detail to small for the designers at Bandai. Please note that the helmet doesn’t drop down on the head of the figure but most be angled in to fit around the head. SB comes with headphones to make the helmet fit more snug. This is definitely needed for the Bull Solid figure but not needed with Sentinel Bear, as it’s a tight fit as is.

Sentinel Bear’s figure is one of the best sculptures of the line. He appears older than the other figures and looks like he’s ready to get down to business. In short he’s one bad hombre and perfect for the role of the baddest of all Spiral Zone armor. Because of the heavy armor, the figure is less articulated when the armor is on the figure.

When Sentinel Bear is fully assembled it is one of the most appealing toys I have owned over the years. Any more details the figure would look over designed any less it would look like the two other SZ figures. Sentinel Bear is in a class of its own.

Was Sentinel Bear worth waiting 20 years for? As a young lad it was the mysterious figure I never owned. As an adult, when I finally purchased it, Sentinel Bear fulfilled every expectation I had of it and more and worth every penny I spent on it. In fact I can honestly say it’s one of the best toys Bandai has ever made.

Leonardo Flores “Uplandmod”

Who knew they made a bootleg of Devil Satan 6? I sure as hell didn’t.

Who knew they made a bootleg of Devil Satan 6? I sure as hell didn’t.

Ever since I got the Go-Bots version, Monsterous, I have wanted the original Machine Robo Version. I recently made a trade for one, and much to my dismay it turned out to be a bootleg. The quality is terrible, but it will have to do as a placeholder until I get my hands on the original.

Devil Satan 6 (デビルサターン６) comes from the anime Machine Robo: Revenge of Cronos, made in 1986. It is an evil robot under the command of  the Gyandlar, a group of alien invaders.

Devil Satan 6 is comprised of 6 Evil Robots:

Gillhead ギルヘッド The head	Barabat バラバット Left arm	Deathclaw デスクロウ Right arm	Gurogiron グロギロン Torso	Eyegos アイゴス Right Leg	Blucoda ブルコーダ Left Leg

Each robot has a monster mode, a robot mode, and a mode as part of the combiner. The toys are mostly plastic with diecast reserved for the leg joints.

Once combined, Devil Satan 6 is an imposing figure. It’s pretty floppy, and the fit isn’t right, but I attribute that to the bootleg. My Go-Bots Monsterous has no such issues.

Devil Satan 6 has probably one of the best robot names ever. I mean, can it get more evil than that? No wonder it was changed before its release in the USA.

I would avoid this bootleg, but I would recommend hunting down an original version. How can you tell the difference? Well, for starters, the box has no Bandai logo on it, and it says “Made in Taiwan”. The individual figures have no copyright information stamped on them as well.

To be honest, I was never a big fan of the Silverhawks, I much preferred Rankin-Bass' previous show, Thundercats. But I always dug the designs of the bad guys in this show.

To be honest, I was never a big fan of the Silverhawks, I much preferred Rankin-Bass' previous show, Thundercats. But I always dug the designs of the bad guys in this show.

When I saw this guy at a flea market, I had to pick him up. He is very cool.

His name is Buzz-Saw, and his gimmick is spinning arm and shoulder blades. But what makes him exceptionally cool is how the shoulder blades are activated. Pull up and then push down on his head, and the blades spin really really fast.

And lets face it, he is cool looking. He looks as if he could be one of Mazinger Z's enemies.

He's made out of all plastic, and is about 5" tall. He comes with a bird weapon called Shredator. Shredator looks like it has some kind of action feature, but I'm not sure how to activate it. It attaches to Buzz-Saw via a peg on the wrist.

Gold Fighter is the Korean version of Kuroshishi from Bandai's Ninja Senshi Tobikage line. In Korea, Tobikage was known as Super K.

This toy is drastically different than it's Bandai counterpart. First of all there is no metal in this aside from the screws used to hold it together. The shoulders are missing a joint that help it transform into lion mode. It can still transform, but not in the same way is the original. Still, for a Korean toy it's pretty well made. The gold finish is beautiful and the paint is top-notch.

Included with gold fighter is a sword, a gun and a bow. The gun and the bow combine to make a power-up weapon. A sticker sheet is also included.