Call it Machine Robo, call it updated GoBots, call it whatever you want. I’m calling it awesome. It seems like forever ago that a handful of prototype pictures were shown featuring a legitimate go at a brand new updated GoBots line. Over the years a few third-party toy makers have tried making GoBots, but none of the attempts seemed to grab hold of people’s attention enough to warrant continuation.
That’s where Action Toys comes in. Their prototypes were a legitimate shock, showcasing not just one or two, but a whole barrelful of figures. Could it be that these underdog transforming robots were going to get the respect due them? Time passed and nothing came of the announcement. I was at the cusp of giving up hope, having been burned before by prototypes that never came to fruition.
Then preorders went up at BBTS. It looked like it was happening!
Not only was it happening, but it happened, and what happened is happening, if you can dig it. I am now knee-deep in Machine Robo figures and the future looks bright indeed.
There were initially four figures put up for preorder. Unfortunately, there seems to be a delay on Bike Robo (Cy-Kill for you GoBot fans), so we’re just going to be dealing with figures two, three, and four of the line.
Now, the storyline for Machine Robo and GoBots differed in many ways, and the names were obviously altered, just like the original transforming toys that would become Transformers were altered in numerous ways. It’s impossible for me to look at “Battle Robo” and not see just plain “Tank.” So I’ll more than likely be referring to them by their GoBot names for the most part.
I don’t usually talk about the packaging, but I really like the boxes here. They’re individually tailored and the design work is very strong. You get a view of the robot mode on one side and the alt-mode on the other. There’s a vibrant quality to them, with eye-catching colors and a general air of excitement. They come packaged in robot mode, so if you don’t give a crap about their alt-modes, you can immediately start playing with them without fiddling with any transformations.
Let’s start out with the head good guy: Eagle Robo, or Leader-1.
In starting with Leader-1, I’m starting with the weakest of the bunch. Now, that doesn’t mean he’s a bad figure. More so it speaks to the strength of the other two that he’s weaker. The problems with him lie mostly in his articulation. Looks-wise, he succeeds in the most important visual aspect of updated toys: does he look like the original toy just by sight? All three are very strong in that respect. There’s no looking at this figure and not seeing the Leader-1 I played with as a kid, just updated.
The articulation issues are very minor. His knees are set up a bit weird, mostly to do with the transformation, so the wings of his plane mode interfere with the motion. Plus the nose of his plane mod doesn’t plug into anything. It sort of hangs over his back and can also get in the way when you’re handling him. Obviously these are problems caused by his jet mode, so they might have been unavoidable, but they do knock his overall score down a little bit to make him the weaker of the three. His hips joints are a bit loose as well, but I’m not sure if that’s going to be a widespread issue or just a problem with mine.
Other than those issues, the robot mode looks great and the rest of the articulation is very nice. They are on par with current Transformers in being fully articulated toys, featuring ball-jointed shoulders and elbows, swivel wrists, head, waists, and thighs.
Leader-1’s jet mode had a few areas where I was sweating the transformation, but everything clicked into place once I figured out what needed to be moved out of the way, and when it was done he looked just like his old figure, just bigger. Leader-1 is larger than the other two figures in both robot and jet mode.
Next up is Rod Drill, or Screwhead as he was called in the GoBots line. 
Where Leader-1’s translation to updated toy was very good, Screwhead is nearly dead-on in both robot and drill mode. He’s very well articulated also, with ball joints and swivels where appropriate. The nature of his transformation means he has a lot of expressive range in his shoulders which increases his posing options.
His colors are sharp. The silver red and black play off each other very well.
His transformation was fairly easy. In drill mode he has wheels that he can roll on. You can pull out his standard head and pop on the optional longer drill if you want your Screwhead to really impress the robo-ladies. It’s not absolutely necessary, but it’s a nice addition.
Screwhead was a later acquisition for me when I was a kid, but I always liked his chunkiness and the colors, plus being able to drill your enemies to death never gets old. Rod Drill is a quality upgrade to the original toy.
Saving my favorite (then and now) for last, we have Battle Robo, also called Tank.
In a line full of simple toys, Tank was one of the simplest. His name was simple. His transformation was simple. His mission was simple. But it was that destructive quality that really sparked my interest as a kid, and I guess I still carry that with me now because Battle Robo/Tank is my favorite of the three. In both robot and tank mode he just screams rampaging, destructive energy.
Again, the articulation is well done, allowing for a wide range of poses for such a blocky robot. Tank’s got a thick, brawler body that is shorter than Leader-1 but taller than Screwhead, which looks just right.
All three figures have decent centers of gravity and wide feet that allow them to hold a wide array of poses.
Tank’s tank mode is appropriately compact and ferocious-looking just like his original toy. While the transformation is a bit more complicated than “bendovernowyou’reatank,” it’s almost intuitive, and the end result is very impressive considering where you start. I’m pretty enamored with all three, but Tank definitely stole the show for me.
All three figures come with the same stand that you have to put together and allows you to pose them in midair or midleap or whatever dynamic, gravity-defying pose you want to put them in. If you’re of a mind to mix these in with your Transformers, they’ll scale better with the Generations-sized figures moreso than the masterpiece figures.
Other than a few minor quibbles with Leader-1, this is a strong beginning to what I hope will be a successful, ongoing line.