The glorious sound of 80's GoDaikin ratchets. Thanks for doing this one Jeff. I'm pretty sure I asked you in the comments a while back and you delivered. I enjoy the history and backstory as well.
I was extremely fortuneate to get my first Japanese robot at 5 years old. My uncle gave me a Popy 'Bazolar' the triceratops robot tank from Gai King, which coincidentally would become my favorite cartoon by age 6. So from 1979 I was always looking for Japanese imported toys over American toys. By the time Transformers was a mainstream TV show and toyline I was fairly well versed in anime and had amassed a respectable collection of Bandai, Popy, and Takara robots as well as many unique and knock off versions. So I had GoLion a couple years before Voltron aired, and my brother had Daltanius. Unfortuneately, but not regrettably I *played* with my collection very, uh creatively so my robots all had extensive battle damage. Between my brother, cousin, and the two brothers across the street we had the entire Godaikin line, most of the Shogun Warriors, dozens of Gundam kits, Revel Robotech kits and numerous unique pieces from most of the 70s/early 80s anime toy lines. Let's just say it is a good thing I only went to Mr. Big's Toyland one time because it was too far away, or else I'd have been raking & mowing literally everybody's lawn in town.
As a kid I always thought there was a clip in the show about the “other” voltrons, it took a while to figure out which one he was. Didn’t think he was supposed to be the original
Best toy line ever was Godiakin. Diecast combiners. Collecting them today is not cheap, hard to find , but worth it. Today their are alot of brands like Soul of chogokin, Pose, CCS, Sentinel, Moshow, Blitzway etc who make modern engineered versions mechas. Enjoyed your video. Daltanious was my first toy. Everyone had transformers and I had Godaikins (Daltanious, Gordian, Godzigma). Thanks again.
The irony is that Daltanius was the anime that World Productions intended to import, but when asked which one they wanted, they couldn't remember the name, so they asked them to "go with the lion one." The person on the phone heard "Go-Lion" and sent them that. They were initially disappointed, as they had to do more edits, but we all know it worked out well! Seeing Voltron in the Godaikin line was weird, but those were some sweet robots!
Sometimes I think that WEP could regained steam for the Voltron brand had they adapted Daltanious as the 3rd Voltron instead of starting to go with Albegas. Daltanious as Viltron could have brought back the lion theme, and even served as a bridge of sorts between Lion Voltron and Vehicle Voltron. WEP could have put in the intro a legend about a 6th lion
@@classiccomicsforum I saw that in the behind the scenes video on the first DVD release of Voltron Blue Lion tin packaging edition. And that was released nearly 20 years ago.
I used to play with that toy in the early '80, and I still have got it on my shelf! Daltanious is extremely popular here in Italy, and it's a pity it's not that famous all over the world. Not only because as a robot it is much cooler than Golion/Voltron is, in my opinion, but because Daltanious's whole background story is more complicated than Golion's, and above all more mature and dramatic, even if it is filled with tons of irony. Believe me or not, it speaks about using clones as disposable replacements of organs and of emperors running governements when they die and no successor has been chosen. Watch it if you've the opportunity. But I guess Voltes V (same authors but it was released two years before Daltanious was) will vecome more popular in a short time, and Voltes V does deserve watching...😉😉😉
I use to have Votron I and III, but before Voltron. I love the cartoon series Gaiking and other similar robot anime in the early 80s. As a kid! I love watching Godzilla movies!
I had a friend in Jr. High School that had it. The funny thing was that none of us knew anything about that toy. I live in The Bronx and at that time there were tons of little family boutique type stores selling tons of knock off robot toys. In all fairness they might all not been knock offs. Later in my adult life I found out that a lot of those toys I had came from animes.
Ah, that brings back memories. I remember the very first giant robot I saw as a kid was Gigantor. He was the one to spark my love for everything giant mechas. But for me the giant robot that got me interested in combining robots wasn't even voltron. It was GaiKing, or Guy King in the US. I saw it through fun house entertainment (f.h.e.) VHS. It's technically a parts former in a way, since the the arms/back was one flying unit, the legs was another, and would be launched from their mobile base called the space dragon to combine with it's dragon head that became the upper torso/head of GaiKing. That series first released in japan in April of 1976. The f.h.e. english version was edited to be a fit a single vhs, and wasn't really a 100% true translated dubbing since they did some creative licencing for entertainment sake of US audiances. But was the best english dubbing I've found. Sadly nothing made by f.h.e. has ever been made for dvd/blu-ray/4k. The only version available in english is the uneditted accurate version with flat dull voice acting. There is a 2005 series that continues it's legacy, but alas we've still haven't gotten an english dubbed version yet. F.h.e. also put out my first favorite live action robot Brain 17 aka Daitetsujin 17. I miss watching them both. 😢😢😢
@@classiccomicsforum I don't know if any of the original toys had the combining gimmics, but I know the soul of chogokin line has a few different versions that does. I've seen an reissue of the original big GaiKing figure that stands about 13 or 14 inches tall and it deffinetly doesn't have it. It only moves it's arms at the shoulders with spring loaded giant launching fists. I've seen a couple other smalller diacast figures from around the same time, and for some reason they had more articulation than the big one. I always found it quite odd.
As a kid I was asking for Transformers and my parents (at Christmas) got me all those foreign combiner robots. No actual Transformers. However, I loved how they looked and felt like robots (the combination of 'metal' and plastic and so many moving parts).
@classiccomicsforum my friends and i would sing along the Spanish version of the theam song it sounded like a national anthom lol real inspirational 😆 . Now for ennyone who visited the dominican republic in the 80's could tell you how bad the country's power grid was . electrical blackouts were very comen then some times the blackout would happen wright at the mid point of the show and all though annoying this ment it was time to go outside and play we would act out the rest of show awere selves with the power of awere young imaginations 😆 😢
I use to have a KO Daltanious when I was very very young. I lost it a year that I have owned it. If you live certain parts in world like in Asia you get to see a lot of mecha shows aired on TV before Transformers was a thing. In the Philippines we get some Popy and Godaikin releases but it was really expensive and only a few kids that own them. On a personal note, Daltanious was the reason that I had this liking towards robots with lions on their chest though the only ones I have are the SRC Genesic Gaogaigar, HG Gundam Tryon 3 and HG Gundam Dryon III. Also I apologize if I sound like that "uh.. ackshully" guy but just a correction, Mazinger Z debuted in 1972 while Getter Robo debuted in 1974.
I never had the chance to get my hands with any Daltanious figures. The toy aisle in the nearest toy store back in the '80s have the mechas like Voltes V, Daimos, Voltron/Golion, Dairugger/Vehicle Voltron, and Astroboy. Me and my schoolmates would usually head to that toy store and just drool-looking at those figures since none of us could afford them. And then came Japan gave us those sentai and henshin figures like Bioman, Changeman, Shaider, and Kamen Rider. God knows how I miss those simpler times now that so many toy stores and arcades had shut down.
WOW of course I have heard all these names used around toy collectors but never understood any actual timeline, this was super interesting and really does help put everyting together for this Genre. Top Vid.
I got a Daltanious yellow lion in a collection I acquired last year and ended up needing to source collector’s knowledge on IG to learn what it was from. I was a kid that grew up loving Voltron like you, but knew nothing about Daltanious. As you say, the color, face, legs, and transformation felt familiar though, which tipped me off that it was either a predecessor or Japan variant, before finally getting confirmation on what it was. I ended up keeping it because it was such a pristine copy and still have it to this day. Cool hearing the thorough breakdown and history! Thanks 🙏🏼
@@AnotherGalaxyToys you're so welcome. Thanks for your kind words! The irony is that I remember seeing Daltanious (or rather the GoDaikin Daltanias version) in stores as a kid, noting those similarities, and thinking it was a cheap Voltron rip-off. Ah, to be a stupid kid who thinks anything without a hit cartoon series is inferior again.
There are double drill and grabber claw attachments that go on the extendable arms of the spaceship. There were also 2 shields (s smaller chrome one for the robot) as well as a smaller head crest. The sword for the combined figure was a huge flaming one. Both the small and large fists shot off the arms if i remember correctly. I loved this toy so much! I also had Godsigma as well (3 robots combine together). Ah, the memories
@@gyrrakavian both would make sense, but from appearance they could be any number of big cats. Nothing about the design seems to specifically suggest lions.
@@LodanSD I thought I was the only one! I absolutely preferred Voltron I/Dairugger XV. I liked the look and colors better, I found the space backdrop more exciting, and he was taller and had more parts. But the rest of the world seemed (and continues to seem) more obsessed with the lions, and I can see the merit. Beautiful toy too, and also one that rocks my world.
I used to watch both series back to back in the afternoon after school around 4:00-5:00 P.M. and I owned both sets of both Voltrons. Now the only one I have is the Toynami (numbered special edition) version that has a book style box.
Thanks for the video. It is nice to hear someone who loved Super Robots especially those from the 70s and 80s since that is the Rise of the Super Robots and Chogokin Toys from Japan. I have also been trying to archive many of the classic super robots anime series even though many looked dated and their plots are pretty straightforward (There are some exceptions) I just finished watching Daltanious and it is pretty all right especially the plot twist halfway through the series but I imagine it might not be as popular as Golion if it was brought over by WEP as there are several kids characters and the villains are very one-dimensional except for the main general and final boss. I also recently bought the 50th-anniversary Soul of Chougokin Golion and Voltes V which are reissued with chrome parts and they looked beautiful. Combattler V is the next one coming in Oct which I am also planning to get it.
Thanks for the kind words! I've got plenty of more videos devoted to the amazing super robots of days gone by, and more in the works! As for SOC, I gave it a try, and it just isn't for me. I want big, bulky robots to play with, not sleek, elegant robots for display.
@classiccomicsforum Agreed that now all the classic toys are mostly display and rarely anyone play with it unless it is a vintage robot and even that it cost a leg and it might not be in good condition.
@@classiccomicsforum Voltron never overtook Transformers. Didn't happen. It never had the toy line to do it. Even in 85, we had Robotech which sold more than Voltron.
Getter robot won't have a perfect transformation toy, probably even in the future. This is because of how getter robot transformation is written. Getter energy transformation morphs the material to expand and contract at will. Sadly getter dragon head is already an impossible task to achieve. Go Nagai probably didn't write Getter Robo with a toy line in mind.
Voltes V is the second religion for us Filipinos lol the first one being Catholicism. Granted, I've watched the anime like 3~4 times growing up but I refuse to watch the Live Action they did cause it's just cringe even though is official and Bandai already has announced and shown the toy for that. Also I remember a cousin of mine having that Yellow Lion from Voltron and it being A LOT bigger. Then again I played with that toy when I was 3 or 4 so my sense of scale was off. I remember it looking really big. I saw it as an adult and I can't believe this toy looked a lot bigger. Same stories for Perfect Grade Gundam boxes. I remember seeing them as big as half my body when I saw them as a kid, like the Zeta and what not. I saw it when I got older and they looked a lot smaller. This was considering Gundam got popular when I lived in the Philippines when I was like 8 well before my growth spurt.
@@classiccomicsforum You will have to go to the Philippines for that as people hoard it there. Some have like 5 of those Godaikin/Popy releases alone enshrined. A friend of mine has 2 of those DX SoCs that got released a few years back. You know those Voltes V that were big but a lot more expensive than the regular Soul of Chogokin release they did. I don't even have one cause they cost an arm and a leg and he has 2.
Voltron was 1st it was redub in 1984 (usa) but was created in 1981 (Japan) g1 was introduced in 1984 cartoon toys obviouslywere out way b4 that (mash up from differentlines). Voltron was released 1 week b4 transformers (September) cartoon.
@@LavellNelson if you mean it was before Daltanious, Big D was 1979. If you mean it was before Transformers, absolutely, but the average kid had no awareness/interest in it until late 1984.
@classiccomicsforum your 100% right funny thing is daltarious was supposed to be voltron we got golion by mistake the person who brought voltron to the states was actually talking about daltrarious and they showed him golion due to him not knowing the difference btwn the 2 all he knew was it was a robot that was or had a lion so they showed him voltron
I always took the Voltron Lions as lions but I was also very aware of Mountain Lions as a thing. If you look into it you will find that Japan doesn't have "Mountain Lions" but if you keep looking you learn they do have Japanese Cougars, which is a funny because Cougars ARE mountain Lions. But I also realize I'm likely the exception not the rule for most kids.
Please, please, please look into the character of Mister Atom from Shazam! I know he's an American comic book character but you won't be disappointed, I feel like he must have been known of in Japan back in the day.
I passed on one for $150 USD twenty years back and never forgave myself! Prices are finally coming down on ebay (which is why I have one now), but they're still not back at that level yet.
@@classiccomicsforum The whole toy nostalgia boom is kinda winding down and I'm kinda happy about it. Vintage Sentai mechs being priced absurdly cause of the nostalgia Gokaiger brought 12 years ago was just dumb and a lot of people that bought it thinking they're "investments" are finding it harder to sell them so they just drop the price to more realistic levels.
@@lanoche Agreed. Add to that the inflation in the value of all collectibles during the Covid shutdown. Seems like every hobby spiked four years ago and is just now coming down. As I'm in this for the love of it and not the resale value, I couldn't be happier.
@ZedMazaus480 Same here. We have lots of vintage toy shops in the area, but they all focus on mainstream stuff. I truly wish we had a shop that specialized in the more off-the-beaten-path vintage items. Folks only need so much of G1 Transformers and Masters of the Universe.
Love Daltanious. Recently tracked down a jumbo version to display with my GoLion, Dairugger XV and Albegas jumbos as an honorary Voltron. Daltanious also appears in WEP's first Voltron Trilogy promotional reel as "Voltron II" rather than Albegas. The anime series was released on blu ray last year and is well worth a watch. *Much* more kid-friendly that GoLion, I might add. ;)
I got my Godaikin Daltanious for Christmas one year when I was around 8, and still have it. Broke it almost immediately because Atlas’ chest-expansion hinges are so thin, but was able to get it replaced. Over the next couple years also got Goggle V, Sun Vulcan, and Tetsujin 28. BTW, the arms on Gunper have attachments like lasers and claws, since you asked what they’re for. And the Lion looks even more badass with the large missiles attached to its leg hinges (in addition to the little red missiles, the set came with 4 large missiles, 2 red and 2 chrome).
There was a clip of Daltanious in the original Voltron promo spot that aired on San Francisco's KBHK 44 before the series launch in 1984. (ua-cam.com/video/fUXaJQPZuv8/v-deo.html) Japanese robot toys including Godaikin line were available at Jeffery's (later R.A. Martin) in the El Cerrito Plaza. None of us knew where the robots came from. This was years after the Mattel's Shogun Warriors. We also had a great store on Solano Avenue in Berkeley called Iron Horse where we could get robot models and toys from Japan. Also, great insight about Voltron being made up of lionesses. That never occurred to me.
Don’t get me wrong I love transformers.. but I also grew up with Voltron , TranZerZ , Robotech ( macross) . Even the love for Go Bot. I was 6 yr old when all these cartoon came out in American TV.
Considering your collection, I do wonder if you have the robot from Maskman? I had gotten one along with a Transformers Lot, at a time when I wasn't as big on collecting stuff I wasn't familiar with, so I pawned it off to someone else. Also there was another part of a Bot I got, where it was a Large Robot that had a smaller robot inside, Nesting Doll style, with a Human inside all of it's parts. I can't remember how many robots it ended up being, but I also really didn't look much into it. I do remember that the larger robot shell I had, also had a Fist Launching Mechanism, but that launcher also had the "Blue Plastic Syndrome" you were talking about.
@@LodanSD pretty sure you mean Gordian. Really fun toy. As for Maskman, not yet. I've only recently been getting into the early Sentai stuff and still have so much more to check out.
Have you ever gotten or seen any of the Soul Of Chogokin versions of these figures that you were showing in this video? Those are huge and very pose-able and fully transformable, but very expensive. And they have Die Cast Metal parts in them as well.
@@willisjackson7029 Yes, I picked up the SOC Combattler and really didn't like it. Seemed to be designed for display far more than for play, it was smaller than the original, and it also lacked a lot of the heft, even though it used a generous amount of metal. SOC just isn't for me.
@@classiccomicsforum I also got the Black Lion from my Grandma one year. Just the Black Lion. Talk about a letdown. I tried to make arms and legs out of Lego but you couldn't really play with it like that, it would all fall apart. 😔
@@mrjasonsinco Did you ever get the official Lego Voltron that came out a few years ago? It can fully transform into all 5 lions and it’s nicely detailed.
I had this guy. My friend dropped him down the stairs and broke him (he was heavy with lots of cast iron parts). I sold him at a garage sale for like $5.
@@classiccomicsforum We had a Japanese toy import store in the Phoenix area in the mid 1980s. They were cheaper than US toys, so I had all types of these combining robots no one has ever heard of. This one was my favorite. Another one I had was 5 motorcycles that combined into one giant robot. All basically the same princinple. I even kept them in the original packaging, because the styrofoam kept them safe. I sold them all for $5 a pop in like 1991.
This is a Voltron. When Boltron first came out there were 3 different versions of Voltron. It was the main female Lion😂, the vehicle version,& the one you are displaying now. They never came out with the cartoon and I never seen the toy past the old school Consumers catalog.💯😂
Godaiken Daltanious was so freaking hard to find. When I finally did see him (back then), my mom bought him with no issue. However in a slap of irony, he had a slight factory defect. They did not include the bolt in his arm to hold it to the body. So it came down to bring him back to the store (and they had no more) or keep it. Due to his elusiveness I kept him. Some point not far later I was able to find him again and mom bought me a second one which had no problems. Still have both in their box today
Nice! Out here (NY) he was very hard to find. My first one was from an indie toy shop (not a chain). I do not recall where we found the second one. A store in the city called Forbidden Planet had a magazine ad that featured him and one other. I knew the other one (who I can’t remember) but not idea who this super cool robot with a lion on his chest was. I sort of knew he must be from the same line (at this time they did not include booklets with the characters yet), but I had to have him. When the booklets did start coming with them is when I learned who he was
@@mazinz2 where in NY? I was on Long Island and came across him at the Toys R Us in Hicksville. Maybe I was just in the right place at the right time. I remember Forbidden Planet!
Without getting town specific (since these comments are all public)- Orange County NY. Say about 90min drive from west Hempstead/Garden City. The defective one was purchased at an amazing place called Toys Plus which was in the bottom level of the Middletown, Ny mall. Scary how things blur, but positive it was called the orange plaza mall
@@mazinz2 I don't think I was ever aware of the Middletown Mall. Funny you should mention Garden City, as I did spend quite a bit of time as Roosevelt Field there, but all that mall had was Kaybee Toys.
Transformers were still cool when Voltron was happening. That moment in childhood that Transformers were no longer cool (at least for a while) was called puberty and discovering girls.
I discovered girls, realized they're mostly gold digging whiny lazy entitled things gave up on them and went back to collecting toys. Good thing I have a good paying job.
I've got two of the original lionbot one is in lionbot form the other is in lion mode standing on top of each of their own TV show dvd they were no extra parts but what it came with in box so any extra is not correct
The glorious sound of 80's GoDaikin ratchets. Thanks for doing this one Jeff. I'm pretty sure I asked you in the comments a while back and you delivered. I enjoy the history and backstory as well.
It was an outstanding suggestion, so consider it my pleasure entirely. Keep dropping those suggestions, and I'll keep trying to make them happen!
I was extremely fortuneate to get my first Japanese robot at 5 years old. My uncle gave me a Popy 'Bazolar' the triceratops robot tank from Gai King, which coincidentally would become my favorite cartoon by age 6. So from 1979 I was always looking for Japanese imported toys over American toys. By the time Transformers was a mainstream TV show and toyline I was fairly well versed in anime and had amassed a respectable collection of Bandai, Popy, and Takara robots as well as many unique and knock off versions. So I had GoLion a couple years before Voltron aired, and my brother had Daltanius. Unfortuneately, but not regrettably I *played* with my collection very, uh creatively so my robots all had extensive battle damage. Between my brother, cousin, and the two brothers across the street we had the entire Godaikin line, most of the Shogun Warriors, dozens of Gundam kits, Revel Robotech kits and numerous unique pieces from most of the 70s/early 80s anime toy lines.
Let's just say it is a good thing I only went to Mr. Big's Toyland one time because it was too far away, or else I'd have been raking & mowing literally everybody's lawn in town.
As a kid I always thought there was a clip in the show about the “other” voltrons, it took a while to figure out which one he was. Didn’t think he was supposed to be the original
Best toy line ever was Godiakin. Diecast combiners. Collecting them today is not cheap, hard to find , but worth it. Today their are alot of brands like Soul of chogokin, Pose, CCS, Sentinel, Moshow, Blitzway etc who make modern engineered versions mechas. Enjoyed your video. Daltanious was my first toy. Everyone had transformers and I had Godaikins (Daltanious, Gordian, Godzigma). Thanks again.
@@jrodTypeR you're so welcome!
The irony is that Daltanius was the anime that World Productions intended to import, but when asked which one they wanted, they couldn't remember the name, so they asked them to "go with the lion one." The person on the phone heard "Go-Lion" and sent them that. They were initially disappointed, as they had to do more edits, but we all know it worked out well! Seeing Voltron in the Godaikin line was weird, but those were some sweet robots!
I'd never heard that story before. That's hilarious!
@jasonschneider7224 yea it's true they said send one with the lion and the rest I'd history 😆
Sometimes I think that WEP could regained steam for the Voltron brand had they adapted Daltanious as the 3rd Voltron instead of starting to go with Albegas.
Daltanious as Viltron could have brought back the lion theme, and even served as a bridge of sorts between Lion Voltron and Vehicle Voltron. WEP could have put in the intro a legend about a 6th lion
to think if in an alternate timeline that World Productions remember the name the show Daltanius
things would be a hole lot different for us
@@classiccomicsforum I saw that in the behind the scenes video on the first DVD release of Voltron Blue Lion tin packaging edition. And that was released nearly 20 years ago.
I'm still intrigued by the 3 arm Voltron
I used to play with that toy in the early '80, and I still have got it on my shelf! Daltanious is extremely popular here in Italy, and it's a pity it's not that famous all over the world. Not only because as a robot it is much cooler than Golion/Voltron is, in my opinion, but because Daltanious's whole background story is more complicated than Golion's, and above all more mature and dramatic, even if it is filled with tons of irony. Believe me or not, it speaks about using clones as disposable replacements of organs and of emperors running governements when they die and no successor has been chosen. Watch it if you've the opportunity. But I guess Voltes V (same authors but it was released two years before Daltanious was) will vecome more popular in a short time, and Voltes V does deserve watching...😉😉😉
I'm definitely going to have to check that out! Thanks for the info!
I use to have Votron I and III, but before Voltron. I love the cartoon series Gaiking and other similar robot anime in the early 80s. As a kid! I love watching Godzilla movies!
@@sharkMac it's really fun learning how it's all connected, isn't it?
I had a friend in Jr. High School that had it. The funny thing was that none of us knew anything about that toy. I live in The Bronx and at that time there were tons of little family boutique type stores selling tons of knock off robot toys. In all fairness they might all not been knock offs. Later in my adult life I found out that a lot of those toys I had came from animes.
Some of my best toy finds came from corner cigar and stationary shops. You just never knew what you were going to find!
Ah, that brings back memories. I remember the very first giant robot I saw as a kid was Gigantor. He was the one to spark my love for everything giant mechas. But for me the giant robot that got me interested in combining robots wasn't even voltron. It was GaiKing, or Guy King in the US. I saw it through fun house entertainment (f.h.e.) VHS. It's technically a parts former in a way, since the the arms/back was one flying unit, the legs was another, and would be launched from their mobile base called the space dragon to combine with it's dragon head that became the upper torso/head of GaiKing.
That series first released in japan in April of 1976. The f.h.e. english version was edited to be a fit a single vhs, and wasn't really a 100% true translated dubbing since they did some creative licencing for entertainment sake of US audiances. But was the best english dubbing I've found. Sadly nothing made by f.h.e. has ever been made for dvd/blu-ray/4k. The only version available in english is the uneditted accurate version with flat dull voice acting. There is a 2005 series that continues it's legacy, but alas we've still haven't gotten an english dubbed version yet. F.h.e. also put out my first favorite live action robot Brain 17 aka Daitetsujin 17. I miss watching them both. 😢😢😢
Gaiking is one I've still yet to see up close, and I intend to remedy that. Interesting argument about it counting as a combiner. I'm intrigued!
@@classiccomicsforum I don't know if any of the original toys had the combining gimmics, but I know the soul of chogokin line has a few different versions that does. I've seen an reissue of the original big GaiKing figure that stands about 13 or 14 inches tall and it deffinetly doesn't have it. It only moves it's arms at the shoulders with spring loaded giant launching fists. I've seen a couple other smalller diacast figures from around the same time, and for some reason they had more articulation than the big one. I always found it quite odd.
I remember watching Gaiking as part of the Shogun Warriors lineup with Mazinger Z, and I think maybe a few other series.
As a kid I was asking for Transformers and my parents (at Christmas) got me all those foreign combiner robots. No actual Transformers. However, I loved how they looked and felt like robots (the combination of 'metal' and plastic and so many moving parts).
I loved this anime I used to watch it when I was a kid when I would go to dominican republic on vacation
@@beast32678 I really wish I'd come across it as a kid. So awesome that it got to be part of your childhood.
@classiccomicsforum my friends and i would sing along the Spanish version of the theam song it sounded like a national anthom lol real inspirational 😆 . Now for ennyone who visited the dominican republic in the 80's could tell you how bad the country's power grid was . electrical blackouts were very comen then some times the blackout would happen wright at the mid point of the show and all though annoying this ment it was time to go outside and play we would act out the rest of show awere selves with the power of awere young imaginations 😆 😢
@@beast32678 that's pretty amazing!
I use to have a KO Daltanious when I was very very young. I lost it a year that I have owned it. If you live certain parts in world like in Asia you get to see a lot of mecha shows aired on TV before Transformers was a thing. In the Philippines we get some Popy and Godaikin releases but it was really expensive and only a few kids that own them. On a personal note, Daltanious was the reason that I had this liking towards robots with lions on their chest though the only ones I have are the SRC Genesic Gaogaigar, HG Gundam Tryon 3 and HG Gundam Dryon III. Also I apologize if I sound like that "uh.. ackshully" guy but just a correction, Mazinger Z debuted in 1972 while Getter Robo debuted in 1974.
@@anerysium nah, I'm the one who should apologize. You are absolutely correct about the dates.
In my book, there's four Voltron units. Go-Lion, Albegas, Dairugger, and Daltanius.
@@GCJACK83 well said!
I never had the chance to get my hands with any Daltanious figures. The toy aisle in the nearest toy store back in the '80s have the mechas like Voltes V, Daimos, Voltron/Golion, Dairugger/Vehicle Voltron, and Astroboy. Me and my schoolmates would usually head to that toy store and just drool-looking at those figures since none of us could afford them.
And then came Japan gave us those sentai and henshin figures like Bioman, Changeman, Shaider, and Kamen Rider.
God knows how I miss those simpler times now that so many toy stores and arcades had shut down.
WOW of course I have heard all these names used around toy collectors but never understood any actual timeline, this was super interesting and really does help put everyting together for this Genre. Top Vid.
@@unorthdoxcleric6953 so glad you enjoyed! Thanks for the kind words.
I got a Daltanious yellow lion in a collection I acquired last year and ended up needing to source collector’s knowledge on IG to learn what it was from. I was a kid that grew up loving Voltron like you, but knew nothing about Daltanious. As you say, the color, face, legs, and transformation felt familiar though, which tipped me off that it was either a predecessor or Japan variant, before finally getting confirmation on what it was. I ended up keeping it because it was such a pristine copy and still have it to this day. Cool hearing the thorough breakdown and history! Thanks 🙏🏼
@@AnotherGalaxyToys you're so welcome. Thanks for your kind words! The irony is that I remember seeing Daltanious (or rather the GoDaikin Daltanias version) in stores as a kid, noting those similarities, and thinking it was a cheap Voltron rip-off. Ah, to be a stupid kid who thinks anything without a hit cartoon series is inferior again.
Got one for christmas in 82
Didn’t know Josh Gad did toy reviews!!! This is freakin awesome
Thanks (I think)!
There are double drill and grabber claw attachments that go on the extendable arms of the spaceship. There were also 2 shields (s smaller chrome one for the robot) as well as a smaller head crest. The sword for the combined figure was a huge flaming one. Both the small and large fists shot off the arms if i remember correctly. I loved this toy so much! I also had Godsigma as well (3 robots combine together). Ah, the memories
11:58 I always figured that Voltron was made from either mountain lions or Tsavo's maneless lions.
@@gyrrakavian both would make sense, but from appearance they could be any number of big cats. Nothing about the design seems to specifically suggest lions.
When I was a kid, my favorite Voltron was the Vehicle Teams, which I remember not seeing enough of in the Cartoon.
@@LodanSD I thought I was the only one! I absolutely preferred Voltron I/Dairugger XV. I liked the look and colors better, I found the space backdrop more exciting, and he was taller and had more parts. But the rest of the world seemed (and continues to seem) more obsessed with the lions, and I can see the merit. Beautiful toy too, and also one that rocks my world.
I used to watch both series back to back in the afternoon after school around 4:00-5:00 P.M. and I owned both sets of both Voltrons. Now the only one I have is the Toynami (numbered special edition) version that has a book style box.
I had Daltanius and Voltron III as a kid
@@jcbvortex22 I'm jealous! Took me far too many years to appreciate the awesomeness of Daltanius. Wish he'd been a part of my childhood.
still have my Daltanius. it has seen better days though.
@@billscarnage that just means it was well loved.
Thanks for the video. It is nice to hear someone who loved Super Robots especially those from the 70s and 80s since that is the Rise of the Super Robots and Chogokin Toys from Japan. I have also been trying to archive many of the classic super robots anime series even though many looked dated and their plots are pretty straightforward (There are some exceptions) I just finished watching Daltanious and it is pretty all right especially the plot twist halfway through the series but I imagine it might not be as popular as Golion if it was brought over by WEP as there are several kids characters and the villains are very one-dimensional except for the main general and final boss.
I also recently bought the 50th-anniversary Soul of Chougokin Golion and Voltes V which are reissued with chrome parts and they looked beautiful. Combattler V is the next one coming in Oct which I am also planning to get it.
Thanks for the kind words! I've got plenty of more videos devoted to the amazing super robots of days gone by, and more in the works! As for SOC, I gave it a try, and it just isn't for me. I want big, bulky robots to play with, not sleek, elegant robots for display.
@classiccomicsforum Agreed that now all the classic toys are mostly display and rarely anyone play with it unless it is a vintage robot and even that it cost a leg and it might not be in good condition.
Dude your display is amazing.
@@Reypure207 thanks!
What are you talking about? Voltron came out in 1984! The cartoon, toy line all came out in 84 not 85.
Came out in '84, but didn't really overtake Transformers until '85, at least on my block.
@@classiccomicsforum Voltron never overtook Transformers. Didn't happen. It never had the toy line to do it. Even in 85, we had Robotech which sold more than Voltron.
@@Viggenpower thats cool if your experience was different than mine.
I had this lion
You straight dissed Raideen the FIRST transformable robot and forgot about him.
@@northprime_unlimited haha. Definitely don't watch the Spiderman + Japan = Awesome video if you think I was unfair to Raideen in this one 😂
@@classiccomicsforum I watched it…..why man, why?😑
@@northprime_unlimited what can I say? I was spoiled by the '80s.
Some species of lion don't have the mane. 🤷🏼♀️
My cousin has both
Voltron was derived from GoLion, the toy line was Godiakin.
GoDaiKin was an American release of Japanese Bandai toy lines. Go Lion did not begin as part of that line.
can you do video about game name super robot wars 1991-2024
Majin Go!!
Getter robot won't have a perfect transformation toy, probably even in the future. This is because of how getter robot transformation is written. Getter energy transformation morphs the material to expand and contract at will. Sadly getter dragon head is already an impossible task to achieve. Go Nagai probably didn't write Getter Robo with a toy line in mind.
Agreed. i dont think it occurred to anyone involved that kids would expect the toy to do the things it was doing on screen.
Voltes V is the second religion for us Filipinos lol the first one being Catholicism. Granted, I've watched the anime like 3~4 times growing up but I refuse to watch the Live Action they did cause it's just cringe even though is official and Bandai already has announced and shown the toy for that. Also I remember a cousin of mine having that Yellow Lion from Voltron and it being A LOT bigger. Then again I played with that toy when I was 3 or 4 so my sense of scale was off. I remember it looking really big. I saw it as an adult and I can't believe this toy looked a lot bigger. Same stories for Perfect Grade Gundam boxes. I remember seeing them as big as half my body when I saw them as a kid, like the Zeta and what not. I saw it when I got older and they looked a lot smaller. This was considering Gundam got popular when I lived in the Philippines when I was like 8 well before my growth spurt.
Nothing crazy about that! Voltes V is a thing of utter beauty. One day he'll be mine...
@@classiccomicsforum You will have to go to the Philippines for that as people hoard it there. Some have like 5 of those Godaikin/Popy releases alone enshrined. A friend of mine has 2 of those DX SoCs that got released a few years back. You know those Voltes V that were big but a lot more expensive than the regular Soul of Chogokin release they did. I don't even have one cause they cost an arm and a leg and he has 2.
@lanoche Sounds like a vacation worth taking! I just might do it one day down the line.
Voltron was 1st it was redub in 1984 (usa) but was created in 1981 (Japan) g1 was introduced in 1984 cartoon toys obviouslywere out way b4 that (mash up from differentlines). Voltron was released 1 week b4 transformers (September) cartoon.
@@LavellNelson if you mean it was before Daltanious, Big D was 1979. If you mean it was before Transformers, absolutely, but the average kid had no awareness/interest in it until late 1984.
@classiccomicsforum your 100% right funny thing is daltarious was supposed to be voltron we got golion by mistake the person who brought voltron to the states was actually talking about daltrarious and they showed him golion due to him not knowing the difference btwn the 2 all he knew was it was a robot that was or had a lion so they showed him voltron
@@LavellNelson I've heard that. Truly amazing!
I remember makinga z or trans zor z dude
Ah yes, he was Tranzor Z in some places, including the US. I forgot to mention that.
Yeah, no. I thought Voltron was at best as cool, but never surpassed Transformers.
Either way, I had both.
I always took the Voltron Lions as lions but I was also very aware of Mountain Lions as a thing. If you look into it you will find that Japan doesn't have "Mountain Lions" but if you keep looking you learn they do have Japanese Cougars, which is a funny because Cougars ARE mountain Lions. But I also realize I'm likely the exception not the rule for most kids.
Well technically yes. But typically Mountain Lions are larger.
Please, please, please look into the character of Mister Atom from Shazam! I know he's an American comic book character but you won't be disappointed, I feel like he must have been known of in Japan back in the day.
A local comic and collectible shop here has one of these in box and it is not cheap. Amazing toy!
I passed on one for $150 USD twenty years back and never forgave myself! Prices are finally coming down on ebay (which is why I have one now), but they're still not back at that level yet.
@@classiccomicsforum The whole toy nostalgia boom is kinda winding down and I'm kinda happy about it. Vintage Sentai mechs being priced absurdly cause of the nostalgia Gokaiger brought 12 years ago was just dumb and a lot of people that bought it thinking they're "investments" are finding it harder to sell them so they just drop the price to more realistic levels.
I'm jealous! LOL
My local collectable shop very very rarely gets in jems like that.
@@lanoche Agreed. Add to that the inflation in the value of all collectibles during the Covid shutdown. Seems like every hobby spiked four years ago and is just now coming down. As I'm in this for the love of it and not the resale value, I couldn't be happier.
@ZedMazaus480 Same here. We have lots of vintage toy shops in the area, but they all focus on mainstream stuff. I truly wish we had a shop that specialized in the more off-the-beaten-path vintage items. Folks only need so much of G1 Transformers and Masters of the Universe.
No, I do not recall a time in my childhood when Transformers stopped being cool.
Closest was probably 2014, but I was a teenager by then
Galactic Gale Baxingar is another long forgotten combiner
Love Daltanious. Recently tracked down a jumbo version to display with my GoLion, Dairugger XV and Albegas jumbos as an honorary Voltron. Daltanious also appears in WEP's first Voltron Trilogy promotional reel as "Voltron II" rather than Albegas. The anime series was released on blu ray last year and is well worth a watch. *Much* more kid-friendly that GoLion, I might add. ;)
I got my Godaikin Daltanious for Christmas one year when I was around 8, and still have it. Broke it almost immediately because Atlas’ chest-expansion hinges are so thin, but was able to get it replaced. Over the next couple years also got Goggle V, Sun Vulcan, and Tetsujin 28.
BTW, the arms on Gunper have attachments like lasers and claws, since you asked what they’re for. And the Lion looks even more badass with the large missiles attached to its leg hinges (in addition to the little red missiles, the set came with 4 large missiles, 2 red and 2 chrome).
@@ErikLarson-l9k thanks for this! Looks like I've got some parts to hunt down.
There was a clip of Daltanious in the original Voltron promo spot that aired on San Francisco's KBHK 44 before the series launch in 1984. (ua-cam.com/video/fUXaJQPZuv8/v-deo.html) Japanese robot toys including Godaikin line were available at Jeffery's (later R.A. Martin) in the El Cerrito Plaza. None of us knew where the robots came from. This was years after the Mattel's Shogun Warriors. We also had a great store on Solano Avenue in Berkeley called Iron Horse where we could get robot models and toys from Japan. Also, great insight about Voltron being made up of lionesses. That never occurred to me.
Thank you!
Don’t get me wrong I love transformers.. but I also grew up with Voltron , TranZerZ , Robotech ( macross) . Even the love for Go Bot. I was 6 yr old when all these cartoon came out in American TV.
@@Phonesavanh-dd7oh it was a Golden Age, for sure! All the best of Japan hitting our shores all at one time.
Considering your collection, I do wonder if you have the robot from Maskman? I had gotten one along with a Transformers Lot, at a time when I wasn't as big on collecting stuff I wasn't familiar with, so I pawned it off to someone else.
Also there was another part of a Bot I got, where it was a Large Robot that had a smaller robot inside, Nesting Doll style, with a Human inside all of it's parts. I can't remember how many robots it ended up being, but I also really didn't look much into it. I do remember that the larger robot shell I had, also had a Fist Launching Mechanism, but that launcher also had the "Blue Plastic Syndrome" you were talking about.
@@LodanSD pretty sure you mean Gordian. Really fun toy. As for Maskman, not yet. I've only recently been getting into the early Sentai stuff and still have so much more to check out.
Have you ever gotten or seen any of the Soul Of Chogokin versions of these figures that you were showing in this video? Those are huge and very pose-able and fully transformable, but very expensive. And they have Die Cast Metal parts in them as well.
@@willisjackson7029 Yes, I picked up the SOC Combattler and really didn't like it. Seemed to be designed for display far more than for play, it was smaller than the original, and it also lacked a lot of the heft, even though it used a generous amount of metal. SOC just isn't for me.
I had Voltron 2 as a kid, and even back then I thought it was a dumb toy. But now... wish I still had him!
@@mrjasonsinco agreed. I loved the individual robots, but when I combined them, there was a sense of, "that's all it does?"
@@classiccomicsforum I also got the Black Lion from my Grandma one year. Just the Black Lion. Talk about a letdown. I tried to make arms and legs out of Lego but you couldn't really play with it like that, it would all fall apart. 😔
@@mrjasonsinco damn. That's rough.
@@mrjasonsinco Did you ever get the official Lego Voltron that came out a few years ago? It can fully transform into all 5 lions and it’s nicely detailed.
@@willisjackson7029 no, but that sounds right up my alley for sure
I love Voltron but come on it is not better than transformers at all but that is my opinion but like I said I do love voltron😂
Haha. I love Transformers more now for sure, but 1985 was a different story, at least for me and the kids on the block!
More so than Voltron, this reminds me of a primitive version of GaoGaiGar.
Absolutely! It heavily inspired so much of the Brave line, but Voltron is still its closest descendant.
the fact being i had that when i was a kid but didn't know it was an actual anime mecha
@@darkknight090 you're not alone. When I saw it as a kid, I thought it was a Voltron knock-off.
I had this guy. My friend dropped him down the stairs and broke him (he was heavy with lots of cast iron parts). I sold him at a garage sale for like $5.
@@gabrielbien-willner2509 ouch. Just plain OUCH.
@@classiccomicsforum We had a Japanese toy import store in the Phoenix area in the mid 1980s. They were cheaper than US toys, so I had all types of these combining robots no one has ever heard of. This one was my favorite. Another one I had was 5 motorcycles that combined into one giant robot. All basically the same princinple. I even kept them in the original packaging, because the styrofoam kept them safe. I sold them all for $5 a pop in like 1991.
This is a Voltron. When Boltron first came out there were 3 different versions of Voltron. It was the main female Lion😂, the vehicle version,& the one you are displaying now. They never came out with the cartoon and I never seen the toy past the old school Consumers catalog.💯😂
I'm amazed Daltanious got as far as a Consumers catalog before they decided to change directions. On another note, I miss Consumers!
@@classiccomicsforum me too! Remember the Gi Joe and Star Wars pages?!! Epic!!💯🔥🔥🙌🏾🙌🏾😆
You should do a video on that.💯😆
Saw this guy at a convention the other day with a couple other godakin bots, ended up only getting dynarobo, but I really did want to grab both
@Cent_Reviews Well you can't go wrong with Dynarobo! Did you see the episode I did on him? One of my favorite Gokins of all time.
@@classiccomicsforum I did! I can totally see why, damn solid bot all around, and a fine additon to my “miscellaneous robot” shelf
@@Cent_Reviews well congrats on the acquisition! I hope you'll be doing a video on it soon.
AWESOME VIDEO!!!!
Thank you!
Godaiken Daltanious was so freaking hard to find. When I finally did see him (back then), my mom bought him with no issue. However in a slap of irony, he had a slight factory defect. They did not include the bolt in his arm to hold it to the body. So it came down to bring him
back to the store (and they had no more) or keep it. Due to his elusiveness I kept him. Some point not far later I was able to find him again and mom bought me a second one which had no problems. Still have both in their box today
@@mazinz2 he's the only GoDaiKin toy I clearly remember seeing in the store. In fact, I thought he was supposed to be a cheap Voltron knock off.
Nice! Out here (NY) he was very hard to find. My first one was from an indie toy shop (not a chain). I do not recall where we found the second one. A store in the city called Forbidden Planet had a magazine ad that featured him and one other. I knew the other one (who I can’t remember) but not idea who this super cool robot with a lion on his chest was. I sort of knew he must be from the same line (at this time they did not include booklets with the characters yet), but I had to have him. When the booklets did start coming with them is when I learned who he was
@@mazinz2 where in NY? I was on Long Island and came across him at the Toys R Us in Hicksville. Maybe I was just in the right place at the right time.
I remember Forbidden Planet!
Without getting town specific (since these comments are all public)- Orange County NY. Say about 90min drive from west Hempstead/Garden City. The defective one was purchased at an amazing place called Toys Plus which was in the bottom level of the Middletown, Ny mall. Scary how things blur, but positive it was called the orange plaza mall
@@mazinz2 I don't think I was ever aware of the Middletown Mall. Funny you should mention Garden City, as I did spend quite a bit of time as Roosevelt Field there, but all that mall had was Kaybee Toys.
Voltron were ligers
@@bannedfreespeech that makes a lot more sense!
Daltanious was the Voltron that never was.
Great clip of memories! Of shows and movies I use to watch Saturday mornings lol
@@sharkMac so glad you enjoyed!
i cant help but think this is more akin to the thunder megazord
Daltanious was one of my favorite shows when i was a kid. I also loved the plot twist at the end
Transformers were still cool when Voltron was happening. That moment in childhood that Transformers were no longer cool (at least for a while) was called puberty and discovering girls.
I discovered girls, realized they're mostly gold digging whiny lazy entitled things gave up on them and went back to collecting toys. Good thing I have a good paying job.
Voltron lions could also be mountain lions
I've got two of the original lionbot one is in lionbot form the other is in lion mode standing on top of each of their own TV show dvd they were no extra parts but what it came with in box so any extra is not correct