[Gobots] Whisper it...

[inflatable dalek]

Extreme necro thread post as I've now read the entire British Robo Machines saga!

Something of a very odd comic, you've got very twee elements (the super villain deciding to prove he should rule the world by invading a small English village) rubbing shoulders with some very faux gritty and nasty ones (the brutal murder of the kids parents), though things definitely start leaning more and more towards the later as the thing goes on. Which makes bloody Scooter stand out as even more crap.

It's a pity after starting out as the Bumblebee of the group Hans Cuff pretty much fades from the comic, especially as he's the only real one of the good guys to get any decent amount of personality (albeit a slightly creepy padeoish one). Cy-Kill does OK on the baddies side in the second arc, but him suddenly deciding to be a treacherous bastard seems a bit of a shift from the loyal thug thing he had going on in the first storyline, and worst it doesn't get paid off either (he talks like he's Renegade leader on the last page, but Zod Monster is still about).

It's interesting to see the cartoon influence start to show more and more as it progresses, everyone starts to look more like their animation models as it goes on (especially noticeable with Leader One's head, by the time Scooter turns up it is pretty much the cartoon version) and the two non-toy leaders are gotten rid off fairly quickly, though only Domez gets anything like an explanation with turning into Zod.

The Security Force retreat from Earth feels very forced as well, Zod and Casmadon are badly damaged leaving Cy-Kill as the only real threat. You have to wonder how late in the day plans for a third serial were dropped as it would only take a very minor rewrite to turn it into a complete good guy victory. Shame it's so obscure as that ending is fan fiction mama from heaven.

EDIT: Oh, and Titan seem to have given up on Dan Dare again.

[Cliffjumper]

I dunno, I think most of the SF make a respectable basic impression - Dozer, Hans-Cuff, Truck, Night Ranger, Royal-T, Carry-All... It's a shame they all get lost in the mix a bit in the second arc, though the brutal deaths are nicely done - Night Ranger blown to pieces, Royal-T and Carry-All bleeding to death. I love the realistic English backdrop as well.

The Cholkham stuff is worth noting because it was a decade before Transformers even hinted at that sort of stuff, and Charlie's a pretty likeable kid on the whole.

With the art, I always find it difficult to tell whether it's all down to the replacement of Capaldi (who just draws the toys) with Raymond (who seems to be working with character models, or at least figure art).

Regarding the sudden retreat, it's worth noting that the SF only have Leader-1, Turbo, Hans-Cuff and (the unarmed) Scooter undamaged at that point - they seemed to prioritise getting Dozer to safety.

I love the way Ex-El just disappears too - I always wonder if the others just got pissed off with him being such a prick and stashed him in a cupboard somewhere.

[inflatable dalek]

I was surprised to see Royal-T go down so quickly, considering the RAF marking's he'd have been the obvious character to big up for a Brit based comic.

It looks like Raymond starts off using the toy designs before shifting towards the more cartoon look, I don't know if that's because he took over with very little notice to start making his own mark on it or if the word came from on high to get the designs more standardised. It even keeps evolving as it goes along, Leader-One's cops and robber eye mask thing becomes more pronouced and his, Turbo and Cy-Kill's heads seem to become more rounded and humanoid towards the end.

The weird thing about Ex-El is there's no real opportunity for him to bugger off, with the opening of the second story being given over to a news channel recap they could easily have slipped in a "And Ex-El has come home leaving the capable Leader-One in charge" line.

In the issues themselves, was there much in the way of feedback on the letters page and whatnot?

[Cliffjumper]

There wasn't really a letters page - fan art instead. A couple of cool bits of Zod Monster and that's about it. The rest is all Max from the 13th Floor as he was really easy to draw (a grid with a light in it). The weirdest strip at the time is The Computer Warrior, a Tron rip-off about a kid going into contemporary Spectrum games - including the Ghostbusters one.

I think with Royal-T and Carry-All it's actually a decent shock first time out - they show up and are both brutally killed off within a few pages when the conventions of toy tie-in comics means you're expecting, say, Hans-Cuff and Dozer to bite the bullet while the new guys get to be awesome.

And I've been working on the fanfic on and off... It keeps getting too fan-wanky, though.

[inflatable dalek]

There wasn't really a letters page - fan art instead. A couple of cool bits of Zod Monster and that's about it. The rest is all Max from the 13th Floor as he was really easy to draw (a grid with a light in it).

Ah, I was wondering why the "Max" character mentioned in the competitions didn't seem to have been filling the Tharg role for very long. For some cross thread pollination: Considering Cartmel has repeatedly said 2000 AD was a huge influence on his time on Who I wonder how aware he was of the other Fleetway books and the 13th Floor thing in relation to Paradise Towers in particular. Or if deadly tower blocks was just a mid 80's thing.

I think with Royal-T and Carry-All it's actually a decent shock first time out - they show up and are both brutally killed off within a few pages when the conventions of toy tie-in comics means you're expecting, say, Hans-Cuff and Dozer to bite the bullet while the new guys get to be awesome.

What makes it work is neither dies straight away, making you think that they'll ultimately pull through. I was expecting some sort of escape for teh baddies captured at the end of the first story as well, but no, they've all been mindwiped for all time.

And I've been working on the fanfic on and off... It keeps getting too fan-wanky, though.

I think it would be pretty much impossible to do a follow up to an obscure tie in to a minor toyline that isn't brimming with fanwank.

Unless you're going all Takara and trying to bring the Robo Machines and Gobots continuities into one glorious whole whilst throwing the Rock Lords and a Megatron getting killed by Cy-Kill in revenge for all those modern TF comics moments it shouldn't be too OTT.

[Sades]

And I've been working on the fanfic on and off... It keeps getting too fan-wanky, though.

I know how to prevent that- you should pass it around and let us all write bits of it.

[inflatable dalek]

Cy-Kill's guest staring spot in Dan Dare should be worked in as well.

[Cliffjumper]

Unless you're going all Takara and trying to bring the Robo Machines and Gobots continuities into one glorious whole whilst throwing the Rock Lords and a Megatron getting killed by Cy-Kill in revenge for all those modern TF comics moments it shouldn't be too OTT.

It's more than characters with toys I like tend to come out as the centre of attention while Staks gets horribly mutilated...

[inflatable dalek]

You're a sick, sick man.

[Clogs]

Young Scraplet2 bought a Gobot at AA. I will try to get a picture of it and post for identification purposes...

[henryperez123]

Hey did you got the Pics.....do upload them em waiting eagerly.

[der2]

It's a sickness, I just read those comics, now I'm bidding for the toys on ebay, love the look and size of the power suit, so going for Courageous. Then I'll have to hunt down the cast of the Eagle comic and see what fits what using your chart Cliffy.

[Cliffjumper]

Another one snared!

[der2]

Aye, got lucky (I think) and nabbed 3 MOSC powersuits for $20 inc shipping, I remember I have unit 4 buried at home somewhere, though it's pretty wrecked, so I may try to get one in good condition. Also watching an auction for the central piece in box at a reasonable price too. I'm very pleased by the reasonable prices on these toys. Though I'm in fear of how loose the figures may be owning to the weight of their die-cast on the plastic.

[Cliffjumper]

The early ones actually tend to weather better due to a mixture of being more simple and for using diecast housings for diecast parts. It's the mid-run ones where they're using diecast balljoints with plastic housings that tend to wear the worse.

Main wear/breakage areas for the RM cast:

Leader-1 - undercarriage can often bend/stress/shed wheels, out wings can be loose
Cy-Kill - Handlebars and forearms snap easily (chrome)
Turbo - no real weak areas
Scooter - head
Dozer - no real weak areas, but the gun is microscopic
Road Ranger/Truck - no weak areas
Royal-T - tailfin connections
Carry-All - nosewheel
Cop-Tur - hips
Fitor - legs can occasionally fail to support the weight and telescope in
Night Ranger - a real wear-magnet, sadly - arms and legs especially
Tank - no weak spots
Loco - arms can just pop off at the shoulder, but can usually be re-attached with no problem

[inflatable dalek]

Another one snared!

Though the best way to be de-snared is to try watching the cartoon.

[der2]

There's truth in that and I've seen my share, even have a VHS of the movie buried somewhere, well buried. I'll stick with the story here and go no further, picking up a couple robos will be no harm though, only one or two...