Robot Winter of 2004
 Blanket me in snow, freeze out my garden, ice up my car, but take away my pictures you will not. Old Man Winter hasn't yet left the North East, but alas, I've found a way to make good of this white stuff. I have found nature's very own light table.
I must admit things are a bit bleak here at the end of March 2004 in New York, we have had YET ANOTHER snow storm. Last Thursday was a winter wonderland of the biggest fluffiest, most damp snow I had seen in a long time. At the time when I was feeling a bit down my buddy Rick woke me up and said "Why don't you use the snow to take pictures. You know, like those Dancouga pictures from last year."
So here we go. As I visited with a few of the neighborhood snow throwing kids, I managed to snap off a baker's dozen of high color pictures. Below you will see photos of Machine Robot DX #3, the predecessor to the black Porsche 928 Herr Fiend; Varidorin from Go Rangers; EVA-01 prototype, from the Bandai SOC line; and Lego's Red Bionicle.
MR DX-3 (Machine Robot Deluxe) comes in the rare first blue version. I happen to like the 80's baby blue coloration. You can envision hints of Miami Vice or Izod Lacoste shirts around the time the toy was released. Inside the cabin is that same silvery driver found in the later Go-bots toys.
 Varidorin was the space ship recently re-released by Uni-5 toys in Japan. Only this incarnation was made by Popy around 1974 and designated PA-74. Collectors may recognize it from the Shogun Action Vehicles line of the late 1970's. Only this version, released only in Japan, has chrome engines (they are yellow plastic in U.S. releases), a split apart nose cone (the U.S. version is solid), and can hold a tank above the nosecone. Push a button on the spine of the toy and the wings can release like a fan. The wings can also fold back using using a latch.
Towards the bottom of our picture set you will see an original Thundercracker Transformer from the 80's. Despite some play love and wear, he looks as good as ever. I always got a kick out of the metal flakes baked inside the blue plastic.
 Finally, I thought Lego's Red Bionicle deserved a bit of limelight. Denizens of our chogo-metal hobby may be clueless about Legos' great success with this series. As I recall, the most current red robot/figure is LEGO Bionicle: Toa Vakama. Keep an eye out for this series to rival the primary colored Power Rangers toys for Kid's wallets.
We get to thank nature for bringing out this full color presentation on an icy white backdrop. Cheers.
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