Bios- Warpath

A good shot is worth more than a good intention.

Thinks he is more impressive than his comrades do...likes to show off his sharpshooting. Boisterous, loud-mouthed...raucious sense of humor makes him welcome company. Vain----upset by even the smallest scratch in his gun barrel. Can go 30 mph over roughest terrain, hit a hex nut 1.5 miles away. Shoots explosives, thermal, cryogenic, acid, and sonic shells. Great strength but helpless if upended.

Stay Puft, Ponyboy, Stay Puft

I picked up the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man figure from Hasbro's 'vintage' The Real Ghostbusters line this weekend. Just 3 more toys and I've got them all. I would say I hope they continue, but I already talked about that and what they're seemingly doing and I'm pretty ok with that. I already was into Fright Features figures because they were similar to the old Kenner toys before learning of the 'vintage' line. Though, I really just want to talk about Stay Puft for a moment.

There's something appealing about this absurd monster made of marshmallows. He's this big, cute, and non-threatening guy who's the physical embodiment of Gozer generally hellbent on destruction. He made a face turn in The Real Ghostbusters, but for most media, he's a villain. He's a giant physical paranormal manifestation. The realness of the shit isn't in dispute when he shows up. Also, totes adorbs.

In the 2016 move he was a parade balloon possessed by a ghost. I thought that was pretty great. Despite the movies flaws, the big end battle was pretty dang cool. After a lifetime of watching Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, I associate such things with Time Square. A ghost parade? Right on. Stay Puft was completely threatening here, that was rad.

It's kinda hard not to like Stay Puft. He's silly, scary, cute, spooky and cuddly in a evil way. Part of me can't help to overthink a bit. The Real Ghostbusters are supposed to be the actual (you know, real) team that the movies are based on fictionally. I'd love to see a big budget movie adaption of the dream manifestation Stay Puft. Who wouldn't want to see that face turn at the movies?

The things I did this weekend

This past weekend was a somewhat crazy one. We had a bunch of things to do and not a lot of energy to do them with. After spending about an hour at the old place do last minute stuff before turning in the keys, we went to buy a few things you're not interested in. Nothing weird, but you don't care about the bogo sandal sale. Though while at Walmart I got The Real Ghostbusters Stay Puft Marshmallow Man and a Dino Strike 5 Surprise. The last one of those I got was in March included in the birthday gifts from my wife. I've been meaning to get more of them and think they'll be the subject of a post later this week.

After being up all night assembling our new TV stand, we went to At Home when they first opened to see what Halloween stuff they had stocked during the week. Ours is a little behind others, so we've been getting peaks on Instagram and already knew a few things that had to be got asap. While last weekend was just had aisles ready to be stocked, they had a small amount of said stock out this week. Just like last summer it'll be just a little at a time, and that's ok, it's freaking summer. I get it. Just having these little tastes of Halloween is heaven when you're bat pumpkin spice crazy like me. Which you are, I see the numbers.

This coming weekend we're going to skip At Home to give them time to stock as there's going to be weeks where there's not much added. That's kinda to be expected seeing as they're stocking in mid June for a holiday season a few months off. Not to mention, it'd be more exciting to see a bunch of stuff as opposed to just a little each week. HOWEVER, Jo-Ann's has started as well, so we will stop by and check up on what they have so far this weekend. Which is a holiday, so who knows what the shadow holds... that was lame. Pictures from the weekend's Halloween sightings are on my Instagram if you'd like to see. Feel free to gimme a follow too if you'd like.

Bios- Targetmaster Blurr

The faster it is, the better I like it.

The fastest Autobot land vehicle -- and he talks even faster; often has to be told to slow down so he can be understood. Nervous, high-strung, loyal, determined. Paired with Haywire, excitable Nebulan teenager whose impulsiveness makes him a chancy electro-laser cannon, at best. In vehicle mode, maximum speed: 750mph, range: 1500 miles.

Crestwood House Monsters: The Creature From The Black Lagoon

Hey, it's Friday night and you know what that means? Well, for a little bit, something different. Variety is the spice of life. Gnaw meen brah? I thought we'd spend a few Friday nights going over the much beloved Crestwood House Monsters book series. I was just a kid who loved robots and monsters (and misadventure!). Sometimes when your a kid it's hard to enjoy the things you love. Especially in the 80's and 90's. I sure the decades before had the same problem, but I can only speak from my own viewpoint. Duh.

The weekly trip to the school library often was an outlet for the very things I wanted to enjoy. Random paranormal books were always present, as were comic strip collections. But what was really a winner on those dusty shelves was the Crestwood House Monsters. Little hardback books individually focusing on a classic monster. I loved these and reread them over and over. I'd love to have a set of my own one day, thankfully they're available online. For free even, not late fee's or anything. No foolin' mister.

We're going to start off with a personal favorite of mine, The Creature from the Black Lagoon. My love for the Universal Monsters isn't a secret around here. The ghoulish gang have been around forever and find their way on a ton of stuff. The Gillman was one of the last of the monsters (if you don't count Chucky) and one of the more unique. He never appeared with the others officially (Monster Squad really skirted around legalities) and has always stood out to me. There's a limited preview of the book above and if you feel like reading the entire thing, it's free to do so (just follow the links).

Fan First Friday Stuffs

TransformersVintage –Transformers G1 Autobot Blaster 

(Ages 8 and Up / Approx. Retail Price: $29.99/Available: August1, 2020)

The TRANSFORMERS VINTAGE G1 AUTOBOT BLASTER figure, inspired by the original 1985 G1 release, stands at 4.5 inches and converts from boombox (non-working) to robot mode in 4 steps to receive and transmit radio frequencies. AUTOBOT BLASTER loves to be at the forefront of any situation, cranking the volume on good, hard rock ‘n roll music! The figure also comes with an Electro-Scrambler blaster accessory and a sheet of foil decals so fans can add extra details to the toy. Clip out and save the on-box tech specs to share, then see how this figure stacks up against other heroic AUTOBOTS and evil DECEPTICONS (each sold separately, subject to availability).

Experience the figures that started it all! TRANSFORMERS VINTAGE G1 AUTOBOT BLASTER is available exclusively at Walmart. Pre-orders begin June 26, 2020 at 1PM EST.

The Transformers G1 Soundwave

(Ages 8 and Up / Approx. Retail Price: $19.99/ Available:September1, 2020)

The TRANSFORMERS R.E.D. [Robot Enhanced Design] G1 SOUNDWAVE figure stands at 6 inches and is non-converting, giving fans an enhanced robot mode with a sleek, "kibble-free" form. The sly DECEPTICON communications officer, SOUNDWAVE, from The TRANSFORMERS animated series features 80 deco ops and comes with 6 accessories including a shoulder-mounted cannon, 2 alternate hands, a backpack, a Concussion Blaster, and a removable cassette tape revealed when the chest of SOUNDWAVE is opened. Fans can enhance their TRANSFORMERS collection with TRANSFORMERS R.E.D. [Robot Enhanced Design] figures. All figures in the collection are 6-inches in scale and inspired by iconic characters from the TRANSFORMERS universe, including G1, TRANSFORMERS: PRIME, BEAST WARS: TRANSFORMERS, and beyond.

R.E.D. figures do not convert,but are highly pose-able and were designed to bring collectors themost screen-accurate versions of their favorite characters to display on their shelves. Look for other R.E.D. figures to enhance your collection (each sold separately, subject to availability).

TRANSFORMERS R.E.D. G1 SOUNDWAVE is available exclusively at Walmart. Pre-orders begin June 26, 2020 at 1PM EST.

Won't You Take Me To Spooky Town

Summer is the prelude to Halloween, I keep saying that because it's true. The spooky shit starts creeping out throughout the summer months before hitting full force towards the end of August. One of the best of the early arrivals each year is Spooky Town by Lemax. You know, those cool little motorized towns at Michael's that pop up at Halloween? Usually the town pops up come August, but following At Homes lead last year, it was more mid-summer. Thank you Michael's, I really mean that. Lemax recently unveiled it's Spooky Town for 2020 and as usual it looks amazing. Admittedly I say that every year, but this year I mean it. I also say that every year. Shut up.

I'm not sure which one is my favorite yet. This year may have some strong competition as they all look pretty great. I always favor the smaller figures and I think I've already picked out my favorite of this years bunch. The Pumpkin Monster looks like a leftover from Monsters in my Pocket and I might just keep on of him in my pocket. Next to the chap-stick. The wife and I usually pick out a couple of the sets and it's going to be a in person type thing to do that. It's one thing seeing spooky shit online, it's another in person. I love the in person part.

Running Wild On Rattlesnake Mountain

I had totally assumed Masters of the WWE Universe was going to end when MOTU Origins started, but here I am being wrong and happy about it. Previews of the new Rattlesnake Mountain set have been popping up on various toy news sites and let me tell you something brother, I want it. My luck with the line has been pretty spotty unfortunately. So far I haven't been able to find anything past wave one. Which is pretty disappointing as I've really wanted figures like Macho Man and The Undertaker.

I'm hoping this set will be like the Grayskull Mania bundle from last Christmas. They were pretty easy to find and hung around for awhile. You can get a Greyskull ring no problem, but the set with Terror Claws Triple H and John Cena was only around then. It just makes sense that this would be on a pallet for the holiday season. Give me a hell yeah. The theming of a Snake Men Stone Cold to match one of his shirts vs. Hulk Hogan as early He-Man is pretty great. And that's the bottom line, because Stone Cold Rob said so.

Seeing R.E.D

Earlier today the news of the new Transformers R.E.D (Robot Enhanced Design) figures was set forth upon the internet and frankly I didn't notice. I was busy. However after another look, man these things are cool. Basically Hasbro is doing a collectors line of Transformers characters similar to Star Wars Black Series, Power Rangers Lightening Series, Ghostbusters Plasma Series, or GI JOE Classified toys. While they don't transform, they're pretty great representations of the characters as they appeared in various media.

I'm a pretty big fan of Action Masters and the SFC series and really have enjoyed most non-transforming toys of the Transformers. Mainly because I like having a toy that looks like they do on the cartoon without the reality of a working transforming toy getting in the way. I like action figures in general and good looking ones of characters I love isn't exactly a tough sell.

They're supposed to start showing up in September and from what I gather will be Walmart exclusive initially. That's ok with me as dude I'm in Walmart every weekend if not a couple of times a week. I'm a middle class dude from the rural suburbs. I buy a lot there. I grew up shopping there. I like Walmart.

I can't say I'll buy every single one of these new figures. I'll probably cherry pick from the assortment like I do the other collectors lines. These look pretty neat to me and I'm hoping the range of characters covers the history of the line pretty well. According to some recent news it will. Honestly this looks like a pretty fun time. That's the kind of thing I like to do with my hobbies, you know, have a good time.

4K At Camp Blood

Running a marathon and camp, two beloved summer traditions that many take part in each year. While I've never ran a marathon, I used to go to a summer day camp when I was a kid and my brother went to a scout camp a few times. I don't know of many horrible things happening at marathons, summer camps though are often plagued by so many nightmares you often wonder why they're so popular.

Snake bites, poisoned wells, ghosts, and murder is just some of the urban legends surrounding the popular summer getaways. There's a million movies about masked murders at summer camps, but none more popular than Friday the 13th. Jason Vorhees, his mother, and even Roy have killed so many people... why do people even go to that camp anymore?

I would say it's a summer tradition to have a Friday the 13th marathon on TV. But to be fair, they'll do one at any point all year. Summer and Halloween time are usual picks. I remember in 2016 SyFy had one every weekend for the entire summer (with some Elm Street sprinkled in for good measure). But whenever there's a Friday the 13th throughout the year, some channel will have some sort of marathon on. Don't worry about the schedule, it'll only be part 5.

Enter the former cable station, TNN. I'm assuming this marathon ran after the channel switched from 'The Nashville Network' and during it's phase as 'The National Network' before transforming into 'Spike TV' (now The Paramount Network... I remember the damnedest things). Honestly it would have been a good choice during it's life as a country music channel. Carrie Underwood's got a bigger body count than Jason at this point.

I truly miss ads like this. Back in the day, channels would often have custom ads for their various programing. Either montages made from movie footage with some random song added for comedic effect or super serious narration. That or the original production as seen here. The original productions is often where odd urban legends like the bloody pumpkin in Halloween. There's not one in the movie, but there's a million blood covered pumpkins in odd home made advertisements. Jason with a chainsaw, same. Here Jason is chasing those foolish enough to have a marathon at Camp Crystal Lake to maim and murder. He's not getting revenge for his mother or his own death. Just can't take the 'runners high' talk one more minute.

Bios- Dial

Fleet of foot, can run at up to 200 km/h in dinosaur mode. Both thumbs contain sensors that can rapidly detect energy. Cheerful and brimming over with curiosity, Dial sometimes gets too carried away in his duties, leading to major system failures. Carries Wave Blasters. Combines with Zaur to form Legout.

Five Not Alive

Ghostbusters, juice boxes, Ecto Cooler. Tale as old as time. Though for some reason Coca-Cola tied Five Alive to Ghostbusters 2 promotional output. I'd like to assume it had to do with the bag of sugar in every sip of Ecto Cooler... but seeing as they sold the stuff for years after... probably just an attempt to rub some ghost magic on a different brand. Spooky shit sells, it's a fact.

What's selling me in this commercial isn't the juice drink. Actually I don't even remember what Five Alive even tastes like. Crap? What does get me wanting some of this Ghostbusters tie in drank is those holograms. Look at them, they're majestic.

I'd probably buy guacamole if it had holograms on the container and for the record, I hate guacamole. Kinda amazed I spelled it right though. From what I've gathered, this was a Canadian promotion, so I wonder if Canadian movie theaters sell juice boxes? Or allow kids to bring in outside juice boxes? I can't imagine watching a movie in a theater without the aquarium sized soda or icee they normally sell for a mortgage payment.

Ninja Ryūkenden/Ninja Gaiden

Don't Look In The Mirror

Summer is a Spooky Season.

I've been waiting for this video to get put on YouTube for a while now. Xiaolong is a Chinese ghost hunter who does a lot of live streams of his explorations. His videos consist of him and usually a friend exploring an abandoned or spooky location looking for ghosts. They'll attempt to communicate with the ghosts inside the haunted location and often get the wits scared out of them. The videos are a mix of funny and spooky. Often you'll hear them yelling out AT the ghosts. That's because a common belief there is aggressively yelling curse words will ward off a harmful spirit.

While the entire video is a pretty good watch, there's a few key points to watch out for. One of the funniest things I've ever seen in these videos is around minute mark 40:10. While looking inside a chest, one of the ghost hunters farts and scares the other. At minute mark 58:55 the two attempt to communicate with the spirits. In between the two bickering they get a few scares. The main event though is around minute mark 1:29. The two find a mirror and look into it. A second looks gives them the scare of a lifetime.

Summer is a Spooky Season.

Netflix Announces Premiere Date for Transformers WFC: Siege!

The fight worth fighting. Transformers War for Cybertron: Siege streams July 30th pic.twitter.com/dUqDfU2Amk

— NX (@NXOnNetflix) June 22, 2020

Netflix just announced on socials that the premiere date will be July 30, 2020 along with a new series teaser. See HERE!

More details to come on the series in the coming weeks.

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

What Did I Do This Weekend?

Remember when I did these weekend report posts for a little while there? Yeah, me too. We've been moving, so a whole lot of that actually. Well, that's not true, we moved last weekend. This weekend we went back and cleaned up the old place, and by clean I mean take all the trash that needed to be thrown away to the dumpster and spackle a few nail holes in the wall. We had cleaners come out today, because so damn tired. Next weekend we're going to do a last minute go overs before turning the keys back in and finally being done. Scored some of those new dill pickle Doritos and some 4th of July Mtn Dew while doing so. I love limited edition gas station snacks.

It's not all gross moving stuff though. We got our new living room furniture in Saturday and broke it in by door dashing some Red Robin for a celebratory meal. My old recliner is in my new man cave and now I have a nice new chair with a big ass ottoman as to not worry about cars underneath anymore. I totally feel asleep in it sometime Saturday night watching Jurassic Park 3. Now we just have to finish organizing and unpacking over the next couple of weeks. Moving sucks, but our new place sure doesn't.

Now onto the fun stuff. I used italics.

As summer sets in, some stores start stocking Halloween stuff in June. Usually it's the craft stores that start this early to supply people for upcoming projects. Last year the some of the decorative stuff started in June too, and I'm glad to say this has continued to this year. It really gives somebody like me a lifeline.

The dang site is a Halloween blog also and I should really address that more obviously. At Home stores are really the best about this as they pull out the good stuff and steadily bring out more all through summer. We judge by Instagram posts when stores start stocking and since others started we figures ours would have too.

However ours was a little behind, I guess the pandemic might have came into play a little. They did have the area cleared out and the black pegboard up with planograms taped up though. So stuff will be up soon and we'll be back next weekend to check it out... and probably every weekend for the next few months. Don't look at me like that.

Then stopped by Target to pick up  'The last of us 2' and while there I finally found an Earthrise Cliffjumper, Soundbarrier, and Smashdown. Still no new Micromasters sadly. Kind of wonder if those last ones from Siege will pop up at Ross type stores come Christmas. Hope so. I didn't find Smashdown in Siege, so it's nice to finally get the mold. Before we moved I got Ironworks and Wheeljack. I don't know what box they're in.

When I get myself more situated, I plan to do posts on all of them. Just uh... gimme a minute. Also, I need to find those two. Speaking of those two, I also got a Slimer from the Real Ghostbusters vintage line to post about too as well as a Venkman last weekend. The wife picked me up a Plasma series Stanz the day before we moved. I plan to post on him too.

While at Target I also scored the large Mechagodzilla Bandai Creations sofubi I've been wanting for a while now. I probably could have ordered him, but had been hoping to find him at a store. The Target also had some of the smaller boxed Bandai sofubi series, so I'll probably try to complete the line here soon. There's a nearby Walgreens that stocks them as well, so I see that coming together nicely. Walmart had a few more Real Ghostbusters I'll need to grab, but will in time. I did grab the Mega Construx MOTU He-Man vs Beastman two pack. I'd been looking for that. They're the same toys are prior released, but slightly different decos.

That's a lot of things to talk about posting about soon, but like I said gimme a minute. My house is a pile of boxes currently. I'd also tell you about the household stuff, but I'm sure my new bathmats and soap are stretching to misadventures portion of the site a bit. Man... I've got such a DVR backlog to catch up on. Like it's ridiculous.

Bios- Windrazor

Wisdom is the perfect complement to recklessness.

After a tragic betrayal, a young Maximal warrior's life-force was nearly extinguished. A hardened veteran of the Great War voluntarily donated his withering Spark to save the mortally wounded youth. The resulting fusion mutated and merged the two forms to create a new breed of warrior. Now possessing a unique binary-Spark system, Windrazor strives to bring an end to the conflict raging across Cybertron. He possesses twin shoulder-mounted rocket launchers that quickly bring down his enemies. Windrazor also possesses the wit and wisdom of a battle-worn soldier and the youthful energy of a child. This deadly combination makes him a fierce and dangerous fighter in the war that ravages Cybertron and the rest of the universe.

Friday Night Frights- The Most Dangerous Game Master

Friday Night means Frights and who's more frightening than Dracula? Don't answer that. Everyone in video land knows Castlevania is a scary place to be. So what better a location for Captain N to have a showdown with an evil clone of his real world bully? Well I guess anywhere, but dang son, monsters!

The two duke it out while traversing the evil castle in a spooky montage set to Michael Jackson's Thriller! Ok, not actually sung by Michael Jackson, but the off-brand singers usually found on party soundtracks! The kind you get at the party store for your Halloween party! Only this is summer and just Friday night... ah fuck it.

A Different Glass Each Week

Don't Talk To Strangers Janine!

No matter how many fancy ghost fighting devices the Ghostbusters had, they never seem quite equipped for the absolute nightmarish hellscape they found themselves in most of the time. Normally, it's a good idea not to talk to strangers. You could really get yourself in a bad situation by doing so or even worse find yourself stuck in a vacuum of nodding while whomever the hell it is just keeps prattling on about... something. Their dog?

Egon and Janine are somehow at a airport in an alleyway. What seems to be two different well meaning persons with random vehicles turns out to be HELL ON EARTH. Even the tiny plane and motor scooter that Janine seemed to think could fit three people get in on the act. There's a point with the Fright Feature figures where I wonder just how far away from pants shitting action Kenner was from introducing in the line. New from Kenner, Pants Shitting Ghostbusters! We ain't 'fraid of no ghost! *shits pants*

Bios- Beastbox

Speak now if you intend to ever speak at all.

His violent temper often overcomes his natural curiosity. More willing to whittle down his captives with his fists than with his words. Few survive his interrogations long enough to reveal anything useful. Can record up to 6000 hours of testimony. Equipped with two compression cannons, which crush a target with tons of compressed air pressure. Combines with Squawktalk to form robot Squawkbox.

Pumpkin Spice Mayhem

Summer is a Spooky Season and the prelude to Halloween.

Ghosts At The Video Store

Summer is a Spooky Season. I've said it a million times because it's true. It's also the prelude to Halloween, the whole world wants a little pumpkin spice mayhem right now. Just search up summer urban legends, or remember those weekends you watched some random Nightmare on Elm St. after grilling out dinner. Sometimes you want the most Halloween you can get despite what time of the year it is. Fortunately some stores last year started their Halloween stocking in summer, and not just craft stores! That's what makes this little commercial for Video Biz so great.

Video Biz is a video store in Arkansas that I've never been in and possibly might not be open anymore. It's 2020 after all. As other video stores would advertise, they have the newest movies in stock! Like Ghostbusters! Without actually saying Halloween, they made the most Halloween commercial possible. It's got all the charm of an old local business commercial with some great special effects. I swear I've heard that same announcer on old commercials for haunted houses. It's like, they knew you wanted some spooky shit... we all do.

Bios- Roadgrabber

Destruction has a beauty all its own.

A road-ripping demon of destruction. The cruelest of the cruel. Able to hide undetected inside his bullet-proof protective shell and use its front-mounted claws to crush his enemies. Transforms from robot Mode to fast attack hover jet with vectored thrusters for lightning-fast maneuverability. Built-in, turbo-powered boosters enable him to reach speeds over 3000 mph. Also equipped with subspace capabilities. Armed with dual pom-pom action freeze lasers that convert to flamethrower cannons.

Bad To The Bucket Of Sludge

It's been cool finding The Real Ghostbusters toys at my local Walmart again (when I can find them). I'm not knocking the other forms of Ghostbusters toys I've been getting at all, just there is a very particular charm to the old Kenner toys. The upcoming Fright Feature figures from Hasbro look to continue the vibe, which is appropriate considering they're named after a gimmick from Kenner's original line. They even come with little ghosts to bust and have individual packaged ghosts like The Real Ghostbusters line had. I've been thinking of them as a spiritual follow up to the line, and that's seeming like a fair comparison.

The reissues of Kenner figures almost plays into Fright Feature figures perfectly. While I know they're intended more for collectors, there's no way a kid could pass them up either. Specially not when hanging next to the PKE Meter and Ghost Trap. It's too cool! Well, maybe this is a limited release thing... but what a good lead in to Fright Feature figures that would take the spots on the pegs that the Kenner figures formerly held?

I really hope some of the more wild type stuff from the Kenner figures find their way to the new figures. The monsters, the crazy vehicles, and just the overall weirdness of the line. But, I also want it to do it's own thing too. Not just be more of the same, like take the lead and go from there. I really hope the line continues past the hype of Afterlife. Ghostbusters is just one of those things that just keeps keeping on and I'm thankful that it does. Something like this is the kind of thing I want to keep on buying.

Bios- Countdown

For a world without evil, you need a universe without evil.

An intergalactic hero and space explorer. A legend to beings throughout the universe and an inspiration to his fellow Autobots. Fought 1000 battles and circled almost a million stars, defending the rights of the innocent. Transforms to lunar rover with com-link disk that enables him to control the entire defense base from up to 30,000,000 miles away. His interstellar rocket ship converts to mobile launch pad armed with two energy-zapping de-kineto cannons that freeze objects in mid-motion. Ship is also designed to use planetary orbits and gravitational pulls to "slingshot" across entire galaxies in seconds. Command base equipped with laser blasters, high-tech repair bay, interstellar communications center, space-tracking radar, and high-speed launch pad.

Friday Night Frights- Egyptian Melodies

It's Friday Night and you know what that means... actually right now it means I'm laying exhausted in my new home after moving all day (hooray for scheduled posts!), but to you it means some spooky shit here on the base! Disney is known for it's lighthearted family fun... but also for dark subject matter. For every happy ending, there was a death or two along the way. It's not just for dramatic storytelling either, sometimes they just like to make something scary for the hell of it.

Bravo Disney!

Here we have Egyptian Melodies from 1931 staring a cute little spider as he explores a pyramid. Know what a pyramid is? A big fancy ass crypt full of mummies and curses!

Programming Note- Moving Day

I mentioned last week about my moving taking up a lot of my time and just wanted to put out a reminder of that. I know readers are used to a certain amount of posting a week and just don't want to leave you all hanging. Posting will resume to it's regular volume soon, pinky swear. Today is my moving day, and I'm pretty stoked to be moving into my new home.

I totally scheduled Friday Night Frights still though. Priorities.

There's Something Down The Road

Summer is a Spooky Season.

Transformers: Battlegrounds Not Campgrounds

"As evil MEGATRON closes in on the Allspark, BUMBLEBEE and the Autobots need a new commander to help save Earth – you! Assemble your squad and roll out for a battle that will rage from Central City to Cybertron… and even to the local multiplayer arcade! More information to follow soon." Is how the upcoming new Transformers video game is described by Outright Games and Coatsink whom are behind it's creation and release. Not much more can be gathered from that and it's trailer, but it does look neat.

Taking a Cyberverse/Evergreen design approach, it'll be pretty traditional in it's appearance. It's looks like some sort of strategy style game. Of course, who knows really at this point? As long as it's fun, I'm down. I prefer mashing buttons to make dudes jump, shoot, and swing swords than turn based game play. Though, sometimes I can be won over with that style of game.

It's hard not to be excited for a new Transformers game, and I'm looking forward to getting a copy this October. I'll likely get it for my Switch as we have multiple TV docks set up in my house as well as the portable mode to allow me to move room to room while playing. I'd be locked to the living room on our PS4. Not to mention, those graphics scream Nintendo console, and who can ignore the screams of graphics?

Bios- Snarler

Stealing isn't a crime, getting caught is.

A selfish, obnoxious master of destruction. Does everything for himself. Refuses to follow orders. Transforms to boar with front-mounted, razor-tipped drill that drains enemy fuel supplies. Horns on outer shell equipped with sonar distorters that disrupt the flow of cerecral impulses and rupture enemy circuitry. Also equipped with armored hide on outer shell and a 30mm submachine gun in his tail. In robot Mode, armed with programmable explosive shell rotary cannon. Range: 6 miles.

Bill & Ted Face The Music

Nobody Is In The Room

Summer is a Spooky Season.

Random Transformer Memory

While packing this weekend, I decided to repack a good deal of my Transformers. Several had been in banker boxes and condensing the mass of them seemed like a great idea. Instead of 4 small size boxes, one big box. Not to mention, several were starting to come apart from various moves and such. While I was mostly just transferring ziploc freezer bags full of robots from one box to another, occasionally I'd take a second to look over the toys.

Memories of this Armada Optimus Prime, or that G2 Megatron pop up instantly when looking at the toy. That's pretty normal, but occasionally there's the 'oh yeah' toy like Heinrad or pink and purple bootleg Transmetal Optimus Primal that I haven't thought about often. Then there's the ones I forgot I owned all together, like various Spychanger repaints.

I think the funniest is all the candy toys, capsule toys, and sofubi from Beast Wars I'd come across. They were plentiful during beast era and even more so for a few years after. I remember those old BotCons racking up on them for not a lot of money. I bought a display pack of BW II Kabaya kits once for 5$ and then had my friend hold my Pepsi Blue while making the pack fit in my backpack.

I was already explaining what they were to him and then had to explain what Pepsi Blue was. Of course by that point the soda had done turned warm and when he took the sip I offered it tasted horrible. I don't know what happened to that guy. We were friends for a while before he seemingly vanished off the face of the earth. I wonder if he still doesn't trust my opinion of beverages?

Bios- Rad

Think before you shoot, but shoot before you're shot!

With more moves than an all-pro halfback, this clever, cool-headed daredevil is equally adept at combating Decepticons or calculating the coefficient of friction for a rocket booster. Paired with Lionizer, a roaring raging bundle of overheated circuits who can change into an atom-smashing blaster at the drop of a microchip... unless Rad can cool his engines first.

Friday Night Frights- Jake The Snake, The The Ultimate Warrior, The Hell Am I Doing With My Life

Oh, yes, it's Friday Night and the Frights are right, it's Friday Night...Frights. Summer is a Spooky season, as you all are used to seeing by now, and as a spooky season that leads up to THE spooky season... there's some spooky shit to be had. What am I talking about, well, that was literally just filler. I have no clue how to start this.

*cough*

Back in 1991, The Ultimate Warrior was in a feud with The Undertaker. Which means all sorts of stuff filmed in a graveyard while Paul Bearer did that face thing... the hell was that? Did... did he poop himself or something? As The Ultimate Warrior was facing a dark evil foe, he needed the help of another dark and evil individual, Jake The Snake! If nothing says dark and evil in the early 90's it's a guy with a mullet in a silk shirt who owns a snake. Jake begins showing the Ultimate Warrior the ways of the darkness and to believe in a thing called love. Just listen to the rhythm of your heart, Warrior. Which beats the blood of the warrior.

We are then treated to various clips of Jake and Warrior in a graveyard doing such things as digging up bodies, closing the Warrior in a casket, and other spooky shit until the culmination in a shed full of snakes. It's a carnival haunted house come to life with SO MUCH HEAVY BREATHING.

Programming Note- Moving

I've mentioned a few times that I'm moving, because I am. Moving day is actually next week, which means I'm currently in crunch time getting everything together. Between packing and organizing everything while working my normal 60+ hour work week, things are taking a bit of a toll on me. Not to mention covid-19 has thrown a few curve balls into the process *sigh*.

There won't be an episode of the podcast this month, and for the next week, posts may be a little spotty. I'll still be posting, but it'll be a little lighter than you all are used too. I just wanted to put it out there in case anyone notices the lighter volume of my nonsense here for a little bit. It won't be long before things get back to normal.

I appreciate each and every one of you for continuing to read and support my weird site about robots and monsters. If you like what I do, thanks! All I ask is for you to share and show a friend.

Bios- Krok

The road to conquest is best traveled one step at a time.

Gets his kicks from kicking! One blow from his automatic-powered foot can send an Autobot into orbit. Centuries of playing all-star mecha-soccer on Cybertron has made him the terror that he is today. By taking a single-stomping step, he can create a mini earthquake with a scaled reading of at least 7.0. His faithful partner, Gatoraider, uses his vise-like jaws to crush any unfortunate being caught in the aftershocks. Converts to powerful concussion cannon.

Cries At Night

Summer is a Spooky Season.

Talking New Mega MOTU Bloks

New MOTU Mega Construx toys are up for pre-order on BBTS. While I'll be content to wait for them to appear at my local Walmart, this is indeed exciting. Y'all read the site, y'all know. Two sets to be released in July and a new wave of figures in August. This is great. The first of the sets is Battle Cat vs. Roton. What's He-Man without Battle Cat? Not just another He-Man either, this time we get the Battle Armor version which looks great. Roton looks pretty good too, but I think the Mer-Man might be the spotlight of the set for me. For the record, auto-correct is still suggesting pee-order. I give up.

The other set is Panthor at Point Dread. This looks AWESOME. You get Battle Armor Skeletor and Panthor riding in to face off against Zodac and Temple of Darkness Sorceress. Which is Sorceress in her sometimes white attire as seen in mini-comics, the movie, or Universal Studios. The Talon Fighter with this set looks awesome. It can perch on Point Dread giving a location for the fight including that awesome rack of extra weapons. This is a cool set. I've always really dug that bat on Battle Armor Skeletor. See, he is a walking Halloween decoration.

Wave 2 of the figures is slated to come out in August. There's no pictures yet, but the assortment list looks pretty good. I'm not sure if Evil-Lyn will be the same as she was in wave 1, if so I guess I'll pass on her. Since this series is different than the standard Mega Constux Heroes figures, I'm assuming Teela and Faker will have new (and better) paint decos like Skeletor had in wave 1. Fisto and Stinkor are what I'm most looking forward to here. Despite the awkward name, I've always liked Fisto and Stinkor... he's probably one of my favorites. I doubt the skunk smell will be included this time, but the skunk colors and orange armor have always just looked great. I... kinda hope he stinks.

Space Harrier PC Engine

Something's In The Woods

Summer is a Spooky Season.

Jumpstarter Detroyers

Work with me here, but I had an idea. What's the one G1 toy anybody can get without any effort? Jumpstarters. The pull back motor driven Autobots whom flip into robot mode with style and grace (kinda). I've always been quite fond of duo, but even I can't deny just how easy it is to get a hold of a bunch without even trying. I'm willing to bet most Transformers fans have several that they can't even account for. Bootlegs or official, they're aplenty.

With super gimmicky Transformers aimed more at children these days, I can't help to think these guys would be a great idea to put on the shelves. Maybe not reissues, but newer figures with the gimmick. But kids these days demand more from their toys, they'll want more from their Jumpstarters, and then it hit me.

Canadian Destroyer Transformers. 

Game Gear Micro!

セガ60周年で“ゲームギア ミクロ”が突如発表！ カラー液晶搭載の携帯ゲーム機が30年越しに手のひらサイズで甦る！#SEGA60th #GOSEGA #ゲームギアミクロ
https://t.co/5wvONBRIOW pic.twitter.com/IXrekWLpqA

— ファミ通.com (@famitsu) June 3, 2020

"GAME GEAR MICRO" suddenly announced at the 60th anniversary of SEGA! Handheld game console with color LCD revived in the palm of your hand for over 30 years! #SEGA60th#GOSEGA#ゲームギアミクロ https://famitsu.com/news/202006/03

Bios- Shattered Glass Megatron

Peace will come for all Cybertronians.

As a young mathematician, Megatron lectured at one of Cybertron's most prestigious universities. During the course of his own studies, he had developed a set of equations that could predict social trends in a given society. He was alarmed when these trends pointed to a civil war on Cybertron. His colleagues dismissed his work as the paranoid ranting of a lunatic. He saw them as simply misguided and he retreated underground to prepare for the coming war. When Optimus Prime began his march across Cybertron, Megatron was ready. He had developed the art of transformation, refashioning his own body into one capable of converting to an aerial vehicle of tremendous power. While Optimus spread the gospel of destruction and conquest, Megatron championed compassion, courage and freedom. His charisma and humor in the face of a war helped him form a united front against the Autobots. Though Megatron is a pacifist at heart, he has the soul of a warrior as many have discovered time and again.

Little Girl In The Cemetery

Summer is a Spooky Season.

Turbografx-16 Mini And Auto-Correct Is Being Gross

It took a few days later than I had wanted for Amazon to fulfill my pre-order (auto-correct suggested pee-order) for the Turbografx-16 Mini (not counting the initial covid-19 related delays) as they lost the freaking thing. The replacement for here on Friday and man it was a breathe of pure happiness finally holding it in my hands.

Of course, like I've said here a few times already, I'm moving. Which probably sounds like I'm making a much too big deal of, but in reality, it's been a pretty hard move so far. Preparations and packing have all been affected by covid-19 and a bunch of other things popping up making everything harder than it should. We physically move next week, so here's hoping that goes smoothly after the headache of the pre-game (auto-correct suggested pee-game) has been. So I didn't get to play my new console until Sunday evening after my wife and I stopped packing for the night.

The first game I played was Splatterhouse. Despite having multiple copies and versions of the game, playing it on an actual TG-16 was pure joy. I flew threw the first stage before switching games. Since I was just spending a little time with my new console, I just wanted to give it a test (auto-correct suggested tryst.. what the crap?) run for a while. After I move and get things (it just suggested thighs, what?) set up, I'll spend some more time with individual games. I've got a plan to attempt streaming on Instagram and games is probably going to be a common subject. I plan overall to do more video work there as well. Once a million things stop running opposition to my plans. It's been a weird year.

I really love the simulation the micro provides. As the game selection features both American and Japanese releases, it has them separated (it just suggested perpetrated) between regions. Each menu has an onscreen representation of the console and games are in their jewel boxes. When you select the game, you get a great animation of the HuCard going into it's slot or the CD-ROM loading up a game. I'm sure you can skip it if you're just wanting to get to the game, but for right now it's a little extra that I'm loving.

Transformers - Ratchet Movie Masterpiece Pre-Order

Transformers: Movie Masterpiece Series MPM-11 Autobot Ratchet

(Ages 8 and Up/Approx. Retail Price $119.99/ Available 11/1/2020)

Recreate your favorite Ratchet scene from the first Transformers movie with the new Movie Masterpiece Autobot Ratchet! The MPM-11 Autobot Ratchet figure completes the Autobots featured in the 2007 film. It is an authentic Transformers collectible figure inspired by the CAD files from the first Transformers film and includes die cast parts and 180 deco ops with over 35 points of articulation. The MPM-11 Autobot Ratchet figure stands at 7.5 inches in robot mode and converts into the movie-inspired officially licensed Hummer H2 SUV in 61 steps. The Hummer mode is modified for emergency duty with detailed rescue equipment mounted along the top of the vehicle including jaws of life, heavy equipment jack, prybar, and shovel. The figure features highly articulated hands, a moveable mouth, laser cannon, buzz saw and 2 missile arm attachment accessories.

Modeled after the Transformers live action movies, Movie Masterpiece authentic figures feature film-inspired details and accessories, ideal for displaying on collectors’ shelves. Available exclusively at Target.com and in-store 11/1/2020.

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