Robo Force: Blazer - the Ignitor

Earlier this summer I had the chance to buy a lot of vintage toys from the 80's and 90's. Of course I grabbed them as I knew at some point I'd want to take a look at some of the toys here on this blog. Some of the toys I knew about, while others I remember seeing as a kid, but didn't know what they were called.

Robo Force, created in 1984 by a small toy company called Ideal Toys, was a toy line that I barely remember. I don't recall seeing these toys on retail shelves, but I'm sure they were in one of the many Sears Christmas catalogs I used to rummage through when making my annual Christmas list.

Blazer, the Ignitor. Is it odd that a figure called Blazer also shoots water? I don't know where the idea for this toy line came from, but I find it funny that in the early 80's this is what people though robots should look like. Short w/ flexible arms and a suction cup base.

The packaging for this figure looks rather nice, despite the box showing it's age. Surprisingly the plastic window is still intact, albeit very brittle. The box is very colorful and has some nice artwork of the character. I find it odd that a box of this size would have a hanger tab. I would've thought this packaging would have been better suited for shelves versus pegs.

The side of the box shows off the action features of the toy. Blazer comes with two different flame thrower attachments that are interchangeable and work on either arm. Surprisingly it doesn't mention the button on the back of the toy that works the moving arm mechanic.

I would have thought that Blazer would have been one of the enemy robots...then again I'm not completely sure on the story (if one even exists) behind Robo Force. The little blurb of text underneath the logo tells you a little bit more about the character and his abilities.

These robots stand about 8 inches or so tall and it appears they all feature a similar body construction. The head is made of a soft plastic that actually squirts water. The base of the figure is a large suction cup and even after all of these years still works.

On the back of this figure (and all of the others from what I know) is a square button that depresses. When pushed in, it sends a stream of (weak) air down each arm. This makes the arms bend inward, almost like it's trying to grab something. While compared to today's action figure standards the gimmick is pretty weak, but I would imagine this was pretty revolutionary for it's time.

I ended up taking the two Robo Force toys I had with me to Charticon 2013 to sell at my booth. Being a Transformers convention I was hoping that someone in attendance would know what these are and appreciate them. I didn't prominently display them as I had so many TFs with me, but it didn't take long for someone to spot them on one of the lower shelves behind my table. He was really excited to see them and bought them up without hesitation. I'm just glad they are in the possession now of someone who really wanted them.