Warrior 1

Review by Combat_Armor_Dougram

Warrior 1 is a strange toy. It's not similar enough to fool anyone, but it is not different enough to distinguish itself from Voltron I. Seeing Warrior I is like meeting an identical twin of a friend. It looks like Voltron I, but something about it is just “off”. The box (which I do not have) looks almost like the Voltron I box, but the word “Voltron” has been changed to “Warrior”. I believe that Warrior I was made by either Tzan Hung Toys or Diecast Metal Toys, which are believed to be the same Taiwanese company at different times. The company is best known for its accurate copies of Chogokin toys, such as Godbot, Godtron, and Lionbot. There is also a more accurate version of the toy called 15 in 1 Deluxe, which I believe is the toy that Warrior is descended from. I am not sure if Warrior is a bootleg of a bootleg, or if it was created when the bootleggers decided not to strive for accuracy. If this is made by Diecast Metal toys (Tzan Hung Toys), to my knowledge, they did not make a Warrior III even though they had the Golion molds.

The 15 Warrior vehicles look like strange alternate universe versions of the Voltron vehicles. The Fighter Plane (chest ship), the Rotating Personnel Carrier, and the Armored Equipment Carrier (fist cars) are missing on this specimen and have been substituted with Voltron vehicles. All of the names of the vehicles are the Voltron names. The Warrior vehicles appear to have the same names as the names given on the Voltron I box. I decided to go with the names from the cartoon, as the toy names have less documentation. As with any Voltron I toy, the obvious place to start at is the Air Team.

Command Jet Explorer

Other than the “Made In Taiwan” stamp on the bottom of the vehicle, the shoddier and lighter blue paint, and the orange cockpit, the Command Jet Explorer looks exactly like its Voltron Counterpart. It still retains its pullback motor. A metallic sticker is missing, making a screw under the cockpit visible.

Strato Weapons Module

This is where things start to go downhill. The fit and finish of the Strato Weapons Module is much worse than the Voltron one. All of the white parts are now lemon yellow, the chrome is extremely rough, the red part on the back wants to fall down, there are many seams, and the side pods are on backwards. There are two stamps on the bottom of the vehicle: a “made in Taiwan” stamp and a number “9” stamp.

Advanced Recon Helicopters

The Advanced Recon Helicopters have the exact same colors as their Voltron counterparts. The only differences are the matte finish on the light blue paint, the shoddy paint job, and the lack of a copyright stamp. Both helicopters have broken rotor blades.

Fighter Plane

The Fighter plane is missing on my example, but from what I know, it is supposed to have an orange cockpit.
Warrior

Air Team

The combined Air Team is almost a dead ringer for the Voltron Air Team. The only differences are the orange cockpits, and the shoddy fit and finish. Now, let's take a look at the Sea Team.

Communications Module

The Communications Module looks almost exactly like the original. The only difference is the yellowed plastic (I am not sure if this is sun damage, as all of the white parts are this color) and the fact that the tower still has part of the antenna. I do not know if the antenna is broken on my specimen or if the company just clipped it badly (most likely the former). This vehicle also uses the more durable blue plastic

Space Probers

The Space Probers have a few differences that are worth pointing out. The red Space prober now has a yellow fin on the back, and the fins on the front of the blue Space Prober are now yellow. My red Space Prober is missing its fins, but I presume that they are also supposed to be yellow. Something that is not as obvious is the fact that the colored tips of the Space Probers are actually painted white plastic.

Multi Wheeled Explorers

The Multi Wheeled Explorers have numerous color alterations. All of the white parts are now red, and all of the red is now yellow. The Multi Wheeled Explorer that becomes the right leg is missing its wheels. I attempted to put the wheels from a Voltron I Multi Wheeled Explorer onto it, but it did not fit for some reason.

Sea Team

The combined Sea Team is a floppy mess. My specimen has numerous broken tabs, and nothing wants to fit. The Space Probers want to fall off, the whole thing leans to one side, and the combined vehicle looks horrible.

Jet Radar Station

The Jet Radar station features a few significant changes. All of the chrome parts are now yellow, and there are red stickers running down the middle of the vehicle. The most bizarre change though, is the fact that the panel with the radar dish is on backwards. This is intentional, as most of the sculpted details are gone. There is just a lone tab there, making it look like that side is supposed to be hidden. The radar dish is present, and the details on the other side are all there. The weird thing about this is that the dish points towards the ground instead of towards the sky.

Rotating Personnel Carrier/Armored Equipment Carrier

These two vehicles are missing on my sample. I had the fist from the Armored equipment carrier, but it has since gone missing. The ones used on Warrior I and the Land Team are from Voltron I. The cockpit on the Rotating Personnel Carrier is supposed to be yellow, and the cockpit on the Armored equipment carrier is supposed to be orange. The headlights on the fists are also supposed to be white instead of unpainted.

All-Terrain Space Vehicles

The All-Terrain Space Vehicles have the most noticeable alterations. Their colors have been inverted (the vehicle with a sloping front is now black, and the vehicle with a flat front is now yellow). The windows are also blue instead of amber. The paint applications also look sloppier. The back stabilizer on the yellow vehicle is broken off, but the black one still has its stabilizer.

Land Team
The Land Team looks fairly decent. All of the changes are noticeable here, and there is not much to talk about. The vehicle is more stable than the Sea Team and is about as decent as the Air Team

Warrior I

Combining Warrior I is exactly the same process as combining Voltron I, but the combined toy is much less stable. Warrior's limbs like to fall off. The legs have broken tabs, but I am not sure why the arms are so loose. The surprising thing about the extra yellow is that it actually make Warrior I's waist more show-accuarate, as Voltron I had a yellow square on his waist in the show.

And now, I shall use image editing to show you Warrior I next to Voltron I!

Since I had to borrow parts from my Voltron I in order to make Warrior I presentable, the only way that I could show them together was to edit the image. They are exactly the same size, and all of the vehicles are compatible.

Warrior is not the best way to get a Voltron I. It looks so similar to the official release that most people sell it for the same price. The quality is not that good, and everything about it pales in comparison to Voltron I. I bought this toy loose, and the original owner actually put tape around some of the connections. I recommend this toy to die-hard Voltron I fans and serious bootleg collectors only, because this toy is not weird enough to stand out and does not cost less than the official version.

P.S. I managed to find photos of a boxed Warrior I. All of the photos do not belong to me and come from an eBay auction from at least two years ago. The Warrior in the photos has many of the alterations that I showed in the review, but it also has some strange features. I have decided to put this section at the end, because this is not my toy.

The first strange feature is that the antenna on the Communications Module is now yellow. The Warrior in the photo also has the full antenna. The knobs on the Advanced Recon Helicopters are now red, the Multi Wheeled Explorer that forms the left leg has its color inverted, the Rotating Personnel carrier has an orange cockpit, the Fighter Plane has a blue cockpit, and the fist connectors on the Advanced Recon Helicopters are now dark blue. The box says “Warrior” instead of “Voltron” and has exactly the same text on it. The weirdest thing about the box is the text that reads, “Made in Taiwan or Japan.” I am not sure if this is a carryover from the Voltron I box, or if it is an original piece of text. If this text is true, the blue cockpit on the Fighter Plane could mean that the vehicle actually came from Voltron I (this might mean that the Fighter Plane in the review is semi-correct). I have seen Warriors that have Fighter Planes with orange cockpits, and I have seen the Warrior Fighter plane with a blue cockpit only once. This means that it could be a replacement, but there is no evidence to support any theory. The only thing that I can be sure about is that this is another case of an uncommon toy that has variants.