Robo Machine was a European transforming robot toyline released by Bandai from 1982 to 1988. Robo Machines was a short-lived revival from late 1992 to 1993. The line was initially a European release of the Machine Robo line, before gradually becoming the counterpart to Tonka’s Gobots line. The line appeared in the UK, France and Germany, amongst others.
The line was initially a straight import of the Machine Robo line, with the ‘600 Series’ and other figures released on blister cards, and featuring the literal designations that adorned the Japanese toys. The toy codes were also retained, though the “MR” abbreviation was reversed as “RM”. The packaging of larger figures revealed a back story along the lines of the Japanese series, with the Machine Robo mecha being used to defend Earth from the alien Devil Invaders. The Battle Suits were also issued at this stage.
In 1983, Tonka purchased the rights to distribute Machine Robo in America, and began refashioning it into the GoBot line. Bandai began to adapt elements of this line, notably the idea of the mecha being individual robots and naming them (generally using the GoBot names). During this phase, a wider range of figures was issued, including the Super GoBots, Puzzler and the playsets. Later on, as the animated Challenge of the GoBots series began appearing in Europe, the line went through a period of rebranding, becoming known by a variety of names, including Challenge of the GoBots – A Robo Machine Product or Robo Machine featuring Challenge of the Gobots. The line began to parallel the American one more closely (with American names being used on all figures), and gradually petered out after that range failed.
See main article: Robo Machines (comic).
The only true Robo Machines media produced in Europe was a comic serial in the British Eagle comic, which ran from 10 November 1984 to 29 July 1985. This depicted the battle between Ex-El’s Security Forces and Stron-Domez’ criminal Robo Machines. As the comic went on, GoBot terms such as Guardian began to appear. The main human character, Charlie Bampton, appeared later in the series, and was shown to possess the powers of ESP and telekinesis. Later media tied in more closely with the Challenge of the GoBots continuity.
| Gobot Name | Robo Machine Name | |
|---|---|---|
| Wrong Way | Sky Gun | |
| Twin Spin | Carry-All | |
| Road Ranger | Truck | |
| Vamp | Casmodon | |
| Pincher | Falgos | |
| Scorp | Zarios | |
| Bad Boy | Tank-Bust |
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In 1993, Bandai attempted to relaunch the line as Robo Machines, using toys from the Machine Robo CG Robo line, as well as some from the 1980s series. Due to all the Gobot trademarks being owned by Hasbro, the figures were largely issued with designations once again, rather than names. It was not a financial success, and was cancelled after one year. It was meant as an attempt to revive the European Robo Machine toyline that ran from 1982 to approximately 1988. It incorporated several toys previously released in the Machine Robo and Robo Machine toy-lines, and five new toys that previously had only been released in Japan as part of the CG Robo toy-line.
The Robo Machines toy line featured a total of 27 transforming robot figures, and was released by Bandai in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Belgium, Spain, and the Netherlands. Giochi Preziosi, Bandai's agent in Italy, handled the release in that country. 22 of the figures were reissues of figures that were previously released as part of the Robo Machine toy-line. Of these, 16 were 'regular'-sized figures (simply referred to as "Robo Machines") and 6 were "De Luxe" figures. Furthermore, 5 figures previously unreleased outside Japan were sold as "Light & Sound" Robo Machines.
Sixteen regular-sized Robo machines were released, in series of five. The first series had its line-up changed somewhere along the way to replace 'Harrier' with 'P-51'. All had been released as Gobots between 1983 and 1986, and the majority originated from Bandai's Machine Robo '600 Series'. Exact names varied according to market - those given are for the United Kingdom.
| Name | Vehicle Mode | |
|---|---|---|
| Aircraft | F4U Corsair | |
| Classic Car | Classic Style Excalibur | |
| F-15 | F-15 Eagle | |
| F-16 | F-16 Falcon | |
| Harrier | Hawker Siddeley Harrier | |
| Helicopter I | AH-64 Apache | |
| Helicopter II | SH-2 Seasprite | |
| Light Plane | Cessna | |
| Motor Bike | Harley-Davidson FL Electa-Glide | |
| P-51 | P-51 Mustang | |
| Scooter | Scooter | |
| Sports Car | Porsche 956 | |
| Submarine | Submarine | |
| Thunderbolt | A-10 Thunderbolt II | |
| Transport Helicopter | CH-46 Sea Knight | |
| Zero | A6M Zero |
Six De Luxe Robo Machines were released - these figures had been released as Super Gobots in America. Three figures (De Luxe Beetle, De Luxe Sports Car I and De Luxe Sports Car 2) originally came from the Machine Robo DX series, two (De Luxe F-15 and De Luxe Space Shuttle) from the Big Machine Robo series, and one (De Luxe Motorcycle) had been issued only as a Gobot. Exact names varied according to market - those given are for the United Kingdom.
| Name | Vehicle Mode | |
|---|---|---|
| De Luxe Beetle | Volkswagen Beetle | |
| De Luxe F-15 | F-15 Eagle | |
| De Luxe Motorcycle | BMW K100RS | |
| De Luxe Space Shuttle | Space Shuttle | |
| De Luxe Sports Car I | Porsche 911 | |
| De Luxe Sports Car II | Porsche 928S |
Five Light & Sound Robo Machines were released. Originally from Bandai's Machine Robo CG ('Change and Glow') Robo 1992 series, these were the only toys from the range to get names, as opposed to designations (in the United Kingdom, at least - designations seem to have been used in other markets). The figures had flashing lights and siren sounds.
| Name | Vehicle Mode | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Chaser | Mitsubishi GTO Police Cruiser | |
| 02 | Fire Chief | Fire engine | |
| 03 | SOS | Ambulance | |
| 04 | Mega Truck | Flatbed Truck | |
| 05 | Rough Rider | 4x4 |
