🤖 Robots
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16-Mar-2021
New Bot Day! Welcome Vulgar The Destroyer! Vulgar is a bad guy, fully armed and mean as heck! Beware the drill in his head and the mace blaster he carries! He’s from 1984, where the ROBO Force toy line was a failure, beaten by those Robots in Disguise. ROBO Force robots have suction cup feet which was not the fun selling point some guy thought it could be. Vulgar follows Hun-Dred, leader of the Cult of Dred robot army. Welcome Vulg! -
10-Mar-2021
New Bot Day! Robo Shark is from a Super Friends 2012 Aquaman playset for ages 3-8. I don’t think Aquaman needs a robotic shark to travel with though the marketing materials says that’s what happening. Had I gotten this as a kid I’d have made them fight which I suspect kids today do too. I do like Aquaman though, particularly the Brave and the Bold egotistical version, and I dig the Jason Momoa version too despite the DC movies not being rewatchable for me. I love to swim and had I had these toys in the decade I was 3 to 8 I’d be playing with them in the bath, at pools, and in the ocean. Welcome Robo Shark! -
02-Mar-2021
New Bot Day! Robbie the Dog Robot is from DC COMICS! He first appeared in Star-Spangled Comics #29 in 1944. Robotman built him to be a companion. He can signal Morse code with his eyes and has high intelligence. I’m happy to have him join the other canine-bots in my bot collection. -
25-Feb-2021
New Bot Day! Rusty the Boy Robot is from the 1995 Dark Horse comic in which Rusty idolizes The Big Guy. Rusty is clearly inspired by Astro Boy in the best ways. Alongside Rusty is non-robot hero Lady Maxx, a vinyl creation by Mark Nagata and Max Toy Company. Be earnest & heroic today! -
23-Feb-2021
New Bot Day! Cometroid E-05 transforms from egg to robot. Created for Japanese toy line Tamagoras (タマゴラス); the waning He-Man franchise ingested him and other egg-bots in 1984 and called them Meteorbs. -
18-Feb-2021
New Bot Day! Welcome Pocket Bot by Tomy from 1978! I think I got one as a stocking stuffer at Christmas. I acquired this one-and-three-quarter inches tall wind-up recently. It has a sharp design despite being a mass-market, cheap toy. A perfect small toy for a kid to bring along when they’re dragged along on parental errands. “Yes, you can bring a toy.” -
16-Feb-2021
New Bot Day! Fugitoid was introduced in a 1985 black and white comic Mirage Studios. Fugitoid was a worker bot called Sal who is fused with scientist Dr. Honeycutt. I remember Fugitoid on the stands at Comic Gallery. I didn’t buy it. The comic lasted one issue, but the character was added to the iconic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universe. -
13-Feb-2021
New Bot Day! V.I.N.CENT is from The Black Hole (1979) and I’ve been seeking this fella to replace the toy I got at a Woolworth’s on Canal Street in New Orleans in 1981. I loved VINCENT for his earnestness and expressive design. Also I wanted to be able to retract my eyes into my shell to protect myself. “Vital Information Necessary CENTralized” is his terrible acronym but my nostalgia is activated when I look at him. -
09-Feb-2021
New Bot Day! Old B.O.B. appeared in Disney’s The Black Hole (1979). BOB stands for BiO-sanitation Battalion. He’s old and cantankerous but tells the truth and is key to the story. Slim Pickens’ distinct voice perfectly establishes the character, as does the shabby design. I have great memories of this too-dark, unsettling, hard-to-recommend movie, but I love the bots! -
01-Feb-2021
New Bot Day! Cylon Raiders are robotic spacecraft debuting in 2007 in the rebooted Battlestar Galactica. This biomechanical robot is nicknamed “Scar” by Colonial pilots, known for fearsome combat. These Cylons are not as intelligent as the humanoid types, but they are still expertly deadly.