Grand Prix racing has long held a considerable amount of interest in Japan, even in the barren spell between 1977 and 1987 when the country had no Grand Prix of its' own, so a F1 car was a logical addition to the Machine Robo range. F-1 Robo was modelled on the Renault RE20 Turbocharged car, one of the front-runners of the 1980 season in the hands of Jean-Pierre Jabouille and Rene Arnoux (who drove the #16 car used).

It might seem a bit of a random choice, but then Takara chose the Ligier JS11 for their Diaclone range, so maybe before Honda the Japanese sympathies lay with the French. Or maybe Ferrari would be more likely to sue. Who knows? Who cares, actually...

In 1985, the figure was revamped for Tonka's Gobots range as Slicks, getting a new set of stickers (concentrating mainly on announcing the Renegade's name) and with a new colour scheme, adding black to the scheme in place of much of the yellow - this was used for the animated series. The Japanese colour scheme was retained in Europe for Robo Machine, a release which used the Slicks name, and for the Brazilian Convert range. The figure was popular with bootleggers too - a blue/white version (vaguely reminiscent of a Ligier, but retaining the Renault stickers) was produced for the Machine Robot range, while a version with white painted parts, a remodelled nosecone and treaded tyres was released under the Convertible Robots banner.

Considering F-1 Robo's vehicle mode is only 2½ inches long, it's a more than respectable replica of the RE20, complete with accurate stickers and a nice chromed engine. The axles aren't quite right, and the sidepods aren't shaped quite right, but it's a great effort.

The RE20 isn't the prettiest F1 car ever, and the all-yellow scheme isn't very good for those after more than realism. It's a shame a Williams FW07 or Brabham BT49 wasn't used in its' place... The American version looks a bit less one-tone, but with 'Slicks' branded all over also looks a lot more childish.

Preference depends on whether you want your alternate modes to be realistic, or quirky. The mode is very sturdy, though, and Bandai have (unusually) sorted some decent tyres for the guy.

Transforming F-1 Robo is surprisingly complex, especially keeping the arms out of the way throughout. It's inventive, but frustrating in places. The worst part is the amount of wear it builds up - I'm sure the front wheels get loose every time, while the rear wheels must lose chrome clipping in like that.

The robot itself looks pretty good - the face actually has a little character to it and the proportions are good. The design's quite nice, and he looks good.

The articulation, like most Machine Robo, is disappointing, only extending to the arms. Worse still, moving these higher than 45° from the body makes them look like they're coming from the top of the shoulders.