Dirk Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 Hi Folks, don't want to let this year pass by without sharing this: At the end of the last year, somebody from the far south of Germany contacted me; he would be able to buy something, that looks like my Roboter 700. Right the next morning I jumped into my car and drove all the way down to the south. No need to say, that my heart was beating with some extra systoles all the way... It only need a small peek to realize, that this was really a ROBOT 700 in complete and unplayed conditon in the original box + original instruction booklet! I was lucky enough, that this man was willing to sell... but Jesus ... this was the most expensive journey I ever made... On my way home, I was thinking to make a little step over to GERNOTs place , near Frankfurt, but unfortunatly he was not at home; back again in Japan for his work. So I took a hotel room, a german schnitzel and a big beer, of course. Staring at the Roboter 700, makes me feel, that something was different; but i didn't realize what it was... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirk Posted December 3, 2014 Author Share Posted December 3, 2014 Home again, I started to examine the Robot more closely. Here a comparisation with my first ROBOT 700. Do you also see some differences? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morbius Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 Congrats Dirk on the find of a lifetime, I know how scarce these Roboters are. The 'dials' on his torso are graduated on the left one (as we see him) and not on the right. The right one's screws seem flatter to his body and slightly larger. Solid pressed/stamped metal key on right one, molded ?? or 'hollow' key on left. Plastic pellets seem to be a better mix on the right one, more marbling on the left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tinman Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 Wow, congratulations Dirk...as mentioned by Mike, a true find of a lifetime. Thanks for posting it next to your computer, I always thought they were bigger. As far as differences between the two, the eyes are larger on the left one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nasa Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 Congrats Dirk.......when I found a rare robot in Montanna ...I also had a beer on my desk....cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 Fantastic find Dirk!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lunik Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 Hi Dirk, so you've done it again! Congratulations - with some envy. An unbeleavably good piece. I've always thought, the next one would be mine. Well, there's still a next one, I hope. But what do these minor modifications mean regarding the production history? Not just a single run and not even a single set of molds? Klaus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lunik Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 Looking at the differences - let me take a guess: Your new one is missing the "Made in W. Germany" note. To have it, might have been essential for export marketing. It looks like it is missing all the very fine gravures that can be added to a mold, but not removed. So this can be a pre to the regular single production run. Also the colour seems to be a bit more of blue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roboto Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 What a great looking and rare Robot you have found. New one has smaller eyes. Larger scews. No hole in key. Logo print missing. No Star lines around the three domes. The plastic is different also. How about the back area are they the same ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 Wow - yes perhaps a prototype - are all the other ones like your original one Dirk?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fineas J. Whoopie Posted December 7, 2014 Share Posted December 7, 2014 Incredible find! It couldn't happen to a nicer guy or a more dedicated robot fan! Congratulations my friend! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirk Posted December 7, 2014 Author Share Posted December 7, 2014 Thank you everybody for your Kind comments & Sorry for the Little delay in comming back to you... I'm still a bit busy with the house and many other things... But the main reason for the delay is... I can't find the drawing from the first Roboter 700 patent from 1959.... MORBIUS MIKE. Yep ...the dials are not there ... and the key was not the original one on my first sample. TINMAN That was indeed the first thing I noticed... The eyes are smaller. Actually ist only the holes had been cut out a little more for the later samples. And I have seen the smaller eyes before, I guess in the first drawing from the patent of 1959. In the second patent he shows already the bigger eyes. LUNIK. That was indeed the question. What does it mean for the history? Very glad, that it was possible for me to contact MR. LIEBERMANN again (...as you remember the original Moldmaker of Roboter 700). The answer is very simple. When the molds were ready for production, they gave them a first try on the plastic injection machine. Things like letters or the dials were only done, when everything worked fine. Otherwise, in case of a modification, it would be a hard thing to remove these writings like "Made in Germany" again... You had to weld extra material into the mold again.... Indeed they did a Little modification to the eyes and the three Levers on his chest were done in one Piece with the Body. On my sample they were seperatly done - I can move them. You can easily see, that all robots were made with the same molds - all Roboter 700 show the same marbling lines. But indeed my sample is like the "first flush" and is a bit different from all the others. BTW. Please let me add - I would not speak of a prototype. For my understanding a prototype is a sort of "handmade" first or second try to built a new design or whatever. All Roboter 700 were more like pre runs for a fabrication that never happened... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morbius Posted December 7, 2014 Share Posted December 7, 2014 Nice to hear from you Dirk. I never knew much about these as their information has been rather sporatic but it is a nice robot concept. Any ideas why this toy didn't see the light of day on a toy store shelf? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirk Posted December 8, 2014 Author Share Posted December 8, 2014 Hi Mike ... Meanwhile I know for sure... Believe it or not 10,- DM (Deutsche Mark) would have been a Price for that Robot. But for 5,99 USD you could get a Robot Commando with many functions back in the early 60s. We see these toys with other eyes today. But as a kid, you would go for the Robot, that could fire some rockets, not for a lame wind up toy...As I reported already Mrs. Golz - the daughter of the Inventor and Company owner made two toy fairs at Nuremberg in the early sixties... but they get no orders for this Robot. So they stopped the project in 1964... But I must also admit - that was the normal way. Only very very few new toys made it into mass production. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roboto Posted December 8, 2014 Share Posted December 8, 2014 The back looks great with its Red coil and Blue ends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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