At first sight this looks like an older robot, but it dates back only to 1967, when it appeared as a new item in the Yonezawa catalog along with the Acrobot - appearances can be deceptive. The Atomic Robot is a cheaply constructed clockwork toy but there is something appealing about its distinctive, unique shape and its strange action. The nickname Rotation Robot distinguishes it from a host of others which have Atomic in their names and it's derived from the circular collar around the toy's neck. This collar has two plastic arms dangling from it and a pair of machine guns mounted on top, and the whole assembly rolls from side to side as the robot waddles along with a clicking noise. The action is a clever use of the walking mechanism, the old fashioned pin movement in the feet has been extended to give the up and down movement of the head.

The head is a two part assembly, a pierced outer section and a cylindrical inner part that looks a bit like a skull, though I believe it's supposed to be a comic face. You see a changing view of this head as the outer portion oscillates.

The bright blue body has some attractive litho detail. The box art is exceptionally good for a robot of this size: it is a cartoon-like depiction of a robot with regular arms and legs. The tiny light antenna on his head is often missing.