A distant relation of Sigmatron and Betatron, Deltatron too has an everyday disguise - that of a powerful fighter plane. He is one of the slickest of the Convertors because he can convert automatically to a deadly motorised robot.
Deltatron is one of the three toys within Grandstand Convertors line which was originally produced by Yonezawa Toys, the other 2 being
Sigmatron and
Betatron. Just as Betatron is, Deltatron is motorised however it is controlled with a wired remote control rather than just an on off switch. The remote is also essential to change between robot and jet mode.
Deltatron came packaged in jet mode, the jet being a McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle jet, exactly the same as Starscream and his fellow Seekers - a very popular jet for 1980s toys.
The remote control requires two AA batteries and is very simple to control. The lever can only be pushed left or right. There are two diagrams on the control, there is a jet on the right hand side and a robot on the left hand side.
As the toy comes in the jet mode, when you press the lever towards the jet diagram, the toy rolls forwards, when pressed towards the robot diagram, the jet rolls backwards whilst transforming. The robot can't roll forwards in robot mode unless its transforming back into the jet mode, however while the remote control is being operated the robots "face" lights up.
The toy comes with 2 guns, one of which can launch missiles which can be held in both hands and the missile launcher can also be placed on the underside of either wing. There is hardly any articulation with this figure though the arms are quite articulated for a toy from this period. This figure is also quite common to find on online auctions and you could easily get a boxed complete one for between £15 and £20. Paying anything over that is excessive.
Remote Change Robo Eagle & Robo (Japan 1984)
As with the other Grandstand Convertors they all started in Japan. The original was called "Eagle & Robo" and as far as I'm aware this was released in 2 variations. There was a standard grey version identical to Deltatron and the second version had a bit more paint added, other than that the moulds were identical. I haven't seen the all grey version boxed so I'm not sure whether the box art is any different.
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| Source: Yahoo Auctions |
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| Source: Yahoo Auctions |
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| Source: Yahoo Auctions |
Fighter Robo (1984)
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| Source: eBay |
Yonezawa also directly released this figure directly to the western market. This was only available in the grey colour, presumably to keep the costs down; other than the box this figure is identical to Deltatron although this has a "Made in Japan" stamp whereas Deltatron has a "Made in Singapore" stamp.
Fight-R-Bot (1985)
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| Source: eBay |
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| Source: eBay |
North American toy company, Village Toys officially licensed this mould from Yonezawa for release in its Convert-A-Bots line in 1985. The figure itself is the standard grey jet release; the main difference with this release is the remoulded polystyrene tray for it to be packaged in robot mode.
Knock-Offs / Bootlegs
1) Fighter Robo
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| Source: eBay |
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| Source: eBay |
2) Jet Robo
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| Source: eBay |
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| Source: eBay |
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