Toy Review: Popy GB-42 Mechanic Lightan (2007 Bandai reissue)

It's time to revisit one of my very favorite toy lines with another of Bandai's reissues of the wonderful early 80s's Golden Warrior Gold Lightan toys.  In my very first review, I gave an overview to the main character, Gold Lightan, a giant golden robot whose alternate form is that of a pocket cigarette lighter.  Yup, it was 1981, and I guess smoking was still pretty darn common, so perhaps a lighter would have been an adequate disguise.  We all know the tobacco industry has been trying to hook kids for years.  Maybe they were busy luring Japanese youth with huge fighting robots and chogokin toys?

Anyway, the subject of today's review is a subsequent Lightan toy, Mechanic Lightan.  Reissued by Bandai in 2007, this toy was originally one of Popy's releases in its GB Chogokin line.  Mechanic Lightan served in an assistant role in the original television series, acting as a repair bot for the rest of the Lightan team.

In lighter form, Mechanic is a bit shorter than his big brother Gold Lightan, but is wider and stouter.  The toy has greater weight, as there is less hollow space inside.  You'll see why in a bit.  This lighter has a rounded top, but still retains the signature "crystal cut" surface that also adorns Gold Lightan.  There are quite a few seams and some hinges visible in this mode.

A look at the underside reveals the GB-42 code, and an indicator that this is a reissue, rather than an original.  No matter, it's purported to be a faithful reproduction.  You can also see many more seams here as well.  This is where we'll start his transformation to robot mode.

Flipping some of these panels open reveals three wheel pods with a total of four wheels.  Most of the toy is heavy diecast metal, and these wheels are made of the same stuff.

Mechanic Lightan sits upright on these wheels quite well, and he rolls freely on them.

A simple flip of the lighter's top and the robot's head is exposed.  The plastic is a deep metallic blue with silver and yellow accents.  Note the red plastic button on top of the head and the spring-loaded support arm for the top.  It's like the supports on the hoods of many modern cars!

Pressing the red button pops open Mechanic Lightan's chest.  Hidden inside are a variety of moving parts.

Swinging the chest panels all the way out to the sides, one can then fold out two manipulator arms.  These red plastic parts are mounted on silver chromed extenders.

One use for these arms is as firing missile launchers.  These utilize very small missiles that can be fired when the button on top is pressed.

Opening the chest up allows you to get at Mechanic Lightan's array of tools.  These are, amazingly, also made of the same gold diecast from which most of the rest of the toy is constructed.

There's a flat-head screwdriver, drill bit, Phillips head screwdriver, and then a socket wrench.  Each is about three quarters of an inch high.

Each can fit in the missile launcher's opening in place of a missile, thus allowing Mechanic Lightan to make needed repairs.

The blue carrying compartment can even be tilted forward to allow for easier access to the tools.

Mechanic Lightan's got quite a lot of features and gimmicks, and his weight is substantial due to copious amounts of diecast metal.  He's fantastic hand candy and a lot of fun to play with.  A reproduction piece like this is certainly aimed at the adult collector's market, but this is a real honest-to-goodness toy.  I love these guys!

Toy Review: Godzilla's Gang Muruchi

Here's another nostalgic toy from my childhood.  My brothers and I had a few of Mattel's Godzilla's Gang figures when they were released in 1978.  These toys were actually manufactured by the Japanese toy-maker Popy, but Mattel did the distributing here in the States.  I suspect those that made it into our hands were purchased from the local five and dime store.  Selling for around a buck, these toys would have been particularly hard to resist for little monster-loving boys.

Despite being a member of Godzilla's Gang, Muruchi here was really a villainous monster from the Return of Ultraman show that aired in Japan in 1971.  

Muruchi seems to be suffering from some blobby paint application.  Yeah, these were cheap, but couldn't they have put a bit of care into this?

Muruchi is sort of the bizarre love-child of Godzilla and a kielbasa.  Unlike some robots I know, kaiju don't seem to suffer too much when viewed in profile.

Paint applications on toys like this aren't usually too complex, but there's a certain charm to the way vast swaths of color are applied, highlighting the sculpt's texture.

Muruchi gets a little mustard yellow for his bee-hive mitten hands.  Clearly, this was a much-used toy.

The yellow made its way only other body parts, including his toes.

Articulation was (and still is) extremely limited on vinyl kaiju toys.  In Muruchi's case, he's actually got quite a bit more than the normal.  His arms, legs, and tail are all moveable.  "Run, Muruchi, run!  See Muruchi run!"

Yup, he's a fun old toy, and one that I acquired very recently, having been gifted it by my younger brother on my birthday.  This is the actual toy we had as kids, and he graciously passed it on to me (along with a few other kaiju who may wind up getting the Geezer treatment).  Thanks for the assist into the WABAC Machine, APH!

Toy Review: Godzilla's Gang Bemustar

This is a very short toy review for a very cheap toy.  Mattel released a series of old Popy soft

vinyl toys in the USA in 1978, dubbing the line "Godzilla's Gang."  Outside of Godzilla himself, the rest were actually Ultraman villain monsters.  It was kind of a strange grouping, but at around a buck a piece, one wasn't going to complain (not that I had any clue of who Ultraman was at the time).  I'm pretty sure that we had three of these toys, one of which was Bemustar.  I have no experience with the actual Ultraman show that Bemustar originated in, but I was able to locate this video of him doing his thing.

Anyway, all this is completely secondary to the fact that I'm here to post pics of a toy I knew virtually nothing about as a kid, but enjoyed mightily.  Here is Bemustar.

Sculpting on these old vinyl toys rarely were screen-accurate, but that's part of the charm.  He's got a joint at the neck.

I remember that the colors just enthralled me as a kid.  I believe the actual vinyl is a brown, but then there are varying sprays laid on top in metallic greens and magentas.

He's also got some joints that allow his arms to move up and down, but that's about it for such vinyl toys.  Still, having practically no articulation matters little when faced with such awesome paint.

Bemustar's got some really cool skin texture.  I love the silly tail.

"Oh, you think my tail is SILLY, huh?  I'll show you how silly it is next time I'm stomping around your downtown!"

There's the famous Popy stamp!

These old vinyls are great if you can get your hands on them.  Bemustar seems to be fairly easily acquired via venues such as Ebay, though the other Godzilla's Gang figures may be harder to come by.  He was a cheap thrill back in the day, and still seems to be today.  Thanks to Bemustar, I am in some small way able to reach back over the years to that little eight-year old me, breathing life into a small hunk of vinyl.

Toy Review: Popy GB-37 Gold Lightan (2007 Bandai reissue)

For my first review, I'm starting off with one of the gems of my collection.  I was lucky enough to become aware of Gold Lightan back in 2006 when I received Bandai's GX-32 Soul of Chogokin Gold Lightan as a much-appreciated Christmas gift from my wife.  Any description of that toy is for another time and review, but it sparked a real appreciation for the character.  

Gold Lightan is the titular character from Golden Warrior Gold Lightan (Ōgon Senshi Gōrudo Raitan), a 52-episode show that aired in Japan during 1981 and 1982.  I've never had the good fortune to see an episode of the show, as my ability to understand Japanese is absolutely nil, and I'm unaware of any English subtitled translations.  Basically, Gold Lightan is a pocket cigarette lighter that shape-shifts into a gigantic golden robot.  Kind of ridiculous, but then suspension of disbelief is required for pretty much any giant robot show.  A few clips of action from the show can be found on YouTube, including the show's opening.  Oddly enough, there may be more awareness of Gold Lightan in the USA than at any previous time due to Tasunoko vs. Capcom:  Ultimate All-Stars, a Wii video game released in 2010.  

Enough preamble.  Let's move on to the toy.  Gold Lightan has two forms - robot and lighter.  Starting with his lighter mode, Gold Lightan is basically just a golden brick about three inches high and two wide.  

There are tiny pyramids adorning the surface, which are described as having been "crystal cut."  There's a good deal of weight here despite the small size - Gold Lightan is almost entirely created from gold chrome-plated diecast metal.  

To begin the transformation to robot mode, pull down the top front panel.  The hinges on Gold Lightan are nice and tight and move smoothly.

  Next, fold up the robot head.

Then swing each arm out to the side.

Flip the hands out horizontally.

Move the arms down to the side.

Flip the chest panel back up.

Now the lower front panel gets raised.

The legs need to be pulled out one by one.

Do the same for the second leg, then stand him upright.

Fold down the lower front panel, and there stands Gold Lightan in all his brilliant glory.

Gold Lightan features a nicely-detailed facial scupt.

Proportions, as was fairly normal for a toy from 1981, are blocky and chunky.

Articulation is limited to swiveling shoulders, as well as bendable elbows.

Note the red button.  This allows the toy to launch its fists via a spring-loaded mechanism.

The fists are quite small and easily lost unfortunately.  The reissue came with two sets as I remember.

A launched fist can travel quite a long distance, as you can see below.

Gold Lightan also features two missile launchers hidden within the lower front panel.  

When raised, the launchers can be fired using two red tabs located to either side.

These missiles are even smaller than the fists.  I've swallowed pills significantly larger than these.  Clearly this is a Japanese toy.  No toy produced for sale in the USA after 1979 (Mattel's Battlestar Galactica toys were famously involved in the death of a child due to launching missiles) would have included what has been seen ever since as a choking hazard.

These missiles do launch with another spring-loaded mechanism, but in this case, they seem more to just fall out, rather than properly firing.

In today's adult-oriented toy-collecting world, many of these old chogokin (a term frequently associated with Japanese die-cast toys) are collectors items.  It's sometimes hard to remember that they were originally released as proper children's playthings available in regular old toy stores.  Gold Lightan is a great example of such.  He has great play-ability and is just the size to be carried around in a pocket by some entranced ten-year-old.

Seen from the proper angle, one might be able to see Gold Lightan as if he truly were a towering giant.  He is  exactly that in the context of my own collection.  This is a toy that often gets played with when I or my kids are in my "Office."  He sits proudly among his Lightan brethren on my shelves.  You'll come to know more of them in future reviews.