Takatoku Toys
From Transformers Wiki
Takatoku Toys (株式会社タカトクトイス Kabushiki Gaisha Takatoku Toisu) was a Japanese toy company. They were one of several to copy Popy's innovative use of die-cast metal for robot toys, with their Gōkin (合金, "Alloy") line competing with Popy's Chogŏkin (超合金, "Super Alloy") series of robots spun off from anime series of the time.
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Kanzen Henkei
In 1982, Takatoku released its best-known creation, the Macross toyline and accompanying anime series. The Macross 1/55 VF-1 Valkyrie figure was revolutionary for the time, introducing the concept of "kanzen henkei" (完全変形, "perfectly transforming") robot toys—while many earlier toys had featured transformations (since Popy's DX Raideen figure), this was the first to give equal priority to robot and vehicle modes, instead of just to robot modes. It was also the first to feature something approaching a realistic vehicle as an alternate mode, paving the way for Diaclone.
Macross was a huge success, but the following series Super Dimension Century Orguss (超時空世紀オーガス Chōjikū Seiki Ōgasu) and Special Armored Battalion Dorvack (特装機兵ドルバック Tokusō Kihei Dorubākku), the latter anime series produced by Ashi Productions, were expensive disasters. The company's final line was Armored Insect Corps Beetras, designed by Artmic, which only contained three released figures (a fourth only got as far as the prototype stage) and had no supporting anime series.
After bankruptcy finally came in 1984, their designs were purchased by Bandai, who subsequently licensed some of the molds to Hasbro, who were desperate to meet demand for new Transformers figures. At the time, Bandai themselves had a minimal American presence, and tended to license toys to American companies rather than distribute them themselves.
Takatoku moulds released as Transformers
Air Guardian
- Jetfire - Recolour of Macross 1/55 VF-1S Super Valkyrie figure
Deluxe Vehicles
- Roadbuster - Recolour of Dorvack 1/55 Mugen Calibur
- Whirl - Recolour of Dorvack 1/55 Ovelon Gazzette [sic]
Deluxe Insecticons
- Barrage - Recolour of Beetras Beet-Gadol
- Chop Shop - Recolour of Beetras Beet-Gugal
- Ransack - Recolour of unreleased Beetras Beet-Vadam
- Venom - Recolour of Beetras Beet-Zeguna
Notes
- Due to these molds only being leased to Hasbro, and still remaining the property of Bandai (now a direct rival of Hasbro in the American market), it is highly unlikely — if not impossible — for any of these figures to be reissued under the Transformers banner. Jetfire is also affected by Macross, the underlying IP of his mold, being actively marketed by Big West/Studio Nue in Japan and Tatsunoko/Harmony Gold in the US and wherever else outside of Japan HG decides to send legal threats.
- To maximise both their own profits and their figures' place in the domestic marketplace, Takatoku struck up a relationship with the less renowned manufacturer Mark, whereby the latter would produce cheap, knockoff-quality versions of these figures. Due to some sort of crazy loophole the rights to these cheap versions remained with Mark after Takatoku folded, and simple versions of a number of the Takatoku figures were licensed to another American manufacturer, Select. They used them for the cash-in Convertors line, which was on sale at more or less the same time the real things were in the Transformers line. This is where all those little plastic Roadbusters and Whirls you see on eBay come from...
