Star Brigade Armor Bot

The Armor Bot was one of the largest vehicles to come out in 1993 it was certainly the biggest vehicle in the Star Brigade line. It carries two drivers in the head section and six figures on the foot platforms. The canopy opens to remove figures in the head, the three laser cannons on the head rotate, the head also rotates at the neck joint. The chin laser is very fragile on my Armor Bot but it can elevate. The chin laser features electric light and sound which connects to the lower torso and activates when pressing the two buttons. Both arms rotate at the shoulder, the right arm features spring action rocket gatling gun and the left arm rotates at the hand and features a spring action gripper claw. The legs are connected at the feet however the legs move at the hip and the waist turns using the hand grip on the back of the Armor Bot. The feet include four rolling wheels and missile storage for up to four missiles. There is additional storage for the missiles in the chest area. I believe twelve missiles were included in my Armor Bot but more may have been included. There are several variations of the color of the Armor Bot but neither is worth more then the other. While this was designed to battle Cobra in space as was featured in the Marvel Comic and commercials I always used mine to fight Cobra right here on Earth as it was too big and bulky to take into space. The Armor Bot was never featured on any cartoon. In my Universe the Armor Bot and Power Fighters were mothballed in the early 90s but were later brought out of storage to help develop the new Mech technology during the 2000s.













General Hawk
G.I. Joe Armor-Tech Commander

Included with the Armor Bot is the G.I. Joe General and Star Brigade Commander Hawk. Hawk has been with the team since its inception. He was promoted from Col. to General in 1986 and to Star Brigade Commander in 1993. Hawk is an Armor-Tech figure which are Joe's and Cobra in bulkier armored space suits with limited articulation. I'll go into more detail of Armor-Tech in a later review. Hawk includes space helmet, pink laser cannon and very limited articulation. The weapon was also included in black for those who don't like the 90s neon colors. I tend to use Armor-Tech Hawk battle suit as a prototype combat suit used on the battlefield. The armor is gold plated and deflects laser blasts and keeps the general comfortable in harsh conditions. The suit and helmet are used as a type of neural link to the Armor Bot and allow Hawk and the Armor Bot to move more fluidly in battle. While the Star Brigade technology was never used in space combat it was tested on Earth by G.I. Joe and stolen by Cobra. It was intended to be used in space missions eventually however the technology was scraped do to production costs and inflation during the mid 90s.

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I like every kind of G.I.JOEs, but 1993/94 were really bad times for our heroes i.m.o.!

for its time, it was pretty cool. of course now in regards to other human-piloted robots, it pales in comparison. i do wish it had more paint to highlight all those little details like the circuits, wires, etc. a little paint can fix that. i always thought that this armor bot could walk by itself and i was disappointed to find out that i was wrong. still, i do like that it has wheels but my question is, "what kind of wheels are they? rubber? plastic? small or big wheels?" i like that this robot can store a lot of missiles especially on the chest which make it seem more imposing and powerful. i love that it shares the same missiles as the gi joe battlewagon. i think it's cool that the feet can also hold missiles. however, i think it is silly and downright dumb for anyone to 'ride' on the robot's legs while the robot is in movement. no thanks. i would stay away from this massive armor bot's feet. i don't wanna be pancaked. general hawk looks cool but i sure wish he had the traditional gi joe o-ring. i also am not a fan of his out of proportion body especially his tiny head. it's nice though that the helmet is removable. finally, i'm sorry but i do not like that PINK gun. pink doesn't even belong in this toy. i got nothing against pink. it's just that the pink gun is so out of place in my opinion. great review. thanks. i want to get this armor bot eventually.

There were a few gems during 1993-94 but they are few and far between.

They are small plastic wheels.

Maybe the platform pegs were not for Joe's to ride into battle. I see them used by Joe technicians repairing the damage during maintence or by the Cobra BAATs trying to pound uselessly on the robots feet before they are completely crushed underfoot.

I still remember my parents getting me the Armor-bot when I was a kid. I loved it. I still have it, althought it gets virtually no use. Unfortunately the lever mechanism used to rotate the cannon barrel to fire the missiles broke on mine internally, I was pretty bummed when that happened. As it's sealed shut, there's no real easy way to open it up and repair it (if anyone has a spare right arm in working condition that they're willing to sell, PM me!). The sculpted detail on this vehicle is actually quite impressive up close, A master custom paint job would really make the Armor-bot shine.

I always wanted that mech, it was like Star Wars merged with GI Joe

Be extra careful when purchasing the armor bot. They are extremely fragile. Your Best bet is to buy one mint in box but don't spend too much. Reason is my armor bot was loose and complete but arrived in the mail with a broken chin mount and right arm. :mad:

Cobra Blackstar
Elite Space Pilot

Cobra Blackstar were released in 1994 while they were suppose to be a troop builder this particular file card indicates a single individual one of the best pilots out of the Blackstar ranks. While I never cared much for the space theme of the line I usually included Blackstar as the pilot of the 1992 Cobra Liquidador fighter. Since neither Liquidator or Storm Eagle included pilots. Blackstar includes a Blackstar Blaster, battle stand, missile launcher, backback rack and two missiles. The backpack launcher could be elevated over the head and fired then retracted back down for storage. One of the more interesting launchers of the 1990s.

Robo-Joe
Jet-Tech Operations Expert

I mentioned briefly in the Armor Bot review about Armor Tech figures. Armor Tech was a sub line of figures from 1993 bigger and blockier then typical Joe's, they also had less articulation. Robo-Joe was a research scientist building the Armor Tech robotic suits for space. Destro attacked the lab stealing the plans and torching the lab crippling its inventor. The GI Joe team found it's inventor and tried to save as much as they could with the Armor Tech technology. Thus Robo-Joe was born. Robo-Joe includes a shoulder mounted missile launcher, two missiles, battle stand, helmet and several weapons all attached to those pesky weapon tree.






Even Robo-Joe fits comfortably inside the Armor Bot along side Hawk.