Form New Voltron Blog!

 

You a fan of all things Voltron toys? Then check out the newest Blog that just came to fruition, 1984 Panosh Place Voltron Card-Back Guide. Though still in its infancy (hey, we were all there at one time), the author has a passion for the content. As such, I'm sure many more posts are on the horizon. Check it out!

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Just Doodling - Voltron: Defender Of The Universe

 

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Lionbot (AKA Voltron) (Unknown Company)

Lionbot
Unknown Company
1980's

2018 ends with a bit of a wish list item. While I'm not a big fan of Voltron personally, I have an interest in this particular version known as Lionbot which was only released overseas - Typcially in Taiwan. Why? Because I had this particular version of Voltron when I was a kid living overseas.

This particular version is made out of die cast metal / plastic and stands roughly eighteen to twenty-four inches when the lions are combined together. It also features a massive amount of weapons - One or more for each lion as well as the sword and shield for Voltron himself.

I remember only owning this bad boy for about a week or two when I stupidly lent it to a friend for a weekend. Said friend promptly broke the black lion, causing the thing to never be able to be combined again. I recall my dad asking me, "Did you learn a lesson?"

Not only did I never get a new Voltron, but dad wasn't able to fix it. So throughout its lifespan, until probably just thrown away, my four and a halfish lions could never again become Voltron, Defender of the Universe!

Unfortunately, I don't know who actually produced this particular version, nor can I pinpoint a specific year. There's nothing denoted on the actual box.

I know that Bandai produced a higher quality version for Japan / US released in 1982. So perhaps one can speculate the above is from the same time frame and perhaps even the exact same one. But, I'd be lying if I said I didn't prefer the above...Well, knock off version. It gets extra points for having been a part of my past.

Both versions are fairly readily available on secondary markets. However, they are both rather pricey and the Bandai one commonly doesn't come with the accessories. With that said, it only makes more sense to purchase the one from Taiwan.

Stick around as we cross 2018 off our list and spring into 2019 to see if Lionbot eventually makes its way into my collection. Until then, happy holidays and happy New Year from The Toy Box. For those who don't celebrate anything around this time of year, happy Monday! We'll see you in January.

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Squirt Robot (Gig)

Squirt Robot
Gig
1990 Something

♫♫♫ The Squirt Robot - More than meets the I have the power?

Hmm....

He is Squirt Robot - Or Robot Spruzza Acqua - translated in English from Italian as Robot Spray Water. The figure is so deeply rooted in 1980's nostalgia, yet many collector's have no clue what he's all about. Most fans passing by the figure would suspect it to be nothing short of a Transformers knock off. To some this would be an interesting enough aspect to make them take a second look, and possibly buy it. However, if you're strictly in it for a Transformers reason, you'll soon find yourself disappointed.

Squirt Robot here has an incredibly fun story / history surrounding him, and oddly enough, it leads back to Mattel's original Masters Of The Universe line, and from there grows out even further.

In the 1985 Mattel catalog, the Evil Robot prototype was showcased in a full page spread. The figure / character was captioned as serving Skeletor and his Evil Warriors - Despite his colors and bat insignia associating him to Hordak and his Evil Horde.

The figure would have incorporated a mechanism allowing it to throw water from his rifle when moving his right arm. Though we're not sure why the figure was scrapped in the long run, we can speculate about it all day. Our guess would be that its overall look and design simply didn't fit into the MotU style of figures. What's your theory? Share it in the comment section.

Despite being dropped by Mattel, LJN picked up the mold, and incorporated it into their Voltron line with a newly molded hydro-cannon. We searched briefly, but couldn't find the particular figure that this mold was used for. Please share in the comments section if you're a Voltran fan, and have any information.

Fast forward to some point in the 1990's when Gig Italian produced the subject piece in question - Squirt Robot. Obviously the head of Evil Robot didn't make it into the equation, and the paint scheme was changed to red and white. Unfortunately the cardback has no date markings, so we're unable to narrow it down to the specific year the figure was produced.

The mold has since been reused by a Chinese company that is producing multiple colors of the robot under a different name.

Not a bad bit of history for what would become a unique foreign figure - Or bootleg if you will. We love how it has roots in so many classic 1980's toy lines. These are truly the gems in collecting that make unique conversation pieces.

For a bit more information, you can check our our main source for this article "HERE". It's not the most well written article in terms of grammar and spelling, but it shares some good information on the subject if you can make it through it.

Prices are all over the map for folks looking to track one down. While he's not in abundance, there are a few to be found here and there. Unfortunately prices have ranged from $34.00 for poor carded versions, to almost $80.00 for mint loose ones. It's possible that the main driving force behind the price is based on collector knowledge. Meaning if someone who thinks it's a neat bootleg Transformer figure finds it, they may offer a low price. If someone knowledgeable about the figures history / roots is looking then a bidding war might occur, and prices drive upwards. All speculation of course.

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Voltron (Panosh Place)

We're not big fans of Voltron around these parts, but we know and respect a good toy line when we see it.

Voltron had a huge following in both the USA and Japan. Though the series differed drastically from shore to shore, the true form was there - A giant robot made from five lions piloted by five humans who used the giant robot to fight evil in the universe.

The series ran for 124 episodes during the 80's, and consistently ranked among the top shows in the US. What separated the shows from the Japanese versions was that the US versions were heavily edited to remove a lot of the violence, and other graphic related content. With this in mind, there are few US viewers who have seen an actual full length episode of the show.

With the success of the series on US shores, Panosh Place purchased the rights to produce a toy line based on the famous cartoon which ran from 1984-1986. While the quality of the figures weren't necessarily on par with that of other action figure lines on the market during this period, they were still wonderfully sculpted to match their television counterparts.

There were twelve figures in all;


Doom Commander, Hagar the Witch, King Zarkon, Prince Lotor, Robeast Mutilor, Robeast Scorpious

Skull Scavenger, Hunk, Keith, Lance, Pidge, Princess Allura

Much like the television series, the lions were the meat of the toys - So appealing that people who weren't necessarily aware of the series still purchased them.

The rarest of the lions these days appears to be the red one. While an average auction ends for $50.00 to $80.00 for the others, the Red Lion goes for $100.00 to $130.00.


Yellow Lion, Red Lion, Black Lion, Blue Lion, Green Lion

The Castle of Lions is the only playset produced for the series. The playset folded open to reveal a larger play area inside.


Castle of Lions

Five vehicles were produced for the line.


Coffin of Darkness, Coffin of Doom, Doom Blaster, Skull Tank, Zarkon Zapper

What's oddest about this line is that Panosh Place disappeared virtually overnight without a trace, and to date there is little to no information pertaining to the company. Approximately halfway through the toy line a Mattel label started showing up on the packages, yet the toys could still be found with either a Panosh Place or Mattel label. So what happened? Did Mattel buy the company? We honestly don't know. Let us know in the comment section if you do.

There have been many incarnations of Voltron toys to date, and the series was even revived for a short period of time, but nothing seems to capture the spirit of the original Voltron like the toys from Panosh Place.

Join us next time when we take a look at Robocop: Ultra Force.

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