Jumbo Machinder

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The Super Robot Mazinger Z in cartoon form.
The Super Robot Mazinger Z in cartoon form.

"Jumbo Machinder" is the name of a series of large-scale plastic robots sold by Popy Toy in the 1970s. Although a trademarked brand name, in common usage Jumbo Machinder is often applied to any large-size robot toy roto molded out of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a sturdy plastic also used for shampoo bottles. Jumbo Machinders are generally (but not always) 24" in height. After Popy's success with the Jumbo Machinder series, several other Japanese companies, including Takatoku, Nakajima, and Clover began producing large-size plastic robot toys as well. Several of the Jumbo Machinders were retooled for sale in the USA in the late 1970s as Shogun Warriors.

The first Jumbo Machinder, released in 1973, was a portrayal of manga artist Go Nagai's character Mazinger Z, a fictional Super Robot. Originally planned to stand a meter (roughly three feet) tall, the toy was scaled down out of safety concerns. The Jumbo Machinder Mazinger Z sold approximately 400,000 units in its first five months in stores. The second Jumbo Machinder was Kamen Rider V3, the third Ultraman Taro, the fourth Red Baron, and the fifth Kamen Rider X.

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[edit] Jumbo Machinder Deluxe

Over the years, Popy Toy tinkered with the name and characteristics of the Jumbo Machinder series. In the 1976-1977 period, several characters were released under the "Jumbo Machinder Deluxe" name. Aside from the brand name change, the toys are largely identical aesthetically to their predecessors.

[edit] Giant Robot Factory

For the 1979-1980 season, the Jumbo Machinders series was re-designed and re-branded as the Kyodai Robotto Kojo ("Giant Robot Factory"). Unlike their predecessors, the Giant Robot Factory toys were sold disassembled, allowing children to bolt the characters together with a simple tool provided in the package. Aside from the fact that they were sold in a disassembled manner and featured more complicated gimmicks (such as spring-loaded shooting fists), the Giant Robot Factory toys feature a a very similar aesthetic to their predecessors and are considered by most collectors to be part of the same series.

Giant Robot Factory branded characters include:

[edit] Super Jumbo Machinders

Beginning in 1981, Popy Toy changed the name of the series to "Super Jumbo Machinder." Characters released under this brand name include:

[edit] Kikaiju (Ro-Beasts)

The "Kikaiju" ("Ro-Beast") series of toys featured a variety of enemy characters from Mazinger Z and Kamen Rider V3. They were molded out of soft vinyl rather than PET plastic and stand only 20" in height, giving them a very different sort of aesthetic from the Jumbo Machinder toys. A total of ten Kikaiju toys were released in three waves of products. The first wave were simply large-sized soft vinyl figures. The second wave incorporated a simple pinball-style ball launcher feature. The third wave featured more complex gimmicks such as shooting discs, spears, and heads.

[edit] Shogun Warriors

American toy company Mattel acquired the rights to release several Jumbo Machinder toys in North America and Europe. Mattel modified or totally re-designed nearly every Jumbo Machinder toy that they released in this manner, packaging them under the Shogun Warriors banner. Jumbo Machinders re-branded as Shogun Warriors include:

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

  • ToyboxDX - A description of Popy Toy and photos of the Jumbo Machinder Mazinger Z
  • Super #1 Robot - A book featuring photographs of Jumbo Machinders
  • CollectionDX - Jumbo Machinder Listings and reviews.
  • Jumboland - Jumbo Machinder reference.