By Andrew Liszewski
The term ‘Kronoform’ might not immediately ring a bell but if you were a kid in the 80’s I guarantee you’re familiar with them. Made by Japanese company Takara (of Transformers fame) they were pretty basic LCD wrist watches but what made them a must have for almost everyone in my grade school was the fact that they transformed into a robot. Sure the transformation was pretty simple but that didn’t matter. It was the only way you could actually sneak a robot toy into school without the teachers knowing. And since the watches came during the Go-Bot and Transformers hysteria it was pretty much a given they would also be popular.
If I remember correctly once the Kronoforms did become popular they led the way for plenty of clones flooding the market but also more advanced versions too. I recall buying a rather complex Megatron-esque gun called the Chrono Laser that cleverly disguised itself as a watch that was far too big for my grade 3 wrist.
I’ve included a YouTube video after the jump which seems to be one of the only surviving pieces of media related to the Kronoforms I can find. The audio and picture isn’t great, but it’s still fun to watch particularly when they demonstrate the other ‘modes’ the watch could transform into. And since there’s no official Kronoforms website to link to I’ve instead provided a link to the X-Entertainment write up about them. It’s definitely worth a read if you’ve got the time for a little nostalgia.