Takara's Henshin ( transforming) Cyborg was actually a spin off from Takara Combat Joe line, which interestingly was a licensed product from another popular well known dolls for boys - the GI Joe. Henshin Cyborg was Combat Joe body molded in clear plastic to expose the gleaming inner cybernetic implants and the "atomic engine". (This was mainly the reason for the clear plastic body, chrome head and chest plate on the first series Microman figures.) The original marketing concept was to make Microman a miniature version of the Henshin Cyborg so this way variety of play-sets and vehicles could be produced for them at reasonable price, since the cost to design and produced vehicles and play-sets for the 12" dolls was very prohibitive not to mention would not be very practical for Japanese market where living spaces were always at a premium and parents were never too keen on large size toys that take up a lot of rooms. The manga was one of the main driving force behind the popularity of Microman line. Moritou's works, not only brought Takara then little known sci-fi toys line to life but also introduced them to a whole generation of kids growing up during the late 1970's. Unlike most other Japanese toys lines, Microman series was not based on a particular TV show or anime. The story for the line at first was mainly provided by the mini-size "catarog" that came with the toys. Microman "catarog" became the source of information for kids and many spend hours looking at all the Microman toys and read the story in these tiny micro catalogs. It was not until 1976 that Takara commissioned comic serial for the line that ran in "TV Magazine" (a Japanese comic magazine). Microman comic (manga), drawn and written by the late Mr. Moritou, became very popular with kids and Microman toys became one of the most successful toy line for Takara. The first series Microman, Microman Zone, included four Microman figures and several vehicles in kit form that must be assembled. Microman Zone proved to be popular and by its second year Microman line began to take on its own identity and separated itself from the influence of the Henshin Cyborg line. You can still find this Superman for sale on bare feet were soon replaced with cybernetic looking feet. The sculpt is spot on, the play factor is excellent, and he fits in with any modern GI Joe, Marvel Universe, or DC 4-inch line. All have a hinged wrist and peg fits snugly into the forearm you don’t have to worry about them falling out.įor any collector wanting THE 4-inch version of Superman for their collection, I highly recommend this version. While the cape is not really an “extra,” it is removable, and there are the standard ten hands that come with Supes. I know that paint at this scale is tough but the pasty white… and Phyllis Diller eyebrows? Ugh. It’s not quite a great sculpt it wants to be anime and western all at once. It’s comparable to, if not on par or better than, Marvel Universe sculpting. It’s a departure from the earlier, large body Microman Supes that had Toy Biz-level sculpting. And all of the articulation - it’s almost too much since every joint works perfectly! He is crack for the hand. And a 30th GI Joe Sgt Stalker and MU Nick Fury below. The body is HUGE! You can see it next to one of the ’98-era Microman’s in the picture above. There were a Superman Returns figure and a Supergirl, but the figure covered in this article sported a totally new Microman body, one that I think was only used on Superman and never saw a regular Microman release. Superman here represents their comics version. They made Aliens and Godzilla and other Kaiju. These things were loaded - 4 inches tall and looked fantastic! Incredible! During the years they introduced female figure and larger bodies. They were super-poseable figures that featured double ball-jointed shoulders, ball-jointed hips, ankles, double-hinged elbows and knees, thigh swivels, ball-and-socket pelvis and abs, ball-jointed heads, swivel biceps and wrists, and even toe joints. And one of those updates would change 4-inch figures forever.
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