Nomura Tetsujin 28-go No.2 Silver Tin Plate Walking Robot, Shōwa-Era Japanese Giant Mecha Toy

An early Nomura Tetsujin 28-go No.2 in silver tin plate, one of the most foundational physical incarnations of Japan's first giant robot hero. Stark silver panels, heavy rivet articulation and weighted proportions give it the look of industrial prototype machinery rather than a character toy, and it stands complete and upright as a display-grade piece of mecha history.

The Piece

This early Nomura-produced Tetsujin 28-go No.2 is finished in silver. The design is stark, industrial and deliberate: silver-toned body panels, heavy rivet articulation, simplified chest controls and weighted proportions that prioritize presence over ornament, the utilitarian, slightly ominous visual language of early Shōwa science fiction. The figure is structurally complete, upright and visually commanding; its walking mechanism is present but not currently operating correctly.

Created in 1956 by Mitsuteru Yokoyama and known internationally as Gigantor, Tetsujin 28-go is widely recognized as the first true giant robot of Japanese popular culture, and it predates piloted mecha entirely. A boy, Shōtarō Kaneda, commands the colossal robot by remote control to stop criminals, but its origin is a secret weapon built during the Second World War: the war ends, the weapon remains. The robot has no conscience and is pure force awaiting instruction, so the question is never whether Tetsujin is good, but who holds the controller. That framing, unprecedented in children's entertainment of the 1950s and 60s, linked robots to war memory and made control the central theme of the mecha genre that followed, from Mazinger to Gundam and Evangelion.

Where Astro Boy chooses to be good, Tetsujin cannot choose at all, the first major split in Japanese science-fiction ethics between autonomy and obedience. Big X turns inherited guilt inward; Tetsujin externalizes it, the damage spilling into public space. Ultraman contains violence within ritualized battles; Tetsujin's violence is collateral and frightening. His featureless, heavy, expressionless design is intentional: he is not a character but an object, an industrial nightmare that never learned the war was over.

Within the early Nomura tin series, No.1, No.2 and No.3 are best read as stages rather than revisions. No.2 is the transitional, most machine-forward form, the peak of the industrial aesthetic: cleaner symmetry, refined proportions, expanded chest-panel detailing, an emphasized walking mechanism, with silver or muted metallic finishes dominant. Silver No.2 examples read as prototype machinery aligned with early Shōwa visions of automation, factories and remote warfare; this is where Tetsujin becomes recognizable but not yet friendly, the robot as infrastructure. Nomura examples are prized for heavy-gauge tin, bold mechanical silhouettes, early walking mechanisms and strong shelf presence, and the piece pairs naturally with No.1 and No.3 variants, especially in contrast of silver and blue finishes.

Details

• Maker: Nomura Toy
• Model: Tetsujin 28-go No.2
• Era: Early Shōwa production (character created 1956)
• Origin: Japan
• Material: Tin plate, heavy-gauge
• Color: Silver finish
• Mechanism: Walking mechanism present; not currently operating correctly

Condition

• Display-grade historical robot: limbs, feet and torso intact, with strong display integrity and balance.
• Silver tin body shows visible age wear consistent with Shōwa production, including paint loss, surface scuffs and oxidation.
• The walking mechanism is present but not functioning correctly, consistent with age, internal spring fatigue or drivetrain resistance common in large-format Nomura robots; mechanical restoration is possible for advanced collectors.

Nomura Series Lineage

The early Nomura tin series captures Tetsujin before the genre split into super robot and real robot, when robots were still framed as remotely controlled weapons.

• No.1, the prototype icon: the earliest mass-market interpretation and closest to the manga conception, with the simplest body geometry, a heavy rounded torso, minimal decoration and often darker or muted finishes; postwar anxiety made metal, and the rarest of the three.
• No.2, the industrial standard: the transitional, machine-forward form with cleaner symmetry, refined proportions, expanded chest-panel detail, an emphasized walking mechanism and silver or muted metallic finishes; Tetsujin as a machine.
• No.3, the iconic hero form: the most widely recognized version, with a more expressive silhouette, brighter accents, bolder chest graphics and a slightly more animated posture, marking the softening of postwar fear into adventure and nostalgia.

Authenticity & Care

Every piece is examined and documented in Japan before dispatch and is offered with the Japonista authenticity guarantee.

Delivery from Japan

Packed by hand in Japan and shipped insured and tracked by EMS or an equivalent express service. Import duties and taxes, where applicable, are payable on arrival. Returns follow our published policy.

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