Gobots facts for kids
Quick facts for kids GoBots |
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|---|---|
| Creator | Tonka |
| Original work | Machine Robo |
| Films and television | |
| Films | GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords |
| Animated series | Challenge of the GoBots |
| Miscellaneous | |
| Toys | GoBots Rock Lords |
| Related franchises | Transformers |
GoBots were cool robot toys that could change into vehicles! The company Tonka made them from 1983 to 1987. They were very similar to another popular toy line called Transformers, made by Hasbro.
Later, in 1991, Hasbro bought Tonka. This meant that Hasbro now owned the GoBots brand. The stories from the Challenge of the GoBots cartoon and the movie GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords then became part of the larger Transformers universe. They were like an alternate universe within it.
Even though Hasbro owns the GoBots names and stories now, the actual toy designs still belong to another company. Tonka had only licensed the toy designs from Bandai in the 1980s. So, Hasbro can't use those specific toy designs today.
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GoBots Toys and Figures
Tonka first released GoBots toys in stores in 1983. This was a year before the Transformers toys came out. Most of the GoBots figures came from a Japanese toy line called Machine Robo. These toys were usually about 2 to 3 inches (5–8 cm) tall.
The robot figures could change into many different types of vehicles. These included regular cars, jets, and even some World War II fighter planes. There were also some cool futuristic designs. This main group of GoBots was sold for four years. Later, Tonka added figures from other Machine Robo lines. They also had new figures specially designed for them by Bandai.
Super GoBots
Larger GoBots figures were called Super GoBots. These robots were usually about 5 to 6 inches (12–15 cm) tall. Some of these came from bigger Machine Robo toy lines. This included larger versions of Leader-1, the hero leader, and Cy-Kill, the villain leader. Some Super GoBots designs were even unique and not released in Japan.
The GoBots line also had two special figures that could combine. These were Puzzler, made of cars, and Monsterous, made of monster vehicles.
Tonka also designed some of their own GoBots toys. These included the Guardian Command Center and Renegade Thruster playsets. They also made a motorized robot called Renegade Zod. There were also large Power Warrior figures for both the good guys (Guardians) and bad guys (Renegades). These used molds from the Machine Robo line but had new colors. A very large playset called the Gobotron Fortress was planned but never released.
Rock Lords
A spin-off toy line called Rock Lords was also created. These toys were rocks that could transform into robot creatures. The Rock Lords even appeared with the GoBots in the movie GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords. Tonka released them as a separate toy line in 1986.
GoBots Figures List
Here is a list of some of the GoBots figures and what they transformed into.
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Some figures were not part of the original Machine Robo line. Figures with "MRT" were specially made for Tonka by Bandai. Other figures not released in Japan were Machine Robo test models. Other GoBots toys included:
GoBots in MediaHanna-Barbera made a cartoon series called Challenge of the GoBots. It helped promote the toy line and ran from 1984 to 1985. There were 65 episodes, each 22 minutes long. In 1986, after the TV show ended, the GoBots appeared in an animated movie. It was called GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords. Hanna-Barbera also produced this film. Books and ComicsIn 1984, two GoBot children's books were published by Golden Books. They were called War of the Gobots and Gobots on Earth. These books told the origin stories of the GoBots. GoBots also appeared in other books in 1985 and 1986. There was also a Gobot Magazine that included a short comic strip. This comic strip followed the Challenge of the GoBots cartoon story. The magazine also had fun features like quizzes and facts about real robots. It was published four times a year from 1986 to 1987. In the UK, a Robo Machines comic strip was made. It used many GoBot characters but had a different story than the cartoon. Later, other UK annuals followed the cartoon's story. Video GamesA GoBots video game was released in 1986 by Ariolasoft. You could play it on computers like the Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, and Sinclair ZX Spectrum. In October 2018, IDW started publishing a new Go-Bots comic book series. Tom Scioli wrote and illustrated it. GoBots Around the WorldGoBots were known by different names in various countries.
GoBots and TransformersIn 1991, Hasbro bought Tonka. This meant Hasbro now owned the GoBots trademarks. However, the actual toy designs (the molds) still belonged to Bandai. Some of these toy molds were even re-released in Europe in 1993 for the Robo Machine line. Since then, Hasbro has used the GoBots names a few times.
Hasbro has also made some special Transformers toys that look like GoBots characters. These are usually existing Transformer toys painted in GoBots colors. For example, the Transformers 2007 movie character Fracture was based on the GoBot Crasher. The name Leader-1 was also reused in 2002 for a small robot (Mini-Con) that came with Transformers Armada Megatron. It's unlikely that GoBots toys will get new designs like Transformers often do. This is because the original toy designs and molds still belong to Bandai, not Hasbro. |
