Jumbo Machinder: The Giant Robots of the 1970s
In the 1970s, Japanese children watched giant robots defend the Earth on television every week. In 1973 the toy company Popy gave them a robot almost as tall as a small child: Mazinger Z, about 60 centimetres high, made of hollow blow-moulded plastic and armed with fists that fired from its arms. The line was called Jumbo Machinder, and it became one of the most loved toys of the Shōwa era.
A new kind of toy
Blow-moulding allowed large, light and inexpensive figures, painted and finished with stickers. The robots were simple in articulation, usually moving at the shoulders and hips, but their size gave them enormous presence. Their spring-loaded fists and missiles made them playable, and many were lost to living-room battles.
The line
After Mazinger Z came robots from almost every major series of the decade, including Great Mazinger, Getter Robo, Grendizer, Combattler V and Raideen, as well as heroes and villains from other shows. Production ran through the 1970s into the early 1980s. Some figures were made in several versions, with changes to colour, stickers and weapons.
Shogun Warriors
In the late 1970s, Mattel brought several of these robots to Western children under the name Shogun Warriors, alongside smaller die-cast figures. For many collectors outside Japan these were the first Japanese robots they owned, and the Japanese originals and their Western versions are now collected side by side.
What makes a complete example
- Fists and missiles. The firing parts were easily lost. Original fists, launchers and weapons add greatly to value.
- Stickers. Original stickers, applied neatly and intact, are important. Many robots carry reproduction stickers.
- Box. Large boxes rarely survived. A box in good condition can be worth as much as the robot inside.
- Colour. Plastic fades and yellows with light. Even, unfaded colour is desirable.
- Cracks and stress marks. Check joints and thin areas, where plastic splits with age and play.
Reissues and new figures
The appeal of giant robots never faded, and later reissues and new figures in the same scale have been produced. Most are clearly marked on the body or box. When buying, compare marks and construction with a known original, and expect to pay a premium for early Shōwa examples with original parts.
Display and shipping
Keep large plastic toys out of direct sun, which fades colour and makes plastic brittle. Their size means careful packing: we ship them boxed with generous padding so that arms, fins and antennae arrive intact.