Let's just get this straight from the start - yes, we all know about the Transformer of the same name. No, you're not big and clever asking whether he comes with any cassettes. You can cut that right out, don't make me get the Sit Down Gun out. Besides which the Gobot came first, so ner, Gobots is definitely better than Transformers, so shut up, you're gay, no comebacks. That out of the way, I wasn't especially enthused by the choice of Missile Tank Robo; I mean, I wanted him at some point but alongside Shuttle Robo it made for a less than enticing relaunch for the range and in a way a fairly brave one when series lead Blue Jet and the more obviously popular Supercar Robo are there for the remaking.
The joy I felt from the return (after what felt like a worrying hiatus) of Action Toys' Machine Robo Series was tempered a little by the choice of two characters I wasn't particularly keen on in any real form. The original Shuttle Robo, ported over to Gobots as the Guardian Spay-C, was one of the weaker toys of the series despite the cool alt mode, while the character didn't grab in either of the cartoons. In Revenge of Cronos Shuttle Robo was largely a background character, a member of the arrogant but basically sound Land Commander 5 team; in Challenge of the Gobots Spay-C was a female Guardian who didn't really do much, especially as the faction had a more popular space-going female in Path Finder. But obviously I bought the toy anyway, because Masterpiece Gobots.
A couple of months ago, bereft and emotional at the seeming cancellation of Action Toys' Machine Robo line (since announced to be resuming after an eight month hiatus, with two new figures and a series of retro-tinged recolours and retools - nice!) I gave in and bought this thing, which came out about two years ago as part of the Fewture Gokin line, covering licenced characters from a handful of semi-forgotten animes. And there is not a day since it arrived that I have looked at it and hated it. It's not a problem with the stylisation; it's Blue Jet from Revenge of Cronos, not Fitor from Gobots.
Past posts have touched upon the unsatisfying history of Gobots in print even at the height of their commercial success - rather than a licence with Marvel or even someone terrible like Malibu there was a token mail order magazine from Telepictures while in the UK a run in IPC Fleetway's Eagle was superb but soon followed by a switch to the infamous World International Publishing, most often known as World Distributors. They didn't actually publish comics but instead licenced annuals (two Gobots examples were issued in 1986 and 1987; both were terrible, the first being a possible nadir for Western creative writing) and storybooks based on extant properties with some appeal to kids - most notably their savaging of the likes of Doctor Who and Blake's 7 under approval of the BBC.
PUBLISHER: IPC/FLEETWAY (1984-1985)
WRITER: TOM TULLY
ARTISTS: MARIO CAPALDI, KIM RAYMOND, GEOFF SENIOR
As anyone who's a long-term reader will know this has long been my little pet love. The Robo Machines comic ran for two arcs in the 1980s version of Eagle and remained pretty obscure until only a few years ago. I certainly hadn't found much information until I hunted down the old issues and found it to be not all that bad at all and scanned it to inflict on other people. Since then someone's done better scans, which is all good. What would be lovely would be a proper TPB reprint as the original comics were on newsprint but sadly with a fragmented rights situation - the Gobots trademarks co-opted for Robo Machine are possessed by Hasbro, the likenesses for the Robo Machines by Bandai and the actual comics by IPC/Fleetway - this seems unlikely. While the latter have shown a willingness to work with fans on reprints, such as for Doomlord and Leopard of Lime Street, the involvement of two rival toy giants would be a stumbling block.
By 1986 Gobots was winding down in America, with the TV series moving to syndication and the toyline running out of new toys and getting squeezed out by Transformers in a shrinking market after the 1985 boom. In the UK the market was slightly less cut-throat as the simple difficulty of transatlantic business at the time meant fewer of the fly-by-night lines which had boomed briefly had made it across to Britain. Robo Machine had never been a gigantic seller in the UK and thus had less distance to fall, continuing to chug along happily in the #2 spot a long way behind Transformers; the line would only really stop when it ran out of figures, even managing to get Fossilsaurus and Dancougar roped in towards the end. Meanwhile at Egmont House World Distributors had paid for a licence as they were going to use it; for their second Gobots annual in 1986 World Distributors had a
challenge; they'd set the bar very low the first time around - could even they go lower?
In Australia the Machine Robo line was imported as Machine Men, distributed by Bandai Australia. Like the European version and unlike the American Machine Men line the toys sold well enough that Bandai opted to keep the original branding, even after Gobots took off. Indeed, uniquely the cartoon was even retitled Challenge of the Machine Men to fit in with the toys.
To help promote the figures, Bandai Australia did provide catalogues that included short comic strips.
PUBLISHER: WORLD DISTRIBUTORS (1985)
As touched upon elsewhere the various licences associated with the Gobots line were a mess and this was evident in few places that got the line more than the UK. In Britain the Machine Robo toys had been launched as Robo Machine around the same time as the short-lived American Machine Men line was on the shelves and by Bandai's European unit. When Tonka bought up the rights for the United States they didn't want them elsewhere and Bandai continued to distribute Robo Machine in Europe with moderate success. However, as Transformers arrived and Tonka's Gobots took off Bandai quickly realised that in the West being transforming vehicles wasn't as good as transforming vehicles that also had names and abilities and began applying the Gobots names to the figures (with the occasional change) while retaining the Robo Machine branding. Still with me?
In the days before the internet had everything on it print magazines were still covering things like toys and comics with some considerable authority. Lee's Magazine was one of the bastions of the former, sort-of a Wizard for toys with things like collecting and pricing guides in it as well as focus on new stuff. Numerous issues would have a pull-out section in the middle functioning as a sort of checklist covering various popular lines like Transformers and Star Wars, often composed at a time when a lot of information out there was still contradictory or rudimentary. They covered Gobots in one issue; the result hasn't aged well with a potted biography riddled with errors and a style which is more interested in packaging than the actual figures but the result is still a worthy primer for just seeing what was actually put out, even if the focus is entirely on the North American figures.
Gobots. We all know the jokes - K-Mart Transformers, stupid names, those ones with windshields for heads, the dodgy cartoon, Robot Chicken lol etc, etc and so on. But belatedly a lot of toy fans have grown up and realised there were diamonds in the rough of the line; it's helped that Hasbro have allowed some references to the series (the rights of which they brought up during a takeover of Tonka in the nineties) to begin to bleed back into Transformers, with several recoloured toys referencing Gobots with similar alt modes and there being the odd cameo of a character or two in various comics. But the line at its' best merits a genuine re-evaluation beyond just being another ancillary of the Transformers tentacle monster. Diecast parts and rubber tyres stayed central to the line for much of its' life, the base line of Machine Robo specialised in finding interesting ways of getting figures the size of the primitive Minibots into all variety of vehicles and often articulation was miles better, several featuring ball-joints more than a decade before they were seen regularly on Transformers. Not convinced? Here are eight figures that I feel showcase the line's merits; not the eight best Gobots ever as that would include a few pricey and/or imported toys. No, these are guys you can pick up secondhand on ebay for less than the price of those dreadful plastic Legends things that look like Happy Meal toys.
SPOONS
Spoons has a lot going for him. He's a forklift truck, a mode vintage Transformers never got round to despite numerous construction-based teams; when Hasbro did for the video game-based Movieverse figure Dirt Boss (later turned into a limp homage to Spoons by adding a little bit of orange) they couldn't get the toy to actually lift anything but Spoons has a simple but working mechanism. He also has some very neat engineering work to blend this into the legs, reassuringly chunky arms and tyres, a nice head design and some fun details like the flip-up seat.
DIVE-DIVE
One of Bandai's coolest recurring tricks in Machine Robo was making a tiny compact vehicle into a decent robot. There are several dramatic examples like Loco or Apollo Robo but the best is probably Dive-Dive. Realistic submarines are a difficult thing to turn into robots due to the narrow cigar shape and general lack of mass but Dive-Dive is not only a passable model of a nuclear sub but turns into a decently-proportioned robot due to some very inventive work around the hips and shoulders giving him a mass and profile you'd never guess at, while retaining key hull parts (such as the rear fins for feet) so it doesn't feel like you've just peeled a shell apart.
SCRATCH
Gobots wasn't a flop from the start; part of the line's decline was due to a simple lack of product as Bandai kept a more sedate pace with Machine Robo than Tonka did with the Western line. The American company tried several approaches to combat this, making a few playset-type items in house and later producing figures Bandai rejected at the prototype stage. One approach was commissioning brand new figures; five of these were released in 1985, unofficially (by me and I've yet to be told off by anyone important) known as the MRT series due to their modified codes. These had American vehicle modes, which explains Scratch's dull Ford Bronco alternate mode. However, under that flat grey exterior lurks a dynamo of a robot; the fun transformation includes a rotating waist and leg flip movement the feels 20 years ahead of its' time, result in a robot with ball-jointed arms, a freely rotating waist and movement at the hips and knees, all beautifully balanced and about the same size as bloody Seaspray.
ROYAL-T
While Hasbro were knocking out identical Seekers and later Aerialbots Bandai were putting the effort into robots who turned into jets; alternate modes were more accurate, transformations were different, robot modes didn't have backpacks made up of aircraft parts all squished up. Look at Royal-T; the colour scheme's off but that's a smashing replica of a Harrier at something like 1:144 scale. Put him alongside Slingshot, a box with some plane bits stuck on. Transform Royal T, revel in the splitting tail that turns around to form the legs, the neat way the cockpit nestles perfectly into the chest, the wings slipping unobtrusively onto the back. Fold Slingshot's parts away onto his back, stand him on the end and weep. Then take in Royal-T's majestic robot mode. Look at Slingshot and the way you wouldn't be able to guess what he turned into if you looked at him from dead-on. Smash the orange-headed bastard with a hammer.
SCOOTER
The - fair - hatred for Scooter due to the Gobots cartoon masks what a great toy he had. Firstly it's a scooter, a funny everyday vehicle HasTak would never have dared put out when they could do yet another bloody sportscar; it took them 10 years to do a motorcycle Transformer that wasn't terrible and when they did finally pluck up the courage to do a scooter the result was the appalling Mini-Con Sureshock. And it's a good scooter mode too, no face on the front or anything. There's another mass-displacement transformation into a tall, impressive robot that once again has ball-jointed shoulders and surprising presence.
CREEPY
Don't like cars and planes? More of a Beast Wars type? Deviant. No, obviously all lifestyle choices are acceptable in the 21st century and if your choice is ugly, ugly toys Gobots has you all covered there too thanks to the monster-style figures that were the bad guys in Japan; Vamp, Pincher and Scorp were the three most famous but they were topped by the later Creepy, who turns from a killer crab into a robot with killer crab claws for arms. Again articulation is great and he's all covered with mandibles and insect legs and lurid colours, all that freaky stuff.
WATER WALK
We've talked about how there are more than two ways to turn a plane into a robot - it's not just "put everything on the robot's back" or "knob the Macross Valkyrie design". A case in point is Water Walk, who transforms nothing like Royal-T or any other Gobot aircraft. His plane mode itself is a bit special as well, a neat seaplane, and it leads to some interesting work with the floats swinging down to become the legs and the wings partly containing the arms, with the rest forming neat coat-tails behind rather than an ugly mass of cluttered parts. Look how clean that robot mode is. You could own that if you could get over your brand myopia, you bloody spanner.
TURBO
Maybe you don't like complicated toys is all. Maybe you like the simplicity of Windcharger or Swindle or whatever. It's okay, it's okay. You want simple? Gobots can do simple, it can do simple till the cows come home, put slippers on and crack out a DVD box set. And it can do it without making the toys repulsive. Take Turbo - look at that car mode, it's so sleek it'd make Pininfarina cry, years ahead of the divine Ferrari F40. Three steps and you've got a neat, impressive robot without taxing yourself - all with chrome, diecast, rubber tyres and all that good stuff. Simple can be beautiful.
And we're back to entries which make a bit more sense. Blackbird Robo was one of the more prominent 'guest' Machine Robo frequently flying as wingman to Blue Jet after overcoming an early appearance where his face melted. There's added notoriety for the American market too; there Tonka named the character Snoop and Hanna-Barbera made the Renegade a female. As usual she followed the standard female Gobot pattern of looking like the male characters in terms of not being pink and curvy, one area where Challenge of the Gobots deserves a little credit. Despite featuring in a handful episodes in respectable roles no toy was forthcoming, the Snoop figure getting beyond no more than a couple of sealed samples in the USA, though it was issued in Canada.
The reason why it was skipped are still a bit of a mystery; the closest I've been able to come up with is that the shape of the SR-71 complete with the figure's diecast quotient gave Tonka's legal teams some worries becuase you could probably stab someone in the eye with the thing but that never stopped similar toys coming out and the figure was released in Europe (with some releases naming it as Sky-Spy, though Robo Machine is a nightmare so I'd hate to speculate how many). Whatever the reason, it's long given Snoop a certain mystique among American fans, so Blackbird Robo could well have been produced with an eye on export sales.
Blackbird Robo's robot mode is probably the most faithful in the line so far in terms of the actual toys; as it already looked good in the toyline Ashii didn't overly stylise the animation model and therefore this is very, very close to the look of the original figure, just neatened up. What is redesigned greatly helps, flipping the fins the other way around and attaching some proper feet, improving the proportions and eliminating some of the clumsier alt mode parts while retaining the figure's key parts, notably a near-identical head design and the cool spire-topped shoulders. It all pegs together well and naturally is less prone to collapse than the 1985 attempt while most of the details are carried across - I do miss the silver ring around the shoulders but that really is nitpicking.
Being the sixth in the series there's a feel Action Toys are really getting into the swing of things; articulation is superlative and the figure also has the balance to make proper use of it. The relatively unfettered robot mode helps but so does having the design savvy to keep the head full mobile, the independent feet that aren't limited by the jet engines on the outside of the legs, the free shoulders and the work put in to make sure there's still a waist joint. Even the accessories aren't that weird; a pair of clip-on blasters for the hands, which works really - in Challenge of the Gobots Snoop was one of the few Gobots to actually use a rifle (though it didn't look much like this). It's one of the more normal Action Toys additions, certainly.
Like most of the figures in the range so far Blackbird Robo's transformation loosely follows the original, just with extra steps to accomodate the increased complexity. This to me speaks volumes for just how good the engineering of the originals was for their time and size. Getting the head with its' mounted back panel in just the right place can be a black art but overall it retains the great flow I'm coming to expect from Action Toys; worthy of note are the upper fuselage panels which fold neatly out of the back and reduce the clutter around the waist and hips plus a flip-out tail section so the part isn't dangling off the figure's bum in robot mode. Good work, overall.
The one downside is that as a result the Blackbird mode has a lot of join lines on the upper fuselage - more than the original figure, where the aircraft mode was largely made up of a couple of large blocks. It still looks very striking and has less clutter on the underside than the eighties figure, giving less of an impression of being an SR-71 model mounted on the back of a robot, though the underside is still less than clean (especially compared to Eagle Robo), with the robot head obviously visible alongside most of the torso. It's still a fine alternate mode (if, also like Eagle Robo, badly crying out for a couple of USAF decals). the only other fault is there's only a nose wheel - instead the guns clip to the underside of the fuselage as landing skids, though the figure rests just as well without these in place.
A couple of minor niggles aside, this is a fantastic figure. Good looking and faithful in both mode with a fantastic transformation and very much feeling like an ultimate version of what was already a striking figure. If you were going to pick one from the line as a taster you probably wouldn't find a better ambassador for what Action Toys' Machine Robo Series is capable of.
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Another odd choice for the Machine Robo Series; Mixer Robo was a fairly average middle-run figure with a handful of brief appearances on the Revenge of Cronos anime while in the West he had a similar profile as a run-of-the-mill Renegade named Block Head. The only thing that was particulary distinguishing was the toy's smart transformation, impressively complex and smart for a small figure in 1983. It's possible Action Toys are trying to spread the headliners out, which is nicely confident; I'm not going to complain about Mixer Robo getting to be the fifth figure in the line if it's part of a plan that will see most characters get this treatment.
The new robot mode is the spit of the originaal for the most part, with the same drum head and surpisingly minimal alt mode features - aside from the wheels on the arms and legs, the cab windows on the side and the drum on the back there's little clue as to the alternate mode.
I'm always divided on this as a matter of style; you don't want a robot that's a vehicle stuck on its' end with limbs jutting out, nor a shell that peels away like basically every Transformer made between 1997 and 2000. At the same time it's quite an engineering feat to hide so many parts away so naturally, even if does leave Mixer Robo looking just a little bland. The proportions aren't fantastic either, probably coming off worse than the original with the head being a fraction oversized and the arms a fraction too weedy.
The clean robot mode does give Mixer Robo a really good range of movement but the problem is that the head clips in and has no neck movement - so, like Bike Robo he can't pull many of the poses the limbs and exquisite balance are capable of off without looking a bit weird, while he's also the first in the series to be missing a waist joint.. A minor saving grace is that the face can turn as part of the transformation, though you can only get a few degrees before this looks a bit odd too. Oh, and to round off the strangeness he has a pair of combat knives as weapons. Despite never even looking at a knife in the cartoons. And they're not some weird robot-y bits that look like knives, these things could come off a G.I.Joe and might even have done so. Like some of the previous weird choices of weaponry like Bike Robo's axe it doesn't do any harm, it's just a bit bizarre.
Transforming Mixer Robo is a really fun experience as it follows the original's fantastic sequence with a few bells and whistles added. It's all low on frustration and full of neat work, the rotating face being a nice touch as are the wheels and drum. It takes a few tries to work out the best order for getting the cab jst right but that's more a strive for perfectionism than a problem.
Mixer Robo's cement mixer truck alternate mode is still every bit as odd as the original, which if follows closely. While the actual layout is good, only the obvious destination of the robot's arms being a problem, it's a very strange colour scheme. Red and silver in patches largely dictated by the robot mode layout (red arms and legs) makes for a strange patchwork and it looks more like a prototype scheme left in place rather than an actual construction vehicle. The turning drum is appreciated, however, and if you're after strange additional features his knives can clip on behind the cab looking sort-of like smokestacks but not actually like smokestacks.
Overall Mixer Robo's fault is that he's a cracking homage to the original figure, in that he's an exquisitely well-engineered way of turning a mediocre robot into a mediocre vehicle. Personally I find the mechanics more than enough to make the update worthwhile; that and the fanatical completism. For anyone else the sad truth is that there are probably enough bugbears to make this one a pass unless you're actively collecting and reminding yourself that most of the problems were build into the basic design.
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Battle Robo was a relatively low profile character in Japan, with his animated appearances in the Revenge of Cronos anime; the problem with the show was that only a few characters had much to really do and with Rod Drill already out and Blue Jet being held back (either to boost a later wave or because the Fewture Gokin version is still relatively recent) the rest are much of a muchness in terms of exposure. It's more likely that simply being the second toy in the original series saw him bumped near the toy of the queue. It certainly didn't hurt his profile in the West, where he got released early doors in Machine Men, Robo Machine and Gobots - the latter seeing him the subject of one of Tonka's less inspired brainstorming sessions and get named Tank, a name even more generic than his Japanese title. He was featured in Challenge of the Gobots in the standard Renegade pattern of moderate exposure in his debut episode followed by occasional outings as muscle, though he did get to be voiced by Peter Cullen.
One of the notable things about the original figure was that it was a head taller than most in the line, something carried across to his various media appearances. Thus we get off to a good start with this being retained, freakish Eagle Robo aside. And the sculpting is good too, keeping the memorable trapezoid head, the tracks on the legs and the raised chest, all rendered well by Jizai Toys - there's a real blocky, retro feel to the design. However, the ball is dropped badly on the colour scheme; while I was prepared for a lighter colour than the rich dark blue of the original figure more in line with the anime appearances but the toy is lighter again and the result is a little wishy-washy. There are also inexplicably white paint applications on the wrists and knees while again don't really co-ordinate with anything previously and further lighten the robot's palette. Which wouldn't be a problem if it didn't look plain unimpressive; a darker, more solid colour would have made Battle Robo much more imposing.
It's a shame because there's a lot else to recommend. The robot is dynamic if not having the same extraordinary level of balance some of the others in the range have due to the diecast tracks on the back of the legs and the relatively small feet, while the head nestles inside a cowling to enable it to turn. In simple poses it's an imposing figure and the lack of agility actually fits in nicely with the lumbering characterisation bestowed on him, especially in the West.
Battle Robo's weapons also get a nice workout; the rifle is separated from the rest of the turret so it's less obvious in robot mode. The remainder is fixed to the back with can be arranged to form two shoulder-mounted cannons if desired; it's a vast improvement on the original which carried around a straight-up turret and/or a weird twin-barrel thing that didn't feel very organic or practical. There is an annoying little design flub, however - due to the nature of the transformation the right fist doesn't tab into the rest of the arm securely like the left, meaning if the rifle is placed in the right hand it can't actually support the weight of the gun in some poses.
The 1982 version of Battle Robo had the simplest transformation of a series that - in the early days especially - wasn't renowned for complex sequences, involving literally bending the figure double. Here it's technically the same but with a vast number of additional steps, though after a small amount of practice you're rewarded with the best transformation of the line so far, a fantastically flowing piece of genius as the upper torso and legs fold back from the chest and tuck together.
The vehicle mode strays a little from the original but the original was a folded up robot, with no attempt to even hide the arms. The rough gist of the design is carried over here but infinitely refined into a tiny, compact and much neater design with some neat touches. The turret is still a triple-barrelled unit but a more imposing one that actually looks like it belongs on a combat vehicle, with the guns able to rise in addition to the turret's rotation. The front weapon is replaced by a small pair of built-in guns that do the same job in a much less clumsy fashion. The tracks don't move or even have slave wheels (which is fine, they're quite unnecessary on premium figures) but are neatly mounted on individual ball-joints in a nice touch.
Mechanically Battle Robo is a great figure; the only real fault with the engineering is the limited range of poses and even that's only poor by comparison to most of the other figures in the series, with the actual display options still being decent. Both modes are radically improved and the transformation is a genuine marvel; I'd recommend any fan of transforming robots at least tries to handle one of these. Personally though I just can't get past the colour scheme - not that it's different but that it's simply too light and weak, though naturally someone less fixated on something like that will get a lot more joy.
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The third figure in Action Toys' range of Machine Robo revamps was an odd choice in some ways and not in others. Eagle Robo was a non-descript toy and character in Japan - a standard mid-run Bandai release only really distinguished by being also chosen for the Big Machine Robo range. In the Revenge of Cronos anime the character made no more than a handful of background appearances. However, across the Pacific he was chosen somewhat inexplicably as the leader of the heroic Gobot Guardians and named as Leader-1, netting a lead role in Hanna-Barbera's cartoon and becoming one of the front-men for the franchise. The BMR release was issued as a Super Gobot (there's a chance Tonka might even have nudged Bandai in this direction considering the original figure's 1985 release). So if you're taking it face value as a Machine Robo toy it's a really weird choice but obviously Action Toys realise that in the global market putting out such a famous Gobot would bring in Western buyers.
The original small Eagle Robo toy was not one of the line's finest moments and its' long been one of my (and possibly other fans) that such a weak design was given such exposure; the Super figure was better but naturally was hindered by so few decent figures being produced at that scale, let alone so few major characters. That the colour scheme was so bland and the character so uninspiring (in the cartoon he's a book of weak Saturday morning platitudes; his special skill is a forcefield he can cower behind, for God's sake) hardly helped either. I bit anyway, but largely because I know what I'm like - sooner or later I'd want them all and better to while the toy was abundant rather than in a year's time when the price has doubled (or halved, possibly, but I've never been a patient buyer).
The result is a very odd figure. Eagle Robo doesn't look much like the original figure or the occasionally glimpsed Ashi character model; this much was expected. What is unusual is that it doesn't look much like Leader-1 either - Hanna-Barbera in their wisdom having converted the original (which drew inspiration from a fighter pilot's visored helmet and oxygen mask, an occasional trend for the original Machine Robo figures - most famous for Tux/Limousine Robo being sculpted with a top hat to match his Rolls-Royce vehicle form). What we get here still has the fighter pilot influence a little but has more of a modern mech feel - together with some other more modern styling like the spitting shoulders the overall impression is of something more influence by Paramount's Transformers films that eighties cartoons.
There are some other odd touches too like a contrived bit of work to simulate the panels either side of the head, a necessary design point of the original figures that didn't really need to be added; that they're in dark grey plastic, which just looks odd, and the upper arm/shoulder adds a couple of extra steps that feel more like something from an overengineered third party fanboy toy, in stark comparison to the chunky retro engineering than influences the look - if not necessarily the mechanics - of the others so far in the series. In addition to this the toy is very tall, about level with Battle Robo as the largest of the releases to date. He's got a good inch over Bike Robo which - added to having an almost Terminator-feel compared to the other figure's rounded toy-like feel - means they make an odd pair posed together, with Eagle Robo looking more like the evil aggressor. Which again would be fair enough if they were generic Machine Robo but it comes back around to the only reason Eagle Robo ending up so far up the running order surely being to cash in on Western fans who wanted to have a Leader-1/Cy-Kill match-up. Eagle Robo also has a weapon like most of the MRS toys thus far; his is a four-barrelled rifle made up of the aircraft's ordinance than doesn't really have any basis in previous appearances but isn't particularly bizarre - though speaking for myself I'm far too used to most Machine Robo/Gobots not carrying handguns to display it with him often.
All of which sounds very negative - and it's not meant to be because Eagle Robo's a very good toy. Aside from excellent articulation and balance it's work noting how much of a better fist of the basic configuration it makes than either vintage efforts - the addition of unobtrusive proper feet not only gives the toy more balance but a better look while the breaking up of the arms with darker grey sections and the neater folding of the wings makes him look a lot more interesting. The transformation is the most complex of the figures thus far; it also has the first bit I've found outright frustrating as lining the shoulders and back panels up behind the chest on the journey to robot mode basically requires trial and error to get everything to peg in right, some of the parts not having a specific place to be apart from to line up with some other tabs. The balance is provided by some superb work on the legs, however.
The F-15 mode is a good one, nice and sleek with a hefty compact feel that extends through to a fair stab at a smooth underside. Just about everything is packed way, the only slight fault being the jet exhausts just looking a bit too much like folded robot feet, especially as they're still ball-mounted. The colour is also nondescript with the largely plain grey of course, though the level of engraved detail helps and really it would be easy to find a model kit of a similar scale if you fancied spicing it up with realistic aircraft markings. There are two hardpoints under the wings for missiles while the two gun handle halves slot in under the wings to blend into the fuselage, though the latter can be fiddly to remove afterwards. And - joy of joys - he has an retractable tricycle undercarriage Rather than four awful rollers on posts.
Eagle Robo is a strange beast largely across the board. It's a great figure despite a couple of overdone parts, a smashing bit of engineering that does a good job of spicing up a dull design. But visually it sticks out like a sore thumb compared to the rest of the retro-tinged range and it doesn't look like either of its' possible influences. As such appreciation will vary depending on whether you're after nostalgia, part of a themed collection or a stand-alone figure.
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A couple of months ago, bereft and emotional at the seeming cancellation of Action Toys' Machine Robo line (since announced to be resuming after an eight month hiatus, with two new figures and a series of retro-tinged recolours and retools - nice!) I gave in and bought this thing, which came out about two years ago as part of the Fewture Gokin line, covering licenced characters from a handful of semi-forgotten animes. And there is not a day since it arrived that I have looked at it and hated it. It's not a problem with the stylisation; it's Blue Jet from Revenge of Cronos, not Fitor from Gobots. 
In the days before the internet had everything on it print magazines were still covering things like toys and comics with some considerable authority. Lee's Magazine was one of the bastions of the former, sort-of a Wizard for toys with things like collecting and pricing guides in it as well as focus on new stuff. Numerous issues would have a pull-out section in the middle functioning as a sort of checklist covering various popular lines like Transformers and Star Wars, often composed at a time when a lot of information out there was still contradictory or rudimentary. They covered Gobots in one issue; the result hasn't aged well with a potted biography riddled with errors and a style which is more interested in packaging than the actual figures but the result is still a worthy primer for just seeing what was actually put out, even if the focus is entirely on the North American figures.
The new robot mode is the spit of the originaal for the most part, with the same drum head and surpisingly minimal alt mode features - aside from the wheels on the arms and legs, the cab windows on the side and the drum on the back there's little clue as to the alternate mode. 
I'm always divided on this as a matter of style; you don't want a robot that's a vehicle stuck on its' end with limbs jutting out, nor a shell that peels away like basically every Transformer made between 1997 and 2000. At the same time it's quite an engineering feat to hide so many parts away so naturally, even if does leave Mixer Robo looking just a little bland. The proportions aren't fantastic either, probably coming off worse than the original with the head being a fraction oversized and the arms a fraction too weedy.
Transforming Mixer Robo is a really fun experience as it follows the original's fantastic sequence with a few bells and whistles added. It's all low on frustration and full of neat work, the rotating face being a nice touch as are the wheels and drum. It takes a few tries to work out the best order for getting the cab jst right but that's more a strive for perfectionism than a problem.
Mixer Robo's cement mixer truck alternate mode is still every bit as odd as the original, which if follows closely. While the actual layout is good, only the obvious destination of the robot's arms being a problem, it's a very strange colour scheme. Red and silver in patches largely dictated by the robot mode layout (red arms and legs) makes for a strange patchwork and it looks more like a prototype scheme left in place rather than an actual construction vehicle. The turning drum is appreciated, however, and if you're after strange additional features his knives can clip on behind the cab looking sort-of like smokestacks but not actually like smokestacks.
Battle Robo's weapons also get a nice workout; the rifle is separated from the rest of the turret so it's less obvious in robot mode. The remainder is fixed to the back with can be arranged to form two shoulder-mounted cannons if desired; it's a vast improvement on the original which carried around a straight-up turret and/or a weird twin-barrel thing that didn't feel very organic or practical. There is an annoying little design flub, however - due to the nature of the transformation the right fist doesn't tab into the rest of the arm securely like the left, meaning if the rifle is placed in the right hand it can't actually support the weight of the gun in some poses.
The vehicle mode strays a little from the original but the original was a folded up robot, with no attempt to even hide the arms. The rough gist of the design is carried over here but infinitely refined into a tiny, compact and much neater design with some neat touches. The turret is still a triple-barrelled unit but a more imposing one that actually looks like it belongs on a combat vehicle, with the guns able to rise in addition to the turret's rotation. The front weapon is replaced by a small pair of built-in guns that do the same job in a much less clumsy fashion. The tracks don't move or even have slave wheels (which is fine, they're quite unnecessary on premium figures) but are neatly mounted on individual ball-joints in a nice touch.
The original small Eagle Robo toy was not one of the line's finest moments and its' long been one of my (and possibly other fans) that such a weak design was given such exposure; the Super figure was better but naturally was hindered by so few decent figures being produced at that scale, let alone so few major characters. That the colour scheme was so bland and the character so uninspiring (in the cartoon he's a book of weak Saturday morning platitudes; his special skill is a forcefield he can cower behind, for God's sake) hardly helped either. I bit anyway, but largely because I know what I'm like - sooner or later I'd want them all and better to while the toy was abundant rather than in a year's time when the price has doubled (or halved, possibly, but I've never been a patient buyer).
The result is a very odd figure. Eagle Robo doesn't look much like the original figure or the occasionally glimpsed Ashi character model; this much was expected. What is unusual is that it doesn't look much like Leader-1 either - Hanna-Barbera in their wisdom having converted the original (which drew inspiration from a fighter pilot's visored helmet and oxygen mask, an occasional trend for the original Machine Robo figures - most famous for Tux/Limousine Robo being sculpted with a top hat to match his Rolls-Royce vehicle form). What we get here still has the fighter pilot influence a little but has more of a modern mech feel - together with some other more modern styling like the spitting shoulders the overall impression is of something more influence by Paramount's Transformers films that eighties cartoons. 
There are some other odd touches too like a contrived bit of work to simulate the panels either side of the head, a necessary design point of the original figures that didn't really need to be added; that they're in dark grey plastic, which just looks odd, and the upper arm/shoulder adds a couple of extra steps that feel more like something from an overengineered third party fanboy toy, in stark comparison to the chunky retro engineering than influences the look - if not necessarily the mechanics - of the others so far in the series. In addition to this the toy is very tall, about level with Battle Robo as the largest of the releases to date. He's got a good inch over Bike Robo which - added to having an almost Terminator-feel compared to the other figure's rounded toy-like feel - means they make an odd pair posed together, with Eagle Robo looking more like the evil aggressor. Which again would be fair enough if they were generic Machine Robo but it comes back around to the only reason Eagle Robo ending up so far up the running order surely being to cash in on Western fans who wanted to have a Leader-1/Cy-Kill match-up. Eagle Robo also has a weapon like most of the MRS toys thus far; his is a four-barrelled rifle made up of the aircraft's ordinance than doesn't really have any basis in previous appearances but isn't particularly bizarre - though speaking for myself I'm far too used to most Machine Robo/Gobots not carrying handguns to display it with him often.
All of which sounds very negative - and it's not meant to be because Eagle Robo's a very good toy. Aside from excellent articulation and balance it's work noting how much of a better fist of the basic configuration it makes than either vintage efforts - the addition of unobtrusive proper feet not only gives the toy more balance but a better look while the breaking up of the arms with darker grey sections and the neater folding of the wings makes him look a lot more interesting. The transformation is the most complex of the figures thus far; it also has the first bit I've found outright frustrating as lining the shoulders and back panels up behind the chest on the journey to robot mode basically requires trial and error to get everything to peg in right, some of the parts not having a specific place to be apart from to line up with some other tabs. The balance is provided by some superb work on the legs, however.