Remco's ManTech toys were released in 1983. My brother and I each got one that Christmas, so despite the fact that they're just a cheap toy series, they've always held a soft spot in my nostalgic heart, in part because the villain designs are very cool. The paint apps were...minimal, to be charitable. So these customs are all just adding a great deal of painted detail to the figures to give them a little more life.

Early advertising indicated that a cartoon was in development, though that never cam to fruition. The only media support was a 4-issue comic series published by Archie Comics. A second series of toys was planned (including figures called EagleTech, KongTech, RobotTech, and SpiderTech) but never came to be.

In-universe, the ManTech warriors were created by Jaxon Goode (the good guys) and his rival Tyranik (the bad guys). The good guys were human astronauts whose mission went awry and ended up in suspended animation on the planet Mekka until Goode recovered them and gave them robotic bodies against their will. Fun!

_________________

AquaTech
Good ManTech Undersea Operations

While no biographical information is available on the evil robots, we have some background for the good guys. Commander Cliff Stone: 32 years old. 148 pounds. Aquanaut-astronaut. Most famous for exploring Titan's liquid methane sea.

Each figure was given a “Performance Profile”, indicating what their abilities are. AquaTech was rated for: Lo Therm, Anti-Gravity, Sea Depth, Jet Thrust and Neutron Gun.

All parts and accessories: AquaTech (Remco ManTech, 1983)

_________________

DoomTech
Evil ManTech Shock Trooper

While no biographical information is available on the evil robots, we have some background for the good guys. In the comics DoomTech is portrayed as being very robotic, with a speech pattern that replaces every s with a z.

Each figure was given a “Performance Profile”, indicating what their abilities are. DoomTech was rated for: Anti-Gravity, Sea Level, Laser Shield, Jet Thrust and Neutron Gun.

All parts and accessories: DoomTech (Remco ManTech, 1983)

_________________

LaserTech
Good ManTech Weapons Specialist

While no biographical information is available on the evil robots, we have some background for the good guys. Lt. “Laseray” Larson: 29 years old. 169 pounds. Technician. Expert in laser weapons and communication beams. Pilot of the ill-fated Earth-mission.

Each figure was given a “Performance Profile”, indicating what their abilities are. LaserTech was rated for: Hi Therm, Anti-Gravity, Sea Level, Laser Shield and Laser Gun.

All parts and accessories: LaserTech (Remco ManTech, 1983)

_________________

NegaTech
Evil ManTech Berserker

While no biographical information is available on the evil robots, we have some background for the good guys. In the comics, NegaTech is portrayed as being violent and angry, and resists the programming that places him and his fellow robots under Tyranik's control.

Each figure was given a “Performance Profile”, indicating what their abilities are. NegaTech was rated for: Lo Therm, Anti-Gravity, Sea Depth, Laser Shield, Laser Gun.

All parts and accessories: NegaTech (Remco ManTech, 1983)

_________________

SolarTech
Good ManTech Commander

While no biographical information is available on the evil robots, we have some background for the good guys. Col. Solomon Sunn: 35 years old. 182 pounds. Physicist. Expert in solar energy. Captain of the crashed ship, “Star-Gazer.”

Each figure was given a “Performance Profile”, indicating what their abilities are. SolarTech was rated for: Hi Therm, Sea Level, Laser Shield, Jet Thrust and Ion Trans (whatever that means).

All parts and accessories: SolarTech (Remco ManTech, 1983)

_________________

TerrorTech
Evil ManTech Strategist

While no biographical information is available on the evil robots, we have some background for the good guys. In the comics, TerrorTech is portrayed as being completely cold and logical, processing thoughts in the form of “Observation...conclusion.”

Each figure was given a “Performance Profile”, indicating what their abilities are. TerrorTech was rated for: Hi Therm, Sea Level, Sea Depth, Jet Thrust and Ion Trans (whatever that means).

All parts and accessories: TerrorTech (Remco ManTech, 1983)

_________________

These look great! I've considered doing some updated customs of these guys before but the pics just made them seem too blah. But seeing your customs, these figures really weren't that bad! They just suffered from Remco's lack of decent paint apps. They're really a nice precursor to Centurions.

pretty cool! i don't remember these at all. lucky you rescued them. i might of chopped the heads off!!

i like how terrortech looks to have a car stereo in his chest!

_________________

I am completely unfamiliar with this line of figures, that said, your updated paint apps make them look great.

_________________

LOL. I hadn't noticed that, and now I'll never not see it.

_________________

I'd say this is true of a lot of the cheaper 80s stuff. The artists who made the sculpts obviously cared about what they were doing, so there are always some pretty good sculpts languishing in little-known toy lines.

Even dolled up with the extra paint, ManTech figures are still pretty cheesy. But for what they are, they're plenty of fun.

_________________

True and Remco was really good at doing decent sculpts with terrible paint and/or overuse of parts to cut costs. Their Lost World of the Warlord/Warrior Beasts had some great sculpts that worked well with MOTU, but the paint apps were lacking on most. I never had the Man-Tech figures, because they looked goofy, even as a kid, and lacked articulation. But as an adult, looking back on them, they have a certain charm to them. They were so close to having the same gimmick as Centurions, yet they just missed it.

Never heard of this line, but I like the upgraded paint job you did here.
With their clunky look, they could be new additions to the Star Brigade.

I have never heard of these but they are awesome.

_________________