Childhood toys: Destroid Phalanx from Robotech

Back when I was in my early teens, I walking through the local KB Toys (buying toys was a hard habit to break and I regret that I did) one day and saw this strange looking robot hanging on a peg. I had seen some of Robotech back then and may have recognized the Destroid Phalanx, but honestly, that was irrelevant to me. I ended up buying it because it just looked cool. I have absolutely no idea what happened to it though.

The Destroid Phalanx was a mech that the Earth Defense Force created using the chassis of the Tomahawk, which could be best described as a tank with legs. As you can see, the Phalanx lacked traditional arms and instead carried two large missile pods. During the SDF-1's long trek back to Earth, Phalanxes were employed as defensive weapons. When the SDF-1 came under attack, Phalanxes, along with Defenders (similar to former, but with twin barreled cannons instead of missile pods) would stand on the exterior of the ship's hull and destroy the Zentraedi Battle Pods that managed to get pass the Valkyries.


Of course the major flaw in the Phalanx's design is it's lack of secondary weaponry, once its missiles are gone, so is it. According to Robotech.com's Infopedia and the Robotech Wiki, the Phalanx carries eleven missiles in each pod with several magazines, so it would stay in a fight longer, but once it expended its ammo, what then? Presumably, the pilots were trained not to fire them all in a rush and pick their targets carefully. And in case you're wondering, those three blue squares on its head are searchlights. Personally, I think it would have worked out better as a gun mount.

Anyway, it was a fun toy to play with, but I wish I had gotten the other Destroids too. Not sure if Playmates ever released any Battle Pods though, so finding something for them to fight back them would have been a slight problem.

(Pictures via COLLECT 'em ALL)