Many Macross, Mospeada, Southern Cross, and Robotech collectors have mixed feelings about the non Bandai and Takatoku Robotech toys produced by Matchbox, specifically its 3 3.4 scale figures and their accessories.

Many Macross, Mospeada, Southern Cross, and Robotech collectors have mixed feelings about the non Bandai and Takatoku Robotech toys produced by Matchbox, specifically its 3 3.4 scale figures and their accessories.

The more difficult figures to locate are Scott Bernard, Roy Fokker, Lunk, Rook Bartley, Mirya in black, large Miriya and Lynn Minmei. A special note must go out the Lynn Minmei figure as it is the Holy Grail of the line as only a handful were made and were extremely rare to locate even back in the 1980’s.

The Matchbox’s Scott Bernard figures is one of more difficult figures to locate and never seem to appear on pegs at the department stores. I managed to locate the figure through the Sears catalog around 1986. Sears known for having exclusive toys only available through their catalog must have got the only catch of the Scott Bernard figures. Scott was available through mail order in a set of three figures along with Rand and Corg for $15.00. Even though it was available in their catalog I was rightly concerned that the figure would be substituted for unavailability or the order cancelled all together as another company from New York The Robot Store had done to me around the same time with some of the other Robotech action figures. Two weeks later arriving at my door was a set of three Robotech figures and in that package was one Scott Bernard. There was no special packaging just an envelope in mail that had the three figures on their respected cards.

Being a huge GI Joe 3 3.4 scale figures fan, the Matchbox line had so much potential but delivered so poorly. For whatever reason a second series of figures were never produced which was unfortunate. With Scott, Lunk, Rook and Rand produced only two more figures, Lancer and Annie, needed to be produced to create the main cast of the series. And trust me at the time I dreamed about those figure releases often. It is a shame that Hasbro or Kenner did not produce this line, as I am sure they would have handled the line better.

Matchbox’s Scott Bernard represents the worst of their Robotech line with unavailbity and a lack of basic knowledge of the subject. Trying to locate all 22 of Matchbox’s Robotech 3 3.4 line of action figures is quite a daring feat due to the extreme rarity of a handful of figures not to mentioning trying to locate an original Matchbox Minmei as opposed to the recent Harmony Gold reissues from a few years back. Unless you are trying to make a run for the Matchbox Robotech series or you are a Mospeada completest, or you come across the figure for cheap at the marketplace I would pass on this one. And I am sure you already have.

Leonardo Flores “ModCineaste”

A very recent aquisition of mine... But being a massive Robotech nerd, you could easily ask, what took ya so long!?

First off, if you want to check out more super-dimensional action, be sure to check out Atom's great review of Wave's 1/5000 DYRL-version Macross! Afterall, we have him to thank--at least in part--for this review. The recent release of Wave's Macross and Atom's subsequent review actually inspired me to pick up this 1985 US release of Matchbox's "Robotech SDF-1 Battle Fortress", a repackaging of the 1984 Japanese release of Takatoku's 1/3000 "Storm Attacker Construction" Macross toy.

Funny how toy collecting works sometimes. Toys, even vintage ones, that are extremely ubiquitous tend to fly right under my radar, no matter how cool they really are. ...For instance, it took me forever to get a Zinclon Mekanda Robo, any one of the umpteen releases of the diecast Lion Voltron, and even a Matchbox Vehicle Voltron. For me, Matchbox's fully-transformable SDF-1 had been the same way.

...Until I read Atom's review and the desire kicked in! ;)

Okay, let me just start by saying that I'm not going to go into gory detail about how big a Robotech nerd I am because of how the early '90's Eternity Robotech comics got me into anime. I'm not going to go into "which one's better": Robotech or Macross (or even Macross TV versus DYRL). I'm not going to go into why Carl Macek should or shouldn't be lynched. We've all been there... And no one should care.

Let's stick to the toy, shall we?

First off, the outer packaging was clearly redesigned by Matchbox, who distributed the toy in the States under the "Robotech" monicker [and check out this cool robot-japan thread for pics of the Takatoku version, including its box]. It's neat to notice that Revell, Inc. is recognized as the "Robotech" trademark owner on the box, as well as Harmony Gold and Tatsunoko being mentioned as copyright holders. The box measures 17" x 9" x 4" and features a door/lid that opens to reveals the toy inside. Under the door, cellophane-covered holes show the toy in "Battle" mode.

Outer box lid. Note the heart-breaking Kay Bee clearance price tag!

Underneath the lid. "3 Exciting Versions"!? How can ya go wrong???

Though the outer cardboard box is obviously very different from the Takatoku release, the styrofoam tray within is identical.

Styro tray. Mmmm...

Once you break out the toy, it's all play from there! This toy is simple, rugged, and fun. It takes less than a minute to transform and you sure won't need to consult the "Operating Manual" (which consists of a lone double-sided sheet!), you won't need any tools, and you don't have to be ginger with it. This is a children's toy, folks.

First, let's take a look at "Cruiser" mode. The craft measures 15" long. It's gorgeous.

Now, one of the first things you may notice is that there seem to be two holes at the tips of the Main Gun. Unfortunately, I've never handled the original Takatoku version, but I assume that these are for firing missiles--though I can't seem to find where the buttons would be. In fact, there are no spring-loaded mechanisms found in the Matchbox release at all, and the toy doesn't come with any missiles. I assume these features were gutted to conform to US toy safety standards. Further, there seem to be flip-up launchers near the aft of the ship. Similarly, there are no actual firing mechanisms present in the Matchbox version--though they're cruelly mentioned on the back of the "Operating Manual".

Gutted launchers? Boo.

There seems to be some storage spaces in cruiser mode, as well. There is a very tiny one just aft of the bridge (though I forgot to photograph this!) and a larger one in front of the bridge. I just assume they're for storing extra missiles. Or drugs.

Ya put your wee--*ahem*...sorry. I just tell people that's where the city goes! ;)

Next is the landing gear. Wait...what??? "Landing gear"? Really? For a gigantic spaceship that holds a city in its belly? Well, this is just for convenience. Without the gear, you wouldn't really be able to put the thing down in Cruiser mode!

Landing gear detail.

Cruiser resting on its gear.

Other than that, there's not a whole lot else to Cruiser mode. It just looks great and is fun to fly around the room (hmmm...this is a recurring theme for me, isn't it? maybe we should add "fly-ability around the room" as a toy category...)

One thing to be aware of on these older toys is the elbow joints. They can tend to sag a bit. This is most apparent in Cruiser mode when looking from the side. The super carriers, Prometheus and Daedalus, tend to droop a tiny bit, as you can see here:

Droopy Prometheus.

Droopy Daedalus...but also note the "Bandai" stamping on the feet/thrusters...

...Honestly, I wish I could tell ya more about the history of this toy. I'm aware that Bandai bought the molds for the Matsushiro/Takatoku 1/55 Valk, but I wasn't aware they'd done so with this 1/3000 Macross toy until I just recently saw the stamp. So what's the deal? Did Bandai ever release their own transformable Macross? If anyone has any knowledge about this, please post a comment (Ginrai, I'm looking at you).

[*EDIT*: Ginrai did update us with a little history lesson! Check out the comments below. Also, while we're at it, for more history on the 1/55 Valkyrie, see Ginrai's Missing Link article reposted by yours truly on TBDX]

So, anyway, on to "Battle" mode. Again, very simple transformation. This is the classic SDF-1, with the impressive Main Gun elevated vertically and the inhabitants of Macross City safely tucked away inside.

Yep, not a whole lot going on here other than big, plasticy robot action. The figure is pretty great. It looks good, has nice surface detail (molded and from the numerous decals), and has good-nuff poseability.

One thing that's kinda neat is the ability to remove the super carriers. They simply pop on and off pegs at the elbows. This adds some neat play value and helps fire up the ol' imagination--giving you some sense of how truly enormous this thing's supposed to be.

Super carriers' attachment pegs.

They look pretty cool alongside Cruiser mode, too.

Lastly, we have "Attack" mode. All it really is is the Main Gun elevated onto the shoulders and pointed forward, and a curious step I never noticed in the cartoon when they fired the Main Gun: the thrusters on either side of the upper chest splay outward a tiny bit. This, in turn, makes the Main Gun's pylons appear angled outward. Who knows if it's "canon" or not...but it looks cool!

Take that, you pesky Zentraedi!

Again, that's pretty much all there is to it! Simple. Fun. Rugged. That equals a classic toy to me. I'm not going to debate which Macross toy is better: this or the Wave. Everybody collects for different reasons, and these two offerings appeal to very different collecting aethetics. Just be happy we have a choice!

You may know him as Vehicle Voltron, or by his original Japanese name, Dairugger XV!

This has to be one of my all time favorite toys. The Deluxe Voltron 1 Warrior set. I’ve been obsessed by this character since I was a little kid.

When I was about to turn 12, I asked my parents for a voltron. I probably should have been specific and said the “LION” voltron, but I didn’t. My birthday came and I got the deluxe Vehicle Voltron. I was so let down. I really wanted the Lion Voltron. But when life hands you lemons, you make lemonade. I got into the Vehicle Voltron eventually. Its interesting combination and huge size established the precedent of what I like about toys today.

Me and my Voltron, 1985

The story of this toy is a bit complicated...

The original Character comes from the 1982 Japanese Animated series Armored Fleet Dairugger XV (機甲艦隊 ダイラガーXV - Kikō Kantai Dairagā XV). Produced by Toei, the series ran for 52 episodes and ran until 1983. The premise of the show was that Dairugger XV was a space exploration team. The individual Dairugger ships could combine their 15 vehicles into 3 individual teams, or combine into one larger robot.

The show was popular enough for Popy to make a few toys for it. Along with the standard and DX chogokin toys, Popy planned a larger, diecast, combining version, to be in the same line as the SG-01 Chokinzoku ("Super Metal") Tetsujun 28. The toy was designed by Katsushi Murakami (who also designed the SG-01) but the expense of the SG-01 caused the line to be cancelled. Popy decided to move forward with the toy, but in plastic instead of metal. This toy was called the Deluxe Kikougattai KikouKantai Dairugger XV. For a more in-depth look at why the SG-01 was the last of its kind, check out this great translation of an article from the Chogokin Chronicle by Matt Alt.

The original Popy versions were sold as a boxed set, or as three sets of 5.

In 1983, an American company called World Events Productions was looking for Japanese shows to import and translate for American audiences. Golion, Albegas and Dairugger XV were chosen. (Another show, Daltanious, was considered, but never got aired.) These shows would become known as Voltron, although Voltron II was never aired.

Matchbox got the rights to produce toys for Voltron, and decided to use the Japanese toys as a base for their American products. Where the DX Golion toy had to be heavily modified to meet US safety standards, the large Dairugger did not. In fact, all that was changed between the US and Japanese versions were the omission of a sword, stickers, and three small antennae. The very first versions of the Deluxe Voltron Warrior robot still has all the Japanese copyright info on the backs of the vehicles (Later versions do not).

Second Release (english) First Release (Japanese)

The Deluxe Voltron Warrior also had two different kinds of packaging. The first version had an opening cover that revealed a die-cut window, while later versions just had a solid box.

UK version 1 box

US version 2 box

Leftover vehicles were also sold individually bagged in discount houses.

Bagged Voltron part

The Toy

The Deluxe Voltron Warrior set is comprised of 15 Individual vehicles that can combine three teams, or the full deluxe robot.

Air Team (クウラガー Kurugger)

• Command Jet Explorer (ラガー1 - Rugger 1)
• Strato Weapons Module (ラガー2 - Rugger 2)
• Advanced Recon Helicopter (ラガー3 - Rugger 3)
• Advanced Recon Helicopter (ラガー4 - Rugger 4)
• Fighter Plane (ラガー5 - Rugger 5)

Air Team

Sea Team (カイラガー Kairugger)

• Communications Module (ラガー6 - Rugger 6)
• Space Prober (ラガー7 - Rugger 7)
• Space Prober (ラガー8 - Rugger 8)
• Multi Wheeled Explorer (ラガー9 - Rugger 9)
• Multi Wheeled Explorer (ラガー10 - Rugger 10)

Sea Team

Land Team (リックラガー Rickrugger)

• Armored Equipment Carrier (ラガー11- Rugger 11)
• Rotating Personnel Carrier (ラガー12 - Rugger 12)
• Jet Radar Station (ラガー13 - Rugger 13)
• All Terrain Space Vehicle (ラガー14 - Rugger 14)
• All Terrain Space Vehicle (ラガー15 - Rugger 15)

Land Team

All of the vehicles are plastic. There is no metal in this toy, unless you count axles, springs and screws. The tires on the vehicles are rubber, and on the smaller vehicles are often dried out and cracked, if not gone altogether.

	Command Jet Explorer is a small jet that becomes the head of Voltron. The doors on the top open up to reveal the face. There are four rubber wheels on the bottom, two of which have a friction motor. This piece is commonly found with missing tires and broken fins.
	The Strato Weapons Module becomes the upper chest of Voltron. It looks simple but it serves many functions. The wheeled base can rotate 90 degrees to allow it to roll when combined with the rest of the Air Team. As a stand alone vehicle, it features two silver blocks that fold out, apparently some kind of weapon. It looks as if missiles should go in these blocks, but no version ever had firing missiles. One of the red bands also rises up, just for aesthetics. The red button in the center acts as a release button for the head and middle torso pieces when combined.
	The Advanced Recon Helicopters feature rotating silver blades and rubber tires. The blades are commonly broken off at the center, and the small rubber tires are often cracked or missing. These units do not have friction motors
	The Fighter Plane features 2 small white clips that fold out to attach to the chest of Voltron. This ship has rear friction wheels as well. The red ship is commonly found with portions of the wing broken off
	The Communications Module forms the mid-torso of Voltron, and also forms the middle of the Sea Team. It has no action features other than rubber wheels. In the Japanese version of the toy, the Communications Module (or Rugger-6) has a tall chrome antenna. This was flattened to a chrome panel and permanently attached in the US version. It is made of the fragile blue Popy plastic, and is often broken at the connection points.
	The Space Probers form the upper legs of Voltron, and are also the tips of the Sea Team. One features a Red front, the other Blue. These feature wheels on the bottom as well.
	The Multi Wheeled Explorers form the lower legs of Voltron, as well as the rear sections of the Sea Team. They both feature a white cube section that slides out to accommodate the tabs from the Communications Module. These vehicles feature friction motors in the rear as well. The Japanese release included a chrome tower on each vehicle. These have been omitted for the US release, but the holes for the towers are still visible. These vehicles tend to take the most beatings, and are often in the worst shape. First, the wheels are often broken off, and secondly, the tabs that connect this unit to the upper legs often snap off, or lose their ability to grab to the parts. There is a lot of weight on these joints, so it is not surprising.
	The Armored Equipment Carrier forms the lower torso of the Voltron Robot. The center part pushes in and reveals two tabs on the other side that the legs connect to. To retract those tabs, you need to open the silver door on the top and move the yellow switch. This switch is nearly impossible to move without some kind of instrument.
	The Rotating Personnel Carrier (red) and Jet Radar Station (blue) become the hands of Voltron. Each features a firing fist, and friction rear wheels. The rubber tires are often cracked of missing altogether. The fists are often missing due to the fragile tab that locks them into place. It’s a good idea to remove these fists for long-term storage.
	The All Terrain Space Vehicles become the feet of Voltron. Each vehicle features friction wheels and small, chrome supporting wheels to keep Voltron from falling over in robot mode. These are probably the most durable vehicles in the set.

Voltron is not a sturdy toy. The plastic can be brittle, and the connection points wear out easily. The fists break, the tires dry up. The toy just doesn’t age well. It just wasn’t able to stand the punishment a young child was going to put it through. Finding a unused mint one is a rare find, and although parts are plentiful on ebay, piecing one together from loose bits is next to impossible.

There have been many bootleg versions of this toy out there, some produced as recently as 2004. There was a version sold at Toys R Us that was very high quality, and even included a sword (something the US release did not). It’s worth getting just to have the sword. You could also get fists from this toy as well.

Voltron 1 with Bootleg Sword

Despite all its flaws, I really love this toy. Part of it is sentimental, but part of it is that it is so damn aesthetically pleasing. It’s a big chunky robot toy that shoots fists and transforms.

On a personal note, It was this toy that began me on my path of rooting for the underdog so to speak. NOBODY liked Vehicle Voltron, including me. He was always second best. But I really identified with it and that concept at a young age. Since then I have always been drawn to the things that are unpopular or uncool. It’s part of my nature that I can trace back to this toy.

My original Voltron 1 from 1985, as he looks today

Random Notes about Voltron 1

• On the US version of the box, the three teams are the Land, Sea and Air teams. On the UK box, the teams are called Turbo Terrain Fighter, Aqua Fighter and Strato Fighter. Adding to the confusion, the three box sets refer to them as Space Warrior, Land Warrior and Air Warrior.
• Also, the UK box uses the English spelling of “Armoured”
• The US version is called Voltron 1 Deluxe Warrior Set, where the UK version is called Vehicle Team Voltron.
• The US box incorrectly states that the toy is made of “Durable Metal Die Cast Parts”. There is no Die Cast metal on the toy.
• The photos of the toys on the back of the box are all of the Japanese Versions of the toys.
• The quote on the front of the US box says “Includes All Parts To Make the Towering and Terrifying Voltron 1 With Heroic Human Face for Hours of Endless Play!”
• The illustration on the box has the fists on the wrong sides

In Japan, Voltron II is known as Kosoku Denjin Albegas. It is often translated as Arbegas, Abegas, Albegus and Arbegus.

Voltron II or Gladiator was meant to be the second TV series to go along with Voltron I (Dairugger XV) and Voltron III (Golion). For some reason, the show never aired, but Matchbox licensed the toys and put them out anyway.

In Japan, Voltron II is known as Kosoku Denjin Albegas. It is often translated as Arbegas, Abegas, Albegus and Arbegus.

In 1983, Popy released the DX Chogokin Kosoku Denjin Albegas Denjinbox. It featured three individual chogokin robots that could be transformed into 6 “official” modes. The robots were Alpha Robo (Black), Beta Robo (Blue) and Gamma Robo (Red).

Alpha

Beta

Gamma

Each figure featured a sword and firing fists. The six modes are:

• Denjin Dimension (Alpha > Beta > Gamma)
• Space Dimension (Alpha > Gamma > Beta)
• Magma Dimension (Beta > Gamma > Alpha)
• Sky Dimension (Beta > Alpha > Gamma)
• Marine Dimension (Gamma > Alpha > Beta)
• Guard Dimension (Gamma > Beta > Alpha)

The Albegas Denjinbox actually comes in two versions – The first version box is horizontal and has the green, grid-like background artwork and the Popy logo. The second version is vertical a rainbow strip at the top and the Bandai logo. Popy was absorbed into Bandai during this toy’s production run. The toy originally retailed for 4,500 yen.

In 1984, when World Events Productions licensed Albegas as Voltron II, Matchbox imported the Denjinbox set for release in America. To conform to safety standards, Matchbox removed the swords and the firing fists from the release. They also split the box set up into individual robots.

At the time, the Gladiator Robot was a pretty ingenious thing. Each robot came apart and could recombine in endless combinations. Because we never saw the show, we really had no idea what was the “right” combination. I always thought the red robot was supposed to go on top as a kid.

Marine Dimension

Each robot is constructed basically the same. The legs attach at the waist via a fragile connection point. The bottom of the legs are solid metal, with a hinged foot and knee. Doors on the side open and act as a lock to hold the legs in place when they are compressed. The arms are jointed at the elbow, but have a small bump in them that prevents them from bending backwards. A yellow button on the shoulders releases the arms so that they can swing backwards for the combination. The shoulders slide out from the metal chest area and a grey hinge allows you to compress the torso into the chest, and then the shoulders push back in to lock it all in place.

Hinge Assembly

As a kid, I remember getting one of the three Gladiator robots – I think it was the blue one, but my memory is hazy. I remember the toy practically disintegrating after a short period of play. As cool as the concept was, these toys were really fragile. The connection joints where the legs attach to the body are pretty flimsy on their own, but add in Popy’s trademark fragile blue plastic, and you have a recipe for disaster. To this day, finding an unbroken set is a rarity. Other common problems were fists breaking off (they were just glued in), and slouching. Over time the middle plastic on the robots cannot support the heavy weight of the metal chest, and the robots “slouch”.

I have always had a soft spot for this toy, largely because as a kid I never had all three robots, and was never able to see the 3 robot combination. As an adult collector, I love the looks of this toy, and its endless play value. It really is a shame that it is so fragile.

The art on the Matchbox package shows the Gladiator with his hands out, but the Albegas robot always had only one set of hands visible at a time.

Terebi-kun ad from July 1983 for the Popy DX Chogokin Albegas Denjinbox