DX9 Toys Gives Machine Robo 600 Series MR-01 Bike Robo (a.k.a. Cy-Kill) the Deluxe Treatment




I haven't kept up with the hobby of Transformers toy collecting, but I have heard recently that many unlicensed third party toy companies outside of Hasbro have been producing and selling their own transforming robot toys. According to Wikipedia, a third party Transformer toys "can be completely original designs, new molds based on existing characters, add-on sets for existing Transformers toys. ... Growth of the third party Transformer industry is largely due to rejuvenated interest in Transformers following release of the Classic line in 2006 and the 2007 Transformers film release. It was targeted at filling the gaps Hasbro's toys demanded by the collectors."

One of the toy companies that has hopped on to the third party Transformers bandwagon is DX9 Toys, and its line of third party Transformers line expanded last summer to include a figure from another transforming toy robot line from Japan: Machine Robo. Thus, Machine Robo fans finally got a deluxe figure based on one of that line's earliest figures, the 600 Series MR-01 Bike Robo (a.k.a. Cy-Kill, the name that was given to the figure when it was sold in the U.S. under Tonka's GoBots line).




Considering its origins as a small and simple die-cast metal toy, DX9 did an impressive job at breathing new life into the original design. Even though it retains the basic shape and coloring of the Bike Robo toy, the DX9 Salmoore features intricate details, more joints for a much greater range of motion, and a vehicle mode that resembles an actual motorcycle. Its guns even become chrome-plated mufflers for the motorcycle.



Above and below: Size comparisons of the original Machine Robo MR-01 toys and 
DX9's Salmoore figure (pictures courtesy of Collection DX).



As with most transforming robot toys that are aimed at the collector's market, the price tag for the DX9 Salmoore comes in at a high cost of $110. Nevertheless, it's a treat for Machine Robo aficionados and a complementary piece for the deluxe figure of MR-03 Jet Robo (a.k.a. GoBots' Fitor) after it was redesigned for the Machine Robo: Revenge of Cronos anime series.


The deluxe MR-03 Jet Robo figure.



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