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Back in my childhood, I always found Zeemon to be a strange UFO. That Trans-Am looking vehicle that transform into a robot with the cabin for a head was unlike any normal Transformers. I kinda wanted him but I never could. Now, as an adult and with the power of the internet (and Ebay!) I could finally have him. And his brothers too! Good thing Super Gobots are not as popular as Transformers because that make these great vintage toys so affordable.

Why I like them so much? First, the vehicle modes are always PERFECT and 100% accurate if based on a real car. Let's not forget the mandatory vintage rubber tires and die-cast parts. To have the equivalent for today in a transformable robot, you have to pay the big bucks for an Alternity Transformers.
The robot modes look very kitch and 1950 like with the cabin head, derpy legs, and claw-hands. Also, simple but effective transformation. Each one of them have some similar transformations, but enough differences to make them unique.



Nexr post, I will showcase my collection in more details.

In the meantime, do you have any of them and do you like them?

I personally love them but you posted this in the 3rd Party forum by accident. PM a moderator about moving it to the regular toys forum.

zodconvoy wrote:I personally love them but you posted this in the 3rd Party forum by accident. PM a moderator about moving it to the regular toys forum.

Done.

Sorry to say, I never liked them, myself. I was in my early teens when they came out, and MUCH preferred Transformers to GoBots. The exception would be those GoBots with decent looking (to my young eyes) robot modes - such as Spoons, Screw Head, and Dive Dive.

zodconvoy wrote:I personally love them but you posted this in the 3rd Party forum by accident. PM a moderator about moving it to the regular toys forum.

Oh, yeah, GoBots ARE official merchandise since over 10-15 years. I forgot about that.

Valandar wrote:Sorry to say, I never liked them, myself. I was in my early teens when they came out, and MUCH preferred Transformers to GoBots. The exception would be those GoBots with decent looking (to my young eyes) robot modes - such as Spoons, Screw Head, and Dive Dive.

To be perfectly honest with myself, I prefered the REAL Transformers too when I was a child in the early 1980s. But my ADULT self like these guys. I wouldn't mind seeing an hommage to that kind of bot in the form of an HUMAN ALLIANCE set. A licenced vehicle that change into a similar robot, with a more complex transformation and the human would fit into the head. HEY! It could be in the next movie as a mech, a human responce to the Transformers menace! That mech yould be called a GoBots! Sigh, a guy can dream.

I will show the collection tommorow night. Now, it'S finally time to go to sleep.

That tank is very cool, the others blow chuncks. Some of the smaller Gobots where cool, though. I don't know names.

I think that picture perfectly illustrates exactly what's wrong with GoBots and why Transformers are far more popular.

As piloted mecha the designs are pretty good. As standalone robots, the head-cabins seem an odd choice.

Quite an odd looking design. It really makes 'em look like enhanced human controlled mechs........similar to the original Ironhide and Ratchet were meant to look like.

And I gotta agree with the almost realistic looking vehicle modes. Though their spiny insect like hands are a bit of a turn off.

Though on a bit of a deviation from the topic, also dig the alternate vehicle modes of Puzzler. Imagine what the Stunticon would look like if they were designed with rubber tires and die-cast bodies?

fenrir72 wrote:Quite an odd looking design. It really makes 'em look like enhanced human controlled mechs........similar to the original Ironhide and Ratchet were meant to look like.

And I gotta agree with the almost realistic looking vehicle modes. Though their spiny insect like hands are a bit of a turn off.

Though on a bit of a deviation from the topic, also dig the alternate vehicle modes of Puzzler. Imagine what the Stunticon would look like if they were designed with rubber tires and die-cast bodies?

I died a little inside.

Although I never liked GoBots*, I always thought the "cabin heads" were cool because they made the robots look more alien.

*Now, as 36-year-old collector, I find GoBots in general a lot more appealing than I did as a kid, but I'm more partial to the small ones.

I completely agree with you; the super gobots are a great line. I've always had a soft spot for the gobots in general. Because they were small and generally less expensive, I probably had more of them than actual transformers as a kid. I would love to see some more modern day homages from Hasbro.

I'm not fond of the cabin head look at all. The vehicle modes look great, but if they turn into robots they should be full-on robots.

I was never a huge fan of the Gobots overall, although I did get the larger Cy-Kill and Leader-1. I wouldn't mind a Classics version of those two at deluxe size. I tried making my own Leader-1 with the coronation head, but botched it badly with too strong paint remover. Maybe one day I'll try again (although I need a new Dirge for the black parts ...)

I actually am a big fan of some of the Super Gobots, notably leader-1 who displays pretty awesomely next to G1 seekers. However, the Cabinheads just don't do it for me.

@RhA

Why?

I had the Orange semi-truck. I loved that thing to death. Unfortunately he broke into a million pieces over the years and is no longer with us. I might have to hit up ebay and see if I can get one.

Do you have the trailer that came with that truck? It isn't pictured.

I want to see more Gobot homages in the Transformers Classics line, but no cabin heads please.

Gauntlet101010 wrote:I'm not fond of the cabin head look at all. The vehicle modes look great, but if they turn into robots they should be full-on robots.

A "full-on" robot? Like this?



Or like this?

I had the first two on the left, and I liked them. I'd kill to see some Gobots in the next Classics line.

GuyIncognito wrote:

Gauntlet101010 wrote:I'm not fond of the cabin head look at all. The vehicle modes look great, but if they turn into robots they should be full-on robots.

A "full-on" robot? Like this?



Or like this?

lol. No, not quite what I meant.

Gauntlet101010 wrote:lol. No, not quite what I meant.

I know. I was being sarcastic to make a point. What you REALLY meant was that you think the robot modes should look like humans: head with face, two arms with hands, two legs with feet, etc. To me, that's LESS robot-like.

I have Psycho, aka Future Machine, he's great but missing a tire. I like the design, I'll get more some day. Super Stacks esopecially, love his alt mode.

And the Puzzler combiner is great- no add-on combiner parts, he's completely self-contained. Lots of metal, chrome, and rubber tires. Rock.

GuyIncognito wrote:

Gauntlet101010 wrote:lol. No, not quite what I meant.

I know. I was being sarcastic to make a point. What you REALLY meant was that you think the robot modes should look like humans: head with face, two arms with hands, two legs with feet, etc. To me, that's LESS robot-like.

Yes, I caught the sarcasm.

While you may be right, in real life robots aren't very human at all, but in most fiction they tend to be pretty human. If you want to pick apart terms maybe I should have used "androids". But are we really going to argue my word choice?

All in all I'm not a fan of these kinds of robots. Whether they're TFs or not. Similarly I don't really care for G1 Ironhide or Rachet as robots who think and feel and act independently (as mecha, what they were originally intended to be, I'm a little more forgiving).

With apologies to their fans, they always struck me as a robot that some kid could put together in his garage in an old Disney movie. I know they're going for a certain retro look, but ... it just doesn't work for me.

My BIGGEST problem with the cabin heads is the arms and legs.

Why?

Because they are too ridiculously spindly with feet far too small for their mass. Yes, I know, throw the square-cubed law out the window, but even so they look like they could barely stand, would sink into pavement, and couldn't lift more than a fraction that, say, Super Leader-1 could.

Their robot modes were more "robotic", yes... but they looked more like heavily flawed prototypes of a human attempt to replicate Cybertronian / Gobotronian tech than actual useful warriors or what have you.

SJ21 wrote:I had the Orange semi-truck. I loved that thing to death. Unfortunately he broke into a million pieces over the years and is no longer with us. I might have to hit up ebay and see if I can get one.

Do you have the trailer that came with that truck? It isn't pictured.

No. The trailer was interesting, but it's for use only with the smaller GoBots. Also, that trailer don't transform and it's 40$ just for it. So that's a big nope. I want the remaining smokestack for Stack. Anyone have a spare?



I really love Stacks. He have articulated arms and fists and his transformation is very fun and interesting. He was the first to use his smokestacks as gun. Unfortunately this results of rare smokestacks.

Might as well talk about the others right now.

As many of you have noticed, they REALLY ARE mechas meant to be piloted by humans. ÉThey just became "sentient" as a responce to Transformers. One notable example, Psycho, have TWO drivers. One red, and one silver.

A red driver, and a silver one... That futuristic vehicle mode... He came from the original Space Cobra anime!
(Insert Youtube clip that I cannot find)
He have a nice robot mode and is quite imposing.

Of course, in the Space Cobra anime, Cobra's car never transformed.

Here's a GREAT tank. Destroyer. I miss the second part of his gun barrel (for overcompensating?) but I made sure he have it's threads when I bought it. They are missaligned, but I don't dare to mess with them. Destroyer is easy to find. His threads certainly are not.

Destroyer is a bad guy. I mean, a REALLY bad guy. He's a NAZI tank, for crying out loud! His transformatrion is very unique for the cabin heads and he's the biggest.


Licenced vehicles comming up some time later.