Shogun Warriors – 5 Inch

Shogun Warriors – 5 Inch 1978-1980

Mattel’s Shogun Warriors line was released in 1977, with focus on the 24 Inch figures, but other series began releasing in 1978. One of them was the 5 inch series, which included four basic figures and six new figures called “Two in One’s”. The concept of the Two in One’s were robots that transformed into different robots, effectively making them the first transforming robot characters to be released in the U.S. market. This would, of course be a predecessor to the Transformers line.

For more information about Mattel’s Shogun Warriors 5 Inch Figures, please see bottom of the page for a complete summary.

Shogun Warriors (1978-1980): 5 Inch Figures

Mattel released four different characters as part of their basic 5 Inch series. Unlike their “Two in One” counterparts, these figures did not transform, but did come with several fun accessories. The figures were made of die-cast metal, but the accessories and weapons were made of plastic. The early released figures featured missiles and rockets as tiny projectiles, but were later changed to larger missiles with rounded heads to prevent accidents.

Dragun

Market Value:
Boxed $175 – $250
Loose $40 – $70

Dragun
Accessories: Shooting Fists x 2, Plastic Battle Axes x 4, Rotating Arms
Years Released: 1978, 1979, 1980
Scarcity Factor: Tough to find on the secondary market
Notes: Dragun was one of the original Shogun Warriors released the year before in the jumbo version, and one of the more popular figures due to being released in other formats as well. Dragun came with his signature battle axes, and is recognizable by his bright red paint job and head spikes.

Great Mazinga

Market Value:
Boxed $200 – $275
Loose $40 – $70

Great Mazinga
Accessories: Shooting Fists x 4, Plastic Red Swords x 4, Removable Wings
Years Released: 1978, 1979, 1980
Scarcity Factor: Tough to find on the secondary market
Notes: Great Mazinga is one of the original Shogun Warriors released the year before in the jumbo version, and one of the more recognizable and popular figures due to being released in other formats and from the Marvel Comics series. Mazinga is recognizable by his blue and black paint job, as well as his giant red “V” on his chest.

Poseidon

Market Value:
Boxed $200 – $275
Loose $40 – $70

Poseidon
Accessories: Rocket Pods, Missiles x 6, Rotating Arms
Years Released: 1978, 1979, 1980
Scarcity Factor: Tough to find on the secondary market
Notes: Poseidon was not one of the main core robots for the Shogun Warriors line released in the U.S, but he is a huge character from the Japanese toy market. He was not released in the jumbo format, but did see releases in the 3″ and 5″ lines. He is recognizable by his multi-colored paint job and shoulder cannons on both arms.

Raider

Market Value:
Boxed $175 – $250
Loose $40 – $70

Raider
Accessories: Removable Fists, Drill Hand, Rockets x 6, Spinning Star
Years Released: 1978, 1979, 1980
Scarcity Factor: Tough to find on the secondary market
Notes: Raider only saw this release in the 5 Inch format, as his only appearance in the Shogun Warriors line. He also wasn’t very prominently featured in the Shogun Warriors literature and promotions here in the U.S. He is recognizable by his gold, blue and red paint job, as well as his arm drill and firing rocket.

Shogun Warriors (1978-1980): Two In One Figures

In addition to the basic 5 Inch Shogun Warrior figures, Mattel also released another set of 5″ figures called “Two in One’s”. These figures could transform from a Shogun robot into various objects, including animals, vehicles or weapons. Like the basic 5″ figures, these “Two in One” figures were made of die-cast metal with plastic accessories and weapons. The early released figures featured missiles and rockets as tiny projectiles, but were later changed to larger missiles with rounded heads to prevent accidents.

Daimos

Market Value:
Boxed $750 – $1,000
Loose $250 – $350

Daimos
Transforming Mode: Truck
Accessories: Leg Cannons, Missiles x 4, Sword, Launching Fists
Years Released: 1979, 1980
Scarcity Factor: Tough to find on the secondary market
Notes: Daimos may not be one of the first names you rattle off when speaking of the Shogun Warriors, but he was a big part of the Shogun world. Daimos was released in the Jumbo format this same year and his 5″ figure came with some great accessories, including his four firing rockets.

Danguard

Market Value:
Boxed $750 – $1,000
Loose $250 – $350

Danguard
Transforming Mode: Flying Jet
Accessories: Launching Head, Launching Fists, Shin Guards, Opening Torso
Years Released: 1978, 1979, 1980
Scarcity Factor: Tough to find on the secondary market
Notes: Danguard was not one of the main Shogun Warriors released in jumbo size format, but he was a very important character in the shogun series none the less. He was also released in the 3″ and Vehicle formats, as well as being one of the main characters from the shogun’s Marvel Comic Book series.

Gaiking

Market Value:
Boxed $450 – $550
Loose $175 – $250

Gaiking
Transforming Mode: Horned Skull
Accessories: Launching Fists, Shin Guards, Detachable Wings
Years Released: 1978, 1979, 1980
Scarcity Factor: Tough to find on the secondary market
Notes: Gaiking was released in jumbo Shogun Warrior format this same year in 1978, and remains one of the more popular figures due to his very unique look. Gaiking came with some fantastic weapons and accessories, and is recognizable by his gold painted torso, shaped into a skull.

Grandizer

Market Value:
Boxed $900 – $1,200
Loose $350 – $500

Grandizer
Transforming Mode: UFO Saucer
Accessories: Launching Fists, Sickles x 4, Rotating Arms
Years Released: 1979, 1980
Scarcity Factor: Tough to find on the secondary market
Notes: Grandizer (or Grendizer for the Japanese toy purists) was one of the lesser known characters released in the U.S. He was not released in the jumbo figure format and his 5 Inch figure was very difficult to find on the toy shelves. All of this translates into Grandizer being one of the more difficult to find Shoguns in the 3″ or 5″ format.

Raydeen

Market Value:
Boxed $350 – $450
Loose $125 – $200

Raydeen
Transforming Mode: Bird
Accessories: Shield, Bow, Launching Fists, Rotating Arms
Years Released: 1978, 1979, 1980
Scarcity Factor: Tough to find on the secondary market
Notes: Raydeen is one of the original Shogun Warriors released the year before in the jumbo version, and one of the more recognizable and popular figures due to being released in other formats and from the Marvel Comics series. Rayden is recognizable by his very unique Shogun/Egyptian look, including massive shoulder guards and horns.

Voltus V

Market Value:
Boxed $750 – $1,000
Loose $250 – $350

Voltus V
Transforming Mode: Battle Tank
Accessories: Launching Helmet, Launching Fists, Rotating Arms
Years Released: 1979, 1980
Scarcity Factor: Tough to find on the secondary market
Notes: Voltus V (or Voltes V according to other appearances) was one of the lesser known characters released in the U.S. He was not released in the jumbo figure format and his 5 Inch figure was tough to find on the toy shelves. Voltes came with some great accessories, and is recognizable by the unique paint job on his chest.

Shogun Warriors (1978-1980): 5 Inch Accessories

Mattel did not release any accessories to be used with the metal 5 Inch Shogun Warrior figures.

Shogun Warriors (1978-1980): 5 Inch Playsets

Mattel did not release any large scale playsets to be used with the metal 5 Inch Shogun Warrior figures.

Shogun Warriors (1978-1980): 5 Inch Vehicles

Mattel also did not release any vehicles to be used with the metal 5 Inch Shogun Warrior figures.

By the mid 1970’s, the toy industry had changed in a big way. Action Figure lines were dominating toy sales and every company was trying to get the next GI Joe or Six Million Dollar Man line. Mattel Toys was enjoying massive sales and success with their ultra popular Barbie Doll line for girls and Big Jim action figure line for boys. Mattel’s Big Jim line was winding down in the North American market, but it was dominating across the rest of the globe on the International market. This huge success in foreign markets allowed Mattel to take some chances on other foreign properties as well. They saw that Anime and Tokusatu shows were huge in Japan, and across many Asian markets. Many of these shows focused on giant robots that fought giant creatures. That gave Mattel the idea to create a new series of toys based on similar giant robots and creatures for the North American market. Thus, the Shogun Warriors were born. Mattel’s initial Shogun Warriors line was released in 1977, and focused exclusively on the giant 24 Inch figures, but in 1978, they began releasing other lines featuring other sized figures. One of those lines was the 5 Inch series, which included basic figures and a new series called “Two in One’s”.

Mattel had a huge already existing universe of characters to chose from when it came to putting their Shogun Warriors team together. They ultimately chose some pretty iconic characters for their Shogun Warriors toy line. The initial wave of 5 Inch robots released in 1978 consisted of three “Two in One” figures, Gaiking, Raydeen and Danguard. Three more “Two in One’s” were released as part of the second wave in 1979, Daimos, Grandizer, and Voltes V. The basic concept of the Two in One’s were robots who could transform into different robots, effectively making them the first transforming robot characters to ever be released in the U.S. market. This would of course be the predecessor to the Transformer and Gobot lines of later. The other 5 Inch releases were basic non-transforming figures. There were four figures in total, and they were released in 1978. That series consisted of Dragun, Great Mazinga, Poseidon and Raider. There were several different versions of each of the basic figures with minor variations and package changes to each.

The packaging for the 5 Inch Shogun Warriors line was very eye catching, and saw some minor changes during its run. The initial design used a box format, with the figure on the left inside of an open window box and a photo of the same figure to the right of the package, on the flap. The general color theme was a multi-color look that focused on the classic Shogun Warriors logo to the top right, above the photo. Later releases of this line, featured the figure on the right side of the package with a colorful illustration replacing the photo on the left side. The name of the character was always directly underneath the open window box with the figure. Regardless of which package was used, the one thing that remained consistent was the classic Shogun Warriors logo. The logo featured the word Shogun in big, bright red letters with Warriors in smaller yellow letters. Both words were centered on a bright yellow background.

Shogun Warriors
5″ Catalog Page

Shogun Warriors
Packaging Back

Shogun Warriors 5″ Ad

Shogun Warriors Japanese Ad