Parasites!

"user314" (user314)
07/29/2020 at 16:00 • Filed to: Matchbox, toys, Live and let die-cast, die-cast, diecastlopnik, the 80s

Terrorsite, Extermasite, Destructite, Specterite, Gammasite and Nemisite

Back in 1985, Matchbox was seeing a major dip in sales due to converting toys like GoBots and Transformers. Deciding to join the crowd, they introduced Parasites, alien robots hiding in cars and trucks. This concept allowed them to reuse existing tooling, though at 1/64 scale, the robots themselves are a little odd ly proportioned.

The backstory for the six toys released was that they were ordinary cars that had been infected by aliens (hence the “Parasites” name) that had been hiding in Halley’s Comet (just like in !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , just with 100% less naked Mathida May). The idea flopped, and Matchbox quietly retired the line. I had Terrorsite (the gray van) and Gammasite (the Firebird) as a lad, then picked up the rest off eBay.

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DISCUSSION (11)

hillrat > user314
07/29/2020 at 16:23

I can’t say that I’m sad that such a naked cash grab was a dumpster fire failure.

user314 > hillrat
07/29/2020 at 16:32

Eh, I can understand their desire to re-use existing tooling, and I appreciate that they were trying something different (for them), I just wish that they had invested more in the engineering of the robot forms, or added a line of resistanc e and/ or military vehicles for the Parasites to fight against.

Jim Spanfeller > user314
07/29/2020 at 16:53

That’s a pretty neat idea, even if the robots look incredibly spindly/derpy. And the idea that these are supposed to be blending in is hilarious ;)

shop-teacher > user314
07/29/2020 at 17:44

Wow. I would have been four years old and knee-deep in Matchboxes and Hot Wheels, but I have no recollection of these.

facw > user314
07/29/2020 at 17:44

Those tall and skinny designs remind me of some of the oddball mechs from Turn A Gundam:

Kinja'd!!!

Though of course they much predate Turn A.

I don’t remember the toys at all. I guess if they killed the line quickly enough, it might have been just a year or so early for me.

dofphish > user314
07/30/2020 at 04:50

Was a Matchbox kind of kid and had a large collection. NEVER heard of these. Thank you for the education. And yes cash grab gone asunder. Too bad. These actually seem oddly interesting.

AlienProbe > user314
07/30/2020 at 08:24

Great write up. What a strange line. I’ve never seen these before. Kudos to them for trying something different even if it was a massive flop.

Gertman2000 > user314
07/30/2020 at 08:55

OMG I never heard or have seen these before!!! Weren’t Go-Bots distributed in the US by Tonka?

hillrat > user314
07/30/2020 at 09:04

I hear that, I like the idea of recycling your existing resources; it’s good, smart business . What I don’t like is the lazy execution (like you said, no enemy to fight against, etc) , that’s bad, dumb business

user314 > Gertman2000
07/30/2020 at 09:52

Yup , though Hasbro bought out Tonka in ‘91, so they’re now part of the Transformers universe.

seaanemone85 > user314
07/31/2020 at 17:34

+10 internet points for the lifeforce reference. These are some of the weirdest, most disturbing variations on the transformer theme I've ever seen. Cynical, creative, and objectively limited in fun.