Figure Heights
Due to the amount of information already on each page, the MC-Toy model heights are shown here in one place. As loose figure images are added and the line pages split up, heights will be moved back to those pages.
All heights are with the toy reclining back on its motor wheels not held vertically.
All-Terrain Trekker (6 wheelers) - 11.25 cm
ATV Trike - 9 cm
Dump Truck - 9.5 cm
Hovercraft - 10.5 cm
Jeep - 8 cm
Jet - 11 cm
Pick Up - 8.75 cm
Pick Up Camper - 8.75 cm
Train - 9.5 cm
Container Truck - 12.5
Crane Truck -12.5 / 19.5 cm with boom
Fire Truck - 12.5 / 18.5 cm with boom
Tanker Truck -12.5
History: The story so far...
While the original designer is unclear, they were first distributed by MC Toy with manufacture taking place in China. Hong Kong based MC Toy was established in 1967 as 'May Cheong Toy Company' by brothers P.Y. Ngan and Y.C Ngan.
During the 1980s MC Toy worked under contract with USA based Intex Recreation Corp. to distribute various lines including their new tranforming robot toys. Intex included both the Intex and their 'Zee Toys' brand logos on blister cards with the latter an indication it was an imported item. The toys themselves still carry the MC Toy branding on the figure and no reference to Intex or Zee Toys.
After the dissolution of that relationship MC Toy began promotion of their new Maisto branding out of Fontana, California USA.
While the exact nature of global distribution is unclear, controlling company MCG (May Cheong Group) distributed their products under a myriad of different names in even more countries. There's also strong evidence they licensed these models to local and global distributors.
Interestingly, while Moto-Bot is the most well known name for these toys, MC TOY never distributed a Moto-Bot titled line under MC Toy branding. They did however distribute the Mega-Motobot line as MC Toy.
Release Time Line
1983/1984 - MC Toy develops the Dynabot and Motorized Robot lines and releases them to the United States and Canada via select retail outlets; Canadian distribution handled by Grand Toys.
1984 - MC Toy enter an agreement with Intex/Zee Toys who repackage the same toys as Moto-Bot and also release them in the United States; likely only to select stores such as Kaybee and Toy Liquidators. MC Toy continues to distribute Motorized Robot and likely other lines of the same figures to smaller distributors. The Intex/Zee Toy figures retain the Dyna Drive motor stickers.
1983-1989? - Straco secures distribution rights and release the Truck-Robots and Loco Robot lines; the latter seemingly limited to the one, steam train model.
1984-1989? - The Mega Moto-Bot and Mega Moto-Bot Light and Sound see the addition of the articulated vehicles and six wheel ATV models. The Dynabot and Truck-Robots lines appear to then be discontinued in the United States while Dynabot continued to be distributed in other countries.
Mid-80s Simba Releases the Robo-Toys line in West Germany and likely to other local European countries. This sees the brunt of new line additions such as Mutators, Moto-Botz, Play Bots and Truck + Roboter.
Numerous other country's retailers outside the United States coordinate distribution with MC Toy to retail locally.
1990 MC Toy incorporates as Maisto who are already making inroads into the 1:64 'Matchbox Car' market.
1990 Bikin International SA release Super Transfo Robot and are suspect to have been sold exclusively at Speedway gas stations in the United States. These included the standard series as well as the Mega models. The unique gimmick with this line was that the backing cards each made up a piece of a play track.
Imperial (Imperial Die-Cast) enters a distribution deal with Maisto and releases Convertible Motorized MotoRobot on both English and English and French blister cards for the United States and Canada respectively. Imperial also distribute Convertible Motorized Super Robot in the United Sates made up of the Mega models.
1993 Imperial Die-Cast distributes the standard and Mega lines as SuperRobot in the United States and Canada with new colour schemes and stickers.
1996
Maisto distributes the same new colour figures from Imperial's 1993 line excluding the Mega range. Maisto addes a seemingly unique Hovercraft figure to this line the same size and the standard figures.
Simba (under license from MC TOY) released the Galaxy Transformer and Galaxy Transformer Light and Sound lines, seemingly limited to Europe and only including the standard run models and the six wheel ATV figures from the Mega lines.
1997 -1998 After a protracted period of selling old stock, by the end of 1998 the MC Toy 'Moto-Bot's have gone from retail shelves.
Line and Distributor Quick Guide
Motorized Robot – MC Toy
DynaBot - MC Toy (USA) & Grand Toys (Canada)
Moto-Bot - Intex/Zee Toys (distributed at the same time as Dynabot)
Moto-Bot - Maisto (post Intex/Zee Toys)
Mega MotoBot – MC Toy
Mega Moto-Bot Light + Sound – MC Toy and Maisto
MotoRobot – Maisto and Imperial Die-Cast
Convertible Motorized Super Robot – Imperial Diecast
Moto-Botz - East West Distribution Co.
Loco-Robot – Straco
Truck-Robots – Straco
PlayBots Robots – Sound and Design Imports
Galaxy Transformer – Simba
Galaxy Transformer Light + Sound – Simba
Mutators – Diamond Toymakers
Transfo-Robot – MC Toy
Super Transfo Robot - Bikin International SA
Truck + Roboter - Dickie Spielzeug
Bootlegs
For such widely distributed toys and over so many years, oddly there are very few unlicensed releases. It may have been this market saturation combined with a low retail price that made it unviable for bootleggers to take the risk.
A notable mention is the unofficial Transfo-Robot line that blatantly re-used Transfo-Robot French language cards.
Not only did this bootleg release offer all new colour schemes, the articulated vehicles were modified to carry an oversized rocket while the jeep model included Transformers G1 Streetwise' turret gun. Other than quality, the bootleg Transfo-Robot cards are easy to tell from the genuine versions as they lack the glossy finish and are far flimsier than traditional blister cardbacks. The toys themselves are very obviously of a much lower quality than any of the genuine versions.