[Logo]
[Masudaya Model Kits]


In 1984 a Japanese company called Masudaya released what many justly consider to be the most accurate and detailed Lost in Space "YM3" Robot toy/model ever produced. Very little is known about the company but it's highly probable they are the same company that produced a wide range of Japanese tin-toys in the 1950s and 1960s.

Exactly why Masudaya called it's Robot "YM3" is still a mystery. Perhaps it merely adopted the name to skirt the issue of licensing. One thing for sure, both the 16 inch, battery operated, talking "YM3" and the 4 inch wind-up "YM3" are unlicensed. The phrase "Lost in Space" appears no where on the packaging or instructions. In 1986, copyright holders put a halt to production of the "YM3" robots. Today, several rumours have circulated about the discovery of pallets of "YM3" Robots in a Japanese warehouse. This news has somewhat dampened the value of these Robots which generally can be acquired for under $150 for the large talking version and under $40 for the small wind-up version.

In 1997 Masudaya received a license from New Line Cinema to produce the small wind-up robots only. This still leaves the 16 inch talking robot unlicensed and is sure to make demand for the larger robot even greater as the movie hype continues.










Click here for cool Lost in Space stuff!