Robo Force, Star Wars, Roadbots, and Starriors at Osco in 1984

December 2, 1984. This Osco Drug newspaper ad from the Decatur, IL, Herald and Review acts as a toy industry bridge of the age, sharing Kenner’s Star Wars action figures on sale as the robot toys of the eighties take the top spots. Surprisingly, it’s not the Transformers or GoBots that dominate this ad — both are nowhere in sight — but instead the non-transforming Robo Force and Starriors lines steal the spotlight.

As a bonus, Marchon’s Roadbots appear in the ad, but only as an image. The ad mistakenly identifies the Roadbot Cementorr as one of the Select Convertors toys. Nope, Osco, that’s definitely one of Marchon’s cheap transforming robot toys and not a Convertor.