TARGET ROBOT
Maker: Masudaya
Gang of 5
The Shooting Game Robot or Target Robot combines bright litho with a great action, making it a robot that must have had real play value. The robot advances towards the enemy child who is armed only with a simple dart gun. The child has to hit a large red button in its chest. If successful the robot screams, backs up, turns around and retreats. The mechanism is surprisingly complex, for this robot has two motors. One controls his advance-retreat and the other handles the scream-spin action. The gun does not seem to have carried any distinctive markings; the two boxed Targets I have seen have had different guns.
There's an interesting litho variation in the catalog for 1963, there are some brightly coloured panels in the front, but since I'm working from a b&w photo I don't know what colours are used. It now appears that a single prototype of the Giant Shooting Robot. Production was probably scheduled for 1963-4 but it did not happen.
The correct gun for this robot has aroused some discussion. It probably came with a variety of simple generic guns.