And before I forget, we’ve got die cast. It adds to the figure like you wouldn’t believe. There isn’t a ton – the outside of the legs and the back/tank cockpit, but it gives the figure some nice heft and just makes me feel better. Seeing that painted metal sheen on those parts… I don’t know. I just really like it!
The articulation has a lot of smart features. The classic toy had his face immobile & embedded under the tank’s cockpit. This toy doesn’t change that, but the face and head is a separate piece now and can turn inside the cockpit dome on the back. It’s great. The arms end up with de facto ball-jointed shoulders, bicep swivels, elbow hinges, and ball wrists. The legs mirror this with ball-jointed hips and ankles, thigh swivels, and hinged knees. The knees are the one area where range is limited a little by the bulk. A waist swivel is also included; it’s just hiding out a little lower than I expected.
The articulation is pretty seamless. I followed the instructions the first time through, but probably won’t need the again. The back flips up to hide the face, the arms fold back inside the tank and then classic transformation kicks in – he folds in half with the legs becoming the treads. A big upgrade this time though is the legs are hollow and create a shell around the arms instead of just leaving them hanging out. As a tank, he’s not really based on anything – he’s very futuristic, a little Cobra-esque. I like the look, but he’s so compact that this is the one place the size did kind of surprise me. He’s a wee tank. The three cannoned turret can swivel and all three barrels can raise and lower. The four treads are ball jointed which is kinda neat.
Finally, there’s the stand. At first, I wasn’t sure what to do with it. There’s no instructions in the box other than two pictures of two different configurations. It turned out to be pretty easy from the one picture, but they’re really highly customizable stands. There are 12 pieces total and tons of ports to build with. I opted for the basic setup from the instructions. It serves as a bay for the tank mode with a stand for the figure, but it’s going to be cool to see what other folks build as these robots get in more and more hands.
Overall, I love this thing. The sculpt is great and I love the metal bits. It’s very MP-level with the upgraded look and full 5” figure articulation – I love finally having toys that transform and still move. The transformation process is slick as is the great futuristic tank mode. I ordered Eagle Robo to go with him, but haven’t opened him yet. I held off on Rod Drill until Bike Robo comes in stock (& to save a little money on this month’s budget). I can only hope the other three are this good. This line is off to a great start. But, seriously, I’m not starting any other new lines this year. Seriously.
[nggallery id=234]
I had UFO (precursor to TF Cosmos) and some other rando GoBot, I think?
I didn’t realize they still had a fanbase until I saw the CyKill MP offered from BBTS.
They weren’t TF competition, but complemented the TFs nicely, I thought. and somehow, I was aware back then of various other Japanese lines that I liked, but never had a chance of seeing until the internet happened.
However, I’ll be saving up all my extra pennies for the TF Titans.
(insert random Robot Chicken skit and/or Clerks2 Kmart gag here.)
HUZZAH!!! New review! And it’s a corker! Thank you!
Look, mate, we all know how “real life” can impinge and take precedent. We love the reviews on this site. They’re always fun, informative, and have great photos and comics. But we understand how other things often have to come first in this hobby. Everyone okay on your end, by the way?
I am so looking forward to these guys arriving. I had loads of GoBots as a kid (I still have four of the originals — Crasher, Royal-T, Good Knight, and Mail-Away Green Creepy). I may even buy some spares along the way, for repainting purposes.
I hope this line continues and expands, though not to the extent the original did. I think I can live without a Mister Moto or a Gunnyr, but there are quite a few I’d like to get, especially Snoop!
Thanks so much for reviewing these. I am a big Gobot fan, so I was really excited for these guys. Though they are more expensive than was initially leaked, these now include those cool stands. Either way, I’ll gladly pay a bit more to have these all rolling around on my desk at work. This review has sealed it for me.