SMR
Toy Review -Action Toys' Machine Robo Series: Shuttle, Missile Tank, Steam, Buggy Robos & Blue Jet
During our year (or so) of infrequency, Action Toys has been ever so slowly rolling out their updated Machine Robo line. And since we’ve already looked at the source anime as part of MechaMarch, we figured this would be a good time to get caught up on their releases.
MR-07: Shuttle Robo
Known as Spay-C to you GoBots fans, Shuttle Robo proves to both evoke his/her earlier incarnation while also kinda missing the boat on it as well. [I know opinions are split on the pronoun game these days, but we have to do it here, given that Shuttle Robo was male in Japan but Spay-C was female here in the States…which…man, gives her name some new depth that I never even remotely considered before! – Ed.] While I think it hits more than misses, I can see why some might not feel that way, as Shuttle Robo proves to be the kibbliest of Action Toys’ offerings so far with a lot of shifting panels that are more than likely going to get in your way when handling the figure, either to transform or simply to pose and a hefty backpack thanks to the front end of the shuttle mode. While these are a bit of an issue in the robot mode, they’re not a dealbreaker in my eyes…especially when they help contribute to a pretty cool shuttle mode. It’s not perfect, as the panel lines and joints do detract a bit, but again, it’s a solid effort. You’ll see that Shuttle Robo here is packing some serious heat with a nifty sniper rifle that actually breaks down for weapon storage, but if I’m brutally honest, I simply cannot remember how everything fits inside.
There’s only one real issue I have with Shuttle Robo, but it’s kind of a biggie: the combination of some of the thin plastic panels and the stiffness of the transformation joints may lead to breakage later on down the line. I’m already starting to see some stress marks on the panels that fold in half to become the hip skirts…so much so that transforming him/her for this review might be the final time I do it.
As much as I really like this guy/gal, truth be told, it almost feels like the designers were trying to do a little too much. A lot like when your favorite hockey team tries to get pretty and pass the puck around for what seems like forever before finally taking a shot…where a more direct shot-rebound-shot tactic might be more effective. In other words, it feels like Shuttle Robo might have been better served by a more direct transformation design as opposed to all these panels and joints that might be prone to breakage if converted repeatedly.
A great display piece with plenty of personality, I’m just too darned worried I might break him/her down the line. As much as I want to give him/her a Happy Cat, he/she proves to be the weakest of this set and so, to set an example, we have to go with a high-end Plain Cat.
MR-08: Missile Tank Robo
In line with his GoBots counterpart but nowhere near his Transformers alter ego, the bot known as Blaster proves to be another great upgrade…and I have to admit that I wouldn’t mind picking up a green colored variant, as he had one during the old GoBots days. While overwhelmingly orange, just as he was back in the day, there’s enough blacks and silvers to break things up nicely so that he doesn’t completely fry your retinas! Robot mode proves to be long, lean and very poseable. Missile tank mode proves to be pretty dense with all the robot bits folded up pretty nicely and allows for the missiles to be aimed both up and down and side to side through a well implemented turret. Transformation isn’t intuitive at first, but you do catch on after a while, especially the legs, which we’ll get to in a moment.
What worries me is the transformation of the legs, which, on my copy, needed a fair amount of force to get everything unplugged. Given what I said about Spay-C just a bit ago, ordinarily I’d be worried about any potential plastic stresses but thankfully we’re looking at a stronger plastic for these joints…so I’m hoping it holds.
Great in both modes, but the conversion can be tricky at times, especially those legs, Missile Tank Robo gives collectors another solid reason to continue with the line. Definitely worth a Happy Cat.
MR-10: Steam Robo