Robot Commando Salesman's Sample/Prototype

[Martian Gil]

That's fantastic Joe!  
Dare I say, I prefer that all blue over the classic...   
 

[Joe K.]

Spotted in a 1962 Singer Mail Order catalog:

 

Item #156094409617

Where is this piece now???

 

 

[steve]

Nice!!!!

 

[Hymie]

I never had a Robot Commando, but I have a visceral memory connected with that toy. In 1961 or 1962 (probably '61, based on RC's apparent debut year), when I was five years old -- just before Christmas -- I was at Rich's department store in downtown Atlanta, shopping with my parents. My mom had apparently left us to go search for something in another department, so my dad and I ambled over to the toy department. I very quickly spied a Robot Commando, which I had apparently been hearing a lot about on television, so I dragged my dad over to the shelf to show it to him. A perpetual kid himself, he asked me to put it down on the floor and put it through its paces as he observed from several feet away. I joyfully complied. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, a blur that turned out to be a salesman swooped in, jerked the toy unceremoniously out of my hands and scolded me vociferously for having had the temerity to try it out on his sales turf. Unfortunately for him, he had not noticed that my father was standing right there. In a flash, dear old Dad, normally mild-mannered, had stepped menacingly between me and the hapless clerk and was shouting right into the man's terrified face (much like Sergeant Carter would famously do from time to time several years later when engaging with Gomer Pyle). I was so young that my memories of the incident are mainly impressions -- the man bending backwards to try to withdraw from my father's withering onslaught - repeating "my apologies, sir" over and over, a piece of yellow paper the man had been holding floating leaflike to the floor as he lost his composure (and perhaps control of his bowels), and my father telling him that he was lucky he wasn't apologizing from the floor. Oddly, I remember being simultaneously scared to death and in complete awe of this facet of my father's personality I had never seen before. Nowadays, we would have a least complained to the store manager. Who knows, they might even have offered us a brand new Robot Commando to assuage our discontent (and reduce the likelihood of a lawsuit). Never got an RC, but I suspect that event has something to do with my adult affinity for toy robots (even the occasional plastic one).

[Lunik]

What made me collect toy robots? Has been an entertaining topic on the Drome a couple of years ago. Your story, a good read, impressive and your lifetime influence surely.

 

Thank you, Hymie.

Have fun with the toys.

 

. . . . . .

 

These transparent parts on Robot Commando would have been the real kick.

[robothut]

If that happened now days , in this PC world, people would have got it on video and your dad would be in jail or a go fund me would be started to get you a robot. Great story, Thank you for sharing it with us.

[Andyman]

Yes, great story!

[steve]

Love the story!! My Robot Commando story is simple - I woke up Christmas morning - saw the box with Robot Commando in our living room - went back to sleep as I thought I was dreaming - when I realized it was the real thing I woke my parents up to open the box up - best Christmas present ever and I still have him all these year later...

[Hymie]

Your experience seems preferable (you actually ended up with an RC!). I never had a robot of any kind as a kid (that probably also figures in to my robot obsession). My best Christmas gift ever was in 1968: A brand new Schwinn Sting-Ray Orange Krate. I too thought I was dreaming when I walked in to the living room and saw it reflecting the lights of our Christmas tree. Looking back, I know my dad had to do some fancy budgeting to be able to afford what was at the time easily the most expensive kids' bike you could buy. Apologies for the digression from robots. I'll try to resist the temptation in the future!

[steve]

Let s just say Hymie (as we continue off topic for a moment) that the boy on my block who received a Lemon Peeler was the envy of the entire block and we all took turns waiting for a chance to ride it. So while not a robot your Orange Krate was a marvelous gift.

[Hymie]

Long live the 1960s! Most people think they were all about the Beatles, hippies, Vietnam and the Summer of Love, but those of us who were kids in that glorious decade know that it was really about Sting-Rays, Aurora slot car sets, "Lost in Space," and "Batman" on Wednesday and Thursday nights, And, of course, there were the robots (even if I had to wait until I was a grown man to get one).

[JimK]

6 hours ago, Hymie said:

Long live the 1960s! Most people think they were all about the Beatles, hippies, Vietnam and the Summer of Love, but those of us who were kids in that glorious decade know that it was really about Sting-Rays, Aurora slot car sets, "Lost in Space," and "Batman" on Wednesday and Thursday nights, And, of course, there were the robots (even if I had to wait until I was a grown man to get one).

Well said!