![]() ![]() Perhaps the most notable were the Convertible Robots (which used an almost stylish minimal backing card for some releases)/ Machine Robo Series and Machine Robot/ Mr. Though said debate would probably be a massive waste of everyone's time. Whether these are really knock-offs of GoBots or Machine Robo is debatable. Generally knock-off makers avoided figures that had a lot of accessories, such as Cy-Kill, while there are very few knock-offs of the toys from the last year of the line's life due to the high interest in toy robots having dropped off by that point. While of little value today, they can make interesting curios for collectors to expand into considering the relatively small number of GoBots out there. Nevertheless in the mid-1980s toy robot boom several tried. To some degree GoBots insulated itself against knock-offs by being very cheap in the first place carded GoBots figures retailed at around $3-4 and Tonka's stripped-down ethos for the line, with few sticker sheets, paper instruction manuals or biographical information, meant it would take a determined bootlegger to actually significantly undercut the real thing. If your GoBot has a stamp but a weird colour scheme make sure you check it's not a rare Japanese variant before you write it off as a bootleg, though - several, such as the Machine Robo Best 5, are relatively obscure but worth quite a bit! While what was on the stamps jumped around - Popy, Bandai, Tonka - but knock-offs don't bother with fake ones. Though again you still get the odd moron who lets trademark law dictate their tastes.ĭoes the toy have a copyright stamp? If the answer's "Yes" then it's official. In all seriousness, however much mileage lazy geek bloggers and YouTube idiots try to get out of the "rivalry", typically children in the 1980s were happy playing with the both unless they were spoilt brats, and the overgrown children who still like toy robots into adulthood are generally chill about the whole thing - a cool robot toy is a cool robot toy, which corporation marketed it decades ago isn't a big thing. But as far as bootlegging or copying goes that seems to be about it, though the thematic similarity of both meant there were times when this wasn't especially clear. What was a bit underhanded was that it is widely accepted that Hasbro had the idea of importing one of these lines and crafting a Westernised mythos concerning warring sentient robots around it and Tonka got wind of it and attempted to scoop their rivals by fast-tracking GoBots, which seems to have arrived in stores around 9 months before Transformers. ![]() So both were based around existing lines, while transforming robot toys had already existed in Japan for years before, with Popy's Raideen considered the first to have some sort of transformation and Takatoku's Macross Valkyrie considered the first to have a bonafide vehicle mode. GoBots used toys officially licenced from Bandai, Transformers used toys officially licenced from Takara. Is Transformers a knock-off of GoBots? īoth lines had the same theme - robots that turn into vehicles - but were entirely above board. Often incorrect or prototype images were used for card art.Ĭharacter images will be added to all buttons shortly.Eighties retailers didn't care which one you bought as long as you bought lots. ![]() Machine Men, Robo Machine and Robo Machines cardbacks shouldn't be taken at face value with regards to colour schemes offered. Gobots Gift Packs #1 and #2 were confusingly issued with multiple differing figure selections. The Robo Machine releases of Dart, Gunnyr and Bent Wing are stamped S'Pore. Machine Robo Series / Gobots / Robot Machine Men: JapanĮxceptions: Bent Wing (yellow band) for the Gobots line was stamped Macau. 1982 - Popy - 'Machine Robo Series' Japan (limited run - see history)ġ983 - Bandai - 'Machine Robo Series' Japanġ983 - Bandai America - 'Robot Machine Men' United States (failed line - see history)ġ983 - Bandai America - 'Machine Men' Canada (failed line - see history)ġ983 - Bandai Australia - 'Machine Men' Australiaġ993 - Bandai - 'Robo Machines' (with an 's') Europe (mix of RM / MR stamping and lower build quality)Ĭommonly incorrectly considered licensed:ġ985 - Mimo - Convert Brazil ('83 / '84 likely due to the selection offered)įigure Stamping: the first twelve Machine Robo Series models, most also released in the West are stamped S.Pore before manufacturing moved to Japan and Macau reissued models were updated.īarring the above, standard line stamping included: ![]()
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