Gobots: Re-Volt (Dread Launchers)

Towards the end of the Gobots series of toys come the Dread Launchers. Released in 1987 and made exclusively for the Western market, these Bandai designed toys seem to be veyr polarizing in the Gobots community. I personally love the idea behind the Dread Launchers and like the toys, but then again I take my online name (and avatar) from one of the Transformers Duocons! The whole gimmick with Dread Launchers is that you have two robots pieces that come together and form a large, 8 inch tall robot. It's basically Tonka's version of Hasbro's Duocons (Transformers).

Re-Volt is comprised of a robotic hawk and a landing pad...I think. It's hard to tell and at least in my opinion it's left to your own imagination as to what this vehicle thing is supposed to be. There is clearly a landing pad area as shown w/ the gray/yellow circle outline sticker. There are wheels sculpted into the sides however to give you the idea that it can be transported. Could you call it a crawler or a transporter, as in what carries and moves a space shuttle?

The two pieces are made with a combination of plastic and die-cast metal. It's made well and my specimen has held up well for nearly being a 30 year old toy.

I'm not really sure why a robot hawk would need a crawler, but here you go. There are two tabs on the landing pad area that connect to the holes in the bottom of the hawk's legs/feet. This allows the hawk to attach to the crawler and keep it intact as you move the crawler around. There are some small, hard plastic wheels on the bottom that allow the crawler to move.

Transforming each piece into it's portion of the robot mode is rather easy, especially the crawler. The bird becomes to top half of the robot. The bird head folds back to reveal the waist connector piece, Fold down the tail feathers and wings and you're ready to attach to the bottom section.

The crawler is basically transformed already. Rotate the cockpit forward, stand it up and flip down the feet. You'll see a set of tabs in the middle of the waist area, allowing you to clip on the top half.

While I like the overall look of the robot, I do agree with many Gobot fans that this is an odd combination and I can see how it's not for everyone. The wings are still poseable in robot form, however the wings are in their default position as you can see above. The figure has some articulation in the shoulders, elbows and hips. The movement is limited, but again for a 30 year old toy it's not bad. The hands are the bird claws and they can open and close as you see fit.

Re-Volt is quite large when compared to a standard size Gobot. It scales a little better against a Super Gobot, but either way any of the 3 Dread Launchers are going to stand out in a Gobots display. These toys aren't for everyone, however I like them. Re-Volt is probably the weakest of the three, so if you are curious about these toys my suggestion is pick up Chaos or maybe Traitor. Be aware though that the Dread Launcher prices have increased on the secondary market in recent years. I can't see paying what Re-Volt's current price is, but to each their own.