1980s VOLTRON PART 16 - BANDAI / POPY GOLION KESHIGOMU GASHAPON

It's been a while since my last posting. Here's an interesting find from Japan. A vintage Golion Keshigomu (Rubber/Eraser figure) Gashapon (vending machine toys). I think they come in a few colors and mine is bright orange. It comes with nine pieces and you don't need an instruction sheet to assemble it. (Golion shown below had the head, body and waist already assembled.)

The paperwork is still there. See the old Bandai logo.

Here are closed up photos. The molding is very nice.

It has number sculpted on Black, Red and Green Lion.

Yellow and Blue lion doesn't have any numbers sculpted. But the details of the figure is still very nice.

At the back of the legs is the copyright.

Fully formed he's about 3" tall.

I discovered that the LJN Lion Force Assembler is quite similar to the Golion keshi. It comes with nine parts and connect in a similar way like the Golion. The only difference is that LJN version is colored, have weapons, have holes on both green and red lion and the horns are sculpted differently. Is it possible that the LJN Lion Force Assembler is an enlarged version of the Golion Keshi?

This Golion Keshi is quite rare. Saw one seller in eBay asking for USD250 for four pieces.