Rainier / Rainbow: Robots & Space Guns Made in Taiwan 1980s
How did we end up with RG-908 Robot Fighting Gun?
Rainbow, also known as Rainer, was a Taiwanese toy distributor
in the 1980s, known for releasing a series of space guns labeled RG901
to RG905. Following the trend of many toy companies at the time, Rainer
transitioned from these space-themed weapon toys into the popular market
of transforming robots. Rainier released RG-908 'Robot Fighting Gun', an Astro Magnum bootleg. The would then follow up with other transforming robots: RG-909 to RG-912.
UPDATE: The Ultimate Crossover – Linking Rainier, Tai Fong, and Leecotex
Recent breakthroughs in factory mold tracking and archival export documentation have officially confirmed the true origins of the Rainier/Rainbow toy line, proving that it was deeply tied to the same industrial masterminds behind Tai Fong and Leecotex. While the "TG" (Tai Fong) vs. "RG" (Rainier) prefix system strongly hinted at a shared catalog link, the physical figures and packaging variations solidify this reality beyond a doubt.
The first definitive link can be found in the accessory tray of RG-911 Mr. Robofan, whose included laser blaster utilizes the exact same plastic injection-mold tooling as the blaster from Tai Fong's legendary TS-558 Robotic Radio. This confirms that Tai Fong's Hsinchu manufacturing plant was directly stamping out the physical plastic shells for the Rainier robot line.
The second, even larger revelation connects Rainier directly to our ongoing Leecotex investigations. U.S. Customs and Border Protection records reveal that RG-910 Kingbot was officially imported into the United States by Leecotex Industrial Co., Ltd. beginning in October 1985. This export relationship is completely exposed on the Canadian bilingual packaging for the RG-912 Robot HI-FI System, which proudly bears the alternate catalog stamp of "(L-112)". Just as the Leecotex-owned Timebot was cataloged as L102, the "L" on the Rainier HI-FI box stands directly for Leecotex.
Ultimately, Rainier was not a standalone entity, but rather a curated export brand managed by the Leecotex Trading House to distribute high-end Tai Fong electronics to western markets. By pulling back the curtain on Rainier, we have successfully mapped out the ultimate mid-80s bootleg matrix—proving that whether you bought a Kingdam, a Leecotex Mystery Figure, or a Rainier Robot Fighting Gun, you were holding a piece of the exact same elite Taiwanese toy-making empire.
Note: The information below remains preserved for historical context, but has been superseded by the breakthrough discovery detailed in the UPDATE above. There is an extremely high probability that Tai Fong Electronics was the actual manufacture for the guns and robots that Rainier released.
Tai Fong released their guns and robots using the catalog prefix of (TG). Tai Fong + Gun = TG Rainier released their guns and robots using the catalog prefix of (RG). Rainier + Gun = RG To learn more about this, visit our TG-117 Robot Pistol page (click here)
RAINIER SPACE GUNS
No.RG901 Super Electronic Gun Rainbow Space Series (Front) $12.99 price sticker
NO.RG901 Super Electronic Gun Rainbow Space Series (Back)
NO.RG901 Sonic Laser Pistol (Front) Rainier toy gun Made in Taiwan
Side Note: Bitronica Distributed in Italy by Ceppi Ratti Made by Comwise Industry Co. LTD - Taiwan Black version of the Rainbow/Rainier Space Series RG901
Bitronica - Black colored version Back of the box illustration in Italian Ref. 25115
Flyfox Space gun with side wing attachments. Made by Comwise Industry Co. LTD - Taiwan
NO.RG902 Sonic Laser Pistol Rainier toy gun Made in Taiwan Scope attachment and extended back handle compared to RG901
Rainier RG903 Sonic Laser Pistol (Front) Photo shows a sticker for the Italian toy distributor: Litaridi S.P.A.
Rainier RG903 Sonic Laser Pistol (Back)
Rainier RG-904A Sonic Laser Pistol (Front)
Rainier RG-904A Sonic Laser Pistol (Back) Similar to 3V Toys: Item No. VG 307 Super Diamond Laser Gun Three Victory Co, LTD.
Also released by Rainier but this time with additional markings of: No.6215 ALDON Made in Taiwan
Side of the ALDON box still shows the RAINIER logo. Several ALDON versions found in the UK.
Side Note: Similar to the Rainer RG-904A, 3V Toys released their version called: Super Diamond Laser Gun Item No. VG-307 3V Toys : Three Victory IND. Co. LTD
Unknown name or distributor, but clearly the same mold as RG-904A. Gold variant with green & purple lights on the back of the gun.
UPDATE: Decoding Comwise, Three Victory, and the Aldon Crossover
To completely map out the Rainier footprint, we have to look at the other two manufacturing entities printed on these vintage space gun packages: Comwise Industry Co., Ltd. and Three Victory Co., Ltd. (3V Toys). Far from being random copycats, these companies illustrate the deep web of sub-contracting and mold-sharing that defined the Taiwanese toy boom.
First, Comwise Industry Co. surfaces as the credited manufacturer for the black Italian Bitronica blaster and the winged Flyfox space gun. Structurally, the Bitronica is an exact match for the Rainier RG901. This tells us that Comwise operated as a major sub-contracted molding house. While Tai Fong engineered the internal electronic sound chips, Comwise was hired to run the physical plastic injection tooling. Comwise fulfilled European distribution contracts under their own corporate name (brokering deals with companies like Ceppi Ratti in Italy), while simultaneously feeding those exact same plastic shells into the Leecotex pipeline to populate the core Rainier catalog.
Second, Three Victory Co. (3V Toys) represents a direct tooling lease partnership. Three Victory owned the proprietary design molds for the faceted "Super Diamond Laser Gun" (Item No. VG-307). Leecotex licensed this design from 3V to fill the RG-904A slot in the Rainier lineup. The messy realities of this trading system are completely exposed on the UK-exclusive "Aldon" box variants. When the British distributor Aldon ordered a wholesale batch of these diamond blasters, the Taiwanese factory printed new "No. 6215 Aldon" text plates for the box face but neglected to alter the side flap graphics—leaving the original Rainier logo fully intact. It stands as a flawless visual smoking gun of how fluidly these molds, logos, and catalog lines were traded across the ocean.
Rainier RG-905A Sonic Laser Carbine (Red round ball tip)
Extend and retract the red ball tip
Rainier RG-905 Sonic Laser Carbine (Orange claw tip) Both front & back images
Rainier RG-905 Sonic Laser Carbine
RG-906 and RG-907, currently unknown.
RAINIER ROBOTS
RG-908 Transformable Robot Fighting Gun Rainer - for a complete overview on RG-908 (click here)