1982
DOL. The monosyllabic name resonates in the head of Jumbo fanatics like the beating of the Tell-Tale Heart, cruelly reminding them that this is one of only two non-humanoid pieces in the entire Jumbo Machinder series. That's right -- along with the JM of Gaiking's fabled Space Dragon, the "Daikumaryu," Dol's the only other horizontally-oriented JM out there. Which makes it a real pain in the ass to display, because it doesn't quite fit in with the rest of the towering robots in the series. But am I complaining? Hell, no. Dol's uniquely Asian flavor (strongly reminiscent of a Chinese Dragon), coupled with the series of design gimmicks Popy used to pull the whole thing off, makes it a multimedia masterpiece of toy design.

Popy's first stroke of genius was the decision to render Dol's neck and tail in pleated, accordion-like polyethylene, giving them near-unlimited flexibility. Next, they fit a single missile launcher directly in the mouth, and mounted a huge pair of whiskers on the cheeks, molded to look as if they were blowing in the breeze rushing past Dol's head. They installed a set of chunky black wheels on the dragon's belly to allow easy movement, and then -- this is the part that really kills me -- they also made it a riding toy. There's a tiny compartment, hidden under a hinged fin on Dol's back, that contains a little handlebar; you can thread the bar through a hole on the fin and climb aboard for some riding action. I wouldn't exactly recommend it, though, seeing as how the toy was (I'm guessing) designed for tiny Japanese children raised on a rice-based diet, not overweight American toy-freaks whose main meal of the day consists of a frozen burrito washed down with a Schlitz tall-boy. Fortunately, Popy also threw in a little vinyl figure of "Space Sheriff Gavan," the eponymous hero whose live-action television show Dol hails from, to use in your stead.

Another plus is the simplistic cardboard box: while it's not exactly the most beautiful packaging ever conceived by the Japanese, it does feature a hilarious hand-drawing of a kid taking Dol on a bombing run (or whatever it is you're supposed to do as the pilot of an enormous robot dragon). Ride 'em, cowpoke!

Matt Alt