Mega Force
Encyclopedia
Mega Force was a futuristic military vehicle toy line produced by Kenner
in 1989. The line consisted of two different armies, the Triax and the V-Rocs. Vehicles belonging to the Triax army had a symbol that consisted of a red "Y" on top of a white triangle, while vehicles belonging to the V-Rocs army had a yellow star on top of a black circle.
One thing that made the Mega Force line unique from other military toys was the fact that neither side was promoted by Kenner as being the "good guys" or the "bad guys." Instead, the decision regarding who was good or evil was left up to the child playing with the toys.
to about 1:87 or close to the same size as Micro Machines
. Larger vehicles would act as carriers for the smallest vehicles in the line. The larger the vehicle was, typically, the more of the smallest vehicles it could hold.
With the exception of the Triaxs' "Goliath" (a land based mobile fortress with similarities to an aircraft carrier and the largest of the Mega Force toys), the two opposing armies were essentially balanced. The smallest vehicles were in fact exactly matched with vehicles in the other armies' arsenal.
Smallest Vehicles
- Anti-Aircraft Tanks (regular tanks that could stand up on their rear ends and have their turret
s swing from a vertical to a horizontal position at the top of the tank)
- Attack Helicopter
s
- Battle Tanks
- Fighter/Bomber Jets
- Rocket Launchers
- Vertical Take-Off and Landing Jets
Level One Large Vehicles
- BRIMSTONE Tactical Missile Carrier (V-Rocs). Came with an Anti-Aircraft Tank.
- TAR-TRACKS Armored Transport (Triax). Came with a Rocket Launcher
- TRIDENT Rapid Deployment Fueler (V-Rocs). Came with a Vertical Take-Off and Landing Jet.
- XT ENFORCER mobile Catapult
(Triax). Came with a Fighter/Bomber Jet.
Level Two Large Vehicles
- CROSSBOLT Mobile Armored Helipad
(Triax). Came with an Attack Helicopter.
- SKORPION Armored Assault Launcher (V-Rocs). Came with a "Turbine
Propelled Attack Vehicle."
- STRIKEMASTER Orbital Attack Shuttle (Triax). Came with a Battle Tank.
- THUNDERWOLF Heavy Lift Helicopter
(V-Rocs). Came with a Rocket Launcher.
Level Three Large Vehicles
- BACKLASH Air Assault Rapid Deployer (Triax). Came with a Battle Tank.
- RAM FIST Spearhead Command Vehicle (Triax). Came with a Rocket Launcher.
- STRATOFORTRESS Air Superiority Bomber (V-Rocs). Came with a Fighter/Bomber Jet.
- THORHAMMER Mobile Launch Complex (V-Rocs). Came with a Battle Tank.
Largest Vehicle
- GOLIATH Mobile Battle Headquarters (Triax). Came with a Fighter/Bomber Jet.
The smallest vehicles and level one large vehicles were packaged on plastic blistered cards while the rest were in boxes. An interesting characteristic of the packaging was a schematic of the vehicle on the back. Along with the schematic, which showed several cutaways shots of the interior were the vehicles' specifications, similar to the blueprints included with G.I. Joe
vehicles of the 1980s. Additionally, each set of the smallest vehicles came with a plastic piece of military infrastructure, such as fortified barricades, bridges, and landing pads.
Each of the large vehicles came packaged with a special version of the smallest vehicles. Usually these were modelled after the non-commander vehicles, but had different paint schemes.
Kenner
Kenner Products was a toy company founded in 1947 by three brothers, Albert, Phillip, and Joseph L. Steiner, in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, and was named after the street where the original corporate offices were located, which is just north of Cincinnati's Union Terminal.Kenner introduced its...
in 1989. The line consisted of two different armies, the Triax and the V-Rocs. Vehicles belonging to the Triax army had a symbol that consisted of a red "Y" on top of a white triangle, while vehicles belonging to the V-Rocs army had a yellow star on top of a black circle.
One thing that made the Mega Force line unique from other military toys was the fact that neither side was promoted by Kenner as being the "good guys" or the "bad guys." Instead, the decision regarding who was good or evil was left up to the child playing with the toys.
Details of the Toyline
Another unique feature of Mega Force was the size of the toys. The smallest vehicles were around an inch or less in size while larger vehicles could nearly be a couple of feet in size. Despite this significant gap, all the vehicles were scaledScaled
Scaled may mean:* Scaled Composites , formerly the Rutan Aircraft Factory* Scaled Aviation Industries of Lahore, Pakistan, a Light Sports Aircraft Manufacturer...
to about 1:87 or close to the same size as Micro Machines
Micro Machines
Micro Machines: The Original Scale Miniatures were a line of toys originally made by Galoob in the mid 1980s and throughout the 1990s. Galoob licensed the idea behind Micro Machines from Clem Heeden, a toy inventor from Wisconsin...
. Larger vehicles would act as carriers for the smallest vehicles in the line. The larger the vehicle was, typically, the more of the smallest vehicles it could hold.
With the exception of the Triaxs' "Goliath" (a land based mobile fortress with similarities to an aircraft carrier and the largest of the Mega Force toys), the two opposing armies were essentially balanced. The smallest vehicles were in fact exactly matched with vehicles in the other armies' arsenal.
Smallest Vehicles
- Anti-Aircraft Tanks (regular tanks that could stand up on their rear ends and have their turret
Turret
In architecture, a turret is a small tower that projects vertically from the wall of a building such as a medieval castle. Turrets were used to provide a projecting defensive position allowing covering fire to the adjacent wall in the days of military fortification...
s swing from a vertical to a horizontal position at the top of the tank)
- Attack Helicopter
Attack helicopter
An attack helicopter is a military helicopter with the primary role of an attack aircraft, with the capability of engaging targets on the ground, such as enemy infantry and armored vehicles...
s
- Battle Tanks
Battle Tanks
Battle Tanks is a multidirectional shooter developed and published by Gameloft for the PlayStation 3. It was released on the PlayStation Store on September 3, 2009....
- Fighter/Bomber Jets
- Rocket Launchers
- Vertical Take-Off and Landing Jets
VTOL
A vertical take-off and landing aircraft is one that can hover, take off and land vertically. This classification includes fixed-wing aircraft as well as helicopters and other aircraft with powered rotors, such as cyclogyros/cyclocopters and tiltrotors...
Level One Large Vehicles
- BRIMSTONE Tactical Missile Carrier (V-Rocs). Came with an Anti-Aircraft Tank.
- TAR-TRACKS Armored Transport (Triax). Came with a Rocket Launcher
- TRIDENT Rapid Deployment Fueler (V-Rocs). Came with a Vertical Take-Off and Landing Jet.
- XT ENFORCER mobile Catapult
Catapult
A catapult is a device used to throw or hurl a projectile a great distance without the aid of explosive devices—particularly various types of ancient and medieval siege engines. Although the catapult has been used since ancient times, it has proven to be one of the most effective mechanisms during...
(Triax). Came with a Fighter/Bomber Jet.
Level Two Large Vehicles
- CROSSBOLT Mobile Armored Helipad
Helipad
Helipad is a common abbreviation for helicopter landing pad, a landing area for helicopters. While helicopters are able to operate on a variety of relatively flat surfaces, a fabricated helipad provides a clearly marked hard surface away from obstacles where a helicopter can safely...
(Triax). Came with an Attack Helicopter.
- SKORPION Armored Assault Launcher (V-Rocs). Came with a "Turbine
Turbine
A turbine is a rotary engine that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful work.The simplest turbines have one moving part, a rotor assembly, which is a shaft or drum with blades attached. Moving fluid acts on the blades, or the blades react to the flow, so that they move and...
Propelled Attack Vehicle."
- STRIKEMASTER Orbital Attack Shuttle (Triax). Came with a Battle Tank.
- THUNDERWOLF Heavy Lift Helicopter
Heavy Lift Helicopters
Heavy Lift Helicopters, Inc was a helicopter operating company based in Apple Valley, California, United States. Heavy Lift operated a fleet of CH-54 Tarhe and CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopters in aerial Lift Services and aerial firefighting. In addition Heavy Lift operated a FAA Repair Station out...
(V-Rocs). Came with a Rocket Launcher.
Level Three Large Vehicles
- BACKLASH Air Assault Rapid Deployer (Triax). Came with a Battle Tank.
- RAM FIST Spearhead Command Vehicle (Triax). Came with a Rocket Launcher.
- STRATOFORTRESS Air Superiority Bomber (V-Rocs). Came with a Fighter/Bomber Jet.
- THORHAMMER Mobile Launch Complex (V-Rocs). Came with a Battle Tank.
Largest Vehicle
- GOLIATH Mobile Battle Headquarters (Triax). Came with a Fighter/Bomber Jet.
Packaging
The smallest vehicles came packaged in groups of three. Two of the vehicles were identical, while the third, considered a "commander vehicle" had extra details. This included such things as two extra blades on the Attack Helicopter, larger rockets on the Rocket Launchers, and double-barrels on the Anti-Aircraft and Battle Tanks.The smallest vehicles and level one large vehicles were packaged on plastic blistered cards while the rest were in boxes. An interesting characteristic of the packaging was a schematic of the vehicle on the back. Along with the schematic, which showed several cutaways shots of the interior were the vehicles' specifications, similar to the blueprints included with G.I. Joe
G.I. Joe
G.I. Joe is a line of action figures produced by the toy company Hasbro. The initial product offering represented four of the branches of the U.S. armed forces with the Action Soldier , Action Sailor , Action Pilot , Action Marine and later on, the Action Nurse...
vehicles of the 1980s. Additionally, each set of the smallest vehicles came with a plastic piece of military infrastructure, such as fortified barricades, bridges, and landing pads.
Each of the large vehicles came packaged with a special version of the smallest vehicles. Usually these were modelled after the non-commander vehicles, but had different paint schemes.