Splash Robo

Venerable old skool toy manufacturer Remco made a few clumsy stabs at relevance in the eighties with obscurities like Mantech and the Zybots. Zybots were cheap, unambitious mediocrities, similar to basic Gobots in size but inferior in execution. I happen to like them, but they are strictly for completists. Splash Robo is a strange outlier in the line, a more ambitious, deluxe-style piece. Clearly, ahem, inspired by Shockwave (and in this way a near cousin to the Gobots Convertible Laser Gun), Splash Robo also, bafflingly, happens to squirt water.

Which, in a way, really excites me. In addition to being an obsessive collector of the obscure, I consider myself something of a transforming squirt-gun aficionado (my wife, as you can imagine, is immensely proud). Splash Bot is an appealing oddity among this cohort of candy-colored toddler-style toys. So I dig it, is what I’m saying. Let’s look closer.

The gun mode is a simplified version of Shockwave, minus the barrel sheath (though, to be clear, the sculpt is entirely unique). I love the dual squirting barrels, fed via clear rubber tubing (still in great shape).

The clear suspended reservoir is also a nice touch.

Transformation, again, is similar to Shockwave.

Robot mode is a little odd, but not too bad. Still loving that clear bubble and hoses. The sculpt is reasonably detailed, and the blue paint apps really pop. The head’s a little too abstract for my tastes. The hands are clenched at an awkward angle. The whole thing tends to list a little. The build quality is very drugstore. Respectable, kinda, but just.

It goes without saying that articulation is meager. Arms move sorta. But the damned thing has presence.

A lovely, funky piece, engineered for my tastes (and hopefully, but probably not, yours).