In a curious one-off revival, 'classic' Machine Robo gashapon figures were released in 2001 by Bandai. For those who don't know, gashapon are basically vending machine toys. The ones made in Japan are particularly collectable, and are of relatively high quality and complexity compared to their Western equivalent. It's often said they're more expensive, but compared to the ones seen in UK Toys R Us stores (usually selling Disney figurines and the like, rather than generic stuff) the price doesn't seem too bad - these retailed at ¥200, which is about £1.50. Of course, it could get more expensive as in shops you'd be getting a random one each time...

In the grand scheme of Machine Robo, these figures seem a bit random, coming eight years after the unsuccessful CG Robo revival, and two years before the more successful Machine Robo Rescue (like both those lines, these figures were designed by Bandai's in-house PLEX operation). However, in Japan robot franchises especially are periodically reactivated for just this sort of merchandise.

POLICE ROBO

The choices for these figures are a little curious. While there's nothing that properly goes against the grain of Machine Robo, these aren't closely based on existing figures (which I suppose we could be grateful for, in a way, as it could have been Rom bloody Stol and his chums). Instead these are all-new designs, based on (I'm guessing) contemporary vehicles. So this one is a cute little patrol car.

Transformation is very simple - these are about half an inch taller than Transformers Micromasters figures, and slightly less complex. The plastic is thin in places, and while not outright bad won't stand up to much roughhousing. This one contains more than a couple of steps towards the 2003 Police Robo, while the moulded 'pectoral' type chest reminds me more than a bit of one of the Decepticon Micromasters - Hyperdrive, I think. The arms are very simple and can't really move forwards properly, instead tilting just a tiny bit. They also pop out very easily when separating the vehicle halves, and while it's not difficult to put them back in it hardly makes him good fun to play with. One notable feature, though, is that the top of his head is moulded in the shape of a police cap, with the yellow dot as a badge. It's quite cute, but at the same time not intrusively daft.

FIRE ROBO

Of course, this is a fresh start for Machine Robo, and you know what that means - emergency vehicles galore. This Fire Robo doesn't have a tilting ladder, but the thing can rotate its' foam cannon at least. Less impressive are the two pairs of unpainted inner wheels - not unexpected at this sort of price point, but still ugly regardless.

The robot is very closely modelled on PLEX's 1993 Fire CG (which in turn had more than a passing resemblance to the Diaclone-sourced Transformers figure Inferno). However, the layout just doesn't work at this sort of scale, and Fire Robo is left with a tiny head set at the back of his body, a tiny but vital fraction too far behind his shoulders. The utterly undisguised back half of a fire engine doubling as the legs doesn't help, but it's the tiny misplaced head that really hurts the thing. To rub salt into the wound, it's even irritatingly difficult to move this into place due to sloppy quality control. The red plastic looks like it would stress easily too. Not a fun figure at all in summary.

EMERGENCY ROBO

Obviously we've got to round out the holy trinity of emergency vehicles with an ambulance. There's not really a lot to note about the vehicle mode itself, which is competent but unspectacular.

What's interesting, though, is that the transformation and robot mode are very similar to the original 1983 Ambulance Robo, right down to a very similar head design (albeit cast in red rather than white) and the large red cross on the chest. Sadly, the arms can't really move and the single block leg is huge, while again the head is tiny and somewhat lost due to the curved white ambulance shell on the shoulders. The arms are also quite thin and fragile, something emphasised by the way you have to snap them backwards and forwards for transformation - it feels like they're going to break each time.

4WD ROBO

All-terrain vehicles aren't really something Machine Robo has done that often, at last not compared to some lines. There was Off-Road Robo, of course, and the Super Gobot Clutch, but aside from that there's just been PLEX's own 1993 4WD CG. The latter is the most obvious forerunner for this one, though 4WD Robo is perhaps the only one in this set that strays a little from the norm of the line.

Another slight precedent might be the mystery Machine Robo briefly glimpsed in the 1985 animated commercial for Battle Armor 5. That one seemed to have a Honda City as a vehicle mode and bears only a passing similarity to this figure, but if there had been a 'City Robo' made in 1985 using that colour scheme you'd take this gashapon as being a homage to it. If that makes any sense. Anyway, the figure itself transforms in exactly the same way as Police Robo, but the larger shell of the SUV works a bit better, allowing the arms a better appearance of space - but without the leg block being as massive as that for Emergency Robo. 4WD Robo does have a tiny head still, though. The figure also has a weird freshness to it as it's not competing with a 25-year old equivalent that's much better.

600 NOZOMI ROBO

The final vehicle is a Shinkansen - actually the fifth across various Machine Robo lines (two from the original Machine Robo Series - the original Shinkansen Robo, and the later New Shinkansen Robo - and two rarely-seen figures in the PLEX-designed CG Robo line, one of which was also modelled on a Nozomi train). It's not one of the better-looking bullet trains out there, to be honest, with its' weird cabin, and the low detail here leaves it looking somewhat unfinished.

The transformation is the same as the Police Robo and 4WD Robo from the set, which means it's effective, if a bit too simple. However, the shape of the Shinkansen fits the layout rather well, resulting in a more slender body. The head's actually something like in proportion to the rest of it as well. The robot actually has more than a few similarities to one of the team members from the Transformers Sixliner/Sixtrain sets, and it's not a comparison that particularly weighs in the favour of the Machine Robo figure (which is ten years newer than Sixliner). I mean, this thing is designed to be cheaper and easier, but this can't change the fact it's clearly inferior. Even my relentless love of robots that turn into Bullet Trains can't get this one off the hook...

As cheap and cheerful novelties go, these could be worse. Police Robo and 4WD Robo aren't without charm, but to describe any of the toys as good would be a lie. The problem is they fall between two stools - there's no nostalgia attached due to them being new designs (whereas owning dinky little versions of the original Police Robo or Ambulance Robo would be cute), but these can't be developed enough under these restrictions. As an unusual piece of Machine Robo merchandise they're a diverting curiosity, but as figures in their own right they're sorely lacking.

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