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The toys sold better in Australia (where the line was handled by Bandai Australia), however, and a wider range of figures were issued, all keeping the [Vehicle] Man naming style of the first batch of figures. |
Machine
Men was Bandai's attempt to market their Machine Robo figures
in America and Australia, beginning in mid 1983, around the same time
Robo Machine was chosen as the name for the European line. In
America, this was something of a failure, and the line wouldn't take
off until Tonka intervened and repackaged the figures as Gobots. |
The packaging of the line was also revised, with the figure generally pictured on a lovely airbrushed alien planet. This would stay for the remainder of the line's life, contrasting to the many redesigns undertaken for Robo Machine. Also in contrast to Robo Machine, the Machine Man brand was strong enough to stay even when Gobots gained in popularity. |
As
Gobots began to take off in America, Bandai began to add ideas from
the series to Machine Men. Figures were assigned to the 'Friendly Robot'
or 'Enemy Robot' factions, while they also received individual names
(taken from Gobots).|
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The
actual toys were made up of designs and schemes devised by both Bandai
(for Machine Robo and/or Robo Machine) and Tonka. Several figures were
released in multiple schemes, including several otherwise exclusive
to America or Japan - in short, Machine Men got such a wide range of
figures it's near-impossible to catalogue the releases. Or at least
beyond me =) Australia even received a number of unique, or very rare,
exclusives. These included the Machine Robo Battle Base, given a partial
redeco and released as a playset for the Enemy Robot characters; a giftset
based around the Super Gobot Staks, which included the diecast trailer
as well as Hans-Cuff, the Best of Machine Robo version of Buggy Man
and exclusive redecos of Turbo and Rest-Q; and the original blue Winch
Robo version of Robot Helicopter. |
Such was the strength of the Machine Men brand in Australia that when Challenge of the Gobots was imported, rather than the branding of the toyline changing (as in Europe), the show was retitled as Challenge of the Machine Men (with the "Mighty Robots, Mighty Vehicles" refrain from US commercials adapted as a theme tune). The line also included a number of Godaikin figures - whereas remaindered American Godaikin stock was hurriedly stickered and sold in Europe as part of Robo Machine, the Australian releases seem to have been genuinely rebranded. As in Europe, Machine Men remained steadily popular throughout its' life, but declining profits and a lack of suitable figures led to it being wound down in 1987. |
Media-wise,
Machine Men was partly promoted by a pair of short comics packed in
with larger toys. Drawn by Richard Rae, these featured a range of characters,
both serving to introduce new arrivals in the toyline. Sadly, they ended
on an enthralling cliff-hanger...With many thanks to Jhiaxus for his contributions to this page!
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Machine Men Resources on Counter-X.net: - See
Also: |
