Yonezawa – Speelgoed robot Talking Robot – 1960-1970 – Japan

From my collection of iconic Japanese space toys:The condition is fair to good. The robot has been played with, yet the paint and lithography have remained in excellent condition. Please examine the photos carefully; they form part of the description.This fine example of the Yonezawa 'Talking Robot' (1965) spent nearly ten years on the shelf of my 'robot doctor.' This retired clockmaker never got around to repairing it. Nevertheless, the friction mechanism works flawlessly. The battery compartment is loose, preventing me from testing the legendary speech function. It is therefore being sold as non-working.Description:This 'skirted' robot is made of tin and powered by both friction and batteries. It moves via a friction drive and features freely moving arms. It is equipped with a battery-operated speech mechanism capable of playing four different messages.While based on the design of other skirted Yonezawa robots from that era, this model differs significantly. The battery-operated drive motor was removed to accommodate the speech mechanism. The robot's head features the same control room (!) with small pilots found on Mr. Mercury and the Jupiter robot. The key difference is the Cragstan logo on the chest: while many units feature it, this rare example does not.