Takara concept designs: Android A, Invaders, UFO 7 & Con

[KB]

In one of the threads it was mentioned that Clone's collection of Biotron heads looked like the Android prototype. In DK's thread with his holiday pics there was mention of the Cyborg Condor concept.

I've finally tracked down a cheap copy of Takara SF land - and it has pictures of a number of concept designs in it.

Here are two Android concept drawings - looks like the arms were originally proposed as magnetic



Here is the Invader concept


And the UFO 7


And this is the Condor concept


Though these are just concepts the basics as we know them are all there - some aspects made it into production, others didn't.
I like the smoother UFO 7 and that invader.

[BAZ]

Wow, those things are cool!

[Neutron X]

Excellent Find!!!!!!!!!!!! Very cool stuff! Thanks for posting!

[GUYx1]

WOW!
Great stuff KB!!!
_________________
Cheers,
Guy

[fantasticplastic]

Fantastic quality designs/ blueprints!
Who drew them?
What year are these from?

[Red_2]

Oh crap!

The retractable hand and opening thigh are sick!

[hypnotator]

Marvellous stuff, KB. A while ago I decided to stop buying books and magazines about toys and save my money for actual toys, so any scans of the publications I'll never be buying are greatly appreciated, especially these because they are toys I'll never have, too.
The most impressive is the first Android A drawing. That looks like an organic brain in there, which reminds me of Louis the brain in Harlem Heroes. What's that enormous button thing going through his head about? He looks pretty mean! I wonder if he is intended as a good guy at this point.
It looks like the original idea was to have functioning accessories like Shonen Cyborg's, but he ended up with purely decorative ones. The opening hatch in his leg for stashing things is reminiscent of the Six Million Dollar Man's Special Assignment Arms. He has a belt with an S on it, for some reason, and a winkle picking foot, presumably for delivering a nasty kick like the evil lesbian in From Russia with Love. Oddest of all is the lassoo for rescuing people.
The Invader sketch shows how those rather pointless shoulder extensions evolved - originally they were extra heads! Again the idea seems to be fully functioning accessories. I think the Invader designs they ended up with are an improvement on this early sketch. I dig the face with a bloody great slit in it, though, and the mace thing with a string of star weapons.
I agree that the Invader UFO looks better here than the final product. I think it's shown see through for clarity of design, but a fully transparent ship (like Wonder Woman's plane) would be cool.
I wonder if the idea for the condor ended up as the costume for the jaguar.

[BAZ]

Aaaahhh......... Harlem Heroes. Loves that strip!!
And it's quite interesting that the anatomy on these blueprints
is incorrect. The arms appear too short.

[KB]

Yes that android head definatly looks like Louis - though when he's got his body and not when he's in his flying jar!

The head also reminds be of the visible man models - Perhaps even as I type one of the customisers on this forum is cutting thier Chojin head about and sticking on a visible man head - or somthing similar at the right scale (Guy?)

To answer Fan Plas - this must be about 1973/74 (so pre-Louis) - I don't read Japanese so don't know who the designer was.

I think its great to see what the designers were originally thinking before they were constrained by the practicalities of making the thing.

The button thing in his head looks like extending ears.

Hypno - I'm with you on those shoulder extensions - as extra heads they add a whole new dimension

As for the Condor the closest we'll get to it is DK's myclone - its designer has obviously taken the Jaguar Condor head and inspriration from the concept here
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f163/rabbitsandrobots/DSC_3500.jpg

[hypnotator]

That thing through his head looks suspiciously like the enormous, cumbersome button on Steve Austin's back (God I hate those 6m$ man figs). I reckon it makes his brain swish round in a sea of blood. Or it could be some sort of ear extension, as you say, like the periscope for his eye (why not just make him taller?)
He has the chest doors we all know and love, but details of their operation and contents aren't shown. Maybe they were on another sketch which wasn't deemed worth including because it was close to what got manufactured. Thinking about it, removable chest engines with fully functioning features would be cool, like one that turns into a spare head (a la Hypnotator) or maybe a picnic basket or microwave oven (okay I'm getting silly).
Yep that head is like the Visible man's but I've always maintained he inspired the whole Henshin Cyborg toyline.
Thinking about it, Louis didn't turn up in his full robot body with the see through head until the Inferno stories.

[dokuroking]

The Takara SF Land book is well worth getting if anyone is on the fence about it. It's usually expensive these days but it comes with a VCD of Henshin Cyborg, Microman and Diaclone toy commercials.

[Alex77]

My awesome buddy Kev picked me a copy of SF Land from Tokyo last week. He said they were almost apologetic in the shop for charging him £20 for a mint copy with VCD included. I saw one one Ebay selling for £90 the other week! I got a great Barutan and Ultraman figure too.

It's a shame the book is so small, I nearly gave myself an aneurysm trying to scrutinise all the box art in it, It would be great to see a large format bi-lingual version, with the adverts on a DVD. I'm pretty sure there is a market for it, Domestic and abroad.

These drawings are fantastic for their unrestrained creativity. Maybe that's a red cross sign on the androids upper chest? would fit with the rescue theme that runs through the early takara designs for microman et al.

[thebigr]

Dude you made my morning! thanks for this!!!

[dokuroking]

[Alex77]

Too true, it's too much of a tease. Somebody re-release it in a large format!

Someone very kindly posted the complete scans of the "Microman Perfect Works Mook" that had some concept art for a proposed microman-sized Henshin Cyborg and Walder, they were thinking about recreating the motorcycle to the same scale too. Looks like they would have cast the innards in relief, then painted the inside gold to recreate the Cyborg effect. Gutted they didn't follow through with that.

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