TBT – Arco GoBots RoGun Water Pistol Pictorial Review

For this #throwbackthursday I’m digging in the archive again to share a review of a piece that I’ve always found to be just deep fried in 80’s awesome – The 1984 Arco GoBots RoGun Water Pistol!

Ah, the early 80’s…a much simpler time, as so elegantly illustrated by my RoGun friend here. Back in those days, my parents would mix & match Transformers and GoBots like no ones business (the nerve!) As such, this piece found its way into my childhood collection alongside the RoGun Cap Rifle.

Needless to say, he’s extremely limited on articulation, with the main points being his arms, his legs that retract as water is being shot (more on that later) and his “backpack” that turns in to the grip & trigger for the weapon.

His arms rotate 360 degrees, but as far as poseability goes….yeaaaaah, that’s about it. Sure, his legs extend, but that’s mostly to fill him with water. He has 4 stickers on the front of his body with no other decoration.

RoGun is made up of a translucent blue plastic, with gray legs and red arms. My Dad used to refer to this particular toy as the “Devo Bot” due to its “helmet”. Dad jokes, amirite?

All in all, his limitations are what make him so charming in today’s day and age, especially with so many toys that can perform extensive transformations.

In order to fill the pistol, you have to dunk RoGun’s head in to water and pull back on his legs. As you pull on the trigger, the legs retract and water squirts out. As noted above, simple, but so-much-fun to my 8 year old self.

For those of you that may be interested in a throwback toy like this, you can typically find it on eBay for anywhere from $15 – $50, depending on condition.

It’s been so much fun reliving those childhood moments of running around and squirting my Mom unforgivingly…now my Son gets to do the same.