Been thinking we needed a thread like this for a while. Basically, a place to show off and/or discuss old 80's toylines that aren't knockoffs, so to speak, but also aren't major brand releases like Transformers and Go-Bots. Releases from smaller companies trying to compete/cash in on the transforming robot craze of the time.
Especially for those of us that were growing up in the mid 80's, these things were everywhere. They were usually cheaper than the "main brands," so these were the kind of thing you might be able to talk mom or dad into on a trip to the grocery store (I have a distinct memory of talking my mom into a KO Converters cash register by telling her I could use it to store/count my money at home. Upon reflection, I doubt that argument convinced her, but I did come home with him anyway. I still have it to this day.) or get from your aunt on your birthday. They mingled with and went on adventures with our Optimus Primes and Cy-Kills. They may not have been quite the quality level of the "real" things, but they were fun in their own ways.
To start things off, here's something I found this weekend at a small local toy/comic show:
The mold is the chameleon From the Leader Shine "Invading Reptile" series (bootlegged and reproduced by any number of other brands over the years). I've wanted to start picking up some bots from this line for a while, so I was very excited to find this one in a bin of random transformers, especially complete with his guns. A lot of good information on this line here at Robo-Synergy.
Especially for those of us that were growing up in the mid 80's, these things were everywhere. They were usually cheaper than the "main brands," so these were the kind of thing you might be able to talk mom or dad into on a trip to the grocery store (I have a distinct memory of talking my mom into a KO Converters cash register by telling her I could use it to store/count my money at home. Upon reflection, I doubt that argument convinced her, but I did come home with him anyway. I still have it to this day.) or get from your aunt on your birthday. They mingled with and went on adventures with our Optimus Primes and Cy-Kills. They may not have been quite the quality level of the "real" things, but they were fun in their own ways.
To start things off, here's something I found this weekend at a small local toy/comic show:
The mold is the chameleon From the Leader Shine "Invading Reptile" series (bootlegged and reproduced by any number of other brands over the years). I've wanted to start picking up some bots from this line for a while, so I was very excited to find this one in a bin of random transformers, especially complete with his guns. A lot of good information on this line here at Robo-Synergy.
