December 16, 2001 CURRENT RUMBLE Precious Cargo Michael Grifka 12.16.01 Home from Japan now for three weeks, I've been communing with the toys a little too much. I recently found a note affixed to the lower half of my bathroom door. It read, "Please stop shooting me with your plastic missiles and fists. Thank you." It was signed and dated. By my cat. Taking his request to heart, and all the gossiping of Toy Of The Year (TOTY), I'd thought I'd share one of my all-time favorite toys for the Rumble. Here it is: Takatoku's YattoDetaMan TimeCargo. With box. This was my first purchase off of Yahoo! Japan auctions, and I remember the exact moment when I first laid eyes on the TimeCargo. "Unreal," I said to myself, "futuristic history." I couldn't believe how cheap the thing was considering how cool it looks. Of course, it is a clunky Takatoku GoKin. But that's another story. I just had to get it! First, the players. TimeCargo comes with two microscopic plastic figurines, standing no taller than one inch high. This is no joke. The round, obtuse character is Daigron. He is Princess Karen's chaperone and guard. Both Daigron and Princess Karen travel in the TimeCargo, a throwback to the days when royalty and court noble traveled by human-carriage. This is also no joke. In China and Japan, during feudal times, dignitaries and members of the royal family traveled with an armed entourage. Moreso, they traveled in closed carriages propelled by human servants. Why horses weren't used is a subject of debate. (Any DXer who can enlighten me wins some Godzilla Gashapon...) The die-cast Timecargo is way cool. It features twin-mounted missile launchers on the top, which individually pivot to each side. There is also a domed antennae called the Time Radar. It is chrome, and jiggles and shimmies when TimeCargo rolls. TimeCargo is actually a mobile capsule hotel!! At the front is a red bay door, latched at the bottom. Inside is a small blue bed for Princess Karen. She can rest while Daigron watches over her. Just don't ask me where he sleeps...as the capsule has round, bay windows...and you can see EVERYTHING that goes on inside. Timecargo is escorted by two robots with human drivers. Maybe it's mecha. Maybe it's not. Maybe it's just a shiny sticker on a hollow plastic body. The front escort is called Toki-Wataru, or 'Wataru-time.' I don't really understand the meaning of his name. But he looks happy, so it's OK. The rear escort is called HimeKuri Koyomi, or Princess-Chestnut-Koyomi. Note that she is not smiling. I wonder why... Wataru and Koyomi have what I think is the coolest feature of the entire toy. Both red-kids contain a spring-loaded right arm for carrying the TimeCargo around. When I first assembled the toy, I kept trying to slide their arms under the TC's extended yellow mounts. The red-kids wouldn't fit. Then I read the instructions. Wataru and Koyomi's right arms can be pulled out of their respective 'sockets' by a quarter-inch or so. Slide over the TC's yellow mounts, into place, release, and "click!!" Perfect assembly! No loose accessories, or tipsy robots. One more cool feature: The red-kids, when mounted properly, actually hover above the ground by a few millimeters. Why? The TimeCargo has a set of blue wheels for smooth cruising. So, the TC isn't slowed down by dead robot weight. The slightest push and TimeCargo hauls GoKin across the kitchen floor! Now that's toy engineering for 'ya! *Go Speed Cargo, Go-Go Speed Cargo...* Well, that's my favorite toy. At least one of them. The saddest part is that I've never seen YattoDetaMan anime, assuming it exists. And I've never read YattoDetaMan manga. It's a shame. I'll never get to see the TimeCargo in action. Wait a minute...where's the cat???  RUMBLE INDEX  |  CURRENT RUMBLE