Friday, May 12, 2006

Childhood Nostalgia 1 - Vico transformer toys

Since a kid, I fancy robots as toys, especially those which can transform. I guess it’s quite natural since most boys like this kind of toys. I got to watch them during cartoon time every evening, plus the only thing I talked about with the neighborhood kids in school was all the robots I watched. Because of the interest, I did many drawings and sketches of my own robot design, including some which can transform. I even sketched the transformation sequence in details, which was really fun. Unfortunately, most of them are lost now.

I remembered how hard it was for me to get the robot toys I like. My parent believed that if I indulged too much into these toys, I was not going to do any of my homework, plus I liked to demolish the toys after playing with them for a short while (I was looking for some hidden functions or stuff like that in those toys). So my parents bought me very few toys when I was young. So when I did lay my hands on a few, they became the treasures of my life, which I kept until today.

When I started this blog, I was thinking of sharing about my Gundam collection. After a while, I remembered my treasure chest, with all the childhood toys I maintained. So here’s a chance for all my childhood collection to come out from the closet and see the cyberspace.

I guess it must be 1995, when Vico debuted in the market. Back then, everyone was drinking either Milo or Oval tine. Vico gave out a lot of gifts to sell their products, and the first ones to be given out were transformable robots aimed to catch kids salivating for them. Just buy the 1.5kg Vico and you’ll get one of them. I must have drank a hell lot of Vico to get a few of these toys. I remembered I have four or five of them, but manage to keep only three. Frankly, I don’t really care whether Vico is better than Milo in terms of the flavor, but I’ll go for Vico anyway since they gave out free robots.

These two have their name as well. One is called Ram Jam, and the other one Trailblazer. Both can transform into fighter jets, and the transformation is similar to Robotech. The trademark of these robots is the V pose on their left hands, telling you they fight for the company producing the chocolate beverage you are drinking at that moment. The playability is amazingly high, since the parts between Ram Jam and Trailblazer are interchangeable. I had some really fun time with these fellas. These toys are made from plastic and the colorful ornaments on the body of the plane are just stickers.

After these transformable toys, Vico gave out pencil cases for kids, which I managed to get my hand on one as well. The cover is the conceptual design of Trailblazer, with the trademark V on the left hand. I never used this pencil case because the space inside is too limited for me to bring all the stationeries I need to school. Anyway, I still think it’s cool until today.

Watch out for more of my childhood collection review in the future.

and this is Ram Jam's buddy Trailblazer This is Ram Jam
Trailblazer Pencil Case