Dashbots: Police Car

During the 1980's there were a lot of companies trying to cash in on the popularity if transforming robots. While I'm unable to find much info on the Dashbots series, I do know they were made in the early 80's by a Hong Kong company called Upright Toys.

These seem to heavily borrow designs from Bandai's Machine Robo, whether that is intentional or not is up for debate. There are only a few different varieties of these out there and finding one in good condition can be a challenge. I lucked out in recent months and found this unnamed police car.

Made of die-cast metal, these little cars have some heft to them. Slightly larger than a standard HotWheels car, Dashbots get their name from the friction motor inside the vehicle. Pull it back and let it go and it'll race across the floor.

Usually the paint on these are badly chipped, but this one is beautiful. It's a bright blue and still has a nice shine to it. Even the large sticker on the good of the car is still intact and in good shape. Note the chrome on the light bar and on the read of the car. For a toy from 1985 (?) I have to say the design and craftmanship is in pretty impressive.

The robot mode however may not be anything to write home about. It's got a very basic design. Stand up the car, pull back on the rear portion of the car to form the legs. Pull out the car doors to form the arms. There isn't any articulation in robot mode outside of the arms. You can rotate these a full 360 degrees, but that is it. 

I found these to be very interesting toys and I've love to learn a little more about them. I'd be up to adding another to my collection, however as I mentioned earlier finding one in good condition can be a real challenge. On the secondary market these seem to run $20-$40 a piece, depending on the overall condition.