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.

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.

Strength: 7 Intelligence: 4  Speed: 8  Endurance: 8
Rank: 5  Courage: 10  Fireblast: 8  Skill: 3

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!

I'm gonna say Gobots a Million times

I've been wanting to talk about Buggyman for awhile now. Buggyman is a Gobot that doesn't get included often when the subject of Gobots comes up. He's not one of the main characters, so that's understandable. Gobot's have a lot of different toys and were released under a bunch of different lines. I don't know everything about them... nobody really does. The best you can do use use the references available. However, back to Buggyman. He's a pretty charming little guy. Pretty much what I think of when thinking of Gobots. He's got the signature look. This is the second version of Buggyman in Gobots, the first is in blue. I actually tried to go over the variations in a recent TikTok I made on this toy. Let's watch that real quick.

@robfromzonebase Buggyman #zonebase #gobots #Bandai #tonka #machinerobo #machinemen #robomachine #revengofcronos #toys #toysoftiktok ♬ original sound - Zone Base

Honestly I'd make more videos more often, but spare time is a fleeting thing. I don't think I'm writing this posts intention to talk about Buggyman in the same way you'd talk about a toy in a review. I don't think I do reviews... I mean... it's a purely subjective subject. What's my qualifications, or anyone else's to decide if a toy is good or not? I really just want to talk about Gobots and Buggyman is going to be my example for today. Ya'll dig? I'm going to put pictures of Buggyman in for the people who don't read and just skim over the pics. They'll never know. The actual post will just be our thing. Post readers club... somebody make a hand sign and we'll all do it.

I said Buggyman (damn, that's a fun name) was what I thought when thinking of Gobots. That means a few things. First... look at that face. That's the quintessential Gobot face. It's similar to several others across all the Machine Robo/Gobot robots. That goes for that box around his head as well. Despite what Buggyman turns into (a dune buggy, it's in his name), he absolutely looks like a standard issue Gobot. All the design bullet points are met. You may second guess an oddball robot here or there, but this is definitely a Gobot on sight. Also a great example of why Gobots are so fun. The wonderful die-cast, that traditional Bandai look, those rubber tires. For what was intended to be an inexpensive toy, Buggyman is pretty high quality.

Then there's the influence, intended or not. I loved Mini-Cons when they were first released. Still do. Not only did they remind me of Micromasters... but they also reminded me of Gobots. Take Ironhide for example... it's almost a tiny recreation of Buggyman. All those random alt modes and the mixture of unique and traditional robot modes. They were almost a Machine Robo line nestled in a Transformers line. Ironically the two brands were heated competitors at the time with robot fans winning in the end.

When the Vamp's Outside

 

Vamp is one of the Monster Gobots that automatically springs to mind whenever you think about the group. Like the other Monster Gobots, Vamp's original mold is a Devil Invader toy from Machine Robo. Called Casmodon, where he varies quite a bit from Vamp. Casmodon is more of a swamp and ocean specialist, which owes to his Gilman like appearance. As Vamp, she has the power to drain power from other GoBots. I'm assuming this was inspired by the collar formed from alt mode kibble in robot form. 

Thinking about it, Vamp does kinda look like Nosferatu in some ways. Regardless, she's clearly the most 'monstery' of the Monster Bots. An excellent toy as well. I wish I knew where mine currently was. There's also a larger Super Gobots version and Ripclaw from Beast Hunters is intended to be a homage to Vamp. I've always really liked the alt mode. Like the other Monster Gobots it's a weird vehicle of sorts that sorta looks like the Batmobile. Pretty fitting for a vampire robot.

I'm pinching your head

 

Pincher/Falgos is one of those Gobots that can be harder to get now. He has just enough breakable parts that finding one in decent condition can be a challenge. I got him and Scorp randomly one day in the 2nd grade. I say randomly as my mom just had them waiting for me after school one day. Neither lasted very long unfortunately. Just like the Leader-1, whom I found one day with a broken arm, I suspect a certain jealous cousin got his grubby hands on them. Same kid who every year tripped over his bed sheet ghost costume while we tricked or treated and threw a temper tantrum at least twice every year. Though watching him spike his McBoo Pail on the ground in anger was pretty great.

Back to Pincher. He's a weird bot that really fills out the role of Devil Invader. With wings, pinchers, and overall look. Pincher could fit in with the gang in a Ghouls n' Ghosts game. In alt mode, he's a easily one of the coolest vehicle modes ever. A weird demon/dinosaur/bird/jet hybrid that's pretty far out. I managed to replace Scorp, but haven't yet found a decent Pincher for a good price. Hopefully that'll change soon. He's too cool not to own again.

Spoiler Alert

 

Spoiler is a Gobot that I have a lot of love for. Which is funny as I didn't know his name until I was an adult. I was given Spoiler, but not as a gift or anything. My neighbor at the time who was something of a family friend had found it in his yard and gave it to me. I was pretty unfamiliar with it and after reviewing the back of various Gobot packages decided he was Good Knight. Now before you point out that he obviously isn't, Gobots generally just had robot modes on cardbacks. That and I was 8. 

Years later I was corrected and it's good to be. But let's talk about Spoiler for a minute. He's one of the Renegades and really enthusiastic. Originally in Machine Robo, the toy was known as Countach Robo. Spoiler is generally a straight repack of the green eyed red version without the extra stickers. He's a pretty good toy. Fairly articulated for the time (shoulders, knees) and a solid alt mode. Not to mention, there's a lot of die-cast metal that just makes him pleasant in hand. Spoiler isn't one of the more well known Gobots. However he's a pretty good one, just not a Good Knight.

Don't miss your train

At Toylanta this past year, I managed to get a few Gobots for pretty good prices. I pretty much focused on them at the show and had fun doing so. I plan to do the same again this coming show and opefully bringing even more home. You guys know I love my Gobots. 

Loco here is one of those bought from this years con and man I really won out with him. He was only $5 and in pretty good shape. A few dings in the paint and that's it. His joints are tight and as you can see in the pics, he looks a lot better than I'm used to when buying a used Gobot. Go me.

Loco is a pretty simple robot, but still pretty solid. As his name implies, Loco turns into a train. Not a bullet train like you'd usually expect. Nope, an old timey steam engine style train. I believe the technical term is a choo-choo train. Transformation is pretty simple, his arms poke in and he folds over. Despite the simplicity, Loco has solid train and robot modes. In Machine Robo his name is Steam Robo, can you guess why? Loco is mostly black with some red and gold. Don't forget that classic chrome. His chest stickers are leftovers from Steam Robo and they look great. That's just about the only word to describe this toy. He's pretty great.

That dude is Creepy

If I'm going to talk about creepy robots this week, then obviously there's one very specific Gobot to cover. Creepy is a Monster Gobot (or Gildis as a Devil Invader) who is a special toy. The normal retail version was black and purple (Gildis was black and red), however Tonka offered a special green and purple version via mail in promotion. Complete with spooky commercial!

Basically if we're having a spooky week, there's no bot more perfect than Creepy. IT'S EVEN IN HIS NAME! Creepy is mostly die-cast metal with some plastic parts. Like all Gobots, the plastic can be brittle, so finding one with broken legs is pretty common. You can see in the picture that the tip of a leg on mine is broken. Those legs can actually be bent back in robot mode and I always forget to do so. Creepy transforms into a radical scorpion like monster machine...thing.

One day I need to get the purple version, but it's hard not to be happy with this one. The bright green and purple are beautifully eye searing. It looks as if he just crawled out of a vat of mutant slime. Evil mutant slime to be exact, because he's a bad guy. Creepy is a solid figure, one again decently articulated for a toy of it's time. That's mostly due to the weird monster mode. The creative transformation provides moving parts. You may not be able to tell from the pictures, but the chest rotates taking arms and head with it. Creepy is an awesome Gobot and thanks to the two different versions not super hard to come by. The perfect spooky robot to spend Halloween with, but he might still your candy.

Zarios in the desert, a Scorp in the streets

I originally got Scorp not long after he was first released. The one in the picture isn't my original one. The one pictured is a new one I bought at ToyLanta earlier this year. He's in pretty good shape, other than his legs sag a little. Normally he stands just a bit taller, but aside from that his joints are tight and his paint isn't badly chipped. Scorp is a member of the Monster Gobots, a group of Renegades I tend to favor. You could probably guess why. In Machine Robo his name is Zarios and he's a member of the Devil Invaders. Scorp is perfectly monstery for this weeks spooky shenanigans.

As the name would imply, Scorp turns into a freaky scorpion/tank hybrid. Construction wise, he's almost entirely die cast metal with just a few plastic parts. Those plastic parts can be brittle, so finding one in this good condition (let alone for $8) isn't easy. For a toy of it's age, Zarios has some decent articulation His legs can move at his hips and knees. This is due to transformation, which also means you can pose his ankles. Arms move at the shoulders and elbow. The elbows movement is slight so you can pose them naturally as the scorpion tanks pincers. In either Machine Robo or Gobots the toy has the exact same colors. The red on black looks menacing balanced well with the crome and evil green eyes. 

Scorp, like the other Monster Gobots doesn't get a lot of love. I'm not sure why, they're so cool! The newer updates for Gobots and Machine Robo characters focus on the vehicular bots. That's a shame. Mind you those are cool as well, but man these guys are neat. I'd love to see them with modern engineering. If you ever find yourself in the mood to buy yourself some of these cool freaky robots, Scorp is one to look out for. His colors are striking and design unique. He'll definable stand out among your other robot toys.

Creepy Invader From Space

Creepy's great when you need a little spooky shit in your life. As the standard retail release or the cool mail away version, he's just a great example of what makes a Monster Gobot so awesome. With the reveal of Kingdom Scorponok earlier I've been hoping for a new Creepy as a repaint. I can't help to associate the two thanks to Scorponok's Happy Meal toy. I'd imagine it'd be perfect for a Netflix Transformer at Walmart. Oh man, what if that came out at Halloween time?

Bios- Creepy

From the depths of the Antares Star System, on a scorched planet of soot and ash, a modified mutant emerges -- Creepy.

Though a weird intermingling of metallic and living parts, this fearsome creature arises -- easily able to change from monster-robot to monster-vehicle.

A welcome recruit to Cy-Kill's band of Renegades, Creepy can use his claws to snap GoBots in half, or send a lethal poison shooting out from his spider legs.

The worst of all monsters to creep into existence, Creepy thrills to the sport of his deadly games. Even Renegades must take care that Creepy's power doesn't threaten their existence. Guardians -- Beware! The final conflict may be near!

Thruster And The Pointless Trap

If you've ever wondered why the bad guys usually lose, it's because they have things like Thruster. Thruster is the spaceship headquarters of the Renegades, the bad guys of the Gobots. Now this normally wouldn't seem like such a bad thing, a giant space ship makes perfect sense for a group of space robots to call home. Adding to the effectiveness of the base is that it can change into a giant robot. That's a good call, seeing as the Guardians base does the same. Even the playing field.

Anybody else notice the giant flaw in it's design?

So Cy-Kill takes Scooter captive. Scooter was snooping around Thruster and not cool Scooter. It's private property. Cy-Kill takes a seat in his throne (not too shabby) and commands Scooter to be imprisoned. Thruster obeys, he lifts his massive arm causing Scooter to fall down a trap door! A trap door that... leads into... a completely open room...

Dang.

Bladez instructions

Creepy instructions

From the depths of the Antares Star System, on a scorched planet of soot and ash, a modified mutant emerges -- Creepy. Through a weird intermingling of metallic and living parts, this fearsome creature rises -- easily able to change from monster-robot to monster-vehicle. A welcome recruit to Cy-Kill's band of Renegades, Creepy can use his claws to snap GoBots in half, or send a lethal poison shooting out from his spider legs. The worst of all monsters to creep into existance, Creepy thrills to the sport of his deadly games. Even Renegades must take care that Creepy's power doesn't threaten their existence. Guardians -- Beware! The final conflict may be near!