Voltron's 40th Anniversary Set Proves Dreams Come True

It took 40 years, but recently one of my toy dreams came true. After writing this article about toys that you always wanted, but could never have, I was contacted to see if I’d be interested in receiving and writing about a brand new set of Voltron toys to celebrate the franchise’s 40th anniversary. The answer wasn’t just “Yes,” it was “Oh hell yes!”

Exclusive to Target, Playmates is releasing a new set of Voltron toys that combine to create the big man himself. We’re talking Black Lion ($30), Red Lion, Green Lion, Blue Lion, and Yellow Lion ($20 each). There’s also a five-pack that retails for $100. They’re available at Targets everywhere (here’s a link) but Playmates was kind enough to send io9 a set, and what follows are our unboxings, constructions, and thoughts.

Here are all five pieces in their packages.

You’ll notice there’s “Try Me” button on the black lion. When you press it, it has various sound effects and different sayings such as “Form Voltron!” “We will defend this planet!” “Activate Laser blades!” and more. There are over 60 in total, some of which only unlock when you put the whole package together. Speaking of packages...

The Green Lion has a missile launcher and Voltron’s shield.

The Red Lion comes with Voltron’s sword.

The Black Lion is the biggest and most expensive of the bunch.

Now we’ll show you the card backs which have info on each lion, and its pilot.

We thought this image of all of them together, on the bottom of the Black Lion box, was cool.

We aren’t gonna show photos of every package opening but the back of the Black Lion package is... a lot. With all the tape and zip ties, you better have your razor blade in hand.

Each lion comes with very clear, very simple instructions. This is just the Green Lion but they’re all very similar. Very helpful and easy to use. A+.

As you can see, besides the main figure, each lion comes with a few other gizmos.

This is the Black Lion when you take it out. It’s so precious with its baby legs!

Here you see the Blue Lion with everything attached.

The Yellow Lion is stopping in to say “Hi.”

After lots of razor action, we were able to unbox all five lions with their accessories. Let’s form Voltron!

Creating Voltron starts by setting up the Black Lion: flipping out the wings, the head, etc.

Then you transform each of the lions into their compressed states.

A different angle.

We love how the lion is biting down on the sword.

From there, it’s a pretty easy process. Snap everything in and boom: Voltron! (The arms are a little weird because you have to turn the shoulders first, but that’s the only complication.)

Now that all 16 inches of Voltron are assembled, the button on the Black Lion says different things. Mainly interactions between the characters. “Pidge, talk to me: are you hurt?” “No, I can handle it” “We’ve got to hang on somehow! I trust you, Keith!” etc. It’s pretty cool.

In the end, Voltron is awesome. The downsides are that it’s a bit more flimsy than you are expecting so getting it to stand comfortably is a bit of a struggle. But that’s a small price to pay for everything else. I had a blast opening these and putting them together. Each of the lions are already cool on their own but once you get them together? It’s just a whole other level. If you’re a Voltron fan and always wanted the original toys, this is a great substitute.