

DRB Pic-of-the-Day Link - by Avi Abrams





Vintage Japanese Robot Toy Army



These battery-operated "Thunder Robots" are marching across what seems to be Texas, so it could be an invasion - however you have nothing to worry about, as these robots are very hard-to-find nowadays even for the more dedicated collectors, and in many specialized stores they are plain sold-out.





(image via)





Asakusa Toy Company of Japan has been making them walk across imaginary landscapes and happy boys bedroom floors since 1957 (they had moving legs, spinning antennas and flashing headlights). "When it stops moving, it raises up it's arms and begins it's deadly assault firing it's lighted palm mounted guns! The original Thunder Robot can sell for $18,000 or more"... but you can try your luck to get your reproduction from here.





(bottom right image via)





BONUS:



This wonderful Freddie Ford robot requires some maintenance! And a lovely girl mechanic hurries to the rescue -





(image via)





This promotional robot was first introduced into Ford dealerships by Ford Division's Show Exhibit Department in 1964, and later models were quite popular with curious kids and adults alike:







(top image: model Mary Ann Laurel poses with "Freddie", photo by UPI, via)



On the right (see above) shown a couple of other retro-cool robots, one of them being the legendary "Lost in Space" Robbie and the other one (also named "Freddy") has been discovered in Spain.



And now... Freddie Ford multiplies, and we got another Freddie robot army on our hands (ready to get into Ford dealerships Statewide):









CONTINUE TO OUR "ROBOTS IN ARTS" SERIES! ->



