Armed Series
Individual A series sets were each released in two different colour alternatives. As well as the colour of the Blockman being different between alternatives, accessory colours also differed. Across both colour alternatives, each A series Blockman robot was multi-coloured, with arms that differed in colour from the torso and legs. The A series releases were not packaged with instruction sheets, but did include a promotional poster promoting the A series.
A-0X Sets
The three A-0X releases consisted of small, single-Blockman sets with various armour upgrade accessories. Each set came with a pair of space boots, a backpack accessory (communications pack, jetpack, double-barrel cannon), an additional armour accessory (shield, breastplate, shoulder-mounted missile launcher box), a large gun (although the “large” gun for A-02 is actually quite small), and a small gun.
A-0X armour upgrade accessories were available in two colour variants, with the exception of the large guns and small guns (which were always in black). The armour accessories were available in either grey or blue, depending on which A0X colour variants was purchased.
A-01, A-02, and A-03 were released as Robotech Robolinks Force 10, Force 11, and Force 12 respectively in the USA. The A-0X sets were not released in France as Robotech Changers. They were available in translated packaging in Finland however, and were also released in Korea.
A-1X Sets
The three A-1X releases consisted of small, single-Blockman sets with various vehicle transformation parts. Each set came with parts allowing the Blockman to transform into a vehicle (jet, driller, or racing car), as well as a small gun. Each vehicle was replete with a cockpit windshield composed of a translucent blue visor with a coloured hinge (the A-1X vehicles do not have enough space to hold a driver, however).
A-1X vehicle transformation parts were available in two colour variants, with the exception of the tread, wheel, or tyre parts (which were always in black), and of course the small guns (which were always in black). The A-1X vehicle transformation parts were available in either red or grey, depending on which A0X colour variants was purchased. Some A-1X colour variants would contain a grey cockpit hinge with red vehicle parts, or vice versa, whilst other appear to have been packaged with a cockpit hinge of an identical colour to the other vehicle parts. The four tyre hubs for A-13 are notable for being the only A series parts to be packaged on a sprue.
A-11, A-12, and A-13 formed the basis of Robotech Robolinks Force 20, Force 21, and Force 22 respectively in the USA. However, these sets had the added bonus of including the armour upgrade accessories from A-01, A-02, and A-03 as well! A-11, A-12, and A-13 were released in France as Robotech Changers A1, A3, and A2 respectively (note the number swap!), and these sets included the bonus A-0X armour upgrade accessories as per the Robotech Robolinks releases.
The A-1X sets were also released in Finland and Korea. In Korea, the A-1X sets released by Samsung Plastic Toy Corp. continued the numbering of the A-0X sets, so instead of A-11, A-12, and A-13, the Korean sets are denoted A-04, A-05, and A-06.
Unlicensed Gumball Releases
The A series formed the basis of the unlicensed miniaturised plastic Blockman series that was sold in gumball machines in the USA. More information on these can be found on the Blockman Link homepage.
Confusing Weaponry
Working out which of the small guns matches which of the A series Blockman releases can be quite difficult. This is even more complex when you consider that the A-0X and A-1X accessories were combined for some of the Robotech Robolinks sets, with one Robotech Robolinks set even showing an incorrect gun on the packaging in its parts checklist! Fortunately, you can check out the parts identification page for help with this.
Giftset
An A series giftset was released containing A-01, A-02, A-03, A-11, A-12 and A-13. I don't own the A series giftset yet unfortunately, so these photographs were drawn from Japanese social networking website Mixi. I’m uncertain whether this giftset was available in two different colours (to correspond to the two different colour alternatives of the individual sets). If you have any information on this, please don’t hesitate to get in touch via email or via the Blockman Link Facebook group!
No corresponding giftset was released in the USA (which did not receive any giftsets), nor was a corresponding Robotech Changers giftset released in France (unlike for the C-0X and C-1X giftsets). There is no evidence to suggest that an A series giftset was released in Finland or Korea.
