Junior Machinder Overview Part 4: The Other Guys

Posted 14 years ago by CollectionDX


...continued from Part 3.


The Other Guys


I'm not quite sure what else to call this article, but besides the "big three" of New Gio. Co., SMC and Ceppi Ratti, lots of other minor, or at least less productive, companies released a variety of junior machinders as well. Companies such as Al-Es, Tercom, Il Giocattolo, and Gig all added their own entries into the field. Even such a big name company as Mattel threw their hat into this particular ring! So without further ado, let's see what else is out there...


Al-Es

Al-Es released two toys in this field and one is exactly the same as the New Gio. Co. toy "Mantide Nera", it is sold, however, in essentially the same box as SMC's "Robot From Outer Space".

Robot From Outer Space

The second toy in Al-Es' output is much more unique and interesting, a 12" tall version of Daitarn 3.

Daitarn 3

Both Al-Es toys are very common to find.

Final tally for Al-Es:

Tercom

Tercom is a very minor player in this game but they released one of the cooler toys in the field, a 14" version of Pegas. On some versions of Pegas, the stickers on the arms are red instead of white. Also, for some reason this toy is often seen missing the top part of the box.

Pegas

Perhaps not surprisingly, Tercom also released a Tekkaman toy, but it is MUCH harder to find than their Pegas.

Final tally for Tercom:

  • Pegas (white stickers on arms)
  • Pegas(red stickers on arms)
  • Tekkaman

Il Giocattolo

Il Giocattolo is known only for a pair of smaller, 10" junior machinders, each sold in the same box. The hero is called Goodrock while the villain is Viking. Both toys are pretty common, but I have noticed a minor variation on Goodrock. Some have white plastic in the missile launchers and some have black. I think the black version may also have a darker red head.

GoodrockGoodrock VikingViking

Final tally for Il Giocattolo:

F.E.

F.E. appears to have only made one toy in this genre and it is the same as the "Falco Rosso" toy by New Gio. Co. and it uses the same box art as SMC's "Space Hero", except that the name has been changed to read "Space Commander Robot"!

Final tally for F.E.:

  • Space Commander Robot

DAG

Like "F.E.", DAG is another company that I know almost nothing about except that they each made one junior machinder and one jumbo machinder. Also like F.E., their entry in the junior machinder field is ripped off from other companies. Their toy is also called "Space Hero" like the SMC toy and features the body of New Gio. Co.'s "Falco Rosso", but for some reason the legs are really fat!

Final tally for DAG:

  • Space Hero

Gig/Fabianplastica

This company made the very interesting Danguard Ace toy below.

Final tally for Gig/Fanbianplastica:

Mattel/Fabianplastica Italiana

We all knew that Mattel made jumbos with their world famous "Shogun Warriors" line, but did you know that they also made juniors, too? They made several versions of Grendizer and one of Mazinger Z. Grendizer comes in boxes that say both "Goldorak" and "Goldrake" for the French and Italian markets, respectively. Usually he has two normal fists but has also been seen with a missile launcher and "roller skate" wheels similar to the Danguard Ace above. Lastly, they made on that comes in a softer plastic and is unpainted.

Final tally for Mattel/Fanbianplastica Italiana:

  • Goldrake
  • Goldrake (with missile launching hand and removable wheels on feet)
  • Goldorak (French box, different waist sticker)
  • Goldorak (unpainted, different plastic)
  • Mazinga Z (with missile launching hand and removable wheels on feet)

Luca

I've only recently come to discover that Luca released some junior machinders as well. They released two different "Space Hero" toys. One was just like the regular SMC release but the other is a weird mash-up of Combattler, Robo Kress and Atoranger parts. Both come in a regular Space Hero box with a Luca sticker on the front. Note, however, that although there is a Luca sticker on the right, the SMC logo is still clearly seen on the left. Similar to the Ceppi Ratti/SMC Gundam, this makes categorizing the toys quite difficult and really calls into question the relationships between all these companies.

Final tally for Luca:

  • Space Hero (Atoranger)
  • Space Hero (Combattler)

???

I really don't know for sure who these guys are, to be honest. I can see a logo on the box, but I'm not sure what it's supposed to represent. If you do, please let me know. In the meantime, I can tell you for sure that they have released Robo Kress in at least three different versions. Two are called "Space Warrior" and the other "Guerrier del Espace". Space Warrior usually has just one shooting fist, but has also been seen with two (see horrible grainy photo below). I think that Space Warrior was released in the UK and Guerrier del Espace in Italy.

Final tally :

  • Space Warrior (1 shooting fist)
  • Space Warrior (2 shooting fists)
  • Guerrier del Espace

Sperlari

Final tally :

  • Goldrake

Next time around, I'll touch on the few toys of this type that were released outside of Italy and finish with some closing thoughts. Until then.....