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Post by Derik on Jun 19, 2012 19:32:20 GMT -5
Hi everyone
I have been very lucky this week
I managed to obtain a really nice Raydeen with the Bowfist, that i believe was only released in Japan. Its hard to believe there is hardly any playwear on him and most of the original stickers are in good shape except the lower legs ones.
There is a little bit of black mildew on his silver arm bands, but I think it will wash right off
I am going to give him a sponge bath this weekend to get the dust off him.
The pointy ends of the bow have small openings which I believe tells that they are blowmolded, but this is new territory for me,
so I wanted to ask if there is anything I can look for to verify it s original?
It doesnt say made in japan on the back either.
Thanks
Other than that I dont think he needs anything.
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Post by 1oldrobot on Jun 19, 2012 20:30:34 GMT -5
its real. you are 100% correct about the holes for blow molding. if the head is squishy and not firm, then congrats, you got a japanese version.
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Post by willohio on Jun 19, 2012 21:37:08 GMT -5
It's a nice looking one! I believe some of tithe bowfists reached our shores in very limited release in smalls specialty toy stores in the late 70's. But yeah that's how the Japanese version was... Beautiful Bowfist! And the held sculpt is detailed!
But I always thought the original head sculpts were of the firmer vinyl and the later a more soft, maliable vinyl with a more simplified, roundish sculpt. But maybe I have that backwards...
Either way nice snag!
Will
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Post by bourno on Jun 20, 2012 0:03:01 GMT -5
Nice Raydeen. So it was you who caused the auction to end. I was wondering who did that.
Congrats
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Post by Derik on Jun 20, 2012 5:10:34 GMT -5
The head seems pretty soft
Squeezable
Yup Bourno that was me. I was wondering if anyone noticed.
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Post by magengar on Jun 24, 2012 17:42:34 GMT -5
Congrats on your auction win, bro!  sooooo... Does it make a noise, like a rubber duckie? ;D ...The head seems pretty soft Squeezable ... |
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Post by 1oldrobot on Jun 24, 2012 18:41:04 GMT -5
![]() [/img] heres my japanese raydeen. if you can do this w no effort, youve got the japanese version. |
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Post by glane21 on Jun 28, 2012 11:12:14 GMT -5
The very first Mattel Shogun Warrior versions did not have Made in Japan molded on the back yet, instead they have a sticker. They also have the squishy heads.   |
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Post by 1oldrobot on Jun 28, 2012 12:08:26 GMT -5
wasnt the first US version, short lived as it was, identical to the japanese release, hence the sticker?
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Post by glane21 on Jun 28, 2012 12:38:43 GMT -5
Yes, except for the substitution of the cutter fist for the Bow arm of course. The first Shogun version has the original head and no Made in Japan molded, but with sticker. Later they added the molded Made in Japan still with the original head. These also had a variation on the Godshield attachment where it was either attached via a rivet from the underside (finger side) of the fist, or with a single screw through the shield into the backside of the fist, hidden by the yellow sticker. There are also apparently 2-screw versions in this range like in the first post.
Then they switched to the V2 rounded-horns head and updated, longer legs.
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Post by 1oldrobot on Jun 28, 2012 14:11:15 GMT -5
yep, but i think there was one more transitional early version that had the single bolt shield fist AND a bow fist on a US version. i have never been able to prove this to be true or false, but my buddy has a raydeen in the box (mattel) and it is bowfist, singl bolt, squishy head, and no made in japan molding on back. it could be a frankenstein piece, but ive heard the same from other people, yet details of origin are always cloudy. it is a probability since it is a licensed line and mattel dint know what the heck they wanted from the getgo, other than they demanded to destroy the original gaiking design.
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Post by Mr. Ginrai on Jun 28, 2012 20:59:46 GMT -5
...mattel dint know what the heck they wanted from the getgo, other than they demanded to destroy the original gaiking design. Not to hijack, but can you expand a little bit more on the above statement? |
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Post by 1oldrobot on Jun 28, 2012 21:10:44 GMT -5
mr. ginrai - what i meant was it is hard to identify early versions of raydeen because mattel first used what were basically popy versions, but not for long. and there were more than just several modifications to the design. i also meant that mattel licensed the line, and may have done a bang up job early on of nailing down the specs of their release, but they soon seemed hell bent on making cheaper lesser versions. gaiking and daimos are proof of cutting corners and a product line that suffered because of it. im almost embarrassed to be so political about what equates to about 20 cents worth of plastic on each figure.
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Post by Mr. Ginrai on Jun 28, 2012 21:20:38 GMT -5
Thanks. I knew what you meant regarding raydeen. And for the record, I think you are absolutely right about your displeasure with cutting costs by Mattel. Its nothing new and we've seen it over the years with a lot of toy companies as well as other businesses with much more terrible consequences than ruined aesthetics (ford pinto anyone?).
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Post by Gettershadow on Jun 28, 2012 21:25:01 GMT -5
youre right, I remember being a kid out in LA and me and my friends all got the first Jumbo Shoguns that came out.. they were killer. My friend got the Raideen, it had the soft head and a Iron Cutter, I got Great Mazinger and a few weeks later Getter Dragon, they were the Popy versions in every way if I compare the photograpic evidence from the time. Then about a year later, I remember we were kids and we would see the new Shoguns as they came out and other kids got them and we were like "eeeeew" The new Mazinger SUCKED, Getter got dumbed down and when we saw Gaiking we all checked-out of the Shogun line.. we were like 7 and we knew the difference, you cant fool kids! Mattel dropped the ball. The later chogokins were bunk also..I was glad I got the first editions, who would want a Posiden without the tread feature and with fixed Strong Missiles? Mattel screwed up big time.
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Post by Mr. Ginrai on Jun 29, 2012 0:09:22 GMT -5
From our point of view, yes they screwed up big time. Instead of just taking a good toy craze and riding it out for all the money, i.e. star wars and heavy licensing, they tried to cut costs to further shore up what may have been slowing sales as the next craze (micronauts, super powers, he man and other toy lines that would be forthcoming) started to gain popularity.
Those factors, coupled with the fact that this was right around the time that the whole battlestar galactica toy missile death lawsuit dropped, and that pretty much put the axe on us ever getting any more normal, feature packed toys that kids had enjoyed for decades up to that point, at least as far as the US (and maybe Canada for a short time) was concerned. Mattel (and many other toy makers) were literally sh***ing in their pants over what I feel was a heavily exaggerated lawsuit (just my opinion), but that's the lawyer's job of course.
While the whole issue is sad that a child died and many other children have been injured over the years by many other companies toys', I think the main issue here is that some people/kids are just stupid and there is/had to be a lack of both parental supervision/parental judgement. I mean my first transformer I ever got was Ultra Magnus in late 87 or early 88 and I was three. And I still have that exact toy with all its pieces and everything but the box and instructions, and obviously, I am still here. Sorry for the slightly OT rant, but this was the the main issue that I feel led to the cost cutting and crappy toys, however I do think that all the reasons we all listed above are still completely correct and valid as well.
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