Defenseless City manga, Act 1

Welcome to the opening salvo of a unique manga from the Votoms library. One reason for its uniqueness is that it’s a spinoff of a spinoff, featuring Kiek Karadyne (from Armor Hunter Merowlink) as the main character. Another is that it was written by Hiroshi Yamaguchi, who contributed scripts to...

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Grab-bag art gallery

Moriyasu Taniguchi (animation director) Moriyasu Taniguchi (animation director) Unknown Masami Watanabe Aibo Tanaka Aibo Tanaka Yoshiyuki Takani Yoshiyuki Takani Yoshiyuki Takani Yoshiyuki Takani Yoshiyuki Takani Hidetaka Tenjin Hidetaka Tenjin Hidetaka Tenjin Hidetaka Tenjin Hidetaka Tenjin Hidetaka Tenjin Hidetaka Tenjin Hidetaka Tenjin Jun-ichi Nakamura Jun-ichi Nakamura Hiroyuki Hataike Toru Yoshida Takahito...

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Votoms Roundtable Discussion

Votoms Odyssey was published in November 1985 by Minori Shobo, the home of OUT (the first monthly anime magazine). It occupies an important position in the history of Votoms by being the first book to expand the world beyond the anime, The purpose of this conversation was to reunite directors...

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HEAT UP

There’s no doubt that the quickest and cheapest way to get a Votoms story out into the world is in manga form. This simple equation has led to a LOT of Votoms manga from big publishers and DIY fanzines alike. Cyber Comix fit somewhere in between those two categories, handled...

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The Ultimate Scopedog

If your mind works a certain way, the first thought that occurs to you when you lay eyes on Kunio Okawara’s brilliant Scopedog design is, “That could actually kinda work IRL.” In fact, that was the whole point of it. After previous experiences designing anime mecha, Okawara set out to...

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Vintage garage kit catalog

It’s 1985. You’ve watched all of Armored Trooper Votoms, spinoffs are in the air, and you’ve built every model kit Takara, Union, and Kabaya have to offer. But the gaps in the lineup are endlessly frustrating. Why did some models get released in one scale, but not the other? Why...

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Kotobukiya 1/60 scale kits

These products first entered the market in 1993. Kotobukiya also specialized in garage kits for Blue Knight Berserga. Resin kits 1. Scopedog Turbo Custom 2. Ecrevisse 3. Diving Beetle 4. Fatty ground type 5. Berserga 6. Bloodsucker HG metal kits Scopedog Marshydog Conversion parts for Scopedog Red Shoulder Custom and...

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Volks resin kits

Volks is a seller and distributor of garage kits with their own storefronts. The actual creation of their Votoms models takes place at a studio named Zoukei-mura [Sculpture Village]. They debuted with the record-breaking 1/8 Scopedog in December 1995 and continued with a lineup of 1/24 resin kits. Read all...

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Manten Workshop resin kits

These products first appeared in December 1998. See more Manten products here and visit their Twitter page here. 1/24 Scopedog 1/24 Round Mover type Scopedog 1/24 Parachute Sack type Scopedog 1/24 Berserga 1/24 Strikedog 1/24 Rabidlydog 1/60 Brutishdog 1/60 Scopedog “Basic Action Model” 1/60 Round Mover type Scopedog 1/60 Parachute...

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Kotobukiya 1/24 resin kits

Box style Scopedog The Scopedog included a mini RPG (at right) Scopedog Turbo Custom Liman type Burglary Dog Scopedog Turbo Custom Scopedog Red Shoulder Custom upgrade parts Decal sets (multiple scales) Continue to next gallery Back to main article

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Max Factory

This company, run by sculptor Max Watanabe, debuted its first Votoms models in 1992. Prior to that, they coproduced Blue Knight kits with Lark Hobby shop under the brand name “L-Max” in 1988. 1/24 Rabidly Dog (resin) 1/24 Diving Beetle (vinyl) 1/24 Fatty (vinyl) 1/24 Strikedog (vinyl) 1/24 Strikedog, Korean...

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MO-Craft 1/48 resin kits

These products first began to appear in 1998. The “MO” in the company name stands for company leader Masakazu Ohwa. Some were originally released by Craftsman’s G-Port. Whereas most garage kit makers only get 1-day licenses to sell at hobby shows, MO-Craft kits were officially licensed for continuous production Scopedog,...

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Lark, Nomopi & others

Lark resin kits Lark Hobby Shop was founded in May 1983 and began to produce the first Votoms garage kits October 1984. They joined forces with Wave to do more in July 1985 and with Max Factory to produce Blue Knight models in 1988 under the name “L-Max.” Afterward, the...

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Craftsman’s G-Port

All kits by Craftsman’s G-Port are 1/48 scale resin, and first appeared in April 1991. They were sculpted by Masakazu Ohwa, and some were re-released by his own company, MO-Craft. Box styles; the illustration at right is by Blue Knight Berserga artist Hiroyuki Hataike Instruction style Scopedog II Scopedog Red...

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Wave resin kits

The “Wave” brand began under the umbrella of Lark Hobby Shop, with their first Votoms products appearing in July 1985. After focusing on other products and reissuing the 1/60 plastic models from Union, they jumped back onto the Votoms bandwagon in 1989 and have been on it ever since. Some...

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