DE 
EN 
Series: Robo Force
Year: 2024
Maxx was destined to be the latest and greatest in law enforcement (he was literally built to do it!), but on the day before his first patrol, the UTOPIA101 line was revealed to the world. Maxx was quietly reassigned to the traffic beat. Despite his best efforts to conform, Maxx' passion for crime fighting, along with a growing distrust of the UTOPIA line, lead Maxx down a path into other, unauthorized lines of police work. This would create problems. A LOT of problems.
Prelude: If you were a kid in the 1980s, you were exposed to a deluge of different toy lines. Some, like Transformers, withstood the test of time and remained active into the present. Others, like the 1984 Robo Force line, disappeared for decades before being resurrected as part of the ongoing nostalgia craze. Now Nacelle is bringing out new toys for this near-forgotten robot franchise, so we’re going to check it out right now. Let’s say go, Robo Force!
Robot Mode: Maxx 89 is a pretty big robotic figure, roughly the size of a current-day Leader Class figure or an old school Ultra, I’d say. He is partially made from metal, so he feels pretty heavy and solid. Look wise he has a very old school robot look, with sculpted tubes, pistons, and a general boxy look. The head could hail from a Star Wars droid and he wouldn’t look out of place starring in some 1960s science fiction B-picture, either. His main color is white, but with a dirty, washed out look to it, that makes him seem old and used, rather than brand-new off the assembly line. Very nicely done.
Maxx is pretty well-articulated and can be put into any number of poses, but here is where we run into the figure’s first limitation. The original Robo Force figures did not have legs, but rather a single suction cup as a base (think Daleks, just with arms). Nacelle clearly wanted to pay homage to that, so instead of feet, Maxx has suction cups. On smooth surfaces those work just fine and Maxx can be put into all sorts of cool poses while maintaining his balance, but don’t try to do the same on rough surfaces. Putting him into a balanced stance if those suction cup feet can’t find a proper grip is pretty difficult, especially given his weight.
Maxx comes with several accessories. His right hand can be switched out for one featuring a claw. He has a big blaster pistol he can hold in either hand. And finally he has three extra weapons on tentacles, which he can affix to various points on his back. While this is a nice concept in general, the execution is a bit lacking. For one, there are three weapons and only three holes you can peg them into. A few more peg holes to offer a bit more variation wouldn’t have been that difficult, would it? Also, all three “tentacles” are sculpted as one piece, thus they are completely immobile. No way to point them at something or rearrange the configuration any. This gimmick had the potential to be far more interesting than it turned out to be, I think.
So final verdict on this figure: Maxx is a nice, old school looking robot with great looks and detailing. A bit more effort could have gone into giving him actual play features, though. And maybe better feet, too.
Remarks: The original Robo Force toys were released by the Ideal Toy Company in 1984 and featured robot figures with a suction cup base and arms with a “crusher” gimmick. Each figure also had an additional gimmick such as extendable guns. The original line included ten figures, two vehicles, and a playset. More figures were planned and even made it to the toy catalogue stage, but the line was cancelled before they could be released. I had two figures and one vehicle as a kid, having bought them during a trip to the US, as they were (to the best of my knowledge) never released in Germany.
In 2021 the Nacelle company acquired the rights to Robo Force, as well as some other near-forgotten toylines such as Sectaurs and Biker Mice from Mars, intending to build a shared universe with them. A Robo Force cartoon series is scheduled for an April 2025 release on Tubi and Oni Press has already released several comics set in this universe.
So far Nacelle has only released two Robo Force figures and at this stage it’s uncertain whether there’ll be more than that. It will probably depend on the success of the upcoming cartoon. Maxx 89 (originally called Maxx Steele in 1984) is a nice action figure, but with several drawbacks as mentioned above. His original retail price here in Europe was around 70 Euros and I have to say, he is not worth that much. I got him on clearance at Actionfiguren24.de for 20 Euros and for that price he is fully okay. So in closing, I can recommend Maxx to fans of old school 80s toy lines and people who actually remember the original line, but only if you can get him at a reduced price.
Rating: B-
Picture Gallery:
