Asahi Corporation - Revision history

FortressMaxxing: /* Before becoming Transformers */

2026-03-10T10:04:38Z

Before becoming Transformers

← Older revision		Revision as of 10:04, 10 March 2026
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	PowRTrons-Zoomer.jpg\|This deco be bussin fr no cap on god (''Pow-R-Trons'' Zoomer)		PowRTrons-Zoomer.jpg\|This deco be bussin fr no cap on god (''Pow-R-Trons'' Zoomer)
	Ertl-KnightRider.jpg\|A shadowy flight into the dangerous world of a toy too confusing to exist (''Pow-R-Trons'' Knight Rider)		Ertl-KnightRider.jpg\|A shadowy flight into the dangerous world of a toy too confusing to exist (''Pow-R-Trons'' Knight Rider)
	Powertron-FairladyZ.jpg\|I both am and am not the original ~~Japanese~~ version of this toy! Confused? So am I! (''Attack Change Machine Powertron'' Fairlady Z 300ZX)		Powertron-FairladyZ.jpg\|I both am and am not the original version of this toy! Confused? So am I! (''Attack Change Machine Powertron'' Fairlady Z 300ZX)
	</gallery></center>		</gallery></center>

FortressMaxxing: /* Overview */

2026-02-23T17:21:25Z

Overview

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:21, 23 February 2026
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	<center><gallery widths="150px" heights="150px">		<center><gallery widths="150px" heights="150px">
	PowRTrons-Zoomer.jpg\|This deco be bussin fr no cap on god (''Pow-R-Trons'' Zoomer)		PowRTrons-Zoomer.jpg\|This deco be bussin fr no cap on god (''Pow-R-Trons'' Zoomer)
	Ertl-KnightRider.jpg\|A shadowy flight into the dangerous world of a toy ~~who's~~ too confusing to exist (''Pow-R-Trons'' Knight Rider)		Ertl-KnightRider.jpg\|A shadowy flight into the dangerous world of a toy too confusing to exist (''Pow-R-Trons'' Knight Rider)
	Powertron-FairladyZ.jpg\|I both am and am not the original Japanese version of this toy! Confused? So am I! (''Attack Change Machine Powertron'' Fairlady Z 300ZX)		Powertron-FairladyZ.jpg\|I both am and am not the original Japanese version of this toy! Confused? So am I! (''Attack Change Machine Powertron'' Fairlady Z 300ZX)
	</gallery></center>		</gallery></center>

FortressMaxxing: Resizing galleries

2026-02-07T04:37:26Z

Resizing galleries

← Older revision		Revision as of 04:37, 7 February 2026
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	===Before becoming Transformers===		===Before becoming Transformers===
	~~Tracing~~ the origins of the [[pre-Transformers]] molds that we now know as the Bat-Robôs is actually surprisingly complicated.		So, tracing the origins of the [[pre-Transformers]] molds that we now know as the Bat-Robôs is actually surprisingly complicated.

	For starters, we know that they were originally manufactured by the Asahi Corporation <ref>[https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/64/52/b2/7b40ee9726bcc8/GB2164263A.pdf Asahi patent for the toy that would become the Pow-R-Trons]</ref>, however; the designs were conceived by Masahiro Tao of [http://www.frextoys.co.jp/company.html Frex Co., Ltd.] <ref>[https://www.j-platpat.inpit.go.jp/c1800/PU/JP-S61-051893/FC7BD90B47AE8A95735A028C9B03860409B63703B49E7F7D8972A48DCDE299A6/23/en Frex Co., Ltd. patent for the toy that would become the Pow-R-Trons]</ref>. After being created in 1984, it seems these designs were shortly thereafter licensed by the Ertl Company in 1985 and sold as ''Pow-R-Trons'' in North America, the United Kingdom, and other parts of Europe... All before they were actually released in their home country of Japan. Ertl's use of the molds included the evil '''Distroid''' (grey/black truck) and '''Fy-Ton''' (black/grey car) versus the heroic '''Zoomer''' (red/black truck), '''Turboid''' (yellow/grey car), and '''"[[Agent Knight\|Knight Rider]]"''' (black/red car, based on the TV show and fully-licensed, possibly only available in the UK and mainland Europe).<ref>[https://www.the-liberator.net/site-files/robot-toys/pow-r-trons-powertrons-ertl.htm ''Pow-R-Trons by ERTL'' on the-liberator.net]</ref> The design company Frex notes the license agreement with Ertl on its webpage, and says the Pow-R-Trons sold a million units (although it misspells both).<ref>1984: ERTEL「POWERTRON」をライセンス契約。全世界100万個を超える販売実績のヒット商品となる。[http://www.frextoys.co.jp/company.html http://www.frextoys.co.jp/company.html]</ref>		For starters, we know that they were originally manufactured by the Asahi Corporation <ref>[https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/64/52/b2/7b40ee9726bcc8/GB2164263A.pdf Asahi patent for the toy that would become the Pow-R-Trons]</ref>, however; the designs were conceived by Masahiro Tao of [http://www.frextoys.co.jp/company.html Frex Co., Ltd.] <ref>[https://www.j-platpat.inpit.go.jp/c1800/PU/JP-S61-051893/FC7BD90B47AE8A95735A028C9B03860409B63703B49E7F7D8972A48DCDE299A6/23/en Frex Co., Ltd. patent for the toy that would become the Pow-R-Trons]</ref>. After being created in 1984, it seems these designs were shortly thereafter licensed by the Ertl Company in 1985 and sold as ''Pow-R-Trons'' in North America, the United Kingdom, and other parts of Europe... All before they were actually released in their home country of Japan.

	From there, the ''Pow-R-Trons'' were sold in 1985 <ref>[https://ameblo.jp/56780-05/entry-12553017556.html A Japanese blog post on ''Powertron''], from ameblo.jp</ref> by Fujisho, who marketed Ertl's unchanged toys, minus Knight Rider, as the '''Fairlady Z 300ZX''' and '''Dattora Turbo''' <ref>"Dattora" (ダットラターボ) is a Japanese slang contraction of "DATsun TRuck".</ref> in the short-lived ''Attack Change Machine Powertron'' (アタックチェンジマシーンパワートロン) toyline.<ref>[https://plaza.rakuten.co.jp/butto/diary/201502260000/ A review of the ''Powertron'' Fairlady 300ZX], from plaza.rakuten.co.jp</ref> So, in summary; as far as can it be discerned, it isn't the case that these molds simply come from a Japanese toyline as most other pre-Transformers toys do: Asahi seems to have made the physical toys for Ertl first, then had Fujisho put the Ertl stock they were already making into localized packaging for Japan. While a 1986 Tokyo Toy Show catalog has the ''Powertrons'' being offered by Asahi Tsusho itself in unique decos,<ref>{{citesocial\|quote="南米展開でトランスフォーマーとなった奴が朝日通商のパワートロンとして発売されてる！？コイツ等、南米でトランスフォーマーになったのいつ頃なんだろう！？" https://t.co/LsCZNe24nH\|link=https://twitter.com/kyano13neo/status/1110136306762317824\|name=kyano13neo\|site=Twitter\|year=2019\|month=03\|day=25\|(defunct=)}}</ref> all of the samples on the Japanese aftermarket retain Ertl's color schemes, stickers, and copyright stamps, again suggesting the toys weren't sold in Japan either before or after Asahi's collaboration with Ertl.		Ertl's use of the molds included the evil '''Distroid''' (grey/black truck) and '''Fy-Ton''' (black/grey car) versus the heroic '''Zoomer''' (red/black truck), '''Turboid''' (yellow/grey car), and '''"[[Agent Knight\|Knight Rider]]"''' (black/red car, based on the TV show and fully-licensed, possibly only available in the UK and mainland Europe).<ref>[https://www.the-liberator.net/site-files/robot-toys/pow-r-trons-powertrons-ertl.htm ''Pow-R-Trons by ERTL'' on the-liberator.net]</ref> The design company Frex notes the license agreement with Ertl on its webpage, and says the Pow-R-Trons sold a million units (although it misspells both).<ref>1984: ERTEL「POWERTRON」をライセンス契約。全世界100万個を超える販売実績のヒット商品となる。[http://www.frextoys.co.jp/company.html http://www.frextoys.co.jp/company.html]</ref> From there, the ''Pow-R-Trons'' were sold in 1985 <ref>[https://ameblo.jp/56780-05/entry-12553017556.html A Japanese blog post on ''Powertron''], from ameblo.jp</ref> by Fujisho, who marketed Ertl's unchanged toys, minus Knight Rider, as the '''Fairlady Z 300ZX''' and '''Dattora Turbo''' <ref>"Dattora" (ダットラターボ) is a Japanese slang contraction of "DATsun TRuck".</ref> in the short-lived ''Attack Change Machine Powertron'' (アタックチェンジマシーンパワートロン) toyline.<ref>[https://plaza.rakuten.co.jp/butto/diary/201502260000/ A review of the ''Powertron'' Fairlady 300ZX], from plaza.rakuten.co.jp</ref>

			So, in summary; as far as can it be discerned, it isn't the case that these molds simply come from a Japanese toyline as most other pre-Transformers toys do: Asahi seems to have made the physical toys for Ertl first, then had Fujisho put the Ertl stock they were already making into localized packaging for Japan. While a 1986 Tokyo Toy Show catalog has the ''Powertrons'' being offered by Asahi Tsusho itself in unique decos,<ref>{{citesocial\|quote="南米展開でトランスフォーマーとなった奴が朝日通商のパワートロンとして発売されてる！？コイツ等、南米でトランスフォーマーになったのいつ頃なんだろう！？" https://t.co/LsCZNe24nH\|link=https://twitter.com/kyano13neo/status/1110136306762317824\|name=kyano13neo\|site=Twitter\|year=2019\|month=03\|day=25\|(defunct=)}}</ref> all of the samples on the Japanese aftermarket retain Ertl's color schemes, stickers, and copyright stamps, again suggesting the toys weren't sold in Japan either before or after Asahi's collaboration with Ertl.
	{{-}}		{{-}}

	<center><gallery>		<center><gallery widths="150px" heights="150px">
	PowRTrons-Zoomer.jpg\|This deco be bussin fr no cap on god (''Pow-R-Trons'' Zoomer)		PowRTrons-Zoomer.jpg\|This deco be bussin fr no cap on god (''Pow-R-Trons'' Zoomer)
	Ertl-KnightRider.jpg\|A shadowy flight into the dangerous world of a toy who's too confusing to exist (''Pow-R-Trons'' Knight Rider)		Ertl-KnightRider.jpg\|A shadowy flight into the dangerous world of a toy who's too confusing to exist (''Pow-R-Trons'' Knight Rider)
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	So, to summarize: these same figures were, at various points, ''Transformers'', ''Knight Rider'', ''GoBots'', ''Brave'', and ''Digimon'' toys. And you thought Hasbro [[repurposing\|repurposed]] characters too often!		So, to summarize: these same figures were, at various points, ''Transformers'', ''Knight Rider'', ''GoBots'', ''Brave'', and ''Digimon'' toys. And you thought Hasbro [[repurposing\|repurposed]] characters too often!

	<center><gallery>		<center><gallery widths="150px" heights="150px">
	Estrela-BatRobô-Caixa.jpg\|Hey, my existence is the reason why editors spent hours researching the contents of this page! (''Transformers'' Bat-Robô)		Estrela-BatRobô-Caixa.jpg\|Hey, my existence is the reason why editors spent hours researching the contents of this page! (''Transformers'' Bat-Robô)
	Glasslite-Mutante-Turborg.jpg\| An affront to the natural order of things (''Mutante'' Turborg)		Glasslite-Mutante-Turborg.jpg\| An affront to the natural order of things (''Mutante'' Turborg)

FortressMaxxing at 20:52, 3 February 2026

2026-02-03T20:52:10Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:52, 3 February 2026
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	[[File:Asahi-Logo.jpg\|150px\|right]]The '''Asahi Corporation''' (朝日コーポレーション) - founded as '''Asahi Tsusho Co., Ltd.''' in 1955 - was a Japanese toy manufacturer, with their toys often being distributed through subsidiary '''Fujisho''' (不二商). They later became a subsidiary of Casio in 1991, and their shares were then transferred to [[Bandai]], and ultimately became part of Denkyo Group Holdings since 2024 with the company now operating under the name of '''CCP Co., Ltd'''.		[[File:Asahi-Logo.jpg\|150px\|right]]The '''Asahi Corporation''' (朝日コーポレーション) - founded as '''Asahi Tsusho Co., Ltd.''' in 1955 - was a Japanese toy manufacturer, with their toys often being distributed through subsidiary '''Fujisho''' (不二商). They later became a subsidiary of Casio in 1991, and their shares were then transferred to [[Bandai]], and ultimately became part of Denkyo Group Holdings since 2024 with the company now operating under the name of '''CCP Co., Ltd'''.

	Their relevance to the Transformers franchise comes from a pair of transforming robot molds powered by a pullback motor that auto-transform when crashing into a wall, which they manufactured and released domestically through Fujisho's ''Attack Change Machine Powertron'' toyline before ~~[[Pre-Transformers\|~~eventually becoming]] the [[Bat-Robô\|Bat-Robôs]] in [[Estrela]]'s Brazilian leg of the original ''Transformers'' toyline.		Their relevance to the Transformers franchise comes from [[Pre-Transformers\|a pair of transforming robot molds]] powered by a pullback motor that auto-transform when crashing into a wall, which they manufactured and released domestically through Fujisho's ''Attack Change Machine Powertron'' toyline before eventually becoming the [[Bat-Robô\|Bat-Robôs]] in [[Estrela]]'s Brazilian leg of the original [[Generation 1 toylines in Latin America\|Generation 1 ''Transformers]]'' toyline.

	Sounds simple, right?		Sounds simple, right?
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	===After becoming Transformers===		===After becoming Transformers===
	The molds would finally reach the Brazilian ''Transformers'' toyline as the Bat-Robôs sometime between 1985 and 1986 <ref>It is often presumed that the Bat-Robôs released alongside the second batch of Estrela Transformers toys in 1986 since they were only advertised alongside the ''Optimus x Malignus'' figures in 1986, however; given that they share the box graphic design with the 1985 wave instead, will err on the side of caution and assume it's not out of the question that they could have released a little bit later.</ref>, earning the names '''[[Turbo (G1)\|Turbo]]''' and '''[[Pick-Up (Bat-Robô)\|Pick-Up]]''', and each featuring a pair of decos that were entirely new to these releases. You'd think that this would be the end of the story for these molds - most other pre-Transformers toys would remain exclusive to the ''Transformers'' brand after the fact - but no: the molds were also released in 1993 by Glasslite in Brazil (with each figure getting one of its original ''Pow-R-Trons'' colors and another new color scheme) as the ''Crash Tron'' '''Blocker''' and '''Turborg''' under the ''Mutante'' toyline, one of the country's localizations for the [[GoBots]] <ref>[https://www.instagram.com/p/DBRQi_eTJS_/?img_index=7 1993 Glasslite catalogue], via @tokusatsutoy on Instagram.com</ref>! It is still up in the air whether or not the ''Mutante'' toys were officially licensed by Bandai (more can be read about this conundrum on [[gbwiki:Knock-off#Mutante\|the GoBots wiki]]), but the fact that these were not just sold just a handful of years after their Estrela ''Transformers'' counterparts in the Brazilian market but were also part of a ''GoBots'' / ''Machine Robo'' derived line — easily the greatest Transformers competitor at the time — is pretty damn crazy... And it doesn't end there.		The molds would finally reach the Brazilian ''Transformers'' toyline as the Bat-Robôs sometime between 1985 and 1986 <ref>It is often presumed that the Bat-Robôs released alongside the second batch of Estrela Transformers toys in 1986 since they were only advertised alongside the ''Optimus x Malignus'' figures in 1986, however; given that they share the box graphic design with the 1985 wave instead, will err on the side of caution and assume it's not out of the question that they could have released a little bit later.</ref>, earning the names '''[[Turbo (G1)\|Turbo]]''' and '''[[Pick-Up (Bat-Robô)\|Pick-Up]]''', and each featuring a pair of decos that were entirely new to these releases.

			You'd think that this would be the end of the story for these molds - most other pre-Transformers toys would remain exclusive to the ''Transformers'' brand after the fact - but no: the molds were also released in 1993 by Glasslite in Brazil (with each figure getting one of its original ''Pow-R-Trons'' colors and another new color scheme) as the ''Crash Tron'' '''Blocker''' and '''Turborg''' under the ''Mutante'' toyline, one of the country's localizations for the [[GoBots]] <ref>[https://www.instagram.com/p/DBRQi_eTJS_/?img_index=7 1993 Glasslite catalogue], via @tokusatsutoy on Instagram.com</ref>! It is still up in the air whether or not the ''Mutante'' toys were officially licensed by Bandai (more can be read about this conundrum on [[gbwiki:Knock-off#Mutante\|the GoBots wiki]]), but the fact that these were not just sold just a handful of years after their Estrela ''Transformers'' counterparts in the Brazilian market but were also part of a ''GoBots'' / ''Machine Robo'' derived line — easily the greatest Transformers competitor at the time — is pretty damn crazy... And it doesn't end there.

	These molds would continue getting reused into the following decade, as the Korean ''[[Brave (franchise)\|Brave]]'' and ''Transformers'' licensee [[Sonokong]] would also release a pair of Korean-exclusive ''Brave'' toys under the ''Transforming Robocar'' (변신 로보카) name sometime during the 1990s, with one of these being a straight-up recolor of the Asahi 300ZX mold with added police lights and the other being a slight retool that changes up the design of the alt mode into a generic 90s sports coupe, also featuring police lights. Both of them feature the addition of battery-operated components, with the police lights being functional and a siren sound playing when they're turned on. It is unknown whether these were directly licensed from Asahi or just blatant rip-offs, although the former seems more likely given Sonokong's reputability as a company.		These molds would continue getting reused into the following decade, as the Korean ''[[Brave (franchise)\|Brave]]'' and ''Transformers'' licensee [[Sonokong]] would also release a pair of Korean-exclusive ''Brave'' toys under the ''Transforming Robocar'' (변신 로보카) name sometime during the 1990s, with one of these being a straight-up recolor of the Asahi 300ZX mold with added police lights and the other being a slight retool that changes up the design of the alt mode into a generic 90s sports coupe, also featuring police lights. Both of them feature the addition of battery-operated components, with the police lights being functional and a siren sound playing when they're turned on. It is unknown whether these were directly licensed from Asahi or just blatant rip-offs, although the former seems more likely given Sonokong's reputability as a company.
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	<center><gallery>		<center><gallery>
	Estrela-BatRobô-Caixa.jpg\|Hey, my existence is the reason why ~~someone~~ spent hours ~~editing~~ this page! (''Transformers'' Bat-Robô)		Estrela-BatRobô-Caixa.jpg\|Hey, my existence is the reason why editors spent hours researching the contents of this page! (''Transformers'' Bat-Robô)
	Glasslite-Mutante-Turborg.jpg\| An affront to the natural order of things (''Mutante'' Turborg)		Glasslite-Mutante-Turborg.jpg\| An affront to the natural order of things (''Mutante'' Turborg)
	Brave jumpcar.jpg\|I don't know if I'm a bootleg! (''Brave'' Transforming Robocar)		Brave jumpcar.jpg\|I don't know if I'm a bootleg! (''Brave'' Transforming Robocar)
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	==Notes==		==Notes==
	* As always whenever the Bat-Robôs are brought up, it's important to clarify that the "Bat" portion of their name comes from the Portuguese word for "beating" (Bater), which is also generally synonymous with "crashing" - hence its connection with the play function of the cars. Sorry to disappoint you if you read through this entire article hoping that we'd explain how the Bat-Robôs are connected to Batman.		* As always whenever the Bat-Robôs are brought up, it's important to clarify that the "Bat" portion of their name comes from the Portuguese word for "beating" (Bater), which is also generally synonymous with "crashing" - hence its connection with the play function of the cars. Sorry to disappoint you if you read through this entire article hoping that we'd explain how the Bat-Robôs are connected to Batman.
	* Copies of the Bat-Robôs would also sold in [[Argentina]] under the "Robot-Car" name, featuring mostly plain black packaging with additional portions photocopied from the Estrela originals. These versions do not feature any manufacturing information besides an "Industria Argentina" (e.g., the national equivalent of a "Made in [Country]") tag, making them seem, at a glance; similar to the odd ''[[Invasion Galactica]]'' Argentinian releases of Estrela Mini-Vehicles - but alas, whereas those are packaging swaps of authentic toys, these seem to come from a different production batch of figures given some differences in plastic colors and deco applications which, coupled with the aforementioned lack of any manufacturer and/or licensing identification, makes it more likely that they're regionally-manufactured bootlegs with no official relation to the other toys mentioned in this article instead. <ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20250504093316/https://www.ebay.com/itm/176496613548 An Ebay listing for an Argentinian ''Robot-Car'' Turbo bootleg.]</ref>		* Copies of the Bat-Robôs would also be sold in [[Argentina]] under the "Robot-Car" name, featuring mostly plain black packaging with additional portions photocopied from the Estrela originals. These versions do not feature any manufacturing information besides an "Industria Argentina" (e.g., the national equivalent of a "Made in [Country]") tag, making them seem, at a glance; similar to the odd ''[[Invasion Galactica]]'' Argentinian releases of Estrela Mini-Vehicles - but alas, whereas those are packaging swaps of authentic toys, these seem to come from a different production batch of figures given some differences in plastic colors and deco applications which, coupled with the aforementioned lack of any manufacturer and/or licensing identification, makes it more likely that they're regionally-manufactured bootlegs with no official relation to the other toys mentioned in this article instead. <ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20250504093316/https://www.ebay.com/itm/176496613548 An Ebay listing for an Argentinian ''Robot-Car'' Turbo bootleg.]</ref>

	==See also==		==See also==

FortressMaxxing: /* After becoming Transformers */ Correcting Crash Tron date

2026-01-25T06:22:12Z

After becoming Transformers: Correcting Crash Tron date

← Older revision		Revision as of 06:22, 25 January 2026
Line 25:		Line 25:

	===After becoming Transformers===		===After becoming Transformers===
	The molds would finally reach the Brazilian ''Transformers'' toyline as the Bat-Robôs sometime between 1985 and 1986 <ref>It is often presumed that the Bat-Robôs released alongside the second batch of Estrela Transformers toys in 1986 since they were only advertised alongside the ''Optimus x Malignus'' figures in 1986, however; given that they share the box graphic design with the 1985 wave instead, will err on the side of caution and assume it's not out of the question that they could have released a little bit later.</ref>, earning the names '''[[Turbo (G1)\|Turbo]]''' and '''[[Pick-Up (Bat-Robô)\|Pick-Up]]''', and each featuring a pair of decos that were entirely new to these releases. You'd think that this would be the end of the story for these molds - most other pre-Transformers toys would remain exclusive to the ''Transformers'' brand after the fact - but no: the molds were also released by Glasslite in Brazil (with each figure getting one of its original ''Pow-R-Trons'' colors and another new color scheme) ~~sometime in the 1980s~~ as the ''Crash Tron'' '''Blocker''' and '''Turborg''' under the ''Mutante'' toyline, one of the country's localizations for the [[GoBots]]! It is still up in the air whether or not the ''Mutante'' toys were officially licensed by Bandai (more can be read about this conundrum on [[gbwiki:Knock-off#Mutante\|the GoBots wiki]]), but the fact that these were not just sold ~~alongside~~ their Estrela ''Transformers'' counterparts in the Brazilian market but were also part of a ''GoBots'' / ''Machine Robo'' derived line — easily the greatest Transformers competitor at the time — is pretty damn crazy... And it doesn't end there.		The molds would finally reach the Brazilian ''Transformers'' toyline as the Bat-Robôs sometime between 1985 and 1986 <ref>It is often presumed that the Bat-Robôs released alongside the second batch of Estrela Transformers toys in 1986 since they were only advertised alongside the ''Optimus x Malignus'' figures in 1986, however; given that they share the box graphic design with the 1985 wave instead, will err on the side of caution and assume it's not out of the question that they could have released a little bit later.</ref>, earning the names '''[[Turbo (G1)\|Turbo]]''' and '''[[Pick-Up (Bat-Robô)\|Pick-Up]]''', and each featuring a pair of decos that were entirely new to these releases. You'd think that this would be the end of the story for these molds - most other pre-Transformers toys would remain exclusive to the ''Transformers'' brand after the fact - but no: the molds were also released in 1993 by Glasslite in Brazil (with each figure getting one of its original ''Pow-R-Trons'' colors and another new color scheme) as the ''Crash Tron'' '''Blocker''' and '''Turborg''' under the ''Mutante'' toyline, one of the country's localizations for the [[GoBots]] <ref>[https://www.instagram.com/p/DBRQi_eTJS_/?img_index=7 1993 Glasslite catalogue], via @tokusatsutoy on Instagram.com</ref>! It is still up in the air whether or not the ''Mutante'' toys were officially licensed by Bandai (more can be read about this conundrum on [[gbwiki:Knock-off#Mutante\|the GoBots wiki]]), but the fact that these were not just sold just a handful of years after their Estrela ''Transformers'' counterparts in the Brazilian market but were also part of a ''GoBots'' / ''Machine Robo'' derived line — easily the greatest Transformers competitor at the time — is pretty damn crazy... And it doesn't end there.

	These molds would continue getting reused into the following decade, as the Korean ''[[Brave (franchise)\|Brave]]'' and ''Transformers'' licensee [[Sonokong]] would also release a pair of Korean-exclusive ''Brave'' toys under the ''Transforming Robocar'' (변신 로보카) name sometime during the 1990s, with one of these being a straight-up recolor of the Asahi 300ZX mold with added police lights and the other being a slight retool that changes up the design of the alt mode into a generic 90s sports coupe, also featuring police lights. Both of them feature the addition of battery-operated components, with the police lights being functional and a siren sound playing when they're turned on. It is unknown whether these were directly licensed from Asahi or just blatant rip-offs, although the former seems more likely given Sonokong's reputability as a company.		These molds would continue getting reused into the following decade, as the Korean ''[[Brave (franchise)\|Brave]]'' and ''Transformers'' licensee [[Sonokong]] would also release a pair of Korean-exclusive ''Brave'' toys under the ''Transforming Robocar'' (변신 로보카) name sometime during the 1990s, with one of these being a straight-up recolor of the Asahi 300ZX mold with added police lights and the other being a slight retool that changes up the design of the alt mode into a generic 90s sports coupe, also featuring police lights. Both of them feature the addition of battery-operated components, with the police lights being functional and a siren sound playing when they're turned on. It is unknown whether these were directly licensed from Asahi or just blatant rip-offs, although the former seems more likely given Sonokong's reputability as a company.

FortressMaxxing at 07:14, 13 September 2025

2025-09-13T07:14:56Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:14, 13 September 2025
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	==Overview==		==Overview==
	[[File:BatRoboGroup.jpg\|235px\|thumb\|They do a push-up for every minute someone spends trying to understand where the hell they come from.]]		[[File:BatRoboGroup.jpg\|235px\|thumb\|They do a push-up for every minute someone spends trying to understand where the hell they come from.]]
	Tracing the origins of the [[pre-Transformers]] molds that we now know as the Bat-Robôs is actually surprisingly complicated. For starters, we know that they were originally manufactured by the Asahi Corporation <ref>[https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/64/52/b2/7b40ee9726bcc8/GB2164263A.pdf Asahi patent for the toy that would become the Pow-R-Trons]</ref>, however; the designs were conceived by Masahiro Tao of [http://www.frextoys.co.jp/company.html Frex Co., Ltd.] <ref>[https://www.j-platpat.inpit.go.jp/c1800/PU/JP-S61-051893/FC7BD90B47AE8A95735A028C9B03860409B63703B49E7F7D8972A48DCDE299A6/23/en Frex Co., Ltd. patent for the toy that would become the Pow-R-Trons]</ref>. After being created in 1984, it seems these designs were shortly thereafter licensed by the Ertl Company in 1985 and sold as ''Pow-R-Trons'' in North America, the United Kingdom, and other parts of Europe... All before they were actually released in their home country of Japan. Ertl's use of the molds included the evil '''Distroid''' (grey/black truck) and '''Fy-Ton''' (black/grey car) versus the heroic '''Zoomer''' (red/black truck), '''Turboid''' (yellow/grey car), and '''"[[Agent Knight\|Knight Rider]]"''' (black/red car, based on the TV show and fully-licensed, possibly only available in the UK and mainland Europe).<ref>[https://www.the-liberator.net/site-files/robot-toys/pow-r-trons-powertrons-ertl.htm ''Pow-R-Trons by ERTL'' on the-liberator.net]</ref> The design company Frex notes the license agreement with Ertl on its webpage, and says the Pow-R-Trons sold a million units (although it misspells both).<ref>1984: ERTEL「POWERTRON」をライセンス契約。全世界100万個を超える販売実績のヒット商品となる。[http://www.frextoys.co.jp/company.html http://www.frextoys.co.jp/company.html]</ref>
			===Before becoming Transformers===
			Tracing the origins of the [[pre-Transformers]] molds that we now know as the Bat-Robôs is actually surprisingly complicated.

			For starters, we know that they were originally manufactured by the Asahi Corporation <ref>[https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/64/52/b2/7b40ee9726bcc8/GB2164263A.pdf Asahi patent for the toy that would become the Pow-R-Trons]</ref>, however; the designs were conceived by Masahiro Tao of [http://www.frextoys.co.jp/company.html Frex Co., Ltd.] <ref>[https://www.j-platpat.inpit.go.jp/c1800/PU/JP-S61-051893/FC7BD90B47AE8A95735A028C9B03860409B63703B49E7F7D8972A48DCDE299A6/23/en Frex Co., Ltd. patent for the toy that would become the Pow-R-Trons]</ref>. After being created in 1984, it seems these designs were shortly thereafter licensed by the Ertl Company in 1985 and sold as ''Pow-R-Trons'' in North America, the United Kingdom, and other parts of Europe... All before they were actually released in their home country of Japan. Ertl's use of the molds included the evil '''Distroid''' (grey/black truck) and '''Fy-Ton''' (black/grey car) versus the heroic '''Zoomer''' (red/black truck), '''Turboid''' (yellow/grey car), and '''"[[Agent Knight\|Knight Rider]]"''' (black/red car, based on the TV show and fully-licensed, possibly only available in the UK and mainland Europe).<ref>[https://www.the-liberator.net/site-files/robot-toys/pow-r-trons-powertrons-ertl.htm ''Pow-R-Trons by ERTL'' on the-liberator.net]</ref> The design company Frex notes the license agreement with Ertl on its webpage, and says the Pow-R-Trons sold a million units (although it misspells both).<ref>1984: ERTEL「POWERTRON」をライセンス契約。全世界100万個を超える販売実績のヒット商品となる。[http://www.frextoys.co.jp/company.html http://www.frextoys.co.jp/company.html]</ref>

	From there, the ''Pow-R-Trons'' were sold in 1985 <ref>[https://ameblo.jp/56780-05/entry-12553017556.html A Japanese blog post on ''Powertron''], from ameblo.jp</ref> by Fujisho, who marketed Ertl's unchanged toys, minus Knight Rider, as the '''Fairlady Z 300ZX''' and '''Dattora Turbo''' <ref>"Dattora" (ダットラターボ) is a Japanese slang contraction of "DATsun TRuck".</ref> in the short-lived ''Attack Change Machine Powertron'' (アタックチェンジマシーンパワートロン) toyline.<ref>[https://plaza.rakuten.co.jp/butto/diary/201502260000/ A review of the ''Powertron'' Fairlady 300ZX], from plaza.rakuten.co.jp</ref> So, in summary; as far as can it be discerned, it isn't the case that these molds simply come from a Japanese toyline as most other pre-Transformers toys do: Asahi seems to have made the physical toys for Ertl first, then had Fujisho put the Ertl stock they were already making into localized packaging for Japan. While a 1986 Tokyo Toy Show catalog has the ''Powertrons'' being offered by Asahi Tsusho itself in unique decos,<ref>{{citesocial\|quote="南米展開でトランスフォーマーとなった奴が朝日通商のパワートロンとして発売されてる！？コイツ等、南米でトランスフォーマーになったのいつ頃なんだろう！？" https://t.co/LsCZNe24nH\|link=https://twitter.com/kyano13neo/status/1110136306762317824\|name=kyano13neo\|site=Twitter\|year=2019\|month=03\|day=25\|(defunct=)}}</ref> all of the samples on the Japanese aftermarket retain Ertl's color schemes, stickers, and copyright stamps, again suggesting the toys weren't sold in Japan either before or after Asahi's collaboration with Ertl.		From there, the ''Pow-R-Trons'' were sold in 1985 <ref>[https://ameblo.jp/56780-05/entry-12553017556.html A Japanese blog post on ''Powertron''], from ameblo.jp</ref> by Fujisho, who marketed Ertl's unchanged toys, minus Knight Rider, as the '''Fairlady Z 300ZX''' and '''Dattora Turbo''' <ref>"Dattora" (ダットラターボ) is a Japanese slang contraction of "DATsun TRuck".</ref> in the short-lived ''Attack Change Machine Powertron'' (アタックチェンジマシーンパワートロン) toyline.<ref>[https://plaza.rakuten.co.jp/butto/diary/201502260000/ A review of the ''Powertron'' Fairlady 300ZX], from plaza.rakuten.co.jp</ref> So, in summary; as far as can it be discerned, it isn't the case that these molds simply come from a Japanese toyline as most other pre-Transformers toys do: Asahi seems to have made the physical toys for Ertl first, then had Fujisho put the Ertl stock they were already making into localized packaging for Japan. While a 1986 Tokyo Toy Show catalog has the ''Powertrons'' being offered by Asahi Tsusho itself in unique decos,<ref>{{citesocial\|quote="南米展開でトランスフォーマーとなった奴が朝日通商のパワートロンとして発売されてる！？コイツ等、南米でトランスフォーマーになったのいつ頃なんだろう！？" https://t.co/LsCZNe24nH\|link=https://twitter.com/kyano13neo/status/1110136306762317824\|name=kyano13neo\|site=Twitter\|year=2019\|month=03\|day=25\|(defunct=)}}</ref> all of the samples on the Japanese aftermarket retain Ertl's color schemes, stickers, and copyright stamps, again suggesting the toys weren't sold in Japan either before or after Asahi's collaboration with Ertl.
Line 20:		Line 24:
	</gallery></center>		</gallery></center>

			===After becoming Transformers===
	The molds would finally reach the Brazilian ''Transformers'' toyline as the Bat-Robôs sometime between 1985 and 1986 <ref>It is often presumed that the Bat-Robôs released alongside the second batch of Estrela Transformers toys in 1986 since they were only advertised alongside the ''Optimus x Malignus'' figures in 1986, however; given that they share the box graphic design with the 1985 wave instead, will err on the side of caution and assume it's not out of the question that they could have released a little bit later.</ref>, earning the names '''[[Turbo (G1)\|Turbo]]''' and '''[[Pick-Up (Bat-Robô)\|Pick-Up]]''', and each featuring a pair of decos that were entirely new to these releases. You'd think that this would be the end of the story for these molds - most other pre-Transformers toys would remain exclusive to the ''Transformers'' brand after the fact - but no: the molds were also released by Glasslite in Brazil (with each figure getting one of its original ''Pow-R-Trons'' colors and another new color scheme) sometime in the 1980s as the ''Crash Tron'' '''Blocker''' and '''Turborg''' under the ''Mutante'' toyline, one of the country's localizations for the [[GoBots]]! It is still up in the air whether or not the ''Mutante'' toys were officially licensed by Bandai (more can be read about this conundrum on [[gbwiki:Knock-off#Mutante\|the GoBots wiki]]), but the fact that these were not just sold alongside their Estrela ''Transformers'' counterparts in the Brazilian market but were also part of a ''GoBots'' / ''Machine Robo'' derived line — easily the greatest Transformers competitor at the time — is pretty damn crazy... And it doesn't end there.		The molds would finally reach the Brazilian ''Transformers'' toyline as the Bat-Robôs sometime between 1985 and 1986 <ref>It is often presumed that the Bat-Robôs released alongside the second batch of Estrela Transformers toys in 1986 since they were only advertised alongside the ''Optimus x Malignus'' figures in 1986, however; given that they share the box graphic design with the 1985 wave instead, will err on the side of caution and assume it's not out of the question that they could have released a little bit later.</ref>, earning the names '''[[Turbo (G1)\|Turbo]]''' and '''[[Pick-Up (Bat-Robô)\|Pick-Up]]''', and each featuring a pair of decos that were entirely new to these releases. You'd think that this would be the end of the story for these molds - most other pre-Transformers toys would remain exclusive to the ''Transformers'' brand after the fact - but no: the molds were also released by Glasslite in Brazil (with each figure getting one of its original ''Pow-R-Trons'' colors and another new color scheme) sometime in the 1980s as the ''Crash Tron'' '''Blocker''' and '''Turborg''' under the ''Mutante'' toyline, one of the country's localizations for the [[GoBots]]! It is still up in the air whether or not the ''Mutante'' toys were officially licensed by Bandai (more can be read about this conundrum on [[gbwiki:Knock-off#Mutante\|the GoBots wiki]]), but the fact that these were not just sold alongside their Estrela ''Transformers'' counterparts in the Brazilian market but were also part of a ''GoBots'' / ''Machine Robo'' derived line — easily the greatest Transformers competitor at the time — is pretty damn crazy... And it doesn't end there.

FortressMaxxing: /* Overview */

2025-09-08T01:27:39Z

Overview

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:27, 8 September 2025
Line 26:		Line 26:
	Finally, enter the early 2000s and Glasslite once again rolls out their red version of Pick-Up and yellow version of Turbo (the two colors taken from their Ertl equivalents), now selling them in Brazil under the name of "Crashmon"... As part of none other than a regionalized [[wikipedia:Digimon\|Digimon]] toyline <ref>[https://x.com/joagan/status/1603532315715686400 Glasslite commercial featuring the ''Digimon'' Chashmon figures]</ref>. What transforming vehicles has anything to do with a monster-collecting franchise is beyond anyone's guess, but nonetheless, these releases are the cherry on top of the cake for how utterly chaotic the story of these molds is.		Finally, enter the early 2000s and Glasslite once again rolls out their red version of Pick-Up and yellow version of Turbo (the two colors taken from their Ertl equivalents), now selling them in Brazil under the name of "Crashmon"... As part of none other than a regionalized [[wikipedia:Digimon\|Digimon]] toyline <ref>[https://x.com/joagan/status/1603532315715686400 Glasslite commercial featuring the ''Digimon'' Chashmon figures]</ref>. What transforming vehicles has anything to do with a monster-collecting franchise is beyond anyone's guess, but nonetheless, these releases are the cherry on top of the cake for how utterly chaotic the story of these molds is.

	So, to summarize: these same ~~molds~~ were, at various points, ''Transformers'', ''Knight Rider'', ''GoBots'', ''Brave'', and ''Digimon'' toys. And you thought Hasbro [[repurposing\|repurposed]] characters too often!		So, to summarize: these same figures were, at various points, ''Transformers'', ''Knight Rider'', ''GoBots'', ''Brave'', and ''Digimon'' toys. And you thought Hasbro [[repurposing\|repurposed]] characters too often!

	<center><gallery>		<center><gallery>

FortressMaxxing: Yet another crazy addition to the crazy story of these molds

2025-09-08T00:57:15Z

Yet another crazy addition to the crazy story of these molds

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:57, 8 September 2025
Line 8:		Line 8:

	==Overview==		==Overview==
	[[File:BatRoboGroup.jpg\|~~270px~~\|thumb\|They do a push-up for every minute someone spends trying to understand where the hell they come from.]]		[[File:BatRoboGroup.jpg\|235px\|thumb\|They do a push-up for every minute someone spends trying to understand where the hell they come from.]]
	Tracing the origins of the [[pre-Transformers]] molds that we now know as the Bat-Robôs is actually surprisingly complicated. For starters, we know that they were originally manufactured by the Asahi Corporation <ref>[https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/64/52/b2/7b40ee9726bcc8/GB2164263A.pdf Asahi patent for the toy that would become the Pow-R-Trons]</ref>, however; the designs were conceived by Masahiro Tao of [http://www.frextoys.co.jp/company.html Frex Co., Ltd.] <ref>[https://www.j-platpat.inpit.go.jp/c1800/PU/JP-S61-051893/FC7BD90B47AE8A95735A028C9B03860409B63703B49E7F7D8972A48DCDE299A6/23/en Frex Co., Ltd. patent for the toy that would become the Pow-R-Trons]</ref>. After being created in 1984, it seems these designs were shortly thereafter licensed by the Ertl Company in 1985 and sold as ''Pow-R-Trons'' in North America, the United Kingdom, and other parts of Europe... All before they were actually released in their home country of Japan. Ertl's use of the molds included the evil '''Distroid''' (grey/black truck) and '''Fy-Ton''' (black/grey car) versus the heroic '''Zoomer''' (red/black truck), '''Turboid''' (yellow/grey car), and '''"[[Agent Knight\|Knight Rider]]"''' (black/red car, based on the TV show and fully-licensed, possibly only available in the UK and mainland Europe).<ref>[https://www.the-liberator.net/site-files/robot-toys/pow-r-trons-powertrons-ertl.htm ''Pow-R-Trons by ERTL'' on the-liberator.net]</ref> The design company Frex notes the license agreement with Ertl on its webpage, and says the Pow-R-Trons sold a million units (although it misspells both).<ref>1984: ERTEL「POWERTRON」をライセンス契約。全世界100万個を超える販売実績のヒット商品となる。[http://www.frextoys.co.jp/company.html http://www.frextoys.co.jp/company.html]</ref>		Tracing the origins of the [[pre-Transformers]] molds that we now know as the Bat-Robôs is actually surprisingly complicated. For starters, we know that they were originally manufactured by the Asahi Corporation <ref>[https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/64/52/b2/7b40ee9726bcc8/GB2164263A.pdf Asahi patent for the toy that would become the Pow-R-Trons]</ref>, however; the designs were conceived by Masahiro Tao of [http://www.frextoys.co.jp/company.html Frex Co., Ltd.] <ref>[https://www.j-platpat.inpit.go.jp/c1800/PU/JP-S61-051893/FC7BD90B47AE8A95735A028C9B03860409B63703B49E7F7D8972A48DCDE299A6/23/en Frex Co., Ltd. patent for the toy that would become the Pow-R-Trons]</ref>. After being created in 1984, it seems these designs were shortly thereafter licensed by the Ertl Company in 1985 and sold as ''Pow-R-Trons'' in North America, the United Kingdom, and other parts of Europe... All before they were actually released in their home country of Japan. Ertl's use of the molds included the evil '''Distroid''' (grey/black truck) and '''Fy-Ton''' (black/grey car) versus the heroic '''Zoomer''' (red/black truck), '''Turboid''' (yellow/grey car), and '''"[[Agent Knight\|Knight Rider]]"''' (black/red car, based on the TV show and fully-licensed, possibly only available in the UK and mainland Europe).<ref>[https://www.the-liberator.net/site-files/robot-toys/pow-r-trons-powertrons-ertl.htm ''Pow-R-Trons by ERTL'' on the-liberator.net]</ref> The design company Frex notes the license agreement with Ertl on its webpage, and says the Pow-R-Trons sold a million units (although it misspells both).<ref>1984: ERTEL「POWERTRON」をライセンス契約。全世界100万個を超える販売実績のヒット商品となる。[http://www.frextoys.co.jp/company.html http://www.frextoys.co.jp/company.html]</ref>

	From there, the ''Pow-R-Trons'' were sold in 1985 <ref>[https://ameblo.jp/56780-05/entry-12553017556.html A Japanese blog post on ''Powertron''], from ameblo.jp</ref> by Fujisho, who marketed Ertl's unchanged toys, minus Knight Rider, as the '''Fairlady Z 300ZX''' and '''Dattora Turbo''' <ref>"Dattora" (ダットラターボ) is a Japanese slang contraction of "DATsun TRuck".</ref> in the short-lived ''Attack Change Machine Powertron'' (アタックチェンジマシーンパワートロン) toyline.<ref>[https://plaza.rakuten.co.jp/butto/diary/201502260000/ A review of the ''Powertron'' Fairlady 300ZX], from plaza.rakuten.co.jp</ref> So, in summary; as far as can it be discerned, it isn't the case that these molds simply come from a Japanese toyline as most other pre-Transformers toys do: Asahi seems to have made the physical toys for Ertl first, then had Fujisho put the Ertl stock they were already making into localized packaging for Japan. While a 1986 Tokyo Toy Show catalog has the ''Powertrons'' being offered by Asahi Tsusho itself in unique decos,<ref>{{citesocial\|quote="南米展開でトランスフォーマーとなった奴が朝日通商のパワートロンとして発売されてる！？コイツ等、南米でトランスフォーマーになったのいつ頃なんだろう！？" https://t.co/LsCZNe24nH\|link=https://twitter.com/kyano13neo/status/1110136306762317824\|name=kyano13neo\|site=Twitter\|year=2019\|month=03\|day=25\|(defunct=)}}</ref> all of the samples on the Japanese aftermarket retain Ertl's color schemes, stickers, and copyright stamps, again suggesting the toys weren't sold in Japan either before or after Asahi's collaboration with Ertl.		From there, the ''Pow-R-Trons'' were sold in 1985 <ref>[https://ameblo.jp/56780-05/entry-12553017556.html A Japanese blog post on ''Powertron''], from ameblo.jp</ref> by Fujisho, who marketed Ertl's unchanged toys, minus Knight Rider, as the '''Fairlady Z 300ZX''' and '''Dattora Turbo''' <ref>"Dattora" (ダットラターボ) is a Japanese slang contraction of "DATsun TRuck".</ref> in the short-lived ''Attack Change Machine Powertron'' (アタックチェンジマシーンパワートロン) toyline.<ref>[https://plaza.rakuten.co.jp/butto/diary/201502260000/ A review of the ''Powertron'' Fairlady 300ZX], from plaza.rakuten.co.jp</ref> So, in summary; as far as can it be discerned, it isn't the case that these molds simply come from a Japanese toyline as most other pre-Transformers toys do: Asahi seems to have made the physical toys for Ertl first, then had Fujisho put the Ertl stock they were already making into localized packaging for Japan. While a 1986 Tokyo Toy Show catalog has the ''Powertrons'' being offered by Asahi Tsusho itself in unique decos,<ref>{{citesocial\|quote="南米展開でトランスフォーマーとなった奴が朝日通商のパワートロンとして発売されてる！？コイツ等、南米でトランスフォーマーになったのいつ頃なんだろう！？" https://t.co/LsCZNe24nH\|link=https://twitter.com/kyano13neo/status/1110136306762317824\|name=kyano13neo\|site=Twitter\|year=2019\|month=03\|day=25\|(defunct=)}}</ref> all of the samples on the Japanese aftermarket retain Ertl's color schemes, stickers, and copyright stamps, again suggesting the toys weren't sold in Japan either before or after Asahi's collaboration with Ertl.
			{{-}}

	The molds would finally reach the Brazilian ''Transformers'' toyline as the Bat-Robôs sometime between 1985 and 1986 <ref>It is often presumed that the Bat-Robôs released alongside the second batch of Estrela Transformers toys in 1986 since they were only advertised alongside the ''Optimus x Malignus'' figures in 1986, however; given that they share the box graphic design with the 1985 wave instead, will err on the side of caution and assume it's not out of the question that they could have released a little bit later.</ref>, earning the names of '''[[Turbo (G1)\|Turbo]]''' and '''[[Pick-Up (Bat-Robô)\|Pick-Up]]''', and each featuring a pair of decos that were entirely new to these releases. You'd think that this would be the end of the story for these molds - most other pre-Transformers toys would remain exclusive to the ''Transformers'' brand after the fact - but no: the molds were also released by Glasslite in Brazil (with each figure getting one of its original ''Pow-R-Trons'' colors and another new color scheme) sometime in the 1980s as the ''Crash Tron'' '''Blocker''' and '''Turborg''' under the ''Mutante'' toyline, one of the country's localizations for the [[GoBots]]! It is still up in the air whether or not the ''Mutante'' toys were officially licensed by Bandai (more can be read about this conundrum on [[gbwiki:Knock-off#Mutante\|the GoBots wiki]]), but the fact that these were not just sold alongside their Estrela ''Transformers'' counterparts in the Brazilian market but were also part of a ''GoBots'' / ''Machine Robo'' derived line - easily the greatest Transformers competitor at the time - is pretty damn crazy.		<center><gallery>
			PowRTrons-Zoomer.jpg\|This deco be bussin fr no cap on god (''Pow-R-Trons'' Zoomer)
			Ertl-KnightRider.jpg\|A shadowy flight into the dangerous world of a toy who's too confusing to exist (''Pow-R-Trons'' Knight Rider)
			Powertron-FairladyZ.jpg\|I both am and am not the original Japanese version of this toy! Confused? So am I! (''Attack Change Machine Powertron'' Fairlady Z 300ZX)
			</gallery></center>

			The molds would finally reach the Brazilian ''Transformers'' toyline as the Bat-Robôs sometime between 1985 and 1986 <ref>It is often presumed that the Bat-Robôs released alongside the second batch of Estrela Transformers toys in 1986 since they were only advertised alongside the ''Optimus x Malignus'' figures in 1986, however; given that they share the box graphic design with the 1985 wave instead, will err on the side of caution and assume it's not out of the question that they could have released a little bit later.</ref>, earning the names '''[[Turbo (G1)\|Turbo]]''' and '''[[Pick-Up (Bat-Robô)\|Pick-Up]]''', and each featuring a pair of decos that were entirely new to these releases. You'd think that this would be the end of the story for these molds - most other pre-Transformers toys would remain exclusive to the ''Transformers'' brand after the fact - but no: the molds were also released by Glasslite in Brazil (with each figure getting one of its original ''Pow-R-Trons'' colors and another new color scheme) sometime in the 1980s as the ''Crash Tron'' '''Blocker''' and '''Turborg''' under the ''Mutante'' toyline, one of the country's localizations for the [[GoBots]]! It is still up in the air whether or not the ''Mutante'' toys were officially licensed by Bandai (more can be read about this conundrum on [[gbwiki:Knock-off#Mutante\|the GoBots wiki]]), but the fact that these were not just sold alongside their Estrela ''Transformers'' counterparts in the Brazilian market but were also part of a ''GoBots'' / ''Machine Robo'' derived line — easily the greatest Transformers competitor at the time — is pretty damn crazy... And it doesn't end there.

	~~To top it all off~~, the Korean ''[[Brave (franchise)\|Brave]]'' and ''Transformers'' licensee [[Sonokong]] would also release a pair of Korean-exclusive ''Brave'' toys under the ''Transforming Robocar'' (변신 로보카) name sometime during the 1990s, with one of these being a straight-up recolor of the Asahi 300ZX mold with added police lights and the other being a slight retool that changes up the design of the alt mode into a generic 90s sports coupe, also featuring police lights. Both of them feature the addition of battery-operated components, with the police lights being functional and a siren sound playing when they're turned on. It is unknown whether these were directly licensed from Asahi or just blatant rip-offs, ~~but in either case, they~~'~~re the cherry on top of the cake for how utterly chaotic the story of these molds is~~.		These molds would continue getting reused into the following decade, as the Korean ''[[Brave (franchise)\|Brave]]'' and ''Transformers'' licensee [[Sonokong]] would also release a pair of Korean-exclusive ''Brave'' toys under the ''Transforming Robocar'' (변신 로보카) name sometime during the 1990s, with one of these being a straight-up recolor of the Asahi 300ZX mold with added police lights and the other being a slight retool that changes up the design of the alt mode into a generic 90s sports coupe, also featuring police lights. Both of them feature the addition of battery-operated components, with the police lights being functional and a siren sound playing when they're turned on. It is unknown whether these were directly licensed from Asahi or just blatant rip-offs, although the former seems more likely given Sonokong's reputability as a company.

			Finally, enter the early 2000s and Glasslite once again rolls out their red version of Pick-Up and yellow version of Turbo (the two colors taken from their Ertl equivalents), now selling them in Brazil under the name of "Crashmon"... As part of none other than a regionalized [[wikipedia:Digimon\|Digimon]] toyline <ref>[https://x.com/joagan/status/1603532315715686400 Glasslite commercial featuring the ''Digimon'' Chashmon figures]</ref>. What transforming vehicles has anything to do with a monster-collecting franchise is beyond anyone's guess, but nonetheless, these releases are the cherry on top of the cake for how utterly chaotic the story of these molds is.

			So, to summarize: these same molds were, at various points, ''Transformers'', ''Knight Rider'', ''GoBots'', ''Brave'', and ''Digimon'' toys. And you thought Hasbro [[repurposing\|repurposed]] characters too often!

	<center><gallery>		<center><gallery>
	~~PowRTrons-Zoomer.jpg\|This deco be bussin fr no cap on god (''Pow-R-Trons'' Zoomer)~~
	~~Ertl-KnightRider.jpg\|A shadowy flight into the dangerous world of a toy who's too confusing to exist (''Pow-R-Trons'' Knight Rider)~~
	~~Powertron-FairladyZ.jpg\|I both am and am not the original Japanese version of this toy! Confused? So am I! (''Attack Change Machine Powertron'' Fairlady Z 300ZX)~~
	Estrela-BatRobô-Caixa.jpg\|Hey, my existence is the reason why someone spent hours editing this page! (''Transformers'' Bat-Robô)		Estrela-BatRobô-Caixa.jpg\|Hey, my existence is the reason why someone spent hours editing this page! (''Transformers'' Bat-Robô)
	Glasslite-Mutante-Turborg.jpg\| An affront to the natural order of things (''Mutante'' Turborg)		Glasslite-Mutante-Turborg.jpg\| An affront to the natural order of things (''Mutante'' Turborg)

FortressMaxxing: /* Notes */

2025-08-25T05:03:16Z

Notes

← Older revision		Revision as of 05:03, 25 August 2025
Line 36:		Line 36:
	==Notes==		==Notes==
	* As always whenever the Bat-Robôs are brought up, it's important to clarify that the "Bat" portion of their name comes from the Portuguese word for "beating" (Bater), which is also generally synonymous with "crashing" - hence its connection with the play function of the cars. Sorry to disappoint you if you read through this entire article hoping that we'd explain how the Bat-Robôs are connected to Batman.		* As always whenever the Bat-Robôs are brought up, it's important to clarify that the "Bat" portion of their name comes from the Portuguese word for "beating" (Bater), which is also generally synonymous with "crashing" - hence its connection with the play function of the cars. Sorry to disappoint you if you read through this entire article hoping that we'd explain how the Bat-Robôs are connected to Batman.
	* Copies of the Bat-Robôs would also sold in [[Argentina]] under the "Robot-Car" name, featuring mostly plain black packaging with additional portions photocopied from the Estrela originals. These versions do not feature any manufacturing information besides an "Industria Argentina" (e.g., the national equivalent of a "Made in [Country]") tag, making them seem, at a glance; similar to the odd ''[[~~Estrela#Licensing and distribution in Argentina\|~~Invasion Galactica]]'' Argentinian releases of Estrela Mini-Vehicles - but alas, whereas those are packaging swaps of authentic toys, these seem to come from a different production batch of figures given some differences in plastic colors and deco applications which, coupled with the aforementioned lack of any manufacturer and/or licensing identification, makes it more likely that they're regionally-manufactured bootlegs with no official relation to the other toys mentioned in this article instead. <ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20250504093316/https://www.ebay.com/itm/176496613548 An Ebay listing for an Argentinian ''Robot-Car'' Turbo bootleg.]</ref>		* Copies of the Bat-Robôs would also sold in [[Argentina]] under the "Robot-Car" name, featuring mostly plain black packaging with additional portions photocopied from the Estrela originals. These versions do not feature any manufacturing information besides an "Industria Argentina" (e.g., the national equivalent of a "Made in [Country]") tag, making them seem, at a glance; similar to the odd ''[[Invasion Galactica]]'' Argentinian releases of Estrela Mini-Vehicles - but alas, whereas those are packaging swaps of authentic toys, these seem to come from a different production batch of figures given some differences in plastic colors and deco applications which, coupled with the aforementioned lack of any manufacturer and/or licensing identification, makes it more likely that they're regionally-manufactured bootlegs with no official relation to the other toys mentioned in this article instead. <ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20250504093316/https://www.ebay.com/itm/176496613548 An Ebay listing for an Argentinian ''Robot-Car'' Turbo bootleg.]</ref>

	==See also==		==See also==

FortressMaxxing: /* Notes */

2025-07-08T04:23:52Z

Notes

← Older revision		Revision as of 04:23, 8 July 2025
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	==Notes==		==Notes==
	* As always whenever the Bat-Robôs are brought up, it's important to clarify that the "Bat" portion of their name comes from the Portuguese word for "beating" (Bater), which is also generally synonymous with "crashing" - hence its connection with the play function of the cars. Sorry to disappoint you if you read through this entire article hoping that we'd explain how the Bat-Robôs are connected to Batman ~~in some way~~.		* As always whenever the Bat-Robôs are brought up, it's important to clarify that the "Bat" portion of their name comes from the Portuguese word for "beating" (Bater), which is also generally synonymous with "crashing" - hence its connection with the play function of the cars. Sorry to disappoint you if you read through this entire article hoping that we'd explain how the Bat-Robôs are connected to Batman.
	* Copies of the Bat-Robôs would also sold in [[Argentina]] under the "Robot-Car" name, featuring mostly plain black packaging with additional portions photocopied from the Estrela originals. These versions do not feature any manufacturing information besides an "Industria Argentina" (e.g., the national equivalent of a "Made in [Country]") tag, making them seem, at a glance; similar to the odd ''[[Estrela#Licensing and distribution in Argentina\|Invasion Galactica]]'' Argentinian releases of Estrela Mini-Vehicles - but alas, whereas those are packaging swaps of authentic toys, these seem to come from a different production batch of figures given some differences in plastic colors and deco applications which, coupled with the aforementioned lack of any manufacturer and/or licensing identification, makes it more likely that they're regionally-manufactured bootlegs with no official relation to the other toys mentioned in this article instead. <ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20250504093316/https://www.ebay.com/itm/176496613548 An Ebay listing for an Argentinian ''Robot-Car'' Turbo bootleg.]</ref>		* Copies of the Bat-Robôs would also sold in [[Argentina]] under the "Robot-Car" name, featuring mostly plain black packaging with additional portions photocopied from the Estrela originals. These versions do not feature any manufacturing information besides an "Industria Argentina" (e.g., the national equivalent of a "Made in [Country]") tag, making them seem, at a glance; similar to the odd ''[[Estrela#Licensing and distribution in Argentina\|Invasion Galactica]]'' Argentinian releases of Estrela Mini-Vehicles - but alas, whereas those are packaging swaps of authentic toys, these seem to come from a different production batch of figures given some differences in plastic colors and deco applications which, coupled with the aforementioned lack of any manufacturer and/or licensing identification, makes it more likely that they're regionally-manufactured bootlegs with no official relation to the other toys mentioned in this article instead. <ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20250504093316/https://www.ebay.com/itm/176496613548 An Ebay listing for an Argentinian ''Robot-Car'' Turbo bootleg.]</ref>

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:57, 8 September 2025
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	==Overview==		==Overview==
	[[File:BatRoboGroup.jpg\|~~270px~~\|thumb\|They do a push-up for every minute someone spends trying to understand where the hell they come from.]]		[[File:BatRoboGroup.jpg\|235px\|thumb\|They do a push-up for every minute someone spends trying to understand where the hell they come from.]]
	Tracing the origins of the [[pre-Transformers]] molds that we now know as the Bat-Robôs is actually surprisingly complicated. For starters, we know that they were originally manufactured by the Asahi Corporation <ref>[https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/64/52/b2/7b40ee9726bcc8/GB2164263A.pdf Asahi patent for the toy that would become the Pow-R-Trons]</ref>, however; the designs were conceived by Masahiro Tao of [http://www.frextoys.co.jp/company.html Frex Co., Ltd.] <ref>[https://www.j-platpat.inpit.go.jp/c1800/PU/JP-S61-051893/FC7BD90B47AE8A95735A028C9B03860409B63703B49E7F7D8972A48DCDE299A6/23/en Frex Co., Ltd. patent for the toy that would become the Pow-R-Trons]</ref>. After being created in 1984, it seems these designs were shortly thereafter licensed by the Ertl Company in 1985 and sold as ''Pow-R-Trons'' in North America, the United Kingdom, and other parts of Europe... All before they were actually released in their home country of Japan. Ertl's use of the molds included the evil '''Distroid''' (grey/black truck) and '''Fy-Ton''' (black/grey car) versus the heroic '''Zoomer''' (red/black truck), '''Turboid''' (yellow/grey car), and '''"[[Agent Knight\|Knight Rider]]"''' (black/red car, based on the TV show and fully-licensed, possibly only available in the UK and mainland Europe).<ref>[https://www.the-liberator.net/site-files/robot-toys/pow-r-trons-powertrons-ertl.htm ''Pow-R-Trons by ERTL'' on the-liberator.net]</ref> The design company Frex notes the license agreement with Ertl on its webpage, and says the Pow-R-Trons sold a million units (although it misspells both).<ref>1984: ERTEL「POWERTRON」をライセンス契約。全世界100万個を超える販売実績のヒット商品となる。[http://www.frextoys.co.jp/company.html http://www.frextoys.co.jp/company.html]</ref>		Tracing the origins of the [[pre-Transformers]] molds that we now know as the Bat-Robôs is actually surprisingly complicated. For starters, we know that they were originally manufactured by the Asahi Corporation <ref>[https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/64/52/b2/7b40ee9726bcc8/GB2164263A.pdf Asahi patent for the toy that would become the Pow-R-Trons]</ref>, however; the designs were conceived by Masahiro Tao of [http://www.frextoys.co.jp/company.html Frex Co., Ltd.] <ref>[https://www.j-platpat.inpit.go.jp/c1800/PU/JP-S61-051893/FC7BD90B47AE8A95735A028C9B03860409B63703B49E7F7D8972A48DCDE299A6/23/en Frex Co., Ltd. patent for the toy that would become the Pow-R-Trons]</ref>. After being created in 1984, it seems these designs were shortly thereafter licensed by the Ertl Company in 1985 and sold as ''Pow-R-Trons'' in North America, the United Kingdom, and other parts of Europe... All before they were actually released in their home country of Japan. Ertl's use of the molds included the evil '''Distroid''' (grey/black truck) and '''Fy-Ton''' (black/grey car) versus the heroic '''Zoomer''' (red/black truck), '''Turboid''' (yellow/grey car), and '''"[[Agent Knight\|Knight Rider]]"''' (black/red car, based on the TV show and fully-licensed, possibly only available in the UK and mainland Europe).<ref>[https://www.the-liberator.net/site-files/robot-toys/pow-r-trons-powertrons-ertl.htm ''Pow-R-Trons by ERTL'' on the-liberator.net]</ref> The design company Frex notes the license agreement with Ertl on its webpage, and says the Pow-R-Trons sold a million units (although it misspells both).<ref>1984: ERTEL「POWERTRON」をライセンス契約。全世界100万個を超える販売実績のヒット商品となる。[http://www.frextoys.co.jp/company.html http://www.frextoys.co.jp/company.html]</ref>

	From there, the ''Pow-R-Trons'' were sold in 1985 <ref>[https://ameblo.jp/56780-05/entry-12553017556.html A Japanese blog post on ''Powertron''], from ameblo.jp</ref> by Fujisho, who marketed Ertl's unchanged toys, minus Knight Rider, as the '''Fairlady Z 300ZX''' and '''Dattora Turbo''' <ref>"Dattora" (ダットラターボ) is a Japanese slang contraction of "DATsun TRuck".</ref> in the short-lived ''Attack Change Machine Powertron'' (アタックチェンジマシーンパワートロン) toyline.<ref>[https://plaza.rakuten.co.jp/butto/diary/201502260000/ A review of the ''Powertron'' Fairlady 300ZX], from plaza.rakuten.co.jp</ref> So, in summary; as far as can it be discerned, it isn't the case that these molds simply come from a Japanese toyline as most other pre-Transformers toys do: Asahi seems to have made the physical toys for Ertl first, then had Fujisho put the Ertl stock they were already making into localized packaging for Japan. While a 1986 Tokyo Toy Show catalog has the ''Powertrons'' being offered by Asahi Tsusho itself in unique decos,<ref>{{citesocial\|quote="南米展開でトランスフォーマーとなった奴が朝日通商のパワートロンとして発売されてる！？コイツ等、南米でトランスフォーマーになったのいつ頃なんだろう！？" https://t.co/LsCZNe24nH\|link=https://twitter.com/kyano13neo/status/1110136306762317824\|name=kyano13neo\|site=Twitter\|year=2019\|month=03\|day=25\|(defunct=)}}</ref> all of the samples on the Japanese aftermarket retain Ertl's color schemes, stickers, and copyright stamps, again suggesting the toys weren't sold in Japan either before or after Asahi's collaboration with Ertl.		From there, the ''Pow-R-Trons'' were sold in 1985 <ref>[https://ameblo.jp/56780-05/entry-12553017556.html A Japanese blog post on ''Powertron''], from ameblo.jp</ref> by Fujisho, who marketed Ertl's unchanged toys, minus Knight Rider, as the '''Fairlady Z 300ZX''' and '''Dattora Turbo''' <ref>"Dattora" (ダットラターボ) is a Japanese slang contraction of "DATsun TRuck".</ref> in the short-lived ''Attack Change Machine Powertron'' (アタックチェンジマシーンパワートロン) toyline.<ref>[https://plaza.rakuten.co.jp/butto/diary/201502260000/ A review of the ''Powertron'' Fairlady 300ZX], from plaza.rakuten.co.jp</ref> So, in summary; as far as can it be discerned, it isn't the case that these molds simply come from a Japanese toyline as most other pre-Transformers toys do: Asahi seems to have made the physical toys for Ertl first, then had Fujisho put the Ertl stock they were already making into localized packaging for Japan. While a 1986 Tokyo Toy Show catalog has the ''Powertrons'' being offered by Asahi Tsusho itself in unique decos,<ref>{{citesocial\|quote="南米展開でトランスフォーマーとなった奴が朝日通商のパワートロンとして発売されてる！？コイツ等、南米でトランスフォーマーになったのいつ頃なんだろう！？" https://t.co/LsCZNe24nH\|link=https://twitter.com/kyano13neo/status/1110136306762317824\|name=kyano13neo\|site=Twitter\|year=2019\|month=03\|day=25\|(defunct=)}}</ref> all of the samples on the Japanese aftermarket retain Ertl's color schemes, stickers, and copyright stamps, again suggesting the toys weren't sold in Japan either before or after Asahi's collaboration with Ertl.
			{{-}}

	The molds would finally reach the Brazilian ''Transformers'' toyline as the Bat-Robôs sometime between 1985 and 1986 <ref>It is often presumed that the Bat-Robôs released alongside the second batch of Estrela Transformers toys in 1986 since they were only advertised alongside the ''Optimus x Malignus'' figures in 1986, however; given that they share the box graphic design with the 1985 wave instead, will err on the side of caution and assume it's not out of the question that they could have released a little bit later.</ref>, earning the names of '''[[Turbo (G1)\|Turbo]]''' and '''[[Pick-Up (Bat-Robô)\|Pick-Up]]''', and each featuring a pair of decos that were entirely new to these releases. You'd think that this would be the end of the story for these molds - most other pre-Transformers toys would remain exclusive to the ''Transformers'' brand after the fact - but no: the molds were also released by Glasslite in Brazil (with each figure getting one of its original ''Pow-R-Trons'' colors and another new color scheme) sometime in the 1980s as the ''Crash Tron'' '''Blocker''' and '''Turborg''' under the ''Mutante'' toyline, one of the country's localizations for the [[GoBots]]! It is still up in the air whether or not the ''Mutante'' toys were officially licensed by Bandai (more can be read about this conundrum on [[gbwiki:Knock-off#Mutante\|the GoBots wiki]]), but the fact that these were not just sold alongside their Estrela ''Transformers'' counterparts in the Brazilian market but were also part of a ''GoBots'' / ''Machine Robo'' derived line - easily the greatest Transformers competitor at the time - is pretty damn crazy.		<center><gallery>
			PowRTrons-Zoomer.jpg\|This deco be bussin fr no cap on god (''Pow-R-Trons'' Zoomer)
			Ertl-KnightRider.jpg\|A shadowy flight into the dangerous world of a toy who's too confusing to exist (''Pow-R-Trons'' Knight Rider)
			Powertron-FairladyZ.jpg\|I both am and am not the original Japanese version of this toy! Confused? So am I! (''Attack Change Machine Powertron'' Fairlady Z 300ZX)
			</gallery></center>

			The molds would finally reach the Brazilian ''Transformers'' toyline as the Bat-Robôs sometime between 1985 and 1986 <ref>It is often presumed that the Bat-Robôs released alongside the second batch of Estrela Transformers toys in 1986 since they were only advertised alongside the ''Optimus x Malignus'' figures in 1986, however; given that they share the box graphic design with the 1985 wave instead, will err on the side of caution and assume it's not out of the question that they could have released a little bit later.</ref>, earning the names '''[[Turbo (G1)\|Turbo]]''' and '''[[Pick-Up (Bat-Robô)\|Pick-Up]]''', and each featuring a pair of decos that were entirely new to these releases. You'd think that this would be the end of the story for these molds - most other pre-Transformers toys would remain exclusive to the ''Transformers'' brand after the fact - but no: the molds were also released by Glasslite in Brazil (with each figure getting one of its original ''Pow-R-Trons'' colors and another new color scheme) sometime in the 1980s as the ''Crash Tron'' '''Blocker''' and '''Turborg''' under the ''Mutante'' toyline, one of the country's localizations for the [[GoBots]]! It is still up in the air whether or not the ''Mutante'' toys were officially licensed by Bandai (more can be read about this conundrum on [[gbwiki:Knock-off#Mutante\|the GoBots wiki]]), but the fact that these were not just sold alongside their Estrela ''Transformers'' counterparts in the Brazilian market but were also part of a ''GoBots'' / ''Machine Robo'' derived line — easily the greatest Transformers competitor at the time — is pretty damn crazy... And it doesn't end there.

	~~To top it all off~~, the Korean ''[[Brave (franchise)\|Brave]]'' and ''Transformers'' licensee [[Sonokong]] would also release a pair of Korean-exclusive ''Brave'' toys under the ''Transforming Robocar'' (변신 로보카) name sometime during the 1990s, with one of these being a straight-up recolor of the Asahi 300ZX mold with added police lights and the other being a slight retool that changes up the design of the alt mode into a generic 90s sports coupe, also featuring police lights. Both of them feature the addition of battery-operated components, with the police lights being functional and a siren sound playing when they're turned on. It is unknown whether these were directly licensed from Asahi or just blatant rip-offs, ~~but in either case, they~~'~~re the cherry on top of the cake for how utterly chaotic the story of these molds is~~.		These molds would continue getting reused into the following decade, as the Korean ''[[Brave (franchise)\|Brave]]'' and ''Transformers'' licensee [[Sonokong]] would also release a pair of Korean-exclusive ''Brave'' toys under the ''Transforming Robocar'' (변신 로보카) name sometime during the 1990s, with one of these being a straight-up recolor of the Asahi 300ZX mold with added police lights and the other being a slight retool that changes up the design of the alt mode into a generic 90s sports coupe, also featuring police lights. Both of them feature the addition of battery-operated components, with the police lights being functional and a siren sound playing when they're turned on. It is unknown whether these were directly licensed from Asahi or just blatant rip-offs, although the former seems more likely given Sonokong's reputability as a company.

			Finally, enter the early 2000s and Glasslite once again rolls out their red version of Pick-Up and yellow version of Turbo (the two colors taken from their Ertl equivalents), now selling them in Brazil under the name of "Crashmon"... As part of none other than a regionalized [[wikipedia:Digimon\|Digimon]] toyline <ref>[https://x.com/joagan/status/1603532315715686400 Glasslite commercial featuring the ''Digimon'' Chashmon figures]</ref>. What transforming vehicles has anything to do with a monster-collecting franchise is beyond anyone's guess, but nonetheless, these releases are the cherry on top of the cake for how utterly chaotic the story of these molds is.

			So, to summarize: these same molds were, at various points, ''Transformers'', ''Knight Rider'', ''GoBots'', ''Brave'', and ''Digimon'' toys. And you thought Hasbro [[repurposing\|repurposed]] characters too often!

	<center><gallery>		<center><gallery>
	~~PowRTrons-Zoomer.jpg\|This deco be bussin fr no cap on god (''Pow-R-Trons'' Zoomer)~~
	~~Ertl-KnightRider.jpg\|A shadowy flight into the dangerous world of a toy who's too confusing to exist (''Pow-R-Trons'' Knight Rider)~~
	~~Powertron-FairladyZ.jpg\|I both am and am not the original Japanese version of this toy! Confused? So am I! (''Attack Change Machine Powertron'' Fairlady Z 300ZX)~~
	Estrela-BatRobô-Caixa.jpg\|Hey, my existence is the reason why someone spent hours editing this page! (''Transformers'' Bat-Robô)		Estrela-BatRobô-Caixa.jpg\|Hey, my existence is the reason why someone spent hours editing this page! (''Transformers'' Bat-Robô)
	Glasslite-Mutante-Turborg.jpg\| An affront to the natural order of things (''Mutante'' Turborg)		Glasslite-Mutante-Turborg.jpg\| An affront to the natural order of things (''Mutante'' Turborg)