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Remembering Remco's ManTech
Bigger is better. That seemed to be the philosophy in the
'80s when every action figure had to have a big plastic fortress or
castle accompanying
it. ManTech's box seems to be copied off of Mego's Micronauts--a
variation
of Japan's Microman. In the 60's, very cool plastic toys that did a lot
were packaged in very plain large cardboard boxes. Big Loo and Robot
Commando had two or three color printing on the box. In the '80s, big
plastic toys that didn't do anything were packaged in exciting,
colorful boxes. ManTech's 20 X 27 inch box for the Battlestation Laser
II is a good example. It boasts over 75 posi-click plugs and
receptacles for positioning figures, weapons and parts--posts and holes
molded into the base. As with most accessories, no ManTech figures came
with the set.
Manning the battlestation in the photo are dollar store knock-offs of Power Rangers and Godzilla, along with a Jack-in-the-Box Create-a-Bot, Raydon, who came free in a kid's meal. You can set the ManTech Traxon or Terrorizer (bad guys) vehicle in the Launching station. Nothing lights up or talks or shoots. That all came back luckily in the '90s, as shown by Radon, who has a LED that lights up (and he was free). All that said, if you had the ManTech Robot Warriors, this would be a pretty good accessory. Thanks to Lynn at Toy Stable (see Robot Links) who gave me a good deal on it so everyone could see it on this website.
Manning the battlestation in the photo are dollar store knock-offs of Power Rangers and Godzilla, along with a Jack-in-the-Box Create-a-Bot, Raydon, who came free in a kid's meal. You can set the ManTech Traxon or Terrorizer (bad guys) vehicle in the Launching station. Nothing lights up or talks or shoots. That all came back luckily in the '90s, as shown by Radon, who has a LED that lights up (and he was free). All that said, if you had the ManTech Robot Warriors, this would be a pretty good accessory. Thanks to Lynn at Toy Stable (see Robot Links) who gave me a good deal on it so everyone could see it on this website.
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Ideal Star Team
StarHawk
The last days of the Mighty Zeroids, after endless rehashing
into countless packaging variations, came not with a bang but a
whimper. Gone were the motoriffic motors, the reversing ramps,
Zogg-powered accessories--everything in fact but the name. The
non-motorized Red Zeroid shown here came with the Star Hawk space ship,
and the Blue Zeroid was available separately. All
these zeroids do is blink a lamp when you turn them on. The Star Hawk
space
ship is the recolored Zem XXI Zeroid Explorer Module (and it does look
better
in red and gray than in lime green and purple). Now Zem 21 was the name
of
a green-headed alien Star Team scout. The Star Hawk still has the very
cool "motorized" Hatch from the Zem XXI. Press a lever and the hatch
slowly opens, and the landing pods and exit ramp drop down. Originally
this also activated a Zeroid inside, which would emerge and motor down
the ramp. The Star Hawk is nearly always found in better shape than
this one, which is about grade -10, with a beat-up box.
The best part of the Star Team was a free handout, 5 X 7 inch comic book, and you didn't even have to buy anything to get it. "Raiders of the Black Nebula" was actually a 16 page Marvel comic, written and drawn by their staff artists. In Space Toys of the '60s, James Gillam explains how Ideal faced a lawsuit due to the similarity of the Star Hawks to Star Wars: the Knight of Darkness suggests Darth Vader, and Zem 21 and the red and blue zeroids seem similar respectively to C3PO and R2D2. Ideal was able to show that all their toys preceded the movie, which may explain why the Star Team alien has the same name as the former Zeroid space ship, the Knight of Darkness is a remodeled Captain Action, and other oddities. This is a fantastic book about all things Zeroid and Major Matt Mason, Mattel's Man in Space and Colorform Aliens (see Robot Books).
The best part of the Star Team was a free handout, 5 X 7 inch comic book, and you didn't even have to buy anything to get it. "Raiders of the Black Nebula" was actually a 16 page Marvel comic, written and drawn by their staff artists. In Space Toys of the '60s, James Gillam explains how Ideal faced a lawsuit due to the similarity of the Star Hawks to Star Wars: the Knight of Darkness suggests Darth Vader, and Zem 21 and the red and blue zeroids seem similar respectively to C3PO and R2D2. Ideal was able to show that all their toys preceded the movie, which may explain why the Star Team alien has the same name as the former Zeroid space ship, the Knight of Darkness is a remodeled Captain Action, and other oddities. This is a fantastic book about all things Zeroid and Major Matt Mason, Mattel's Man in Space and Colorform Aliens (see Robot Books).
