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Although
they
were
made of hard, thin plastic, Remco's 1982 Robot
Renegades and Robot
Defenders are still a hit among collectors. Probably
because at 5.5
inches tall, they fit about everything. Not only
that, they came out at
a time when inexpensive robots were scarce and hard
to come by. As one
collector noted, Remco was very adept at creating
their own action
figures that fit better known sets. These robot
figures originally cost
a couple bucks, although that likely seemed high
then. Although hard
plastic, the legs move somewhat, as do the arms.
They would be
considered jointed, not articulated. Two years later
Remco would bring
out its ManTech Robot Warriors, which actually
seemed to be cyborgs,
with human heads, or maybe they were humans in
robotic suits. They were
more detailed, with removable helmets and
accessories, as well as more
articulated.
Above: left. Robot Defender Mazrak is right at home
in
the ManTech Battle Station, and right: in the
ManTech Terrorizer tank
(shown without stickers).
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Below:
left.
Bigger is better. That seemed to be the philosophy in
the
'80s when every action figure had to have a big
plastic fortress or
castle accompanying
it. ManTech's box seems to be copied off of Mego's
Micronauts--a
variation
of Japan's Microman. In the '60's, very cool plastic
toys that did a
lot
were packaged in very plain large cardboard boxes. Big
Loo and Robot
Commando had two or three color printing on the box.
In the '80s, big
plastic toys that didn't do anything were packaged in
exciting,
colorful boxes. ManTech's 20 X 27 inch box for the
Battlestation Laser
II is a good example. It boasts "over 75 posi-click
plugs and
receptacles for positioning figures, weapons and
parts". These turn out
to be merely posts and holes
molded into the base. As with most accessory sets, no
ManTech figures
came
with the set.
Below:
right. You can set the
ManTech Traxon (good guys) or Terrorizer (bad guys)
vehicle in the
Launching
station. Here the bad guys are invading the station.
Nothing lights up
or talks
or shoots. That all came back luckily in the '90s,as
shown by Raydon, a
Create-a-Bot who came free in a Jack in the Box kids'
meal, and who
lights up an LED. That said, if you had
the
ManTech Robot Warriors or the Robot Defenders or
Renegades, the
Battlestation would be a pretty good accessory.
The main level
Command Module measures twenty inches across, and can
be rotated, which
makes it great for dioramas, and for five inch
figures. Thanks
to
Lynn at Toy Stable (see Robot Links) who gave me a
good deal on it so
everyone
could see it on this website.
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Robot
Defenders
Zoton
Epaxion
Mazrak
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Robot
Renegades
Wargor
Zebok
Diotrax
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Below:
left to right. Robot
Defenders Zoton, Epaxion, Robot Renegade Zebok.
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Below:
left. ManTech Traxon
vehicle. Below: right. ManTech Terrorizer vehicle
(enemy). As with the
BattleStation II, the boxes boast "The
Interchangeable System", which
in practice means that parts can be snapped in at
various places. "Make
over 18 different vehicles" the blurbs claim, but
some of the
variations, like the one shown on the bottom panel
of the Terrorizer
box, would scarcely be considered a vehicle. It
looks incomplete
without the nose piece. Both the slogan and the
grid design seem taken
from Mego's Micronauts figures and construction
sets, which were called
"The Interchangeables".
Remco's slogan applied also to the ManTech
figures, who cleverly used
interchangeable parts from one another, and were
largely distinguished
only by the shape of their boots, and uniform
color: the red, yellow,
and blue ManTech being the defenders, and the
black, purple, and green
ManTech being the enemy.
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ManTech
action
figures roll call
Defenders
LaserTech
AquaTech
SolarTech
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Enemy
NegaTech
DoomTech
TerrorTech
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Below:
left to right. AquaTech with
box, LaserTech, DoomTech (enemy).
These figures were being sold on eBay.
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