Highway Robo

Highway Robo (ハイウェイロボ) is a Machine Robo from Romulos, and later Cronos. He weighs 152 tonnes, is 12.6 metres tall in robot mode and can travel at 258kmph in vehicle form. Highway Robo is also armed with an Ionoid Anti-Radar Scanner.

Fiction

Machine Robo packaging

Highway Robo was driving along in his futuristic bus mode when he spotted a Dogra alien. Switching swiftly to his robot mode, Highway Robo punched the head and leg of his opponent off in one implausible stroke. Highway Robo instructions

Machine Robo: Revenge of Cronos cartoon

Voice actor: ?

Highway Robo was a member of Bug Newman's gang of outlaws, participating in the raid on Iron City that left Rom Stol seriously injured.Defeat Bug, the User of Darkness! Later Highway Robo was a resident of Dakota; when Rom, Leina Stol, Blue Jet and Triple Jim arrived in town they were ostensibly captured as troublemakers. Highway Robo converted to his vehicle mode to take the travellers to jail. Later, when Rod Drill and Combat Buggy were able to expose the town's conflict with neighbouring Konan as being due to Gyandlar manipulation, he joined the townsfolk who rose up against Casmodon and his troops. Pledging Love on the Great River He was later seen as a patient at Korora's hospital. The Man from Gyandlar

Machine Robo: Battle Hackers cartoon

After the Machine Robo left Cronos and passed a dimensional gateway they re-emerged as the citizens of the Algo Republic on Electronic Planet B-1 with no memory of their previous adventures; Highway Robo became a member of the Silver Wolves team in the Algo Army. However, he was shot by Gurendos troops while defending Crystal City alongside Supercar Robo. Burning Electronic Planet

Toys

Machine Robo

Machine Robo Series

• Highway Robo (1982)
  • ID number: MR-06
  • Accessories: none

Highway Robo was the 6th figure in Popy's Machine Robo Series and transforms from robot to futuristic bus in 5 steps. The figure features a mix of diecast and plastic parts, and is generally very solid. He can move at the shoulders and, thanks to his transformation, the neck. He includes additional stickers but no instructions about where to put them; however, the animation model for Machine Robo: Revenge of Cronos seems to confirm they are meant to be rear lights. Like the rest of the range, the figure retailed at ¥600.

• Bandai reissued Highway Robo in updated packaging when they took over the line in 1983.
• The figure was never officially released outside of Japan but was later repurposed as Hi-Way by Fun Publications.

• Find out more about Highway Robo at The-Liberator.Net

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  1st edition box

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  2nd edition box

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  Toy instructions

Notes

• A prototype version of Highway Robo featured in some catalogues had black windows instead of orange.
• The reason poor Highway Robo was skipped for basically everything outside of Japan has never been officially explained, but was presumably due to the belief that even a futuristic bus wouldn't appeal to Western kids. Poor Highway Robo.