Old Kogure Plastic Model From The Big Kitahara Book

[dratomic]

Just added my first vintage robot model to my shelf. It was a lot of fun to build, and I'm happy with how it came out. So, without further ado, Ladies and Gents, I present to you: Guts Man.

No, I didn't name him...

Anyway, I'm pretty sure it's from the 1970s, though it's just a hunch based on colors, box art, etc. Made by Kogure. The toy's a wind up, and it rolls forward with swinging "arms." If you push a button, he fires his missiles. Pretty neat! The models didn't come with any decals, and I prefer the unpainted look -- similar in many ways to the Venus and Jupiter robots, or the little X-70 "Fez Head" robot. There's something nice about raw, brightly colored plastic.... Oh, for an added reference, a photo of this box can be found in Morita on page 122.

[Fineas J. Whoopie]

Neat robot kit with great box art doc. Good work finding one of these vintage kits too. Are there any of the modern markings on the box like ST or bar codes? I notice that the box art is in both Japanese and English, still I assume it was only available in Japan? That brings to mind another question - were there any Japanese toys sold in the US with both English and Japanese on the box?

[dratomic]

Nope, no additional markings, no ST, no barcodes (bar codes would have been later, anyway). As far as I know, it was only released in Japan unless there were some weird dudes importing them on their own... Also, Hawaii often had lots of Japanese toys... vinyl figures and die-casts, in particular. I'm sure some toy stores there also carried these models.

[laserman]

Doc,

This is a great robot. It must have been reissued several times as I have pictures of different box art for the same robot (somewhere-I'll look). Also another note, many of these midori robot and space vehicle models were previously released by a now defunct company called Paramount Industries. My brother and I when kids built a couple of the lunar space tanks that were made by Paramount. Paramount also originally issued that space boat (we built also) which has been relreleased by Midori several times (picture attached). It was from a japanese movie which escapes me. I recall as a kid seeing a flyer in the kits that featured nearly thirty various space related kits from tanks with missiles (lots of missiles), robots, and flying ships. Our local hobby shop did not carry most of them, nor could we afford all these as kids, but we would dream anyway.

I have some pics of paramount space vehicle models I'll post from my home computer tonight.

[dratomic]

Laserman -- interesting information. Was Paramount Industries from the U.S.? What years were they producing the models?

I ask because so many of these designs originated in Japan, and were based on Japanese characters or movies, that it seems unlikely that they'd be produced by a U.S. company first. Many of the Kogure, Midori, and Imai models are featured in the book I posted about, and are listed as Sixties creations.

I'd definitely like to hear more... If these toys were reissued over and over again, figuring out an exact timeline will be pretty tricky... Relying on box-art styles and stuff is an iffy means of establishing date, and there's just not a lot of readily available information.

[plasticaugie]

It appears that Paramount is an old Japanese model company from the good ol' days too. See this page-

http://www.japansuperfantasticmodel.com/index.html

This page displays mostly vehicles but a few robot will show up also. A lot of these vehicles were licensed Gary Anderson vehicles or unlicensed 'inspired by' type kits. Paramount, Imai, Kogure, Midori and others made a ton of these kits back in the day, many of these are still available relatively cheap on ebay and the net.

The Midori robots were reissued in many different boxes through the years. The Guts Man was originally called fireman. It is one of four very similar robots from Midori that are each 11cm tall and feature the moving feet type wheel covers. The pic below is the Tiger Robo that is a much earlier box than Doc's Guts Man. John Rigg posted another in the series, the Wonder Robo.

[dratomic]

I think I like the name "Fire Man" better than "Guts Man"...

And actually, looking at the robot, the blue and silver of the earlier version is quite striking. I also notice that the chest pips in the one pictured in the book are put on sideways. I followed the illustration in the instructions when applying mine -- I wonder if they were done differently on the Fire Man, or if the builder displayed a little creative license. The book doesn't show the box for that one, so it's anyone's guess.

I love the Star King, next to it. In face, I like all of the ones in that original series.

(I'll post some scans, later, so everyone knows what I'm talking about...)

One of the giveaways that says mine's a re-issue is that the panels on the sides of the box show other toys' box art, but each one has been modified with a cartoony animal or person. Clearly an effort to appeal to younger kids. I've seen some adds showing more of these artwork mods -- usually the robot rampaging along the countryside, but with a funny animal running along the side. Sort of disconcerting image, actually. But these animals are clearly late-additions to the covers...

I'm just glad they didn't do it with the actual Guts Man box.

[laserman]

Thanks Plasticaugie, those are great pics. As stated, I think Paramount preceeded the others (no proof). Paramount made a "V" shaped orbital interceptor also back then that I always wanted. It was sooo cool, long before Star Wars X wing...

Here are a couple black and white pics of fireman and Star King from the book: "Robots: Fact, Fiction, and Prediction."

 

 

 

 

[tinluver2]

Can you guys tell me when these kits were first made, and if something is a reissue when would that be from?Are the original kits still around and are the reissues collectibles now??

Thanks Great Stuff!

[dratomic]

The models originated during the 1960s, near as I can tell. Reissues were sort of an ongoing thing -- if a design worked, it was repackaged. So they're not repros as we know them today. I think the reissues were mostly in the Seventies... Though there are some that were released relatively recently (such as the V-3 and many of he T-28s).

"Collectibles" depends on the collector, I guess. The reissues are definitely collectible. The newer ones, like the fairly new T-28s... Well, I consider them collectible, because I'm interested in mechanical model robots. I like the vintage stuff more, but the new ones are pretty awesome, too. Easier to find, and cheaper, that's for sure...

I dunno. It's still uncharted territory, for me. I only have one reference, and it's written in Japanese. I've learned most of what I know through the few conversations I've had with a couple other collectors, and what I've been able to pull from this thread!

[tinluver2]

Thanks Doc

[laserman]

Here is a pic of a kit I just found that I think is fitting: Roboboat

 

[plasticaugie]

Good one. I think that is the one ARII robot that fits in this thread. I have a GYAOS large size remocon kit. Its too bad they did not build more robots.

Here are three Midori robots. Left to right, Tiger Robot, Steel Giant, Wonder Robo.

Next two pics are of the Midori Missile Robot 'Super Boy' variation. I am glad I got this version even though it is just a pull-back motor.

 

 

 

 

 

[plasticaugie]

Here is a thread that SH Mike started back in 2006. The debate was over a Japanese Magazine from 1964 that show a R/C Robot Commando. It turns out that the actual robot on the cover is the Imai Big Thunder. This would firmly put the Imai kit as 1964 and possibly earlier. Like I said before the first T-28 pinwalker predates the Big Thunder so the beginning of the line could be 1963. The pic below is robot commando with the magazine in question.

original thread

http://danefield.com/alpha/forums/index.ph...amp;hl=commando

Just to tidy up what in now known about the Imai Thunder boy kits. There are five different kits, four different sizes, and many box variations.

1. Original Robot Thunder Boy aka Robot Big Thunder. The Robot Big Thunder box variation is #1 in the Imai Robot series.

2. Baby Thunder Boy. Two box variations, both are #5 in the Imai series. The missile fires manually and the chest decal show a naked astroboy type figure riding a lightning bolt. It is about 1/2 scale of the Robot Thunder Boy.

3. Baby Thunder. This is almost the same kit as Baby Thunder Boy but the missile fires automatically. It is #10 in the Imai series. The chest decal shows a naked human baby crouching on a cloud with lightning bolt in hand over its head. This would make a great tat.

4. Baby Thunder Robot. This is the small wind-up kit. It is not from the original Imai series. It is about 1/2 scale of the Baby Thunder Boy.

5. Mini Baby Thunder. This is a small size figure kit. I does nothing at all. It is a little bigger than half size of the Baby Thunder wind-up. Possibly not an Imai product.

[tinluver2]

Do you ever paint these models.They have an amazing amount of small detail as the boxes show if they were painted.Do ypu think building or painting changes the value of these kits?