Patrol Robot by Yonezawa - 3D Aided Conversion

[RoboCopy]

Don’t want the Reed collection to hijack this thread.

On a personal and possibly controversial note: Great skill and execution Brian and John, but I really feel this robot has no “artistic” merit and other than being rare and part of the most prominent collection, I really don’t see the point...

Sorry! 

[6Stelab9]

I'm a bit lost with this Patrol robot. Everybody seems to have made his own version (congratulations to everyone by the way). But can somebody tell me the true story about this mysterious robot?

About Reed, he really seems to have a huge collection. I could buy several plastic robots (2 or 3 I think, maybe more) on Ebay with a reed collection sticker on them

[Brian..]

Historically not a lot is known. Back in the 1960s Yonezawa thought about producing a variation of their very successful Smoking Spaceman. They commissioned a test police-themed version. A  prototype was produced but for some reason or other it was not put into production. It sat for a decade or so until Mr Kitahara bought it.

 

I guess this may be an age thing.  For us old codgers this piece has a very special place in the history of the hobby. If I can take you back to the 1980s we knew bugger all about robots and had to rely on black and white photos and vague descriptions. Then Kitahara's Yesterday's Toys hit the shelves with a jaw-dropping full page picture of this beauty. This was a Robocop created twenty years before the film.  We didn't even know if it was a prototype or whether we could expect to discover one in a  yard sale. It became a must-have robot, but gradually we realised that it was a can't-have. And there's nothing more desirable than a robot you can never own.

 

The Patrol Robot is considered to be one of the jewels in Kitahara's collection.   It's one of the three prototype variations of the original Yonezawa Smoking Spaceman and is a totally authentic factory piece. In the world of robot collecting they just don't come with a better pedigree than this. Forget Machine Man,  the Aoshin Flying Saucer or Robot 5 , this is really rare. You are never going to find one at a flea market or at Morphys. To own one you have to make one or steal the original. I have considered it. 

 

You may not like the design. That's perfectly valid but it's not really the issue. 

 

So what's happened to change opinions? It's probably the Thunder Robot effect.  The limitless supply of cheap Ha Ha Smoker reproductions and the countless Papa San variations means that the Smoking Robot has become another  "Ho hum, boring..."  experience but for us old collectors it's difficult to express just how startling this Patrol Robot prototype was and still is.  Back in the pre reproduction days to own your own look-alike you'd have to purchase an original, expensive Smoking Spaceman and find someone willing and able to hack into a $1000 piece to make you a copy. These people are almost as rare as the robot. Only someone like John or Henk would have had the robot, the expertise and the balls.

 

As for my own version, it started when I saw Ranger's example of an attempted copy. The guy had made a good go of it but had run into problems at every stage. Most people wouldn't have got half as far as he did. It's only when you try a conversion that you realise just how difficult it is.  I wondered if 3D printing could solve the issues that he encountered. 

 

That was the point, I guess.

[Ranger]

 Yes, in time when collectors look back about the patrol robot, even my poor ‘Reed version’ is sure to crop up somewhere along the line!  
(makes me want to make one now!)

[RoboCopy]

Thanks for providing the background, Brian.

I now better understand why everyone has been trying to make their own copy.

 

(My favourite robots/space toys, are the ones that almost feel like little whimsical, time capsule works of "art". The patrol robot just looks like a garish toy) 

[robothut]

For me the Patrol robot is one of the best. I like it so much more than the Smoking robot "that I love by the way". The idea of the Robot police man brings back thoughts of the old pulp mag's with there robot police , some of them I have built as well. The colors , the actions, walking and stopping a working siren flashing lights. Just a great robot. No stupid guns to be found.

[6Stelab9]

Thank you for the explanation, Brian. This robot was really mysterious to me. I was about to think it was a Papa San creation. So it's a prototype. I must admit it's not very attractive to me (probably the Thunder Robot effect as you write) but I  now understand how it could become a legend for the collectors. Interesting story.

If someone's got documents, it would be interesting to create a thread summing all the reference about this robot in books or fanzines and all the versions which where created throught the years, how the legend was build.

John, I understand that at a certain point it was boring to see another rotomatic machine gun robot on the toys shops' shelves.

 

[Roboto]

If Papa-San was still around today we just might have had that version done.

 

 

[Roboto]

A look at what was done in 2005!

 

This_is_One_of_Three_Papa_San_Toys_Patrol_Robot_Samples_made_for_Mr._Kitahara_Collection_in_2005.

 

 

[Brian..]

Here's Kitahara unpacking the Patrol Robot. A great opportunity for details.

 

 

 

You can see that I need to alter the shape of the siren. The head has been cut to allow a stock siren to sit inside, but that's difficult. Just letting the siren sit on top would look wrong, so it has to be stepped to create the illusion. The ears also need to be slightly different. 

 

I also notice another two Smoking Robot variations that I'd long forgotten, one with a Mr Robot head, and that one with the guy on top. Irresistible!. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[robothut]

The guy on top has always been my favorite, but the clear dome part has always stopped me from making one. It has to look right other wise what's the point.

[Ranger]

On 8/13/2020 at 10:23 PM, Roboto said:

A look at what was done in 2005!

 

This_is_One_of_Three_Papa_San_Toys_Patrol_Robot_Samples_made_for_Mr._Kitahara_Collection_in_2005.

 

 

I used to have this one. Xris has it now. 

[Brian..]

Yes, John, the canopy is too large for my vac-form machine but I think a passable trial version could be made with acetate panels. Each part of the build looks so interesting - that Mr Atomic style array of lights, the driver guy and the litho panel insert. 

[Phil R]

Maybe it's just late at night but this is only my opinion. it's great that Kitahara has collected all these toys for posterity, displays them and shares them with so many people around the world. But really, the bottom line is that anyone with money and perseverance  can do this.  What really impresses me are you, John and Brian, and others who can take rare robots and never made robots and make them for our enjoyment  and possible affordable purchase. Now that's a lifetime of class. Thank You!

[ROBODUDE]

And I agree with Phil R. --Thank you !!!