Vintage Gakken Ride Armor (VR-052F) Mospeada

[roboto]

A friend allowed me to take home and photograph his vintage Gakken VR-052F Ride Armor.

My question to any RJ members: What price does this item fetch these days considering its condition? Actually, it's in very good condition, but the stickers have already been applied. In any case, there's a possibility that my friend will put this up for sale soon.

[wilson]

maybe $150 on ebay. its in very good condition but i think there is a lot of yellowing right?

[emerson]

I'd say $150 tops as well, even the box is tip top and the toy is not broken. The yellowing is pretty bad, and all the decals are used.

[roboto]

Thanks, emerson and wilson. I'll inform my friend about your appraisal of this item. Anyway, he was hoping to get a higher price, but just as you said, there's some yellowing, which I didn't really notice since I took the photos in a hurry this morning and also used a yellow background. I'm looking at the box in front of me right now, and I'd say the problem isn't that bad. Of course, it can't compare to a mint-condition one in your collection.

[Dr. Fate]

if your friend is interested in selling, I'm willing to pay the aformentioned $150. Please pm me if interested in the sale!

[glane21]

Too bad it's yellowed up.. that's one of the rarest versions of that toy, being the original Japan issue with the firing missiles. The differences between it and all the subsequent Singapore issues are:

1) the firing missles
2) Bike marked Japan below the seat (rather than Sinagpore, duh)
3) the Rider's knees can actually bend to the full 90 degree position. The Singapore versions only clear to about 70 degrees before they start to split the Thigh plastic.

Here are all the versions:

1) 1st issue Japan (this one)
2) 1st issue Singapore - Box is similar to the Japan box but has English around the windows instead of the kanji. Missiles disabled on all Singapore versions
3) 2nd issue Singapore Gakken Henshin Robo Box
4) 3rd issue Singapore Blue Robotech Box labled "Excite" as the maker
5) 4th issue Singapore Orange Robotech Box labeld "Matchbox" as the maker
6) Korean Bootleg called 'Cotobye' that copies the 1st Japan issue with some noteable color differences. Working missile launchers as well.

Version 1 is pretty rare, being the oldest and for a non-export Japan domestic market

Version 5 is damn rare. It came out after Robotech had stopped airing and Harmony Gold was milking anything it could from the property. It had low distribution, and the Matchbox labeling makes it an oddity

Version 6 bootleg is mondo rare. I have seen 4 in 24 years of paying attention to this stuff.

[DaveZav]

great photos!
Thanks for all the detailed information too,
I appreciate everyone's input.

Can anyone direct me to an index or website that details
this toy and all the different makers and scales
that it was sold in?
I am often confused by ebay auctions because there is
usually no way to tell the scale from seller's pictures.
Also, some transform, others do not, but I can never tell from
auction pictures.

I know there are reproductions coming from a few different
companies and I will likely get one, but I would also like to
research the vintage ones in the event I try to get one for
comparing to the repros.
TIA
-Dave Zav

[zormaster]

glane21 said:

Here are all the versions:

1) 1st issue Japan (this one)
2) 1st issue Singapore - Box is similar to the Japan box but has English around the windows instead of the kanji. Missiles disabled on all Singapore versions
3) 2nd issue Singapore Gakken Henshin Robo Box
4) 3rd issue Singapore Blue Robotech Box labled "Excite" as the maker
5) 4th issue Singapore Orange Robotech Box labeld "Matchbox" as the maker
6) Korean Bootleg called 'Cotobye' that copies the 1st Japan issue with some noteable color differences. Working missile launchers as well.

I'm going to add two more versions to this list Also very rare:

7)Singapore Orange Robotech Box labeld Matchbox/Irwin as the maker and includes English and French text
8)Singapore Lansay/Gakken Henshin Robo Box

[glane21]

thanks Zormaster, I forgot about the Lansay Henshin robo box. And I didn't even know about the Irwin variant. Cool to have another one to track down. The hunt lives on!

[emerson]

I believe I may have a loose Korean Cotobye rider (no bike), with brighter red arms and red launching missles. See pic below.

Are these Korean bootlegs, rare as they are, worth anything significant?

[solscud007]

Interesting I was not aware of a Korean KO. I would say it is at least worth as much as a regular Gakken. If you want to sell it let me know.

[emerson]

Yep, I'm definitely thinking about selling. Sending you a PM.

[glane21]

Yes, that is indeed the bootleg Korean Cotobye rider. I have one Mint, complete in Box, and including yours, I now know of 3 boxed, one loose with bike, and now a loose rider. Sure there are more out there, but who knows where. I wouldn't take less than $800 for my boxed one if that gives you some indication.

Pics:

[Chen]

Man I can't beleive I owned this figure twice and have yet to have one in my collection. I had one when these were brand new and I bought one a couple years aga but ended up selling it on Ebay.

[hiriyu]

Quick question for Greg regarding the Cotobyte ride armor: Is the engine block and radiator present? They are not visible in your picture. It also appears that the windshield, visor, and exhausts are all a slightly different color than the Gakken...

Thanks for the info and pics, very cool stuff!

[glane21]

The Cotobye has the engine block, it was just pushed up into the tank in that shot.

Also, the windscreen and rider's visor are a light smoke grey vs. the yellow on the Gakken. The Bike exhaust are flat grey vs. the Gakken's painted silver and the wheels are all black where the Gakken has the painted silver hubs.

[hiriyu]

Thanks again for all of the info, Greg. You possess a wealth of information about these vintage toys. You may not remember, and it's not at all important to the discussion at large, but you have helped me out immensely in the past with information pertaining to various Takatoku and Gakken toys that I've purchased.

I've realized that I had misconstrued the name of the Korean toy - it's "Cotobye", and not "Cotobyte" as I had previously written Sorry about that!



Waittaminute!! - What is most interesting about your Cotobye is the decal sheet! Care to elaborate?

[emerson]

By the way, I am selling my loose Cotobye rider if anyone is interested. Missing one of the red missles, but the other three still fire.

[solscud007]

Hey I thought you were selling it to me? Yeah im still interested

[emerson]

Hey, Solscud! Sorry, I hadn't heard from you so wasn't sure....For the record, Solscud has first dibs!

Still got cash left over from HK haha?