Psycho [Super GoBots]

The Super GoBots subline was a step up for GoBots—larger, a little fancier, and a bit more ambitious than the standard releases. Psycho showed up in the first series in 1984.

Like a lot of GoBots, his mold has a story.

Originally released as Psychoroid in the ScaleRobo DX line (part of Machine Robo), he ties directly into the anime Space Adventure Cobra. His vehicle mode is Cobra’s car, the Psychoroid, and if you look inside the cockpit, you’ll spot tiny figures of Cobra and Lady Armaroid.

It’s a small detail, but it’s the kind of thing that makes these toys feel like artifacts from another timeline.

The original Machine Robo version also had a launching missile, which was removed for the GoBots release—probably for safety, maybe for cost, likely both.

Psycho himself is a great example of how far out robot toy design could get in the 80s. Machine Robo in particular had a habit of doing things a little differently—like using parts of the vehicle as the robot’s head. Bug Bite had a similar thing going on before becoming an expected repaint of Bumblebee.

Those more android-like limbs almost feel like they wandered out of an H. R. Giger sketch instead of a traditional super robot design. It’s a look that leans harder into “alien machine” than “hero robot,” and honestly, it reminds me of some of the live-action Transformers designs where the whole point was to make them feel less human and more other.

There’s always that conversation—“what if GoBots had beaten Transformers?”
If that had happened, those movie designs might’ve looked a lot more like this. Which fits the aesthetic.

The Psychoroid itself is a “future car,” complete with the very on-the-nose Future Car stickers, and it looks fantastic. It’s unmistakably a 70s/80s sci-fi design—because it is—and that’s part of the charm. Mine has some paint scuffing, but overall it’s in great shape for a 40-year-old toy. 

I picked this one up from a dealer at Toylanta this year—the same guy I ended up talking to for a while—and aside from the wear, it’s a really solid copy. Nothing’s broken, joints are mostly tight, and that matters with this one. Psycho has a bit of a reputation for fragile parts.

Transformation is straightforward. The car splits and folds in on itself to form the body, with the head right in the center, and the limbs folding out from the ends. It results in a sturdy, very classic robot mode that feels good in hand.

He’s a mix of die-cast metal and ABS plastic, which is always a bit of a gamble with older toys—especially when chrome is involved—but this one’s held up nicely.

I’ve been after a Psycho for a while, passing on copies that were overpriced, broken, or both. It’s nice to finally have one that hits that sweet spot.

South Claw [Gobots/Monster Gobots]

Usually when I talk about a Transformers Combiner, I make a point to talk about the concessions made for the combiner mode. With Gobots... that's not really the case. South Claw forms the left arm of Monsterous, but aside from the connector peg, you'd probably never know. South Claw is also known as Weird Wing in Machine Men and Death Claw/Number Three in Machine Robo. It's also worth noting that Monsterous is also known as Puzzler Fiends in Machine Men and Devil Satan 6 in Machine Robo. Also worth noting, I love the names in Gobots/Machine Men/Machine Robo. He's pretty much the same toy in each line, I think the only notable change is the wings are a lighter grey in Gobots.

South Claw is a Monster Gobot member of the Renegades who turns into a pretty gnarly flying kaiju monster. One fun thing about Monster Gobots is just how far out their designs are. South Claw is this weird cycloptic freak who looks like something Samus Aran would battle. Like most Gobots, he's reasonably articulated for a toy of his time... actually, maybe a little bit more. His forearms have a nice swivel and his wings can be posed in robot mode to give him an extra devilish look. Transformation is pretty easy as he mostly folds in half with parts re-arranged. I really like the purple/pink he's cast in.

I got this South Claw (it's a play on south paw) at ToyLanta 2024 from a hipster couple who regularly run a pretty decent booth. They sold him for a really low price because, as you can probably tell, he's got a chewed up foot/claw. Either someone's dog or feral cousin got a hold of it. Outside of that, the toy is in decent shape. A little paint wear and dings here and there. It's to be expected when paying a few bucks for an almost 40 year old toy. Maybe I'll find a junker to swap out parts with... or just have a South Claw with a fucked up foot. Sometimes these little dings give older toys extra charm. South Claw is a pretty good Gobot on his own and part of a pretty cool combiner team. His weird looks give him extra character and those colors make him look out of this world.

Happy Labor Day!

It's not just Monday, it's Labor Day, meaning I'm enjoying a 3-Day weekend! Personally, I could use the break. Don't think just because I'm taking the day off that things around the site are going to slack off. Nope, regular posting resumes tomorrow. Know what? Since Labor Day is a holiday for those who work, let's take a look at some robots who do a lot of work building things! While we're doing that, the Halloween party is still going strong... and your local stores may have started stocking their Halloween stuff now that Labor Day is signaling the end of summer and beginning of fall. Thank you all for reading Zone Base. I put a lot of work into the site each week without any ads or pointing to tip jars. Nope. All I ask is that you share the site with your friends and to be excellent to each other. Weird huh? Mutual High Fives everyone!

Shoot... it's Monday

Welcome back for another week of robots, monsters, and misadventure! I had a great weekend and hope you did too! It was Easter and a pretty good time! The Mrs and I exchanged Easter Baskets and man did she pull out all the stops! Transformers, TMNT, a squishy Cody Rhodes, and some candy was much appreciated! She even put Blokees in eggs and hid them around the house! I'm now the owner of a case of Transformers One Blokees and look forward to putting them together! We had Easter fun at my Mom's house with my brother's family before enjoying a relaxing Sunday evening at home. The 2016 Doom remake was on sale on the Nintendo e-shop for just 5$, so that was an easy purchase.

Speaking of Blokees, it looks like Walmart is making a solid effort into including them into their normal stock. I've been seeing Reels with folks not only finding Galaxy Version boxes at stores, but the larger kits as well. Hopefully they'll be able to keep them in stock as they are popular. I sure love them! Hopefully my Galaxy Defender case ships soon and didn't get back ordered (I swear I hate pre-orders). Of course there's more than just Blokees as far as new Transformers goes... but it's hard not to just focus on them.

There's other toys as well coming out that I'm loving, it's such a fun time on Zone Base! Speaking of, I've got a fun week in store for you all. It appears that an anomaly has been detected in orbit over the planet thanks to those darn quantum computers. Weirdly enough, Planet Zone has been registering as Planet Micro again on various notes around the base. Weird, wonder what's going on? I'm sure it's small. Regardless of universal streams distorting everything, thank you all for reading Zone Base. Don't forget to share with your friends!

Boulder [Rock Lords]

Boulder, the 'Leader of the Good Superhuman Rocks' seemed like a great toy to look at today as we head into ToyLanta weekend. I got this one at last years show in great condition for $25. Not bad! For whatever reason, I tend to focus on Rock Lords and Gobots at the convention and have the best time finding them. Boulder is the leader of the good guy Rock Lords and pretty cool looking too. This one is in pretty nice shape, though came missing his Power Sword... which is actually a laser gun. From what I gather, there was some mix-up in the early stages of the line and various weapons got mixed up.

So you get mismatched names on packaging with what the toy actually has. Sort of like Magmar's 'Ax-Rifle' that's really just a club. It's worth pointing out that the 'Power Sword' is called the 'Justice Laser Gun' in the Japanese release. Boulder comes with a Power Sword here, but BattleRock is using his Justice Laser Gun there. Damn, I love the Japanese names.

Boulder turns into a rock, of course. Specifically Tungsten, while is Japanese counterpart Kimberlite. Both Rock Lords and Armorizers make a point to define what type of stone the characters turn into and I love that. The whole thing is ridiculous as is, but that fact that they're that specific is just *chef's kiss*. In robot mode (are they specifically robots?), Boulder is pleasantly articulated for a toy of his era. Arms move at the shoulder and elbow and there's knee movement. The head looks like it swivels, but I've never tried it. Transformation is a simple folding up up the parts resulting in a specifically shiny rock. It's a pretty color that I'd love to see more often. Rock Lords are really neat and Boulder is very cool. He's definitely meant to be the hero of the crew with his looks and styling. That's a rock fact.

New Week Combine

Welcome to another week of robots, monsters, and misadventure here on Planet Zone! I hope everyone had a great weekend. Mine was pretty solid, played Astro Bot and enjoyed some good food. The Mrs made barbecue Sunday and we had Japanese Saturday night. Actually the Japanese ended up far more memorable than I expected. On the way home from weekend shopping, the Mrs and I placed a pick up order from a favorite local restaurant. Hibachi for her and sushi for me. There was a special for $3 off when a Coke was ordered, so I got a Coke Zero. When we picked up our order, included was a big to-go thing of soup. But it was no soup, it was my Coke Zero! They had filled one of those big to-go soup containers with soda! I used a knife to cut a hole in the top and inserted a straw. Hell yeah I drank out of it!

As for toys, Walmart still hasn't stocked the deluxe Star Raiders collection. In fact mine seemingly hasn't stocked in a few weeks. Not to worry, I ordered a BeastBox! In addition, earlier in the week the Mrs and I exchanged out Halloween presents. We always do it early in the month as to enjoy the stuff during the season. She got me a great pair skeleton Hey Dudes (my favorite brand of shoes), Turtles of Grayskull Skeletor (he matches the shoes!), and this years Droid Factory Halloween Droid! Spooky fun! Halloween fun was had all weekend. Speaking of, I hope you all are enjoying the Pumpkin Spiced Mayhem. We've got a few more weeks of the Halloween party left in 2024, so let's see it out with a bang! I've got a fun week of content for you this week, please look forward to it! Thank you all for reading Zone Base and don't forget to share with your friends!

Go-Bot Treds [Go-Bot Guardians 3-Pack]

In 2024, e-Hobby released one of my favorite Transformers sets which was simply called 'G1 GoBots'. At the Time, e-Hobby would release exclusive versions of Takara's G1 reissues in Diaclone or other pre-Transformers release colors as brand new characters. Several fans (myself included) loved these and gobbled them up. I mean, new G1 characters... whoa! Taking the G1 Mini-Bots set and releasing them based on unused colors from an early Transformers promotional catalog, these toys were then named after classic Gobots characters who had traveled to the dimension most Transformers resided in at the time. It was a cool set of toys with a fun backstory.

Treds is a classic Gobot character whom was recreated from Warpath due to both having tank alt modes. In that promotional image, Warpath was green instead of his trademark dark red colors we all know. Treds of course is normally green, so it just worked perfectly. The Go-Bots Guardian 3-Pack is based on that e-Hobby set using 3 recent Transformers Generations molds for the updates. Hasbro has released other Gobots characters in Transformers over the years, but this is the first time they've outright used the Gobots logo on the packaging. Even that e-Hobby set doesn't use it, they've mostly just alluded to it. When Hasbro bought Tonka in the 90's, they acquired Gobots with it. However the original toy designs are on shaky ground due to being Machine Robo toys by Bandai. With the more recent GoBots comics and re-airing of the cartoon, one has to speculate if a Gobot renaissance is coming. I sure hope so, you all know I love them.

This new toy of Treads is based on the Kingdom Warpath toy. I liked that figure quite a bit, so seeing it used here is a treat. Since the mold was an update of G1 Warpath, it's only natural that this makes a solid update of the e-Hobby Treds toy. A weird bit of trivia about his Decepticon symbol. All of the Transformers versions of Gobots have either Autobots or Decepticon symbols. Treds is a Guardian, one of the good guys. For some reason his original toy came with an Renegade (the bad guys) sticker on it. Gobots didn't usually have symbol stickers and this particular one is based on Tonka's initial design for the Renegade symbol. So it's weird for it to be there at all, let alone on the wrong faction. With this in mind, the e-Hobby set gave Treds a Decepticon symbol as a nod to the Renegade sticker. It's a choice that's confused some. This is a cool update of a fun Gobot. I'm super happy to have this set and having a lot of fun with it. Treds looks really great as a Transformer and I hope is the beginning of more Gobots characters in the line.

Bios: Courageous/Grungy

Earth trembles under the shocking force of GoBotron's newest surprises: Power Warriors!

Guardian Power Warrior, Courageous, assembles with Leader-1 commanding inside the armored chest, while four top Guardian soldiers enter each protective Power Suit. The friendly GoBots immediately begin their enemy location search using Power Suits' information gathering skills: telescopic sight, keen hearing, super-sense touch, and smart smell.

However, the menacing form of Power Warrior, Grungy, looms evilly in the distance, with Cy-Kill encased in his armored chest. Four Renegade henchmen work inside Grungy's Power Suits, using the spy-sight, eavesdrop hearing, razor sharp touch, and tracking smell to locate their foes.

The fight goes on as each side looks for the weak point that will mean the other's defeat. Power Warriors may be the ones to finish the battle but the question remains - who will be the winner?

Bios: Warpath

A light-weight, heavy-weight! Built for maneuvrability and speed, Warpath races through the skies ready for battle.

He can appear out of nowhere, plow through a barrage of blasts, and not even receive a dent. But when he’s angry, he's an Apache Copter who's on the Warpath!

Bios: Vamp

From the depths of the Antares Star System, Vamp emerges to join forces with the Renegades. Black-hearted and evil, this monster fits right in! She drains her opponents' power, then shoots energy blasts at these helpless victims. With her sinister red eyes, Vamp is ready to destroy the Guardians!

Combine into New Week

Gang, another week has begun. Like you, I'm not a fan of Mondays, but that also means another week of fun here on Planet Zone! I had a pretty good weekend. Did some weekly shopping and picked up Studio Series Game Edition Megatron while out. Ate some great salad and my favorite grocery store sushi. We watched The Nun 2 and took down the Halloween decorations in the yard (boo). The Mrs made us an excellent chicken dinner Sunday night and I got an errand for Christmas done. In all a productive weekend, but still fun. Right now I'm enjoying some coffee and watching Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla. I've noticed my company has some commercials playing on the Godzilla Channel. I know it's probably part of an advertising program, but it still makes me happy. Thank you for continuing to support Zone Base. I've got a fun week planned, so please be sure to share it with your friends. 

Transform Squadron 49- Devil Invaders Crush

 

LISTEN NOW!

It's the spookiest time of the year! McBoo Buckets, Transformers EarthSpark Expedition, and an a look at the Monster Gobots are on the menu for this year's Halloween edition of Transform Squadron!

Tombstone (Rock Lords)

Behind the old house is a cemetery, filled with those whom once lived and their gravestones.

There's nothing quite like Tombstone from Rock Lords. He's this big green rock that sort of looks like a gravestone who transforms into a reptilian robot carrying a weapon called 'The Reaper', that looks like a radiator. I suppose it's supposed to be some sort of laser? On the mini-comic from his packaging, 'The Reaper' is depicted as a sickle. You know, like you'd associate with it's name. In Ganseki Chojin his name is Geigerrock, which is a pretty fitting name for that weird reptilian appearance. I suppose there's some Aliens influence in the design, or at least some similarities. Both Tombstone and Geigerrock are pretty great names. That's one thing I like about Machine Robo, they don't shy away from more harder sounding names and themes for the villains. For someone who enjoys scary things like I do, it's pretty fun.

Tombstone is a big green rock with lighter green robot parts. If you have Geigerrock, those robot parts are red. 'The Reaper' is black for both toys, but in Robo Machine and Machine Men, it's brown. He's still known as Tombstone in Machine Men and Robo Machine and pretty much looks the same. However all the versions aside from the US Rock Lords figure have a pearlescent sheen on the outer green rock bits. I'm not sure why the US skipped it, but they did. The Tombstone pictures here is mine. I got him at Toylanta this past year in great condition, though missing 'The Reaper'. Missing weapons are hardly a surprise when buying loose old toys. I think he was around $15 - $20. A pretty good price for an older toy in great shape. His joints are nice and tight, if not for little specs of dust in odd places... you'd think he was new.

I fortunately don't pay much for Rock Lords when they're found, not sure how much longer that's going to last with Armorizers on the way. Tombstone doesn't have much articulation, not completely surprising considering transforming robot toys of his era generally didn't. Though Rock Lords tend to have a fairly decent amount. It's not a lack of articulation, but a lack of useful articulation. His legs and knees move nicely, but his arms and elbows move inward/outward due to transformation. I guess 'The Reaper' is useful as he can aim it within the limited range of movement. It's not a deal breaker, just something to point out. When buying toys from this era, it's best to understand and accept the limitations. It's going to have them regardless. Aside from the weird arm articulation, Tombstone is a fun little figure. Like all Evil Rock Warriors, he's this weird rock monster robot that's a little hard to describe without getting side eyed looks from others. I guess that's part of the Rock Lord experience. Still a cool toy.

New Week Robo

It's Monday and that means a new week here on Planet Zone! I hope you had a good weekend, mine was pretty hit or miss. I managed to assemble that new home office furniture for the Mrs. Not to mention my Toxitron arrived Saturday with Grimlock coming later this week. We got some Halloween Jibbitz for our Crocs and ordered new Hey Dude shoes. A trip to Five Below provided TF Micro Machines and a Jada Michelangelo to pair with my prior Raphael. I plan to complete the Jada mini figure TMNT team as well as the Mutant Mayhem set. Speaking of, got the Donatello from that series. 

On the crappy side, the SD card in my Q90 died. Meaning I'll have to make an all new one. That's something I should have done already knowing the cheap one packed with the Q90 wouldn't last long... but it was easy to forget about. Not to be outdone by a gaming inconvenience, some random car troubles popped up Sunday that'll require a trip to the dealership today. Not awesome. Here's hoping it's covered under some recent recalls so I don't get stuck with a big bill. From what I understand, it's related to them, so fingers crossed. 

Well, I've got some fun stuff in store for you all. Hope you're enjoying Halloween, because we're just getting started! Thank you all for reading. I really appreciate it and all I ask is that you share with your friends!

Transform Squadron~ No Mercy Robo

LISTEN NOW!

Broadcasting from Planet Zone, Rob talks about Rise of the Beasts, Micronauts inspired Glyos toys, and Machine Robo Martial Arts Robo!

Weekly Halloween~ Let's Get Creepy

Spooky robots make for wonderful pre-Halloween game, but it also let's me tell you about this summer I got. For you, that is. Thinking about that variety I speak so highly of, I thought it'd be a good time to make a return of the Spooky Summer posts as a source of mid-week thrills. With Beast Summer starting next week, it seems like a good time to give Weekly Halloween a little break before the Pumpkin Spiced Mayhem goes into full sensory annihilation in August. So while we're enjoying the Beast Summer with bomb pop ice cream, fireworks, and watermelon (summer pumpkin), let's not forget.

Summer is a Spooky Season.

Bios: Nuggit

Rank- Good rock warrior

Body Type- Golden: a shiny, metallic finish that covers his robotic circuitry

Weapon- Tri-Gun

Bio: Though he's a robot, Nuggit is worth his weight in gold! He's smaller than the other rock warriors but brave and bold beyond his size. Nuggit is very proud of his shiny finish.

Nuggit's Tri-Gun does triple duty; the top barrel hypnotizes; the second barrel paralyzes; the third barrel revives the unlucky victim for questioning.

Bios: Crackpot

Rank- Good rock warrior

Body Type- Azurite: a mix of violet and gray that's tough enough to resist good natured kidding.

Weapon- Magnetic Pulse Gun

 

Bio: Crackpot's name describes his personality-slightly goofy. The other warriors give him a hard time about his crazy notions but Crackpot can think of good ideas that save them from a jam. His magnetic pulse ray "attracts" bad rocks and turns them into magnetic heaps!

Magmar/Devil Rock (Rock Lords)

Magmar (Devilrock in Japan) is the leader of the EVIL ROCK LORDS. As his US name would suggest, he turns into an igneous rock which forms when magma cools and crystalizes. Thus his name is symbolic of his alt mode. Normally Magmar comes with a club that looks like a torch, though it's labeled on his US package as an Ax-Rifle as a goof on Tonka's end. It's the same weapon that comes with Devilrock, but for some reason in the Gobots meet the Rock Lords movie, he's carrying Brimestone's axe. Somehow they just couldn't get it right with Magmar's weapon. Unfortunately mine in the pictures is missing the weapon. Honestly I kind of like the weapon being a weird torch. Rock Lords are so absurd that one using a torch as a melee weapon is pretty satisfying.

It's worth noting that both the Rock Lords and Machine Robo version's weapon is black, while in Robo Machine and Machine Men it is a  dark brown color. The toy itself is in the same colors in Rock Lords, Machine Men, and Robo Machine. In Machine Robo, however, the green is lighter and the orange is swapped out for purple. Machine Robo's eyes are a pinkish color, while the other versions are white. There is a pink eyed version of Magmar on Machine Men packaging, but so far that seems to not be a released version. I love these colors as it gives him a Frankenstein like appearance. Magmar/Devilrock is supposed to look scary and he pulls that off. 

Magmar is a pretty nice toy around the size of your average Gobot. Like most Rock Lords, he's pretty chunky as the rock alt mode makes for a thicker robot mode. If you like chonky robots like I do, you'll find this pleasing. He's fairly articuated for a transforming toy of his time. Arms bend at the shoulders and elbows can bend inwards. Do to the transformation, legs can move at the hip, but only forward as though kicking. His knees are arlso articulated, but once again, only forward. Do to his top heavyness, you'd probably want to keep both legs down anyway or he'd fall over. Magmar's head does swivel up and down from transformation, so he can look down imposingly at smaller toys.

I like this toy a lot. I like Rock Lords and transforming toys that transform into unconventional forms admittedly. I also like monsters, so when you have a fairly monstery robot toy that turns into something unconventional... I'm generally happy. Though it's hard not to like Magmar, he's just cool looking. Rock Lords have a wonderfully medieval fantasy vibe to them that stands out among other robot toys. Machine Robo has a tendency to make their bad guys spooky and creepy flavored. There's the Devil Invaders, or in this case Devil Rock. It's a neat little touch that makes me think of super robot cartoons and their monsters of the week.

Bios: Fracture

Dedicated to Megatron and the Decepticon cause, Decepticon Fracture is a dangerous enemy. She is totally fearless, and probably a little bit crazy, as she dives directly into any battle, regardless of the odds. Although she carries a powerful negative energy blaster, she prefers to use the seismic energy dischargers on her feet to smash the surrounding earth to pieces. Any battlefield on which she walks shudders with the force of her steps.

Strenght: 7 Intelligence: 4 Speed: 8 Endurance: 8

Rank: 5 Courage: 10 Fireblast: 8 Skill: 3