Four Star's Transistor Robots line is famous for being the most brazen and inventive series of knockoff toy robots ever. Before Transistor Robots, few bootleg toy robots were sold in uniform packaging as a single line and knockoffs were usually sold through gray market outlets like swap meets. Then Four Star united a whole slew of unlicensed knockoffs under their Transistor Robots banner and got major retailers like K-Mart to carry them. Athough there were a few original molds like thier 3-in-1 Transfer Robots, the majority of robots from the line were modified versions of existing robots from other companies like Transformers, GoDaiKin and Mustanger. Transistor Robots is perhaps most strongly remembered for its Transformers jet and Dinobot knockoffs and its infamous verion of Hasbro's Constructicon Devastator, heavily modified and named Mr. Hard Hat. Many of these got significant amounts of advertising from the drug store chain Eckerd, but in a strange twist it was K-Mart who Hasbro pursued legal action against for selling the Transistor Robot line in April 1985. While a judge was able to order K-Mart to stop importing the toys, no order was issued to recall the estimated 150,000 Transistor Robots from K-Mart's shelves. Oddly I have never found a K-Mart ad for Transistor Robots. Since all ads I've found for the line come from 1985 I suspect it may have only been around for a single season before retailers discontinued Transistor Robots, or at least stopped advertising them.

• For more thoughts and musings on old Transistor Robots toy ads you can read my blog posts:
  • "Four Star Stories OR:Vintage Space Toast Tour Houston-Space Toaster Cowboy Outlaws "
  • "Knock it off! OR: Transistor? I thought it was her gay brother!"