Toy Line

Godaikin

A play on the Japanese characters for "big" (dai) and "alloy" (gokin), the Godaikin line debuted in 1984 and was Bandai's first attempt to mass-market the huge Japanese deluxe toys outside the traditional asian market.

Although the boxes were slightly altered for the domestic market, the presentation remained the same and adhered to the spirit of the original packaging, making liberal use of styrofoam trays and inner window boxes. The toys themselves were identical to their Japanese counterparts (safety regs be damned) and even retained their original names, although the name of the show was often substituted for the character's appellation.

Unfortunately, one of the things that also stayed the same was the Japanese pricing, which resulted in many of these items being priced well over $60, putting them out of the reach of most casual buyers. That, combined with the path of destruction wreaked by the Hasbro / Takara Transformers alliance, was enough to kill the line off by early 1986.

Still, enough of them made their ways into bargin bins for young gaijin to discover the joys of unmolested and unimproved Japanese toy robots...which would lead to a domestic resurgence in their popularity in the late 90's.

Toys from the Godaikin line


Name Model No. Release Date

Daimos Godaikin (DX) -- --

Dyjupiter Godaikin -- --
Leopardon Godaikin -- --
Goggle V Godaikin -- --

Laserion Godaikin (DX) -- --
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