Go Bots

Go Bots Tonka 80's Toys

Go Bots were produced by Tonka from 1983 to 1987 and started out as a Japanese figures by a company called Popy.  In Japan, the robots were controlled by humans, but Tonka, in an effort to compete with the Transformers, made them sentient machines.  They transformed into ships, vehicles, etc. just like the Transformers, and by 1991, after Hasbro purchased Tonka, the Go-Bots and their animated TV series was folded into the Transformers story line.

The Go Bots were split into two factions.  The good guys were the Guardians, and the bad guys were the Renegades.  Guardians included characters like Leader-1, Zeemon, Small Foot, Night Ranger, and Heat Seeker.  The Renegades had names like Cy-Kill, Crasher, Tank, Loco, Bad Boy, and Sky Jack.  Not only could you buy both factions of the Go Bots action figures, but also play sets like the Guardian Command Center, Renegade Thruster, and motorized Renegade Zod.