Lots of people have fun memories of playing with their Godaiken Voltron back in the 80's. They remember the heavy diecast lions that combined to form an impressive brick of metal. This is not that toy. Hit the jump to see the freak fest.
There he is, the Voltron made by Panosh Place in all his...er...glory. Seriously though, a lot of us that grew up in the 80's had our share of Transformers, Masters of the Universe, and G.I. Joes. Those toy lines had variety and catered to even kids without a lot of resources. So while the rich kid was rolling around with the G.I. Joe aircraft carrier, kids like me were enjoying building armies of 1.99 Cobra and G.I. Joe toys. Unfortunately, the super robots that were brought over didn't have that many options for us toy loving kids. So, the big heavy Godaiken Voltron was always a far away dream. Until a little company called Panosh Place came along.
Panosh Place got a license to make Voltron toys and in order to compete, they made all plastic toys that were cheaper for kids like me that were mad about Voltron. As a kid, I didn't think about the Panosh Voltron's fugliness. I was too excited having a big old Voltron to swing around and smash my rich friend's G.I. Joe aircraft carrier with. Voltron ftw.
The black lion forms the main body of Voltron, with the other, smaller, lions attaching and becoming the limbs. It's pretty similar to most of the later Transformers Combiner teams although on a larger scale. Panosh Place's black lion is actually not half bad. Aside from the funky legs, it's probably the best looking lion.
A feature of the Panosh Voltron toy is that each lion was able to accommodate an action figure of its pilot. The figures were 3.5 inches tall, except for Pidge who was shorter since he was a kid. Sadly, they never made an action figure of Sven, the insanely Swedish first pilot of blue lion.
http://youtu.be/b1KFsYJ5Xfc Seriously, Sven rules.
The green and red lions that form the arms are identical molds. The only differences are the color and the stickers. Obviously I'm missing the canopy for green lion. That's what happens when you own a toy for 25 years.
The blue and yellow lions form the legs of Voltron. Here at least Panosh Place made the effort to mix up the heads a bit. Also they put yellow lion's bazooka on his canopy which was nice. Looking at the joints you can see where the chrome has worn off the plastic over the years. Honestly the smaller lions all feel a little cheap, made with thin hard plastic. It really is a great toy for a kid from the 80's, but no one without a nostalgic interest will ever buy this now.
Ready to form Voltron! Activate interlocks, dynotherms connected, infracells up...LET'S GO VOLTRON FORCE!
Form feet and legs!
Form arms and body!
And I'll...
form...
The (very tiny) head!
Form Blazing sword! (Borrowed form Toynami Masterpiece Voltron)
Yeah Voltron!
Pros
If for some reason you ever buy this toy, buy the lions individually because sellers try to get $150+ for complete sets that are not MISB. If you don't mind some wear and tear, you can assemble Voltron for right around 30 bucks. It's huge at 14 inches tall and it will dwarf most of your toys unless you collect jumbo machinders. If you got kids and you want to show them what you had as a kid it's great for that. It can take a beating, just be careful around black lion's neck.
Cons
Let's face it. This toy is ugly. His proportions are all screwy and his movement is limited. Plus, unless you are willing to part with an exorbitant amount of cash, you will never have a non-beat up version. If it weren't for how cheap you can get all the lions there would be no reason for today's collector to purchase this.
Verdict
Only for the nostalgic and the Voltron completist. Like me! Luckily, this specimen has survived a quarter of a century in my house. The black lion is newer than the rest however. When I was 8 my brother accidentally broke Voltron's head off at the neck. I was inconsolable (ie. cried like a bitch) until my dad got home from work and fixed it with some liquid nails.
Happy days were there again until my cousins came over when I wasn't at the house and they cleaned out much of my toy collection. Including the repaired black lion which still bothers the hell out of me today. Why the heck take only 1 lion? They couldn't form Voltron and I just don't get the thought process. Anyways, the vast wilderness that is eBay netted me a new black lion and the legend was (awkwardly) reborn! Enough of my spiel, you'll buy it if you liked it as a kid, otherwise spend your money elsewhere.
Hanging with the Masterpiece Voltron, it's like seeing twins, except one of the twins rides the short bus.
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