Interest

Bandai Turns Monument Into Transforming Robot

In the spirit of taking a historical piece of Japanese cultural history and turning it into an absurdly awesome toy for commercial consumption, Bandai of Japan has announced a transforming robot based after Osaka's Taiyō no Tō or Tower of the Sun.

This transforming replica, stands at approximately 288mm tall when fully transformed, and is made from ABS in a die-cast mold. It has three different phases: the traditional tower form, the upright robot form, and the fully operational and weaponized transformation, which is somehow even creepier than the original appearance of the tower.

The Tower of the Sun was originally built for the World Fair hosted in Osaka as their Expo '70. The tower originally housed a gallery of artwork that was open to the public during the expo, but closed shortly after the event. In October 2003, the tower was reopened to a total of 1,970 people who had been selected by the Commemorative Organization for the Japan World Exposition. It was then opened on irregular occasions until its re-closing in 2006. Despite this, the tower is scheduled to be reopened to the public this year after the completion of its ongoing renovations.

While the toy itself will not be available for purchase until it is released on September 27, Bandai is currently taking pre-orders for it through Amazon as well as AmiAmi. The figure will cost approximately 17,000 yen (around 166.74 USD) before tax. More information is available on the figure's official webpage.

In case this transforming robot version of the Tower of the Sun has piqued your interest, you may want to check out the Hatsune Miku Roomba version of the tower. But be forewarned, it may not be what you're expecting.

[Via: Hachima Kikou.]