Starscream [Galaxy Version 07-One Wave 2]

I found a little time to assemble this Starscream kit amongst the hectic nature moving has me living currently. It's a very cool Blokees Transformers Galaxy Version kit that represents his appearance in the movie Transformers One.

As I mentioned while talking about the initial wave of Transformers One Galaxy Versions, I really like the combination of the Blokees style with the specific look of the Transformers One designs.

It's a nice combination of visual aesthetics that works very well together. Not to mention, Transformers One was pretty great and I'm all in for anything from it.

One thing I can say about Blokees is that they are always tinkering with their product. You'd think the Hero 10 scale, which seems to be their most popular size, would stay consistent in its builds, but that's not the case. They're always tinkering with it and there's constant change throughout the various series while still keeping them visually similar to each other.

I think the only visual difference I ever really notice is that kits from the early waves (and repaints of those molds) have that super obvious neck, while in the mid-to-later series they've made the necks look better. I haven't gotten a full case of Series 07, instead opting to pick up a blind box or two whenever I'm at Walmart.

One thing I've been noticing is another change to the standard body frame. This one has a ball-jointed waist as opposed to the standard waist from earlier releases, or the more jointed one from more recent series. I'm not sure which one I like better, though I may be leaning toward the more jointed version.

Another change I wasn't aware of involves the joints. They've been universal up until now, but there's now a smaller version meant for the upper arms and elbows. I wasn't aware of that. I just stuck them in out of habit and kept wondering why Starscream was off balance. After I put him away, I did a little looking and... you know those moments where you just stare at absolutely nothing while you realize something? I've got to remember to go back and swap his joints out now.

Starscream has a very sharp-looking design in Transformers One and that translates really well here, making him feel like a more deluxe kit. I'm particularly fond of the metallic silver they used. Initially, I thought I had lucked into one of the special versions from the series, but no, they just made him extra nice.

He's got lasers on the wings of what would be his jet mode if he transformed, along with his trademark Null Rays on his shoulders. Aside from those joints, you've also got to pay attention to his shoulder armor during assembly. It's easy to put it on backwards and not realize it. It's not a giant issue, but if you do, you'll hide some of the painted detail.

Of course he's got the standard closed and open hands and, for some reason, I really want to give him a sword. He's just so nice-looking that it feels like one would just... look great.

Basically, this is a really nice little kit that feels more premium than it is. I wonder if they're making other Seekers from it?

Masters of...Moving

It's Monday yet again and a particularly busy Monday for me. Moving day is this weekend and I've got a mountain of work to do... and have had all weekend! Though I did pick up some fun stuff. Target didn't have any new Transformers, but did have Tiny Turbo Changers. I grabbed 2 packs and pulled Black Arachnia and Whirl! I also grabbed the Core Class Battle Cat figure from the Masters of The Universe movie toys. Sunday morning we watched MOTU and it sure was a lot of fun. While there I got a cool cup with a Skeletor figure topper and the Mrs got me a awesome popcorn bucket with He-Man and Skeletor. I loved the movie and will be giving my thoughts below as seems to be the way I'm doing these movie thoughts posts latley. I've got a ton to do today and it's time to get to work. Thank you all for reading Zone Base. Please share the site with your friends and be excellent to each other.

Masters of The Universe (2026): It was pretty awesome seeing He-Man and the Heroic Warriors fight Skeletor and the Evil Warriors on the big screen in a movie that felt truly inspired by the classic Filmation cartoon series that I watch still to this day. The movie managed to balance the silliness with awesomeness that makes MOTU great with great humor and refferences to the lines history and even the memes that have became associated with it. Even Dolph Lundgren makes a fun cameo in a pretty clever scene. Everything felt right and at no time did I find myself wishing something would have been better. Excellent adaptation that's leaving me wanting more!

Terrorsaur and Lazorbeak [Swapticons]

The inclusion of Beast Wars characters in Swapticons is just a huge plus. Lazorbeak, however... that's a surprise.

The original Beast Wars Lazorbeak toy was a nicely colored figure that, believe it or not, was an entirely new mold from Terrorsaur despite looking nearly identical. Later releases of Terrorsaur actually used Lazorbeak's molding, which makes things really confusing if you keep up with such things. It's also not completely clear if Lazorbeak is meant to be G1 Laserbeak in a new body either. There are some similarities in the bio and some differences. Mainly, Lazorbeak isn't a coward like Laserbeak tends to be.

Terrorsaur has always had a cool design, and his similarities to Starscream on the show are impossible to ignore. So much so that when Starscream possessed Waspinator... everyone was a little surprised it wasn't Terrorsaur.

As Swapticon figures, the two are VERY blocky, which fits the Swapticon look but is a little odd for two robots that turn into a pterodactyl. They are, however, very good-looking Swapticons... and Lazorbeak is so happy about that. Just look at that grin!

Lazorbeak forms the rear end of the rather monstery-looking pterodactyl, with Terrorsaur forming the front. The beast mode head and tail fold up onto their respective bots' backs in robot mode, with the wings becoming Terrorsaur's arms (he's even got a little gun!) while the legs become Lazorbeak's.

The combined pterodactyl mode is... very long-bodied thanks to the way Swapticons are proportioned. It's silly, but fun and... kind of looks like a hot dog. Honestly, this shouldn't be as neat as it is, but it just is. This is simply a really fun Swapticon. It's silly, it's weird, and it's perfectly enjoyable.

Meeska, Mooska, Mickey Mouse!

Summer is a Spooky Season