Toy Story: Super Liverobo!

Every once in awhile I end up with a toy that has a somewhat interesting story behind it. Previously I talked about my nail-biting experience purchasing a Masking Brace from Maskman and how I ended up with two Prism Flashes (Flashman) at the same time. This time I'm going to take a look at one of the only times I feverishly sought out a Sentai Mecha. This is my story of how I ended up with my Super Liverobo for what was even then an unheard of price...

I have always been a fan of Liveman and the Liveman mecha. I didn't really own a ton of mecha toys growing up, however. I had a few here and there, but I mostly stuck to Henshin Items and weapons. Years and years of not taking any kind of action toward acquiring the Liveman mecha kinda caught up with me when prices really started to climb around 2007. It looked like I was never going to end up with the Liveman mecha at this point. Sentai mecha from the 1980s just didn't seem worth the prices they were going for. The price you pay is for nostalgia...not the actual toy.

Then...something happened. Something caught my attention and left me a broken man. It was a video. It's a video I'm sure you've seen too. Yes.....that video.

I wanted it. No...I HAD to have it. I saw the show, I'd seen photos of the toys, but watching them in action mesmerized me. It isn't until you mess with the toy that you realize what an amazing bit of design it really is...especially when you get into Liveboxer! Oh man! I was missing this all of these years? Time to do something about that!

Well...here is where a cruel little thing called reality comes in and kicks you in the shin. It was now 2008 and surprise, surprise this now twenty-year-old toy was a hard one to find. Liverobo? Expensive! Liveboxer? A little more reasonable. The Super Liverobo set that the above video came with? Impossibly expensive. The battle begins...

My first attempt at getting a decent Liverobo ended badly. I put in a bid of $200 for a less than perfect one and watched as the price climbed up to $320. Same thing with the second one I was outbid on. The third attempt at Liverobo ended at $450 for a minter. This was looking grim. Had everyone else seen this video?? Was I making futile bids against someone amassing an army of Liverobos?

Normally I don't have this much trouble finding a toy until I really want it...and man, did I really want this one. That video messed with my brain like no commercial had. Why in the world was it included with Super Liverobo anyway? They should have aired it! If you were watching the video you either owned the toy already, or you were watching this on the future interwebs.

Then...something happened. I can't quite explain it, but sometimes I get this incredible luck. There was an auction with a boxed Liverobo and Liveboxer. It was a short auction and had a very low starting price. Both toys appeared to be in solid shape with the only things missing being Aqua Dolphin's missiles and Land Lion's missiles. No big deal since pretty much any missiles will fit in the little cannons.

Actual auction photos...

Alright, so I finally found the auction that I needed to win. The price was low, so I put in an enormous bid and went about my day...

Imagine my absolute shock when I checked on the finished auction after coming home from work that day. I had won the auction and now had to fork over an unreal $200 to complete my ownership of a complete (missiles aside) and boxed Super Liverobo, What the hell was with all of those times I couldn't get even lesser quality Liverobos for that much on their own for that kind of money? I was gobsmacked! It really hurts to sell in lots, I suppose.....but this one surely should have gone for more!

Who cares about all of that, though. I now owned a Super Liverobo for less money than I ever imagined parting with. Success! Now it just had to make it's way over to me here in the 'States.

When it arrived I was impressed with how clean it was. Maybe not factory fresh, but it was still in great shape with no broken pieces. I immediately set about making my videos. The resulting Liverobo, Liveboxer, and Super Liverobo videos are ones that I still look fondly on today despite being from 2009 (the editing could be tighter...but I also had to trick the editing into giving me a decent thumbnail because Youtube sucks). I was still pretty early into my run of mecha videos...and these were the first ones I was truly happy with.

To this day I am floored that I managed to make Super Liverobo part of my collection. I didn't care so much when I got my Great Five or Flashking...but having a Super Liverobo is a serious collection win. When the eventual day comes when I have to trim down the collection...I know that this one and at least one of my Muteki Shoguns will be staying with me forever. This one is a lifer!

Thanks for reading my little story on how I ended up with Super Liverobo. Sometimes all it takes is patience and sheer luck. Stick with it and you'll succeed!

-CC