Optimus Prime [Cyberworld/Armored Cyber Changers]

Being the main character, Optimus Prime is bound to make a few repeat appearances in any Transformers toy line. For Transformers Cyberworld, today we’ll be looking at his second release — a big improvement over his first. We talked about that one a few months back and while I liked it, there was no ignoring its faults. He looked great in robot mode, but the various hollow parts were clearly visible in truck mode. That was disappointing.

Thankfully, those hollowed-out parts are hidden a lot better this time around. his Optimus is like the “Offroad” version of Bumblebee we looked at a few weeks ago. Both were originally solicited under the Offroad name, but that labeling is missing from the packaging. So this is just “Armored Cyber Changer Optimus Prime” — as opposed to the “Cyber Changer Optimus Prime” hanging on the next peg at Walmart. That Offroad name would’ve made things easier in the end, but naming systems in Transformers are a regular nitpick of mine.

I like this Optimus a lot better than the regular one. It looked great, but that vehicle mode was impossible to ignore. This time we’ve got a solid robot and vehicle with a very interesting sculpt. Optimus transforms into a non-descript armored offroad truck, and that design carries over nicely to his robot mode, creating a more unique version of Optimus that I think looks great. He’s pleasantly blocky too — just super chonky in all the right ways. A very satisfying little robot toy. 

Optimus has the same articulation and dimensions as other Cyber Changers (armored or not), which I oddly appreciate for reasons I can’t fully explain. They’re just satisfying little figures. His traditional red and blue colors look super sharp, and the truck’s brush guard makes for a nice variation of the car-front chest Transformers often have. He looks rough and tumble — it’s a good look. Optimus also doesn’t have his trademark faceplate, which actually works really well with this sculpt. I’m anticipating (and hoping for) all sorts of repaints from this mold. It’s a good Optimus, but it could easily be a variety of other characters. It’d make a great Clench — just imagine it in black and purple!

Transformation uses the standard Cyber Changer scheme. I’m guessing the shared engineering across the line helps keep costs low — and I’m totally fine with that. The torso compresses and accordions while the arms fold up and the legs fold in. Simple, effective, and it reminds me of the auto-transformations from early Beast Wars and Machine Wars basics… just without the spring.

The truck mode is really good — pleasantly blocky again, with a bit of a military vibe to the sculpting. It looks tough, and I could see this scaled down into one amazing Micromaster. The “Armored Up” gimmick that differentiates Armored Cyber Changers from the standard versions is a large weapon that converts slightly, giving it some interchangeability between modes. I’ve been taking these as they come, usually just accepting them as a tacked-on gimmick. This time, though, I’m outright enjoying it.

Optimus comes with a big chain gun that makes for an imposing weapon — it’s giving me Big Convoy’s Big Cannon vibes. Its alternate mode opens into two cannons and wing-like extensions. At first glance, the dual barrels might look like halves of the gun barrel, nothing too special — but look closer and you’ll notice sculpted rockets inside those barrels, suggesting it’s a rocket launcher. The bright blue colors and dual rockets remind me of Robots in Disguise Ultra Magnus with his “Blue Bolts” weapon. Thinking about it, this would make a good Magnus toy too.

The cannon can attach to the truck mode’s roof and looks 100% at home there. And those wings? They plug into the robot mode’s back, making for an upgraded look that isn’t called out on the packaging but is clearly intended. I really should’ve included a picture of it, but I wanted to show clean shots of the toy as it’s “supposed” to look. It’s literally the same position as the truck mount. It looks so natural there — can’t just be my imagination. Or maybe it is. I swear I saw Elvis at a Walmart once. He was buying ice cream.

Clearly, I like this figure. Its simplicity might turn off the display-case crowd, but it’s right up the alley for folks who just like neat toys. I’ve made all sorts of comparisons — from Microman to G.I. Joe to Action Masters — when talking about Cyberworld. It’s chock full of the DNA from toy lines that came before, and those influences are impossible to ignore. Yes, it’s simple, but sometimes simple works.

This is a cool toy line that I enjoy a lot. Without a doubt, this is my favorite of the line so far. It’s just a cool robot toy — the low price is a bonus. The colors pop, the sculpt is sharp, and the play gimmick works great. Everything just comes together solidly. Like I said, I could see this mold repainted into a million different characters — and hope I do. An arctic camo version would be great. Like everyone else who writes about Transformers, I’ve got plenty of opinions and think Hasbro should hire me. But with this toy, I think I’m actually onto something.

Burning Godzilla [Godzilla Monster Series 5"]

November 2025 is clearly the month of Burning Godzilla. With the 30th anniversary of Godzilla vs. Destoroyah in December, the all-new Fest Godzilla II: Shinjuku Burning released earlier this month, and, well... I got a bunch of related toys recently and decided to cover them in November. Godzilla Day and all — it made sense.

Today we're looking at the Burning Godzilla 5" counterpart to the Destoroyah I talked about last week. As I reiterate every time I talk about a toy from this line, I've really grown to love the Godzilla Monster Series 5" figures. I repeat it for two reasons. One, it's true. Two, this is the internet — you've got to repeat yourself constantly.

I don’t believe I’ve covered a Heisei era Godzilla in this series here on the site yet. However, in some aspects, there’s not much new when it comes to this figure. It’s got the same articulation you expect from this style of Godzilla toy: legs move at the hips, arms swivel at the upper bicep, and the tail swivels... because you have to attach it after opening the box. I don’t think that actually counts as a joint, but movement is movement. Of course, these aren’t the type of figures you buy for articulation.

To quote Billy Bob Thornton from the classic movie Sling Blade, “No sir, I don’t reckon.” Then he said uh huh a million times and ate a shit ton of mustard. These types of figures make great representations of classic screen monsters — and that’s exactly what this figure is.

Seriously, why did he eat so much mustard?

The sculpting on Godzilla is really great. It might just be another Godzilla to some folks, but for fans, the differences are crystal clear. Godzilla looks a great deal like the MogeGoji suit used at the time. Of course, he’s in the traditional Godzilla colors except for the burning detail that makes Burning Godzilla stand out. Don’t ask me why a slowly dying Godzilla looks so great, but dammit — it looks amazing.

All that radioactive dermatitis looks beautiful despite probably hurting like hell. A wonderful mix of coppery reds and oranges extends to his spinal plates so perfectly. The nuclear meltdown inside has even tinted Godzilla’s eyes to match. Every cloud has a silver lining, apparently — because, you know, he’s dying here. But it’s so pretty. His internal pain has resulted in beautifully red and orange eyes that just look so good.

No wonder Godzilla is so angry — here he is in pain, and I’m telling him how great he looks. Sorry, big guy. I’d give you a hug but... well, you’d step on me. Clearly I don’t have anything bad to say about this toy. It’s a wonderful depiction of a memorable version of Godzilla that thankfully doesn’t cost much. How can I find any fault in that?

Starscream [Cyberworld/Cyber Changers]

There are just certain things you accept in life, and Starscream being in a Transformers toy line is one of them. For Transformers Cyberworld he’s a standard Cyber Changer, which is a size class I’ve been enjoying very much. Interestingly enough, he shares a mold with Mirage, who I talked about a few weeks ago. With Starscream, it’s safe to assume other Seekers will come, so Mirage was a weird surprise. A welcome one — I liked that toy.

Starscream uses the same mold with the exception of a different head and, of course, different colors. Cyber Changers are neat little simple figures full of DNA from older robot toy lines. With Starscream I can’t help but mentally compare him to older G2 jets and GoBots like I did with Mirage. And thanks to his head sculpt, I’m also getting some Machine Wars energy. One of the fun things with cheaper toys like these is the variety of recolors they tend to get. Here’s hoping we get some fun ones in the future.

Seekers are easy enough to predict, but with this design I’d love to see some of the weird camo patterns toys like Machine Wars Thundercracker or Soundwave had. I also found myself imagining various jet bots from Robot Masters while typing this. A simple jet with a unique silhouette like this can be reworked into so many interesting characters.

As said above, Starscream uses the same toy mold as Mirage, so there’s nothing majorly different in how the toy works. Cyber Changers are such pleasant little figures that I don’t mind a mold reuse this early in the line. I will say my Starscream transforms a little rougher than Mirage. I doubt it’s mold degradation this early, so I’m thinking there’s some excess material left from the sprue somewhere. It’s in the compression mechanism in the torso that all Cyber Changers seem to use for transformation. It just kept sticking. I may try to clean that up a little — hopefully it’s just a QC quirk with mine and yours works better.

I really like the jet mode they’ve come up with for Cyberworld. It’s a mixture of jet alt modes we’ve seen in the past that somehow feels fresh thanks to the downward-bent wings. I do wish he had a weapon. In the cartoon, Starscream uses a spear that looks pretty similar to his Dark of the Moon Mech Tech weapon. Once again, the weapons in the show not being included makes me wonder if they were cut at some point in development. Same for the multiple ports on the figures’ bodies. One day I hope to find out there was some gimmick planned that used them. I also hope there’s still one coming.

I’ve probably said it before, but I hope Cyber Changers remain as a size class for the foreseeable future. I think it’s a good format for a mainline series intended for kids (despite my adult ass loving them) and would allow older figures to be compatible with future ones. The setting could change — they can’t stay trapped in the Cyberworld forever — but they can go on new adventures.

I’ve also seen these as something of a follow-up to the Beast Alliance toys from Rise of the Beasts. Considering their similar sizes and the use of an older movie toy already in Cyberworld, some of those molds would be a welcome addition here. Those Beast Alliance toys already had all those ports — let’s get some more Battle Masters! In the end, this is a fun little toy that makes my mind run through tons of possibilities. And that’s something I really enjoy.

Bring out the Monday in you

Good morning Zone Base readers! It's time to start another week of robots, monsters, and misadventure! I hope everyone had a great weekend. Mine was pretty great! Did some Christmas shopping, played some Doom Mods, and assembled some Blokees. Saturday the Mrs and I had a great date night at Outback Steakhouse that was amazing! However, she cooked an even better BBQ dinner Sunday night. I'm looking forward to the leftovers later today. 

I've got a great week in store for you all. I've also got a busy week in store for myself, so I hope you all will excuse a shorter Weekly Update this week. It's the week before Thanksgiving, which means a well welcomed holiday break next week... but one hell of a crazy one ahead of me. Including some weekend work and one tired Rob come the break. But don't worry, we have a fun week of content coming your way. Please look forward to it and don't forget to share with your friends! Mutal High Fives everyone!