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ARMORED INSECT BATALLION BEETRAS ager to exploit the popularity of "kanzen henkei" ("perfectly transforming") robot toys that had been touched off by the Macross series, Takatoku teamed up with famed animation studio Artmic to produce an all-new series with an insect theme. It was the brainchild of one of Artmic's top designers, Shinji Aramaki, the same man who designed the transforming "Ride Armor" motorcycle for the Mospeda series and the "Garland" from Megazone 23, among many others. Aramaki envisioned the "Armored Insect Battalion Beetras" as a modern reworking of insect robots that had previously appeared in Takara's Diaclone line. (These Diaclone robots are widely known in America as the "Insecticons" from Hasbro's Transformers series of toys.) Beetras wasn't ever actually animated into a movie or television series, and Takatoku's toy portrayals hit the marketplace just as they were going out of business in 1984. Perhaps due to their impending bankruptcy, Takatoku trimmed the series to four out of the originally planned five robots; the ladybug-like Beet Papil never saw production. Only moderately successful in their own country, the Beetras toys received a second lease on life in America as the "Deluxe Insecticons." Takatoku wasn't the only firm to sell Beetras merchandise. Japanese model company Imai sold a series of unassembled plastic kits of the robots, while Mark sold tiny "cheapie" (though fully transforming!) toy versions as well. (Re-colors of these Mark toys would eventually hit American shelves as well, as part of Select's "Convertors" series of blister-packaged transforming robots.)

Kahen Mecha Series:

Beet-Gadol

Beet-Gugal

Beet-Zeguna

Beet-Vadam (unproduced)