Machine Robo Series 06 Blackbird Robo Snoop Gobot Review

Blackbird Robo AKA the Renegade Swoop

Welcome to a review of Machine Robo Series 06 Blackbird Robo - AKA the Gobot Swoop - from Action Toys.

To the uninitiated, Machine Robo was a series of transformable toys released like Matchboxes in 1982 (34 years ago) by Popy, a division of Bandai. Some of the simply designated Machine Robos were actually even Mecha.

American Toy Maker Tonka loved the idea, licensed it from Bandai, but made them all sentient robots, gave them better names rather than just simple designations, and divided them into "Good-guy" and "Bad-guy" categories - or Guardians and Renegades. The Challenge of the Gobots would rise to give the Transformers a run for their money when the cartoon aired 65 episodes starting in 1984.

Machine Robo meanwhile would have its own 47 episode cartoon released on Tokyo TV from 1986 to 1987 called Machine Robo: Revenge of Chronos (Released as Revenge of the Gobots in the US).

Hasbro eventually won the war though and purchased Tonka and the rights to the Gobots. Unfortunately, as Tonka has only leased the rights to the images of Machine Robo to Tonka, Hasbro owns an empty concept.

MORE AFTER THE JUMP

G.I. Joe Renegades: Duke

Presenting Duke from the new G.I. Joe Renegades line. Renegades Duke is the second of the set of four new G.I. Joe figures that I came across thanks to E-bay supplier Victoyoyos. The first of the four features of course was Renegades Snake Eyes. As mentioned, the set of four was purchased for PhP 2,400 (Roughly US$ 13.95 or what you would probably what you'd pay for it on Amazon).

Anyway, Sgt. Duke here is the leader of the G.I. Joe Renegades: A splinter group of G.I. Joes whose exploits are chronicled in a brand new cartoon.The cartoon's opening credits state: "Accused of a crime they didn't commit, a ragtag band of fugitives fights a covert battle to clear their names and expose the insidious enemy that is... Cobra. Some call them outlaws. Some call them heroes. But these determined men and women think themselves only as "Ordinary Joes". And this is their story."

Yeah it's the A-Team.

And hot on their trail is, ironically, 1st lieutenant Flint who turns out to be a long time high-school arch-rival of Renegades Duke.