robots/monsters/misadventure

Friday, February 28, 2020

Friday Night Frights- The Phantom Of The Opera


The Universal Monsters, a particular favorite group of mine and it's a fine Friday Night to take in one of the very best! The Phantom Of The Opera was released in 1925, 95 years ago this November! That's a long time, and like the long passage of time, there's a lot of history in this movie. For starters, the opera house. That set stood on Universal Studios grounds for 90 years before being torn down in 2014.

Bela Lugosi as Dracula filmed scenes here, as well as various scenes from The Bride of Frankenstein. Even the 1943 Phantom of the Opera remake by Universal was filmed on this set. That movie stared Claude Rains as The Phantom. Claude also appeared in other Universal Monster movies, Sir John Talbot in The Wolfman and Dr. Jack Griffin in The Invisible Man! Hey, you think there's a transparent inspiration for tonight's edition of Friday Night Frights? A ton of TV shows and movies were filmed on the set. So many that it's rumored to be haunted. A caped figure has been seen in the catwalks leading to speculation of Lon Chaney haunting the set of his most famous movie.

What's really interesting about this movie is, well, it just doesn't exist anymore. Nope. The version you're watching above or on video perhaps is a cobbled together reconstruction. It's a close appropriation of the original film made by editing together clips from various editions of the movie. It's a silent movie, but you'll notice around minute mark 1:00 in the above clip the guy holding the lamp is clearly talking to the audience. That scene is likely from one of the sound versions of the movie stuck in sans audio.

Weird huh?

The movie is public domain and chances are you've seen it sitting in a discount movie bin from time to time. My aunt saw a copy of it in one of those and I still have that VHS tape to this day. I wonder just how much of the original movie is on that tape that I watched countless times growing up?

A Grand Time


Siege, Earthrise. Both Transformers toy lines with heavy focus on Micromasters. Earthrise even makes a point for multiple Micromaster bases in it's ranks. Let's go a few lines back, Power of the Primes and Titans Return, also featuring small toy play. Titanmasters in fact had very similar play features and so may of the larger bots in Titans Return had base modes.

I'm making a badly formed case for Grandus to make his return. Look at him, a toy so wonderful they came up with a new way to say grand. He'd be perfect, he'd be wonderful, even grand. Honestly, I don't know why there isn't a Grandus sitting on the shelf of my local Walmart. Hasbro could be coy. They could disguise him as one of the G1 reissue line. The more legit members of society would get it. We'd know what the score is. I'd even go buy some grands biscuits to make it a thing. I'd have a grand ass day.

R.E.V.s Existed, I Swear


Transforming robot toys are generally pretty popular, but not every transforming robot line is popular. Just like other 'sure thing' products, sometimes they'll be a transforming robot line that just doesn't take off. Playmates launched R.E.V.s (Radically Engineered Vehicles) in 2006, and by all accounts, it wasn't a bad idea. Seemingly combining Stickfa's, Microman, and Transformers gimmicks into a pretty neat toy line.


I'd like to say R.E.V.s stuck around for a year, but in all honesty, I don't really remember seeing them for more than a few months. There's not a whole lot about them online either. I've got the green motorcycle guy, and can't remember his name or find it either. Aside from very few pics and videos, it's like it got Mandela Effected out of reality.


In retrospect, I wish I'd bought some more of the toys. My focus was on other things and they slipped through the cracks of my attention. I do remember thinking the one I did buy was neat, it's a cool toy. The guy can ride his motorcycle or merge with the parts. That's a pretty solid robot based toy and by all means should have sold better. Maybe on the other side of that Mandela Effect, it's enjoying a long running sucess.

Thursday, February 27, 2020

Ninja Game- Shinobi!


Shinobi is a top shelf game. It's in that upper echelon of games that is untouchable by anything. Like an expensive bottle of wine or a gourmet meal from a premier chef. It's a higher quality family of games and I fully recognize that. My favorite of the series has to be Revenge of the Shinobi for the Genesis/Mega Drive, but today I'm looking at this great commercial for the Master System version of the original game. The live action segments of the ninja flipping around and what appears to be the first stage boss makes me wish for a tokusatsu show based on the games.


Bios- Targetmaster Kup

The past is the greatest teacher.
A grizzled veteran with 10,000 tall tales from his 1,000 adventures -- has advice for his pals in any situation, whether they want to hear it or not. Recoil, his Nebulan partner, is an old style musket laser and former all-world prismaball (most popular sport on Nebulos) player. In vehicle mode, maximum speed: 100 mph, range: 800 miles.

Jamaican Ghost


Duppy is a word of African origin commonly used in Jamaica meaning ghost or spirit. ... Much of Caribbean folklore revolves around duppy. Duppy are generally regarded as malevolent spirits. They are said to mostly come out and haunt people at night, and people from around the islands claim to have seen them.

Big Man, Mini Eternia


Another cool thing in the big Masters Of The Universe relaunch this year is the Eternia Minis. A neato blind box mini figure series set for retail this fall. If they look familiar, it's because they're the MOTU Minis formerly offered by Matty Collector. I missed out on most of the Matty Collector stuff as I was going through a bad spell financially when they launched and by the time things got better, the web store was completely out of my headspace.

Though I did get some of the stuff, I missed out completely on these. Which is a shame as they're awesome. Thankfully they're getting released again and in blind packed in tiny Castle Grayskulls. Fair warning, I'm going to be completely obnoxious getting these at stores. If you're at Five Below in Georgia and some Sasquatch shoulder checks you out of the way in front of these. That was me. Hi. I'm a blind bag/box addict admittedly, but when it's something I already like, it's practically already sold.


Wednesday, February 26, 2020

The Green Goblin Is Just The Worst


Every play a game in an arcade or a store display and have that annoying kid who keeps pestering you until you lose and immediately asks if he can play now? THAT KID GREW UP TO BE THE GREEN GOBLIN!


Bios- Apeface

Obnoxiousness is not a problem, it is an art.
Thoroughly obnoxious -- pounds loudly on his chest plates, insults everyone he talks to, knocks over anyone in his way, never changes his lubricant so he smells like a grease-encrusted turboworm, and spits fuel in public. Binary-bonded to the nervous, insecure Nebulan Spasma. In jet Mode, maximum speed: 3250mph, emits powerful jamming frequencies. In ape Mode, has super-agility. In robot Mode, carries electro-shield and semi-automatic sonic boomer gun.

Ghost Busting Boxes Of Slime


I've been singing the song of Playmobil Ghostbusters for so long... I was going somewhere with that, uh... like a long time. Anyway, I'm a fan of Playmobil Ghostbusters. I had assumed that the line was getting phased out as Hasbro has the license now, they're seemingly replacing it with Scooby Doo (swapping out spooky lines), and most of the stuff has been on clearance (got the Ecto-1 for 22$).

However buried under all those click bait tweets you're probably still reading again for the millionth time was a little nugget. A morsel. A... *ahem* another Playmobil Ghostbusters item. Under a new play set pattern Playmobil is seemingly producing of small unfold-able locations is the Ghostbusters Play Box. A smaller, more compact version of the firehouse that looks pretty neat.

Judging by the camera, I'm assuming the Playbox's is intended to be a filming set. Which works as you've got some pretty choice locals. The containment unit, Janine's desk, and the put all your shit here wall. Peter Venkman and Slimer figures are pictured, so I assume they're included. It looks like you get a fair bit of accessories too. I could see this coming in handy as a backdrop for Instagram pictures. I wonder how it would scale with other figures? A Real Ghostbuster/Fright Features figure is just  little bigger than a Playmobil. I could see it working.


Another bit that escaped my attention was these cool new slime tubes with mystery figure. Similar to the ectoplasm tubes I was buying late last year (I've literally got a case still), you get a tube of slime with a randomly assorted mini figure hidden within. There's four different ghost figures assorted in four different colors. I don't know what the ghosts are yet, and I'm hoping they're randoms ghouls.

Not that I'd have a problem with a little Slimer, but I'd like some extra variety if I had a a choice. With the Real Ghostbusters figures coming I have high hopes for more of the random mini ghosts they'd come with. Something to pair with your new toys would be the perfect thing to go in these tubes. But if it's another Slimer, I'm not going to complain. If that last sentence were a text message, I'd type LOL and put an emoticon with it. The laughing one, maybe with tears coming out of it's eyes.

Tuesday, February 25, 2020

The Crossett Light


Like Gurdon, Crossett had a railroad worker, a brakeman, who came to an untimely end in the early 1900s when he was beheaded near the track. Now many people report seeing a ball of light swaying back and forth a few feet over the track as the spirit of the brakeman looks for his lost head.

The Rhino Put A Hurting On Me


Ah, M.A.S.K by Kenner. A truly great toy line featuring transforming vehicles. Really one of the better toy lines that sadly was only around for a little while. There was a short lived follow up with Vor-Tech, but man, the line deserves a better legacy. Most people remember the vehicles seen in the commercial above. The Rhino particularly was a great toy. A semi truck with guns, a separating car, and... a big launching missile.

You may have noticed I've never complained about child safety laws with toys. Mainly because I'd rather consider the safety of others before being concerned about the length of a missile or the sharpness of a sword. I do have a little first hand related experience, after all.

There I was Christmas morning in 1985, playing with my brand new M.A.S.K Rhino. What a great toy! I drove the little detached car around. Aimed the smoke stack guns all over... hey, how do I make that big missile shoot? Have you ever seen that big missile?

It big.

The missile would launch from the sleeper portion of the cab, but how was I to launch it? There I was, sitting at the kitchen table, looking all over this toy truck when my finger found the magic spot as my head was in the other magic spot. In other words...





Monday, February 24, 2020

Fair Enough


Another Toy Fair has come and gone, and with it, a lot of retweeted tweets of the same tweet. As I've admitted prior, I usualy get lost in the flury of news mid-Saturday. Which wasn't as bad this year as most of the news I saw was more info into the info put out earlier in the week. There's a lot I missed, but I saw enough to form some opinions. Actually, I spent all of Satuday stuck in a shut down innerstate on the way to visit my Mom. That was the first time I've even been diverted onto the opposite side of a highway after a bullzoer created a path. We got close enough to the wreck to witness something out of a disater movie. Yikes.

The Transformers talk I did last week got more insight at the show. I was already sold on new Earthrise and Cyberverse offerings, but the new Netflix series looks great and the Walmart exclusive toy tie ins look pretty great too. I'm reminded of when Hasbro released repaints of Beast Wars toys when the show got reran on Fox Kids. While these are repaints of Siege toys, they do have some new characters and show specific repaints. So, that's pretty dang neat. The picture I'm using at the top of the post is from this, and while the toy is a repaint of Refracktor, the character is a new guy named Scrapface. Who's seemingly a homage to the GIJOE character Scrap Iron. Neat!


Speaking of GIJOE, while a few more news bits about the new Classified line was spoken. Most interestingly to me was the news of Jada Toys releasing die cast toy of the various GIJOE vehicles in multiple scales. GIJOE has always had really cool vehicles and little die cast versions would be much more managable to keep up with as an adult. Not to mention, litle diecast toys are always awesome. I'm pretty excited for this new GIJOE relaunch and look forward to getting the figures. There's plenty of folks out there making flipant comments about it and I'm not one. Even if it fails, I'll be happy to see it back while it's here.


Jada's set of Nano Metal Power Rangers are showing at stores recently as I've been told. There was a bit of Power Rangers news at the show as well. Most exciting to me is a new version of the classic Megazord by Hasbro. Releasing in three different retail packs at $14.99 each, it's a fully transforming and combinable Megazord. Really happy for that and hope I don't have too much of an issue buying the entire thing. Hoping the Dragonzord follows as well as more Megazords. Ironically the second season of Beast Morphers premired Saturday as they announced it's succesor was announced to be based of the Ryusoulger Super Sentai series. I haven't watched much of it, but I have liked what I've seen of the designs. Hoping it's a good follow up.


Mattel showed upcoming Masters of The Universe product with looks at upcoming Orgins and MegaConstrux figures. The toys look really great and while I'm more looking forward to the Megaconstrux figures, I'm definitely buying my share of Origins toys. It's a little hard to beleive so much cool He-Man stuff will be at my local Walmart soon.


There was more talk of the upcoming Ghostbusters toys from Hasbro which includes reissues of The Real Ghostbusters toys. If I'm understanding right, the first wave will be exclusive to Walmart. Honestly I wouldn't mind if the entire line is Walmart exclusive. While others may not like such a thing, I have two really good Walmart stores within 20 minutes of each other. Not to mention I like the limitation of only one store carrying something, so I don't have to look everywhere. Really looking forward to the Ghost Gushers and Fright Features figures still as well. This looks like a lot of fun that's right up my alley.


There's still a ton of news I haven't sorted through yet. Like I've said, it's literally a ton of news that's hard to keep up with. Here's a good catch all for most of the information though. I'll definitely be sorting though it over the next few days as I play catch up. I somehow missed news of a cool Godzilla board game from Funo that will definitely be bought on sight. Due to my situation of being stuck in a one hell of a car wreck most of the day Saturday, the news was read mostly after getting back to my town and eating a western burger at Ihop. I did pre-oreder the Hasbro Selects cassette pack. How could I not? I'm still heartbroken from not finding the last wave of Siege Micromasters including those tape molds. That was a really good burger too.

Saturday, February 22, 2020

Not Yet Fair

Toy Fair is this weekend. Which pretty much means an insane amount of toy news is going to be spewing out from every seam. Early looks and leaks from the days leading up help some, but there's just going to be a ton of news over the weekend. It's fun... and a little overwhelming. Like always, I plan to give my thoughts on some of the stuff. Thing is, this is a fan blog, not a news site. I'm enjoying the things I like with you here. We're enjoying things together. Not to mention, I generally don't post a lot over the weekend. So I figured it'd be a good idea to post my early thoughts here from those early leaks and leaks and follow up Monday with post con thoughts. Cool?


GIJOE Classified is actually happening. A new line in the partnership between Jazzwares and Hasbro is giving us new high quality 6" figures of classic characters. I am stoked. I love GIJOE and am really glad to see it come back. Jazzwares is on a roll lately, their Fortnight figures have been really impressive and they've even got a collector line for AEW Wrestling coming as well. I'm all up for getting these guys at my local stores and just ecstatic over them in general.
There is a ton of new Transformers coming this year. I've already talked about Earthrise, but more of it keeps pouring out as well as Cyberverse, BotBots, and Studio Series. As the owner of a site named after a Micromaster Base, I don't have to tell you how thrilled I am for even more Micromasters in Earthrise. I probably already have and probably will a million more times. The fact that most of the larger bots have a base mode and the Battlemasters have a third mode which is a base connector piece is just... Know when something you like is made even better? That, that's what's going on here. I like that. A whole freaking lot.


Masters Of The Universe has all sorts of cool stuff coming this year. This sneak peak image of the upcoming MOTU Orgins Sky Sled with Prince Adam is great. It's nice to see all the He-Man love from Mattel recently and I hope they keep it up.

The new Ghostbusters toys from Hasbro look amazing. Among all the cool stuff on the way, what I'm really excited for is the Fright Features figures and the Ghost Gushers toys. The Fright Features figures are modern day The Real Ghostbusters figures (speaking of) and there's not one thing I don't love about that. The Ghost Gushers are outright Maba Zombie style toys of classic Ghostbusters ghouls and I'm completely amazed at them for existing. Ghostbusters and slime go hand in hand, but this is legit awesome. I can't wait for the Maba tag to explode on Instagram this summer when these are released.

That's it for now. Like I said, I'll have a follow up post likely Monday with my post show thoughts. Also like I said, the glut of news can be overwhelming and I might miss a few things between the more shared news posts. It's a good thing I'm going to have a somewhat busy weekend, so I can spend time looking through news later after the end of reporting and not try to keep up with it as it seeps out. Good thing I don't pretend to be a reporter, I don't see how those who do can keep up with it all. It's exciting though, a lot of the stuff I really like is getting stuff I really like this year. Who could complain about that? Well, buttholes I guess...


Friday, February 21, 2020

Friday Night Frights- Return To Castlevania


Another Friday is upon us and y'all know what that means, another spooky edition of Friday Frights here on the Base! This week, Captain N and the gang in an episode themed after the then newly released Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse! For those not fully familiar with Captain N, it was a Saturday morning cartoon with a teenager from Earth living in the world of Nintendo video games in adventures in a different game each week.

This was way before Castlevania got the anime look we're all used to and was more homage to classic monsters. Captain N was a DiC production and took a few liberties with the characters as you can probably tell. Not to mention... Sypha is a man here as characters were often mislabeled in marketing materials due to localization errors at the time. Regardless, it's a fun silly adventure in Dracula's Castle and that's the kind of Halloween all year spooky shit we can all love.

Revenge Of The Creature


I COMMAND YOU TO RISE FROM YOUR EARTH

The week before Toy Fair is really exciting as all sorts of news is released ahead of the info dump that the weekend brings. Of course by Saturday afternoon it renders social networking unusable thanks to the same few bits of news being repeatedly spammed by click bait sites ... but we're not there yet. It's still fun right now. Earlier today, IGN released some cool Earthrise figure images.

Man these dang things look great. It's really funny how much better the Earthrise deluxe figure for Arcee looks a million times better than the recently revealed (and way more expensive) Masterpiece. I'm super stoked for Scorponok and Skylinx. I missed out on the Commander Jetfire from Siege, so getting Skylinx in the larger size will be a great. I've somehow never missed a Titan class figure, so I'll be glad to add Scorponok to the giant toy gang.

Siege was a really good line. I still hope I can find the last of the line that's evaded me so far as I love it so. Earthrise looks to build on that solid foundation with some of the best looking retail Transformers figures to date. I'm way more impressed with a $20 toy that looks more like a premium item than an actual premium item that costs $200.

Thursday, February 20, 2020

TOHO + Legendary Announce Licensees for "Godzilla vs. Kong"


Two Iconic Titans to Clash On-Screen and at Retail with Exciting Godzilla vs. Kong Global Programs


The epic blockbuster’s retail and merchandise partnerships to provide fans a robust offering of products and experiences in time for the November 20, 2020 release

BURBANK, Calif., February 20, 2020 – In anticipation of Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures’ feature film Godzilla vs. Kong, rumbling into theaters on November 20, 2020, Legendary and Toho Co. Ltd. announced an exciting slate of licensees that will deliver a diverse offering of merchandise and experiences to fans timed to the release of the blockbuster film. International toy titan Playmates has been named master toy partner with forthcoming products themed to Godzilla vs. Kong, as well as additional product lines featuring Legendary’s Monsterverse and Classic Toho Monsters. Film partnerships also include: leading global manufacturer of licensed apparel and accessories, Bioworld; the preeminent designer and manufacturer of costumes, Rubies; leading pop culture consumer product company Funko; interactive live-action adventure escape room producer 60Out; and virtual reality content studio, the Virtual Reality Company (VRC); within the categories of toys, apparel and accessories, costumes, collectible novelty toys, escape rooms, and location-based VR experiences, respectively.

“Godzilla and Kong permeate every aspect of pop culture, and we are excited to bring them back to the forefront of the zeitgeist with our best in class partners,” said James Ngo, Executive Vice President, Franchise Management at Legendary Entertainment. “We are also working to expand this program into gaming, fashion, sports, food & beverage, and more, in order to create additional entry points for fans to engage with these two larger-than-life titans.”

“Godzilla has become a beloved international figure since its first film nearly 65 years ago,” said Keiji Ota, Chief Godzilla Officer (CGO) of Toho.  “We’re thrilled to work with these companies to bring the awesome power of Godzilla vs. Kong to life with toys and products for kids of all ages.”

Additionally, the Godzilla vs. Kong publishing program, which is being rolled out by Legendary Comics, will include two graphic novels, an art book, novelizations, and children’s books, offering fans a chance to delve deeper into the adventures of the great Godzilla and mighty Kong.

About Godzilla vs. Kong:
On November 20, 2020 comes the next chapter of the Monsterverse, Godzilla vs. Kong, which stars Alexander Skarsgård, Millie Bobby Brown, Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Shun Oguri, Eiza González, Jessica Henwick, Julian Dennison, Lance Reddick, with Kyle Chandler and Demián Bichir and is directed by Adam Wingard. In a time when monsters walk the Earth, Godzilla vs. Kong explores humanity’s fight for its future as the titans are set on a collision course resulting in a spectacular battle for the ages. Fans can join the conversation by using the official hashtag: #GodzillavsKong on social media.

About Legendary:
Legendary Entertainment is a leading media company with film (Legendary Pictures), television and digital (Legendary Television and Digital Media) and comics (Legendary Comics) divisions dedicated to owning, producing and delivering content to worldwide audiences. Legendary has built a library of marquee media properties and has established itself as a trusted brand which consistently delivers high-quality, commercial entertainment including some of the world's most popular intellectual property. In aggregate, Legendary Pictures-associated productions have realized grosses of more than $17 billion worldwide at the box office. To learn more visit: www.legendary.com.

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. To learn more, visit: www.toho.co.jp/en/.
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Thanks to Rogers & Cowan for proving Zone Base readers with this news!

Lame Club


When I was in middle school, a few friends and I had a LCD handheld gaming circle going on. Before I go any further, I'll remind you of just how cool I am. That would be not at all, you've read this site before right? While they were far cheaper than a Gameboy (which we'd all get later), the little things were still just pricey enough to not get a new one often. Swapping them with each other over a weekend worked out pretty well.

I'll let you borrow my TMNT 2 this weekend if I can borrow your Double Dragon. Hey, I got Terminator if you wanna play it and I can play your Sonic. That sort of thing. Nobody wanted to play anybody else's Radio Shack games.

Of course as I noted just above, we all eventually got Gameboys and left LCD games behind. Lately I've been watching old commercials for these games. A little nostalgia kicking in mixed with appreciating the things that made them fun I guess. Ever have those moments when the world works in tandem with exactly what you were thinking? Weird huh? Hasbro announced plans to reissue several Tiger Handhelds soon. That's pretty dang cool. I'll definitely get the Transformers one. I don't think I ever saw it at any stores when it was initially out. I might get some of the others. Admittedly I'll be doing this for the novelty of getting them again more than anything else. I've certainly moved past the game play style they offered, but not past appreciating them.




Whoa Damn Cyberverse


Toy Fair is this weekend, so of course all sorts of news is dribbling out from various sites before the onslaught this weekend. Today's bit of exciting Cyberverse news is a pretty awesome. The new Battle Call figures are slated for release during the second half of this year. That's pretty unfortunate as I want them now. I've been a fan of Cyberverse since it's release and seeing it improve as it goes along is great. These new Battle Call figures are named such as they have voice activated lights and sounds... which I'll likely have turned off most of the time.

What I'm most excited for (other than the cool looking figures) is the cool battle armor. Depending on the size and class of the figure, the armor either flips out or attaches separately. That was called a simple explanation, you'll only get that here folks. I'm a sucker for this type of gimmick. Not only is it super fun to deck your bots out in neat armor bits, but it also tends to improve the looks of the figure a lot. I make a lot of comparisons of Cyberverse to older super robot toys, and with this armor, it's even more apparent. They look straight out of late Japanese G1 or Brave and I love that look.

I really appreciate the new characters. While I've never complained about the regular use of the main cast, it is super cool to see new characters. I really like Wildwheel, it's hard not to love a cowboy and something as silly as a cowboy robot is just fun. The returning characters look great a here as well. It could be a coincidence, but Starscream looks like a mix of Cyclonus and Leozack to me with his feline-ish armor. Megatron's armor pretty much converts him into Galvatron, which is really similar to an unused Action Master concept. Probably unintentional, but cool regardless.

Wednesday, February 19, 2020

Skeletons In The Closet


Nemesis Takes On A New Meaning


This is Starscream. You know who he is. This version you're looking at is from the upcoming Cyberverse season with Cybertronian based forms. Instead of doing the standard Tetra-Jet design they always do with Seekers, they did something different.


Pretty neat huh? Looks enough like the classic jet you're used to, but spacey and sci fi like. Hey, you guy's ever play a Gradius game? Somebody at Hasbro sure has.


Well howdy there Vic Viper, famed ship from the Gradius series of games, nice to see you in my Transformers. Usually I'm not a Seeker completist, but I might make an exception here. Not only does this design look great, but having a bunch of multi color Vic Vipers would be neat. I wonder if there will be any homages on the show? I've long thought Cyberverse (and RID before it) felt like they should be a game by Konami for Super Nintendo, and I guess I'm not alone on that.

Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Bios- Repugnus

No job is too disgusting to disgust me.
He has a personality as repellent as his looks -- been kicked out of the Autobots many times for insubordination only to be asked back since he's always willing to undertake missions too low-down and dirty for anyone else to consider. In robot mode, carries venom laser that slows cerebro impulses and paralyzes on impact. In creature mode, has infra-red and X-ray vision; can emit colors and stroboscopic effect with eyes. Claws contain chemical, electromagnetic and audio sensors; can rip through almost any substance.

Ghost Haunts Coke Machine


I've been drinking a lot of Coke lately. Admittedly, I'm something of a soda addict as is, but particularly been craving Coke the past week. I've mentioned before that I work over night. If I'm working and I want a Coke (I normally drink water or tea at work), I'll likely walk across my building to our break room and buy a Coke. Which is usually pitch black as I'm the only one on my end of the building that works at night. Thanks to this video, I'll just bring my own.

The Cobra Pogo And Suddenly Things Make Sense


There's times where you'll see the various weaponry Cobra hads and question just how GIJOE always wins. Then there's this commercial and things make sense. Here's Cobra Commander in his new Cobra Pogo. I'm trying to make sense of a hopping frog vehicle. The Pogo has two laser rifles on it's bottom and rockets. I'm assuming it would have to be hopping in the air to get aim with those guns. The rockets? They're pointed directly up. I'm assuming the Pogo would need to be on the ground to launch those... it'd be like playing Angry Birds to shoot those huh?

What's the JOE'S new weapon? The SLAM. What's the SLAM you may ask? A cannon on wheels. What's a cannon? A big gun. They just drive up and shoot either the rockets (pointed forward) or the big ass four barrel cannon. So Cobra has the Pogo, which just hops around and shoots it's guns with debatable accuracy. While the GIJOE's drives up and shoot a million shots at the bouncing thing until they hit it. It's even in the commercial.

Monday, February 17, 2020

Sonic Claymation


Monday's are an odd day for me. Working at night usually means I'm free all Monday before going to work (aside from a nap). Usually I spend a lot of time uploading toy pics to Instagram if not running odd errands. Or both. Those Instagram days are usually have YouTube or Tubi running in the background while I arrange toys on my TV tray. One of my favorite things to watch is compilations of old commercials. Probably not a surprise to any of you, but I absolutely love it.

The above commercial is for the original Sonic The Hedgehog game. As you can see, the Japanese commercial featured a cool claymation Sonic dancing around while being cheered on by a crowd. The craftsmanship is pretty dang cool and hard not to like. I've always liked the Noid from Domino's, partially due to the clay animation used to bring him to life. It's not a lost art, but it's certainly not as common in today's world of CGI.

Saturday, February 15, 2020

Bios- Sixtrain

Ability: Whilst working on the railroads they have formed bonds with the Earth people. They are attached to their duty as ground defense. As elder brothers of Sixliner, they have shared similar experiences.
Weapons: Produce a road of light to create railway tracks from their gun.

Cyberverse Season 3 Trailer!


The new trailer for Cyberverse season 3 dropped today and with it pics of new toys! I've quite enjoyed this show and am really looking forward to a new season. The trailer looks great and even gives us peaks at new characters!


Friday, February 14, 2020

Friday Frights- Face Of The Screaming Werewolf


Lon Chaney Jr. was best known as The Wolfman in The Universal Monsters movies. If you swing by the Mego section of your local Target, you'll see an action figure of him as a werewolf alright... but not the Wolfman. It's a figure of of his werewolf character from "Face of the Screaming Werewolf". I'm guessing the rights were dirt cheap or free for Mego here. I'm not sure if the movie is even public domain, just nobody cares. Which is unfortunate as it's one of Lon Chaney Jr's final performances.

If you don't watch the entire movie above (it's only an hour), let me explain the "plot". Two mummies are found in a pyramid. One just happens to be a werewolf.


Stranger Things 4: From Russia With Love Trailer


Still no word on a release date, but Netflix gave fans a trailer just right for Valentines Day for the upcoming season. Just what every bodies heart needed. Man, I can't wait.

Bios- Gutcruncher

Conquest of the Autobots begins with control of the sky!
Gutcruncher shares the Decepticon's dream of total defeat of the Autobots, but for his own reasons. He has a contract with Megatron to trade their remains to the Junkions and other interplanetary spare parts dealers for vast quantities of energon cubes. This cold, calculating capitalist views all opponents as potential profit. He pilots the space-faring Stratotronic Jet, which has a maximum speed of 40,000 mph and is armed with fusion bombs, two cruise missiles, particle beam, infrared laser guns and more. It converts into a devastating battle station with missile launcher and fusion blaster cannon. Also includes pilot-less surveillance drone and one-man battle tank.

Masters Of The Mall


Mattel took it upon themselves in 1986 to set up a mall display in Indiana. This display was nothing short of amazing and maybe a little crazy. To start off, you've got a meet and greet with Hordak. One of the bad guys. There he is, just shaking hands with small children. Scary demon monster kissing babies. He-Man was a pretty big target of the satanic panic of the 80's and sometimes when looking back... you kinda see where those folks were coming from.

I can't mention Masters of the Universe without comparing it to a bunch of Halloween decorations, so I'll just point out the obvious spookiness of a skull faced mountain in the middle of a mall courtyard. A skull faced mountain that you enter through it's mouth. I can't say that without picturing a Castle Grayskull haunted attraction. Dang.

Inside the attraction a mountain scene with many of the 1986 MOTU toys on display, complete with narration and lights showcasing each one! This is pretty darn cool, especially with the Eternia play set on display. That thing was always amazing and looks fancier than the rest of the display. What takes it to another level is the projections of He-Man and Skeletor fighting it out on the mountain. That's theme park level stuff in a mall food court.

He-Man's Power Sword is off model though. They'll have He-Man appear and I'll usually make sure the sword looks right. If Hordak's outside recruiting new members of the Evil Horde at Panda Express, the sword is the least of our problems. The least of yours anyway, I'm nonsensically specific about a few things and that's the wrong fucking sword.


Thursday, February 13, 2020

With The Grid Warriors, Don't Want To Light Cycle No More


Spy Monkey Creations is one of my favorite indie toy groups, and their newest wave will drop tonight at 6PM PST (9PM here). Inspired by Tomy's Tron figure line, each figure also comes with glow in the dark (a favorite around the Base) accessories. I'm really into the clear colors with grid detailing. That looks awesome. Not to mention the glow in the dark addiction I have. It's not a problem if I like it. Right?

Godzilla Board Games!

Demolish the competition in a city-terrorizing twist on the classic board game with MONOPOLY®: GODZILLA. Begin the invasion by buying, selling and trading locations like Monster Island, Goro’s Workshop, and Kitakami Lake and take over the board with Facilities and Bases. Custom sculpted tokens of giants such as Mothra, GODZILLA, King Ghidorah, and Mechagodzilla easily impose on anything in their path!
Ages: 8+ | Players: 2-6 | Playtime: 60+ Min
Beyond belief… GODZILLA is on the rampage again! With JENGA® GODZILLA Extreme Edition, the titan of terror is trying to bring your tower down with a heat ray. Featuring custom game play, players remove and replace blocks according to the directives to keep it standing through every threatening roll of the dice. Beware, GODZILLA marches toward the tower raising the threat of destruction with every step!
Ages: 6+ | Players: 1+ | Playtime: 5-15 Min
MONOPOLY®: Godzilla and JENGA®: Godzilla Extreme Edition will be available throughout North America in specialty stores this Spring, with a $39.99 and $19.99 MSRP, respectively. The Op's post can be seen here.


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

Set Your VCR For The Vampires


Switch On Charger Tron


Buddy L was formed by a pressed steel company after the owner started making toy cars for his son from the steel scraps. I'm not making that up. I felt like pointing that out as the company is mostly known for toy cars like Tonka. Also like Tonka, Buddy L dipped their toes into the robot toy scene of the 80's. Though unlike others during the time, from what I can tell, Buddy L made their own robot toys instead of licensing molds.

Their transforming robots ran the gamut from vehicles to dinosaurs and insects. The most well known would be Robo Tron with it's pull back engines. The toys have been knocked off to hell and back, so chances are you've seen some incarnation of them at some point. They're the robot worlds version of that redneck family member that just shows up at funerals. Who's kid is that?

Charger Tron is amazing though. Combining the toy car launcher gimmick with robot toy, Charger Tron manages to be the cool guy at the gas station you wished you were friends with. The base would be your standard fair launching station complete with spring loaded winding mechanism. However, it's also a robot! The launching car is a sci fi coupe that looks pretty dang cool. Straight out of post movie Cybertron even. As the car rolls from it's launching base, it flips open into it's robot mode.

It's a simple gimmick based toy enhanced with transforming robot parts. The robots are pretty basic, and that's where the charm lies. I could easily see these guys grace the cabinet art in an arcade. The commercial, while basically selling the toys gimmick, does so with the most amazing music to grace a robot toy commercial. It's a shame that it's not more well known. A damn shame.


Wednesday, February 12, 2020

Doom Island Sounds Like A Nice Place


I've yet to find the Playmates Godzilla figures at my local stores. To be fair, last years assortments were a little slow to stock as well. I've seen the larger Kong and Godzilla, but not the standard size. When I see folks in kaiju group getting them, I'm reminded a bit of the Trendmasters Godzilla toys of the 90's. Some are similar to the Bandai vinyl toys (some are reissues of those too), some are outright action figures. I prefer the vinyl toys, but I'm not going to complain. Part of me hopes they get features like the weird battle armor and stuff those Trendmasters figures got. Playmates isn't afraid to do stuff like that (see TMNT), so fingers crossed.

Bios- Vroom

Don't take a chance if you don't stand a chance.
A drag racing daredevil. Learned his trade blowing up enemy fuel depots in the Asphalt Wars on Cybertron. Armed with two exterior 3000 rounds-per-minute ion pulse guns and magnetic repeller rifle. Also wields mind-altering illusionizer that distorts optic impulses. Transforms to rocket car made of rubber-coated armor that deflects and ricochets enemy shell fragments. Outer shell cycle equipped with oil slick and smokescreen ejection mechanisms, retractable tire spikes, hydraulic jumpers in suspension system, and rocket boosters in rear that provide short-term flight capabilities. Combines with rocket car to form super cycle equipped with digital fuel gauges and micronized turbo injectors.

Mysteries So Unknown They Wrote About Them


Time Life Books Mysteries of the Unknown. If anything ever was as serious business as these books, then it should be in a second volume. Because that indeed would be a mystery of the unknown variety. If you're of a certain age (old), you've likely spent some time with these books. Either at your Aunt's house, a waiting room, or the library. Myself, all three. I wanted a set of my own, but for reasons unknown I wasn't allowed. Perhaps it was due to forces preferring me to not know of their existence. Or my dad telling me 'hell no, go mow the grass'.

The above commercial isn't the only ad spot for the books. There were shorter ones, longer infomercial ones, and uh... this one. While the exact percentage of unknown was known after reading these books, one thing 100% known is they'd scare the crap out of you. No other commercial had the power to make the entire room uneasy as Time Life Books Mysteries Of The Unknown. Aside from this one. They'd just suck the energy from the room, leaving eonly uncomfortable silence. Time Life was making sure you know just how serious they were taking things.

While I enjoy watching things like ghost and other various paranormal videos in my spare time, I don't 100% believe it. Completely entertained, but not completely convinced. I do believe there's more to life than what's in front of us, absolutely, but Bigfoot sightings videos don't exactly sell themselves well (it's probably just my brother hunting). Though if more presented themselves as well as Time Life did with these books... there'd probably just as many people who didn't believe. But they'd pretty uneasy for awhile after the commercial at least.

Tuesday, February 11, 2020

Star Wars Episode Burger Chef


I haven't ate at a Burger Chef since I was a small child and probably won't ever again as they've long went out of business. I do remember liking them a lot, but to be honest, all I probably had was a kids meal. A kids meal is pretty standard fare hamburger and small fires with a small coke. No matter the place, the basic hamburger and fries are usually pretty good. Now if I had a Star Wars kids meal, I'd probably be a lot more enthusiastic about that kids meal. A hamburger and fries is always a decent meal, but a STAR WARS hamburger and fries? Look, the force is a powerful thing. Not only can it magically bring people back to life when extremely convenient, but have you ever tasted force infused ketchup? Capital amazing.

Bios- Insecticon

Sonar-sensitive antennae locate and track enemy Maximals infiltrating Predacon battle perimeters. Internal radar beacon emits low-frequency signal to alert others. When hungry for battle himself, this insidious insect uses his crossbow to cripple enemies then drags 'em to their doom with his monstrous mandibles!

Spoopy Dudes, Where Are You?

I've long rang the bells of just how awesome I find Playmobil. Their charming little figures just work well with any theme you slap on one. For spooky minded people yearning for Halloween like myself, they provide a bit of solace with random monsters thrown into their series. The Ghostbusters line is just spectacular and if that wasn't enough, they've dipped their toes into Scooby-Doo. Not just offering random play sets of the Mystery Inc gang, the highlight of the line is the blind bag ghosts!
Featuring the more well known of the various ghoulish villains from the cartoon, the blind bags are just an amazing little things. Like may blind bag toys, codes are available to help identify which figure is inside and getting multiples. As the line just started in January the code lists out there aren't the best, so your experience may vary. I'm still trying to track down a Headless Horeseman, who seems to allude me each time I hit the shelf box at Walmart.
Each figure comes with accessories the ghost used in it's episode, a sticker of said ghost, and an odd clear I.D sign for the ghost to hold. Like a business card to present upon attending a ghost conference. Presumably intended to be the individual files of each ghost in a case by Mystery Inc, but I like to imagine a scenario where the Creeper and Ghost Clown are bidding against each other on a contract.

Just like any episode of Scooby-Doo, you can yank the mask off and discover it was Old Man Jenkins the whole time. Speaking of, how is even a mystery as to who the ghost is? At what point does Fred just ask the rest of the gang who they only saw once for a second? Like the fifth time? Anyway, some characters have an alternate face with make up wiped off on the opposite side of the head (just turn it around, the rest of the figure hides it) or in some cases the toys costume is fully removable with the culprit fully exposed when removed.

It's a great batch of figures, even if spooky ain't your thing (man, I've got bad news for you about this site), you can't help but to enjoy the great toys.. I hope future series include The Disk Demon or one of Big Bob Oakley's costumes. Playmobil always delivers when it comes to great toys and just dang they outdid themselves with these ghosts.