Space Robot by Ja-Ru

I used to purchase my fair share rack toys with money earned from my paper route. This Space Robot is more recent example, but certainly upholds the basic tenants of rack toys. I got it for a couple of bucks at a Kroger, and it reminds me of the Micronauts Force Commander. I don't know if it was deliberate or not, but the resemblance is there.

Force Commander photo from here.

Marchon Air Commander from the Mysterians collection.

Convertible toys were taking off in the mid-80s, with Transformers first hitting the market in 1984. Marchon released a line of convertible robots in 1984, too. This was the Mysterians, a line of 6 figures, including Air Commander. I had one of these, the Major Repair Robot, which is surprising as I don't remember still buying toys this late into the eighties.

I love the schematic included as card art (images from here). Air Commander comes equipped with "Twin movable radar sensitive radar guns [that] provide front & rear attack defense". "Head shield opens to reveal x-ray scanner eyes". "Hidden body compartment hides swivel laser arms". "Armor plated droid is computer controlled from central attack station". "Central compartment flips down to release secret RADAR droid". "Side panels open to expose 2-way terrain stabilizers & movable roller wheels".

Johnny Lightning 1930s Batgyro

Johnny Lightning used to sell a model kit of the 1930s Batgyro. It was a "fiddly" kit, with small parts and no good way to assemble except for using super glue, which is not my forte. Here is the assembled kit. Looks good despite my lack of talent. The Batcave is a recent offering from Jada. Not really to scale, but not a lot is available for a Batcave in smaller scales. The Batman figure is from Zerboz.

UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter

I'm calling this a Blackhawk, because it's clearly based or inspired on the Army Helicopter.

For the price - $3 or $4 bucks if I remember correctly - it's not too shabby. Based on the figures I would put this around 1:48 scale. I love the landing gear - gives it a "tricked out" vibe. It's got a friction motor, which explains the mag wheels. I would have preferred a color scheme that more closely matches the US Army markings, but it's a toy and would never look realistic. The plastic wing and undercarriage are reacting poorly to the lighting and are becoming discolored. The pilots are molded in a realistic shade of silver. I'm keeping it - at least it might look good with some toy soldiers.

Piasecki HUP Retriever from Amercom

Here is a Piasecki HUP Retriever from Amercom. Diecast, and 1/72 scale, it is a nice model of a Cold War helicopter. Piasecki renamed itself to Vertol, and later merged with Boeing. This is the Naval version, originally known as the HUP-2 Retriever. The Army had its own version, the H-25 Mule. The military services standardized their nomenclature sometime in the early 1960s, and this helicopter became known as the UH-25B. The models sell for 12-18 dollars, so the detail and quality is good for the price.