Kamen Rider X

Kamen Rider X (仮面ライダーＸ ) was the third in the Kamen Rider series, following Kamen Rider and Kamen Rider V3. It ran for 35 episodes in 1974 and the the character was the second from the series to be released as a Jumbo Machinder. Kamen Rider V3 preceded him the year before in 1973. Kamen Rider X is far and away the rarer of the two toys. (It’s interesting to note that at this point in Jumbo Machinder history, 15 Jumbos had been released….10 villains, 3 human characters and only 2 robots!!)

Both Kamen Rider Jumbos share the same mold on the feet and hands, except that there are holes in “X-Rider’s” hands for him to hold his “Ridol Whips”. These accessories are almost always missing when specimens of this toy show up today, but they are a real neat feature and add a great deal to the toy’s look. The same could be said for his black scarfs.

It’s much more common to see the “Henshin Belt” on this toy, but it’s pretty difficult to get one that isn’t rusted.

This belt is one of the few examples of tin on a Machinder. Besides this and the cloth scarf, the toy features the same materials as most jumbos, polyethylene for the body and soft vinyl for the head. The red stripes on the limbs are stickers as is the silver on the torso. Most every specimen has silver only on the stomach and abdomen, but a recent auction on Yahoo!Japan also had silver stickers on the chest. I’ve never seen that on any other and do not know if it was a variation or if they were custom made.

Kamen Rider X stands the standard 23.5″ tall, with wheels on his feet. His head turns, his arms raise and lower and you can remove his fists to add separately sold accessory attachments.

Loose specimens of this toy show up from time to time, but it’s VERY rare to see it in a box. I’ve only seen the box available in an auction one time, early in 2006 on Yahoo!Japan. The following image was saved from that auction.

Kamen Rider X is a pretty simple looking jumbo but it can add flavor to a robot dominated lineup and makes a great companion piece to the V3 jumbo. I managed to score mine for $125 as it was mislabeled on eBay, along with several other Kamen Rider vinyls. I wouldn’t count on such a great stroke of luck, but if you’d like to add this character to your collection, there is a version from Mexico called “Aquaman” that generally costs about that much. It’s noticeably different and of cheaper quality, but makes for an excellent placeholder while you look for the Popy one.