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Bandai Gobots/Machine Robo Series Toy Thread


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Go-Bots? Go-Bots.

Masterpiece-Gobots-1_1423208261.jpg

Masterpiece-Gobots-2_1423208261.jpg

(ok yeah, slightly OT, and also not really even 3P from what it seems---but I think they'll get good exposure here, and probably don't deserve their own thread--yet)

And I love to say this---but Snoop (the SR-71) looks to be a whole lot better toy than ROTF Leader Jetfire. (annoying that that's like the one figure they don't show alt-mode for)

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YES!!!! Finally Machine Robo Series... The SR-71 or Snoop or MR-45 is a must buy

And the drill-tank guy, whose name escapes me. Drilltanks are always awesome.

Spay-C looks, at first glance, like a pretty solid shuttle.Stubby tailfin, but whatcha gonna do?

Now where's Pathfinder? The Gobots had a WAY better UFO than Transformers.

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Those are Machine Robo Gokin toys made by Fewture models so should probably be crossfiled under the Soul of Chogokin thread. Iirc Machine Robo is still owned by Bandai in Japan but Hasbro bought the Gobots name. Doubt Hasbro will bring this over

TL;DR. Machine Robo toys made by Fewtures. Will be VERY expensive.

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I'm not much of a Gobot/MachineRobo fan but I might pick up Leader One depending on how clean the F-15 looks. If it looks good in jet mode, I may break my rule on transforming jet robots that are not from Macross.

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Go-Bots? Go-Bots.

Masterpiece-Gobots-1_1423208261.jpg

Masterpiece-Gobots-2_1423208261.jpg

(ok yeah, slightly OT, and also not really even 3P from what it seems---but I think they'll get good exposure here, and probably don't deserve their own thread--yet)

And I love to say this---but Snoop (the SR-71) looks to be a whole lot better toy than ROTF Leader Jetfire. (annoying that that's like the one figure they don't show alt-mode for)

these are by art storm or someone else who gets licenses? the cykill doesn't look as good as the third party (unique toys salamoore) one even if it is truer to the source material in both bot and alt modes.

no complaints about how leader 1's alt mode isn't a real f-15 but is 80% of the way there? i like the bot mode ...very mechy.

turbo's alt mode is pure fantasy so i suppose its ok

fitor (i think thats his name) looks awesome...way better than that one that came out a few years ago.

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Those are Machine Robo Gokin toys made by Fewture models so should probably be crossfiled under the Soul of Chogokin thread. Iirc Machine Robo is still owned by Bandai in Japan but Hasbro bought the Gobots name. Doubt Hasbro will bring this over

TO;DR. Machine Robo toys made by Fewtures. Will be VERY expensive.

hmm...spendy i guess. still wonder how much. fitor would still be a buy just necause he is awesome. leader 1 and turbo would be a consideration. i don't own any fewture stuf except the ES gokin roadbuster.....which is a SD version that does transform. pretty nice but not the best engineering. wasn't too spendy..maybe 50 bucks when i got it? i know they just released those brick like non transforming optius and grimlock too.

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Whoa! I'm dying to see the finished result of the "tank" - can't remember his name. I used to have him as a kid and he had the most simple transformation of any Gobot / Tranformer I had ever seen. You just folded him in half and you had a tank. The original One-Step changer.

I remember going with my father to this store called Comsumers Distributing. If you're not familiar with this store, it was rather unorthodox as it worked like an order desk - you look through their catologe, fill out a form for the item(s) you want and bring it to the desk. Then the staff goes to the back warehouse and brings you the item. I wanted Leader One, but they didn't have him in stock so they gave me a substitute, the tank guy. I had never felt such disapointment in my life. :lol:

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hmm...spendy i guess. still wonder how much. fitor would still be a buy just necause he is awesome. leader 1 and turbo would be a consideration. i don't own any fewture stuf except the ES gokin roadbuster.....which is a SD version that does transform. pretty nice but not the best engineering. wasn't too spendy..maybe 50 bucks when i got it? i know they just released those brick like non transforming optius and grimlock too.

My only interests in Fewture were their EX Gokins Getters and those were $500+ each. If these come in a lower price point that'd be great.

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Should we starts a new Gobot/Machine Robo series thread instead of tagging on Transformers thread?

Canonically, the GoBots are part of the Transformers multiverse these days, so this seems totally justifiable and on-topic.

Also, I betcha a GoBot thread would get buried and forgotten, then the next piece of news would get posted in a Tranny thread anyways. So embrace the harsh, bitter reality of the also-rans and start threadjacking!

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Canonically, the GoBots are part of the Transformers multiverse these days, so this seems totally justifiable and on-topic.

Also, I betcha a GoBot thread would get buried and forgotten, then the next piece of news would get posted in a Tranny thread anyways. So embrace the harsh, bitter reality of the also-rans and start threadjacking!

Except these aren't GoBots but Machine Robo which are officially licensed in Japan so aren't 3rd Party. :p

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Except these aren't GoBots but Machine Robo which are officially licensed in Japan so aren't 3rd Party. :p

A licensed third party is still a third party. It's just that almost all of the third-party Transformers merchandise happens to be unlicensed, and I think the licensed stuff excludes transforming toys.

I do grant the GoBots/Machine Robo distinction, though one could argue it is both a licensed third-party Machine Robo toy and an unlicensed third-party GoBots toy. The shared designs of the original toy lines makes that an inevitable outcome.

TECHNICALLY, what we're calling third-party Transformers aren't actually Transformers, similar to how those Machine Robo toys aren't GoBots. The manufacturers don't use any Hasbro or TakaraTomy trademarks, and in some cases create their own fiction. They are making completely unrelated toy lines that HAPPEN to bear a strong resemblance to a certain popular long-running franchise, for SOME reason.

We're just calling a spade a spade all very confused.

If the craftsmanship was less, we'd call these totally-not-Transformers-honest toys "knock-offs". But since that has significant negative connotations, it seems unfair to be COMPLETELY honest even if it's true. I mean, they DO put an awful lot of work into their completely original robotic toys.

I probably would've settled on "unlicensed" as the adjective of choice, but no one asked me. It's honest, while avoiding the negative connotations of the more traditional terms for unlicensed Transformers merchandise.

I kind of suspect "third-party" was intentionally pushed to give them a false air of legitimacy, but I can't prove it.

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Someone had a buncha time on his hands. You are correct about 3rd party definition though for MR.

What can I say? I was on a roll and couldn't find the brakes.

i also find the whole situation with the Transformers and completely original robotic toys interesting. They work so hard to toe that line between homage and trademark infringement. I wind up putting more thought into it than I rightly ought to.

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Got the SR-71 in jet mode though not too clear. It appears that it is very 'blocky' unlike Leader-1's F-15 jet mode.

Thanks for the additional pic! I didn't know who that one robot above Space-C was supposed to be.

So, if that SR-71 is "blocky," then what the heck should we call Hasbro's movie Jet-Fire or FP's Not-Silverbolt?

What's the fighter jet looking guy between Cy-Kill and the drill tank?

That would be Fitor (reference). I just don't remember him looking that badass and sporting a sword. :o

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That giant expensive Fewture Optimus prime's is 3rd party, licensed.

Same for that big non-transforming scorponok thing.

Honestly, I think Third party is a poor description for unlicensed products like Maketoys and such. If a software company took the basic chunks of code from a gaming engine and used it to make their own game it wouldn't be third party, it would just be theft... but independent.

Not that I'm arguing that Maketoys and such are thieves like KO's, or not that I am against it - but it just seems like a bad description based on what we use the term third party for. I'm getting away from my own argument to make my point but....

....I think it should just be called "Indie" or "unlicensed" to avoid confusion. People love their shorthand so UL Transformers would be the best tag for it.

Third party to me, suggests granted access, which isn't what's happening. These companies are just creating their own designs, though taking the core concept from something they didn't create, because it's almost impossible to enforce the "idea" of a robot....(at least not on the scale of variety that Transformers bring to the table) though I feel like an IP lawyer could do it in this day and age.

Edited by Gakken85
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I'm more concerned about quality and availability than in the licensing. So far, these look pretty good to me, and I hope they're easier to get than Bandai's Macross offerings. Given their approximate deluxe CHUG size, the presumed $50 price tag seems a bit high, but these guys are in a niche market. I'd be happy to see Hasbro buy the rights to mass produce these, as I'm sure there are still a lot of folks with enough nostalgia to pick up a few. I didn't watch the show much, but I'd be happy to add a number of these to my collection. I'm a sucker for a decent transforming toy, esp of real world vehicles and such.

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Thanks for the additional pic! I didn't know who that one robot above Space-C was supposed to be.

So, if that SR-71 is "blocky," then what the heck should we call Hasbro's movie Jet-Fire or FP's Not-Silverbolt?

That would be Fitor (reference). I just don't remember him looking that badass and sporting a sword. :o

Movie Jetfire is a brick not a jet :D

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Aptly put. Takara can't seem to design a Concorde or an SR-71 based plane without basically strapping a robot under a jet.

That new Machine Robo/Gobot SR-71 reminds me of Experten's VF-14, esp the way the center fuselage folds to form the upper torso of the bot mode. From looking at the various albums in the aforementioned link, this thing turned out to be a pretty sleek design, where every part of the plane, except the forward fuselage, becomes part of the robot. The forward fuselage becomes back kibble. Still, it's far more ambitious and well executed than any Takara/ Hasbro Blackbird I've seen.

Valkyrie2008, I wouldn't exactly consider Gobots to be TF knockoffs, as both Transformers and Gobots were introduced in North America in '84. If Gobots had had a stronger storyline with a different animation style, and more stylistic packaging art, it could potentially have overtaken TF in popularity, since the vast majority of the line was based on real vehicles, which makes more sense than cars vs tape recorders and pistols. The alt modes were well done on most of them, often with working features. Moreover, they were smaller and less expensive to collect. And while the initial run of toys had very simplistic transformations, they became more involved as the lines progressed. But history proves that the better packaging wins. TF had a better show, striking box designs, and some nifty toys.

For the record, I had very few Gobots, preferring TFs, as a kid. However, with the unveiling of these new Gobot designs on par with todays TF toys, I've been doing a little research, familiarizing myself with the Machine Robo toys. That most had very well done real-world alt modes really stands out to me. I hope this new line does well enough to see several waves of releases. I'd love to collect all the aircraft figures, along with a number of others that I like.

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