Another Gaiking Jumbo, this time Venezuela's take on the Mattel Shogun Warrior toy.

Although Mattel's Shogun Warrior Gaiking is generally regarded as an inferior product to it's Popy ancestor, there is no denying it's enduring popularity. Kids at that time loved the toy and as adults now have nothing but the fondest of memories. Furthermore, the Shogun Warrior Jumbos were such a smash hit that they were copied by two different toy manufacturers. Nacoral in Spain and Famosa in Venezuela were two companies that produced toys mimicking the Shogun Warriors. Both produced versions of Gaiking that are nearly identical to each other, but are significantly different than the Mattel version. I once won the Nacoral version on ebaY but it was destroyed in shipping and I've never managed to replace it. But I do have the Famosa version so I can tell you about that.

The first thing you might notice about the Famosa version is that it has two jointed elbows instead of just the one on the Shogun Warrior. Furthermore, both fists can be launched. (Although I can't see any specific reason why, the left fist on my specimen likes to fire off on it's own.) The Famosa Gaiking (which is actually labeled as "Robot Lanze Punos" on the box) also comes ready for battle with 10 extra missiles that are stored on the legs. These are the same legs as the Great Mazinger and the missiles clips are held in place in part by a screw.

Next, you'll notice that the head on this version is also different. Instead of being made of soft vinyl with painted highlights, it is hard plastic with stickers for details. The mouth grill is a gold foil sticker with black lines and there is also supposed to be stickers in the eyes, but my specimen is missing them. The same stickers as the Mattel version adorn the torso. The torso itself seems to be a harder plastic and the yellow is also brighter. Overall, I really like the look of this toy, even though it is even further removed from what the original Jumbo Machinder looked like.

I suppose the final thing to mention is the box. As I said in the Great Mazinger review, all the Famosa jumbos came in the same box. Each shows Great Mazinger and says "Mazinger Z", regardless of which robot you are getting. The way to know what you are buying was to read the name checked off on the top of the lid.

The Famosa Gaiking seems to be the second most common jumbo in the line (following Great Mazinger) but is still not easy to get. I think I've seen or heard of something like 5 of them selling. But the line as a whole is still a fairly new discovery so I'm sure more are out there. Price-wise, so far the going rate seems to be about $150-250 or so.

Gaiking was broadcast in Latin America in a show similar to Jim Terry's Force Five. It was called "El Festival de los Robots" and featured Gaiking ("El Gladiador"), Starzinger ("El Galactico"), Gakeen ("Supermagnetron") and Jeeg ("El Vengador").

EL FESTIVAL DE LOS ROBOTS

EL GLADIADOR

Jumbos from Venezuela have come to light and these are nearly identical to the Spanish Nacoral Robots. The easiest one to get is Great Mazinger.....

It is becoming more and more apparent in recent years that the influence of Popy's Jumbo Machinder line of toys was more far reaching than anyone had previously realized. Initially, it was thought that Mattel's line of Shogun Warriors were the only other source of Jumbos. Then the line of Spanish Nacoral Robots was discovered, as well as bootlegs from countries such as Italy, Hong Kong, Korea and Mexico. Recently, more jumbos from Venezuela have come to light and these are nearly identical to the Nacorals, even bearing the same names.

Famosa is known to have released 6 different Jumbos. Each came packaged in the same box. The front of the box shows the Great Mazinger Shogun Warrior with it's right hand replaced by a missile launcher, just like the box of the Nacoral Great Mazinger. It is in fact the exact same image. The style of the box is the same, except that now it says "Mazinger Z" on the front as well as the company name in the bottom left corner. One side of the box shows the Great Mazinger and Gaiking Jumbos, while the other side shows Dragun, Daimos and Gaiking again. On the top of the box is a checklist of the toys with a mark specifying which toy is inside.

The Great Mazinger toy is much like the Nacoral Great Mazinger....sticker on the chest, 14 missiles (the missiles are slightly more orange than others), two missile launchers and a different head. But the size of the two toys is slightly different with the Famosa being a little bit smaller. The head in particular is thinner. The chest on the Nacoral is a bit more robust than on the Famosa version, though it is difficult to see in pictures. My Famosa version did not come with stickers on the knees, although some do.

The only other difference is that the Famosa Great Mazinger has some VERY noticeable woodgrain in the molded plastic. It's obvious both in the chest and in the legs. I find this pretty interesting. I'm not sure if it means that the Famosa toys were made before the Nacorals or after. Or if the same prototypes were used for both or not.

Earlier, I said that Famosa made 6 Jumbos but only named 4. It turns out that they made 2 versions of this toy. (The 6th Jumbo was a fascinating and rare hybrid of Gaiking, Daimos and Dragun!) The first was released in the late 1970s and the second in the early 1980s. The first version had a small circular base attached to the feet. This was a battery operated "bump and go" feature. The toy would roll around and change directions upon contact with an obsticle. This version also came in a slightly different box. There is a yellow box on the top left corner denoting this feature. The following pictures were from a Venezuelan auction.

1st Version Toy

1st Version Box

Now that the existence of these toys is known, they are appearing with a good degree of regularity, especially the Great Mazingers. Gaiking has also been seen several times. But getting Dragun is MUCH harder, and the Daimos has not ever even been seen by anyone I know in Venezuela. Some even speculate Daimos was not actually made. It would seem this and the hybrid Gaiking are the real prizes of the line. Time will tell. This toy originally retailed for 280,00 bolivares (approximately $13) and now seems to typically sell in the $100-200 range.