Mattel Shogun Warriors

Mattel was kind enough to bring Japan's wonderous toy line by Popy toys to the U.S.. In the late 1970s Americans were introduced to the characters Poseidon, Dragun, Raider, Mazinga Z, Combattra, and Gaiking along with countless other diecast toys.

Below are pictures of some of the main robots in the series. The site owner's childhood favorite was Poseidon, the yellow tank and blue track robot. Note that only the first verson of Poseidon came with folding tank tracks and folding missile launchers (Japan saw this option too).

Then we also have distinct variations in others such as Mazinga Z. In general the first versions had more features and stickers. As time went by, the features were deleted to save manufacturing time and money. Also missiles went from being pointy to having dulled off tips in the later releases.  Toys like Daimos and Sky Arrow even went so-far as to have "X" shaped "Safety" missiles after safety issues.

Be sure to refer to Popy Chogokin Toys for the "first versions" of these imports.