RangerStop & Pop 2026

It had been far too long since I've attended a RangerStop and Pop. I attended the first one in 2019 (this is a sister convention to RangerStop in Florida FYI) and for one reason or another couldn't make to any others much to my own disappointment. My friend Brett, who is the organizer for ToyLanta recently took over RangerStop and Pop and invited me out to run a Transformers panel much like I do at ToyLanta. I was of course happy to do so and also excited for the chance to finally make my return to this con.

As I'm moving soon, I couldn't attend the entire show. There is much work to be done around my current home to get packed and ready. I came Sunday morning as the panel was at 12pm. Leaving around 10am, I assumed I'd have plenty of time as the drive was only an hour away. Thanks to various Atlanta road work (it's always under construction and nothing is ever completed) and slight trouble finding parking, I got to the show and registered with just 10 minutes until the panel. Thankfully they got me in and in the room with a few minutes to spare. Dusty was going to be joining me, but had some troubles and couldn't make it. Show guests and Transformers voice actors Greg Berger and Neil Kaplan joined me and we had a fun little panel with a revolving, but spirited crowd. 

Afterwards I enjoyed a few hours of the convention as it winded down. I handed out a ton of Zone Base stickers which were even more popular here than at ToyLanta and that was even more super flattering. I even had some pins the Mrs had made with her new pin machine to give out! It's hard to believe, but I actually ran out of both. I saw several of my stickers on phone cases, laptops, on costumes and badges. Even a few stuck randomly on arms... I'll never get used to that. 

I found myself on more than one occasion running into Austin St. John, the original MMPR Red Ranger, and found myself regular conversation with him. That was quite cool. I had one point gave him some Zone Base stickers and he scanned the QR code right there and checked out the site! That's extremely flattering, especially when he praised the look of it! Of course there was plenty of Ranger actors, Mortal Kombat actors, and voice actors present. RangerStop is the kind of convention that the guests are attendants as well, so at an minute you're bumping into them doing regular activities.

One table I found myself talking with was an independent tokusatsu production called 'Jammingers Overture ', which is a music themed series. Their first episode is available on YouTube and that's pretty damn neat. There was quite a bit of independent creators there as well as booths featuring hand made and 3D printed merchandise. Being an old school con nerd, this is the type of thing I love seeing at conventions and made a point to visit and buy some items from them. I got a great set of Pikachu and Eevee figurines for the Mrs as well as some Zelda 64 earrings for her. One booth had 3D printed Morphers that I kind of wish I'd gotten one of, but did buy a very cool Halloween Gengar figurine of from. Of course there was some sellers with toys and I picked up Gobots Blades and Spay-C in great condition for a steal. The RangerStop booth had some branded lanyards and I picked up one for future use.

RangerStop and Pop as usual had a tattoo artist doing work at the show as well as a live DJ performing all weekend keeping the show lively. Southern Fried Gaming Expo had a corner with some playable games set up and even had a weekend long competition that would have been fun to take part of. Speaking of the DJ, there's a dance party overnight at the show that I'm sure is a lot of fun. As the show was closing up, I said my goodbyes and headed home for a wonderful taco dinner and evening playing Pragmata. I've almost got the story mode completed, however a ton more game to play. I seriously love this game. It was awesome finally making my RangerStop and Pop return and look forward to attending more in the future and helping incorporate Transformers into the show. Thanks to Brett for including me in his shows and putting on such solid conversations.

Bumblebee (Devastation) [Studio Series/Deluxe Class]

Transformers: Devastation was one of those games that came in hot, got a ton of fanfare, and then kind of slipped into obscurity. Lately it’s been getting a bit more attention again, and I’m pretty happy to see that version of Bumblebee finally get a toy.

Admittedly, it’s still your standard Bumblebee at its core—but I like this variation a lot.

Instead of the classic VW Bug, he’s got that sporty hatchback look, which I’ve always felt was a great modern equivalent. Add in the cell-shaded style deco, and it ends up being a pretty slick take on a familiar design.

A big part of why I like this one is how much it resembles the 2006 Transformers Classics Bumblebee, which served as a base for his design in the game. Even 20 years later, Classics is still a high point for me, so that connection goes a long way.

I initially thought this might be a retool of the Studio Series 86 Bumblebee, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. In robot mode, he’s armed with twin blasters like in the game, along with a larger vehicle-mode blaster mounted on his back. It gives him a much more aggressive look than you’d normally expect from a “kid appeal” character.

Transformation is pretty straightforward, though some of the parts fit a bit tight. Be careful when folding the head into place—I’ve seen reports that the molded copyright info can scrape the paint on his nose.

In vehicle mode, he turns into a clean little hatchback. The large blaster mounts on the roof, with the smaller ones on the sides for a bit of vehicular combat flair.

Overall, this is a simple, solid figure. Good articulation, decent firepower, and a really nice-looking alt mode. The cel-shaded deco does a lot of the heavy lifting, and I’m just happy to have a strong take on Bumblebee from a game that deserves a little more love.

Man-At-Arms [Mighty Masters]

Like Beast Man, Man-At-Arms was one of the first MOTU toys I ever got, even before He-Man and Skeletor (my older brother got those). So I’ve always naturally gravitated towards him, just like with Beast Man. His inclusion in the initial batch of Mighty Masters was pretty obvious, and welcome too.

This is a pretty nice mini figure recreation of the original toy, with the addition of his mustache. That’s something that was lacking on the original figure, but ever since its addition in the cartoon, it’s been present ever since. I actually used to draw it on mine with a felt tip pen. I say used to because as a kid I had no clue the ink wouldn’t rub off and redid it multiple times. For a while, Duncan found himself with a variety of different colored mustaches... which, to be honest, would be awesome if he did that in fiction.

A neat thing I’m finding with this toy is how his armor piece rides high, allowing the face guard to partially cover his face. That was something usually featured in the earlier mini comics that I always thought was neat and normally doesn’t happen on his toys. In fact, I don’t think it’s even intended on this one and mine could possibly be defective. It’s not on any pictures I’ve seen of these guys online. If mine does have weirdly molded armor... it’s welcomed.

Like all Mighty Masters figures so far, he has the swinging arm gimmick, which works well with his trademark mace. I’ve always enjoyed MOTU’s weird mixture of fantasy and sci-fi, and Man-At-Arms was an early example of that.

This little line has been a case of “Whoops, all bangers,” and I’m holding out hope that this will be an ongoing series. I can see it becoming my main MOTU toy focus.

Swerve and Gears [Wheels 01–Roll Out]

Swerve and Gears are a fun pair to look at together.

Originally, Swerve was a repaint and slight retool of Gears in the original Transformers toy line. Gears himself comes from a Microman Microchange mold, which in turn traces back to an unused Mysterians concept. There’s a lot of toy history baked into these two.

Now with Blokees Wheels, things come full circle. They’re clearly built from the same base, but this time they’re released together in the same blind box series instead of one being an afterthought repaint.

Personally, I’ve always preferred Swerve’s toy, but I like Gears’ character more. That mostly comes from their appearances in the original cartoon—Swerve barely gets a personality, while Gears gets a whole episode dedicated to being a grumpy ass.

Meanwhile, Swerve went on to become a fan-favorite in the IDW comics, and it’s his Cybertronian vehicle mode that this Wheels version is based on. Gears ends up being the repaint/retool here.

Blokees really did bring it all the way back around.

Even though they share a lot of parts, there are some nice differences beyond just color.

Swerve comes with his “My First Blaster” gun, which can mount on the rear of the vehicle. I really like how that looks—it actually reminds me a bit of the Sophia from Blaster Master. If you don’t want to use the weapon, there’s an alternate rear panel that gives him a cleaner look, closer to his original G1 toy.

Gears, on the other hand, leans more rugged. He’s got a roll cage with a spare tire, which gives him a totally different silhouette. He also includes a rocket exhaust effect piece that attaches after removing the rear bumper.

It’s impressive how something as simple as alternate rear sections and color choices can make two nearly identical builds feel so distinct.

The builds themselves are very similar, of course. The Wheels line uses a universal chassis system, so once you’ve done one, you’ve basically got the foundation for all of them. It makes assembly quick and pretty satisfying.

That said, the instructions are printed on the back of the included mini trading cards, and they can be a little hard to read. I’m honestly considering picking up a small magnifying glass for my modeling kit. Maybe Daiso has something like that—I take a weird amount of pride in grabbing medeling tools from there.

One thing I really like is that parts of the rear section are made from Solidex, giving them that satisfying die-cast feel. It adds a nice bit of weight and makes them feel a little more premium than you’d expect.

Both vehicles have opening canopies, although from what I understand, the Blokees driver figures don’t actually fit inside. That’s a little odd and I haven’t tried it myself yet. Maybe something like another Inchman style figure would work better.

It’s funny—I didn’t expect to enjoy the Wheels line as much as I do. As I’m writing this, I’ve got a box of Series 2 on the way and I’m basically chomping at the bit to get into it.

Blokees has clearly cast some kind of spell on me… and I’m not even trying to resist it.