Not many people remember Robotix, at least not the cartoon. To be honest I barely remember much about it. My first exposure to this toy line was through the Super Sunday cartoon anthology. I wasn’t very impressed with the cartoon and neither was anyone else as it never found an audience and only the fifteen six minute shorts were produced. However, the toys were really cool. Much like Erector toys Robotix came with motors and wenches and each set could be made into many different designs. Unlike Erector sets each individual piece did not have to be screwed together. Robotix looked a lot like Legos with motors.
I had a couple of these sets when I was a kid. The first one was Argus. He was the leader of the Protectons and had a definite tyrannosaurus look to him.
The second one I owned was Tyrannix. He was a member of the Terrakors and I must say that I liked his color scheme quite a bit.
As I said I was never in to the cartoon or the comic book published by Marvel Comics but I was a big fan of these toys and loved building all the different designs. But the coolest thing was that each one of these toys came with a pilot. These figures were dressed in flight suits with helmets that did not come off their head but the visors could be raised to see the pilot’s face. These figures were not given any names but the cartoon tried to build a back story for the humans and a mythology for the robots. Part of me would like to find one of these sets and see if they are as cool as I remember but I’ve been burned by nostalgia before (I’m looking at you Dungeon & Dragons the Animated Series). Maybe I’ll find some Zoids instead.
And speaking of Zoids, I am surprised to find this toy line still available not only as a toy but also as a series of video games on the Nintendo Game Boy Advance, Sony Playstation 2 and the Microsoft Xbox 360. But the version I remember is from the early 80’s.
These robotic toys were on the small side which made losing parts pretty easy. Like the Robotix toys there was a short lived comic book and each toy came with a pilot. These non-descript little men were tiny and painted gold. I often used them with my Indiana Jones action figures as the treasure Indy was seeking. On a similar note I often used my Zoids as enemies in my Star Wars or G.I. Joe battles. I know that there is a version of Zoids still on the market these days but I’m a fan of these original American Zoids. I say original American Zoids because there have been twenty-six different releases for Zoids over the years. It’s hard to imagine a toy lasting so long that most people don’t remember but in the end both Robotix and Zoids hold a special place in my heart.