Jumbo Machinder
Jumbo Machinder is the name of a series of large-scale plastic robots sold by Popy in the 1970's. Although a trademarked brand name, in common usage Jumbo Machinder is often applied to any large-size robot toy molded out of polyethylene. Jumbo Machinders are usually about 24" in height. After Popy's success with the Jumbo Machinder series, several other Japanese companies, including Takatoku, Nakajima, and Clover began producing large-size plastic robot toys as well. Several of the Jumbo Machinders were slightly redesigned for sale in the USA in the late 1970's as Shogun Warriors.
The first Jumbo Machinder, released in 1973, was a portrayal of manga artist Go Nagai's character Mazinger Z, a giant robot. Originally planned to stand a meter (roughly three feet) tall, the toy was scaled down out of safety concerns. The Jumbo Machinder Mazinger Z sold approximately 400,000 units in its first five months in stores. The next Jumbo Machinders were (in order) Kamen Rider V3, Ultraman Taro, Red Baron, and Kamen Rider X. These were all Japanese TV superhero characters.
Over the years, Popy Toy fiddled with the name and characteristics of the Jumbo Machinder series. In the 1976-1977 period, several characters were released under the Jumbo Machinder Deluxe name. Aside from the brand name change, the toys were largely identical aesthetically to their predecessors.
For the 1979-1980 season, the Jumbo Machinders series was redesigned and rebranded as the Giant Robot Factory (aka Kyodai Robotto Kojo). Unlike their predecessors, the Giant Robot Factory toys were sold disassembled, allowing children to bolt the characters together with a simple tool provided in the package. Aside from the fact that they were sold in a disassembled manner and featured more complicated gimmicks (such as spring-loaded shooting fists), the Giant Robot Factory toys featured a similar aesthetic to their predecessors and are considered by most collectors to be part of the same series.
Giant Robot Factory branded characters included:
- Gordian
- Daltanias
- Battle Fever Robo
- Daidenjin
- Godsigma
Beginning in 1981, Popy changed the name of the series to Super Jumbo Machinder. Characters released under this brand name included:
- Tetsujin 28
- Sun Vulcan Robo
- God Marz
- Golion
American toy company Mattel acquired the rights to release several Jumbo Machinder toys in North America and Europe. Calling them the Shogun Warriors, the company achieved a fair amount of success with these figures, which were larger than nearly any other figural toys in America at the time. In addition to Great Mazinger, Gaiking, Getta Robo G, Daimos, and Raydeen, the Mattel line also included the iconic Japanese character of Godzilla as part of the series. (Grendizer was a Europe-only part of the Shogun Warriors line.)