While I'm body-deep in shipping....

Check out the Hun-Dred Trooper you can build from the Vanguard kit.
Hun-Dred is always trying to build out his army. You can decide what colors you want those mindless automatons to be by building them with your favorite kits!

Massive shipment going to the post office now. Look for more shipping notices later today.

Armor up!

During a raid on Celestia, Maxx Zero is horrified to find that Battlestar has destroyed hundreds of Zetonians and reforged them into his city Guardians.

While practicing Force Sync* with Vanguard, Maxx discovers a strange quirk in this reprocessed Zetonian matter - the dense Zetonian metal emblazoned with the logo of the long-forgotten STAR TEAM which each Guardian carries on his back calls to him. Maxx touches one of the Guardians, and it falls to pieces. The metal containing the symbol attaches to Maxx's chest, shifting pieces of his form to match the color of the metal.

With this newfound armor, Maxx truly is the invincible warrior of legend - but there is a catch. The armor of the Star Team, working through whatever had been infused into the original metal, burns out in seventy seconds. Using this new knowledge, Maxx gains another advantage in his quest to take Zeton back from Nazgar and Hun-Dred.


*Force Sync is a state of higher robotic consciousness achievable by Maxx Zero with any other member of the Robo Force, on a one-to-one basis, that allows him to tap into their higher functions from a remote distance. It's not easy to do and is rarely achieved.

Vanguard

Ahh, Vanguard....you are so difficult to depict in all of your orange glory.

Months back, when I was talking over the idea of new Robo Force characters with Matt, it was something I had a lot of concern about. I don't want to get to G1 Transformers-levels of head reuse - Prowl/Smokescreen/Silverstreak/Diaclone cars and so on. The heads are fairly unique on the original characters.

But the fact is, when it comes to Robo Force, the circumstances are a little different.
A number of the robots were intended, in-story, to be mass produced. Not S.O.T.A. or Sentinel, but Wrecker? Blazer? I see them as named representatives of massive groups of robots known as Demolisher Class (or in Blazer's case, Extinguisher Class). There could be hundreds of other construction robots out there having lives, we've just never met them. So I had a vague idea one day about "Sentinel's brother" and how a character like that could have an impact on the ongoing storyline. After all, what would a robot consider "his brother"? Created at the same time? It gives me a hook to explore in the ongoing storyline.

At the same time, I was talking to my buddy Peaugh on twitter and he said his favorite color was orange. Looking over the Robo Force figures, including the unreleased second series, orange wasn't a color they really went near. So the die was cast....

The name was a difficult thing to nail down.The brilliance (or stupidity, as some have noted in the past) of Ideal's naming conventions on Robo Force was the simplicity. Wrecker - the name is very generic. Copter, Blazer, and so on - but it takes some real luck to coin unique names like "Optimus Prime" which last. Really, what is the difference between Cy-Kill and Optimus Prime? Would we look at a Gobot with that second name and say he was the coolest thing ever? Something to think about.
You also have the Robo Force being a follow-up line to the Zeroids, where every character name started with a Z. So taken as one continuity, perhaps the names were meant to hide something about the race of Zetonian robots - to disassociate them with the Zeroids for some reason. The names of these new characters needed to have a primal simplicity about them - and keep in the traditions of what Ideal could have named them in the vintage days.

Luckily, the final inspiration was provided by the beloved "last arcade on Earth", Funspot.
During a trip earlier this year, I was looking over the museum of my favorite shooting games from...well, forever! And it jumped out at me - the classic VANGUARD, more commonly known from the fantastic Atari adaptions. The feel was right - that was a name that Ideal would have used.

That's a slice of the real-world origins behind Vanguard. Check back later tonight for the updated drawing that reveals his "secret origin" and why he wears the symbol of Glyaxia!

Ooh, fun post-script - I was at the recent Too Many Games convention and found this....

Serendipity!

ESCAPE FROM BLOCK BASE

Force Enlistment Information! And Mordle details!

The time is once again here for a new heaping helping of Robo Force and Mordles goodness!
This release will occur TODAY, July 18th, at 9 pm EST.
It's been long in the works - and they are here!

 ROBO FORCE

 

 ROBO FORCE'S BATTLESTAR the Guardian - $16.50
New Character! He guards Nazgar and Hun-Dred from the Robo Force! What are his secrets?
Standard forty-one piece fully Glyos-compatible Robo Force kit, with which you can also build the existing Robo Force characters. Includes an all-new chest tampo!
Limit five per customer.

MAXX ZERO in GLYAXIA Disguise - $20
Maxx has to infiltrate Glyaxia to rescue ZEM!

Premium fifty-three piece fully Glyos-compatible Robo Force kit!

Includes one full Robo Force kit in yellow, with an extra set of blue arm parts to upgrade your Maxx Zero, as well as to build the terrifying Protector-Class Glyaxia Drones and Elite Drones!

Limit five per order.

ROBO FORCE'S VANGUARD the Warrior - $30 - DELUXE FIGURE (DX-02)
New Character! Incredible warrior with triple-power!

Following up on the previous Deluxe kit, Wrecker, this is - Vanguard!

Vanguard includes a premium-level fifty-three piece allotment of parts (allowing for a range of customization to his look based on your preferences), and more than twenty brand-new paint applications!

In-story, he can combine with Maxx Zero to form Dreadnought Maxx Zero for even more power!

Limit three per order.

MORDLES

With the threats to the Mordle populace at an all-time high, COMMANDER ZOGG begins a program to protect the Mordles of the Great Jungle from harm.
His first warrior is the ELECTROGEIST DESTROYER MORDLE!
With immunity from the electrical death touch of the Electra-Geists, he consumes these smaller Mordles with fervor.

 

EGD BIG MORDLE - $15
Electra-Geists (sold as a ten pack only) - $10

The Ardaan's Mist Mordles are a special branch of the Mordle defense network - nearly invisible, they can strike at their enemies without being seen!

Ardaan's Mist Mordles (sold as a ten pack only) - $10

And finally, meet MKK! The first of the Hunter Mordles, he searches for an elusive legend near the polar caps of planet Uzalek...

MKK Mordle - $1

And that's it! Hope to see you tonight for the sale!
More pics of Vanguard and other builds throughout the day.

Unexpected