Goldwell Daitarn 3

 

Goldwell Daitarn III Front

The Unchallengeable Daitarn 3 (無敵鋼人ダイターン3, Muteki Kōjin Daitān 3, lit. Invincible Steel Man Daitarn 3) is a Japanese anime television series created by Yoshiyuki Tomino and Hajime Yatate, and animated by Sunrise. It was first broadcast on Japanese TV in 1978. Despite being relatively unsuccessful in Japan, the series became very popular abroad, especially in Italy during the early 1980s

From wikipedia:

Sōzō Haran was a brilliant scientist who was conducting research on Mars. He created a form of cyborg life with the ability to think for itself. These cyborgs, dubbed the Meganoids (メガノイド, Meganoido), soon ran out of control and killed Dr. Haran along with his whole family, save his youngest son, the 16-year-old Banjō Haran. Banjō escapes from Mars on a rocket with a solar-powered super robot called Daitarn 3, which was built with the special metals of Mars. Now 18 years old and living on Earth in a luxurious mansion, Banjō fights against the meganoids and their leader, Don Zauser and his second in command Koros, with the aid of his faithful butler Garrison, his two gorgeous companions, Reika and Beauty, and an orphan boy named Topo. Together they must stop the evil meganoids which aspire to turn all humans into cyborgs and thus "improve" the human race. 

Daitarn 3 is a 120 meter tall robot weighing 800 tons with multiple weapons stored in various body parts - the weapons would escalate in lethality depending on the storyline, often starting with something fairly innocuous then upgrading to something more powerful until the foe is defeated. Daitarn 3 also could be reconfigured into three additional vehicle forms:

• Daifighter: Daitarn's plane/spaceship form. Can reach speeds of near light speed while in space. Armed with rockets from the wings, a pair of missile launchers, twin lasers, and a powerful laser on the front called the Daitarn Laser. Length: 80 meters. Width: 50 meters. Max Speed: Mach 20.
• Daitank: As the name suggests, the tank-like form of Daitarn. Armed with a pair of cannons called the Double Cannon, a missile launcher on each side, and a shuriken called the Daitarn Web. Length: 80 meters.
• Mach Patrol: Banjō's police cruiser-like car which can transform into a plane. When in plane form, it is referred to as the Mach Attacker. As Mach Attacker it has a pair of bladed wings called the Mach Blades and balloon-like mines from its rear called the Mach Balloons. As Mach Patrol it can release spikes called the Mach Picks and has a remote controlled box that contains firearms.

This is one of those toys that's really borderline as a Jumbo Machinder - I've included it because it's often collected by the same avid JM collectors due to it's size. I've seen three different box variations of this toy - there's the original Japanese version issued by Clover during the toy's airing - at about the same time this Goldwell version surfaced, marketed to the US only manufactured in Korea. There's third version that stacks the components into a narrower but thicker box that was marketed in Europe (not sure if that version if Clover or Goldwell). Based on a parts comparison it's unlikely that the Goldwell is a knock-off as the molds and size are identical (except for additional "chrome" parts) - it's more likely that there was congruent licensing so the same molds were sold and reused in Korea for other markets once the anime was proven to be unpopular in Japan

Goldwell Daitarn III Box Front

 

Goldwell Daitarn III Box Contents

 

Goldwell Daitarn III Box Back

 

The toy was the largest version of Daitarn 3 offered featuring a battery-powered tank module that would power the other vehicle forms - The box is huge.  One can remove the head and flip the two shoulder epaulets over the space to create a point for the entire robot as a plane or spaceship (this was similar to the Clover diecast version). Most limbs and parts could be spun about or re-positioned to create the various vehicle forms. The box shows Daitarn III Big Fighter and Big Tank on the front photos along with the tank module to power the full-sized robot. You can see Daitarn's head and chest in a diecut window at the top.

 

Goldwell Daitarn III Front

Goldwell Daitarn III Back

Goldwell Daitarn III Sticker Sheets

Goldwell Daitarn III Instructions

The Godwell box is in English:

Motorized Giant Hero Robot Samurai Daitarn III Six In One

Comes with a stack of unused sticker sheets stapled together and a fairly detailed instruction sheet for creating the various vehicle and robot forms - all Copyright 1979 Goldwell Int'l, Inc.

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