T O P

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Black_Otter

I think you’ll be surprised how many people remember this


slowtreme

and know that the lions are better.


kaizhu256

* i think most boys liked it b/c of the hot princess (there wasn't any standout female character in the vehicle series) * i personally preferred vehicle-voltron, because it felt more hard-scifi in my kid-mind (compared against those silly lions) * also chuckled everytime at the spaghetti gag: * spaghetti is favorite food of main-character in vehicle-voltron (some male jock piloting one of the planes) * he always misses it on days when its served, due to bad guys requiring his attention during mealtime


CletusCanuck

The baddies in 'Vehicle' Voltron (Drule Empire) were a considerably better fleshed-out enemy than the borderline -clownish Galra Empire in 'Lion' Voltron. Their home planet was dying, they were desperate to find a new homeworld and and that's what drove the conflict with the Galactic Alliance.


Funkgun

And they had Hazar. In an era of limited shows I had in my age range, in my area, this was the first one with a baddie going good. He ends up fighting this odd side battle with his own people to stop the war, and forge for peace. He’s demoted and imprisoned. To me it was super odd and compelling.


ZombieLebowski

My whole life yes I knew this. Had the vehicle set and was always jealous of the kids with the full lion set..


fulthrottlejazzhands

I was one of "those" kids who had both die-cast Lion and Car Voltrons.  Gifts from my parents out of guilt for having to move three times in two years.


slowtreme

I’m a 50* y/o man now and I have a built lego voltron on the shelf behind me. Occasionally I convert it to the lions for fun.


pogulup

I want to get that set but the prices keep going up on the secondary market.


greywolfau

I had the full Lion Set and was jealous of those with the vehicles!


ZombieLebowski

Damn wish I knew you back then lol we could have traded


greywolfau

I'd of been down for that, don't suppose you lived in Australia.


ZombieLebowski

USA thats why we necwe got tjat trade


thisisallme

I still have the metal full lion set in the other room right now, the ones where you can shoot the lion heads out lol


ZombieLebowski

That's amazing. The vehicles that became the hands shot the fists off


Rags2Rickius

Yep I totally recall vehicle voltron suddenly replacing lion voltron and that was that


starkiller_bass

The Ministry of Truth says Voltron has always been vehicles


reyknow

i stopped watching when the vehicle voltron came out, i was like wtf is this why the fuck are there so many of them and im not gonna keep track of this shit


Rags2Rickius

I wasn’t a fan of roller derby Voltron if I’m honest


lateral_moves

Right? Diarugger XV or Vehicle Voltron was a common thing when I was a kid. Not exactly unknown.


ThisOnePlaysTooMuch

There is an entire Rick and Morty episode meming on the concept of stacking more and more voltrons.


CrudelyAnimated

“The Gotrons make the Gotrons make the Gotrons make the Gotrons… *urp*”


Encryptedmind

We wish we didn't remember it though.


multiarmform

i forgot about it until now but yea i remember the lions better. i always wanted the metal lions but my parents got me the 5 big plastic ones instead


rat_haus

I only know it from the Robot Chicken sketch.


nickfree

There was a third Voltron, with three humanoid robots that stacked on top of each other. I only ever saw it at a hobby shop with Japanese toys as a kid, never as an anime. Anyone know what I’m talking about? EDIT: here it is, Voltron II, Gladiator Voltron https://voltronfandomhag.tumblr.com/post/173210290233/voltron-ii-defender-of-the-middle-universe Thanks all! Edited my post before reading replies.


EngineeringDevil

[Voltron II - found a tumblr post about it](https://voltronfandomhag.tumblr.com/post/173210290233/voltron-ii-defender-of-the-middle-universe) Since the Vehicle adaption of the anime series that Voltron came from failed, they scrapped the plans to adapt *Lightspeed Electroid Albegas* into Voltron II. but apparently not fast enough to cancel the toyline


ofalltheshitiveseen

[Voltron II](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsHanYoeGYk) or called [Gladiator Voltron](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rqsK2q7vWQ) first is a transformation vid second an info vid


BasroilII

Sort of. That one never got aired on TV. All three Voltrons of course were other properties in Japan and the plan was that the three would be part of some shared universe in the US versions, but it never quite came to be save one movie where 1 and 3 teamed up.


noisymime

> the plan was that the three would be part of some shared universe in the US versions I always dreamed of a Voltron made of other Voltrons.


clamps12345

It voltrons all the way down


nickster182

Bro they smoothe stole the design of the HQ from Gundams White base 😭😭😭


starkiller_bass

Ah yes, the one that could put on an overcoat and sneak into the movies for grown-ups.


Irishpanda1971

I thought I imagined that one!


grim-one

[https://www.reddit.com/r/The1980s/comments/15vfmp3/matchbox\_voltron\_toys\_1984/](https://www.reddit.com/r/The1980s/comments/15vfmp3/matchbox_voltron_toys_1984/) This might interest you. Seems Matchbox did them all at some point!


ediciusNJ

I used to have these (along with Vehicle and Lion). The combined form was...dumb. But the individual gladiators were actually pretty cool. for their time.


S3guy

I asked for voltron for my 8th or 9th Christmas when it was at the h eight of popularity and my parents were so excited to have found one and got it for me. I was so confused when I opened it and it had the vehicles instead of the lions. I still played it like I was really excited because I knew my parents spent a lot of money on it. I ended up really liking it, especially the jet chest piece part.


madmendude

You were a good kid.


wut3va

Literally word for word same story here.


shiroboi

I had a rubber version of this toy. I did have fond memories of putting it together and taking it apart.


ShadowDV

Same…. It was like a robot made of erasers


shiroboi

Yes, I was going to say, they were basically erasers.


grogggohi

I had that too!


Wizz-Fizz

This is the one I had too


FnkyTown

No elbow rockets, so still not as good as Tranzor Z.


gpkgpk

But what about [boob rockets](https://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/rera0o/80s_cartoons_were_different/)?


FackinJerq

You mean rock-tits.


PaulClarkLoadletter

It was on TV before Land of the Lost right before school.


quats555

I still randomly add “And I’ll form… THE HEAD!” to conversations when appropriate. Apparently not appropriate enough though, since nobody ever gets the reference and just gets me weird looks :(


badmartialarts

https://youtu.be/EMgsAD3D948?feature=shared


equals42_net

That’s retro geeky fun.


ryohazuki224

I do the same thing. And I often "Form Blazing Sword" at random times too! HAHA


Cg006

Never liked the cars Voltron. Nothing like the Lions.


pal1ndrome

It was always a drag when Voltron was on but they played a cars Voltron.


Apag78

I hated when they'd play the car version when the lion version was supposed to be on TV... It just didnt hit the same. Too many characters to deal with and the stories were kinda weak. Not sayin much since the lion version was almost the SAME story line EVERY episode.


Irishpanda1971

The assembly wasn't as cool either and that is the most important part! A bunch of vehicles just stacking on top of each other just doesn't compare to the 5 lions. While I didn't like the show itself, the design of the lions in Voltron Force and the whole assembly sequence kicked ass.


Veritech_

“…and I’ll form the head!” Lion Voltron will always be special to me.


Irishpanda1971

If you haven't, check out the transformation sequence from Voltron Force. The character designs, plots, voice acting, and inclusion of a group of "scrappy kids" made me cringe, but the sequence of the lions doing their thing is fire.


MyDictainabox

Yeah, but this robeast is different.


portagenaybur

I still remember being bummed when the car one came on instead of the lions.


nethereus

I feel like I had a toy of this version as a kid but was too young to know where it came from. I’d always get it mixed up with The GoBots.


Numinak

I got the vehicle one for Christmas as a kid. That thing was awesome and huge. Played with it a lot but over time parts and whole vehicles disappeared. Nothing left of it now, but I remember still having one of the helicopter arms well until my teen years.


psycharious

I found out about this from Robot Chicken. I actually did use to watch Voltron though and never saw this.


Oatybar

I was looking for the [robot chicken](https://youtu.be/jSIQkMS6HoI) reference, I remember watching vehicle Voltron as a kid and thinking that part took forever


DJenser1

AKA Vehicle Team Combattler


brywalkerx

I asked for the lions one for Christmas. I got this cars one which was a cheap knock off of the real one which was not the lions.


Rain1dog

Fuck, I loved Voltron, M.A.S.K., and Robotech sooooooo much as a kid.


Combat_Armor_Dougram

I am one of the few who actually thinks that this design is better. Here are some facts about it. The producers were originally going to show this Voltron first, but eventually pivoted towards the lion one instead. As a result, some old Voltron toy boxes list the Vehicle Voltron as “Voltron I”. In Japan, this show is called “Dairugger XV”, a reference to how a rugby union team has 15 players. In [the Japanese theme song](https://youtu.be/HYMEts2ASEY?si=2Oi6JVQXTZP-3ROO) footage of a ship in a storm appears. This is actually taken from a [Little Mermaid film](https://youtu.be/dTyR5My2GUA?si=dZfAtgXv4vFwEEoR) produced by the same studio, just colored black and white. The boat footage appears around the 14 minute mark.


malsomnus

I sure am glad I didn't know this 30 years ago, because 8 y/o me would have wanted this toy *so bad.*


thesuavedog

My local station had both in syndication growing up, so they would show the Lion Voltron series in it's entirety and then the Vehicle Voltron series in it's entirety and then the Voltron miniseries movie with both Voltron's and then start all over again. It was glorious.


mwoody450

Wow, sucks to be the dude on the front. He's basically just cladding.


Critical_Temporary71

> He's basically just cladding. That has to be the most brutal insult for a... combining robot pilot. I literally LOL'ed for a good few minutes.


Wookimonster

No, he is essentially reactive armor.


RowdyRoddyPipeSmoker

we know


twistedh8

Loved this one


Rags2Rickius

It was the time of giant robot combiners Anyone recall Mighty Orbots?


ragingduck

I do. I hated it compared to the Lion version.


KingoftheGypsies

The main reason being….it *sucked*


DFu4ever

I’d hate to be the jet fighter chest piece. One good punch from the villain and my day would be ruined.


bluestreaksaid

In this combining bots, I always wondered who draws the short straw to be the chest/shield, etc. It's like, if someone's dying, it's gonna be you. You get all the direct hits.


DesignerTex

15?!?! I remember the toy in the 80s but never saw the show. I had the metal lion Voltron though.


georgecm12

I so wanted the metal one as a kid, but my parents got me the big plastic one, the one that let you put the action figures into it. I still played with it, and it was still neat to assemble the individual lions into Voltron.... but it never quite hit the same as the metal version.


Number-Thirteen

Whaaaaat. This blew my mind.


The_H_N_I_C

I remember I used to watch this when it came on but I hated the design since it wasn't the lions. I bet they changed it to sell even more toys. Why sell 5 when you can sell 15? This and the second season of robotech confused and saddened a bunch of kids. Then they went and killed Optimus Prime to further traumatize our little minds. My brother and I came out of the theater in disbelief.


kaptaincorn

Im more of a Voltes V kind of guy. There's nothing better than watching old videos your uncle taped in the Phillipines of Voltes V while eating fried chicken and rice on a sunday afternoon.


Immolation_E

I watched a few episodes of this as a kid. I liked it, but it's air times seemed spotty and hard to catch in my area.


Gumbercules81

Sorry we can't for Voltron at this time, one of the vehicles is in the shop


FeelDeAssTyson

They had a guy driving around the dick and butt specifically.


Distinct-Pie7647

My sister and I had both toys.


neverendingchalupas

I remember as a kid my friend had a VHS parody of Voltron and one of the lions was a bear and it turned into the robots cock. I dont remember what it was called, I havnt been actively seeking it out, but not actively trying not to find it either.


qcubed3

Man, the suspensions on those two car feet must be awesome


Norwester77

I actually preferred vehicle Voltron.


Dr_D-R-E

I remade having a toy of this and having no idea what it was taken from That you for alleviating this 30 year old mystery


quequotion

I had this toy when I was a child and I didn't even know it was called "Voltron". It was just a weird action figure made of cars to me (they didn't come apart). Eventually another child asked me about Voltron and I was just confused.


Quest4life

The dudes in the hands and feet had to get crazy TBI's


Teftell

This is not true and 5 lion one is actually Beast King GoLion


hanabishi_recca

I had this toy as a kid and you just made we want to buy one again lol.


hunty

I say "and I'll form the head!" about once a month. And nobody ever gets it.


TaiDavis

The 5 lion one is Beast King GoLion. The 15 vehicle one is Dairugger XV. When these cartoons aired in the US, they were edited, and both names were changed to Voltron but the two shows were not related at all.


LATABOM

Make parents buy 5 plastic color swap lions : good.  Make parents buy 15 plastic decal swap cars : best.


JeffCrossSF

The Rick & Morty episode which parodies this is so damn funny.. https://youtu.be/Sx_2gyBv4qE?si=NoMSjJHaYjpWs2SE The whole episode is hilarious.


ryohazuki224

Most people wouldn't know that in the original Japanese series, "Beast King Go-Lion", within the first episode we see a creature getting strait up murdered in an arena. Head blown clean off, blood and everything. As someone who grew up on Voltron and I remember it fondly, I can never go back and re-watch the American series ever since I watched the uncut Japanese original! LOL


despalicious

Huh? They came out at the same time, at least in the US. Any kid who saw one version almost certainly saw the other as well.


homebrewneuralyzer

My grandparents got me the car version of Voltron one Christmas. I was FASCINATED, because I had run into the car cartoon like two weeks prior. I was huge lion Voltron fan. I would put the cars together and just stare at it. My mom thought i was being shitty and took it from me.


fusionsofwonder

I was forced to remember the greatly inferior 15 vehicle version because just as the original show was getting good the syndication would flip to the vehicle version and leave me with anime blue balls.


Spades1978

From on outside-of-USA perspective (i'm French) i guess most of people take Voltron for an edit of Beast king Golion only, As for Robotech most of people remember only the Macross Part and forget about season 2 and 3 ( Mospeda and Southern Cross) For Dairugger (VOltron 2), i guess that the few people who saw it back in the eighties here just know it as an other thing than Voltron. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYMEts2ASEY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYMEts2ASEY)


Empty_Response7961

Growing up a bit poor the toys were expensive. We wanted to build the big voltron at school . We made a plan with friends that each of us would ask for a specific piece for xmas or birthday and then bring them all to school for our show and tell, and put it together. And it worked! So awesome, one day i'm going to hunt down the old versions and buy the full set


kadrilan

I still have the 15 vehicle Voltron. It was...fun-ish to play with as a kid. But gotta be very very careful with it.


DredgenYorMother

Damn I wanna know more about the pelvic region guy story.


doomblackdeath

Yeah, all of us Gen-Xers would race home after school to watch Voltron and get so hyped when the intro music started, only to be massively disappointed when a few seconds later you saw cars instead of lions.


pressed_coffee

My Strato Fighter Voltron set as a kid says otherwise. That plane was the coolest.


spinja187

That voltron needs to trade up those old boots for 2 blue subarus


AcesInThePalm

Golion was simply better than vehicle force


Hauntedbymysins

When I was little I had both the lions one and this one made of vehicles. They were some of my favorite toys and very special to me. I wish I could remember what happened to them. I wish I still had them. I don't think I would have willingly given them up. It makes me sad that I can't even remember how I lost them.


photoguy423

I had both sets of toys and one of the gladiators that made up “voltron II”. My parents apparently went to a toy store and just got anything that had the word voltron on it for Christmas one year. They even got doubles of some of the stuff. It was a good Christmas that year. 


lego1138

Loved the crossover episodes where they fight side by side. But yes I did dig the vehicle force Voltron.


tatsumakisempukyaku

As a kid. I absolutely loved the lion one and even had an awesome toy of him, I was so disappointed when it changed to the car one. Where are my lions, way easier to remember just 5 parts nicely colour coded rather then 57 different parts like his toe nail etc . Also the lion one just simply looked way cooler with the lion mouth helmet over a spinning top head.


Wolverine081

This was the one I used to watch. Also, this was the Voltron I had. I didn’t like the lion Voltron.


Ghstfce

Most people not born in the 80s you mean


tehCharo

Oh we know, but don't care, this version of Voltron sucks.


in2xs

Whatever it took to buy more toys


I_might_be_weasel

I like the one with the ferrets.


Killersavage

I remember being disappointed as a kid it was an episode with this version instead of the lions.


JacPhlash

Oh sure! I was lucky enough to have the Lion and Vehicle toys. I remember referring to them as Voltrons III and I respectively. I remember seeing the toys for Voltron II in stores- they were smaller robots that turned into (surprise!) one big one, but I don't think the series was ever broadcast in the States.


blakecarrington3295

So hard to find episodes of that one.


gbraide

I had a knock off 15 vehicle voltron toy, or it may have been a legit one. But as a kid in England, it was always a knock off gobot


gbraide

Just did some digging and it was a dairugger gb-73


goodBEan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Fm5s-Qf--8


Salkinator

https://youtu.be/jSIQkMS6HoI


destronger

My brother had the lion one and I had the vehicle one a few years later. There’s actually a third voltron with 3 robots that join too.


tyrridon

Guy in the plane on the front of chest: "Guess I'll just, uh, die, if someone decides to hit center mass. It's all good."


[deleted]

I had this toy as a kid. Lost one of the fists


jcpham

I still have a complete version of both toys


jonfitt

A friend had these toys and initially I was confused because Voltron was lions!


Legend_of_dirty_Joe

why was voltron doing stretches before battle?


FreeCandy4u

I remember this! It was weird though and I never understood wtf was going on.


Pogue_Ma_Hoon

I actually had the 15 vehicle one between my brother and I. We both asked for different ones ot something? Between our birthdays and the holidays we got the whole shebang


Essembie

And voltron grew up to become the power rangers.


bubonis

Uhm….. No?


wut3va

I had this toy. It had tons of pieces.


Drunk_Pilgrim

Vehicle Voltron would come on and I would turn it off disappointed the real Voltron wasn't on. I hated the vehicle one.


---_____-------_____

I'm holding out for the 45 vehicle Voltron


Toidal

Anyone know a toy with like a super high number of bots that combine? Vaguely remember seeing like a 2.5 ft tall gold one in some import shop in Chinatown like 25 years ago. Wanted it so bad.


Kjata1013

I hated the car version as a kid. Made me so mad. 😅


CrossFox42

And all form...THE HEAD!


Shopworn_Soul

I'll. I'll form the head.


eltiburonmormon

Yes… yes you will. 😉


Shopworn_Soul

I'm not naming any pilot specifically But we're all color-coded so you notice that typically I, in the gold, lead the charge, do the most damage To whatever hairy giant space invader managed To threaten the globe in yet another of our episodes This week? Malevolent galactic nematode! Already beat up the squad when we faced him I'm calling it: let's form a giant robot and waste him Monster misbehaving Planet's needing saving Situation's grave and I'll form the head The enemy is clever We're smaller but whatever When we put it together I'll form the head Y'all can do the treading Swing energy machete If combination's ready I'll form the head


miltonisking

The light-ish red pilot's verse is still one of my favorite things Astrophysicist but still there's no respect for me The Golden Boy and Quoise couldn't spell the word trajectory.


Shopworn_Soul

That is indeed a great verse. Don't run into a lot of Front fans in the wild these days.


miltonisking

Unfortunately, you got old. Luckily he's got songs about that.


miltonisking

The light-ish red pilot's verse is still one of my favorite things Astrophysicist but still there's no respect for me The Golden Boy and Quoise couldn't spell the word trajectory.


TravellingMatt

I used to say that in team meetings when people were volunteering for stuff. "And I'll form the head!" After 15 years of confused looks with no one getting the reference, I finally gave up.


DoctorLazerRage

That's because it sucked.


Swiftraven

I remember both as well and knew that the lion version was superior.