Thursday, March 26, 2009

Mattel Shogun Warriors Gaiking

This is Gaiking. He's another one of Mattel's Shogun Warriors from 1979. He's big (about 2 feet tall). He's yellow and blue. He shoots missiles out of his chest and his right arm shoots off at the elbow.


I don't really have much to say about this guy that I didn't say about Shogun Warriors in my post about Dragun.

Gaiking sports just a tad bit more articulation than Dragun as his horns can rotate forward (making him look like a bit like a bull) and his right arm bends at the elbow to enable a better firing position for his fist. Like Dragun, he has wheels on the bottom of his feet. He also has articulation at the shoulders and neck.


This particular Shogun belonged to my younger brother, Mike. He was recently rescued from the garage (the Shogun, not the brother) and now stands watch in my studio along with his older brother, Dragun. I seem to have become the curator for a lot of my younger brother's old toys...and he can have them back at any point... maybe...if he knows the secret password and promises to always address me as "Esteemed Keeper of Plastic Artifacts." Heh, heh.


A complete Gaiking should include the missiles (I believe he came with four) and the firing fist. The fist fires at the press of a red button at the elbow. The chest missiles fire with a rocker switch mounted on his back.

Like Dragun, Gaiking is a bit of a mystery to me. Is he good? Is he bad? Why does he have a goofy animal face on his chest? I'm sure the true answers to these questions are more knowledge than I deserve, at this point. Ignorance is bliss.

12 comments:

  1. Wow, did you guys ever play with your toys? That thing looks brand new! Makes me miss Shogun Warrior.

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  2. I remember these toys, but I never had any of the 2-feet tall versions. Mine was Grandizer, I believe, and he was like 4 inches tall and made of metal. Loved it. Good memories!

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  3. "He was recently rescued from the garage (the Shogun, not the brother)"

    Does your brother still need rescued?

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  4. chunky b - We did try to take care of our toys. However, my Dad was always good about storing stuff away once it looked like we weren't going to play with it anymore. So, most of the stuff ended up avoiding being subjected to firecrackers and bb guns.

    wings - I had the Mazinga from the smaller series. He's gone but he was really cool.

    bubba - Ebay. :)

    brian - My brother is happily working for a major aircraft manufacturer in Seattle. That's the story I told the police and that's the story I'm sticking to.

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  5. When my brother moved to Louisiana a couple of years ago, I inherited a lot of his toys (including his Shogun Warriors). Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of room either. It's all still in boxes in the garage.

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  6. I'd love to have him! Hopefully I can get a used one at a yard sale or sumthin

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  7. I had MAZINGA my friends and I used to torture my older sister with it by shooting the rockets at her from atop the stairs then running into my room and locking the door. Lost a lot of the rockets that way

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  8. I have the 2ft. tall Gaiking as well. I played with mine as a kid and its still in pretty good shape and its complete. My parents recently relocated, and in the move I re-acquired my Gaiking(my mum was good about saving things in the attic). I still have the original box, too. Ah, the memories.

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  9. I had Gaiking when I was a kid. I loved this toy so much. One of the best toys EVAR!

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  10. I've never seen that one before but it is truly remarkable... and your efforts to keep it safe and sound are very good.

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  11. I sold mine about 11 years ago. Most of the missiles were lost and the firing fist was detached at the elbow. A little dirty from the attic but still in decent shape considering I played with it hard for years as a kid.

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