My VINTAGE Action Figure Collection: JRNY to K-Mart Plaza!!!

[BrandonDaCollector]

I see, probably a lot o people did that.

[BrandonDaCollector]

NOTE: We (Me & PB) had talked about Voltron on his great Stay Tuned topic sometime ago which finally...

So after all this time I'm finally gonna showcase My vintage Voltron: Defender of the Universe figures In Japan the original series is called GoLion was quite different than that it was here in America This will be a bit different compared to many of My showcases as there won't be a ton of content but it will still be just as grand. I do have a great story as to how I got these classic versions of the "original" Voltron which I will get to in a while but first if you are somehow not familiar with Voltron then CLICK HERE for the Wikipedia Page!

Now on to how I got these paradigmatic figures. It was during the good times when Me and My Grandma was going out every now and then and she'd take Me to this nice store and that cool store. I have mentioned about this previously throughout My topic which I'm gonna provide a bit more detail now. My favorite area to go to when I was a child was on Cherokee Street, it had so many good stores there...there was Globes (2 different stores that had different stuff!), Walgreens (the one I got My Super Naturals from), the awesome Woolworths, the rad Bazaar and of course My Grandma's friend's store...Judy's Superstore! As much as I loved Woolworths, Judy's Superstore was the best, I always had a fun time there. It would be Judy whom would have these ultra rare Voltron figures! There is a lot that I could tell about it so here is some of the highlights oh her because this whole time of Me going there was/is extremely important to Me and she is one of the many stores that I am trying to bring back in this pathetic day and age where things seems to matter less & less than yesteryear's magical moments. Please allow Me to express some imperative thoughts of reliving prominence of Judy's Superstore

Here is Judy's highlights and My thoughts about her: She was one of My Grandma's best friends (My Grandma knew a lot of good people back in the day) and she was Korean and married to a Caucasian American man and they were to My knowledge as a kid a happy couple. He was actually her only employee. She had a huge store and they ran the whole shop all by themselves...they were terrific :bounce: When you walk in the store, on the left wall she had tons of shirts of Bruce Lee and I got some of them cause I was at the time a huge Bruce Lee fan. She had a lot of novelties and a lot of "Adult" stuff too that I occasionally gawked at as a very curious 6/7/8 year old boy. Most of it was women and even then as a youngster I knew I liked Women Her toy isle was great, she had so many rare items. She had a lot of rare cars & trucks. My Grandma got Me a lot from her but one particular item was the Black Hole movie set of cardboard stand ups from her that I have no idea what I did with and I so regret that She also had in stock imported Japanese figures, knockoff and bootlegs that most places never would have and would have figures that was already discontinued from big department stores such as Venture, K-Mart & Target and even Toy Chest & TRU. I liked talking to her as she was a very different person to be around with for Me because she was Asian and I had only really seen Asian people in the movies at this young age though a bit later My Grandma's My Doctor, he would be become Mine as well and he was Filipino and his name Dr. Viloria and My dentist, he would be Chinese named Dr. Chang who was all on the same street just steps way from Judy (when we would go there for check ups and stuff, then we'd go to the stores) Judy was in her mid/late 40s or early 50s during these times. She was very pretty and a very nice woman. Later I would really like Asian people and especially I find Myself very fond of the women and every now and then I think about these moments that once was and regret that I didn't know her better and pay more attention and talk to her more but I understand I was a child and let her & Grandma check the bull$h!t level while I looked around her Superstore but that to Me has always been a blessing and curse. We had gone to her for years, My Grandma way before Me but I got to experience someone and her store that nobody ever matched before nor since. Unfortunately she went out of business in the early 90s and lost contact with her She along with the aforementioned stores as Cherokee was become crime ridden with different cultures not agreeing with each other nor taking consideration of the stores and property up and down the street which has always been a darn shame to say the least Today they make it out like it it such a great place to be but in reality it is far from it Globes hung in there the longest and did the best they could but they unfortunately closed their doors of both locations in 2010 As I speak Judy's poor store is still empty and it pains Me so much that this is a reality, it makes Me just wanna cry so hard I am one of the very few people who knows how it was back then with all of the great stores that Cherokee street once offered and as much as sorrow comes from this juncture, I am very thankful to have been involved & participated in these great times and to know Judy and her Superstore

NOTE: In time I plan on making a special showcase of all of the stores and places of My childhood that were dear to Me, it has become a mission of mine so they are all remembered and no longer stays in limbo and I believe I will post it in this topic in the near future as I think it will serve the most proper place for them

So with all of that being said, I was one happy kid because Judy only had a couple of Voltrons in stock. It was amazing that she had them because they came out a long while before this and because I was watching the animated series regularly. My Grandma got Me both of'em, Now like so many of My figures, I have misplaced their accessories and stuff and are a bit worn so without further ado here they are



Voltron by Bandai: This is truly the penultimate figure to have if you are a Voltron fan and/or collector. He has several POA but doesn't come apart to disassemble the Lions. He is sculpted really well and he is metal in some sections and is quite heavy for his size. He is actually still in nice condition He was actually My FIRST figure EVER by Bandai



Here is his Copyright & Company info!




Here is the much larger and much heavier Voltron by Matchbox! Oh yes, this is truly the ultimate Voltron figure to own. This version allows you to disassemble the mighty robot Lions and have five different figures of the mech-felids, Unfortunately Mine has seen better days and he is stuck as the The Voltron Lion Force. I realized that I had permanently put the arms on the wrong opposite sides but this is OK as I look at it as My own kind of variant He is also of a metal in some areas and he is a tremendously sculpted figure and he looks awesome!



Size Comparison: Here is both Voltrons together along with My "go-to guy" Mattel's MOTU Prince Adam!



SPECIAL BONUS!

Voltron Galactic Activity Book: I am really not sure how I got this book, either My Grandma or My Mom got it for Me at a classic store. It is published by Modern Publishing of Unisystems. I really never did anything in it, search Me as to why It still looks great as here is a small sample of it

[BrandonDaCollector]

YouTube Videos!

Here is the Matchbox Voltron commercial



Here is the ones by Panosh Place, I used to have these guys but I have misplaced them with no idea where they had gone to



And here is the Voltron animated series Intro It is one of the most classic ones ever and yes that is the voice of Optimus Prime narrating



Like I said, I used to have the ones by Panosh Place but like them I also had the Voltron Assembler by LJN that I had misplaced too I did collect the great and fun series that would be issued by Mattel on the Matty Collector shop back in the early 2010s that I may one day showcase.

So that will conclude My vintage Voltron showcase and I hope you liked it and possibly brought a little memory or nostalgia back to you. Next up will be yet another famous cartoon and action figure series but it will also be a deceiving one as well that will undoubtedly be more than meets the eye I will also be commentating more about Judy's Superstore then too because she had them and you'll found out about this in time. Until then I'll see you around

[packerbacker180]

Those Voltron commercials are cool. I totally forgot how much I actually owned from that line as a kid as some of the vehicles were things I completely forgot about. I love some of Voltron as a kid. I was always extremely disappointed when the episode was the ones with the space cars. Those sucked.

[BrandonDaCollector]

Thanks for the reply PB

[AcidDragon]

Wow, you've got some great stuff here.

Like I said in the other thread, with Voltron, I regretfully bought the Matty Volton a while back. What a waste that was. When I was a kid, I only owned the red lion and the figure for Hunk and those were hand me downs. I also had an eraser that was Voltron shaped and a mini Voltron figure that did come apart at the arms and legs but didn't transform as it had no articulation points so that was kind of pointless. The Voltron figure I had as probably stood about 3 inches tall at best. I almost forgot, I also have the poseable Voltron figure from Matty.

In any event, you've got some great nostalgic pieces here, Brandon. I really dig that poseable Bandai figure.

[BrandonDaCollector]

Thanks very much Acid, I was hoping that My showcase wouldn't be completely missed since I have to split things up now. It was still cool what you had there Gosh, I beg the differ about the Matty Voltrons, despite My huge gripes about Mattel, I thought the figures were sweet. Not as classic as the ones I just showcased but still pretty good an dI would have liked it if they would have made the villains too like I said, I may showcase them later on, I have the all the figures. I appreciate your reply and your liking of My figures, it means a lot

[AcidDragon]

I mostly regret it because of the new versions done by other companies I recently saw that kind of blow this version out of the water and due to space issues, I've passed on since I already have this set. Individually, the lions look great and the figures, too. I was in for the sub so I got the extra Sven figure. When I combine the lions together, it's loose and clunky.

[BrandonDaCollector]

I see why Acid, I know what you mean. Yes, I subscribed too so that's how I got My Matty versions too. Indeed, they are loose and clunky as you said. Thanks Acid

[AcidDragon]

Is your Matty Voltron assembled and on display??