Microman

Microman was a science fiction toyline created, manufactured and marketed by Takara Co., Ltd. from 1974 to 1984 as well as from 1998 to 2007. The Microman line was a series of action figures with accompanying vehicles, robots, playsets and accessories. Unlike other toylines at the time, Microman figures were marketed as being the "actual" size of cyborg beings called "Micros" that hailed from a fictional planet known as "Micro Earth" and disguised themselves as action figures while on planet Earth.

Description

The core of the Microman line consisted of action figures which were known for their high number of articulation points relative to other toys of similar size/scale in the 1970s. The toyline also included vehicles, robots, playsets and accessories. Many of the Microman toys used interchangeable connectors and ports that allowed parts to be transferred and connected between different toys.
The Microman toyline was licensed and released in the United States by Mego Corporation as the Micronauts from 1976 to 1980.
Some of the transforming Microman toys and vehicles from the Micro Change series created within the 1980s New Microman toyline were licensed by Hasbro, along with other similar transforming toys from Takara's Diaclone toyline, in the 1980s to be a part of Hasbro's Transformers toyline in the United States.

History

Classic Microman (1974–1980)

Takara first released Microman toys in Japan in 1974 as a smaller version of their popular & 1972 Henshin Cyborg line. Henshin Cyborg figures were based on & Combat Joe figures — which themselves were based on Hasbro's G.I. Joe figures — with their bodies molded in clear plastic, exposing their inner workings and supposed cybernetic parts.
By downscaling their size, Takara sought to create the Microman line to offset the sheer cost of producing a full line of plastic-based & figures and related playsets as well as acknowledging that basic living space is limited—and considered a premium—to most Japanese households. Smaller Microman figures would not only cost less to produce during the energy crisis of the 1970s, the line's smaller scale would also take up less physical space in a household and thus be more attractive to space conscious consumers in the Japanese market.

Microman Zone (1974)

The first 1974 series of toys was called Microman Zone and included four figures and several vehicles such as the MIC-1 Space Buggy, MIC-2 Bulk Lifter, MIC-3 Sky Roader and the M115 Conning Tower Base. Additional vehicles were sold as "Micro-Kit Machine Series" sets which required assembly prior to use.

Project Victory (1975)

Following the success of the first 1974 Microman Zone series, Takara completely revamped and expanded the Microman concept to be a stand-alone line on its own and not merely a smaller-scale version of their Henshin Cyborg line. The former original Microman figures were now given sturdier "cybernetic feet" and all figures now contained standard ports which allowed for interchangeability between sets and figures. Takara also introduced a new line of die-cast figures dubbed Super Steel Microman and a new line of "enemy" figures dubbed the Acroyears. Additionally, all figures were now identified by a new alphanumeric figure-type designation system—such as M10X, M11X, M12X, M20X, M21X, M22X, etc.—across the whole line as well being given formal, character names such as George , Jack , Jesse and John .

Spy Magician (1976)

In addition to new vehicles and figures such as Spy Magician , Takara introduced a new class of figure dubbed the Titans which employed a magnetic ball/joint system that allowed for a new level of interchangeability between toys. Japanese pop-culture character tie-in toys were also released which helped expand Takara's line beyond its own in-house characters and opened the door to greater licensing opportunities for their designs.

Microman Command (1977)

A Microman manga was published in TV Magazine, a children's oriented magazine published by Kodansha Ltd., in 1977. Takara also introduced the Microman Command line in which each figure came in its own unique capsule case and included the first female figure, Lady Command , in the line.

Police Keeper (1978)

With the release of Star Wars in 1977, the market for science fiction merchandise became increasingly filled with competing science fiction related products. New figures such as the Police Keeper , Micro Knight MC-X and Cosmo Satan Arden built on the success of prior Microman action figure releases. Takara's attempts to expand the Microman line concept with the Micro Hoodman and construction/building playset Play Build line of toys with the large-sized Build Base playset were not well received. Lack of a positive response to the new line was strong enough that previously announced toys in the line, such as the remote control Hoodman spaceship Hoodman's RCB Noah, were cancelled.

Rescue Command (1979)

Takara attempted to revive the line with the new Rescue Command series of toys and action figures. At the core of the Rescue Command was the new Rescue Secret Base and a new background story on the Rescue Command that explained the whole "rescue" theme of the whole line.

Punch & Blizzard Man (1980)

Takara moved away from releasing figures and instead concentrated on larger-sized toys, robots and sets that all contained some sort of "gimmick" to them. Gimmicks included the Microman Punch figure whose arm could be wound up to "punch" and Microman Blizzard series of figures that contained a battery-powered fan.

''Microman'' action figures (1974–1980)

Below is a basic overview list documenting classic Microman action figure releases from 1974 to 1980. This is not meant to be a comprehensive list of all classic Microman releases/variants but rather a high-level overview of Takara's Microman line offerings.

ID	Name	Type	1st color	2nd color	Opacity	Material	Size/Scale	Date	Series
			Clear		Clear	Plastic			Microman Zone
			Yellow		Clear	Plastic			Microman Zone
			Blue		Clear	Plastic			Microman Zone
			Orange		Clear	Plastic			Microman Zone
M101	George		Clear		Clear	Plastic			Project Victory
M102	Jack		Yellow		Clear	Plastic			Project Victory
M103	Jesse		Blue		Clear	Plastic			Project Victory
M104	John		Orange		Clear	Plastic			Project Victory
M111	Bobson		Blue	White	Solid	Plastic			Project Victory
M112	Barnes		White	Light Blue	Solid	Plastic			Project Victory
M113	Bobby		Red	White	Solid	Plastic			Project Victory
M114	Blacky		Black	Yellow	Solid	Plastic			Project Victory
M121	Mason		Red	White	Solid	Plastic			Project Victory
M122	Michael		Light Blue	White	Solid	Plastic			Project Victory
M123	Miller		Green	White	Clear	Plastic			Project Victory
M124	Max		Yellow	White	Solid	Plastic			Project Victory
M201	Robin	Super Steel Microman	Red	Chrome	Solid	Die cast			Project Victory
M202	Robert	Super Steel Microman	Green	Chrome	Solid	Die cast			Project Victory
M203	Rocky	Super Steel Microman	Blue	Chrome	Solid	Die cast			Project Victory
M211	Ken	Super Steel: Dash Wing Type	Yellow	Chrome	Solid	Die cast			Project Victory
M212	Kelly	Super Steel: Dash Wing Type	Green	Chrome	Solid	Die cast			Project Victory
M213	Kim	Super Steel: Dash Wing Type	Blue	Chrome	Solid	Die cast			Project Victory
M221	Robin	Super Steel: Hand Bazooka Type	Red	Chrome	Solid	Die cast			Project Victory
M222	Robert	Super Steel: Hand Bazooka Type	Green	Chrome	Solid	Die cast			Project Victory
M223	Rocky	Super Steel: Hand Bazooka Type	Blue	Chrome	Solid	Die cast			Project Victory
A301	Red Star	Acroyear	Red	Black	Solid	Die cast/Plastic			Project Victory
A302	Silver Star	Acroyear	Silver	Black	Solid	Die cast/Plastic			Project Victory
A303	Blue Star	Acroyear	Blue	Black	Solid	Die cast/Plastic			Project Victory
A311	Mad Pink	Acroyear 2	Red	Black	Solid	Die cast/Plastic			Project Victory
A312	Mad Green	Acroyear 2	Green	Black	Solid	Die cast/Plastic			Project Victory
A313	Mad Blue	Acroyear 2	Blue	Black	Solid	Die cast/Plastic			Project Victory
M131	Dick		Blue	Black	Solid	Plastic			Spy Magician
M132	Dan		Red	White	Solid	Plastic			Spy Magician
M133	Danny		Black	Red	Solid	Plastic			Spy Magician
M134	David		Green	White	Solid	Plastic			Spy Magician
M141	Henry		White	Blue	Solid	Plastic			Spy Magician
M142	Hudson		Green	Black	Solid	Plastic			Spy Magician
M143	Holmes		Yellow	Blue	Solid	Plastic			Spy Magician
M144	Howard		Black	Yellow	Solid	Plastic			Spy Magician
A321	Devil	President Acroyear	Blue	Light Blue	Solid	Plastic			Spy Magician
A322	Satander	President Acroyear	Green	Light Green	Solid	Plastic			Spy Magician
A323	Demon	President Acroyear	Red	Blue	Solid	Plastic			Spy Magician
M151	East	Command 1	Light Blue	Black	Solid	Plastic			Microman Command
M152	Eric	Command 1	Red	White	Solid	Plastic			Microman Command
M153	Elder	Command 1	Light Blue	White	Clear	Plastic			Microman Command
M154	Evan	Command 1	Black	Yellow	Solid	Plastic			Microman Command
M161	Sheriff	Command 2	Blue	White	Solid	Plastic			Microman Command
M162	Sander	Command 2	Orange	Black	Solid	Plastic			Microman Command
M163	Sander	Command 2	Green	Yellow	Clear	Plastic			Microman Command
M164	Sammy	Command 2	Grey	Black	Solid	Plastic			Microman Command
M171	Takuma	Command 3	Red	Black	Solid	Plastic			Microman Command
M172	Tetsuya	Command 3	Dark Grey	Dark Grey	Solid	Plastic			Microman Command
M173	Tatsuya	Command 3	White	Blue	Solid	Plastic			Microman Command
M174	Tsuyoshi	Command 3	Blue	Yellow	Solid	Plastic			Microman Command
M181	Ann	Lady Command	Red	White	Solid	Plastic			Microman Command
M182	Alice	Lady Command	Blue	Red	Solid	Plastic			Microman Command
M183	Annie	Lady Command	Green	Orange	Solid	Plastic			Microman Command
M184	Ai	Lady Command	Pink	Black	Solid	Plastic			Microman Command
M231	Arnold		Red	White	Solid	Plastic			Police Keeper
M232	Arthur		Blue	White	Solid	Plastic			Police Keeper
M233	Alex		Green	Yellow	Clear	Plastic			Police Keeper
M234	Anthony		Black	Yellow	Solid	Plastic			Police Keeper
M235	Aaron		Orange	White	Clear	Plastic			Police Keeper
M236	Alan		White	Light Blue	Solid	Plastic			Police Keeper
A351	Heller	Cosmo Satan Arden	Red	Black	Solid	Die cast/Plastic			Police Keeper
A352	Rager	Cosmo Satan Arden	Silver	Black	Solid	Die cast/Plastic			Police Keeper
A353	Vulger	Cosmo Satan Arden	Blue	Black	Solid	Die cast/Plastic			Police Keeper
MC8		Micro Knight	Silver		Solid	Plastic			Police Keeper
MC9		Micro Knight	Gold		Solid	Plastic			Police Keeper
MC10		Micro Knight	Black		Solid	Plastic			Police Keeper
MC11		Micro Knight	Blue		Solid	Plastic			Police Keeper
MC12		Micro Knight	Copper		Solid	Plastic			Police Keeper
MC13		Micro Knight	Green		Solid	Plastic			Police Keeper
H701	Hans	Micro Hoodman	Blue	White	Solid	Plastic			Police Keeper
H702	Regan	Micro Hoodman	Yellow	Black	Solid	Plastic			Police Keeper
H703	Heimlich	Micro Hoodman	Green	White	Solid	Plastic			Police Keeper
H711	Shultz	Micro Hoodman	Red	White	Solid	Plastic			Police Keeper
H712	Rudolf	Micro Hoodman	White	Blue	Solid	Plastic			Police Keeper
H713	Earhart	Micro Hoodman	Blue	Black	Solid	Plastic			Police Keeper
H721	Heilman	Micro Hoodman	Gold	White	Solid	Plastic			Police Keeper
H722	Lihaout	Micro Hoodman	Silver	Black	Solid	Plastic			Police Keeper
H723	Cardel	Micro Hoodman	Blue	Red	Solid	Plastic			Police Keeper
M251	Robin		Orange	Black	Solid	Plastic			Rescue Command
M252	William		Blue	White	Solid	Plastic			Rescue Command
M253	Richard		Light Blue	White	Solid	Plastic			Rescue Command
M261	Chris		Red	White	Solid	Plastic			Rescue Command
M262	Adam		Yellow	Black	Solid	Plastic			Rescue Command
M263	James		Light Green	White	Solid	Plastic			Rescue Command
M271	Lake		Blue	White	Solid	Plastic			Rescue Command
M272	Leon		Green	White	Solid	Plastic			Rescue Command
M273	Leonard		Orange	Black	Solid	Plastic			Rescue Command
M274	Carlton		Yellow	Black	Solid	Plastic			Rescue Command
M275	Richard		Green	Black	Solid	Plastic			Rescue Command
M281	Clark		Red	White	Solid	Plastic			Rescue Command
M282	Ryan		Yellow	Black	Solid	Plastic			Rescue Command
M283	Clark		Blue	White	Solid	Plastic			Rescue Command
M284	Foster		Red	Black	Solid	Plastic			Rescue Command
A371	Blue Amazon Commander	Acroyear Amazon	Blue	Black	Solid	Plastic			Rescue Command
A372	Red Amazon Commander	Acroyear Amazon	Red	Black	Solid	Plastic			Rescue Command
A373	Green Amazon Commander	Acroyear Amazon	Green	Black	Solid	Plastic			Rescue Command
A381	Fire Star	New Acroyear 1	Red	Black	Solid	Plastic			Rescue Command
A382	Earth Star	New Acroyear 1	Yellow	Black	Solid	Plastic			Rescue Command
A383	Sky Star	New Acroyear 1	Blue	Black	Solid	Plastic			Rescue Command