#84 MADELMAN 2050 – BATRUS (1988)

Here is one of the vehicles from the first M2050 wave. Batrus is some kind of flying robot which can carry one figure in its chest. It is aligned with the evil Zarkons, and as indicated in the box, Batrus is the “Robot Insignia del terrible ejército de Zarkon” (Flagrobot of the terrible army of Zarkon).

The first wave of vehicles consisted of 6 different units, 3 for each faction. The COTA men had Sentinel, Tarantula and Defender, Zarkons had Batrus, Falcon and Scorpion, as it can be seen in this figure backcard. If you pay enough attention, you’ll probably observe, that many parts are reused from one vehicle to another one: Batrus and Sentinel are very similar; the cockpits of Tarantula and Defender are the same, and so they are Scorpion and Falcon; the legs of Defender and Falcon are also the same, and the same happens with the legs of tarantula and Scorpion, not to mention minor details, like the missiles, cables, cannons, wings, hands/claws, and so on.

Even considering that some parts are reused, this toy has an excellent quality, and looks really awesome. The pictures show my actual robot, to which I haven’t applied any stickers, but with the stickers it looks even better. The vehicle also has an interaction feature with the figures. As I told in older entries, the Zarkon figures had two faces, well, when a Zarkon figure sits inside Batrus, his face changes automatically to its “reptilian” mode, as it doesn’t need to hide its identity. Additionally, it has two missile launchers that actually shoot (similar to the ones included with G.I.Joe: ARAH figures in the 90s), and grappling claws… personally I think this robot as a toy is much better than any G.I.Joe vehicle made on these years.

If that was not enough, each vehicle was packed with a figure inside, which unfortunately wasn’t an exclusive one, but one of the 8 ordinary ones in its original blister, and a comic book. In the photograph above are depicted two comic books: one belongs to the figure, and the one named “¡Combate!” is the one that came with those first wave vehicles (there were three more comics made). The green card is just the quality control inspection of the toy. You could send it to Exin, if something was missing or broke.

 

Also amazing is the illustration in the box’s flap, made in the same style and by the same artist who did the artwork for the figures, Rafael López Espí. You can visit his website, and enjoy his great creations for M2050, Masters of the Universe, Comic covers for 26 different series, and much more.

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: BATRUS (Ref. 1726)
• Toy Line: Madelman 2050 (Wave 1)
• Year: 1988
• Company: Exin (Spain)
• Size: Approx. 24 cm