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Post by kylefromdirtnapp on Aug 27, 2014 21:05:36 GMT -6
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Post by drbo on Aug 28, 2014 7:19:08 GMT -6
I never posted my green Super Cy-Kill? Not that I knew! Truly great figure - I remember always finding Cy-Kill a bit goofy as a kid despite not having much bias toward Transformers , but he came back in those color I revised myself In the meanwhile, I did take some snapshot of my collector case Go-bots collector case, where guys from Gobotron hang around guys from McDonalds Notice I have only one space left, I'm looking for Hans Cuff (the police car) to fill in that blank
Here Tux, Tank and Rest-Q in front of the case:
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Post by sharpfork on Sept 5, 2014 8:15:27 GMT -6
I never posted my green Super Cy-Kill? Is this for real or a custom? I've never seen a green Super version, only standard.
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Post by kylefromdirtnapp on Sept 5, 2014 23:24:17 GMT -6
Custom. It's the Euro version I got from Catgut.
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Post by bowspearer on Sept 6, 2014 5:28:07 GMT -6
In many respects, not only did Gobots deserve to be overshadowed by Transformers, but the fact that Machine Robo is still going strong in Japan, whilst it's a largely forgettable fad here, speaks largely as to why.
The big problem was that Tonka arguably never really treated the franchise with the respect it deserved. The whole marketing rationale for Gobots/Machine men wound up being a poor man's rationale in comparison to that for Transformers.
From what I understand, Gobots was a rush job and a means to an end. Where Transformers had been carefully planned and had even drawn on Marvel Comics to develop its storyline and characters, Machine Robo was ultimately viewed by Tonka as a means to an end by way of having something to compete with Hasbro against.
Where Transformers had a long concept development cycle, Gobots/Machine men was rushed into production, with the express goal of beating Hasbro to the punch with releasing Transformers. The fact that it was developed after Tonka learned that Hasbro planned to release, what was at that time, Microman and Diaclone in the US as Transformers, only compounded this problem.
Sadly, the results showed. The characterisations for the Gobots/Machine men weren't as well thought out and tended to be more shallow than those of Transformers, whilst Transformers promoted itself on the dual fronts of cartoon and comics far more successfully than Gobots did- presumably because of the planning periods involved.
The tragic part of all of this is that things could have turned out much differently if Tonka had've properly invested in the licence properly and focused on making Machine Robo the most successful line it could be- rather than simply using it as a means to an end to try and take some of Hasbro's market share. Worse still, we don't even need to imagine what could have been; we simply need to look at what is in Japan....
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Post by drbo on Sept 9, 2014 9:01:33 GMT -6
In many respects, not only did Gobots deserve to be overshadowed by Transformers, but the fact that Machine Robo is still going strong in Japan, whilst it's a largely forgettable fad here, speaks largely as to why. The big problem was that Tonka arguably never really treated the franchise with the respect it deserved. The whole marketing rationale for Gobots/Machine men wound up being a poor man's rationale in comparison to that for Transformers. From what I understand, Gobots was a rush job and a means to an end. Where Transformers had been carefully planned and had even drawn on Marvel Comics to develop its storyline and characters, Machine Robo was ultimately viewed by Bandai as a means to an end by way of having something to compete with Hasbro against. Where Transformers had a long concept development cycle, Gobots/Machine men was rushed into production, with the express goal of beating Hasbro to the punch with releasing Transformers. The fact that it was developed after Tonka learned that Hasbro planned to release, what was at that time, Microman and Diaclone in the US as Transformers, only compounded this problem. Sadly, the results showed. The characterisations for the Gobots/Machine men weren't as well thought out and tended to be more shallow than those of Transformers, whilst Transformers promoted itself on the dual fronts of cartoon and comics far more successfully than Gobots did- presumably because of the planning periods involved. The tragic part of all of this is that things could have turned out much differently if Tonka had've properly invested in the licence properly and focused on making Machine Robo the most successful line it could be- rather than simply using it as a means to an end to try and take some of Hasbro's market share. Worse still, we don't even need to imagine what could have been; we simply need to look at what is in Japan.... Good point - as indeed many Go-bots toys of the same size (particularly the smaller one) stand truly fine side by side with Tranformers - and sometimes better. The toys were real fine, but the whole story and media around them being so clunky it did hurt them, failing to built a lasting mythos around them outside Japan.
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Post by kylefromdirtnapp on Sept 17, 2014 6:25:08 GMT -6
BUT, at least we won't have to watch a horrible Michael Bay Go-Bots film.
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Post by rihia2k on Sept 17, 2014 19:13:03 GMT -6
BUT, at least we won't have to watch a horrible Michael Bay Go-Bots film. All I know is I've still got that Go-bots movie on VHS... and I've never managed to sit thru the whole thing.
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Post by bowspearer on Sept 18, 2014 3:28:19 GMT -6
BUT, at least we won't have to watch a horrible Michael Bay Go-Bots film. What is this Michael Bay film you speak of, I know not of it
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monteeg
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Jul 14, 2013 17:25:36 GMT -6
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Post by monteeg on Oct 3, 2014 17:32:04 GMT -6
Here in Brazil the Gobots were released under the name of 'Mutante' by late Glasslite toy company....
Well, it seens Glasslite released an interesting variant: the Knight Rider - yes, there is a K.I.T.T. robot here !!!
I don't know if there are variants like that in other countries...
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Post by 10incher on Oct 30, 2014 0:00:00 GMT -6
Have you pics of any Glasslite Gobots MOC Monteeg?
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monteeg
Forum Lurker
Jul 14, 2013 17:25:36 GMT -6
Posts: 17
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Post by monteeg on Oct 30, 2014 16:04:19 GMT -6
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Post by 10incher on Oct 30, 2014 23:22:15 GMT -6
Cool packaging, thanks for the pic. Looks like they were going for the Transformer look a bit with the background grid their.
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monteeg
Forum Lurker
Jul 14, 2013 17:25:36 GMT -6
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Post by monteeg on Oct 31, 2014 8:43:28 GMT -6
Cool packaging, thanks for the pic. Looks like they were going for the Transformer look a bit with the background grid their. Glad you like it !
That's Zardos, the 'Knight Rider' Gobot !
Gobots were released here by 2 different companies: Glasslite (Mutante) and Mimo (Covert). In the Picture above you can see both...
On the other hand, Transformers were released by Estrela.
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Post by kylefromdirtnapp on Nov 16, 2014 20:48:18 GMT -6
So cool! Argentina always had the coolest stuff.
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toydejour
Garage Sale Scavenger
Jul 15, 2014 12:50:18 GMT -6
Posts: 39
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Post by toydejour on Nov 20, 2014 17:46:51 GMT -6
So cool! Argentina always had the coolest stuff. Agreed. I really wish I could convince my wife to take a vacation to a toy hunting country rather than an all inclusive resort type deal. Just once. Brazil, Argentina, Hong Kong, Singapore... I grew up with more Go-Bots than TFs just because of the pricing difference, so that's something else that Tonka had going for them. Standing in line at the store you were more likely to talk your parents into a $5 Go-Bot rather than a $15 Transformer. My favorite was Turbo, so seeing that black repaint of Zardos is pretty awesome. I love the repaint of Cy-Kill and really want to do that to a Super version now.
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monteeg
Forum Lurker
Jul 14, 2013 17:25:36 GMT -6
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Post by monteeg on Nov 23, 2014 14:34:23 GMT -6
So cool! Argentina always had the coolest stuff. I agree, specially the girls !
If you are refering to toys, I prefer Brazil - my country !
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Post by Thor Laserpunch on Jan 25, 2015 11:59:07 GMT -6
A quick Go-bot question.... I know that red Tail Pipe is one of the hardest US releases, but is the black version that hard to find? I scored one w/ full card for $7. Does this sound like a good deal? Nice score! Seems to me the black version is even rarer than the red. A mangled cardback with blister, no figure, went for over $150 on ebay within the past couple months. The red Tail Pipe Machine Robo version seems to be a lot easier to find.
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Post by Thor Laserpunch on Jan 25, 2015 12:05:06 GMT -6
this was like way back in the 1980s when I was a little kid. I had this locomotive robot which i had like twice. It was made from cheap plastic and the figure was a pretty puny about the size of a G.I. Joe. Then I had this weird crab creature robot that turned from robot into a purplish claw monster of sorts Could have been Buddy L or this:
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Post by Thor Laserpunch on Jan 25, 2015 12:10:48 GMT -6
Gobots are easily one of my favorite toy lines ever. Many TF guys tend to snub their noses at Gobots, but I've grown to love em. The diecast metal, quality, and detail, for thier size, always drew me to them. They were like Hot Wheels that turned in to robots. I'm only missing a few of the US release smaller guys. I have a handful of the Supers and one of these days I'll finish em all off. Gobots are pretty high quality compared to the similarly sized Transformers of the same period--realistic alt modes, clever designs and transformations, better materials, some with pretty good articulation for such small toys. I have been wanting to get a Matchbox Cargantua and shoot my Gobots out of the launchers.
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Post by kylefromdirtnapp on Feb 5, 2015 1:05:34 GMT -6
Even though your avatar is a Renagade, I think we'll get along just fine. I heard that Cargantua was really flimsy though. Might not chuck a Go-Bot.
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Post by Thor Laserpunch on Feb 5, 2015 11:26:01 GMT -6
I think so too. I dig these boards, just wish they were more active. Much better than other toy forums where it's a constant circle jerk over Marvel Legends or whatever it is the kids are into these days.
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Post by bowspearer on Feb 6, 2015 15:55:04 GMT -6
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Post by Thor Laserpunch on Feb 7, 2015 10:19:02 GMT -6
Woah... They look quite good. I think I may like Cy-Kill the least... hopefully they clean up the lines, they look too soft to me compared to the others, at least in the painted model.
Not sure how I feel about Spay-C... kinda would prefer the head to be incorporated into the nosecone a la the classic look.
Jet Robo and Rod Drill look very impressive, and definitely homage the anime very well. The rest look pretty sweet as well, even the Blockhead guy would be a good show piece.
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Post by kylefromdirtnapp on Feb 7, 2015 21:07:06 GMT -6
I think all forums are dead because of stupid Facebook. Thanks for that link! I just saw a little teaser pic this morning (on stupid Facebook) but couldn't find any more info on them. They look great, but I'm not spending $70+ on a turd party Go-Bot. It would be killer if Bandai or Hasbro (I think they bought the rights) did TF Generations style update of the Go-Bots ala Fracture (Crasher). I think there was at least one more homage I can't think of right now....
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Post by Thor Laserpunch on Feb 8, 2015 12:17:59 GMT -6
I know Hasbro has the rights to Gobots, but not Machine Robo... I doubt they could legally do spot-on renderings like these. The homages they've done to Gobots over the years have really just been in-name-only type things or different paint decos. The fact these are licensed is kind of a big deal. I'm not sure why Bandai isn't just doing these themselves though.
I'm not a big fan of 3rd party stuff myself. I don't need a whole bunch of charmless ultra-cool updates of every TF minibot and minor character sitting on my shelves. The big "Salmoore" Cy-Kill 3rd party toy is strictly OK looking imo and basically needless.
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Post by drbo on Jul 22, 2015 13:16:08 GMT -6
I know Hasbro has the rights to Gobots, but not Machine Robo... I doubt they could legally do spot-on renderings like these. The homages they've done to Gobots over the years have really just been in-name-only type things or different paint decos. The fact these are licensed is kind of a big deal. I'm not sure why Bandai isn't just doing these themselves though. Of what I understand is that Habro having bought Tonka they got the Gobots catalogs alongside, so indeed any new incarnations of Machine Robo is out of their reach. Not that they could not get the rights, but giving just how big Transformers is, they don't have any need for a transforming giant-robot franchise. Else, I did got myself two of the Monsterous Monster Robot guys. They are looking freaking good, fang, monster features, crazy colors and all! I like just how sturdy they are, plus the fact that they transform into almost abstract, super-weird monster vehicules: Glad to have the instruction sheet alongside as well
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Post by Thor Laserpunch on Jul 23, 2015 16:58:51 GMT -6
Of what I understand is that Habro having bought Tonka they got the Gobots catalogs alongside, so indeed any new incarnations of Machine Robo is out of their reach. Not that they could not get the rights, but giving just how big Transformers is, they don't have any need for a transforming giant-robot franchise. Else, I did got myself two of the Monsterous Monster Robot guys. They are looking freaking good, fang, monster features, crazy colors and all! I like just how sturdy they are, plus the fact that they transform into almost abstract, super-weird monster vehicules: Glad to have the instruction sheet alongside as well Not sure how exactly the whole Hasbro thing would work. Seems somewhat complicated. Monsterous and Puzzler are pretty awesome compared to their TF counterparts at the time. They have excellent articulation comparatively and no kibble needed because it's all incorporated into the design of the components. Plus you could bludgeon someone with Monsterous. One of the many criteria I use to determine the quality of toys is how easily they could be used to murder someone. I'm not really a fan of the individual Monsterous bots though. No arm articulation at all makes for poor play value and the alt modes are pretty lazy and uninspired imho. They do have some pretty unique aesthetics though.
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digktialx
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Feb 25, 2015 17:31:50 GMT -6
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Post by digktialx on Jul 29, 2015 14:05:41 GMT -6
Go-Bots toys were simpler then Transformers. I believe they were targeted for a younger age group and weren't as well built. I had both as a kid and I recall getting Go-Bots with the original Japanese text from my dad's visits to Chinatown in SF on his business trips. I didn't really care for the original set of Go-Bot figures but the Go-Bots Deluxe line was great and close to being on par with Transformers. I don't recall the names but I still have several of the Deluxe line of Go-Bots: Yellow VW bug, Orange 18 Wheeler with Car Carrier, and the Futuristic car. The license must have been worth enough for Hasbro to take it over from Tonka...
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Post by drbo on Jul 30, 2015 12:04:47 GMT -6
Go-Bots toys were simpler then Transformers. I believe they were targeted for a younger age group and weren't as well built. They sure were cheaper, but if we compare them to the Tranformers minibots, side by side they look pretty good and in some case better. The vehicule mode of the Gobots based on real-life vehicules were pretty accurate as opposed to Tf minibots who tranformed into mostly cartoony, super-deformed version of cars and such. Not that one is better than another, but both do have her own style. The Gobots really could stand next to an Hot Wheels or Matchbox die-cast, which was prettu nice. Like Thor Laserpunch pointed, they had a tons of die-cast and pretty sturdy. Like I said in all I think the cartoon kiddy tone mostly damaged Gobot's pop culture legacy, and as bowspearer Tonka also seemed to jump at any transforming gimmick by third-party toymaker to bulk-up the brand, often with sad result, not couting how generally poorly the line and characters were develloped in other media. But at the core, the Machine Robo re-cast were great and still are in my humble opinion. Source: www.toplessrobot.comWow, that's a great toy memory! Indeed the fun was in the transforming vehicule / robot, the marking were no big deal. I had a " Casette Man" Chinatown k-o of Soundwave who was just like the real thing, with only a slight color alteration and name change That would be Bug Bite, Staks and Psycho. Nice collection to own as a kid!
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