Review – Moto-Bot F-15 Jet Fighter

“Moto-Bot vehicle/robot units are here! Disguised as everyday vehicles each Moto-Bot becomes a robot at your command! Every Moto-Bot is powered by a pull-back motor for action-packed excitement.”
— from the front of the card

When I posted the Moto-Bot Dump Truck review (review here) I thought for sure that few people would have any interest in the toy. Well, I was very wrong and more than a few of you responded with your own comments . . . which, of course, is the only way I know which reviews are enjoyed.

So let’s look at another toy from 1984, the Moto-Bot F-15 Jet Fighter transforming robot toy. It’s no better designed than Dump Truck, but it’s just as much fun.

A Boxy Jet

A common problem with a lot of transforming robot jets of the eighties, F-15 Jet Fighter is a bit too boxy to actually be a sleek, aerodynamic fighter jet. It’s only a problem when the plane is viewed from the side or front; looking at it from above (see photo, below) the toy looks pretty good. (Especially considering its status as a low-quality Transformers-like toy from 1984.) It’s not a terrible look, but the design is thick enough that the box-like nature is immediately noticed when you pickup the toy.

In jet mode the toy is about four-inches long with a four-inch wingspan; it’s actually a decent size piece, roughly the same size as one of the small Aerialbot toys from 1985/1986. Overall the jet mode looks pretty good. And the toy even feels good, with a diecast metal torso and plastic arms, legs, wings, and nosecone.

Removable Wings

To transform the toy you’ve got to snap the wings off and reposition them onto the toy’s swing-out arms. The photo below shows one of the wings removed and clearly shows the connection points on what will become the robot’s legs and arms. (See the large version of the photo for a closer look.) It’s a simple step in the transformation process but it does mean that these two parts can be easily lost and — even worse — there are multiple points on the toy that can be easily broken. While exchanging the wings the plastic connectors felt a little brittle; I’m afraid that snapping the wings off and on too many times will snap one of these pieces.

Robot Mode

As ugly as Dump Truck looks in robot mode (review here), F-15 Jet Fighter is even more hideous. The face, revealed when the nosecone is folded back, is simplistic and terrible but it’s not too bad compared to the ridiculously long “neck” and poorly-designed arms.

Paint? Sculpt? Speak Not of Such Things!

Look, I’m not gonna say that there wasn’t any paint or sculpting used in creating this toy. It’s just that the paint is limited to the eyes (everything else on the toy is cast plastic/metal or a decal) and the sculpt — as you can see in the pictures — focused first on jet mode and then some robot-like elements were tacked on. And tacked on poorly at that. As a jet it’s okay (if too boxy) but as a robot it’s so ugly that only someone old enough to have played with this back in the eighties can enjoy it.

Closing Thoughts

It’s amazing how far transforming robot toys have progressed in the last 25 to 30 years. Today we can get robots smaller than this with more complex transformations — and that look much better — but there’s something about this ugly robot that makes it fun. I suspect that’s nostalgia talking again and anyone who didn’t grow up with these cheap toys will look at this and deem it pure trash.

Which it is. It just happens to be trash that I love.

Philip Reed has more packaged Moto-Bots and Convertors toys, but he’s gonna pace himself. No need to burn through all of these memories of childhood too fast. And there’s no reason to make those of you who are shaking your heads in disgust have to see too many of these toys too quickly.