1. G.I. Joe was using drones in 1983 2. They put a flamethrower on it 3. It was worth half a flag point

Oh no It would be the absolute worst thing ever if these get really popular, and Takara finds out.

If someone tries to outbid you at the very last second, but it doesn’t work and you still win the auction… How do you send them a Venmo request for the extra money they just cost you for no damn reason?

Bad news: the new Matchbox Motocompo is too big for a Dianaut. Good news:

When a blog shuts down, all of the intrusive watermarks on their images should fade away, like a wizard’s curse being lifted by their death.

It is very hard to describe the subtle differences of the Micro Change Gun Robo figures’ chrome, without sounding like some pretentious jerk describing wines. The chrome on the original red version is cool and dark, while the later blue release is bright and warm, almost like rose gold.

1/5 Every month TV Magazine ran a contest, giving away toys provided by the companies. These were colorful fold-out spreads with an overwhelming number of robot toys. Interestingly, the images used were often prototypes. Nothing really worth translating, so just enjoy some pictures of robots.

The Skyscraper robot from Big was a kitbash, which doesn’t appear to use a pre-existing skyscraper toy (the arch above the doorway is a peanut butter jar lid). The main robot components look like they come from one of the many, many Horikawa robot releases. Do you get it?

Part Two! Today we’re Repairing Radio Cassette Robo himself! As you already know, the cassette is the actual radio, while the robot is really just a speaker. Inside the tape compartment is a little 2.5 mm jack which plugs into the cassette when it’s inserted, so he WILL NOT hold cassette robots.

Believe it or not, this is a radio. Pretty cool, huh? Well, it WILL be a radio, once I solder that tiny black wire back onto the board. It's powered by an LR-44 battery, but you can get away with a 357/303 instead. Okay, soldering didn't go too bad. I didn't singe the antenna, so that’s good.

It’s kind of bonkers how every re-release tries to fix Zarana’s face, huh? This impossible task has humbled multiple generations of sculptors.

In “What if Things Were Different?”, TV Magazine explores a world where kaiju are able to stop fighting, and get along. They’d wear clothes, have jobs, start bands, and Ultraman and Windom would finally be free to express their love. It’s a sobering look at a life just outside our grasp.

At a 2017 HasCon presentation, Hasbro revealed there was a point they were considering a G.I. Joe series of missile-launching armored horsies.

Calling it now: After credits scene for the new Masters of the Universe movie will be a badly beaten Skeletor begging someone offscreen for more power, to defeat He-Man. Then we get a quick reveal of the ghostly image of Hordak in another dimension, like the Thanos cameo at the end of Avengers.

@necronomitron.bsky.social Suddenly this pre-Transformer got an update:

In 1983, TV Magazine attempted to answer the playground argument once and for all, with “Gamera vs Godzilla”! (a thinly disguised ad for a new Gamera model kit) After comparing their strengths, it concluded they were evenly matched. From an academic standpoint: that is absolute horseshit.

There are times when the fourth wall of your hobby cracks a little, and you have to step back to admit, "From an objective point of view... this is pretty stupid." Today, that was after receiving a box stuffed with bricks of vintage TV Magazine and stacking them on a desk, like a manga drug lord.

The “Microman Missing Link” go cart they just unveiled doesn’t LOOK very exciting, but the game changer will be if they kept the transformation. The Spy Magician vehicles all changed into role play spy gear. “Drag Tiger” (aside from being an amazing drag queen name) turned into a crossbow pistol.

Pssst, Tracks isn’t really part of Diaclone. He’s a Transformer in disguise. So, Japan and America don’t like the same cars. While they love trains and rally cars (it’s no coincidence half the G1 cast was covered in sponsorship decals), we prefer off-road vehicles and sports cars.

When alt-modes come up, US Transformers fans often hear trains are more popular in Japan. That's underselling it though: Japan is REALLY into trains. In 1978, "The Blue Train" became crazy popular. These kids aren't getting in, they're swarming just to take pictures. Yeah, I don't get it either.

Please, never forget Trypticon is just a cheaky Godzilla gag. The archenemy of the city transformer is a giant stomping dinosaur.

That story’s not so fun. Marina Ono had only been the new Licca-chan for a year, when a tabloid leaked the stage name from her past career, as a nude model. The negative publicity made Takara nervous, especially since Licca is canonically 11 years-old. Ono was “asked to step down from the role”.

Okay, it's been 40 years. It's probably time to learn the Dinobots are an elaborate Henshin Cyborg homage. Well, to learn again, it’s a repost from that other site that got ruined. Anyway, Dinobots!

In Japanese fandom, the G1 Rodimus Prime figure is derided as having “frog eyes”, and now I can’t un-see it. Takara was going for a steely-eyed glare of determination, but ended up more like Brock instead. However, Transformers scribe Hirofumi Ichikawa believes this is the result of a paint error.

The story goes like this, in 1967 a little girl called Takara’s customer service number, and asked to speak to Licca-chan. Not wanting to crush a little kid’s dreams, the operator quickly replied “Hello, this is Licca-chan!” Very cute, totally harmless. …right?

Blokees Ultra Magnus makes a perfect Ultra Magnus Jr. from the “Mystery of Convoy” manga. Also, Missing Link Bumblebee apparently has a flight stand port? I choose to believe it is exactly for this reason.

The faces of the 1987 McDonald’s Changeables had a quirky Diaclone /‘84 Transformers inhuman robotic design quality. 1988’s aesthetic was more like the ‘86 Movie’s human-like faces, and even G2-style reissues in garish colors. The 1990 dino series were organic creatures, a precursor to Beast Wars.

From the collection of Anthony Lopez, a 1980’s store display standee from Greece. This is my spirit animal.

For a change of pace, let’s look at a silly He-Man figure! This is Cy-Chop, an original character from Masters of the Universe Classics. An evil cyborg with giant scissor hands, he’s a little goofy but his unique design is endearing. Actually, speaking of his design, it looks kind of familiar….

I love Godzilla toys, but how the hell are you supposed to put these things on a shelf?

Vintage Diaclone TV commercials 1-7, with English subtitles.

“Takara SF Land Complete Collection” (1999) included the bonus CD-ROM, “Commercial Film Collection”. In addition to commercials for Henshin Cyborg, Microman, and Machine Saurer, it included 21 Diaclone commercials. Unfortunately, as a CD-ROM, the quality is not great.

Let’s go over some vintage manga archival tips. Now, because my goal is clean scans, I remove the staples, disassemble the book, and slice out the pages I’m going to scan. This makes some collectors uncomfortable, but counterintuitively, it also makes the archiving and preservation more successful.

Most of Takara’s 1986 G.I. Joe file cards had minor changes (often related to making G.I. Joe a multi-national task force), but Snake Eyes had one especially notable addition. See if you can spot it in this English translation. Larry Hama would be happy, and Henry Golding might deserve an apology.

In 1986, Studio OX drew the art for a G.I. Joe picture book which features Flint smoking, and Gung Ho flipping you off. “Strongest Expert Team on Earth: G.I. Joe, Big Illustrated Encyclopedia”, English translation. (Exporting remainder of translated G.I. Joe from previous account) 1/2

1/3 The Keibunsha G.I. Joe Encyclopedia was a resource devoted mostly to the cartoon, and had no direct connection to the Comic BomBom manga. The simply-written short comic included could be generously described as an origin story, which wasn’t really touched on in the show (Reposting by request)

BTW, because social media compresses images so much, and downloading one page at a time is tedious, I usually also post hi-res versions on Archive: archive.org/details/gi_j... (Reposting since the URL changed after I rearranged the images in the correct order)

The G.I. Joe manga is just like the Marvel comic, with a few key differences: The names are different Not many of the toys are featured It follows an original character It isn’t very good With that in mind, enjoy the English translation of G.I. Joe manga Issue 1, by Hisaji Ueda. 1/5

So, everyone already knows Takara changed Duke’s name to “Grunt”, made minor alterations to most characters’ real names (like Snow Job from "Harlan Moore" to "Harlan Nykänen"), and changed the name of basically every vehicle… but one of the stranger choices was changing “Snake Eyes”, to “Snake Eye”.

I don’t know what I expected the Japanese version of Shipwreck to sound like… but somehow, it’s the actual things he’s saying which are more surprising.

More Transformers designed by kids, from 1986 “Sniper Dester: Transforms into an M-16 assault rifle. He is the father of the Destrons” What? That’s a GREAT idea, and it looks like he holds a full bayonet as a weapon? When I was a kid, you just drew some extra guns on Grimlock, and called it a day

During the 1940s, there were a surprising number of toy “Junior Air Raid Warden” novelty kits, based on preparing for when bombs would be dropped on your friends and family. Note this advertisement makes no mention the helmet and gas mask are nonfunctional, made of cloth and cardboard.

I was going to share several 1986 Transformers designs by kids… but it’s not fair to steal focus from “Dreamer”. She’s a female transformer who changes from a bed, to a centaur, and can destroy her enemy’s brain. Also, if you want to ride her, she’ll put a pillow on her back. She is everything.

There are days when Buzzer is the most relatable character in G.I. Joe.

The Mini-Spies began their lives as Takara’s Mecha Senshi (Englishized as “Mech Soldier”), a series of low-cost robots, originally developed and sold to Takara by a company called “Koma Co. LTD”. (Photo of display box from a collector way more hardcore than me)

Yes, even I think this is excessive. No, it didn’t stop me. All 12 versions of the 1985 Mini-Spies.

1/7 The paint job on this boxer’s face is driving me mad. Even on a tripod, his face still looks blurry. Zoom in and you see it’s just the way he’s been airbrushed. It’s like an optical illusion, was he painted to look like he’s in motion? The longer I look, it actually starts to hurt my eyes…

Part of the 2000’s Microman revival, “Military Force” was a series army builder droids, utilizing a standardized body, with tons of mix and match accessories. Each figure had an environment or mission specific theme, and they were endlessly customizable.

The internet has always existed in some form or another.

1980’s memo to Hasbro from Larry Hama, pleading to let him say new figures are just older figures who dress differently now, to lighten his burden on adding new huge numbers of new characters to the comic every twelve issues. Reproduced from Mark Bellomo's Ultimate Guide to G.I. Joe - 2nd Edition