Beast Machines Deployers

Beast Machines was a weird Transformers line. It had the misfortune of following Beast Wars and forever living in it's shadow combined with being a hodgepodge of ideas. During it's short life it had a few interesting sub lines. One such was the Deployers, a lower priced set of figures meant to serve as partners for your Maximals in the fight against the Vehicons.

They were a great idea, doubling as a figure and an accessory. Each Deployer had a robot mode based on an animal that would convert into a weapon to be manned by your Transformer. There was three toys that later got alternate recolors, but stayed the same character. Allegedly the recolors were planned to be new characters, but it never came to be for some reason. You had my favorite Rav who turned into a crossbow. There was also Mol who converted into a drill of sorts, being more of a tool than a weapon I guess. Then there was Dillo, whom turned into a catapult of sorts.

They never appeared on the show, but between the packaging and appearances in 3H's BotCon comics, they got a little life. The Deployers were Drones found by Nightscream and were brought into the team. Despite being drones, each has an individual bio and personality. In the 3H BotCon comics they were scene in action along side the Maximals. That's one thing I always liked about those comics, they'd take place along side the show and feature non-show characters. It was a great way to breathe a little life into toys that generally never got a chance to shine.

The Deployers were a small addition to the overall line and for the most part generally forgotten about these days. They were just odd enough to be neat and added just a little extra play value to your toys. They are small and colorful. The mixture of translucent and opaque plastic makes for generally really nice looking toys of little mechanical animals. With the Battlemasters in Siege and other weapon based partner Transformers that have been available recently, I'm surprised a new version of the Deployers hasn't been on the shelves yet.

Star Wars Power of the Force Coins

I really miss the days of pack in premiums.

That darn cat

I've been really looking forward to the upcoming Spark Armor figures from Cyberverse and early today the first looks at Cheetor figure popped up. If your dogs started barking like crazy, my bad, that was me. I am absolutely in heaven over this figure. I love Cheetor so very much and getting a new toy of him is something I'll break the sound barrier over.

Cheetor is a much more mechanical cat than his traditional Beast Wars look would suggest, and I dig that. I've always dug the mechanical look of animal based TF's in G1 and it looks great here. Weirdly enough, Cheetors Spark Armor partner is a reuse of the boat that comes with Bumblebee. I don't have any real complaint with that, it just seems odd. Bumblebee often comes with some sort of water themed gimmick as a throwback to his original special ability of being able to swim. Cheetor... not so much, but it doesn't look bad in armor mode at all. I'm guessing it has more to do with compatibility of the molds than anything.

The prospect of a Cheetor mold in a mainline TF line excites me as a fan of Transformers who fondly looks back at the beast era. I really hope for a ton of repaints. Obvious ones like Ravage or Tigatron or even something more obscure like CatScan or Cataclysm would be a great start. Actually a Shadow Panther or Panther from McDonald's Beast Wars Happy Meals would look great too. That's one of the great things about a more simple toy mold like this one, it lends itself to other things easily. Thinking about it, Tigatron with a blue jet armor would make for a great Tigerhawk.

All the Powers of Grayskull

Man... man... MAN I want this. I've been a steady fan of the Mega Construx Masters of the Universe figures, they're exactly what I've wanted in a He-Man line as an adult. The upcoming Castle Grayskull set looks amazing. I'm firmly rooted in classic He-Man and this nails that right in the head. Not just is it a great recreation of the classic play set, but it's even full of nods towards the original mini-comics and toys.

The included figures not only contain the Sorceress, but figures of Man at Arms, Teela, and Beastman as they originally appeared in those mini-comics. Man at Arms doesn't have his mustache like the original toy! Of course this version of Duncan also comes with the Battle Bones set, so they'll make for some great soldiers.

Things like this are really fun and get me excited anticipating future releases. I'll be honest though, Grayskull commands a hefty price and I'm likely to wait for a sale or even an appearance at Ross to get mine. Regardless, it's things like this I really like seeing and can only hope for more great stuff like this in the future.

A RID in time

For some reason Robots in Disguise (the one from 2001) has gone down as one of the more obscure lines in the history of Transformers. It's weird as for the most part as it was reasonably popular. Sure some of the toys were overly complicated, but boy did those molds get a lot of use for a few years there. The cartoon was silly, but generally well liked. In fact, I don't know why silly is a bad thing. Something can be light hearted and still feature mature story telling. I wouldn't call the cartoon mature story telling, but it certainly was a fun show to watch.

In fact most people were really looking forward to it coming out. I can understand people who weren't around at the time not being very aware of it, but a lot of us are still around. I had a ton of fun hunting down all of the toys. After it was over and Transformers had moved onto Armada, RID was the comparison those who didn't like Armada made often. They liked RID so much and found the toys to be so much better and now... poof. It's just gone from popular memory.

The show cannot be released on video due to a ridiculous amount of legalities and probably a lack of interest in some of the folks involved. I hope that one day it does get an official release, it 'd be nice to have a legit copy of the show. It was a good TF series that got treated unfairly by history. It'd be nice to see it get some love again. 

Let me tell you about my Micromans

This past weekend I was looking through the closet in my toy room for something and came across a few of my Microman toys. This lead to my wife asking what they were and a small discussion about them. I really wish I would have put some pictures of them on my Instagram as they're such nice looking toys. It didn't really occur to me at the time though as I was doing something else. Still, I do wish Takara would bring back Microman again.

They've been doing seemingly well with the Diaclone Reboot (I assume) and I was a big fan of the early 2000's Microman stuff. I've been holding out for whatever Hasbro does with Micronauts as a filler... though part of me is starting to wonder if anything will actually come. It's 2019 and no cartoon as told and 2020 is half a year away and nothing yet from that movie. I recall a job listing for a brand manager for the division, but that was before Hasbro's recent business developments, so who knows if it's even on the table anymore? I try to be optimistic about things, but reality is reality and sometimes projects just don't come to fruition. Hopefully something will come sooner or later.

The Lost World: Jurassic Park watches at Burger King

Got an idea (I originally spelled that eyedeal), how about we all go buy whatever Jurassic Park/World watch we can find at our local stores and go to Burger King. Let's all be a special kind of rad.

Army of Darkness building

It's Memorial Day, casually referred to as the unofficial start of summer, but it's been 90 degrees since the beginning of the month already here... so just the start of summer as far as I'm concerned. I've mentioned before that I consider summer to be the prelude to Halloween. Sure, it's all hot and sunny outside while eating some hot dogs cooked on a grill while watching fireworks. Not exactly fall, but where do a million horror movies take place at? Summer camps mofo. How many slasher marathons on cable have you sat through during the summer? Like a million mofo. What's with the last month of summer and suddenly pumpkins are showing up? Halloween mofo.

Like I said, summer is the prelude to Halloween.

Mofo.

Right now I'm likely kicked up in my recliner, alternating between Castlevania Collection and napping. I'm fully taking advantage of the holiday weekend to get some much needed rest, so much that I wrote this post a week in advance (hello from the past!). But like I said, summer is the prelude to Halloween mofo and something Halloween has been on my mind recently is the Dollar General Halloween army for this year. Mofo.

The Dollar General Halloween Army isn't the official name for the series of spooky figures. It doesn't have one, but it's my best way to reference them. Beginning in 2017, DG released the Skeleton Army as part of their Halloween offerings. Ten skeleton warriors for a dollar, what could be better? Last year in 2018, they followed that up with the Mummy Army with the Skeleton Army returning as well. This year I can only hope they keep the tradition going. It's something I've grown to love over the past few years.

I've been speculating what the 2019 set could be. Hoping the excellence continues and hoping for something really great. I've went back and forth on what kind of monsters I'd like to see as an army. I'm strongly resting on 3 ideas. Vampires, werewolves, and Frankenstein Monsters. An army of those monsters carrying swords and axe's seems amazing. Part of me wonders about witches and warlocks, or even a generic fantasy set. But Vampires are the one I'd want to see most. Full cliche Dracula style vampires in capes and suits brandishing mid-evil weapons would be amazing.

Mofo.

Dungeons & Holy Craps

This is ssssooooo good.

Family Fun Transformers 35th Anniversary Exibition

『「親子で楽しむ」トランスフォーマー35周年展』＠横浜人形の家　5月25日～6月30日開催 https://t.co/vW4dQGDEUg pic.twitter.com/L6ubT6IMnV

— オートベース愛知 (@autobase_aichi) May 9, 2019

"The Family Fun" Transformers 35th Anniversary exhibition @ Yokohama Doll House from 25 May to 30 http://snakas.blog95.fc2.com/blog-entry-7076.html …June

Man, I'd love to go to this. If it wasn't on the other side of the planet, then I'd be there. Ironically earlier today I was thinking about how I'd run an expo as opposed to a con. Seems like something neat to do. Probably a ton of work though.

Bone Age

Sometimes the coolest things don't succeed, there's a meme for that and all, but failure's just one of the more unfortunate parts of life. Bone Age by Kenner is one of those things that seemed too cool to fail and somehow did. Basically a prehistoric version of M.A.S.K with the additional play value of modular toy design worked into the mix. The series wasn't around long, no cartoon, just some toys and a kids meal promotion. There was more toys planned, but they never came out.

The toys were dinosaur skeletons driven by cavemen that could convert into a vehicle of sorts by disassembly and reassembling (called parts forming in the Transformers world) the bones from one form to another. The caveman would be from a different warring clan and usually had a dinosaur skull helmet that could be removed and some weapons. They were generally well sculpted and around the same size as a M.A.S.K toy. With the removable helmets and conversion gimmick, I wonder how come it wasn't tied into M.A.S.K in some way. It's not hard to imagine they were at some point in the planning period. Though Kenner's Sky Commanders were also pretty similar as well. So maybe it was just a house style.

 

I don't have to tell you that I thought they were great. What's not to love? A cool dinosaur skeleton that turns into a helicopter with a tiny little caveman dude who wore a skull. If the line was a bigger sucess, I'm sure the satanic panic groups would have had a field day with this one. How wouldn't they, it's pure heavy metal. Skeletons just walking around with a skull wearing caveman beating the crap out of one another by any means necessary. ANY MEANS NECESSARY. Think you're putting up a fight? Well, my skeleton can turn into a skeleton tank... yours turned into a plane. I'm going to use my skull helmet magic to shoot missiles from the horns of my DINOSAUR SKELETON TANK. Somebody at Kenner was crazy in the best way possible.

Get Godbeast's Stuff!

If you haven't checked out the newest batch of Kabuto Mushi from The Godbeast, what are you waiting for?!!? Somehow he manages to outdo himself each series and this current batch is out of this world! Every figure uses the Glyos system which allows for tons of custom builds. While the figures looks great on their own, the things you'll find yourself coming up with can be really exciting.

Pretender Monsters

Christmas in July, Halloween in May. Summer is the prelude to Halloween and I've got monsters on my mind. With so much of my focus on smaller Transformers (and fortunately Hasbro feeding this need) I find myself really wishing they'd do something like the Monster Pretenders again. Not just because it's something I'd personally love (maybe 95% why), but as Generations has been focusing on late G1 the past few series, I think this would be a great fit and add a little variety. That and monsters are hip daddy-o, monsters are on the rise in popularity. Godzilla is doing so well in America that Toho is setting up offices here to capitalize after the deal with Legendary expires in 2020. You damn well know I'm excited about that.

This Italian commercial from GiG's Transformers line calls the Monster Pretenders just Pretender Monsters. This works really well as it flows a little better than Monster Pretenders as a name. At the time I'm thinking Monsters in my Pocket were on shelves as well as other 'gross' toys, so obviously GiG was marketing towards that market with this cool as crap commercial with monster hands ripping away the monster shell. Not to mention that AWESOME logo. I am so freaking jealous of that logo and with the way GiG sold these guys. So freaking jealous.

It's kind of genius in a way, if they really sold well, they could release multiple color variations so you could make your own Monstuctor and even get some cool slime add on for the shells. Just imagine a world where Transformers became a cool monster line. I do often admittedly, but as the line has had so many damn monsters in it already... why didn't it?

Cup Noodle Fever Dream

What the hell just happened?

Dora Circe

In anticipation of Rangerstop next month, I've been watching Zyuranger episodes lately to curb the excitement. Admittedly I watch enough Rangers as is, but that's my alibi and I'm sticking with it. Earlier today I watched the episode "Terror! Eaten in an Instant" which starred Dora Circe as the monster of the week. The MMPR Pudgy Pig is based on Dora Circe (in case you thought he looked familiar) and the characters are pretty similar (maybe not as much in the case of the second Pudgy Pig). The episode is one of the more silly adventures of Zyuranger featuring a grocery store owning family of who loves to eat together. Bandora was bitter as she was trying to loose weight and saw the family leading her to sick the monster on them.

Dora Circe, despite outward appearances, moves so fast that's he's practically invisible. This leads to some funny bits where the family thinks their food is being stolen by one another and starts fighting. The monster then goes on to eat all the food in their store before moving onto the rest of the town. Before long the entire town is fighting among each other (you get grumpy when you're hungry) and the Zyurangers discover the pig monster causing all the problems.

Initially they confront Dora Circe, whom during the fight eat's their weapons and gains the upper hand before Gnome intervenes and takes the Rangers with him to his home. It's there that the Rangers have to pass a test so that Gnome will give them a herb that will help them defeat the monster. Of course it's a food themed test and the Rangers have to eat an insane amount of food. After Boi is able to eat a carrot (apparently he hates carrots) they are given the herb.

The Zyurangers trick Dora Circe into eating the herb causing him to vomit everything he's eaten (including their weapons) out. The weakened monster is promptly destroyed with the Howling Cannon and the town gets back to normal. Like I said, it's a silly episode. Despite the comedic nature, it goes into the more fantasy elements of Zyuranger that I like so much. The MMPR episode that uses the footage from this episode isn't too different, but enough to be distinct and have a separate plot. I do like MMPR better as I've been watching it for 25 years and have an attachment, but I do think Zyuranger is a better show. Episodes like this are part of the reason why.

Counter Punch, Clones, and Decoys

Man the animation for this commercial looks great, I really like the Clones in action.

Cyberverse Tiny Turbo Changers

Over the weekend, pictures of new Cyberverse Tiny Turbo Changers popped up. I've been a steady fan of the little guys, only missing series 5 so far. I've been hoping for a G1 themed blind bag series (ala WST TF) and this is close enough. I like the design aesthetic for Cyberverse and think it applies itself well to the cute looks of a TTC. Really hope these guys are more widely available as I don't want to have too hard of a time getting them.Hopefully they pop up at Five Below. That's like the perfect place for these.

Something that I've been wondering about TTC figures. They're blind bag mini figures obviously, but would they be keshi? Small rubbery collectible figures is basically the definition of keshi and these guys fit that description. I guess it ultimately doesn't matter, but it's nice to have a name compartment to stick them under. Seeing as some folks describe Grossery Gang and Shopkins as keshi, I suppose BotBots and TTC could fit under the label. Man, I really want things like glow in the dark and clear chase versions of these guys.

VR Troopers Happy Meal

This Happy Meal was out when I worked at McDonald's in High School. Let's just say some goober with kool-aid dyed hair thought he was awesome wearing this stuff to school.

Did not go as planned.

Godzilla Store Invasion!

2019 Toho x Kinokuniya
GODZILLA STORE INVASION
A Godzilla Pop Up Shop

With the highly anticipated release of GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS on May 31^st, several Kinokuniya stores across the nation have come together to bring the Godzilla Store to you to provide you the best in Godzilla merchandise! At Godzilla Store Pop Up Shops, you can find an abundance of unique visual books, a whopping 12 of the Godzilla “B SIDE LABEL” stickers, various Godzilla T-shirts including the coveted TOMODACHI shirt featuring Godzilla and Jet Jaguar, a Second-Form Shin Godzilla Cable Bite, several Godzilla straps, and so much more! These unique and one-of-a-kind items can be found nowhere else outside of Japan’s Godzilla Store in Tokyo. GODZILLA STORE INVASION will be available at these Kinokuniya locations starting from May 18^th to June 30^th.

New Jersey

New Jersey

Mitsuwa Marketplace
595 River Road
Edgewater, NJ 07020

Illinois

Chicago
Mitsuwa Marketplace
100 E. Algonquin Road
Arlington Heights, IL 60005

Washington

Seattle
Uwajimaya Village
525 South Weller Street
Seattle, WA 98104

California

San Francisco
Japan Center
1281 Webster Street
San Francisco, CA 94115

Los Angeles
Little Tokyo
123 Astronaut E. S. Onizuka Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Texas

Austin
6929 Airport Blvd.
Suite 121
Austin, TX 78752

Carrollton
Carrollton Town Center
2540 Old Denton Road
Suite 114
Carrollton, TX 75006

*Thanks to Rogers & Cowan for providing Zone Base with this news*

Beast Hunters

Transformers Prime as a series ran from late 2010 through 2013 with a 3 season cartoon and direct to video movie. The toy line was released in late 2011 and ran through 2013 (it was delayed in part to the Dark of the Moon push). The series was a mixture of traditional TF and movie flavors that for the most part was well received. As with most Transformers series, the line show/toy line got a refreshing and that's what I'm here to talk about today. The third season (and movie) of the show and the second half of the toy lines got rebranded as Beast Hunters and with it the entire direction changed.

The most obvious addition to the line was the 'beasts', which in this case was a new faction of dragon based Predacons. These served as antagonists to both Autobots and Decepticons, ala The Evil Horde. However, on the show was limited to only one character (later 3 in the movie) and was sided with the Decepticons. The Autobots and Decepticons were in turn changed to 'hunters' who now had spiffy armor to hunt these dragons. New mold figures mostly (not all) had removable armor pieces, while older figures were remolded with the armor on their body. Neatly enough, the armor was a mixture of mid-evil and animal theming. This led to some really creative designs. Bumblebee for example had bird themed armor that worked out in a very spiky 'Mad Max' looking car, while Knock-Out had a crocodile theme that carried over from robot to car.

I had mentioned the tv show earlier, which is a good start to addressing the fictional setting. The show was a CGI cartoon entering it's third season. With the show well on it's way before the Beast Hunters theme was applied, there wasn't a lot of wiggle room to add the Predacons in easily. This lead to one character, Predaking, to be worked into the cast. Optimus too was given a new body, which some could argue that the resources could have went to another character. However as his design wasn't as beastly as the others, I wonder if that was in place prior to the new theme. Ultra Magnus also joined the cast, whose appearance was a modified version of the earlier Optimus Prime model. Joining the Deceptiocons was Shockwave, whom also was more traditional. In the direct to video movie which followed the season finale, two more Predacons joined the cast fortunately.

IDW launched a Beast Hunters comic series as well, which followed the adventures of the Dinobots on Cybertron after their Fall of Cybertron comic instead of the toys or cartoon. While I enjoyed the comic during it's brief run, it was disappointing that it wasn't a better adaption of the namesake. Honestly one has to wonder if somebody in that department just didn't want to tell that story. Fortunately Hasbro included a pack in prose fiction on the instructions of the toys called 'Tales of the Beast Hunters'. This story was more following of the toy line and I super appreciated it. It was a nice addition and allowed for the toys to have more life than just existing. In Japan another smaller series followed named 'Triple Combination: Transformers Go!'.

Go! was comprised of animated shorts packed in with toys of new mold Autobots and a new group of Predacons made from the prior dragon molds. Go! was a bit of a departure from Prime before it and was more like a Brave series. The animated shorts are available online and man I wished I'd had gotten some of the toys. Though I suppose I still can.

Transformer fan reaction was mixed as usual and as usual I loved it. Beast Hunters was the original working title for Beast Machines and that excited me instantly. While I liked Prime as is, this new direction appealed to me as it combined beast era with more super robot themes. The toys were really neat and I found myself liking the 'hunter' figures more so than the 'beast' figures oddly enough. The armor just made for a creative and cool toy that captured my imagination. While Wheeljack is my favorite of the group, that Bumblebee is a close second.

It's funny how something from the mainline not that long ago can go borderline obscure in time, but Beast Hunters just isn't that talked about anymore. This of course is the nature of things, especially in an ever changing long running franchise. I wonder if a time will come where Prime is looked back upon fondly and how Beast Hunters will be remembered. Time will tell I guess, but during it's time, Beast Hunters was a great time.

Famicom Disk System

I've always been a mix of wishing the Disk System would have came out here and relieved that it didn't. I had a hard enough time explaining that it wouldn't play my Atari games as it was. 

It was a different time.

Micromaster Transports

I love small Transformers, you know this. Often I find myself wishing for more play sets to go with the current crop of Tiny TF on shelves. Titan Masters had the benefit of larger TF's having a base mode for them with their partners acting as vehicles (as well as the larger TF's). That was great. Now with Siege bringing me outright Mircomasters, I'd really love to have more to go with them.

The transports of the G1 Micromasters were wonderful and probably some of my favorite Micromasters related things. I've always liked when Optimus's trailer became a play set, with the transports, you had several 'trailers' with that functionality. It's a little silly to see a truck hop into it's trailer and fly around... but at this point we've already accepted so much that this seems completely normal.

Mighty Morphin Food

Anyone else wish this was on the shelf at the local grocery right now?

And not expired?

Spark Armor Up!

I've been heavily anticipating the upcoming Spark Armor Cyberverse toys. Sure the reaction to Cyberverse has been mixed to say the least, but who cares, they look cool. I've talked about these here before, but as the release draws closer, I'm obviously going to get more excited for these. This kind of thing just screams fun. Not to mention, the potential to make something great is high.

You see, Transformers has a tendency to reuse the toy molds in different colors and usually as different characters. That's relatively normal in toy lines, but with Transformers it's often used to further flesh out ideas and concepts. Random seemingly generic repaints can turn into an obscure character returning to action, or get used in the most crazy ways. The Spark Armor partners also add extra potential. While it's not clear how they could be traded from robot to robot (if at all), something that simple in a repaint could offer up several new ideas. Suddenly Optimus's jet armor paired with the Starscream mold could be a neat new version of Skyquake (assuming the parts can be swapped).

Outside of the obvious incoming repaints, the idea is just plain fun. Ever since God Bomber, adding armor to a Transformer has held a certain appeal to me. I really hope the gimmick gets a good bit of use in the cartoon. The show has been fun enough as is, but something like this can really add something to fight scenes.

Godzilla Destroys the Internet!

Godzilla Destroys the Internet!

King of Monsters Roars onto the Web to Establish Global Dominance with First Official Website Godzilla.com

Enter the Only Godzilla Portal for Official Exclusive News, Events, Complete Filmography, Rare Videos, New Merchandise and First Official Monsterpedia

May 14, 2019 (Los Angeles) – Feel the rumble as one of the most iconic monsters stomps its way online with the global launch of the first-ever official Godzilla website from Japanese entertainment studio Toho Co., in time for the highly anticipated film, Godzilla: King of the Monsters releasing on May 31.

Commemorating the 65th anniversary of its screen debut in 1954, Toho is connecting Godzilla fans around the world of all ages through exciting content from more than 30 films, comics, art, apparel, toys, encompassing the entire Godzilla universe.

“We’re thrilled to unleash a world of content around our most beloved Godzilla,” said Keiji Ota, CGO (Chief Godzilla Officer) at Toho.  “Fans have been longing for a universe that celebrates the all-mighty king of monsters and Godzilla.com delivers the most exciting news and stories about upcoming events, new merchandise and special releases as we commemorate the 65th anniversary of Godzilla.”

One of the most exciting features is the first official Godzilla Monsterpedia, unveiling everything fans have ever wanted to know about monsters (or kaiju) in the Godzilla Universe!  Monsters such as King Ghidorah, the three-headed monster and Godzilla’s biggest rival; Mothra, the guardian god of its maternal island; and MechaGodzilla, the giant battle robot modeled on Godzilla are featured. The battles among them and with humans are one of the highlights of the Godzilla movies. The more fans get to know about the kaiju, the more they can enjoy the exciting world of Godzilla.

Godzilla.com will be continuously updated as a source of news for upcoming Godzilla films including movie trailers and key art, events, fan content, new product news, and all future announcements.  It will also be a resource for Godzilla’s complete filmography including rare videos, wallpaper and much more destructive content including updates on epic Godzilla toys, apparel and lifestyle products.

Godzilla first appeared in Toho’s “Godzilla” (1954), a classic monster movie widely regarded as a masterpiece. The work launched a monster franchise that expanded over 64 years with more than 30 films. Over time, the franchise itself has evolved, as Godzilla and other creatures appearing in Godzilla films have become a metaphor for social commentary in the real world. The characters are no longer mere entertainment icons but embody emotions and social problems of the times. Godzilla has become a globally recognized icon, finding its way into worldwide pop culture and influencing many creative minds.

About Toho:

Toho Company, Limited, is a Japanese entertainment studio focused on the development, production, exhibition, and distribution of powerful content for motion pictures, television and theater. Founded in 1932, it remains a prominent force in bringing brands and original storytelling with versatile talents to audiences worldwide. Its subsidiaries include Toho Cinemas, the highest grossing exhibition company in Japan


*special thanks to Rogers & Cowan for providing Zone Base with this news*

Zyuranger is every heavy metal album cover

Rangerstop Atlanta isn't too far away, I just might be excited.

Godzilla vs Evangelion

Earlier today, my wife texted me a screenshot of our advance tickets for Godzilla King of the Monsters. Of course I'm excited, in just a few weeks I'll be in full giddy kaiju glee in my theater seat. Magically enough, over in Japan, Universal Studios (love that place) new attraction Godzilla vs. Evangelion The Real 4D will open. For one magic weekend, Godzilla is going to be EVERYWHERE. While I doubt I'll be able to swing by Universal in Japan anytime soon (I'd be happy just to go to Florida again), I'll be content in enjoying the new movie over here (though I'd kill for some of that merchandise they're selling over there). If you've been holding off on buying any of the great Godzilla toys for sale at your local stores... you might want to get a few soon.

I'm going to have a hard time not stomping one around in the theater while the movie's on.

Here a bot, there a bot

I've been super duper enjoying buying BotBots since their release. It's hard not to, they meet so many of my wants in toys. Right now I've been focusing on series 2 bling packs. They're readily available at the Walmart I buy groceries at each week. I usually pull up the check list on my phone and pick out a few I want. I've been making a point to not get any that are also in multi packs and going in picking out specific ones each week. It's much more fun for me that way and keeps things interesting. I find myself focusing on the food based ones (Food Changables for life), though the other ones are super fun too. This weekend I got Songwave, whom is a 'smart home' device like an Alexa. He's a reworking of Pucksie and honestly a toy I like better than the first use.

SEGA 32X

I've always wished the SEGA 32X would have worked out. 

To me, it just perfect sense to upgrade your old system.

Beast Wars Neo with English subtitles now availible!

Beast Machines Dinobots

Earlier this week, I talked about one of my favorite Transformers sub-groups, today I'm going to talk about another. Around the same time as the Mutant Beast Wars toys were released, Hasbro also put out the Beast Machines Dinobots. In fact both were previewed at that years Toy Fair and were something I had eagerly anticipated. The toys were made using dinosaur based molds from Beast Wars recolored and sold as new characters except for Magmatron, who was a straight release as the Japanese character on US shelves.

While the idea of a team made solely of repaints may not excite some, hear me out. This was a time when getting toys from Japan wasn't as easy as it is today and four of the toys used molds from Beast Wars Neo. Magmatron was basically the Japanese toy in US packaging (it even says so on the box) while others used the BW Neo molds to create new characters. At the time you usually either waited for BotCon or hopefully could score Japanese toys online. Getting one of the Japanese molds easily at your local store was pretty welcome for most fans.

 Fictionally, they didn't do much. A little here and there in the 3H BotCon fiction and a text blurb on the back of the box. There's not much reason as to why I like them as much as I do, I just do. I like the molds, the colors, and the idea of a next generation of Dinobots. Maybe it was just the right thing at just the right time. The team is pretty obscure these days, obviously overshadowed by the regular Dinobots, and that's ok. Every once and awhile a new Dinosaur based TF will come along and I silently hope for one to be repainted into some sort of homage and of course it never happens. Fortunately there's plenty of Dinobot toys with a surprising amount of variety (movie, Generations, random toys) so I can't complain too much. Just in a world where fans have grown tired of Stepper (who ever would imagine that) one could hope another semi obscure weird batch of homages could see the light.

Yokohama Doll House Transformers Exibition

【横浜人形の家 次回企画展のご案内】「親子で楽しむ」トランスフォーマー35周年展　変形＝トランスフォームの不思議を横浜人形の家で体感！映画最新作「バンブルビー」ジオラマは日本初公開！会期：5/25土～6/30日／観覧料：大人900円/小中学生450円 https://t.co/RtDNtaare1 #トランスフォーマー pic.twitter.com/ZW1fzIbcAz

— 横浜人形の家 (@Dolty_y) May 9, 2019

[Yokohama Doll House Next Planning exhibition] "Enjoy with parent and child" Transformers 35th Anniversary Exhibition transformation = Experience the wonders of transformation in the House of Yokohama Dolls! The latest movie [Bumblebee] Diorama Japan Premiere! Date: 5/25 Sat-6/30/Admission: Adults 900 yen/elementary and junior high school students 450 Yen http://www.doll-museum.jp/4524  #トランスフォーマー

Mutant Beast Wars

The year was 2000, and even though Beast Wars was technically over and replaced with Beast Machines, there was still plenty of Beast Wars toys on the shelves. Since reruns of Beast Wars were steadily running on Fox Kids on weekday afternoons, it was natural to stock Beast Wars figures with the Beast Machines figures. The Fox Kids versions of Beast Wars toys were neato recolors of BW toys that took advantage of kids who saw those reruns and wanted a Transmetal Cheetor. With this and Animorph Transformers toys stocked with Beast Machines, there was a lot of beast themed Transformers on the shelves.

Animorphs wasn't a successes (I mean, I liked the toys... but that was something I found out after they went on clearance), however a company doesn't start out to fail at something and there was a few Animorph Transformers toys designed that went unused in the line. Somebody had the idea to remold the human bits into robot parts and release them.

So there you had the Mutants of the Beast Wars, The Mutant Beast Wars! What made them mutants exactly? Well, thanks to a virus unleashed by Megatron, these Fuzors were lost in their beast modes. Transforming from beast mode to beast mode with the robot lost inside (but maybe you could find their robot head peeking out). In case that description and the picture above doesn't clue you in, they don't have a robot mode. Icebird, for example, turns from owl to bear.

Like Animorphs, they were great toys, but now they were actual Transformers (not just in name). Though like their Animorph heritage, they were misfits in the Transformers fan world. As one could expect the G1 Purist crowd obviously despised them. A good deal of the beast era fans also wasn't fond. Though a handful of us did, and personally I loved them.

I was all over the figures the moment they arrived at my local Walmart. In fact the first one I grabbed was Icebird (my favorite of the bunch) one Friday night. I had the night off and took a quick stop to check out the toys and grab a bite to eat. An excited jump in the air lead to grabbing Icebird and a pack of chicken wings. That evening was spent with a toy I couldn't put down and messy homemade buffalo wings. Mutant Beast Wars didn't have any fiction outside the text blurb on the packaging. If I was a better writer, I probably would have written tomes of terrible fan fiction. The Mutants DID however appear briefly in 3H's BotCon comics. While they didn't get the biggest starring role, I was glad for something. Later they made some various low key fictional appearances in IDW comics and Fun Publications Fan fiction. Soundwave even made appearances in E-Hobby and Kre-O manga.

The Mutants never got any extra members, though some fans speculated Savage/Noble (Beast Changer) could be a Mutant. The 'Ask Vector Prime' Facebook Page (ran by Fun Publications) said in some realities he was and in some realities all BW characters were Mutants. Which I suppose in some reality is an answer and in some reality the alternate reality trope isn't played out yet (but Thanos still wins). All jokes aside, I've never considered him to be a member, but if you want to go ahead. There's a multiverse shoehorn for that.

Another would be new member is Leatherhide. A planned repaint of the Soundwave mold for the ill-fated Halloween Horrocon sub-line (that's a nifty name, huh), Leatherhide would probably be released as an Autobot, but a Mutant in any fiction. Leatherhide fictionally did appear in The Allspark Almanac volume 2 and in Fun Publications fiction meaning I'm not the only person who really wanted this toy.

Mutant Beast Wars over the course of time has managed to remain obscure in the greater world of Transformers with a little nod here and there. An odd team of misfits loved by some and despised by others. I suppose for the opposing team it's a good thing they didn't take off. Though as someone who came close to buying a test shot at a BotCon, I would have loved for them to take flight. The little nods here and there are great (and appreciated), but in some alternate universe I have a display of Mutant Beast Wars Masterpiece toys.

Switch Online May 2019 Games

I'm REALLY excited for Vs. Excitebike and really curious about the SP games that are usually a mystery until the app updates. 

The Real & Robo Aerial Division

An actual F-15 Eagle can change as needed to a high-speed aerial combat robo! The Real & Robo aerial division troops stop Waruder guerrilla activity by monitoring from the sky.
Jet Fighter Robo F-15 Eagle
Silver (Super High-Speed Fighter Type)
Blue (Acrobat Type)

pic credit https://micromanclub.tumblr.com/

Construction Vehicle Robo

Transform Squadron 9- Mega Mutating Mayhem

Click Here to Listen

On the May 2019 edition of the show, Rob talks Transformers, Beast Morphers, Godzilla, and so much more!

Spider-Man: The Videogame attract mode

Practically every other Spider-Man games is called Spider-Man: the Videogame/The Game. Of course this is pretty common in licensed video games. Since I'm not a legal expert (because then I'd be working in law) I'm willing to concede that there's probably a legality involved in this naming. Never the less, this particular Spider-Man: The Videogame just might be the very best. It's a SEGA arcade game from the early 90's, even if it was bad, it'd still be really good.

Despite the obvious nature of Spider-Man on an adventure fed by quarters, the game is a great 4-player beat 'em up with amazing graphics. That's actually an understatement. The game switches between beat 'em up and action platformer between stages. You'll be playing to a point and the 'camera' either zooms in or out. Zoomed in with large characters, beat 'em up level. Zoomed out with smaller characters, action platform time.

You can play as either Spider-Man (duh), Black Cat, Sub-Mariner, or Hawkeye. I usually went with Spider-Man or Hawkeye, though no matter whom you played, you could hold your own. For whatever reason the game never made it to home consoles. There was a slew of good Spider-Man games by SEGA on their consoles, but man it would have been great to play this at home (yeah, yeah Raspberry Pi). I wonder if this was based on hardware capability and by the time the Saturn or even 32X was out if the license had expired. Which is likely the case.

Star Wars Transformers Millennium Falcon

Happy Star Wars Day

May the 4th be with you!

In which I talk about the Beast Morphers team up epsiode

So, going around the rumor mill lately is a team up of current and past Power Rangers in an upcoming episode of Beast Morphers. This isn't too uncommon in Power Ranger series and with so many team up episodes in Super Sentai, the footage is available to make it happen. It wasn't really officially announced, just in the rumors as former Power Ranger actors were spotted in New Zealand where Beast Morphers (like most Power Rangers shows) is filmed. Well, non other than Austin St. John (the original Red Ranger) is said to be in an episode of Beast Morphers.

So the team up looks pretty much solid at this point and know what? I'm happy about that. I like the team up episodes and as generic as it may sound, MMPR is my favorite Power Rangers show. I never get tired of those episodes and that era, so seeing Jason show up in Beast Morphers (which I REALLY like) is a treat. Not to mention, since the footage is obviously coming from Kyoryuger vs Go Busters, that pretty much confirms the Dino Charge cast members being spotted near filming. Dino Charge is another PR series I REALLY like, so it will be great to see those Rangers in action again.

It's funny and just to once again prove my lack of organization, I don't always know what I'm going to write here each day. Sometimes I'll have a post in mind in advance, lot's of times I'm coming up with it not long before I write it. I'll have an idea, and either go with it or it turns into something else as I'm looking into that idea. Today as I was driving to work, I was thinking about Ranger Stop here in two months. I've been wanting to write something about Power Rangers all week, but didn't know what. Then wham damn the universe gave me a subject.

Whoop that ass.

RIP Peter Mayhew

May 19 1944- April 30 2019

Godzilla 1998 ... the ride?

Believe it or not, the 1998 Godzilla movie will turn 21 soon and while I'm sure so many of you will make some joke about even it needs a beer after watching itself type joke. I'll admit to actually liking the movie. It's ok to have opposing opinions about things (despite how people behave on social media). I'm not about to make any apologies for the movie. I don't have to, I didn't make it or have any stake in it. I just have always liked it. Sure, I wish they would have called it anything else, because I'm convinced by any other name it would be looked back at more fondly (it's basically a remake of The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms).

There I was in 1998, all of 20 years old and enjoying student life at my local city college (as opposed to high school where I was miserable). The media hype and blitz for the new upcoming Godzilla movie meant kaiju was everywhere and I was loving it. The 'new' look of Godzilla was kept secret, meant to be a big surprise to viewers... which was spoiled by the toys hitting shelves weeks ahead of the films release. Godzilla marketing was running rampant and almost as big as the movie was itself. Sequels were planned, the hype was crazy and then the movie came out...

Most people hated it and everything just kinda died. Sure there was the Saturday morning cartoon that followed (pretty sure it was to far along at that point to drop), but it was like within a few weeks everything just kinda got swept under a rug. It's funny, all these years later the movie has it's fans, but most folks hate it. *shrug* It is what it is. Aside from one more movie appearance, the 1998 Godzilla was gone.

One of the more interesting planned 1998 Godzilla projects, of all things, was a roller coaster. Now I could easily see a dark ride or some kind of 4D movie at a theme park, but a roller coaster isn't something I would have thought of. I'm not complaining though, hell make a Godzilla themed anything and I'm there. Oddly enough the roller coaster is actually a still operating ride that's quite popular at Carowinds in North Carolina. The After Burn roller coaster started it's life as a Top Gun themed coaster during the time the park was owned by Paramount. During the initial planning phases, one of the theming ideas for the coaster was the sure to be a hit Godzilla movie. Seeing as the movie came out in 1998 and the ride opened in 1999, it's not hard to see why they went with the more popular movie.

I live in the real world, I understand the movie didn't light the world on fire. I accept reality. Though... just... Carowinds isn't that far away from here. I'd LOVE to be able to drive up there and partake in the Godzilla themed merchandise and snacks for sale around a Godzilla roller coaster. Get my picture next to it and with it's photo op statue of Godzilla. Man... if only the movie didn't belly flop into the pool. But it did.. hard... we all heard the fwap sound from the parking lot.

Know what, I'm gonna watch that damn movie right now.