Saturday, August 9, 2014

Tomy Beyrobo / ベーロボ


Tomy - Beyrobo (brown)

Beyrobo [ベーロボ] is a robot toy produced by Tomy in the 1980s, probably as a way to follow the real robot, cute robot and ripcord/gyroscope toy trends of the time. The little information out there on these toys suggests they were produced in 1983, although they strike me as being from later in the 80s- can't say why.
 
Tomy - Beyrobo (green)
 
Tomy - Beyrobo (orange)
 
Tomy - Beyrobo (pink)

There are four different toys in the group of Beyrobo that I found recently. Two different robot models, with two color versions of each. The models vaguely resemble popular mecha designs of the time. Each model seems to have been given one 'real type' color scheme and one brighter, more kid-friendly color scheme. I don't know whether there are other models or color variations out there. I have seen a few photos that suggest additional series were released at some point.
 
Tomy - Beyrobo card back

The card back contains instructions on operating the ripcord device in each Beyrobo, as well as various games you can play with them and stern warnings on potential hazards presented by the toy.
 
While I don't see myself opening these up and letting 'em rip any time soon, Beyrobo is pretty close to a perfect snapshot of 1980s toy culture in Japan.

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