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VINTAGE 1980s VOLTRON PART 17 - TAIWAN'S MATCHBOX VOLTRON & MINIATURE BLAZING SWORD SET

Feb 23,2021 - My 17th blog entry of vintage Voltron toys, let's check out the Matchbox small 6" Voltron with the Miniature Blazing Sword set. I got this from a member of the Voltron Group in FB. After waiting for over 3 weeks, the Voltron set finally arrived today. Upon inspection, the Matchbox Voltron is mint in sealed box! There's a minor issue that is the window clear plastic is coming off as the glue had dried.


I already own the Popy Golion GB-35, the Japan version of this toy which is far more superior.

So why do I invest in this? Let's check out the packaging.

The first reason I invested in this because the seller includes the Blazing Sword Set together with Voltron. And both are factory sealed. So it's kind of a good deal.

The second reason is for the artwork and the Voltron logo. I have the Deluxe Matchbox Voltron but it's indicated as Voltron III. That is the earlier releases when Matchbox named these toys as Voltron I (Dairugger), Voltron II (Albegas) and Voltron III (Golion). The earlier releases are made in Japan.

The later release you see below have a nice picture of Voltron, the Castle of Lions and a colorful Voltron logo. These are either made in Japan or Taiwan.

Pic below - Back of box you'll find that Voltron I renamed to Vehicle Team Voltron and Voltron III renamed to Lion Force Voltron. Matchbox retained the Voltron II name for the Gladiator set.

I have to unbox the Voltron because I wanted to fix the front clear plastic which had detached from the box. Also I wanted to confirm something regarding this toy. More on this later. Voltron is tied to the styrofoam with a bendy wire. It comes with an instruction sheet and a Matchbox catalog.

They don't make these colorful catalogs any more these days, do they?

I didn't have the wings up. Even though I've unboxed it, I didn't want to mess with it. The wings joints are still super tight.

What I wanted to confirm if this toy is made in Taiwan. You'll see on the yellow box embossed Made in Taiwan.

And the stickers on the feet also states Made in Taiwan.

The third reason I wanted to get this is because this version of Voltron is probably recalled. On Nov 12 1986, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a warning that some Taiwan Voltron had paint that contains the levels of lead that exceeded what was allowed. These Voltrons are made from 1985-86. See warming picture below. It looks like my specimen fall into this catergory but I could be wrong as the leg stickers kinda missing the "SD" or "CJ"

Finally, here's the picture of the Blazing Sword set that you need to buy separately. This is also hard to get, especially mint on card.

Overall, I am pretty satisfied with this purchase.

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