Robin: Toy Wonder

text: Matt Alt & Robert Duban, graphics: Robert Duban

April 2007

Updated: 04.28.07

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Details about Robin's exact founding remain unclear, but it's almost certain that the company was yet another Bandai / Popy subsidiary used to sell low-end toys. We've taken the liberty of grouping their toys into five groups based on the various logos employed on the packages. With only a few exceptions, most of the toys fit neatly into one of these periods. Oh, and before the mail from die-hard Robin lovers starts pouring in, keep in mind that the years listed below refer to the original airdates of the shows , not the exact release dates of the toys (at present, said information remains shrouded in the secrecy and mystery it so richly deserves.)

Hang on, because now it's time to go to school ToyboxDX style. The first “Robin” logo, used circa 1974 to 1977, simply featured the word “Robin” in a rounded font. Robin boasted several toy lines during this period (including the thrilling “Go Go Series”). The toys listed below in this section are grouped by toy line / series.

Get ready for round two. From roughly 1985 to 1988, the Robin logo began appearing in conjunction with the hallowed “P” (Popy) logo found on other Bandai-related products. (For more about these "friends of P," see Victora, Grip Toy, Marukoshi and Big Bear). The font for the logo in this period became harder and more squared off, mirroring changes in society... Or perhaps simply because of the whim of whoever was in charge at the time.

Robin seems to have had an as-yet- unexplained hiatus between the 1977 and these mid-80s releases. Intriguingly (or perhaps not so much), the majority of toys made by Bandai subsidiary “Victora” appeared during the years of 1979 - 1985, neatly overlapping the gap. Toy-playaz including (and perhaps limited to) the authors of this Datafile conjecture that Bandai may have shifted their cheap-toy branding to Victora during this period.

In Robin’s third incarnation, from 1986 -1989, the storied “Robin” logo disappeared from the packages altogether, the only sign of the company's involvement was a simple “Robin” in plain text alongside the “P” logo.

During the 1988 -1990 period, a new company logo began appearing on Robin products: “Hearty Robin." The plain “Robin” text still appeared on many of these toys as well, and again, the “P” logo remained, mute and indomitable, a testament to the sheer power of this stalwart letter of the alphabet. There appears to be some overlap between the “Hearty Robin” and the “Robin” toys; not all of the "Hearty Robin" toys feature the word "Robin" on their packages.

Robin / Hearty Robin entered its fifth transmutation in 1990, the same year as the formation of yet another Bandai subsidiary, Yutaka. The Hearty Robin toys from 1990 through the end of the decade featured a “Y” logo in place of the “P”, the “Robin” text dropped from the boxes altogether, discarded along the roadside like a kleenex or a dead hooker. Yutaka is perhaps best known for the series of “Getta Robo Go” toys produced in 1990, but the Yutaka logo also appeared on literally hundreds of “cheapie” toys from 1990 onward. These numerous toys will be cataloged at a later date, depending on the interest and blood-alcohol level of the authors.

Before your face hits the keyboard in a sudden-onset case of narcolepsy, consider this fascinating nugget about “Hearty Robin.” The company also produced video games, including a large number of titles for the Sony Playstation in the early ‘90’s. In November of 1994, Hearty Robin merged with another Bandai Subsidiary, the Happinet Corporation. Per Happinet’s corporate website, the company, “[took] over full ownership of Hearty Robin Corporation, (a Taito-ku, Tokyo-based consolidated subsidiary specializing in the manufacture and sale of toys and playthings)” in 1994. The company's final demise took place when all former Robin employees were lined up in an Asakusa alley and executed with a single shot to the back of the head. No, we're just kidding. Hearty Robin's end was far less dramatic - it just took the form of a "corporate re-org" when in September of 2002 the company name was officially changed to “Happinet Robin Corporation.”

			Robocon Friends Set		1974
			Robocon Everyone Together - No. 1 Set		1974
			Robocon Everyone Together - No. 2 Set		1974
			Robocon Everyone Together - No. 3 Set		1974
			Robocon Everyone Together - No. 4 Set		1974
			Robocon Everyone Together - No. 6 Set		1974
			Kite Hang-Glider Robocon		1974
			Goranger - Kite Hang-Glider Akaranger		1975
			Robocon - Go Go Series: Wind Up Go Go Plane		1974
			Robocon - Go Go Series: Wind Up Go Go Through [note]		1974
			Grandizer - Go Go Series: Spacer		1975
			Kyodain - Go Go Series: Here They Come wind up		1975
			Combattra - Go Go Series: Combine!! Battle Jet		1976
			Paul's Miraculous Battle - Doppe Go Go Plane		1976
			Noko Noko Figure Robocon wind up		1974
			Robocon - Noko Noko Figure Gansu Sensei wind up		1974
			Noko Noko Figure Grandizer wind up		1975
			Noko Noko Figure Grandizer wind up - alternate package		1975
			Getta Robo G - Shin Getta Robo G Scramble Set (Dragun vehicle)		1975
			Getta Robo G - Shin Getta Robo G Scramble Set (Ryger vehicle)		1975
			Getta Robo G - Shin Getta Robo G Scramble Set (Poseidon vehicle)		1975
			Shin Getta Robo G Scramble Set (Lady Command vehicle)		1975
			Shin Getta Robo G Scramble Set - (4 vehicles)		1975
			Getta Robo G - Getta Dragun Wind Up Tricycle		1975
			Goranger - Akaranger Wind Up Tricycle		1975
			Goranger - Aoranger Wind Up Tricycle		1975
			Goranger - Kiranger Wind Up Tricycle		1975
			Goranger - Momoranger Wind up Tricycle		1975
			Goranger - Midoranger Wind up Tricycle		1975
			Grandizer Wind Up Tricycle		1975
			Raideen Wind Up Tricycle		1975
			Goranger - Red Machine High Technical Action cycle		1975
			Dynamic Action Grandizer Stand Cycle		1975
			Kamen Rider Stronger - Kabutoro High Technical Action cycle		1975
			Getta Robo G Vs. Pigudoron Wind Up Big Battle		1975
			Grandizer Highway Bus		1975
			Grandizer Watering Can		1975
			Grandizer - Spacer Watering Can		1975
			Danguard A - Secret Ring Toss		1977
			Chogokin Badges		1975
			painted badges		1976
			Robot Hacchan Tricycle		1981
			Changeman - Change Attack set		1985
			Changeman - Change Hero set		1985
			Changeman - drum of vinyl toys		1985
			Flashman - Shin Robo Flash King vinyl		1986
			Flashman - Red Flash vinyl		1986
			Flashman - Red Flash & Pink Flash vinyl set		1986
			Flashman - Tank Command - 1		1986
			Flashman - Jet Delta - 2		1986
			Flashman - Jet Seeker - 3		1986
			Flashman - Flash Hero set		1986
			Flashman - Hero Belt		1986
			Machine Robo vinyl set (Rom Stole & Baikanfu)		1986
			Action Gokin Robotan		1986
			Spielban vinyl		1986
			Spielban Spark Meka		1986
			Spielban Variation Set		1986
			Spielban Tricycle		1986
			Spielban - drum of vinyl toys		1986
			Gegege no Kitaro - Yokai Variety Set		1988
			Daiya Gokin Moonlight Mask cycle		1981
			Kinnikuman - Ramenman Nunchuck Set		1986
			Morimori Bokkun vinyl		1986
			Saint Seiya - Metal Hero set		1987
			Dragonar 1		1987
			Kamen Rider Black vinyl		1987
			Maskman - Great Five Kyara Gokin		1987
			Red Maskman Kyara Gokin		1987
			Maskman - Galaxy Robo Big - vinyl		1987
			Maskman - Great Five Big - vinyl		1987
			Spark Meka Red Maskman		1987
			Maskman Hero Set - vinyls		1987
			Maskman Coin Game		1987
			Maskman Hero Belt		1987
			Big Kyara Jiraiya vinyl		1988
			Jiraiya plastic toy		1988
			Jiraya - Rainin Wild vinyl		1988
			Jiraya - Jyonin Fukuro Danshaku vinyl		1988
			Jiraiya Duel Set - Rainin Wild & Jiraiya vinyls		1988
			Jiraiya Battle Set Part 2		1988
			Jiraiya Air Shot set		1988
			Liveman Gokin Liverobo		1988
			Liveman Gokin Blue Dolphin		1988
			Liveman - Live Boxer		1988
			Liveman - Big Kyara Red Falcon vinyl		1988
			Big Soft Liverobo vinyl		1988
			Liveman Duel Set - Red Falcon & Koron vinyls		1988
			Liveman Duel Set - Red Falcon & Gadonoido Gasshu vinyls		1988
			Liveman Duel Set - Yellow Lion & Blue Dolphin vinyls		1988
			Liveman - Attack Box		1988
			Liveman - Live Hero vinyl set		1988
			Liveman Shooting set		1988
			Big Kyara Jiban vinyl		1989
			Jiban Duel Set - Jiban & Mask vinyls		1989
			Patlabor - Ingram		1988
			Akuma-kun Soft Combination		1989
			Akuma-kun - Little Shooter Set		1989
			Dragonball Z - Son Goku		1989
			Jiban - Variety Box		1989
			Sally the Witch 2 - Compact Set		1989
			Ranger Gokin Red Turboranger		1989
			Ranger Gokin Blue Turboranger		1989
			Turboranger DX Gokin set - Red Turboranger & Turborobo		1989
			Turboranger - Dash Turbo Robo		1989
			Turborobo High Speed Sentai 1		1989
			Big Kyara Red Turboranger vinyl		1989
			Turboranger - Turboraga vinyl		1989
			Turboraga Set - Turboraga & Red Turboranger vinyls		1989
			Turboranger Hero Set - Black Turboranger & Red Turboranger vinyls		1989
			Turboranger Duel Set - Pink Turboranger & Red Turboranger vinyls		1989
			Turboranger Duel Set - Blue Turboranger & Black Turboranger vinyls		1989
			Winspector Duel Set - Fire & Biker vinyls		1990
			Winspector Duel Set - Fire & Walter vinyls		1990