Robot Anti-Terror Squad
Encyclopedia
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
and vehicle
Vehicle
A vehicle is a device that is designed or used to transport people or cargo. Most often vehicles are manufactured, such as bicycles, cars, motorcycles, trains, ships, boats, and aircraft....
toy-line created by Tomy
TOMY
is a Japanese toy, children's merchandise and entertainment company created from the March 2006 merger of two companies: Tomy and long-time rival, Takara...
and released in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
in the early 1980s. The toyline consisted primarily of recolored robots and vehicles from Starriors
Starriors
Starriors was a robot toyline created by Tomy in association with Marvel Comics in 1984. They were based on Zoids, but had a new storyline that U.S. Zoids had not had at all...
, an American toyline also created by Tomy, but also featured additional vehicles not seen in the Starriors line. The primary gimmick of each toy was some example of wind-up
Wind-up
Wind-up or windup may refer to:* a verb for terminating the existence of a company or other entity with a view to its liquidation and dissolution* pain wind-up, central sensitization caused by repeated stimulation of C nociceptors...
automation, such as a rotating weapon or tool, or an electronic
Electronics
Electronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...
automation, such as firing discs or locomotion
Locomotion
The term locomotion means movement or travel. It may refer to:* Motion * Animal locomotion** Terrestrial locomotion* TravelLocomotion may refer to specific types of motion:* Gait analysis* walking* running, including trotting...
.
The only backstory for the toys was that which was provided on the packaging itself (in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
):
From the depths of space came the enemy battle squadron...hostile hordes of alien robots.
Earth was the prize they fought for and Earth was their battleground.
But they were not prepared for Earth's last line of defence...
An army created to crush and destroy any invader.
They're the ultimate weapon — the last line of defence of Planet Earth.
They're fierce. They're mean. They'll take on anybody ...anything! They're R.A.T.S.! The Robot Anti-Terror Squad.
The Toys
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
and Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, though some were later produced in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. While only one wave of toys was publicized via the back of each toy's box or card, at least two releases exist that were not depicted in the initial wave, both of which were recolored Starriors toys. Due to the later manufacturer's reference numbers on their packaging, they may have been part of an unpublicized second (or supplementary) wave. There is at least one more possible release, a blue redeco
Redeco
A redeco is a re-released version of an existing toy with a color scheme that is significantly different from the original release. Redecos normally include changes to the toy's paint application scheme, as opposed to a more straightforward repaint, which only alters the colors, not the ways in...
of another Starriors figure, Bolar. This figure was pictured on the box of the rarely-seen Combat Command Centre (along with both Squad Reinforcement Personnel figures), but a physical sample has yet to surface.
| Toy Name | Starriors equivalent | Reference Number | Country of Manufacture |
|---|---|---|---|
| GRAPPLOR | none | 5305 | Singapore |
| STARSHOOTER | none | 5306 | Thailand |
| TWIN-HORN | Twinhorn | 5314 | Thailand |
| FIRE-EATER | none | 5314 | Thailand |
| STRIKER | none | 5315 | Thailand |
| T-BIRD | Windstorm | 5315 | Thailand |
| BLADE | Slice | 5316 | Singapore |
| PROTECTRON | Ripsaw | 5316 | Singapore |
| FLASHFIST | Flashfist | 5316 | Singapore |
| DEVASTATOR | Twinblade | 5316 | Singapore |
| COMBAT COMMAND CENTRE | none | 5318 | Singapore |
| SPIT-FIRE & SPY-BIRD | Deadeye & Cricket | 5319 | Singapore |
| "SQUAD REINFORCEMENT PERSONNEL" | Gouge | 5320 | France |
| "SQUAD REINFORCEMENT PERSONNEL" | Hotshot | 5320 | France |
A related, even more obscure toyline is known to exist, also called R.A.T.S., this time standing for Robot Anti-Transformation Squad. This series was also produced by Tomy, but so far little is known about its countries of manufacture or distribution
Distribution (business)
Product distribution is one of the four elements of the marketing mix. An organization or set of organizations involved in the process of making a product or service available for use or consumption by a consumer or business user.The other three parts of the marketing mix are product, pricing,...
. Two toys are so far confirmed to have been released: a redeco of the first R.A.T.S. Grapplor, and Badfoot, a battery-powered, bipedal walking robot.
External links
- R.A.T.S. gallery at botchthecrab.com's picture archive
- R.A.T.S. (Robot Anti-Transformation Squad) Badfoot in action on YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....