Hey guys,
As many of you know, Transformers were preceeded by Microman/Dialcone and of particular interest to me, the molds that never were integrated into the Transformers line but own much of the aesthetic and technology--
the MicroRobot series.
For all the history on these, check out this site:
http://microforever.com/1981newmicroman.htm
And especially here:
http://microforever.com/microrobot_v.htm
and here:
http://microforever.com/721formation.htm
So a nice seque into this is to check out these ~1979 reissue Microman figures, which are basically what later became diaclone drivers (albeit these were a larger scale, 3 3/4"):
In the 1981 MicroRobot line, these guys are about the same size as the robots...and they interact in cool ways. Here's the MicroRobot V set, where the robots transform into weapons, then combine into a very nice looking (IMHO) gestalt:
I find the MicroRobot V, in particular, has details that resemble G1 Reflector who was of course preceded by MicroX Camera Robo (Micro Change series)
Part of the reason for today's post is my recent acquisition of the 7-2-1 formation set, which adds 7 of the little guys to my collection. They merge with vehicles (I didn't show all the combinations, there are so many of them) but did want to show the gestalt...and a specific page from Million Publishing Transformers Generations book which shows an early sketch of this cool toy:
It's gorgeous. Check out the closeup pictures of the figures...lots of diecast, crisp tooling...they just don't make stuff like this anymore:
Here's a picture of all the MicroRobots I have...again, all about 3"-4" tall...plus a couple of block bots which are also of Takara fame.
Towards there front there are 2 our of 3 of the solo MicroRobots...M1 Micro Gordon and M3 Micro Flash, who shares more than a passing resemblance to Gobot Drill Head, IMHO...
M1 and M3 don't combine..instead they actually transform into vehicles! Not great vehicles, but vehicles nonetheless. What they lack in alt-mode they more than make up for in ornate detail and quality.
I also wanted to throw in a picture with my KO Diakron Multi-Force 14...More info on that guy here (
http://www.collectiondx.com/toy_revi...force_14_robot)
Lot's of playvalue here...5mm pegs, action figures, transforming robots, combining robots...amazingly good stuff....
Just out of interest, here's the packaging...somehow I've managed to score most of these with packaging, and it's pretty nice looking stuff (though my copies are decently worn, it's nice to see the old box artwork and that 'we'll never see it again' foam packaging
And that's about all for now. I will be continuing to collect this line...very...slowly...and...at...great...expense.
I thought you may enjoy having a look. And of course if you happen to have any of these or enjoy them as much as I do, would love to hear from you.
All the best,
Echo