I suppose most kids my age would remember Herbie as their Volkswagon role model, but for me it was Robocon. He had a live action kids show with a few other mechanical looking friends (that I only vaguely recall). This small collection of photos show him standing up, but by sitting down he could get in a car-like configuration with the front wheels at the end of his outstretched legs. If I remember correctly, when he was in that that position, he looked like a Beetle riding a street bike that was...also a part of him. Confusing? Well, such is the memory of a 5 year old child thirty years later. The scan above is from a 3" round trading card that I recovered from storage not long ago. Incidentally, I have no idea what he's doing to that poor kid. I can't remember too much from the show, but I do remember having a pair of Robocon shoes, more than likely a shirt, and a die cast metal toy that has since gone missing.
Just to prove that Robocon had appeal for other kids besides me:
.jpg)
UPDATE:
Funny thing, a memory. What I took to be Robocon on a Harley is actually more like Robocon on a golf stroller/wheel chair:
.jpg)
Still, I wonder if there was a variant to this. I was scrounging online for more photos and came across this one from a 1974 movie - what on earth could he have done?:
.jpg)
.jpg)
4 comments:
I loved this show.
Not as cool as Kikaida, mind you, but good nonetheless
What you remember is robocons diecast toy from a manufacturer named popy. It was called "mechanic robocon." He sat on a "Harley" like quasi-motorcycle set up. There was actually quite a large cast of characters. You should check out toyboxdx.com and matt alt's super no.1 robot book as well.
Hope this helps, and you are not alone in your fond memories of robocon.
Twitter.com/mrseang
Back in 1979 my mom bought me an original Bandai die-cast metal Robocon toy. I had no idea what his origins were, the box was entirely in Japanese except for the word "The".
20 years later, with the miracle of the WWW, I was finally able to identify him and find out about that toy.
And with Youtube, I was finally able to see some clips of the show, which made me smile.
Cheers!
I too loved this show when I was a young little girl in Japan. Funny that my mother later got a red VW. I also watched Goranger.
Post a Comment