Originally posted by quanta:
Do you like a challenge?

Here's a picture:
http://www.silentblue.net/images/voltron.jpg

Anyone seen anything like this in their collections or travels?

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I recently purchased a voltron very similar to the one pictured in the link above.
-But mine has a star on the belt with no "V".
-The face is black, not blue.
-All the hinges are yellow plastic though just like the one in the picture I borrowed.
-Something else different is the chrome circle button things on mine are not chrome. They are yellow as well like all the hinge pins and missile launcher buttons.
-There are no markings or stickers anywhere on this voltron.
Anyone know what I got on e-bay for $80.00? Any help is appreciated.

Ahhh another bootleg my friend. The one in the pic, both red and green lion annnd the black lion are plastic while the rest are similar to the original in terms of materials (supposedly). The only interesting aspect of the above pic, is his belt buckle. Im actually on the look out for a complete diamond belt voltron bootleg, myself.

The one you described as your own is very similar to the one pictured.

Sounds like you own this one here. yes?

That voltron in your picture looks just like the one I bought. The number "5" on the yellow lion even looks slightly mis-printed as well! Is that one yours? If so, are there any markings on the figure anywhere at all? Also, is the yellow lion leg assembly loose or have trouble obtaining a secure connection?
I e-mailed the seller I purchased mine from and he said...
" the black face one I had as a child in the mid 1980s. i had a lot of fun playing w/ it. my dad bought it for from play callrd rocket ships & assecories. they sold only japanese toys & magazines. store did last long"
Think he's legit? At least I got a complete 1981 GB-36 voltron for the price as well(missing the green lion's head). Also scored some weapons!

No, I dont own that one in the pic. But I do own the black lion in mint condition (but the box is pretty tattered up). To my surprise its made entirely out of plastic but it does have weight to it. I wonder whats inside of it that makes it so heavy like the metal one. hmmm. I took some pics of it with the box it came with behind it below.

And this --->

quote:

"the black face one I had as a child in the mid 1980s. i had a lot of fun playing w/ it. my dad bought it for from play callrd rocket ships & assecories. they sold only japanese toys & magazines. store did last long"

...sounds like crap responses many sellers give when they dont want to tell you "oh this is just a cheap bootleg of the real one." lol.. I mean, did you even ask if he bought it in a store that supplied japanese stuff? <_<

Actually, I would consider this bootleg, an interesting one if youre into collecting rare bootleg items. I'm not. =p I got mine to strip some parts I needed like the big springs inside the arms and legs. But I decided to leave it alone for now and now call it the Devil Lion. (because of his belt buckle looking like the pentagram)
For a bootleg, I was actually impressed at how good the paint aps and craftmanship was. All parts fit perpendicular to eachother, nice and tight and even the black face was molded from the original unlike the Lionbo you see on ebay today. The wings resemble the detail and construction as the ones on Y&K Golion D sets. An ok candidate for part replacement in that area.

BTW, the reason the yellow lion has trouble locking in from the one in the pic above, would probably be because black lion's right leg is backwards! lol.








And one more thing. Since you own the real Matchbox Japan made toy, you couldnt tell the difference between the one above and the one you own? 0_o
Or are you looking for something else in particular?

I found a diamond belt voltron on ebay. Check it out: http://cgi.ebay.com/Die-cast-metal-VOLTRON-3-III-12-inc...QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Also, the auction that I won the bootleg voltron in also included a second complete voltron(GB-36 version). These are the first complete die cast voltrons I had seen in person since I was a kid.
Though I did manage to win a World Events Production full figure (in original box) just before the die cast ones.
I had the plastic one when I was a kid. After recieving this one, I decided to obtain a die cast version. So I bought two in one auction.
In the seller's auction, he stated that the black faced voltron came straight from japan and was a rare 1980's voltron. I believed it and thought I found myself a good deal. At least for the price I obtained a genuine voltron!

AWW CRAP! I came too late and it sold for 11.00 dollars!! XP
Yeah, thats the one I wanted. The molds were edited with ribbed sections and the chest crest is different. Looked like it had decent chrome too.

I would have had the puppy cleaned up to new. Oh well, there will be others.

Congrats on your purchase of a GB-36 model. Its a beautiful piece. Post pics if you can!

Not sure if you've already spied this one, but here it is just in case:

http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-VOLTRON-III-1984_W0QQitemZ1...QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Zero, you rule.

Though it is a bootleg, its one Ive been wanting to grab as I actually had one when I was much younger. I remember noticing some of the different details back then too. Im glad this pup is still showing its mug around ebay lately.
Its really hard to tell what the chrome condition is like, but depending on that, I may end up sinking my fangs in this listing.

Japanbot, I wonder if you know if the GOLION D, Y&K TOEI (Made in Taiwan) was the original voltron action figure? Also, what voltron(s) would have been available on the store shelves in 1988?

The Golion D, Y&K TOEI (Taiwan) is an official Matchbox release which came after the GB-36 Japan series. Theres sublte differences between the two aesthetically speaking.

The original first release "Voltron" was Japan made from top to bottom also put out by Matchbox.

1988,hmmm.. im not entirely sure what eactly was on market but Im leaning towards Panosh Place/Glasslite figures were still around during that time.Voltron made its debut in 1984, then flourished with merchandise all over the globe.

What is it youre looking for in specific?

1988 was the year of the Transformers.

In 1988 I was 10 years old and so was my friend. We both got Voltrons that year. Mine was plastic and his was metal. I want to know for sure if I have obtained both of those or if there is another one out there. What I am after is clarification on these and why 1981 is the earliest year of manufacture but he did not appear until 1984?
When did the cartoon air? Sorry for all the questions but you seem to be the most informed person with voltron that I have found so far.

1981 is when GoLion originally aired in Japan, hence the 1981 marking.

SGB is spot on.

We didnt get to see "Voltron" istelf till 84, but the markings on the toys remained.
I just checked both GB-36 and Golion Ds. The GB 36 has its date on the sticker while the Golion Ds has them on the plastic itself underneath the jaws of the arms and leg lions.(they've both been distributed by Matchbox as official licensed products)

Im still trying to find out what Goliond "D" and "B" stand for. Im guessing these are grades of some sort. But the Golion B's are worst than the Ds so hmmmm....

Anywho. To my knowlege, no official voltron set was ever made with 95% plastic besides the Panosh Place figure toy and the LJN Motorized Voltron aside from other novelty items that were mostly plastic.

Now, when we're talking K.O sets, then we're in a different ballpark of toys now.
There were many plastic sets made in the 80s following the Voltron success and many of us owned atleast one of those fakes at some point.
I remember having the plastic set. They were individually packed in their own "GOLION" titled box with styro inserts which later were replaced with flimsy plastic inserts. There was also sets that mimmiced the group ups like Yellow Lion/Green lion team set and the Blue lion/Red Lion team set.
Its insanely difficult to pin point the beginning and end of these sets as they were all variants of each other.

Got any pics of the sets you own now?

Well, looks like I am not the only one confused on this. I have never heard of the glasslit brand.
Here are some pics of the figures that I will probably keep. The die cast one is a GB-36. The plastic one is a World Events Productions.
I have aquired lots of other voltron stuff, but I'll post later.
I'm not sure how to post multiple pics at one time, but I'll give it a shot.

Ooops. I tried to post my pics via attachment option but they exceed the 300kb max size. Any one have a way I can get pics on here?