Collectible of the Week: Robot Commando (Ideal; 1961)

Ideal's Robot Commando -- "The amazing mechanical man" -- arrived in toy stores across America well before my time, at the beginning of the sixties.  

Although I've never owned one of these toys, that fact hasn't changed my admiration for this retro-futuristic Marvin Glass creation.  Joel and I often surf Youtube together looking for old toy robot commercials, and we came across this fellow a few years back (as well as Ideal's the Great Garloo).

Standing an impressive 19" tall, Robot Commando "responds to commands" by pressing a control lever and speaking into a microphone.  He can also fire rockets out of his eyes (black marbles) and make beeping sounds.

Cast in blue and red plastic Robot Commando moves about on rubber wheels and operates on three D batteries.  Once -- on November 5, 1961 -- the big metal guy even made the cover of the Chicago Tribune Magazine with his creator.  Below that image, you'll find the great Robot Commando commercial.

Collectible of the Week: Tobor the Telesonic Robot (Schaper; 1978)

No, this toy doesn't have anything to do with the awesome space-age robot that appeared in Tobor the Great (1954), although it does share his name.  

Instead, this Tobor was advertised during The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978) and thus was promptly added to every child's Christmas wish-list that year.

Tobor, the toy's box reminds us, is "robot spelled backwards."  

Using "u-drive it" technology, Tobor "the telesonic robot" is "under your control."  You can use a "telesonic commander" -- really a conventional wireless remote control device -- to make the robot circle, move forward, circle again, and even "pick up" the robot's "support module."

Tobor the Telesonic Robot runs on three wheels, and is a pretty nifty hunk of black plastic, at least if you grew up in the 1970s and remember the toy. I no longer have mine, alas, and even so, prefer the complexity of something like Milton Bradley's Big Trak.  That toy could be programmed with a keypad to go forward, fire laser blasts, or circle. It could also pull a trailer behind it.  By contrast, Tobor is a kind of glorified remote control car.  But if you collect vintage robots -- which Joel and I do -- he's an absolute must from the disco decade and the age of the Star Wars Craze.

Below, a Tobor TV commercial...

Collectible of the Week: Godtron/God Mars Deluxe Set (1981 - 1982)

This “space combination” “deluxe set” Godtron or Godmars comes from the anime TV series Six God Combination God Mars that aired on Nippon TV from October 1981 through the end of December of 1982.  The series aired sixty-four episodes, and later followed up with two films.

The original Godmars series was set in the future year of 1999, and concerned Earth’s conflict with the distant planet Gishin.  The warlord of that world sent a child, Mars and a robot, Gaia, to Earth to destroy it. 

Instead, however, the child was adopted by a Japanese family and renamed Takeru.  He grew to become, with his robot, a defender of the Earth, not its betrayer.   Takeru’s  robot could also combine with five other giant robots (Ra, Titan, Shin, Sphinx and Uranus) to form the goliath known as “Godmars.”

This gigantic toy from Taiwan -- a present for Joel -- was produced in the early 1980s and the components are made of diecast model.  The box advertises a “wonderful six in one robot,” and inside, as you can see, are all the parts, as well as accessories such as swords and the like.

Below, you’ll find the introduction to Godmars.