Robot Commando commercial ( Ideal 1961 )

JalapenoWaffles Says:

Feb 14, 2009 - Thats a cool toy. Even today

jugglingembalmer Says:

Mar 8, 2009 - There's no way in hell that toy is voice activated!

mediamadman747 Says:

Mar 13, 2009 - I've ALWAYS loved that shade of lavender.

kutzbill Says:

Mar 24, 2009 - No, I was so pissed when I got it. You had to move the white knob to what you wanted it to do, and then blow into the hand unit to activate it. It had some kind if sail switch to turn it off and on.

psychospeakempire Says:

Apr 1, 2009 - my brother had one of these. I had Great Garloo. we'd make them fight. it was awesome. 5 *****

thestudmuf Says:

Apr 3, 2009 - Does anyone have a Robot Commando in working order? A friend of mine is moving away and I would like to buy one for him because it is his childhood memory. Thanks!

EmmeJayKay Says:

Apr 13, 2009 - You know, the more I watch these toy ads from the 60s, when my dad would have been in his tweens, the more I can understand my grandparent's attitudes regarding youth, TV and modern culture. When my grandma was 6, it was The Great Depression. She lived in a two room house; parent's bedroom and the living room/kitchen where she slept with sisters. Great uncle slept on the porch. Outhouse outside. When my dad was about the same age, he had his own room and they were selling this.

abacab987 Says:

Apr 26, 2009 - And that is the good news EmmeJayKay. The bad news is we are going into another "Great Depression" due to the manipulation of currency by the Federal Reserve. They are a group of magnates who control the financial world, and are above the Law and Government. New tunnel networks and DUM (Deep Underground Bases) are their hideouts. We will be at war, and then reduced to primitive communism, while they own the earth and all resources. we will have no right to breed, travel, farm, or become educated

mediamadman747 Says:

May 6, 2009 - But we'll still have "basic cable," right?

OwlsInTowelsINC Says:

May 15, 2009 - He's looking... for... ME??? *hides*

TheRealTomtheMan68 Says:

May 21, 2009 - I wish IDEAL would make one of those Robpt Commandos for this day age! I know I would buy it without even thinking twice about it!!!

loumag7 Says:

May 21, 2009 - Man I had this toy in 1963.I should have saved it.

inkybinky786 Says:

Jun 7, 2009 - they had voice recognition back then/

zerodevice Says:

Jun 8, 2009 - yeah.. that's wat i was thinking... like.. for real?

zerodevice Says:

Jun 8, 2009 - well, i wonder what would the inventor of this toy thinks when he sees "Qrio" or "Aibo" (by sony), today. it sure beat the hell out of this robot.

hrlaser Says:

Jun 20, 2009 - Robot Commando didn't have ANY kind of voice recognition.. the wired remote control has a dial.. you'd turn the dial to "turn left" "turn right" "forward" "fire rocket" "fire missile" and then shout the command into the mic which was nothing more than a thin metal plate that made contact with a pin behind it.. you could simply blow into it instead of speak.. then, dep. on where the dial was set, he'd do what you "commanded".. I have a MINT working RC 10 feet away from me.. $10 or $20 in 1961

hrlaser Says:

Jun 20, 2009 - There are plenty of them on eBay.. working and not working.. expect to pay anywhere from $150.00 to $900.00, depending on condition, working or not working, if it comes with the balls and rockets, cosmetics, and if it has the original instruction sheet and box.. the empty box ALONE sometimes sells for $200.00.. since most of them were thrown out.. some guys make a hobby of restoring broken ones and re-selling them.. just do an eBay search.. you'll find some for sale ALL the time..

hrlaser Says:

Jun 20, 2009 - The RC in this old teevee ad was a prototype.. note the pale lavender body and transparent parts.. if it still exists somewhere, it'd be worth a freakin' fortune!.. the Designer / inventor was Marvin Glass, who also designed Garloo, Odd Ogg, a mechanical lion, dog, and other huge, battery-op plastic toys for Ideal in the early 1960s..

MightySaturn5 Says:

Jun 24, 2009 - Interesting hr...still, its a pretty smart idea for the non digital age

ILoveZandra Says:

Jun 24, 2009 - why was it LAVENDER?

MyFoodsRtouching Says:

Jul 11, 2009 - Crazy-eyed slap-fightin' Sum'beeyutch!

ToyKingWonder Says:

Jul 14, 2009 - I just restored mine after a gear broke inside and the rocket and ball firing actions would no longer work. I just got it working yesterday, July 13th 2009. I had a new gear made, but had to drill out the rivets and take the whole thing apart. I ended up keeping the original controller intact but I fabricated a new controller and cable. Most of these now are stiff and the controllers are broken. So I kept mine for display and have an ugly, but working, control box. The robot now works!

ToyKingWonder Says:

Jul 14, 2009 - Some of the other writers are correct. The original controller simply had closely aligned metal plates in the mouthpiece. You blew into it to make contact, after you preset what you wanted to robot to do. There was actually litigation against Ideal for this misrepresentation. I will post a video shortly of my restoration of this piece, with additional details on the lawsuit. So, there is no voice recognition. This is still a very fine toy, and repairable if you have the nerve!

somenonimportantguy Says:

Jul 25, 2009 - Can you imagine what would happen if he had the EARLIEST voice recognition command? Left! *fires missile into your eye* Dammit! My eye! *Laughs at your human concept of pain*

andyjay729 Says:

Sep 13, 2009 - The first mecha.