| Kids who grew up in the eighties will undoubtedly | | | | from the show; these were later distributed in the |
| have fond memories of Voltron: Defender of the | | | | US by Matchbox. The rights to produce Voltron |
| Universe, one of several Japanese 'super robot' | | | | toys were then acquired by Panosh Place, which |
| animated series adopted for American television in | | | | released 3-3/4" versions of the vehicles and |
| the eighties. Airing from 1984-85, the series | | | | characters featured in the show, as well as a |
| revolved around teams of pilots who flew | | | | playset featuring the Castle of Lions. |
| spaceships that could be combined into the mighty | | | | The license then briefly passed to a company |
| robot Voltron. The two incarnations of the Voltron | | | | called LJN which released a couple of Voltron |
| series consisting of vehicles (series 1) and lion | | | | Vehicle models as well as some versions of the |
| robots (series 2) were adapted from the | | | | Voltron III robot. In the '90s the license passed to |
| Japanese anime series respectively entitled Kikou | | | | Trendmasters, which released new versions of |
| Kantai Dairugger XV and Beast King Go Lion. The | | | | the die-cast Lion Force toys as well as Stealth |
| most popular version featured robotic lions piloted | | | | Voltron and Voltrex (a dinosaur version of the |
| by the team called Voltron Force who combined | | | | Voltron robot) figures. These toys are among the |
| their lions into a super robot warrior. | | | | most popular with collectors because of their |
| Although the original adapted series lasted only | | | | playability and the overall high quality of their |
| two seasons in America, it gained a huge fan | | | | construction. |
| following like it did in Japan. This immense | | | | At present, American toy company Toynami |
| popularity of Voltron in the US and Go Lion in | | | | holds the Voltron license and has produced several |
| Japan inspired toy makers to create toys based | | | | Voltron sets, including the Masterpiece Collection |
| the cartoon. Although the American version of | | | | (where the figures were made of die-cast metal) |
| Voltron was never shown in Japan, a Japanese | | | | and the Collector's Gift Set (with figures made of |
| toymaker still capitalized on the international | | | | plastic), as well as I-Men sets, which are |
| popularity of the series to release a line of | | | | miniatures of characters from the show. |
| die-cast metal toys featuring vehicles and lions | | | | |