Planet Robot, Am I Missing Something?

[Chris]

are they?

[Dcell]

ok here's the plot so far..

The Planet Robots first appeared round 1960s (tin head) and had a long successful run till round the mid 70s or so (plastic head). the documented variations are tin head with tin claws, then tin head with rubber hands, then plastic head with plastic hands. feel free to correct me if i'm wrong here.

then a huge stash of the latter versions were allegedly discovered in the late 90s. many now believe that these are counterfeits (repros being passed off as originals).

fast forward to the present - tin headed claw hands repros are announced.

neatstuff first announces that they were gonna carry an "exclusive"?? run of repros.

a picture of a black version sample then shows up on comettoys as coming soon. (pic posted in other thread). then robotisland announces new website and has a picture of a red version actual production unit? (see other thread).

that's it so far i guess...

[funkrobotik]

Dcells about right chris, but don't tell everybody!!!! :o

[dratomic]

And just to add it to Dcell's timeline -- right before the windups, there was the B/O Planet with tin hands sometime around 1958... at some point, this was followed by the B/O Planet with rubber hands (in the Sixties). I thought I saw that one of these might be getting reproed, too.

[Fineas J. Whoopie]

I thought some of you might be interested in seeing this picture of the planet robot with box that mainstreet toys is coming out with now. This is from an ad in the latest issue of "Toy Shop".

[Bob B.]

Thanks very much for the info. Fineas. I stopped buying ToyShop magazine after I discovered Ebay. Looks like a must have for me.

[Zesko]

So what's the story on this new repro's oversized legs and feet? Is this a compensation for the Planet Robot's notoriously drunken stagger....? Is it an attempt to lower the center of gravity or what?

[Volker]

Here i will add the pictures from the Toy Fair / Germany

the black and red version.

[Volker]

backsite

[Volker]

the red one

[Volker]

next pic

[robothunter]

While I feel really bad about the whole repro/ripp-off thing going on with these Planet Robots and the fact that Bill from Neatstuff got screwed, I must admit that I can't wait to get my hands on one of these new Red Planet Robots. I think they are just beautiful! Makes you wonder why there was never an original red version. Just beautiful.

[robothunter]

I was just reading D-cell's and Dr. Atomic's time-line about the various models of Planet robot and I think I have to disagree with this theory.

I really beleive the first version of both the wind-up and Bat-Op Planets were the rubber-handed robots which were then followed by the tin-clawed versions. And the only theory I have for this is that all the other Robby based robots that came before these guys had rubber hands. So I think the maker would have followed this proven design element that calls for rubber hands. Think about it......

Mechanized Robot, Robby Space Patrol, Piston Action Robot, Moon Robot All these robots have rubber hands that appear like the rubber gloved looking hands that Robby had in the film version. It's only when the small Space Troopers and Moon Explorers show up that we first see tin-clawed Robby based robots. And at that same time, I think, is when Yoshinya decides to convert to tin-claws on the slightly larger Planet robot line. And finally, they went to those hard plastic hands on the last version made. At that same time, they also started puttin hard red plastic hands on the Moon Explorers. It all seems to fit together is you ask me.

[Volker]

While I feel really bad about the whole repro/ripp-off thing going on with these Planet Robots and the fact that Bill from Neatstuff got screwed,

well for me too - so I had wait to add this piccs here.

But I think the tin hands comes first and later the rubber-handed robots.

for a Toy was the rubber version better - or?

[SH MIKE]

I would look at the Box Art and see what the hands look like there.