My VINTAGE Action Figure Collection: JRNY to K-Mart Plaza!!!

[BrandonDaCollector]

OK, nuff said about that

[BrandonDaCollector]

Oh man, here is one of the showcases I have waiting & wanting to do for who knows how long The time has finally come It's going to be My Go-Bots, Rock Lords plus other special Robots from the 80s that are considered to be knockoffs & bootlegs plus other stuff, it's going to be a huge showcase, one of My biggest ever I've ever produced I know how people are about the franchise and have been brainwashed with obsessiveness of Transformers. I have briefly explained a history of this a while back in My big 3-part Transformers presentation but I'm going to elaborate on this even further as it is quite apropos to do so since this is going to be My Go-Bots special showcase. In a situation that happen in the 70s, Marvel created Man-Thing in 1971 then DC's Swamp Thing suddenly appeared in 1972. Who do you think the people liked more If you said Swamp-Thing then you be correct. See the same darn thing happen there yet most people NEVER ACKNOWLEDGE THIS and what did they do and without people caring to realize the truth, things are what they are...PATHETIC Takara made their Diaclone toy line that spawned from their Micro-Man series in 1980 and this was in Japan, the franchise of Transformers didn't exist yet. However, Tonka saw that there was a "robot craze" going on over there with the plebeians as well with movies so they hurried up and got in on their own line with help from Bandai thus spawning the Go-Bots in 1983. All of a sudden corporate locusts Hasbro wanted to "join in" so they had their way and "joined" Takara to form the first Generation of Transformers and it all launched in 1984. The kids were ditching Go-Bots for them like they didn't mean a darn thing despite parents could afford Tonka's Go-Bots way easier to obtain as they were more affordable than Hasbro's Transformers. Kids even developed an ego of "if you didn't have a Transformer then your not cool". Amazing how everybody stands by the first movie in a franchise and not the sequel, it's truly the opposite here Because of these conditions, Hasbro was literally stealing the thunder of Tonka's Go-Bots. If that's not bad enough, Hasbro took over & bought Tonka as well as Kenner in 1991 acquiring everything they had and they never did resurrect the Go-Bots line and making "most" of their properties and companies they consumed fall into oblivion and the way this limboic society is doesn't help A similar situation arised like this when WWF bought WCW in 2001, to the it acclimated the competition but "true" fans of WCW it was all a COMPLETE WASTE To fans who have been conditioned to love Transformers & Hasbro, stuff like this means bupkis to them but for people who loved Tonka & Kenner and everything they did will always love the Go-Bots and know the "true" origin and fun that they did

With that huge crucial point out of the way and if you opted to skip it then shame out you because it's meant to enlighten My readers So of course we are going to start with the Go-Bots and gradually move on to the Rock Lords and so on. I got a lot of Go-Bots, most are from My Grandma MiMi as she got them from various places including Walgreens on Hampton, Grandpa Pidgeons on Chippewa and My Rock Lords at Ben Frankin's on Grand and even at Toy Chest[/b] in South County, possibly other locations as well. See, I wasn't won over by Transfomers even though I liked them hence My great showcase and My special times at Judy's Superstore. I was won over by the Go-Bots because they WERE FIRST, I knew them before the Transformers and this is the way it's been for Me and will always be

An important factor for those that care and are curious of other countries, Go-Bots was originally known as Machine Robo in Japan, Robo Machine in Europe & Machine Men in Australia. So if you ever heard of these before and wondered why they looked liked Go-Bots it's not because they were bootlegs & knockoffs, it's because they WERE GO-BOTS Oh the more you learn

If you are rusty on the Go-Bots then here is their wikipage and you can especially read about Hanna-Barbera's Challenge of the Go-Bots ---> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gobots.

Now I don't have every figure nor variant. I have unfortunately misplaced at least a couple figures that I haven't seen in a very long time but here is most of My beloved Go-Bots collection that are still in very good shape

THE GUARDIANS

Leader-1: He is the blue variant and leader of the Guardians, he was a great character, so very underrated



Scooter & Turbo: I have always loved this figure of Scooter. As good of a character he was, he was truly an early stage or stepping stone of today's "must have geek/dork/comedy act in every film & TV show over the last couple of decades or so Turbo was a great character, a very serious one at that.




Major Mojo & Sparky : Now these two hot rods were really cool. Both are red like Turbo.



Ace & Heat Seeker: Both are fighter planes from two different eras, really cool!



Bent Wing: Another really cool WWII character!



Bolt: Another really cool WWII character, very cool!



Road Ranger & Spay-C: Oh here we go, anybody wanna know where Hasbro got their source of creating Optimums Prime Well here it is with Road Ranger, he's even got the same color scheme for cryin' out load I showed you earlier in My great Visionaries showcase how the corporate locusts known as Hasbro take ideas and make them their own with the SOMA's Halloween Monster Man and made the Inhumanoids and how they copied the concept of hologram figures such as Tonka's Super Naturals and made into their Visionaries...well Road Ranger maybe the Granddaddy of all of this and more Sometimes he is known simply as Truck and is one of the very few Go-Bots that is mentioned in the Transformers Universe and what is ever seen is twisted around and downgraded to a very pathetic level Now I have always loved Road Ranger, he's one of My favorite Go-Bots ever of all-time and I liked him more than Prime himself but because of the overwhelming influence over the the plebeians, he has become oblivious to most. To bad Bandai gave the rights to Tonka cause it would have been nice to have a resurrection of sorts to have a proper battle of these bots Now also we have Spay-C, a female in the Super Go-Bot sub-line. She is rather hard to transform however she's huge and is awesome. Amazing she is a space shuttle, gotta get that NASA in their somewhere So cool



Night Ranger: Blue & White Versions. Here is two variants of the really cool motorbike good guy




Hans-Cuff (from MR-MACHINEROBO Series): He was the last Go-Bot I ever got. I believe in was either in late 1990 when We just moved or possibly into early to mid 1991. We saw a new little dollar store on the corner and We stopped in and to My surprise they had some rare & out of production toys and I saw Hans-Cuff whom is a cop car Go-Bot, I knew exactly who he was, I saw him in Challenge of the Go-Bots a ton of times that My Mom recorded for Me on VHS many years prior. He was a great character and seeing & getting this figure was sure a pleasant event



So here is the Dollar Store that I had just mentioned that I got Hans-Cuff from. It was right across the street from our "soon to be" usual Walgreens & Blockbuster Video. I do not recall the store's name. I remember it was very clean and very cool temperature inside. I know they didn't last long after this however I do not know how long they were there beforehand. They didn't have a ton of stuff that was organized or whatever like a department store but their style was fixed together very nicely. What's there currently I have no clue, it's one of those places that nothing ever stays in there for long at all Here is the little store that most people probably either forgot about or didn't even know about in My area of Holly Hills



Space Hawk: Now I just said above that Hans-Cuff was My last Go-Bot as in a figure but not My final Go-Bot item I would get all-together Oh no, that feat would belong to the vehicle Space Hawk One day Me and My Grandma MiMi were out an about, probably going to National and doing the rounds. Well before We got there the places on Ridgewood next to Our Post Office had a big attraction going on, I really never knew what the building was, I seen it since I was little. I believe their an estate and had a sale going on or something to that effect. So We stopped by there and there was Space Hawk on a table similar like people do at yards sales and small parties but more on that in a bit as you'll get to see the building

Yes there is the really cool Space Hawk which is a Guardian ship. It has a very good 80s design to it



It's wings fold down to form legs which is really creative



The window is very large and opens with ease. I put Turbo in there to show Space Hawk's massive size



I actually got Space Hawk Interceptor pretty new in the box that I have misplaced but I did keep the Instructions handy. Look at that when they still made instructions and didn't think you knew how to do everything yet like companies would do in the near future and look at that year, 1986...oh man



Here is the place I got the Space Hawk at that I was just talking about This was the only time that I know of that this place did anything of the kind there. It's currently called Omega Packaging but I do not recall the name of the building back then if it was the same company or not when she got Me Space Hawk in around 1991, it is possible it was 1992 or 1993. Here is a couple recent pics of the building. They had a big lawn sign similar like you would do for a yard sale or a restaurant promoting something in old school fashion. Notice the tractor trailer there, ever since I was a youngster I loved to look at stuff of that nature and still do




NOTE: Speaking of yard sales, across the street around the same time a house had a big one. What attracted Me about it was they had a big Stand-Up of "The Total Package" Lex Luger on their porch. I asked them how much is the Lex Luger Stand-Up and their like "you know who he is" and I said yes, I'm a big wrestling fan and knew him for years and he's one of My favorites. So again I asked and they said oh, "He's NOT FOR SALE" and I was like what, how disappointing that was, he was nothing but pre-CLICK BAIT I've always been POed about that ever since We looked around and their yard sale was really poor, I mean they had absolutely nothing interesting all. I thought I'd reminisce about this one since it goes along with this subject & time period

[BrandonDaCollector]

THE RENEGADES!

Cy-Kill: Oh man, here is the leader of the villains. I just loved him. He reminded Me of Hulk Hogan back in the day. Like Night Ranger, I was fortunate enough to get both variants of him and amazing both are motorcycle characters The blue & white is regular but the green & black one is really cool. He looks pure urban sporting a nocturnal appearance. He is arguably one of the most underrated and defiantly most unappreciated villains of all IMO which is such a shame




I have misplaced his wheels/tires and motors but you can see how he is supposed to be



Crasher & Cop-Tor: I love these two. Along with their boss Cy-Kill, they are your main bad guys. Crasher is a female and I have always loved her. She's hardcore and reminded Me a lot of people like Sensational Sherri & Cher. Cop-Tor is great, I love his design and the way he is, just superb!



Fitor: Similar story like Cop-Tor, he is really cool too!



Geeper Creeper: Now this guy is just tremendous, arguably My favorite Go-Bot of all. I have had tons of fun with him back in the day, in fact him & Road Ranger were two of My most cherished of all of them



Block Head & Loco: Ah, Block Head is really good, I love the construction vehicle concept, again another one that Transformers would "borrow" from not to long after this I really dig Loco, I have always loved Trains and this dude really brought it out for Me as he just wasn't a locomotive but he was a bad one and a really neat looking one too



Spoons: Oh boy, he's a forklift, I love that, gosh Tonka & Bandai was so creative, too bad Hasbro did what they did



BuggyMan & Stinger: I love BuggyMan, in a way he looks good but nope he isn't. I love his face and his overall design. Stinger is very good as well, such realism there!



Bugsie: Now here we go with some arthropod & insect theme characters which Bugsie is My first one that I will present. He is from a group that was intended to be from Bandai's other lines hence his design looking more Anime but Tonka wanted more characters. He is really rad and has a very bleak look to him.



Here is My Duplicates of Bugsie, I do not recall how I got 2 of him



Bugsie (alternate pose & Bad Boy: Sometimes I pose him like this as well. Also Bad Boy is here and boy is he a bad old time jet



Creepy & Pincher: Here is some more insect themed Renegades. Creppy is very good, there was a time he had a variant and was an exclusive mail-away. Well My Grandma MiMi sent in the needed proof of purchases (years & years before corporate locust scoundrels scammed you) and soon I got the hot neon green version He has always been a major character for Me and one of My most prized figures too Also here is Pincher, he is another scary looking insectoid baddie and I have always loved his overall design



Claws & Scorp: Ah, these two guys I have always adored. Claws is is quite different as his wings come in & out as his shield as well makes him fly. Scorp is just awesome, one of My favorites. He has such a terrific design and is arguably the most impressive Go-Got ever created IMO I love how he stands up and maneuvers his tail and I bet I have played with him more than most of My entire collection except for a couple like Road Ranger




Destroyer & Rube (Puzzler): Now Destroyer is from the same series that Spay-C: is from as a "Super Go-Bot". He is a really cool army tank. I have unfortunately lost his cannon but he still looks good. Now Rube is part of "Puzzler" series where you would collect several figures and then combine them into 1 giant robot. A concept that seemed like everybody was doing then in the 80s such as Dynaman & Voltron and of course eventually Hasbro but the Power Rangers really "borrowed" it especially from Dynaman. He is a very cool car and is quite heavy compared to others because of the thick use of metal.



Herr-Fiend: Oh now here is one of My most memorable of all of My figures of just not My Go-Bots collection but all My entire collection of toys & action figures in general for a couple reasons and one isn't that pleasant, in fact it's quite unnerving & depressing but this is something that I have been waiting to showcase for a long time which this story has a very significant side to it which has to do with My Grandma MiMi but I will discuss this consequential moment in a minute. Herr-Fiend: is a massive Renegade and is part of the "Super Go-Bots" line. He is one of the biggest in size and about the heaviest. He's kinda hard to transform but man do you feel accomplished when you do He has a cool driver in his driver's seat which I have always thought this was such a clever move of Tonka





So here is the story. I have really never told this story outside of the Family. When I was visiting My Father Paul or Buddy as everybody called him that...even Me, I never called him Dad, Daddy, Pop, Father or anything like a normal son would, just Buddy When I'd go to his place when it was time to visit him which was quite close to our good old house during this time, like a spoiled kid that wanted to be treated after a hard days whatever, I'd ask My Grandma MiMi to get something, I'd say "get Me a surprise a Surprise MiMi" and many times she did, some of it is some of the things I have already showcased with the many pages of this great topic of Mine, some I have yet to. So it was one day at night Buddy wanted to go to the Bar across the street from his house. I remember it like it was yesterday. It was night, instead of Me watching TV, playing with My Hasbro Battle Beasts he got Me from Our great local K-Mart (I already posted an inspired showcased sometime ago) or going to bed, he wanted Me to go with him at the Bar/Tavern. I recall the nighttime street lights and the neon Budweiser signs on the window. I was there all bored. He got drunk and went home across the street and LEFT ME THERE all by Myself I was there for hours. Any maniac thug, weirdo perv pedo could have gotten Me and My little youngster life would have been over before it actually begun My own Father left Me there, totally neglected Me When My Grandma MiMi found this out that was it...visitations was over and My Mom got sole custody I only saw him once or twice after this...I remember the movie I was watching with My Grandparents, it was Ridley Scott's Legend with Tim Curry from 1986. He came over one last time at night, I just had a very small talk with him and that was it...I remember him getting off of the couch, walking to the front door and I never saw him again...one of My most cherished & favorite movies of all-time...how can a movie that I love so much bring Me such joy yet bring Me so much sorrow of this moment...that was it and I have had this point of My life with Me for over 35 years now Here is the Bar, it looks a bit different in some areas but mostly the same as I remember. He lived right across the street there next to St. Louis' own Imo's Pizza



So that night My Grandma MiMi did get Me a surprise and that surprise was Herr-Fiend, I think she got Me him at Venture but I believe she went with My Grandpa PoPo to Crestwood at K-B because the Go-Bots was disappearing from Our regular stores and if you wanted certain things then you'll have to go further out town for that, same thing happen to the Rock Lords but more on that later. Seeing him reminds Me of this whole time. Its quite pathetic & sad because of My Dad but then it is good because My Grandma MiMi gave Me another moment to remember this and to remember her because she cared for Me so much and that I was her Angel



Zod: Holy cow, here is Zod that My Mom got Me. I think she got Me him at Venture and boy was I lucky getting him as he was a special deluxe figure. I loved playing with him and his scale & design is very true to the original & first appearance. His rubber tires feel so good. He is electronic and he is as wonderful as he was way back when she got Me him



Here is Zod with the mini book & magazine offer that came with him...more on that in another showcase coming up



Powersuit - Renegade GB P4 (Red): Gosh, I really don't recall getting this. I thinking I got it from Grandpa Pidgeons because they had a huge amount of Go-Bots on their great fun shelves. These Powersuits are used as armor for the characters. Whoa, why is Leader-1 in a Renegade Powersuit




SPECIAL GALLERY

Copyrights: Oh look at all of that Copyright glory of the years, Bandai & Tonka




Blister Cards: Oh I was really ecstatic when I found these rather recently a few short months ago in My insane storage. Note how cool they look in the first place



Here is a look at some of the Go-Bots to get in the series along with the Copyright info and the Walgreens Price Sticker!



Here is an additional Blister Card I found as well



Hologram Sticker: Now this was a special feature that was included with the Go-Bots that coincided with the characters. I was astounded when I found this and how good it still looks



Go-Bots Group Shot: So here is a small group shot of some of the main Go-Bots. Notice I put Road Ranger there with good reason



Go-Bots, Transformers & MOTU size Comparison: So here is a bit of what we've been waiting for. Here is Crasher with Hasbro's TF's Blitzwing and My go-to guy Mattel's MOTU Prince Adam

[BrandonDaCollector]

So is part 2 of My huge Go-Bots showcase. This one will take a major look at the spinoff series called The ROCK LORDS Like their predecessors, they too had a movie titled GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords by
Hanna-Barbera once again and received good promotional treatment but it failed and caused Clubhouse Pictures to collapse as the plebeians weren't interested and caused this great feature to tumble down despite the "rock person" craze was as powerful as the "robot", "insect" & "reptilian" obsessive need for the laymen. In fact as I noted earlier in My actual Go-Bots as well as My Visionaries showcases I have exposed how the corporate locusts Hasbro has competed against others, took their ideas, took them over and claimed them as their own and conditioning people that this is their original concept and that this is better. You can see this in My showcase as well as other places online, you just gotta want to see "the truth". Again this unfortunate predicament has happen to the poor Rock Lords as well because during this time too Hasbro made the Inhumanoids which focused on...you guessed it...ROCK BEINGS However, like Tonka's Super Naturals & Rock Lords & SOMA'S Monster Man, Hasbro's copycat lines of Inhumanoids & Visionaries, they didn't last long however they got real lucky with their Transformers series but ask them if they feel fortunate about it

So with that history lesson outta the way, The Rock Lords were first released in Japan as 'Ganseki Chojin' (Rock Supermen) which was actually an extension of the Machine Robo Series. Without wasting time Tonka quickly entered them to the US' Gobots, EU's Robo Machine and AU's Machine Men lines.

If you are rusty on them or don't even know about the Rock Lords then go to their fandom page https://machinerobo.fandom.com/wiki/Rock_Lords.

So I became a big Rock Lords fan right away as I knew they were connected to the Go-Bots whom I was already fully aware of. It was really cool. My Grandparents recorded the film on it's world premier TV event on VHS. They would get Me as many figures as they could taking Me to great stores such as Ben Franklin on Grand and Toy Chest in South County which I already showcased Franklin pretty well but need to do better with Toy Chest. In Our area the availability of these figures wouldn't last long as they were being discontinued as they weren't selling well and production numbers were low. Still I think of this and its all just a complete pathetic mess but I was one of those kids that liked'em and thought they were so fun and whether or not you saw/see them the way I did/do it doesn't really matter because I was proud of it then and and I am still proud of it now and I am using the word proud in it's true meaning of the word unlike how today's androgynous society chooses to use it

So here is My collection, I don't have every character nor is all accessories shown. Like My Go-Bots showcase they are all transformed and work well. They're all in superb shape and they look as fine, fun & true now as they did when I got in 1986

GOOD ROCK WARRIORS

Granite (Gutsrock): This guy is really cool, I have always liked his color scheme.



Crackpot (Crossrock): He is very good, has a somewhat of an insect-like face.



Pulver-Eyes (Sandrock): This "Walrus-Man" inspired character is very good, look at the vanilla color scheme!



Narliephant: Oh this guy is part of the Narlies series, he is so fun with his fuzzy body and rubber trunk and is similar like an Elephant hence his name.

[BrandonDaCollector]

EVIL ROCK WARRIORS

Magmar (Devilrock): He is the leader of the evil ones. He has such a rad appearance, check out his Mohawk!



Tombstone (Geigerrock: I have always loved him. A very scary looking dinosaur-like being, look at his color!



Sticks 'n Stones (Doublerock): Arguably My favorite of all and probably the most recognizable of all of the Rock Lords or at least he used to be due to his double twisted nature having two heads and arguing with himself. I love his faces and his overall look and check out the finger print nod



Stoneheart (Amazonrock): Ah, now he is just so fantastic. He's always been My favorite of all. I love how he's like a gill-man. His blue color is so attractive. I also really like how his hands can move. I find him quite scary looking and in fact he is one of most frightening figures in My collection regardless of genre




Silmestone (Magnarock): I was so excited when I first saw this little guy. He is of a very shiny silver vac-metal. He is so cute yet totally awesome. I dig transforming him. Its been a 3-way tie of whom is My true fave of Sticks 'n Stones, Stoneheart or this small guy known as Slimestone. If you ever get a chance to some how see this figure in person then you'll really be amazed of how vibrantly bright he is. I loved vac-metal, it was such a great concept that was used in the 80s and 90s. See if anything like this is made in this day and age now and see how high the price is too while your at it



Brimstone (Bloodyrock): This monstrous rock of fiery is really good. Look at how them "snake eyes" are looking at you even in his rock form



Rock Shot: Part of the Shock Rocks series which was unfortunately one of the final lines of the entire franchise This beastly crocodilian is a menace.



Stone Hook: Also part of the Shock Rocks line, I love his hook feature and his eyes as he has the classic "sci-fi slit-eyes" design.



NEUTRAL

Spike Stone: He is part of the Rockasaur series. This quadrupedal horned creature is really tremendous. I have had tons of fun with him and transforming him. IMO he is kinda like the Rock Lords' equivalent of the Go-Bots' Zod. He is neutral because he is neither good nor bad, he guards his territory and attacks any and all whom invades

[BrandonDaCollector]

Copyrights: Look at them great looking Copyrights, amazing how this is something nobody talks about. Did you ever look at your figures and searching who made them and what year Boy I sure did ever since I was a youngster and I still do and I just love that



Rock Lords Blister Card: Like My Go-Bots Blister Cards that I found only mere months ago, these were too. Look how cool these were



Unlike their counterparts the Go-Bots, they had bios, a small comic and plus all the info you needed and people didn't like this Come'on what were they thinkin' of then



Here is the Tonka logo & info. Oh look, the price sticker of Toy Chest See how they were clearanceing them out See, it's a good thing My Grandparent got them for Me when they did



Here is another Blister Card too!



Toy Chest: So off and on I talk about Toy Chest on the board and you just saw a great look at their Price Sticker on My Rock Lords Blister Card. Well, the time has finally come that I am properly but briefly going to showcase them. They were a toy store similar like Toys "R" Us. They were their competition like Walmart is to Target today for an example. They were quite successful but with the arise of TRU as well as mall toy stores such K-B & K&K coming to popularity, they were slowly going down hill Our location was in South County. I have a handful of some great memories at the store when I was a youngster in the mid 80s till around 1990. Of course I got the Rock Lords. I remember going with My Mom there many times as well We went together along My Grandma MiMi. I remember seeing tons of Kenner's Star Wars which I will talk more about that in Star Wars' upcoming showcase here in the Vintage topic A while after this TRU moved right across the street from them not to mention K-B & K&K Toys was right down the road in the big mall We used to have. My last times ever at Toy Chest was in the later part of 1990.

Here is special Toy Chest & Logo collage that I made



I have spoken about this previously. I discovered the cool Marvel Superheroes series which I got many of them as well which I will present here in time but I was on the hunt for series 2 of Hasbro's WWF action figures which I was successful at. I found a Afro-style haired Andre the Giant Clip Figure loose on the floor that was already many years old which I still have no clue how he got there but I wasted no time picking him up, I showcased him a long while back in My great Vintage Wrestling topic as well as this one. Here is a special "flashback" post of him cause he is quite special to Me that I found him at Toy Chest

Andre the Giant by HG Toys: Here is an interesting story. I was on the hunt for WWF Hasbro figures
at Toy Chest, a big rival of Toys "R" Us at the time as they were right across the street from them! Anyway, this Andre the Giant Zipper Clip was in the wrestling figure isle loose, on the floor!! So I took it! Its the only time I ever saw this kind of figure in person. Well, finder's keepers The odd situation is, this particular figure was during the time of the LJN's meaning since they stopped selling these years prior to when I found him in 1990 As I said previously, I had wanted the Afro-haired Andre and while this isn't that version, he still has all of that bushy hair so at least I got some kind of version like that of him then

So not to long after them last rides to Toy Chest in the months of 1990, they were gone, out of business They've been gone over 30 years now and seems like they have been forgotten by so many. There is hardly anything on the net about them, only one commercial I had posted a while back which is so beyond pathetic, it really makes Me sick They were a wonderful toy store and arguably better than TRU, they had huge selections and stuff that they didn't have but of course seems like always the good & cool stuff never last and is always foreshadowed by the plebeians way of making the overrated stuff last So as My mission continues to bring forth stores & locations that are no more and have fallen to this limbolic society, here is a special look of where Toy Chest once was and how it is in very recent times.

So here is JCPenny that took their place and their still there believe it or not but with hardly any cars there how do they stay in business You can see the remnants of Toy Chest's building, it was built for them nearly over well over 3 decades ago and it still looks like that today



TRU was right across the street. It was something else back in those days when you had toy store heaven in South County



So here is where My local TRU was. If you remember Me showing it in My awful WWF Mattel topic then you'll recognize it right away. Spirit Halloween Store took their place a number of years after they departed but they too are gone thanks to the P!@D3mic and the building is now vacant once again Notice the JOANN Fabrics, that used to be a Circuit City, remember them It was pretty cool back in the day going to TRU and going there seeing new video games & movies and stuff or vice versa. Their failing due to the competition such as Best Buy down the road so they were absorbed along with CompUSA by TigerDirect. Such history



Now getting back to My Rock Lords, here is a special comparison of Go-Bots & Rock Lords Blister Cards side by side




Rock Lords Group Shot 1: Here's My collection of Rock Lords in their natural rock state.



Rock Lords Group Shot 2: Here's My collection of Rock Lords in their transformed state.



Go-Bots vs. Rock Lords selected Group: So here it is, what the big cross-over special was all about



Tonka Special: Here is a little unique display to show how great Tonka was. Here is Go-Bots' Crasher, Rock Lords' Stoneheart with previously seen Super Natural's Blackheart & Willow's General Kael. Now this was so fun back in the day and I am quite fortunate to have these and experience these great times of Tonka



Tonka ULTIMATE Special: So here is another special of Tonka's Go-Bots & Rock Lords Road Ranger & Loco, Sticks 'n Stones & Silmestone with previously seen Tonka's Trailer, Play People's Flight Squadron, Super Natural's Vamp-Pa and Willow's Death Dog. The days of Tonka were so fun and I am so proud to have been a kid during this time



Rock People: As a super duper bonus, here is what I was talking about near the beginning of the showcase of how corporate locusts Hasbro sees & takes. Here is Rock Lords' Stoneheart with previously seen SOMA's Halloween Monster Man's Rock Man and Hasbro's Inhumanoid's Magnokor. Holy pebble if there isn't a big resemble going on here and again, Rock Lords was 1985, the others was 1986 If you skipped looking at what I said about Hasbro earlier on with the first part of My presentation of the Go-Bots & Rock Lords then your missing the point, this is really a crucial matter that many people are being coerced upon but I'm not one of'em

[BrandonDaCollector]

GO-BOTS BOOKS!!

So here is My small yet very special collection of Go-Bot books. This is the book you just saw that came with Zod. Its a great little book and here is a brief look at it plus a special action figure INSERT





Also seen with Zod is this nice Go-Bots Magazine Ad, amazing that I still have this



Go-Bots Golden Book & Magazine: Ah, here is the ones that I truly love. I believe My Mom got Me these and subscribed Me to the Go-Bots Magazine along with the MOTU & She-Ra magazines that I may showcase a while down the road in the future within the topic Here is the front covers of the both of'em



Take a gander at this nice Golden Book along with the Copyright Info





Here's inside the magazine. Oh look, not too long after Quaker Oats first made Granola Bars. Oh I craved these then and off and on decades later There's the introduction by Leader-1 himself and the magazine's info.



It was pretty cheap subscribing to it as it was only quarterly instead of monthly or even weekly


Here a nice table of contents. Oh boy, an ad of Go-Bots: Battle of the Rock Lords, gosh that was so cool! Oh look, a fan section creations by youngsters, see I wasn't the only one that liked Go-Bots Hah, Mary Lou Retton, you can tell what era this is from. Remember her You saw her all the time in the 80s & 90s...now She's in a Shcolastic-Lorimar ad



Oh here is a bit section of athletes. There's Hu-Na, a very nice looking Chinese Tennis Player. She was one of the best. Gosh she reminds Me of an Asian version of My childhood friend Jenny, the sister of Timmy whom I've spoke of before whom were My next door neighbors that I befriended not to long after I got this book.. Her face & eyebrows are a lot like hers...I miss Timmy & Jenny



Well how about that it's Sico, Paulie's gender-switching Robot in 1985's Rocky IV Boy, what a coincidence that I just did a cool write up on this movie in PB's movie trailers topic...what are the odds



How about that, a Tonka Trucks ad, now this is quite the place to put your advertisement if I do say so Myself Rock-Bots of Police's Sting and there's WHAM!



Here's a cool Go-Bots Comic within the magazine too. Very apropos that they did this



Gosh, the order form from the Statue of Liberty Centennial Magazine is gone, My Parents must have ordered it for Me or something but I do not recall anything about this whatsoever Now this is sweet, KidSkills/Family Skills. This is something you don't see everyday or much anymore which is ads where you see parents teaching their children which is quite piteous. I don't think Mine got this particular one but My Parents was teaching Me a lot way before Kindergarten. I remember I was quite a handful for awhile there to put it mildly



Here is Turbo's Tickles which was a joke section. Holy cow, it's M.U.S.C.L.E. Men This was during the time when Kinnikuman was getting RED HOT in the USA and Mattel got the license to make the figures. The ad shows you that 1 figure is inside a Nestle Quik and the catch is there is 233 of'em...WHAT Wow did Nestle get rich or what and no pun not intended there. Since I'm on the subject, I have a very big collection of these guys that I got during this point of time which soon I hope to showcase them a very big presentation that your not gonna want to miss at all So there's the back cover of the Go-Bots magazine. It shows a wonderfully done pictorial of the The Rock Lords. Also, here is the back cover of the Go-Bots Golden Book as well

[BrandonDaCollector]

OTHER ROBOTS!!

So as seen in My Transformers showcases, they weren't the only line of robots that I got. Of course you just saw My huge Go-Bots & Rock Lords showcase but also I got some others during this era as well which some might be surprising in certain factors. Here is a bonus showcase of these great guys that maybe considered bootlegs & knockoffs however I never saw them that way. These figures are indeed many that collectors never mentioned and is only talked about by a handful if even that but a couple of these guys are extremely obscure and even the most experienced robot fanatic would have a hard time tracking these down so here is some more superb robot fun of the great 80s



That's right, REMCO got in on the action of the obsessiveness robot craze of the plebeians rather quickly and came out about nearly the same time as the Go-Bots & The Transformers in 1984. One could argue if REMCO's ZyBots were actually before the layman's favorite. I do not recall getting these guys much at all, My Grandma MiMi probably got them for Me at Woolworth location #2 on Cherokee Street. I only got three of'em that I know of. I really like quality of them, their about the same size as Go-Bots but their much lighter in weight and more plasticy. Here they are

Earthbreaker: I just love him, he has always been a fun favorite.



Trac: I have misplaced his trailer box but this guy is also fun, he has such a nice turning point feature!



Mach-1: Such a great looking fighter jet, wonderful color scheme!



Copyright: Oh yes, look at that Copyright of 1984!



Earth Breaker & Trac: Yep, I love it that these two can go together like this which you can do with others as well even with the Go-Bots.




Group Shot: Here's all three of'em together, didn't think I had any more REMCO did'ya





Here is one that many people don't mention at all, it irks to what people do The Matchbox Parasites This series was a hybrid one consisting of vehicles & parasitical robots which IMO was a very clever concept in 1985. Here is the Specterite, he's the only one I recall having. I think I only wanted him as he was shiny and just really neat looking. His material is rather thin however so he is kinda fragile. They made the figures like this so they could go on the rides much easier than a full-fledged android. Here he is!



Face & Copyright: I love the way his head is shaped and the way his face is. Oh there's the Matchbox Copyright from 1985 I love that and look how it is semi-sculpted on there as well





Here is My 1985 Four Star Gestalt Converter Robot. Oh I remember getting him. I wanted him the moment I saw him. He appears to be an inspiration of the Egyptian God Anubis This series is very rare and one of the hardest to find of all robot lines ever produced




This is where I got him and others. This is a picture of recent times but back in the day in the 80s and even until the early 2000s, Hampton Village had a Walgreens. I have spoke many times of Hampton Village and Hampton Avenue itself throughout the topic and even showcased many great crucial times in My Odds & Ends. If you have being following My showcases and topics then your getting to know this wonderful area well So look at the pic below, see where you see the Five Below store, that's where the Walgreens was that some of My Go-Bots that you just saw came from hence the price sticker on their blister and as you just saw now My Four Star Gestalt Convertor Robot came from there as well. I remember getting him there like it was yesterday. My Grandma MiMi & I went there quite often. Remember My MEGO Army Figures I showcased a while back Well this is the Walgreens that she got them for Me at. She got Me a lot of MOTU there and My Mom got Me some great stuff too including some of Kenner's Aliens. Oh it was a tremendous Walgreens, arguably My fave of all. They moved across the street and is still there as I speak, I think they built the new one in 2005 or 2006 when they rebuilt the Target there too. It was so cool going to Schnucks, Walgreens & Target and sometimes Johnnie Brock's all in the same region literally just yards away from each other, them were the days Also as a bonus, see Mattress Firm across the way Well that used to be a Hollywood Video. We used to go there a lot. Not as much as the one on Loughborough & Morgan Ford Road but still a bit often. They had a really cool collage of movie posters all over their walls, My favorite one was their Batman Forever with the same poster I showed in the movie trailers topic with Tommy Lee Jones SMILING. Oh it was rad seeing this in huge scale on the wall, if you never been to a Hollywood Video before in the 90s & early 2000s then you missed a really cool video rental outlet that manged to exist longer than Blockbuster but still fell to Redbox, Netflix and this digital age we're in now Oh as you go down the street there, Movie King wasn't too far away from this are either, that's the place I talked about before that you could rent your VHS & Video Games for a week, I loved that place Seeing this street just makes Me wanna go there again and make the rounds around the great neighborhood of Hampton during those classic times





Here is My only Bug Bot from Buddy L. His name is Galactic Creeper (Black & Yellow Version).



1984 Copyright...YEAH



Here is My lonely Mega Moto-Bot by M.C. Toy - May Tat Toys. These guys were pretty good and had a pull back action via their removable motor.




Logo & Copyright!



This Tomy Robot actually belonged to a series I believe that you built similar like Voltron but I have misplaced the others if I had'em because I really do not recall getting this guy and thanks to the web not keeping any records of his info, I have been unable to confirm whom this guy is but he is quite neat looking



Little Scarab Robot from Tru-Buy: Remember when I showcased My Gabara Kaiju Hand Stamps & Karate Figures a while ago and I said they came from Tru-Buy and I showcased the store as well? Well, there was many other great things I got during this time and some of'em where tiny robots that were quite decent. I do not know where the rest of these guys are, I wouldn't doubt their in some storage with the rest of the Kaiju Hand Stamps and who knows what else-who knows where Anyway it was so fun getting these little things out of the bubble vending machines for only 25 cents I did not want to change him to prevent a possible fiasco so look at this tiny cute insect robot guy



As a bonus, here is Tru-Buy once again, it was one of Our favorite grocery stores (Mine ultimately was National as you know from My previous showcase) as it was just right down the street from Our old house, We'd walk there now and then. I have no clue what is occupying the building now





Holy cow, even McDonald's got in on this robot craving of the people as they had transforming food in their Happy Meals I believe I had many of them, possibly the whole set but as of right now I could only locate Turbo Cone. Yes, a transforming Ice Cream Cone




Here is his cool 1988 Copyright



Bonus Robots Comparison: So here is a special comparison of all the Bonus Robots along with a selection of My Go-Bots, Rock Lords & Transformers to give you a good idea how they match up



So that will do it for My HUGE, I mean HUGE showcase of My Go-Bots & Rock Lords plus their bonus coinciding books and as well as a bonus selection of other Robots. If your just now seeing this and never saw anything else then you missed the actual Go-Bots & Rock Lords showcases so get your behind up to the top and start from there This was without of a shadow of a doubt one the most visually nostalgic showcases I've ever done and one of the most stunning you could ever witness My next showcase is also going to be HUGE and its one of My most anticipated ones ever because its finally going to be My Kenner STAR WARS...YES My VINTAGE KENNER STAR WARS figures from the early to mid 80s aka the precursors of POTF 1, it's finally gonna happen It will be NEXT so until then I'll see you around

[packerbacker180]

Wow, I don't think I've ever read so much about the Go-Bots. Great write up. I had some of these. I mean, I remember having Leader-1, Turbo, Cy-Kill, Cop-tor, Scooter, and some of the others look familiar, but I've never done a deep dive in to the line nor realized there were variant colors of some. Cool.

You're right, they were a lot cheaper than TRAs so I remember having quite a few. I remember seeing the original miniseries a few times, but I could rarely find the TV series when I was young. Like SuperPowers Galactic Guardians, I really only found it in reruns on a Canadian TV station I could pick up at my grandma's house as she lived closer to the Canadian border. And then later it was very rarely on the USA Cartoon Express. I think I would've liked to seen it more.

It's funny how you mention that TRA stole some designs from these guys, I never seen Claws before, but he immediately makes me think of Scourge. Not sure which was first.

I didn't read the Rock Lords post, as since they're both pretty long I wanted to respond to them separately to do them justice.

[BrandonDaCollector]

Well thanks for your reply PB Oh I didn't think you would see this much Go-Bots or Rocks Lords in one setting. I was goin' to do them individual but I wanted to get this out as fast as I could as I gotta move on to My other showcases faster so this was basically a 4-part presentation

So yes, they were cheaper. Yeah, like the toys, the TV shows was running thin too, you probably would have been much higher on them if you had experienced it more. Cool about your Grandma

I just didn't "deep dive" into it, I was a huge fan back in the day as you can see & tell. Oh if you read My showcases here Hasbro did this a lot for a long time, this is what I'm trying to say the truth about Hasbro. Oh, Claws came out before Scourge because Claws was actually going to be based on Bandai's Devil Invader like I said earlier so CLAWS WAS 1985, SCOURGE WAS 1986, this goes with the majority of Go-Bots, they were first

OK, continue on to My Rock Lords please. I have a lot there too, like in My Go-Bots, I have special locations too. I'm gonna be doing this as a trend, its a very crucial way for Me getting My locations back to form as close as possible as they were way back then. After that is a special section of books and then some other really cool robots that you don't wanna miss and then read what I'm doing next cause it's gonna be so awesome Thanks again PB