[Steel Brigade]

NEW RECRUITS!!!!! Introducing... VOR-TECH: UNDERCOVER!

If you had "Vor-Tech" on your "My Marauder Taks Force Universe" bingo card ...congrats, cause I sure didn't lol! When looking for ideas to expand the "Universe" this year after I solidifyed Sky Commanders as an all-year thing, I also grabbed a couple other properties for shorter stints. ;-) The fan-favorite 80's M.A.S.K. series has already been completely done masterfully by the amazing Hiss Tank member & friend Flint_rocks. Vor-Tech, which is a 1990's spiritual successor to M.A.S.K., is where I figured I could step in. Although I barely remember the property & never owed any of the toys growing up, this one seemed ready for a Steel Brigade-style reboot in My Marauder-verse. The original was an animated television series produced by Universal Cartoon Studios. It aired for one season of thirteen episodes in syndication as part of Claster Television's "Power Block" package along with ReBoot, Beast Wars: Transformers and G.I. Joe Extreme, until 1997. The series was based on a toy line developed by Kenner Products. My homages will be both based on the toys & the cartoon incarnations, & there will be 2 waves for a total of 10 figures.

SEASON 1: MARAUDER TASK FORCE
SEASON 2: MTF - TOKYO DARK
SEASON 3: MTF - SQUAD 87Z
SEASON 4: MTF - OCTOBER STORM
SEASON 5: MTF - PHANTOM FORCE
SEASON 6: MTF - ROC REMIX
SEASON 7: MTF - WILD STRIKE!
SEASON 8: MARAUDERGEDDON
WAR MACHINE TRIBUTE (from the 2009 G.I. Joe mockbuster!)
SEASON 9: FUTURE WAR
SIDE STORY: SHINJUKU DEMON PARADE
SEASON 10: WET WORLD
SUNRUNNER MIDORI
'NAM 19XX:
SKY COMMANDERS 2087
*VOR-TECH: UNDERCOVER - The VOR-TECH Undercover Conversion Squad is a group of secret agents. Their mission is to stop Lord Matrix and his evil "Bio Mechs" from infecting the world with a techno-infectious plague!

WAVE 81: VOR-TECH WAVE 1
401. RICK "ACE" RHODES
Vor-Tech
Origin: USA
Vehicle: Sonic Stinger (Sports Car)
VOR-TECH: UNDERCOVER

As I was going back & forth on a couple of retro properties to go along with my Sky Commander 2087 saga for 2023, "Vor-Tech" became my next target... as looking through the figure roster, I broke down my early build ideas & "Ace" (along with "Gear-Head") where the first 2 I decided to order up & see where I was going with this. Using ideas I had from prior builds like using a Black Major Aero-Viper helmet, that looked a lot like the original Vor-Tech's Ace's helmet, & the shoulder gear/vest combo I developed with my recent Low-Light homage, this build kicked off a rather quick start & turnaround for the whole 10 Vor-Tech tribute figures to come! This one is based on Ace's toy appearance as the colors are actually reversed on the cartoon! Also, he was mostly a part's bin build! XD

BIO: ACE is the most daring member of VOR-TECH, being both an experienced former race car driver & pilot, he was chosen early on by the US Government to be paired with the newly developed experimental conversion sports car "Sonic Stinger." A vehicle equipped with communicative AI & transforming capabilities that change the car into a flying armed attack transport! ACE Is always first on the scene despite Sonic Stinger's over analyzation & apprehension to engage the enemy. ACE'S weaponized helmet has state of the art technology that enables him to remote control Sonic Stinger, create holograms, communicate to headquarters & with his fellow Vor-Tech squad! ACE does have an exposed weakness though, & that is of his fondness for the enemy's lead female FROSTBITE, he has not only been taken in by her gorgeous appearance, but still see's some good left in her, despite what she's become after her techno-infection!

[Steel Brigade]

402. HUDSON "SHEPHERD" ROARKE
Vor-Tech
Origin: USA
Vehicle: Thunderwing (Fighter Plane)
VOR-TECH: UNDERCOVER

When I ordered the Dime Novel Legends "Leftover Noodles 2 Pack" I knew one head was going to (Sky Commanders) Commander "Mike Summit" & the other was going to the Vor-Tech's leader "Shepherd," as both were a great match for the established character. My build is based on his toy appearance & colors (including his helmet's collar.) So...um... this guy actually appears to be wearing sweat pants for the toy lol... I couldn't have that, for such a highly regarded dude, so we "dressed" him up a bit with the Marauder dress pants as an alternative lol. All these guys have generic blasters on the show (& no hand-held weapons for the toys), so I tried to put some more thought into their weapons, in Shepherd's case, his axe comes from the usage of actual shepherd's throughout history having an axe as one of their main weapons of choice.

BIO: The ROARKE brothers were once leaders in state-of-the-art technological advancements, until DAMIAN ROARKE (now known as LORD MATRIX) infected himself with his own techno-virus experiment that drove him mad. Now he is trying to spread the virus as a world-wide pandemic, literally fusing technology with organic life! His brother HUDSON ROARKE, (who is also a pilot, code-named "SHEPHERD"), swore to bring his brother to justice. In an unusual move by the U.S. government, (& despite their family ties), they agreed to let SHEPHERD spearhead the new VOR-TECH Undercover Conversion Squad. A group of secret agents with advanced technical masks, vehicles, & weaponry, built specifically to combat LORD MATRIX'S BIO-MECHS & their Techno-Plague! No one knows LORD MATRIX better than SHEPHERD, & the world is counting on that!

[Steel Brigade]

403. JEREMY "GEAR HEAD" MCMASTERS
Vor-Tech
Origin: USA
Vehicle: Desert Striker (Dune Buggy)
VOR-TECH: UNDERCOVER
AKA: "MAC"

You never know when those MTF "Cyber-Ops" bodies will come in handy, & here's a perfect example. GEAR HEAD might have the coolest Vor-Tech figure design for me (so that's what I based him after), & it was really fun putting him together, mixing the (on-top) reds, grays, & gun-metals. He really helped solidify that I wanted to include Vor-Tech in "My Marauder Task Force Universe!"

BIO: GEAR HEAD is VOR-TECH'S genius high-tech mechanic, in charge of keeping all of their vehicles & gear up to date, in check, & environmentally friendly. He is also physically the strongest member of the team, combined with his helmet that allows him to control all of VOR-TECH'S weaponry (including his favorite vehicle, the "Desert Striker" dune buggy). He is one man, that can instantly command a technologically advanced army!

[Steel Brigade]

404. JASON "HARDFIRE" KING
Bio-Mech
Origin: UK
Vehicle: Road Heat (Cycle)
VOR-TECH: UNDERCOVER

When I received the "Ryan" (red haired version) head as a freebie from MGR, I thought, "Awesome, but I'll probably never use it." a couple weeks later & it was the start of my Vor-Tech Hardfire homage! Based on the action figure, this was a fun one to complete, as I was combining MGR, Boss Fight, & for the first time... Joy Toy into one of my builds!
*Can you believe there was 2 red-haired guys in one line that only had 7 actual figures released? XD

BIO: HARDFIRE was once a gang leader & part of the The Clerkenwell Crime Syndicate, one of the most powerful in Britain, that were at their peak for decades through their influence in murder, extortion, robbery & drug trafficking. Now years later, HARDFIRE has re-aligned himself with a new evil, LORD MATRIX, & as the Bio-Mech's main enforcer, he spreads the techno-plague with his gang of Bio-Mech thugs throughout the streets & skies of the world! He is merciless & brutal & only takes orders from LORD MATRIX, (& rarely agrees with his partner in terror, the Bio-Mech femme fatale FROSTBITE!)

[Steel Brigade]

405. BRAD "SNAKE OIL" LOGAN
Bio-Mech (formerly Vor-Tech)
Origin: USA
Vehicle: Battle Tracker (ATV)
VOR-TECH: UNDERCOVER

I originally thought I would use the DNL "Burnt Bean" head for another Scrap-Iron homage, but on the Vor-tech cartoon, Snake Oil's helmet gets infected with the Techno-Plague & he changes sides. I thought why not play that up more & have him not just "cyber-up" like on the animated series, but have it disfigure him & send him into a rage against his former teammates! This one is mostly based on the toy, but on the cartoon he has light brown hair instead of black, so the head colors work on that level. ;-)

BIO: A former popular "on the scene" news reporter, BRAD LOGAN once served with the VOR-TECH team as a communications specialist, code named SNAKE OIL. But his prototype helmet ultimately backfired on him after it had become infected with the techno-plague, as it was compromised when he wore it for too long during combat. The result disfigured his face & haunted his mind. He joined shortly after the accident with the BIO-MECH's to get back at the VOR-TECH team, who he believes caused his now tortured life, due to the prototype helmet's vulnerability. VOR-TECH member FYREFLY was serving with him during the accident, & helped evacuate him from the battlefield when things went wrong, but it was too late, & now she wants to bring SNAKE OIL back from his troubled path!

[CapBritain]

nice work as usual. The Vor-Tech name rings a bell, but that's about all.

[ARBCO Avenue]

I’m just as unfamiliar, and yet this batch is intriguing for that very reason - action figures I never knew, and reinvented at much higher quality, so who needs the originals anyway. Great batch again! That first one (EDIT - meant Gear Head but he is not the 1st) really pops!

[AxonRey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ARBCO Avenue

I?m just as unfamiliar, and yet this batch is intriguing for that very reason - action figures I never knew, and reinvented at much higher quality, so who needs the originals anyway. Great batch again! That first one really pops!

Pretty much echoing this. Don't know them, but they're fantastic updates

[Griff]

I remember vortech. A fun mask clone that was relatively shortlived. These are killer updates to the drivers.

[Ponygt50]

These are seriously Awesome!! The thought process to engineer pure perfection!! XD
I remember vortech and really wanted to love but I only bought a few and only saw the cartoon a couple of times. MASK was king for me as a kid, I loved it probably a tiny bit more than Joe back in the day. Kenner/hasblo tried but the same spark lacked with this ‘90’s concept…good thing you have breathed new life into and cranked it up to 12 (as usual)!!