ROBOTS ON THE MARCH IN JAPAN
SMN report: We’ll be fascinated to see how many robots will be on display at Japan’s Shizuoka Hobby Show on May 17-20. They’ll probably number in their hundreds, from a host of toy, figure, and kit manufacturers, including Fine Molds, whose 1:20 scale robot shown here comes from the anime fantasy movie Laputa: Castle in the Sky . Unusual robot This Fine Molds robot is not a brand-new release, but the strange mechanoid is worth a mention, if only because it is so definitely not a run-of-the-mill Terminator or Robocop-style creation. There are two versions of the design, the combat 'soldier' type shown here, with 132 components, and the peace-loving 'gardener' type shown at the bottom, with 139 parts. City in the sky The movie Laputa was first released in 1986, but it’s still going strong, and maintains a faithful following. The recent Fine Molds snap-fit kit includes the hugely long-armed soldier-bot, human figures, and a strange creature that seems to be a weird cross...