Mikey X King Ghidorah [TMNT X Godzilla]

When I first learned about the TMNT X Godzilla crossover line, I about crapped my pants. Something so right, just sitting there at Target. The Mrs. picked up on that instantly and grabbed me the first wave of figures for Christmas, and we’re about to spend the next few Wednesdays taking a look at them.

It’s also been far too long since I’ve talked about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles here on the site, so this whole thing is prime subject matter. We’re going to start things off with my favorite of the turtles, Michelangelo.

I’m assuming Michelangelo was chosen to represent King Ghidorah because of his orange colors. There is a tie-in comic, which I haven’t read, but I assume it provides an in-universe reason. Either way, it looks fantastic. Mikey is almost completely colored in Ghidorah’s trademark gold, and it works incredibly well. His head sculpt blends the traditional TMNT design with elements of Ghidorah’s dragon head. Ghidorah’s other two heads can be worn as shoulder armor or held to recreate the signature three-headed dragon look we all know.

Of course, being Michelangelo, he’s got his twin nunchucks. Instead of the usual wooden ones, these are translucent energy nunchucks patterned after Ghidorah’s Gravity Beams. There are also two giant wings and Ghidorah’s twin tails to attach, completing the whole package. It’s crazy how good this thing looks — more like a designer toy than a standard action figure. This has absolutely no right to look as good as it does, and yet it somehow pulls it off anyway.

Optimus Prime [BMK Series 1]

You don't get Transformers without Optimus Prime. You just don't. He's the main character and is always going to show up in some way. In other news, water is wet. So it's not surprising that he's in the first series of Yolopark's BMK kits, and you know what? It's a nice looking Optimus Prime.

Assembly is really easy, even for a BMK kit. Calves connect at the knees, arms on the shoulders, and the head pops onto the neck. This is one of those times where it really can't get any simpler than that.

Optimus comes with his standard Ion Blaster that can be held in either hand... though it only feels natural in his right one. The right hand, not the right hand for the job... which is still the right hand...

This is obviously a simple build, but it results in a satisfying looking classic Optimus Prime and I'm thinking he'll look great in that eventual display.

Monday RX- Requiem

Good morning Zone Base readers, it's Monday and time again to start another week of robots, monsters, and misadventure! This weekend wasn't a very busy one. The Mrs and I did a little shopping at Five Below and Walmart, but mostly did some cleaning around the house. That included getting back to work on organizing my toy room, which is a much delayed project. The Mrs had gotten Pokopia, so I didn't play any Resident Evil Requiem so she could enjoy it on our Switch 2. That gave me a chance to get back into my campaign on Doom the Dark Ages, which I've been meaning to do. I've been on a level that I don't enjoy and making myself work through it begrudgingly. She made an excellent Chicken Alfredo dinner Sunday and I finally got started building the Zoids Command Wolf model I got a few weeks ago. These Realize Models are fairly involved, so I think it'll get finished next weekend.

For toys, I didn't get many. My birthday and Toylanta are around the corner, so I've been holding off a little on purchases for myself. I did get a bunch of Madballs at Five Below. Finding a Mutant Monster Ball I've been hunting for as well as apparently Five Below is selling mini Madballs for $1 each now. I picked up one of each they had available happily. Walmart thankfully is stocking Blokees Transformers Galaxy Version 08 in their Easter Basket toy displays. I picked up two and got the chase Optimus Prime (yay!) and Insecticon Shrapnel! Great pulls on two kits I'm very excited for. Shrapnel will join the Kickback from a prior series I got last year, now just to get Bombshell! These Galaxy Version Insecticons come with a mini insect mode Insecticon as well... I'm looking forward to Bombshell and one hell of a post here afterwards!

Well, it's time to get this week started. As usual I've got some stuff to do around the house and pictures to take for the site. We've got another fun week in store full of robots, monsters,and misadventure coming for your eyeballs. Thank you for reading and supporting the site. Please share it with your friends and be excellent to each other. 

Megatron [BMK Series 1]

I had been meaning to dip my toes into Yolopark’s newer BMK line of simplified model kits. Meant for younger children, these are extremely easy snap-together kits that are just right for getting them started without overwhelming them with a large part count. Snap together a handful of pieces and you’ve got a solid figure of the classic Transformers, looking like they just stepped out of the TV.

Considering I’m not exactly a younger kid and have been handling toys and models my entire life, what do these hold to make me want them? For one, they remind me a little of older garage kits. More importantly, they make for great representations of the main characters, and a long-term goal of mine is to have a decent representation of the cast on a shelf, with almost all my stuff in a more organized storage solution. Initially, I intended to use the Yolopark minis for this… but I do like the BMK kits’ size. So I’m thinking these, paired with a small acrylic Transformers logo stand, will work pretty well.

Seeing as the word “Mega” has flavored this week, Megatron seems like the ideal starting point to look at in this series. So far (in Series 1 anyway), the BMK kits seem to follow the same template: legs from the knee down, arms, head, and accessories all connect into the central torso. For the most part, they snap into place easily, though some of the heads take a bit of pressure to seat properly. The joints are tight and the plastic quality is pretty solid — maybe a little too solid. Megatron’s left arm squeaked loudly when I moved it.

Once assembled, Megatron looks great. There’s a reasonable amount of arm articulation, along with movement in the neck and feet, plus a waist swivel. While the finished product may be basic, it looks sharp, and the larger size should look good in that future display.