Zeroids.com Robots and Science Toys

Above left: 5 inch Bandai Astro Boy action figure, shown with Mattell's MegaMan NT Warrior. The background is a Remco ManTech Battlestation Laser II playset. Shown is Searchlight Astro, one of four Bandai figures from 2004. Three of the figures are of Astro Boy; the fourth is of Atlas. Press Searchlight Astro's stomach, and his eyes glow red. Arm Cannon Astro launches his fist. Rocket Boot Astro displays jet flames from his boots. They are highly detailed, articulated, well- made figures, and come individually blister- packed. Originally cost $5 - 10.

Above center: 11 inch Interactive Astro. The box sports the Cartoon Network logo. Released the same time as the 5 inch Astros, this model failed to sell. Why? Could be the $20- 30 price tag. A rather high retail price for a relatively unknown character (CN had just started the Astro Boy revival). Also, he doesn't look very good in the box.

Above right: But out of the box.... Astro's right wrist breaks away. Slide one of five included collector cards through the slot to activate "sound and lights". What really happens is that when the corner of a card is inserted, it triggers sounds. All the cards trigger the same sounds, and on our model, no lights. Pressing a button on Astro's belt also makes sounds. Press the other button and his chest door swings open, revealing a pulsing energy source. Manually turn his head and his eyes flash green, while he emits sound. Manually press a button to launch his spring- loaded fist. Press another and plastic flames spring out of his rocket boots. His leg doors can be opened to reveal shiny silver circuitry. He has a small three position switch in back : off, on, and "try me", and runs on two AA batteries.

logo from mid-2000s	Tetsuwan or Mighty Atom. Osamu Tezuka's most famous and popular comic creation, made his debut on American TV in 1963 on NBC as Astro Boy. 104 black and white episodes were broadcast in the US, and Jeff Lenburg, in The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons, adds this happy note: in 1964, more people in New York watched Astro Boy than the network news. Many English-dubbed Astro Boy videos were available and the series has finally made it to DVD. The most famous mention of Tezuka's robot hero was probably in Calvin and Hobbes, when Calvin got a haircut and said, "Hey, I look just like Astro Boy!"
	Astro Boy-- The Movie. Nearly a half century later, Astro Boy returned to the screen in a new 2010 movie for a new generaton. While he lost some of his iconic styling in this CGI version, the film also revived interest in his previous incarnations.
	Astro Boy Box Set --DVD At last! Here's the original Astro Boy series (Tetsuwan Atom) by Osamu Tezuka with English language track. 51 English episodes on 8 discs with numerous extras.
	Astro Boy The Complete Series --DVD Here's the new (2004) updated Astro Boy series as seen on Cartoon Network. The 50 episode series includes 29 episodes never aired in the U.S. Includes featurette, "The Remaking of Astro Boy."
	Astro Boy Saves the Universe You won't be bored with this board game. Under the very cool box art lies a great board game all the family can play. Ages 7 and up from award- winning game maker, Briarpatch.
	Astro Boy: The Video Game Mighty Atom to the rescue in this video game based on the 2010 movie for Nintendo Wii.
	Astro Boy iPod Touch Skin Astro Boy design vinyl skin for Apple iPod Touch 2G 3G 2nd 3rd Generation 8GB 16GB 32GB. Two classics get together.
	Astro Boy iPod Skin Take your favorite robot with you with this Astro Boy design vinyl skin for Apple iPod Classic 120GB 6G 6th Generation.
	Tomy Collector's Figure World. No. 1, "Welcome." Tomy made a number of figures in this series which features Astro Boy in various poses, along with other Tezuka characters. This figure is about four inches tall, mounted on a base, with a removeable acrylic cover. They originally cost between $15-25 US, and were available from Kimono My House and Hobby Link Japan (see Robot Links 1). However, the Bandai Astro Boy action figures (above) are larger and more detailed.
	Mighty Atom Bank Sanrio is known for beautifully lithographed metal banks, but you hardly ever see this one of Mighty Atom in Sanrio shops. It's from Kimono My House (see Robot Links 1), the source for everything Astro Boy. Originally around $10.
	5 DVD Astro Boy set From the J Store comes this wonderful DVD set (see Robot Links 2). It's in Japanese with Chinese and English subtitles and audio tracks. The packaging is beautifully illustrated, with 5 picturedisk DVDs.
	Trading Cards Osamu Tezuka '96. These beautiful trading cards were available from Kimono My House (see Robot Links1). The packs are beautifully printed in foil, and contain ten full-color trading cards, printed on front and back. Scenes depict characters from Astro Boy (Mighty Atom), Kimba the White Lion, and other Tezuka manga.
	NOW Comics #17, "The Original Astro Boy" -- Comic A recent revival of Astro Boy in a comic book, this NOW comics issue featuring a striking cover by Ken Steacy. The August 1965 Gold Key comic, Astro Boy # 1, is highly valued among collectors, along with March of Comics # 285, which marks his second comic book appearance.
	Osamu Tezuka's Original Astro Boy #1 -- Manga Dark Horse Comics recently created this manga event--as close as you can get to Tezuka's original manga from the early '50s in English. Number one is a 222 page black and white book. (Unlike a Japanese book, the comic panels read front to back and right to left, and the word balloons are in English, translated by Frederick L. Schodt, author of Manga! Manga! The World of Japanese Comics. More than twenty volumes are now available.
	Astro Boy Stickers Where can you get a whole sheet of great Astro Boy stickers? Kimono My House (see Robot Links 1).

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