Tuesday, April 30, 2024

Galactic Man - Tandy / Radio Shack "Shackwave"

Galactic Man - Electronic Space Robot/Gun
Cat. No. 60-1065

"Hey, I had that as a kid! I loved Shockwave!"


For many kids in the 1980s, this was Shockwave... or at least an acceptable substitute. Parents had to appreciate the fact that for half the cost of a purple G1 Shockwave Transformer, they could satisfy the wants of their kid for only $14.95. Most kids didn't care that their Shockwave was gray and even adorned their 'Shackwave' with leftover Decepticon stickers.

Radio Shack, under their UK parent company TANDY corp., produced a licensed version of a figure based on the (Astro Magnum) mold lineage. Radio Shack's silent manufacturing partner was Intecs from Korea. Some mistakenly claim this was a KO/knockoff of Shockwave, however, this is an actual licensed figure.

V1-V3
Tandy Galactic Man vintage robot
(V1) Licensed - TANDY version - Galactic Man
(click picture to enlarge)

Radio Shack Galactic Man Shacewave toy
(V2) Licensed - Radio Shack version - Galactic Man
(click picture to enlarge)

Radio Shack Galactic Man Shacewave Europe
(V3) Licensed - TANDY & Radio Shack European tri-language version
L'homme de la Galaxie, De man uit de galaxis, Der Mann aus der Galaxis.


Following the astrological theme of "Astro" Magnum, comes this more affordable outer space defender, "Galactic" Man! The back of his box hypes buyers up by describing how they can:

- create three menacing-looking galactic weapons
- keep your evil enemies from conquering the universe
- lets you battle one-on-one in thrilling space duels
- pulsating light for super galactic action

Wow, such excitement paired with great planetary box art. Sold, sign me up! Vulcan base, Anti-Aircraft gun, Laser gun...how could someone say 'no' to that... impossible!

Radio Shack Galactic Man Shacewave toys
(V1) TANDY - Galactic Man (TANDY waist sticker)

Radio Shack Galactic Man Guide Robot
(V2) Radio Shack - Galactic Man (Radio Shack waist sticker)

Radio Shack Tandy logos
Galactic Man displays a leg stamp of "ToyCo Trademark © 1983". It came with factory applied stickers and no additional loose sticker sheet. The two versions come with different stickers on their waists, either 'Radio Shack' or 'TANDY'.

Laser Vulcan mode Galactic Man
Photo Credit: Tallus76 Photography

He comes with a clear plastic fist, chest window and barrel. Noted above is the "yellowing" of the clear plastic parts on the Radio Shack version. We have a dozen examples of the (V2) Radio Shack Galactic Man and all, even newer out of the box figures show some signs of yellowing tint to the clear plastic. In contrast, the TANDY version along with other Intecs figures like: (Spark Man), Electronic Magnum and N-4-SR, do not display this yellowing and remain clear. This is sometimes helpful as you try to identify loose examples.

Made in Korea Galactic Man
"Made in Korea" battery cover stamp.
Small 5 ridge sound switch, two sounds.

Galactic Man is the only known figure to have 'black' lettering on the sound switch. Every other figure, if it has lettering, comes in 'red'. Galactic Man offers you 'Sound A' or 'Sound B', which are frankly boring names. Other figures named their sounds: Bulcan, Magnum, Thorp or Magnoid. 

1984-1986
GALACTIC MAN ADVERTISEMENTS

Radio Shack advertisement catalog Galactic Man
Nov 22, 1984
"Holiday Sale"
Galactic Man made it just in time for Christmas in 1984
Photo Credit: UCR


1985 newspaper ad
"Late Santa's Sale"
Photo Credit: UCR

Tandy advertisement catalog Galactic Man
Tandy Pre-Christmas catalog
Sale ends 30 Nov 1985
Feature Galactic Man on the cover

Radio Shack 1985 Christmas Sale Catalog
Photo Credit: RadioShackCatalogs
Note: The feet on Galactic man are erroneously not extended/transformed in robot mode in this picture.


Video Credit: TFRaw

Radio Shack christmas catalog Galactic Man
Radio Shack 1986 Catalog/Advertisement
"Toys kids want for Christmas"

 
1986 Radio Shack commercial with Galactic Man

Radio Shack advertisements catalog Galactic Man
30 November 1986
Radio Shack Toys
Photo Credit: UCR


PACKAGING

vintage galactic man shackwave box
(V2) Radio Shack version Galactic Man box scan

vintage galactic man shackwave complete
(V2) Galactic Man - Complete Version
(click picture to enlarge)


If you are trying to buy a complete Galactic Man, be sure you are getting the following items:

1. Box (bonus if the price sticker is still there)
2. White foam tray
3. Gun Barrel and small baggie
4. Figure and large baggie
5. Original black twist tie
6. Card board cover (gets placed on top of the figure and slid in the box together)
7. Instructions
 
European Galactic Man instructions

vintage galactic man shackwave toy robot
The European version of Galactic Man came with both Tandy (above) & Radio Shack (below) logos in the upper left corner.

Top of the European Galactic Man box.

vintage galactic man shackwave boxes
Top of boxes along with black & white code* sticker off the bottom of the box.
(click to picture to enlarge)


The box tops don't actually display Galactic Man, rather they are images of a blue & black Astro Magnum prototype figure used on the original Japanese Astro Magnum boxes.

Galactic Man boxes came in at least three color shades. One might try to dismiss the box tops as having faded with sun exposure, however, the color differences are consistent on all sides of the box. Furthermore, upon comparing them side by side, it is clear there are in fact three different color shades.

Box 1:  Tandy box (dark blue)
Box 2 & 3: Radio Shack & European (purple blue)
Box 4 & 5: Radio Shack (lighter blue)

Astro Magnum guide visual ID
(V1) TANDY figure and box that came together. Matching 8A4 code.

* What do the 'black & white codes' above mean? We don't yet know for sure. They can be found in 3 places: a sticker on the bottom of the box, printed on the instructions (lower left corner) and inside the figure's battery compartment. Quality control? The codes end in either 4, 5 or 6. Galactic Man was produced during the years 1984, 1985 and 1986.

Perhaps a manufacturing date?

Do you know the answer to the codes? Please let us know.

Galactic Man 3D art by DiegoSwell

WHO LOVES VARIANTS? WE DO!

Back of Galactic Man's instructions.
(Click to enlarge)


Galactic Man was manufactured in Korea. As seen in the Galactic Man instructions above, it was then imported/distributed through five different countries around the world. Those five countries were the: U.S.A., Canada, U.K., Australia & Belgium. Belgium released the (V3) European tri-logo box written in French (L'homme de la galaxie), Dutch (De man uit de galaxis) & German (Der mann aus der galaxis).

As such, there should be five different leg stickers that correspond to each of those countries. For variant collectors, that means 'at least' five Galactic Man sticker variants exist.




LEG STICKERS

1. U.S.A. - Forth Worth, Texas. Note: "Galactica" vs Galactic
2. Canada - Barrie, Ontario
3. Australia - NSW (Photo Credit: Justin Masaru Twitter)
4. U.K. (Photo Credit: HDTF Blog) Tandy* was U.K. based.
5. Belgium
(Note: Some TANDY figures come with the Forth Worth, Texas sticker)


SIDE NOTE:
Galactic Man Radio Shack Robocop KO

In 1992 Radio Shack released a new figure and repurposed the name Galactic Man.
This figure was a 9.5" scale Robocop bootleg.
(Click here) to learn more about Galactic Man Robocop.


Box variants. Sticker variants. Code variants. Oh my! Purple G1 Shockwave may have had the TV cartoon spotlight, but Gray 'Shackwave' still has a galactic size place in the hearts of kids and fans from the 1980s!



Sunday, April 21, 2024

Robot Fighting Gun RG-908 - Four Star, Shockwave KO??

Robot Fighting Gun: RG-908
Part of the Rainer line of toys
Made in Taiwan
1985

RG-908 Transformable robot gun
Robot Fighting Gun RG-908 group
(click to enlarge)


While many of the Astro Magnum / Shockwave KO figures simply swapped out color schemes, RG-908 is a wonderful example of body remolding on steroids. This Taiwanese manufacture went to great lengths to really change things up from size, shape and the addition of many creative astrological design patterns.

Every variant collection deserves a RG-908 in it!

Robot Fighting Gun art by MCRguy

RG-908 robot fighting gun KO

The creative changes continue...

RG-908 robot fighting gun vintage
Robot Fighting Gun RG-908 comes with true dark read translucent plastics.

 

RG-908 robot fighting gun bootleg
RG-908 has a very unique battery cover.

Who actually manufactured Robot Fighting Gun RG-908? It was made in Taiwan & Macau, of that we are certain (see below). All over the internet this figure is attributed to a knockoff company called "Four Star". In fact it is often called, "Four Star - Robot Fighting Gun" by collectors. This is inaccurate as this figure was 'not' released by Four Star. Four Star released a line called Transistor Robots. Four Star was primarily taking products manufactured by others and then reselling them under the name 'Transistor Robots'. At some point, in the past, it appears that someone believed this figure came from Four Star and called it such. From there, the rumor just stuck.

The supplier, however, of RG-908 was Rainier. Rainer released a variety of laser pistols and transformable robots. To see more of their offerings (click here) With time we may very well learn the name of the actual manufacturer.

Robot Fighting Gun RG-908 was then distributed through several companies around the world. The primary channel for distribution, however, was clearly via Italy as evidenced by the distributor stickers found on the boxes. Hunting down variant boxes can take collecting to a whole other level.

RG-908 robot fighting gun GIG italy
"GIG" & "Transformabile" stickers

The most famous of these distributors was Italian toy company:
'GIG' - "nel paese delle meraviglie"

RG-908 robot fighting gun GIG italy toy
Box A. Photo credit: Mike Copelin. (CID distributor Italy)
Box B. Photo credit: Gameswordshop (VDM distributor Italy)
Box C. Photo Credit: Flash (Brabo distributor France)

Box A: another distributor called 'CID' or Centro Italiano Distribuzione Italy.

Box B: While not as famous as GIG, 'VDM' or 'Vi Da Mi' S.A.S Milano Italy would be a close second in distribution power of Italian 'giocattoli' (toys). VDM would distribute other Astro Magnum knockoff figures like (Super Electronic Gun - 4 Changeable ASTRO MAGNUM)

Both boxes above have prices tags. Their cost was 25,000 & 30,000 Italian Lire, or approximately $30 USD back in the 1980s. Interesting that though distributed through separate companies, both price tags look similar in style.

Box C: distributed via a French company called Brabo. Brabo (France) would also distribute other Astro Magnum variant KOs.

RG-908 robot fighting gun Taiwan
Example of Robot Fighting Gun RG-908 box sold outside of Italy.

 
RG-908 robot fighting gun Taiwan Shockwave
"Made in Taiwan" sticker vs. box print RG-908

There is no indication that RG-908 ever came with a loose sticker sheet or factory applied stickers.

Many of the Astro Magnum knockoffs used the same instructions over and over again. In this instance, RG-908 Robot Fighting Gun received a modified version of a previously used instruction sheet.

Four Star Transistor Robots KO
Magic Robot Pistol - Graphic Illustrat
Nike-Ajax Robot


The original instructions belonged to a different figure, (Robot Pistol TG-117). TG-117's  instructions said, "THE MAGIC ROBOT PISTOL - GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION". To a certain extent, RG-908 manipulated the TG-117 instructions while leaving behind a glaring new spelling error. RG-908 now reads, "THE MAGIC ROBOT PISTOL - GRAPHIC ILLUSTRAT....".

A lot of these instructions are famous for allowing users to transform their figures into a "Nike-Ajax Robot". Side note: "
The world's first operational guided surface-to-air missile, was the Nike Ajax"

Grail figure from France!

A wonderful milestone & transitional Robot Fighting Gun find from France!

Distributed in France via Brabo, this version came with what once was original Astro Magnum instructions translated into French. Almost no effort to make it look legit with varying font styles. Either way, this gave customers in France a way to read the instructions. 
 
 

In addition a similar figure to the Robot Fighting Gun by Savie of France was released under their Hergoss line: Astro Magnum Hergoss.
(Click Here)


ROBOT FIGHTING GUN RG-908 is full of astronomical creativity and uniqueness. Don't have one in your collection yet, time to go on the hunt!

(Astro Magnum Home Page)

Have additional information or photos? Looking to sell a variant figure?
Please contact us at: astromagnumguide@gmail.com


Tuesday, April 16, 2024

SUPER GUN - 4 Changeable : Not who you expected??

SUPER GUN - 8428
4 CHANGEABLE


Wait! Who is that??

4 changeable Super Gun italy
SUPER GUN - 4 Changeable
(click to enlarge)

With perhaps the biggest switch-a-roo in the Astro Magnum saga comes... SUPER GUN!
For the longest time SUPER GUN has been a mysteriously illusive character, one that justifiably had many fooled because of the box photography. Collectors have been limited to only a few online pictures of the SUPER GUN box for many years. Regrettably no one seemed to have pictures of the actual figure. Unfortunately we were thus left to believe SUPER GUN was the figure depicted on the box itself.

Behold, the wrong photography!

4 changeable Super Gun toy
True to knockoff form, the SUPER GUN box says,
"Be composed to 4 marellous toys with electronic sound" what?


What a fun case of the knockoff manufacture pulling a bait and switch on their buyers.
The upside is, the real SUPER GUN is spectacularly awesome and better in many ways!!

When we acquired our first boxed example, we wondered if the figure that came with it was a mistake, perhaps placed in the wrong box as it had switched hands over the decades. We were hopeful, but couldn't be sure, especially with only one example. We then stumbled upon pictures of another opened boxed example from Italy (see end of this post). To our amazement and joy, there it was, the same figure once again! Had we solved the mystery? We still didn't know for sure since the box photography was still completely different. Later we luckily acquired a 2nd and then a 3rd boxed example, all with the same results.

So, after four separate examples, we are 100% certain, the mystery of SUPER GUN has been solved now - yahoo!

4 changeable Super Gun box vintage
SUPER GUN box front, side and back. Together they create a wraparound collage.
Side of the box takes you through changes 1-4. What is happening in 'Change No.3'?

So, who is the real SUPER GUN then?

4 changeable Super Gun astro magnum
SUPER GUN comes with factory applied stickers vs. a loose sticker sheet. The yellow lettering on it's side is unique to this figure.  

4 changeable Super Gun variant robots
Several Astro Magnum figures sport pink accents, however, SUPER GUN instead has very distinct and beautiful 'Coral' colored translucent plastics.

SUPER GUN is the only known figure to have a "MADE IN TAIWAN" leg stamp.

4 changeable Super Gun Taiwan
"MADE IN TAIWAN"

Three of the four boxed examples of SUPER GUN have come from Italy. They were distributed by Fantasyland S.a.s of Milano, Italy. Unlike most other distributors, Fantasyland appears to be alive and active today. Their website is: www.fantasyland.it  The fourth boxed example was located in Canada.

fantasyland italy toy company
 

Having looked over thousands of classified ads, it is clear that the child safety compliance stickers (seen above) are mistaken as manufacturing dates. You can see the 18/2/83 date on the Fantasyland sticker. Many have believed the figures were therefore made in 1983, this is not accurate. The translation lets us know that the product simply complies with a child safety law from the year 1983, nothing more.

SUPER GUN box top artwork

4 changeable Super Gun astro magnum bootleg
Photo courtesy of: DimaVintage School (Italy)

Super Gun vulcan magnum
Super Gun laser vulcan magnum
Notice again the yellow lettering just above the gun handle.

SUPER GUN is actually S-U-P-E-R! We are confident that the more we study the origins of the Astro Magnum/KO figures, the more SUPER GUN will be a critical link in that understanding.

Until next time... happy hunting fellow collectors!

(Astro Magnum Home Page)

Questions of comments, please email us at: astromagnumguide@gmail.com

Thank you!



Rainier / Rainbow: Robots & Space Guns

Rainier / Rainbow: Robots & Space Guns  Made in Taiwan 1980s How did we end up with  RG-908 Robot Fighting Gun? Rainbow, also known as R...