The Energon Pub

Hi,

If you own both, I have a question for you.

As a kid I had the orignal Voltron toy. I remember him being huge and all metal.

Could you give me a quick comparison review of the two?

Thanks!!!

What is a BP Voltron?

I have a Die cast metal Voltron from Matchbox circa 1985 and I have a plastic version of it from about 10 years ago

There was the Matchbox original (Die-Cast with lead paint.)

There was the Panosh Palace version with actual cockpits for the figures (all plastic, all lions look hunchbacked.) You tend to see a lot of this one on eBay.

There was the Trendmasters remake of the Matchbox original (Die-Cast with lead-free paint)

Then there was the Trendmasters plastic remake of their remake, with tabs (to attach and detach limbs) molded in, pull back friction motor, and little plastic pilots to fit in the cockpits.

There was also dinosaur and stealth lion Voltron sets, also made by Trendmasters.

The Trendmasters is the plastic version I have

I never did like the Stealth Lions

I've got the Trendmasters die-cast but the metal thing inside black lion that holds red lion in place broke so its been back in the box for years now. I have no idea how to fix it, if that's even possible.

In my childhood, I had the original Voltron released in the US. My grandmother worked part-time at Toys-R-Us and got it for me for Christmas. I figured she knew I wasn't going to put the toy in my mouth, so didn't return it when the recall hit.

The toys were mostly die-cast metal with some plastic parts, like the wings and rocket launchers and ears and stuff. If I remember right, the red and green lion heads/fists shot off, and were plastic. The Orange lion had fold-out flaps on the sides of its head (radar? guns?) that were plastic, and the blue lion had a lift-up part that I think was supposed to be a rocketlauncher or something. I don't think it came with any real accessories.

Lorekeeper wrote:In my childhood, I had the original Voltron released in the US. My grandmother worked part-time at Toys-R-Us and got it for me for Christmas. I figured she knew I wasn't going to put the toy in my mouth, so didn't return it when the recall hit.

The toys were mostly die-cast metal with some plastic parts, like the wings and rocket launchers and ears and stuff. If I remember right, the red and green lion heads/fists shot off, and were plastic. The Orange lion had fold-out flaps on the sides of its head (radar? guns?) that were plastic, and the blue lion had a lift-up part that I think was supposed to be a rocketlauncher or something. I don't think it came with any real accessories.

Then they must've stripped the Japanese original for the US market. I owned the Taiwan bootleg (which is actually quite nice, the quality's pretty good considering it's a bootleg) and it had little missiles, add on attachments, etc.

The blue lion did, infact, have a rocket launcher that pulled up out of the back.

Wheeljack35 wrote:The Trendmasters is the plastic version I have

I never did like the Stealth Lions

Trendmasters also did a rerelease of the matchbox one that was all dicast.The only difference was that the face was dark blue.
There was also a hudge release from the 3rd dimention show with lite up eyes on all the lions.

Lorekeeper wrote:In my childhood, I had the original Voltron released in the US. My grandmother worked part-time at Toys-R-Us and got it for me for Christmas. I figured she knew I wasn't going to put the toy in my mouth, so didn't return it when the recall hit.

The toys were mostly die-cast metal with some plastic parts, like the wings and rocket launchers and ears and stuff. If I remember right, the red and green lion heads/fists shot off, and were plastic. The Orange lion had fold-out flaps on the sides of its head (radar? guns?) that were plastic, and the blue lion had a lift-up part that I think was supposed to be a rocketlauncher or something. I don't think it came with any real accessories.

They came with attachable misseles and guns that would connect to the back legs.

Autobot032 wrote:

Lorekeeper wrote:In my childhood, I had the original Voltron released in the US. My grandmother worked part-time at Toys-R-Us and got it for me for Christmas. I figured she knew I wasn't going to put the toy in my mouth, so didn't return it when the recall hit.

The toys were mostly die-cast metal with some plastic parts, like the wings and rocket launchers and ears and stuff. If I remember right, the red and green lion heads/fists shot off, and were plastic. The Orange lion had fold-out flaps on the sides of its head (radar? guns?) that were plastic, and the blue lion had a lift-up part that I think was supposed to be a rocketlauncher or something. I don't think it came with any real accessories.

That was with yello lion too.

Then they must've stripped the Japanese original for the US market. I owned the Taiwan bootleg (which is actually quite nice, the quality's pretty good considering it's a bootleg) and it had little missiles, add on attachments, etc.

The blue lion did, infact, have a rocket launcher that pulled up out of the back.

Edited the title. BP was a typo. I meant the MP, made by Toynami.

Basically my question is, if you own collect Voltrons, which Lion Voltron is the highest quality while being anime accurate.

Here's my take, as I own both:

If you already own the original Matchbox version I would pass on the masterpiece.
It has its pros and cons, I just have mixed feelings about it. The lion heads do not shoot off on the MP. Most of the lion accessories that came with the original are not included in the MP.
The battle modes of the yellow and blue lions were not included on the MP either.

Don't get me wrong, I really like the MP version, the big problem I have with it doesn't actually improve much on the original model. It doesn't measure up to a Takara MP, I guess is what I'm trying to say. No extras or anything. The MP has more points of articulation and is a little more anime accurate I suppose but that's about it.

If you don't have a lion Voltron already though, I would say buy him. If you have a Matchbox original already, pass on it.

NOW if only Toynami would make a VEHICLE VOLTRON MP!!! I would be first in line for that one!!!! I was one of the rare people who actually liked the Vehicle Voltron better than the lion Voltron when I was a kid.

Autobot032 wrote:

Lorekeeper wrote:In my childhood, I had the original Voltron released in the US. My grandmother worked part-time at Toys-R-Us and got it for me for Christmas. I figured she knew I wasn't going to put the toy in my mouth, so didn't return it when the recall hit.

The toys were mostly die-cast metal with some plastic parts, like the wings and rocket launchers and ears and stuff. If I remember right, the red and green lion heads/fists shot off, and were plastic. The Orange lion had fold-out flaps on the sides of its head (radar? guns?) that were plastic, and the blue lion had a lift-up part that I think was supposed to be a rocketlauncher or something. I don't think it came with any real accessories.

Then they must've stripped the Japanese original for the US market. I owned the Taiwan bootleg (which is actually quite nice, the quality's pretty good considering it's a bootleg) and it had little missiles, add on attachments, etc.

The blue lion did, infact, have a rocket launcher that pulled up out of the back.

They were really worried about choking hazards and poked-out eyes back then. Remember the vasectomy on Ultra Magnus' rocket launchers.

Thanks for the great reviews.

So would it bwe fair to summarize by saying tha if one is looking playability, the original is the way to go, while the Masterpiece is superior as far as a display piece goes?

Bonger wrote:Thanks for the great reviews.

So would it bwe fair to summarize by saying tha if one is looking playability, the original is the way to go, while the Masterpiece is superior as far as a display piece goes?

I'd say yes. I've wanted MP Voltron since before it was released. Still can't bring myself to drop $150 on a toy though.

I had a Voltron set my grandfather brought me back from Okinawa way back when and it was die-cast with the exception of the lions legs and black-lions "crown" when in bot mode.

But yeah, if you want one to play with I'd say try to find the original version as the Matchbox version tended to fall over (alot) when you combined the lions.

Used to have loads of fun pitting the two Voltrons (lions and the vehicle version) in fights against TF's

Dr. GM1983 wrote:I had a Voltron set my grandfather brought me back from Okinawa way back when and it was die-cast with the exception of the lions legs and black-lions "crown" when in bot mode.

But yeah, if you want one to play with I'd say try to find the original version as the Matchbox version tended to fall over (alot) when you combined the lions.

Used to have loads of fun pitting the two Voltrons (lions and the vehicle version) in fights against TF's

Hah, sounds like fun! However, my playing with toys days are definately behind me.

The MP Voltron is 125 at BBTS right now. I found a used one for 80 though which was jus used for display. Seems like a solid deal.

Dr. GM1983 wrote:I had a Voltron set my grandfather brought me back from Okinawa way back when and it was die-cast with the exception of the lions legs and black-lions "crown" when in bot mode.

But yeah, if you want one to play with I'd say try to find the original version as the Matchbox version tended to fall over (alot) when you combined the lions.

Used to have loads of fun pitting the two Voltrons (lions and the vehicle version) in fights against TF's

Holy Hell I thought you were dead Doc!

Thread seems decided, but I'll toss my two cents in.

I own the Panosh Voltron, the Trandmasters re-release (die-cast version), and the MP Voltron.

My childhood Voltron was Panosh. I loved him then. His simplicity allowed him to survive and enjoy use throughout my childhood. I bought a more complete version off ebay later on (as I lost the cockpit hoods, naturally). Despite childhood memories and it's size (it's bigger than MP Voltron, if I recall) it has zero articulation and isn't good for a collector. Oddly, there's MANY different versions of this one, and even different swords.

Trendmasters / Matchbox is next. Love the lions. I actually don't like that the lion heads fire ... too easy to lose! Mine came with gold plated parts and the sword too. I love the detailing and the colors, but this isn't quite as posable for me. It also has trouble staying up. And the limbs (the legs) are super tough to detach.

MP Voltron is nearly perfect. It has the most posability. The black lion doesn't look like a giant rectangle. ANd, best of all (for me) it's the most anime-accurate. Since all those little weapons were the first things I lost as a child, I don't mind their absence here. I also didn't mind the loss of the shooting heads ... especially since it means Voltron has wrists.

If there was a way to have both, that woulda been great.

What I do mind is the lack of knees. A swordbot like Voltron could pull of some fantastically dynamic poses. He has the pelvis and the ankles to do so. Unfortunately the toy gods didn't give him knees. Oddly enough Panosh Voltron has the best knees ... for all the good THAT does him.

I would have liked some extra touches. The "battle modes" for Yellow and Blue lion woulda been nice. And not hard to do, either since all they did was slide up some panels. I really woulda liked some tiny Voltron Force guys to go inside tiny cockpits, however. Even if it was just a panel you flipped open to see tiny VF guys moulded into a cockpit. Trendmaster's plastic remake of Voltron included this feature and I think it was a good idea. A pity MP Voltron didn't capitalize on it.

However, I still felt thrilled to get it. It's a great mold of a great character. I was willing to pay $150 on it (Canadian), but then I found it at a con for only $80. It displays really well with the Trendmasters set in lion mode (which is how I displayed mine for a time) Get it if you like a nice display peice.

Will treadmasters re-issue again the original machbox version of Golion Voltron III? Since it has been 10 years already. Be nice if they re issue vehicle Voltron I too.










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Wow! I didn't know there were other versions of Voltron. I just knew of the regular Lion version. I know there's a Masterpiece version out that I've seen in my local hobby store. Although looking at that Stealth version, I seem to remember see it on stores shelves beside Beast Wars and Shadow Raiders figure way back when. I haven't been able to find much about them through google other than a few crap pictures. Does anyone know where I can find a decent gallery of each version? They look very interesting and may be worth a purchase.

UltraPrimal wrote:Wow! I didn't know there were other versions of Voltron. I just knew of the regular Lion version. I know there's a Masterpiece version out that I've seen in my local hobby store. Although looking at that Stealth version, I seem to remember see it on stores shelves beside Beast Wars and Shadow Raiders figure way back when. I haven't been able to find much about them through google other than a few crap pictures. Does anyone know where I can find a decent gallery of each version? They look very interesting and may be worth a purchase.

Originaly there were 3 Voltrons.........
Vehicle force Voltron I (Voltron of the Near Universe) 3 teams of 5 vehicles each.Land team,Air team and sea team.
Gladiator force Voltron II (Voltron of the Middle Universe) 3 Gladiator robots.
Lion force Voltron III (Voltron of the Far Universe) 5 robot lions.

In the late 90's new Voltron toys were introduce threw the show "Voltron: The Third Dimension" There was a stealth Voltron and I think a Dino Voltron and one other I cant remember right now.Here are a few links to find out about some of these.


http://www.voltron.com/
http://www.arus.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voltron

I have a matchbox Voltron and he is small not big at all. about the size of my hand.

This is the one I have (borrowed pic)

Great review Gauntlet. Thanks! Getting the Trendmasters vesrion to display along side in lion mode is an awesome idea. I'll have to see if I can locate a set.

Gauntlet101010 wrote:What I do mind is the lack of knees.

Gotta agree with that.

Gauntlet101010 wrote:I would have liked some extra touches. The "battle modes" for Yellow and Blue lion woulda been nice. And not hard to do, either since all they did was slide up some panels. I really woulda liked some tiny Voltron Force guys to go inside tiny cockpits, however. Even if it was just a panel you flipped open to see tiny VF guys moulded into a cockpit. Trendmaster's plastic remake of Voltron included this feature and I think it was a good idea. A pity MP Voltron didn't capitalize on it.

Again, I agree. Even tiny Diaclone sized VF figures would have been absolutely perfect here.

Incidentally, I bought my MP Voltron from a guy who was literally blowing them out on Ebay last winter for $75!! He was well worth that price so I didn't mind its shortcomings as much.