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.