Robo Force

Robo Force was a toy line created by the Ideal Toy Company in the 1984.^[1] The line was revived in 2013 by new rights holder Toyfinity.^[2]

Characters

ROBO Force

• Maxx Steele: The Leader - Maxx Steele is one of the toughest robots and almost invulnerable. Armed with a pair of laser hand weapons stored in his backpack and a back-mounted, swiveling double-barreled attack gun he is hard to beat when against Hun-Dreds army of evil robots. His motto "Any mission, any time, any place" shows his team that he is determined to win the fight against Hun-Dred no matter what stands in his way.
• Blazer: The Ignitor - Very powerful and very crazy is what describes Blazer. His weapons are not only unique but his way of using them are amazing. On both of his arms he has nozzles which can shoot out boiling hot plasma which can melt the hardest of steel and on his head is a cryogenic water cannon which can extinguish the flames he creates so his fire doesn't burn and destroy everything in sight.
• Coptor: The Enforcer - Speed and agility are qualities that Coptor never lacks! He is the team’s acrobat always zooming by using the propeller on his head. Weapons he carries are two laser guns and a communicator that can contact Max Steele or any of the other robots from anyplace far away. Digging is even possible with the aid of his propeller. Coptor is the oldest of the good robots and was built by Dr. Fury.
• Sentinel: The Protector - Sentinel is always ready to hop into combat. With a permanent laser gun in his head that he can use anytime he never runs out of weapons. He also stores two other weapons in his backpack just in case the battle gets tough. Putting the Command Patroller through moves no one had ever seen before he was made the team driver.
• Wrecker: The Demolisher - Wrecker is a construction worker in his civilian life but in Maxx Steele's army he is the team's demolitionist. A fortress would easily crumble if Wrecker was sent to destroy it. His weapons are an atomic jackhammer and a laser drill. He also stores a metal-alloy wrecking hook.
• S.O.T.A.: The Creator - S.O.T.A is a professor when he's not on Robo Force missions. But when he is serving Max Steele he is a calm and always in control senior councilor. His name stands for State of the art which gives a clue about his superior intellect. He has an information-collection dish on his backpack which gives him radar, sonar, and extended hearing along with infra-red, microscopic, and telescopic vision. He also carries a drill which can be used for crafting and battle while an accurate laser targeting weapon is stored in his head.

Cult of Dred

• Hun-Dred: The Conqueror - The worst enemy that threatens Maxx Steele's team, Hun-Dred leads the evil robot empire. His weapons include laser guns, crushers instead of hands, twin hand-held attack weapons, and laser shooters that he uses for artillery. He also has the ability to sense fear in any being and destroys anyone or anything that stands in his way.
• Enemy: The Dictator - A terrible and vicious robot enemy would destroy anything that got in his way as long as Robo Force falls. If Hun-Dred orders him to not attack he does. If Hun-Dred orders him to destroy one robot he destroys the whole planet. His weapons are a retro-fire gun that he mounts on his backpack and twin laser weapons that are stored in his chest.
• Cruel: The Detonator - An expert in combat Cruel uses his terrifying crushing grapplers to destroy any robot he meets. He is silent and indestructible which makes it easy for him to commit heinous acts. He also has two communication antennae on the upper sides of his head which allow him to communicate to others over long distances.
• Vulgar: The Destroyer - Vulgar is charged with evil dark forces that make up his body and puts his sinister abilities to use. His amazing strength was made from a mixture of science and wickedness. He is a gray, black, and red being with a large rotating head and villainous looking eyes. He wields many weapons including a drill bit located permanently in the back of his head which is sharp and dangerous to Max Steele's army of good robots. Vulgar also carries a deadly loaded mace blaster that he can hit targets with amazing accuracy.
• Nazgar: The Tyrant - Nazgar was an evil dictator that conquered the planet Zeton 2,000 years prior. His brain was preserved by the Cult of Dred. Hun-Dred kidnaps Dr. Fury, an expert in cyborg technology, to construct a robotic body for Nazgar.

Toys

Ideal Toy Company

The original toy line featured robot action figures with suction cup bases and "crusher arm" action. In addition each figure, which basically resembled a customized Dalek, also included another gimmick or two such as a hook or extendable guns. Besides action figures, there was also an Electronic Maxx Steele Programmable Robot and a Maxx Steele Erector Set released.

Figures

Robo Force

• Maxx Steele - The Leader
• Blazer - The Ignitor
• Coptor - The Enforcer
• Sentinel - The Protector
• Wrecker - The Demolisher
• S.O.T.A. - The Creator

Cult of Dred

• Hun-Dred - The Conqueror
• Enemy - The Dictator
• Cruel - The Detonator
• Vulgar - The Destroyer

Vehicles and Playsets

• Robocruiser Robot Defender Vehicle
• Dred Crawler Robot Attack Vehicle
• Command Patroller
• Fortress of Steele playset

Unreleased

While the figures were developed up to the product catalog photo stage, they were not released before the original line came to an end. A few early production Tiltor sample figures have pop up over the years and gotten into the hands of collectors.^[3]

Robo Force

• Tiltor - The Changer
• Opticon - The Interceptor
• Ripper - The Anti-Robot
• Mark Fury
• Deena Strong

Cult of Dred

• Plundor - The Pulverizer
• Fangar - The Conspirator
• Arsenal - The Devastator
• Nazgar - The Tyrant

Vehicles

• Triad Three-Way Attack Vehicle
• Transblaster Laser Lift Cannon.^[4]

Toyfinity

The current rights to ROBO Force - along with former Ideal lines Rocks & Bugs & Things, Zeroids, and Manglor - are held by production company Toyfinity. Compatible with the Glyos System Series designed by Onell Design, the Robo Force kits feature 41 or more pieces a figure which can be arranged and re-arranged in any way the user sees fit.^[5] The new line was launched at New York Comic Con with a limited run MAXX Zero: Genesis Edition figure.^[6] Some figures receive more than one edition to go along with the developing story line featured in the new ROBO Force comic book.^[7]

Figures

ROBO Force

• MAXX Zero - The Leader
  • Genesis Edition - Dark Grey with minimal Black paint applications. Released at NYCC 2013.
  • Glyaxia Disguise - Yellow and extra Blue parts with Blue and Black paint applications. Released online July 18, 2014.
  • Blank Edition - Light Grey with no paint for customization. Offered for pre-order October 12-25th, 2014.
  • Classic Edition - Light Grey with paint details to match the vintage toy. Offered for pre-order October 12-25th, 2014.
  • Ultimate Edition - Light Grey with line details and over 100 paint applications. Offered for pre-order October 12-25th, 2014.
  • Imperious Edition - Gold with line details and multiple paint applications. Club Zeton exclusive offered February 2015 to members.
• Sentinel - The Protector
  • Hunter Edition - Silver with Black and White paint applications. Released online March 23, 2014.
  • Blank Edition - White with no paint for customization. Released online September 25, 2016.
  • Classic Edition - White with paint details to match the vintage toy. Released online September 25, 2016.
• Wrecker - The Demolisher
  • Deluxe Genesis Edition - Glow-in-the-Dark with Teal and White paint applications. Released online March 23, 2014.
• Vanguard - The Protector
  • Dynagenesis Origin - Orange with over 20 paint applications. Released on July 18, 2014.

Cult of Dred

• Enemy - The Dictator
  • Origin Edition - Dark Blue with extra Light Blue parts with over 50 paint applications. Released online December 20, 2013.
• Hun-Dred - The Conqueror
  • Reforged Edition - Red with over 50 paint applications. Released online December 20, 2013.
• Battlestar - The Guardian
  • Forging Edition - Black with Silver paint applications. Released online July 18, 2014.
• Fangar - The Conspirator
  • Predanaut Edition - A 3D printed figure created as a collaboration between Toyfinity and Mecha Zone. Released online July 30, 2015.
• Cruel - The Detonator
  • Blank Edition - Red with no paint for customization. Offered for pre-order August 26 - September 20, 2015.
  • Basic Edition - Red with extra Black parts and paint details to match the vintage toy. Offered for pre-order August 26 - September 20, 2015.
  • Ultimate Edition - Red with extra Black parts along with line details and paint applications to match other Ultimate editions. Offered for pre-order August 26 - September 20, 2015.
• Brutal - The Activator
  • Blank Edition - Purple with no paint for customization. Offered for pre-order August 26 - September 20, 2015.
  • Ultimate Edition - Purple with extra Black parts along with line details and paint applications to match other Ultimate editions. Offered for pre-order August 26 - September 20, 2015.
• Nazgar - The Tyrant
  • Super Zeroid Black and Technician Zeroid with secret NAZGAR the TYRANT hidden mode - Metallic Black with Red paint applications. Released online February 7, 2016.
• Nazareen
  • Metallic Black Edition - Horrible brain creatures of Nazgar in Metallic Black. Released online September 25, 2016.

Zeroids

• Ancient Constructs - Ancient mechanical beings from beyond the stars
  • Creator - A Gold deluxe figure with no paint applications. An 82 piece kit was offered online November 6th, 2015.
  • Worker - A Bronze deluxe figure with no paint applications. An 82 piece kit was offered online November 6th, 2015.

The Animated Television Special

In 1984, Ruby Spears Productions released an animated adaptation of the series in the form of a one-shot special called "Robo Force: The Revenge of Nazgar."^[8] Michael Hack provided Voice Direction with Flint Dille writing and Ron Jones composing the music.

Synopsis

A scientist named Dr. Fury and his family are in his house with Coptor. Suddenly, the evil robots led by Hun-Dred blast their way into his house. Coptor fires on the evil robots, but is defeated. The scientist is abducted by the evil robots for his research on putting human brains into robots. Hun-Dred and his crew would like Dr. Fury to do this for the evil Nazgar, who created trouble for the scientist's planet nearly 2000 years ago.

10 years later, a repaired Coptor and Dr. Fury's son (Mark Fury) along with new robots like Maxx Steele created by Mark go on a mission to find his father.

The final battle occurs in Nazgar's headquarters. Nazgar (whose brain is now in a robot body) seemingly escapes, Hun-Dred and a laser gun meant to wreak havoc on the planet are destroyed by Maxx Steele and Dr. Fury is saved.

Cast

• Michael Bell - Cruel
• Rodger Bumpass - Mark Fury
• Arthur Burghardt - Nazgar, Sentinel
• Peter Cullen - Coptor, Vulgar
• Ron Feinberg - Hun-Dred
• David Mendenhall - Jason Fury
• Robert Ridgely - Councilman Frost
• Neil Ross - Blazer
• John Stephenson - Dr. Fury
• B.J. Ward - Deena Strong
• Alan Young - S.O.T.A.

DVD Release

The animated Robo Force adaptation was released by Warner Archive as a special feature for the volume 2 DVD release of Challenge of the GoBots on March 10, 2015. This is its first home video release.

References

1. http://www.theoldrobots.com/maxxacc.html
2. http://www.toyfinity.blogspot.com/2013/06/welcome-to-toyfinity.html
3. http://toyfinity.com/tiltor.php
4. http://www.i-mockery.com/minimocks/roboforce-unseen/
5. http://www.toyfinity.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-return-of-robo-force.html
6. http://www.toyfinity.blogspot.com/2013/10/previews-for-nycc.html
7. http://www.toyfinity.com/comics/?c=3
8. http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,954424,00.html

External links

• Toyfinity.com - Official Robo Force Toy Producer
• x-entertainment.com's Robo Force article
• The Old Robots Web Site: Robo Force
• Robo Force: The Revenge of Nazgar at the Internet Movie Database