Do The Moulds For These Horikawa Fly Eyes Still Exist?

[ROBOHUNTER]

http://www.attackingmartian.com/video_blue.html

http://www.attackingmartian.com/space_fighter_turtle.html

http://www.attackingmartian.com/mr_zerox_2a.html

I know there's still quite a few around but it's very hard to get them in like new condition, especially the eyes as they're nearly always tarnished and they're always expensive.

Be nice to seem them reissued.

[Fineas J. Whoopie]

I can't think of many plastic (or mostly plastic) Japanese robots that have been reproduced or reissued. Some American plastic robots have been reissued like Robert the Robot, Rock em Sock em and Mr. Machine. Seems to me the all tin Japanese robots are the ones most likely to be reproduced. Hopefully you will find an affordable vintage example in nice shape. Good luck!

[ROBOHUNTER]

I can't think of many plastic (or mostly plastic) Japanese robots that have been reproduced or reissued. Some American plastic robots have been reissued like Robert the Robot, Rock em Sock em and Mr. Machine. Seems to me the all tin Japanese robots are the ones most likely to be reproduced. Hopefully you will find an affordable vintage example in nice shape. Good luck!

Yes a lot of the Japanese tin robots have been reissued or very close copies such as the Space Giant and those American plastic robots as you say but for some reason the Japanese plastic robots haven't been reissued. I wonder why?

Maybe it is because the moulds no longer exist or maybe companies like Metalhouse only thought people were interested in the tin robots, which isn't the case.

[ROBOHUNTER]

Anyone got any ideas? Did Metalhouse own the moulds or was it Horikawa or another company?

[David Kirk]

I believe the up-front costs for plastic toys are very high. The company that made my Fun House line (all plastic) few years ago spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on six fairly simple toys. Safety requirements have changed vastly, so you'd probably have to do a lot of re-invention to make the old toys comply, unless you wanted to sell only to collectors. In short, there's likely no money in it!

[Dirk]

Some of the bigger SH Tin robots were re issued, because Metal House still existed till they closed their doors some years ago. They had the machines and molds to make the Horikawa parts for the bigger robots, which we all know. I argue that the smaller Horikawa robots were not made by Metal House ( former Marumiya). I don't know, if GERNOT has more informations about other companies, which produced for Horikawa. But I guess, they have closed their gates long time ago...

The second thing is, that for a fabrication, you don't need only the molds. You Need an assortment of machines and of course people with the "know how". and you need other companies to produce other parts and the mechanism and so on. Not to speak about the lithoes on the tin parts, which had also been produced by different companies, which do no longer exist. Way too ornate & expensive only to produce some hundreds of pieces.

[ROBOHUNTER]

I believe the up-front costs for plastic toys are very high. The company that made my Fun House line (all plastic) few years ago spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on six fairly simple toys. Safety requirements have changed vastly, so you'd probably have to do a lot of re-invention to make the old toys comply, unless you wanted to sell only to collectors. In short, there's likely no money in it!

That's the problem I suppose but I think quite a few collectors would buy them seeing as they're well known robots. I think if MH could sell the Space Giants and Space Evil robots they could sell some of these Again there's quite a few of them about but it's very hard to get like new ones even at a high price. It's a shame they were made so the chrome parts tarnish so easily on them.

[ROBOHUNTER]

Some of the bigger SH Tin robots were re issued, because Metal House still existed till they closed their doors some years ago. They had the machines and molds to make the Horikawa parts for the bigger robots, which we all know. I argue that the smaller Horikawa robots were not made by Metal House ( former Marumiya). I don't know, if GERNOT has more informations about other companies, which produced for Horikawa. But I guess, they have closed their gates long time ago...

The second thing is, that for a fabrication, you don't need only the molds. You Need an assortment of machines and of course people with the "know how". and you need other companies to produce other parts and the mechanism and so on. Not to speak about the lithoes on the tin parts, which had also been produced by different companies, which do no longer exist. Way too ornate & expensive only to produce some hundreds of pieces.

Interesting points and it could well be that MH didn't make the smaller plastic ones. I don't think a lack of lithos on those would be too bad though as most of them didn't have much anyway.

If thet do exist though and MH hasn't got them I surprised that whoever has them didn't see MH were selling the larger all tin ones and tried selling a few. As Dirk says the costs of plastic toys are high but already having the moulds would probably cut out a lot of the costs involved in tooling up a robot completely from scratch. After all other plastic toys have been reissued like the old Marx Daleks for instance.