Transformers clobbered them on initial release, but Robo Force is making a comeback, courtesy of the Nacelle Company.

 

October 1, 2021 — The producers of A Toy Store Near You have something of their own to stock the shelves. The Nacelle Company, which brought us Netflix’s The Movies That Made Us and The Toys That Made Us, and Down To Earth with Zac Efron, recently acquired the 1980s franchise, Robo Force. The company will reintroduce the characters through a television series, collection of books, and other lifestyle products.

We can now reveal the first look of the character redesign of their main antagonist, Hun-Dred, pictured above. You can check out a trailer for the figure below:

“Some of the most creative collectibles and iconic action figures in history have been based on antagonists, so naturally we thought Hun-Dred would be the perfect character to reveal as our first-ever Nacelle toy product,” Nacelle Company founder and CEO Brian Volk-Weiss said in a statement.

Nacelle partnered with award-winning artist and toy designer David Vonner to bring their version of the Robo Force characters to life. Vonner has worked for some of the most notable toy companies in the world, including Hasbro, Mattel, and ToyBiz. He bridged the gap between ToyBiz and Hasbro’s Marvel lines, overseeing Hasbro’s Marvel Design Team through the licensing and development of Marvel toys and action figures based on movies, cartoons, and comic books.

“Arch-enemy of the Robo Force and the leader of the evil robot empire, HUN-DRED has laser guns, crushers for hands, and a killer instinct,” the toy’s cardback reads. “Hun-Dred is a crude, cruel robot warrior-for-hire. He has but one sense: the ability to sense fear. Destruction is the fate of anyone – or anything – that stands in his way. He does it with a powerful personal arsenal – pop-up laser weapons are concealed beneath his snap-out weapon hood, and he is an expert in the use of his twin hand-held attack weapons.”

With serious consideration for Robo Force’s history, Nacelle produced a character design that “pays homage to the original Robo Force line while also being aggressive with the new, modern aesthetics meant to attract a younger core audience.”

Transformable robot toys dominated the toy aisles during the 1980s. Ideal Toy Company capitalized on the craze by introducing Robo Force, and collaborated with CBS in 1984 to release an animated show, and partnered with companies like Buena Vista Records (Disney), Random House, Topps, and Hallmark for one of the toy industry’s biggest launches. But the cartoon and line were aborted after the toys flopped in competition to the highly-detailed Transformers robots that dominated the market. Since then, Robo Force figures have been in high demand by vintage toy collectors.

But the planned revival “proves that nostalgic public interest in the franchise is higher than it’s ever been and this is the perfect time to reintroduce Robo Force to a new generation of fans and toy collectors,” Nacelle says.

The company recently acquired the franchises, Power Lords and The Great Garloo, and is working with Super7 to revive the iconic animated series SilverHawks.

Nacelle has not yet set a release date for the Robo Force toys.