ZEROID ZOBOR

While on the subject of robots, I couldn’t let the week pass without including a post dealing with the Zeroids - probably the best robot toys of the late sixties.

This is Zobor, one of the three original Zeroids released, the other two being Zerak and Zintar. These were later joined by Zogg, who was initially part of an action set, and Zemo, who was made up of parts from the original three.

Compared to today’s toys the Zeroids didn’t do that much. Once the separate electric ’Motorific’  motor was clipped underneath and the batteries were fitted the robots could move forward or backwards. They came with a plastic yellow base piece which when driven over would flip a switch underneath the toy and reverse the motor.

They also came  with  two additional hands, one was magnetic so the robot could carry small metal objects. The other was a missile launcher using the robot’s spring loaded arm.

The storage cases of the three original Zeroids had other uses.  Zobor had a ’Cosmobile’ used for transporting light objects.  Zintar had a Lunar Sled, and Zerak had a control station.

Made by the Ideal toy company, the original Zeroids were  released in 1968.

Here’s a short film showing Zobor in action.