VINTAGE 1980s TAIWAN DIECAST METAL MID-SIZE LIONBOT (GOLION / VOLTRON K.O.)

10 May 2022

This is a fragile and very rare toy .I've seen the reviews of it on YouTube. Fragile and rare make this an expensive toy. I've hunted for it in eBay and it doesn't pop up often and when it does, it's very pricey. Since it's a KO with a ridiculously high price tag, it was not on my wish list. Then one of these rare Mid-size Lionbot surfaced in the local toy collectors market. It had a high price tag too but still affordable. I contacted the seller and discovered that there are many issues with this set. Not willing to pay a high price for a damaged toy, I shelved the idea of buying it.

Weeks later, the seller offered to trade this with one of my Star Wars Black Series helmet and just top up a little more cash. Couldn't pass up that deal and today it finally arrived.

I took out the regular size Lionbot (bottom) for packaging comparison. Price tag is still there, original price was RM57 (about USD13).

This side panel with pictures of lions inside the Lionbot word mimics the original Golion packaging.

There's internal cardboard insert just like the regular version.

Mine doesn't comes with instructions. From here the set looks perfect.

Beautiful Black Lion....

Let's take a closer look and see all the issues with this set.

Black lion have a broken right wing.

My simple solution - use blue tacks. And it sticks pretty well and still able to rotate the wings.

The vintage Lionbot's Black lion head have sharp teeth, unlike the recent regular ones. Note - the horns doesn't extend.

At the back of the head, the right side plastic of the neck is broken. Have to be super careful turning the head to lion mode. This is a common problem with this toy (from online reviews).

The Green and Red lion's tail is broken. Another common problem with this toy.

Surprisingly, stuck to their bellies are chrome "Made in Taiwan" sticker. This also mimics the original Golion."Made in Japan Y&K" sticker.

And they retain the firing Lion's head feature. Mine still works great.

The Blue and Yellow lion - luckily nothing broken. But some of their joints are loose.

They have sharp teeth too.

Their bellies are missing the sticker. I found one of the detached sticker in the box.

And it comes with weapons - ten king sword and space cutter.

Overall the chrome on all the lions and the weapons are still pretty good. Some parts are loose and some are real tight. I was hesitant to combine them due to their fragility. The seller had shown me the combined form. Here it is. But he did not transform it correctly. I believe that any Voltron collector would be able to spot the mistake :D

Here's size comparison with original Popy's ST Golion (right). The Mid-size Lionbot is bigger.

Here's the shooting fist comparison.

Left -Lionbot. Right - Golion.

I've removed the shooting heads to keep the spring mechanism in good order. I do this with all my vintage Voltron / Golion toys.

I've mixed feelings about this purchase. Happy to own this for a fair price and rarity. But disappointed with the broken head, wings and tails. Despite the flaws, it still displays nicely.. The paint job and chrome for this vintage Lionbot is so much better than the recent ones. I would recommend this if you have lots of money and you're a crazily serious Voltron collector. Otherwise save the money for better and newer Voltron / Golion versions.

eBay SOLD price for a mint in box specimen in Aug 2021 was USD999.