So $150 bucks was to rich for your blood for Toynami's exquisite Masterpiece Voltron. Well how would you like an almost identical version for $80? Is an all plastic version of this piece worth the asking price? Maybe. We take a look at Voltron (SDCC 09 Metallic Paint Version.)

So today I am taking a look at the SDCC09 exclusive version of Voltron: Defender of the Universe. Toynami's previously released Masterpiece Edition Voltron was a hit with fans and collectors alike. It was well-made, had a lot of metal content and sold out pretty quickly. Face it, $150 is a LOT of money for a “toy” but I also understand the regret of not getting one when you had a chance.

Well Toynami has released this piece in an all-plastic build and I must say it's pretty good. This isn't the first all plastic version of the mighty Voltron from Toynami but it is the first metallic paint version and was sold in limited numbers at San Diego Comic Con 2009.

So for about half the price of the die-cast metal version the first thing you notice is the package. It is not the Masterpiece “book-style” package Toynami is known for. Instead you get something more akin to the classic Go-Lion or Lionbot releases.

This time using the Voltron name and logo. Very nice indeed.

Can you tell which is the plastic version and which is the metal version?

5 Robot lions combine to form the giant defender. Each is as exacting in detail as the previous metal version. Each lion feels solid and well constructed yet light and toy-like.

They retain their high level of pose-ability and striking presence on the shelf. The metallic style paint works to maintain the illusion these are metal incarnations. They look just as good as the original release really.

Very sharp.

Where the difference in materials makes a huge difference is in the finished robot mode. Voltron actually makes for a better “toy” in plastic than he does in metal.

Now don't get me wrong. I love the high metal content of the Masterpiece Edition but the all metal bodies of Blue and Yellow Lions weigh the legs down feeling like they may fall off if not supported.

The all plastic version, being lighter can actually picked up and posed without fear of falling legs. As a matter of fact I am comfortable letting my 2 year old nephew play with it (under my supervision of course) it's that much more playable

As a collector I prefer the metal “Masterpiece Edition” but the SDCC09 metallic paint version is an excellent choice for those they may have missed the first release. For those on a more discerning budget the all plastic release here is worth getting your hands on. It actually makes a great toy!

SDCC09 brought us some cool exclusives, including this vinyl figure of Voltron III (the lion one!). Click here to see how it stacks up...

Okay, so this is a little odd: news of Toynami dropping a simple, articulated vinyl figure of seminal robot hero, Voltron III (Go-Lion in his native Japan), dropped quite some time ago--before San Diego Comic-Con 2009, in fact. Lots of folks waited patiently for it to come out...and then it was announced that a metallic paint variant would be released as an exclusive at SDCC.

Sure, that's totally cool. But...where was the normal one!? As it turned out, the Comic-Con exclusive came out firstjust dropped a few days ago!

Oh well!

So...this is the San Diego Comic-Con 2009 exclusive metallic version of Toynami's Robot Vinyl Collection 01 Voltron III. Quite the mouthful, no? Well, I honestly have no idea if there will be more entries into this "Robot Vinyl Collection" series, so I didn't add that to our toylines list above (and I didn't bother to enter "01" as the figure's number). Hopefully, we'll see more characters done in this series (a Voltron I/Dairugger XV would be killer!), and we'll just update the review for clarity.

So let's get down to business. How's the toy?

I'd say, "not bad".

No, not a resoundingly enthusiastic endorsement, but as VF5SS is fond of saying these days..."it'll do".

It's a very simple toy, and as such, I think it's pretty easy to break down how to judge it. The way I see it, there are three things to look at: 1) what it is, 2) what other toys of this character exist, and 3) how much it'll set ya back.

What is it? Well, it's a 9-inch, fairly "realistic"-looking, semi-articulated figure of Voltron III. It's completely painted Chinese vinyl, so it's certainly adequate. It's a far cry from the lustrous, hard, glossy sheen of genuine Japanese vinyl...but in the final analysis, who cares? It's a solid, cheap Voltron toy.

The vinyl feels pretty thin and lightweight (except for the wings, ears, and other extremities, which are solid vinyl and perfectly straight!). The paint gets a little tacky on hot and humid days. Oh well. Like I said, it's more than adequate. The articulation is interesting. The figure is already clearly posed, slightly...but they added bicep, wrist, and knee swivels to the prerequisite neck and shoulder joints.

Why? I'm not exactly sure. They don't add much posability...at all. It's actually a rather awkward toy. I mean, he looks like he sorta could be/should be dynamic, but he totally isn't...at all. Most vintage vinyl robot toys were purposefully given blocky proportions with very limited right-angle joints. AND WE WERE HAPPY WITH THEM, DAMNIT!! *Ahem*

What I'm trying to say is that vintage-style blocky proportions just look and feel right with limited articulation. It's like holding a Jumbo Machinder--you don't suddenly expect it to be as posable as a Revoltech. It's awesome just the way it is with its 2 or 3 points of articulation. This toy, on the other hand, has "realistic" (cartoon-accurate) proportions and styling, so you almost *expect* it to breakdance on your desk. Nope.

Yep...that's about all he can do.

The sculpt, as I mentioned, does a great job of conveying the look from the show. There were a couple shortcuts I didn't appreciate, however. First off, the "hands" (the mouths of the red and green lions) are totally filled in. Booo! I know it woulda been tough to pull these parts from the molds if the hands had been hollowed out, but they really should've thought of a better solution...and then given us an ABS plastic Blazing Sword, damnit!

My other sculpt gripe is the lack of lion legs (whew). I know this figure is not meant to depict the transforming toy, but c'mon...it looks really plain without the visual cues that it can transform/combine. The arms look really naked to me. Most folks considering buying this toy are probably gonna be pretty familiar with the design. As such, I'm guessing they'll expect to see the chrome folded-up lion legs on the front of the arms and sides of the legs.

Lastly, the paintjob. Not bad. I gotta say, though...THIS is "metallic"??? I had to work pretty hard to get that sorta wet look in some of these close-ups. In normal light, he looks...normal. I can't imagine there being much difference between this and the actual normal version just released. Still, it's pretty cool. The barely-detectable glittery flake used in the paint makes the sculpt pop a little better.

Okay, we've talked about what this toy is. Now, let's look at what Voltron III merchandise is already out there. Well, there are two deluxe combining diecast toys: the recent Toynami toy and the vintage Popy DX and its umpteen variants and bootlegs. There are combining plastic toys, as well, by Toynami and other companies during the 80's (Panosh Place...**shudder**). Popy released an ST chogokin and a Jumbo Machinder (later reissued by LJN in the States). And there's probably another eleventy-billion other Voltron III/Go-Lion toys out there...

Do ya really need another???

Well, that depends. Here's the deal: to my knowledge, there's only ONE Popy mini vinyl of Go-Lion. And that's it for vinyl toys of this guy! No standard-scale vinyls, no missile-fires, no nothing! So, if you're a vinyl head and you just need a modern-style sofubi Voltron III, this may be the toy for you!

Hey, think positive, will ya!?

Lastly, price. I'm actually not sure what this guy retailed for at Comic-Con (shogundan, you wanna chime in?). I wasn't there. I do know, however, that the normal color version goes for $36USD. In the final analysis, that's not a bad deal at all. A modern character ST vinyl manufactured in Japan would easily run 2-3 times that, no problem. Onell Design's Armodoc is a Chinese vinyl figure that's shorter, but stouter than this guy...and runs you around $25USD...but Onell doesn't have to pay royalties on the name.

All in all, this figure is undoubtedly a *terrific* value despite my gripes above. That said, however, those gripes will really be the deciding factor in whether or not you want one of these on your shelf!

Another jumbo bootleg surfaces from Peru.

After I bought the strange King Of The Jungle knockoff Voltron, I'd hoped that a bootleg of the Tetsujin 28 jumbo would surface. Well, no such luck thus far, but I have managed to score a second Voltron knockoff that is quite different from the first.

As you can see, there are several differences between these toys, which are both from Peru, although not necessarily from the same maker. The company who made both are still unknown as neither has any markings. However, the seller I bought it from speculated it may have been from a company called "Basa". But I don't know that for a fact.

The first thing you noticed of course is that they are different colors. The new one on the left has a silver torso and forearms with black shoulders. And the colors of the legs have been switched back to the proper sides. For details, there are almost no stickers on the new one, just a little bit of residue on the arms. I'm not sure if there were ever more than those. The head is yellow and red and although the colors are very inaccurate to the show, I have to admit that I like them. It's a much brighter looking toy than any of the other Voltron/Golion jumbos and I think the color scheme looks nice.

Next, check out the comparison of the arms of the two toys.

I complained in the previous review about how you could not remove the launching mechanism from the arms and how that made the arms look too long and gangly for my tastes. But on this one, no launching mechanism is present so it looks much better. But both toys still use the arms from the T28 jumbo.

OK, now, speaking of arms... For some reason, although this toy does not have the proper arms on the shoulders, they are on the hips!

Yes, those are the upper arms from the Voltron jumbo attached to the hips. Why? Don't ask me. I'm not sure if they are supposed to have the lower arms connected here and they are just missing? I hope not, because not only would that mean the toy is incomplete, but well.. that would look just awful. Maybe they are supposed to look like some kind of cannons? You'd have to use you imagination a bit for that, but it's what I like to think. Either way, it's insane and thinking too much about it could make you insane too, so don't. I'm not gonna.

There's not much more I can say about this that you can't tell from the pictures. So I'll just leave you with a shot of all 3 Voltron Jumbos in my collection. Still missing 2 others, the Popy Golion and the Korean Super K. At least two others, I mean. Who knows what we haven't found yet.

Robeast Mutilor may be one of the worst action figures ever created.

Robeast Mutilor may be one of the worst action figures ever made.

He's from Panosh Place's Voltron line of toys. You know them, the company who made the OTHER Voltron toys. Matchbox had the license to use Popy's chogokin toys (Golion, Abega and Dairugger), and the rest went to a couple of companies that had no idea about what they were doing at the time. At least LJN came out with some cool toys, such as the Commander Voltron (adapted from the Japanese Golion Jumbo machine). Panosh Place pretty much destroyed the property.

Ok, picture this. Its 1984. You're way into Voltron, it is your favorite show. So for your birthday you ask for a Voltron toy.

You get the plastic Panosh Place Voltron. The one with the opening cockpits and horrible proportions.

Ok, you can deal with that. But on the show, Voltron fights Robeasts. These giant monsters put up a decent fight but never seem to be able to withstand the wrath of the Blazing Sword. You would think that after the third or fourth robeast gets cut in half they would try a different tactic.

So you ask for a robeast. for Christmas.

And you get this. THIS IS VOLTRON'S ENEMY.

WHAT THE HELL PANOSH PLACE.

Lets ignore the fact that it looks like it was made in one of those places that let you paint clay pots and pick them up later in the day. The Panosh Place Voltron was like 14 inches tall, and this guy is like 3 INCHES TALL.

FAIL.

So the robeasts came with accessories, which I conveniently have lost for this review. Mutilor's weapon was a blue crooked stick. The sculpt is terrible, the material is terrible and the paint is terrible. There is just nothing to like about this thing at all.

Imagine all the kids that were disappointed when they got this under the tree in the 80s.

VIDEO FOR BONUS PAIN

How about the commercial for the entire Panosh Place Voltron line.

Robeast Scorpious looks like an escaped Macy's Thanksgiving day parade balloon.

Robeast Scorpious may be one of the worst action figures ever made.

He's from Panosh Place's Voltron line of toys. You know them, the company who made the OTHER voltron toys. Matchbox had the licence to use Popy's chogokin toys (Golion, Abega and Dairugger), and the rest went to a couple of companies that had no idea about what they were doing at the time. At least LJN came out with some cool toys, such as the Commander Voltron (adapted from the Japanese Golion Jumbo machine). Panosh Place pretty much destroyed the property.

Ok, picture this. Its 1984. You're way into Voltron, it is your favorite show. So for your birthday you ask for a Voltron toy.

You get the plastic Panosh Place Voltron. The one with the opening cockpits and horrible proportions.

Ok, you can deal with that. But on the show, voltron fights Robeasts. These giant monsters put up a decent fight but never seem to be able to withstand the wrath of the Blazing Sword. You would think that after the third or fourth robeast gets cut in half they would try a different tactic.

So you ask for a robeast. for Christmas.

And you get this. THIS IS VOLTRON'S ENEMY.

WHAT THE HELL PANOSH PLACE.

Lets ignore the fact that it looks like it was made in one of those places that let you paint clay pots and pick them up later in the day. The Panosh Place voltron was like 14 inches tall, and this guy is like 3 INCHES TALL.

FAIL.

So the robeasts came with accessories, which I conveniently have lost for this review. Mutilator's weapon was a yellow mace. The sculpt is terrible, the material is terrible and the paint is terrible. There is just nothing to like about this thing at all.

Imagine all the kids that were dissapointed when they got this under the tree in the 80s.

VIDEO FOR BONUS PAIN

How about the commercial for the entire Panosh Place Voltron line.

I'm not sure how this vintage US Jumbo eluded me when I was a kid, but I'm glad I have it now. It's a great toy and an affordable alternative to the expensive Popy version. It's always on Ebay and should be in every Voltron and Jumbo fans collection!

Voltron ruled the airways for me and my friends when I was about 10 years old. It was far and away our favorite show at the time and I had nearly all of the toys. But one that I never even heard of until I started collecting as an adult was this motorized version of the Popy Golion Jumbo Machinder that LJN released in 1984. Most people that I talk to now all remember it, but somehow it completely escaped me back then. Like most of the other vintage Jumbos released in the US, it takes the original Popy version (released 3 years previous in 1981) and modified it for the US market. And like the others, it was made worse than the original.

But that doesn't mean to suggest that this toy is not worth having. In fact, this one is probably closest to it's model than any other US jumbo. The sculpt of the toy is nearly identical to the Popy version. The only differences seems to be that the copyright stamp was changed and the missile launching mechanism and missile holders were removed (they used to be on the hips). But this is a real shame since the original gimmick was really cool. On the Popy version, when you pushed the levers on the red and green hands to open the lion mouth, it would press a button on the bottom of the hand and launch a missile out of the mouth! A great idea that I'm sure kids here would have loved, but I suppose it was removed for safetly concerns. But LJN did something to make up for it. They included a "blazing sword" that Volron could hold in either hand. This is something that the Popy version did NOT have!

Not only did you it have the sword included, but this version also came with a motorized base that you could attach Voltron to and move him around the floor. You could place Voltron on top of the base and use 4 included screws to make the connection. The screws would have to go up through the holes in the bottom of the base and then screw into the holes in the bottom of Voltron's feet. Insert two C batteries into the "remote" control, flip the switch and Voltron would roll back and forth. Most collectors think this is pretty lame, but hey, maybe kids got a kick out of it back then. And really, any extra gimmick you get can't be bad, can it?. If you don't like it, you don't have to use it. Strangely, this is not the only jumbo to use a motorized base. The first version Famosa Great Mazinger also had one, though it's served a different purpose.

There is a downside to the base though, actually. I assume it is probably the reason why the weights were removed for this release. Usually the Popy jumbos have the feet weighted down giving them a very solid feel. This toy, while the quality of the plastic is fine, feels almost like a bootleg because it is so light.

One other thing that I don't like about this toy is the amount of stickers that need to be applied. I count over FIFTY stickers that had to be put on this thing. When I got mine, the adhesives on the back had all dried up, too, so I had to respray each one and then apply them. It seemed to take forever to get them all on. But the toy does look great when they are all in place.

Voltron has 9 points of articulation. The head turns, the arms raise and lower, the wings are adjustable and the red and green lion's mouth open. Also, the elbows are on a ball joint. The only problem there is that the levers of the lion's mouths can hinder the arms movement as they often bump into the waist.

One quick note about the wings. They are a very similar mold to the wings on the Popy Robot Factory God Sigma Jumbo. And the Giant Commander Voltron has two different versions of wing connections. One is like the God Sigma jumbo and they fit over a rounded peg on the back. The other version has a plastic covering that pushes through the wings and into the back. This version does not appear to come off like the first.

Voltron comes in a large box (25.5" tall by 14.75" long and 6.5" deep) with a cellophane window in the top half that allows you to see the robot inside.

I recently came across a very cool related item, a giant 5 foot tall standee used to promote the show and the toy at Spencers. One collector remembers only seeing this toy at that store. Since I never saw it at all when I was little, I have no idea if it was sold only there or in regular stores as well. If anyone has any info about that, please leave a comment.

The motorized Giant Commander Voltron is a pretty cool toy, one that I feel doesn't get the respect it deserves. If it only shot something, I'd say it's better than all the Shogun Warriors. It's certainly the nicest looking, in my opinion. Furthermore, it's a cheap grab for a vintage Jumbo. I can see not getting one if you aren't into jumbos. But if you've even got a passing interest, there's really no good reason not to have this one.

LJN was not the only company to copy the Popy Golion Jumbo. In Korea, there was a bootleg version that was called "Super K". (Click the image for more information about that toy.)

Voltron combination sequence (I never noticed the "War Of The Worlds" sound effect!)

The GB-35 ST Golion toy is one of the best representations of this character to this day. I, like many other Americans, grew up owning the stripped down version of this toy put out by matchbox in 1984. I would play with it, knowing that there had to be something more. The fists looked like they should fire, but they don’t. Where was the sword and shield?

If you have been a reader of CollectionDX for some time, you probably know that Voltron III (the lion one) came from a Japanese show called Golion. It should be no surprise then that the US miniature Voltron III toy is largely based on a Japanese toy.

The GB-38 ST Golion toy is one of the best representations of this character to this day. I, like many other Americans, grew up owning the stripped down version of this toy put out by matchbox in 1984. I would play with it, knowing that there had to be something more. The fists looked like they should fire, but they don’t. Where was the sword and shield?

It wasn’t until I was an adult collector that I found out about the original Japanese toy. There was a certain satisfaction realizing that the original toy DID have all those gimmicks, that I was right all along.

The ST Golion is essentially the same mold as Voltron, but different enough to be worth getting. The toy is almost all metal, save for the arms, wings and head. Each arm fires a lion-headed fist, and each fist can also hold the included shield and sword (the Blazing Sword and Shield were sold separately in the US). The feet can also be fired off by pressing buttons behind the legs.

There are some subtle color and mold differences as well. The teeth on the head of the Matchbox version aren’t as sharp as the teeth on the Popy version. The blue paint on the leg is darker on the Popy version as well.

When Popy released their toy, it was made in Japan, and had the appropriate Japanese stickers under the feet. By the time Matchbox wanted the license to the toy, Popy had been folded into Bandai. All of the Matchbox toys have ©TOEI and are made in Taiwan by Bandai.

Join me for a trip down memory lane as we return to the Summer of 1985 as I recap one of my fondest toy memories. A classic review of my Voltron bootleg, Lionbot.

It was 1985 when the bright primary colors on the box caught my eye at our local Holiday Mart. Lionbot! It looked like the lion Voltron but it said Lionbot and it cost 99.99, far more than I could ever afford in the fifth grade.

Holiday Mart was the local grocery store/department store combo in Hawaii back then and my family would do there grocery shopping while I wandered the toy section. This was my ritual every week for eight years but never was there a toy that I lusted after week after week like this one.

My Father told me that if I got a C in math for the end of the year he would buy it for me. That was a long 4 months. I hated math but I applied myself and got a D+ (Math has never been a strong one for me even in grade school) but I was rewarded for my effort with my Lionbot.

Voltron was extraordinarily popular and at this point I had not seen the Matchbox editions of the toy yet and little did I realize that Lionbot was not the original Japanese version but a bootleg of the Japanese Go Lion. Nor did I care even after I saw the official 'œbranded'? Voltron by Matchbox. For full release history of the Go Lion please read JoshB's review for the Trendmasters re-release here.

The package is a copy of the original Bandai Go Lion with the Kanji replaced with English.

Other than the upper legs having a silver sticker applied instead of painted silver like the original Go Lion this was a great toy. Unlike the official Matchbox release this one came with all of the original accessories. It had the Sword and Shield but also included the missile launchers and mouth blades used in the cartoon series. To top it all off the launchers worked!!!!

I will say the newer Toynami Masterpiece Edition Voltron rocks with its show accurate dimensions and beautiful fit and finish but my original Lionbot will always hold a special place in my heart and on my toy shelf.

If you look around eBay you will see this set is constantly available for the $75.00 to $100.00 price range as it is still being bootlegged in China to this day.

I’m gonna cut right to it – the Masterpiece Voltron is awesome.

I know what you are saying. You don’t believe it. But it is true. This thing is pure deluxe chogokin all the way. This thing is great, and I will tell you why.

I’m gonna cut right to it – the Masterpiece Voltron is awesome.

I know what you are saying. You don’t believe it. But it is true. This thing is pure deluxe chogokin all the way. This thing is great, and I will tell you why.

PACKAGING

The Masterpiece Voltron comes in Toynami’s signature book-style packaging. The cover is textured, and it actually feels like a real book. The spine has the Voltron team on it, while the inside front talks a bit about Voltron. Two drawers slide out the side of the book, holding all the lions and accessories. The back cover holds the “certificate of authenticity”, which holds the toy’s number. This means nothing to me, but maybe there is a segment of the collecting community who appreciates this. Included is a full color manual with simple instructions.

LIONS

Each Lion comes packaged in its lion form, so we will start there. The important thing to keep in your mind while handling this toy is that this is not the popy/Bandai/trendmasters/bootleg version. It is not meant to be. I found myself looking at this toy and wondering if they included the same details, like the opening ear sections on the yellow lion. You really have to remind yourself that this is not a reissue, nor is it trying to compete with that old version.

	The yellow and blue lions form the legs. The body of each lion is entirely diecast. The legs are beautifully chromed and fully articulated. The heads are plastic, and are on ball joints, so they have a full range of articulation. The jaws open. Each tail is made of a sturdy plastic and retracts in to the body. The tails are made of a sturdy material – not at all fragile. I wish I knew what kind of plastic this is, but I think it’s the same kind of plastic used on kids’ outdoor toys. Paint and detail is top notch.
	The green and red lions become the arms. Both the front and rear bodies are entirely diecast. The heads are plastic, and have a full range of motion, with moveable jaws. The waist joint on the lions are actually jointed in three places – it swivels at both ends, and bends in the middle. The bend only bends one way though, to make for a rigid elbow joint. The tails here retract also. The chest area is made out of diecast, while the rest of the lion is plastic.
	The black lion becomes the main body of Voltron. The body is mostly diecast. The head is fully articulated, with three joints. The legs are chromed and fully poseable. The shoulders pop out a little to allow you to spread the front legs out a bit. The wings fold out from the back, and can swivel however you want to pose them. The tail folds up, and again, is made out of a rigid material.

FORM FEET AND LEGS!

Transformation here is much like the other version – fold the legs close to the body, and tilt up the heads. The tails get pushed into the body. The back end of each lion has a spring loaded door that the black lion’s feet go into.

FORM ARMS AND BODY

For the arms, fold the legs in and push the tail into the body. In the old toy, you would use the tail to connect the figure to the body. This time there is a small peg that folds out from the rear of the lion. This again, is made of that tough plastic. The peg fits into the shoulder of the black lion. You would thing that this would be a fragile connection point, but it is not, it is really secure and strong.

AND I’LL FORM THE HEAD

The black lion forms the body. First you fold out the bottom legs so that they are pointed straight down. Then, open the panels on the shoulders of the front legs and fold the legs in. Be careful with these panels, as these are the only fragile points about this toy that I can see. Rotate the shoulders around so they match up with the front, and then push them in towards the body until they click. Pull the lower jaw down to reveal the face, and push the ears down. The wings unfold and have a little angle cut out of them for them to rest against the leg assembly. The legs even have a little groove to show where they are supposed to go.  Finally, the tail folds up onto the back.

ROBOT MODE

The first thing that grabs you is how sleek this toy looks. It’s leaner than the old toy for sure, but this one looks more like what Voltron actually looked like on the show. Us hardcore collectors can get a bit caught up on the toys and forget about the character. I myself, associate Voltron with the Matchbox toy, big and bulky. My first thought upon seeing this was that it Just didn’t look right. But when you actually go back and look at the animated Voltron, this is how he is supposed to look. When you see this toy in person, the dimensions are all perfect.

In robot mode, Voltron is incredibly articulated. The head is articulated in three places, and has the ability to look straight up, or even down at you due to a recess in the neck area. The shoulders, elbows and wrists are fully articulated. There is a waist joint, but it is limited slightly – if you have the tail tucked in the back, the waist does not turn. Take that out and you have more of a range of motion, but you are still limited by the emblem on the waist.

The hip joints have full motion, but are not as strong as I would like. This is one of those toys that you put in a dynamic pose on a table, but when you pick it up in the air the legs clank together at the heels. This really isn’t a bad thing – the legs are just so heavy. I don’t know how they would have made them stronger without sacrificing the range of motion. The legs also have a swivel joint where the chrome and black meet. Knees bend fully back and forth, and are very tight. Like the old toy, make sure your lower legs are firmly attached, or they will come off. The feet are articulated, and can swivel and turn; making wider dynamic poses more convincing. Use the chrome legs on each lion to give extra support, as Voltron is a bit top-heavy.

ACCESSORIES

Voltron comes with a huge Blazing Sword and Shield. The weapons stay in place via a peg on the handles that plug into a hole in hands. This is a very nice touch. The shield has molded in details that look much better than the original. Also, the handle is long enough for both hands to hold it.

THE VERDICT

I like this toy. A lot. I know Toynami has gotten a bad rap from some people, and there have been concerns about QC. I can tell you that my toy has no QC issues whatsoever. It’s a solid, heavy, articulate chunk of modern gokin. If Toynami keeps up this line, and this quality, we will have a great series on our hands.

That does not mean that the toy is perfect. There are a few minor concerns, and a few things I wish they would have done differently. First, the small panels that hide the front legs on the black lion scare me. They seem fragile, but they have not broken. The wings seem a bit thin, and when unfolded tend to bend at the joint. I would have liked to have seen a sturdier system here, maybe having one wing section slide out of the other. There’s the previously mentioned hip joint – I wish it were a little tighter, and the last thing I think everyone would have loved – firing fists. I know, Voltron never fired his fists in the show, but I really love that feature of the old toy.

At around 150 bucks, you cannot go wrong with this toy.

This is the diecast Voltron toy released by Trendmasters in 1997. It was released as a teaser to Voltron 3D, and the new toy line that would follow it. It is amazing to think that this is actually the fifth time this toy has been issued.

This is the diecast Voltron toy released by Trendmasters in 1997. It was released as a teaser to Voltron 3D, and the new toy line that would follow it. It is amazing to think that this is actually the fifth time this toy has been issued.

It is based off of the classic Popy Golion DX toy, which was then later bootlegged as Lionbot. Bandai first brought the toy to America as part of its Godaikin line in the early 80s, and later Matchbox picked up the rights to market the toy as Voltron 3 (Or Voltron Lions).

The Popy and Bandai Golion, as well as the bootleg Lionbot all feature a full compliment of working missiles and small weapons. Both the Popy and the Bootleg version were available as box sets or in individual boxes (body, arms and legs). When they toy made it to America under the Voltron name, it had been re-tooled to conform to US safety standards and did not include any small weapons, missiles or launchers. This too, was available in either a single box, or in separate individual boxes. All of the above are known to be good quality, including the bootleg.

Then there is the Trendmasters version. This sold in one box set in 1997 for $29.99. It did include many of the small weapons omitted from the Matchbox version, but still did not have any missile firing features.

Trendmasters also released a limited number of this toy with gold accessories instead of the standard chrome. There are no special markings on the box, but you can tell by the color of the sword through the window box.

The toy retains all the diecast content of the originals - the arms and legs are solid bricks of metal. But this toy is sloppier than the others. The paint isn't as nice, and the fit is just a bit off on some of the pieces. There was one major mold change - the addition of fins to the red and green lions. It is unknown why these were added, but perhaps it was to be able tell the difference between the reissue and the originals. The paint is also a bit different as well; the yellows are pale compared to the orange-tinted original, and the green and red arms are not as vibrant.

Trendmasters also changed Voltron's face to black instead of blue. Also worth noting is that the ears on the head of my Voltron do not go down all the way. I don't know if that is a defect on all the toys or just mine.

I have heard collectors complain about this toy having loose joints, and that the lower legs do not secure properly. My toy has no connection issues, as long as you make sure that the legs are firmly attached.

This Voltron is not a terrible toy in itself; it just isn't up to par with the previous four versions. It is probably the most affordable version though, and if you want a low-cost way to add a big metal robot toy to your collection, look no further.