The
Aquatron, a boxed item released in 1976, was a land and water toy. Based
on the Marine Condor from the Microman "Spy Car" series, this
vehicle was slightly modified from its Japanese cousin. As a land rover,
the main body was set up with 3 small wheels and holders, which fit into
5mm holes in the underside. On the sides of the body, 2 black wings held
2 yellow floaters with removable tips, and a small handlebar attachment
fit into a 5mm hole toward the back to help hold the feet of a standing
figure in place. An adjustable 4 piece handlebar section (made up of a
body pin, hinge unit, extension arm, and a "whirlator" handle) could be
popped into a front 5mm hole as a steering unit.
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A
small black whirlator pin was used as a kind of tail pipe. As a water
craft, the aqua motor could be mounted to the underside of the man body
via the propulsion unit adaptor, or large L-peg. The aqua motor
was basically a casing that took a" penlight" , or A battery that, when
the end section was turned clockwise, powered a small motor that spun
a little gear. The gear could then be fitted with a small red propeller.
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Taking
the large handlebar section and placing into the back of the body could
be straightened out and used as a support for a laying down pilot. There
were two major modifications of the Microman vehicle before it became
a Micronaut one. First, a color change from green to yellow for the main
body parts, and then removal of a secondary play feature. The original
came wih a spinning "wheel of fortune" roulette game on the underside,
which was changed to the similar looking black cover you got with the
Aquatron.
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Later
European versions of the Aquatron came with an added Time Traveler figure,
as the earlier US releases did not. Aquatron also came packed with instructions
and a sticker sheet. The Spy Car series had 6 different vehicles, but
Mego only chose 3 of them for release, not picking up the Sea
Spider, Gyro Panther, or
Racing Wolf.
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