- Mega Force
-
Mega Force was a futuristic military vehicle toy line produced by Kenner in 1989. The line consisted of two different armies, the Triax and the V-Rocs. Vehicles belonging to the Triax army had a symbol that consisted of a red "Y" on top of a white triangle, while vehicles belonging to the V-Rocs army had a yellow star on top of a black circle.
One thing that made the Mega Force line unique from other military toys was the fact that neither side was promoted by Kenner as being the "good guys" or the "bad guys." Instead, the decision regarding who was good or evil was left up to the child playing with the toys.
Details of the Toyline
Another unique feature of Mega Force was the size of the toys. The smallest vehicles were around an inch or less in size while larger vehicles could nearly be a couple of feet in size. Despite this significant gap, all the vehicles were scaled to about 1:87 or close to the same size as Micro Machines. Larger vehicles would act as carriers for the smallest vehicles in the line. The larger the vehicle was, typically, the more of the smallest vehicles it could hold.
With the exception of the Triaxs' "Goliath" (a land based mobile fortress with similarities to an aircraft carrier and the largest of the Mega Force toys), the two opposing armies were essentially balanced. The smallest vehicles were in fact exactly matched with vehicles in the other armies' arsenal.
Smallest Vehicles
- Anti-Aircraft Tanks (regular tanks that could stand up on their rear ends and have their turrets swing from a vertical to a horizontal position at the top of the tank)
- Battle Tanks
- Fighter/Bomber Jets
- Rocket Launchers
- Vertical Take-Off and Landing Jets
Level One Large Vehicles
- BRIMSTONE Tactical Missile Carrier (V-Rocs). Came with an Anti-Aircraft Tank.
- TAR-TRACKS Armored Transport (Triax). Came with a Rocket Launcher
- TRIDENT Rapid Deployment Fueler (V-Rocs). Came with a Vertical Take-Off and Landing Jet.
- XT ENFORCER mobile Catapult (Triax). Came with a Fighter/Bomber Jet.
Level Two Large Vehicles
- CROSSBOLT Mobile Armored Helipad (Triax). Came with an Attack Helicopter.
- SKORPION Armored Assault Launcher (V-Rocs). Came with a "Turbine Propelled Attack Vehicle."
- STRIKEMASTER Orbital Attack Shuttle (Triax). Came with a Battle Tank.
- THUNDERWOLF Heavy Lift Helicopter (V-Rocs). Came with a Rocket Launcher.
Level Three Large Vehicles
- BACKLASH Air Assault Rapid Deployer (Triax). Came with a Battle Tank.
- RAM FIST Spearhead Command Vehicle (Triax). Came with a Rocket Launcher.
- STRATOFORTRESS Air Superiority Bomber (V-Rocs). Came with a Fighter/Bomber Jet.
- THORHAMMER Mobile Launch Complex (V-Rocs). Came with a Battle Tank.
Largest Vehicle
- GOLIATH Mobile Battle Headquarters (Triax). Came with a Fighter/Bomber Jet.
Packaging
The smallest vehicles came packaged in groups of three. Two of the vehicles were identical, while the third, considered a "commander vehicle" had extra details. This included such things as two extra blades on the Attack Helicopter, larger rockets on the Rocket Launchers, and double-barrels on the Anti-Aircraft and Battle Tanks.
The smallest vehicles and level one large vehicles were packaged on plastic blistered cards while the rest were in boxes. An interesting characteristic of the packaging was a schematic of the vehicle on the back. Along with the schematic, which showed several cutaways shots of the interior were the vehicles' specifications, similar to the blueprints included with G.I. Joe vehicles of the 1980s. Additionally, each set of the smallest vehicles came with a plastic piece of military infrastructure, such as fortified barricades, bridges, and landing pads. Each of the large vehicles came packaged with a special version of the smallest vehicles. Usually these were modelled after the non-commander vehicles, but had different paint schemes.
Sources
Categories:- Toys of the 1980s
- 1989 introductions
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
