The Friction Powered Atom Robot with Crank has the distinction of being the smallest of the skirted robots. It is an unassuminng little toy by Yoshiya (KO.)

This is undeniably a simple design, with the emphasis on producing a no-frills wind up robot at a reasonable price. The body and head are a single pressing, relieved by considerable litho detailing and some red metal beading along the seams. The pressings often reveal those distortion marks on the tighter bends which disfigure the litho.The arms, which copy the red bent-elbow style of the larger skirts hang loosely. The most interesting feature is the crank action. Turning a handle on the back starts a flywheel spinning violently. When the robot is placed down it hurtles around with a very effective and economical bump'n'go action. This inertia action is common among wind up toys, though it's a characteristic of the older robots. I have no firm date but, judging by the age of people who received it as children, this is almost certainly a mid-1960s robot.

I've heard of slight litho variations of this robot. Often it seems to be down to a general impression that the background silver-grey litho is blueish or greyish, and I've seen distinct differences of shade. One definite fact is that it can be found with red plastic eyes or, much less usually, green plastic eyes.

The box is one of those attractive, simple depictions of the robot on a lunar landscape. Altogether, a great little robot at a reasonable price.