Toybox DX

text: Robert Duban & Matt Alt
graphics: Robert Duban
September 2001

Additional image contributions: Yutaka Ishida / Kaikodo, Erik Sjoen

Updated: 11.01.04

Seven was a spin-off of toy-giant Takara, founded with the aim of producing cheap toys for the low-end market. The practice of larger firms protecting their reputations by using a "middleman" to sell cheapie toys was a common one in the '70s and early '80s. Popy had their own cheapie toy offshoot company, Victora; Takatoku jointly produced "mini gokins" with the tiny company Mark; and Takara and Clover used tiny Seven to do their bidding.

Most of Takara's early licenses were replicated in a smaller and cheaper form by Seven. In fact, the only Takara license that doesn't seem to have a Seven toy counterpart is that of "Kotetsu Jeeg." Perhaps there simply wasn't any need, as a "cheapie" mini Jeeg had already been produced by the miniscule toy company Onda. Seven made a minor foray into the world of vinyls with a rendition of Ga-Keen, packaged in the "Ga-Keen Koma Set," several vinyls from Baratak, and no doubt others. Surprisingly, Seven produced at least one "Star Wars" toy as well, thanks to Takara having a limited Japanese license for the smash-hit film.

Seven also produced toys based on licenses from Clover. There are Seven versions of characters from each of Clover's licenses -- with one exception. There does not seem to be a Seven Srungle toy, and the world will forever bemoan that loss. The boxes for the Seven Gundam toys bear a great deal of similarity to some of Clover's own mini-Gundams. In fact, at a glance, the boxes look nearly identical. (This isn't particularly surprising, as Clover and Takara shared the same factories and much of the same design-staff.)

Often labeled "mini gokin," Seven's toys have a great deal in common with the later Victora pieces in terms of market, quality level and box-style. The majority of the Seven pieces were sold under the brand name "Orion." Most of the boxes bearing the eye-catching Orion logo feature the fine print "manufactured and sold by Seven." Some of the later Seven toys (most notably, those from Votoms and Dunbine) feature an actual logo for "Seven," rather than simple plain text. Muddying the waters even further, there are several box variations as well -- some boxes feature the "Seven" logo, while the same toy can also be found in an "Orion" logo box. (These are detailed in the list below.)

The quality level of Seven's toys varies a great deal from piece to piece. For example, the Dunbine toys, while made of rather cheap plastic, are rather decent renditions of the characters. In contrast, the Dougram "Core Brook" toy (a mis-romanization of the words "Core Block") is quite possibly the sleaziest, cheapest Japanese toy ever made. It can be said, however, that perhaps therein lies the charm of these "low end" toys.

Based on the dates of the shows Seven licensed, it would seem that the company was active between the years of 1977 to 1983. Nobody knows exactly what became of Seven, but presumably they fell victim to the great toy-meltdown of the mid-1980's. What follows is a list of some of the better-known Seven / Orion toys. This list is by no means complete. As always, please contact us for any errors or omissions.




						Dunbine

						Drumlo

						Baratak - Gokin Puzzle

						Black Baratak - Underground Type

						Blue Baratak - Sky Type

						Green Baratak - Underwater Type

						Trotter 3

						Mini Mini Gokin Trotter



						Arcadia

						Cosmo-Wing

						Jupiter Bit

						Daiojya Cross Gokin

						Cross Gattai Aioda



						Daitarn 3 Basic Set - Orion box version

						Daitarn 3 Basic Set - Seven box version

						Dai-Fighter

						Mach-Attacker

						Dai-Tank

						Daitarn 3 - Gold Gokin

						Daitarn 3 - 4 Item Set (Dai-Fighter, Mach-Attacker, Dai-Tank, Daitarn 3 Gold Gokin)

						Dougram "Core Brook" (Core Block)




						Gundam

						Gundam - Gold Gokin

						Gundam - Gold Gokin - color variation

						Guncannon

						Guntank

						Mini Gokin Set (Gundam & Guntank)

						Gundam 4 Item Set (Gundam, Guntank, Guncannon, Gundam - Gold Gokin)

						Core Fighter - wind up

						White Base - wind up



						Ride Armor VR-052F


						R2D2 ("MM Series")

						Tryder G7 - Gold Gokin

						Tryder G7 3 Set

						Tryder G7 Power Set

						No.1 - Scopedog -1/48 scale

						No. 2 - Brutishdog - 1/48 scale

						No. 3 - Snapping Turtle - 1/48 scale

						Battling Combination [co-produced with Poem]



						Xabungle mini gokin

						Henkei Gattai Xabungle

						Irongear

						Henkei Gattai Xabungle, mini Xabungle & Irongear set

						Walker Machine (Dugger Type) - wind up

						Zanbot 3 Basic Set

						Zanbot 3 - Gokin Puzzle

						Zanbot 3 First Base / Bial I

						Zanbot 3 Second Base / Bial II

						Zanbot 3 Third Base / Bial III

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