Toy OTD: Bandai Talking "Big Guy" Figure (1999)

Frank Miller and Geoff Darrow sparked off a mini-franchise when they teamed up their versions of Gigantor (Tetsujin-nijūhachi-gō 鉄人28号) and Astro Boy (鉄腕 アトム, Tetsuwan Atomu) in their comic, The Big Guy and Rusty The Boy Robot. Even though they were only featured in short, sporadic comic book appearances, the concept spawned a short-lived animated television series, and a line of merchandise.

You really couldn't ask for a better toy of the Big Guy than this! It actually is pretty big - thirteen inches tall - and speaks four phrases (his eyes glowing red) when you push his chest button. I'm assuming that they're from the show: "Candygram!", "For the luvva Mike!", "Fire in the hole!", and "This is serious business!" I've never seen the program, so I can't tell you if it's the same voice actor or not.

One arm opens to reveal a pair of cannons, while the other can fire off from his arm, Shogun Warrior-style. The former can be tricky to close back up, and the latter has a hair trigger, but they're still cool features! He also comes with accessories: a ray pistol, his human pilot (though he always came across as autonomous and sentient in the comic), and a roughly-to-scale Rusty figure. I don't remember how much this figure originally cost, but it was affordable enough that it was a good deal for the money!

There are two talking versions of this toy - the 13" size that has four phrases, and a 6" model with just two (and no accessories). This'll make buying one online a little tricky, so make sure that you're getting the version you want when bidding on eBay!

Speaking of which, I can't find this toy for sale online. You'll have to set up a favorite search - Good luck!