Battle of the Planets: G-Force

[waffenmeister]

May the 4th and Friday Flashback day!

Kagaku Ninja Tai - Gatchaman

Tatsunoko Productions 1972 animated series became an international favourite when aired by Sandy Frank Productions in 1978.
Many of the toylines sold in the west had no bearing to the Sandy Frank show as they are from the Gatchaman II and Gatchaman Fighter series, making them a curio rather than a must have back in the 1980's. As with most toylines this makes the later toys produced by POPY/Bandai difficult to find 40 years later, as are country specific toys.

Timeline of the vintage and original animated series.

1972-1980: Tatsunoko Gatchaman 105 ep, Gatchaman II 52 ep, Gatchaman Fighter 48 ep.

1978-1980: Sandy Frank BOTP 85 ep, created from the 1st Gatchaman series for the western market by editing and adding scenes for new characters such as 7-Zark-7 and 1-Rover-1 and adding space travel.

1986: Turner G Force 85 ep, used both BOTP Sandy Frank 85 ep and original Gatchaman first 87 ep in order (excl 81 & 86) to make a more faithful to the original series i.e. Goodbye 7-Zark-7, 1-Rover-1, space travel and Hello violence with more accurate dialogue.

1996-1997 Saban made Eagle Riders 65 ep from Gatchaman II & Gatchaman Fighter 100 ep.

There are other animated rehashes including OMV and of course cross-overs such as a Time Bokan crossover with Hurricane Polymar missing from the list.
Gatchaman Crowds and the Gatchaman movie are modern re-boots.

May the 4th to all Sci Fi, even though Gatchaman predates 1977, it was the coining in on Star Wars that brought Battle of the Planets to the rest of the world.
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[Darth_Scourge]

Awesome. Love Gatchaman.

 

[Sizzzler]

I still have my BotP lunch box from elementary school in the late 70s, in pretty darn good condition too for being used every day for maybe three years, then sitting in a kitchen cabinet for about 30 more.



I remember in the mid 90's Tower records had an entertainment section where they had some BotP action figures. They didn't get the whole line, and I remember something being odd about them. Perhaps the design was cheaply made somehow. I didn't buy any.
Top Cow in 2002 launched a comics series but it was cancelled. There were a few crossovers and one shot issues as well. One title, probably the manga, was in black and white and I remember I had a hard time distinguishing the art.
I've also got some BotP VCR tapes, a DVD set, and one Gatchaman DVD box set.

A couple years ago I was going to the supermarket around dusk and when I saw this cloud in the sky, I immediately thought it was the fiery Phoenix in flight to the left. I was lucky enough to run back home and get my camera and get a few pics before it dissolved completely. I sent them to my friend without any description, just asking what they reminded him of, and he said the fiery Phoenix.

 

[waffenmeister]

I remember in the mid 90's Tower records had an entertainment section where they had some BotP action figures. They didn't get the whole line, and I remember something being odd about them. Perhaps the design was cheaply made somehow. I didn't buy any.

Your memory of the figures is quite right, the heads used by POPY were more reminiscent of Sloth from the Goonies (Mikey's older brother Brand is Thanos while Sloth remains a good guy). There are major variations for the figures dependent on region of manufacture/release.

Plastic or rubber was used for the heads. Deformed features, especially on European figures which raises the question of molds and process used for distributors as some plastic heads have holes. Another anomaly pertinent to plastic heads is a lump of lacquer on heads especially on Princess, removing her helmet will show a lump that has filled to the shape of the helmet on the majority of figures. Not to forget the poor resemblance to any character from G-Force.

Height differences and cape material used, Keyop figure can be found with 2 different heights and two cape materials on European figures. All European capes are permanently fitted to the figures and are a standard pattern.

Spray apps and colour for visors. Most noticeable is the lack of detail for facial features and a standard red lipstick pout used on some figures, the lack of good quality spray to helmet details, sloppy overrun on some of the limbs. Helmet visors can be coloured or clear.

Popy figures with the Japan COO seem to be the best quality while the European figures with the COO removed appear a lower quality, ultimately producing a broad spectrum to collect of what is essentially 5 figures.

 

[Billy_Ray]

Oh man, I had that same lunchbox!

 

[PROVOST]

Awesome collection of G Force items!!

I can remember seeing G-Force (as it was called here in AUS) on TV and loved it!

 

[Antman]

So glad I looked at this thread. Battle of the Planets was my favorite cartoon in the late 70's here in the States. I was always "Mark" and my best friend was "Jason" whenever we played BOTP. Using blankets as capes was the best we had as costumes.

I think that collection pictured is so awesome. Congrats on collecting that cool merchandise. I never had any of that, but was always watching the cartoon on TV. Such amazing memories.

The only collectibles I have now are the 2002 Diamond Select Toys "G-Force" Figures. Full set of the team plus Zoltar and the variant Mark (no helmet) and variant Princess (no helmet). This have so much sentimental value, I wouldn't think I could get rid of them at any time going forward.