1976 Spy Magician Series M14X
Takara released Microman Spy Magician as a follow up series to the second Microman Zone line. There were two distinctive types of Microman Spy Magicians - the M13X type which used several parts from the last year M11X and M12X and the M14X type which used M11X head design but had a completely new body design. Unlike the previous year, Microman Spy Magicians were sold in small window box and not in the capsule chamber. Takara marketed Microman Spy Magician as a "spy-kit" that can be used to "train" and upgrade" other Microman. Each Microman Spy Magician came with Spy Magician figure, a spy manual and a set of three Spy Magician wand & bracelets. The wand and bracelet were unique equipment that only given to Microman who had completed the Spy Magician training.
After Microman line was cancel in 1981, Spy Magicians M13X and M14X along with Lady Command were the three Types that never got made into New Microman. Microman M14X would never be produced again until Takara reissued them in 2000 as part of Replica Microman series. The reproduction versions were slightly smaller than the vintage figures. Beside the original four M14X, Takara also released several exclusive versions along with new member M140 Hawk Spy Magician leader who was featured in the early Microman Spy Magician catalog.
M141 Henry
M142 Hudson
M143 Holms
M144 Howard
The Spy Magician Story
Microman Spy Magician were revived near the beach where the Acroyears first emerged from the polluted ocean depth. They are the expert in intelligence gathering and fight against the Acroyear by using their spy ability. With the growing power of the Acroyears, Microman Spy Magician form MCIA (Microman Central Information Agency) to train other Microman in the art of spy.
M14X Spy Magician
CRIM - Intelligence Section (formerly MCIA)
M141 Henry- Naval and military scientist, make weapon design for the benefit of information gathering activities. (naval intelligence officer)
M142 Hudson - Expert sociologist, gather information and profile study of Acroyears. (terrorist psychologist and profiler)
M143 Holmes - field medical expert, well aquatinted with emergency procedures and poison sickness. (field medic and poison gas expert)
M144 Howard - teacher of infiltration methods. Expert in insertion and extraction of Microman Spy Magician probe teams. (probe team leader)
M14X sport the unusual wrap around chest armor design. Beside these four colors, Takara also released limited chrome plated edition of M141 Henry in 1978 as a promotion item.
Tools of the Trade
Magic Wand: Teleportation device to help expedites spy activity.
Spy Bracelet: By altering the ESP wave randomly it allow the Spy-Magicians to communicate with 5 other members simultaneously without interference by Acroyear. The bracelet also maximize the ESP power of Microman to allow him to use United Will.
United Will: by utilizing bracelet ESP function combine with the teleport wand, the SpyMagician can merge his psyche with another Microman. For this reason untrained Microman is excluded from wearing the SpyMagician Bracelet.
The Spy Manual
One of the unique feature for the Spy Magician series was the fact that each figure came with Spy Training Manual. The manual was basically a Microman catalog with Spy Magician story and their special powers along with a special training section. The training section featured thing like how to encrypt and decode message, basic magic trick and how to amplify one ESP energy.
The manual also featured the pictures of famous prototype Microman Spy Magician figures. (NOTE: Takara later released these two prototypes in 2001 as Spy Magician Leaders M130 & M140. (See also Replica Series - Spy Leaders Set) which were sold as Takara e-Hobby exclusive. There were also metallic editions of these two figures). design stage.
The Spy Manual
The Spy Magician Manual also had a section on Spy gadgets that were suppose to be sold by Takara as part of the Microman Spy Magician line but they were cancel and never got pass the
Seen here are the various Microman Spy Magician "Manual" Catalogs from 1976. So far there appear to have been only three different covers.
Packaging
Spy Magicians were sold in small black with yellow stripes card board window box. Unlike the reproduction version, each box was unique to each member of the series with their name and designation printed on the box. The insert trays were also unique to each one. The tray came in four colors - orange for M141, blue for M142, green for M143 and yellow for M144.
**M141 pic by Jim Valentino
**M142-M144 pics by Mr. Tomoyoshi Araki
Packaging
Packaging
Packaging
Packaging
Packaging
Accessories
Each figure came with three set of Spy Magician wands and bracelets. Each figure also came with the "L" connector - white for M141 & M143, black for M142 and yellow for M144. The accessories came in small plastic bag.
The accessories were packaged in a small plastic bag.