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

Clench and Nemesis Prime [Swapticons]

A recent goal of mine was to write about every Swapticon and Cyberworld toy here on the site (within reason). Now that summer's upon us, it's time to get back to Swapticons, as I sure haven't posted about them since 2025. I've actually been waiting until now to do so, as summer just feels like the right time to give them a big focus. Why? I... don't know. It just is.

So we're starting off our Summer of Swapticons with a look at Clench and Nemesis Prime! Because I like them!

These two are repaints of the Ultra Magnus and Optimus Prime Swapticons set from 2025. Nemesis Prime was an obvious and predictable repaint of any Optimus Prime toy, but Clench was a bit of a surprise. I'm not really sure who else they would have used, but I'm glad to see him here. If anything, it means Hasbro has the name active right now, so maybe he'll get a new figure in Generations or Cyberworld sometime soon. Thinking about it, he'd actually make a great reuse of the Off-Road Optimus Prime Cyberworld figure.

Like all Swapticons, one robot forms the front of a vehicle mode while the other forms the rear. This is the same basic idea as the old Micromaster Combiners, and initially what I hoped Swapticons were going to be a return to. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised with what Swapticons actually ended up being: a silly little line of Transformers mini figures with really boxy proportions. They've got a lot in common with BotBots (which I loved) and are VERY similar to the more recent series of McDonald's Changeables that myself and other robot fans were going crazy for back in February.

Worth noting, there's another series of Changeables in Japan that I'd love to see make their way here. I wonder if the similarities are coincidental, intentional, or if some of the same toy designers worked on both? Who knows.

I usually like Nemesis Prime toys, and this one is no different. The Optimus Prime design just looks good in black, and it naturally makes for a good bad guy toy. There are always people who claim Nemesis Prime is boring... but they're usually just trying to look interesting. And failing.

Clench looks marvelous, as toys of Clench usually do. Those bright colors contrast against the darker colors so nicely that it even looks sharp on a silly little figure like this one. Their combined truck mode is pretty great looking as well. Once again, those colors are working overtime. It's hard not to love such an angry-looking duo as chonky little silly robot toys.

Swapping into Summer

Monday is here again ruining a good time with adult responsibilities. However Zone Base is here to... I dunno l... talk about toys? Well, whatever your week looks like, we've got another week of robots, monsters, and misadventure here for your reading pleasure. It's been a few weeks since I've done a weekly update thanks to Memorial Day and RangerStop and Pop. I hope everyone has had a good past few weeks, mine have been busy. I'm moving this month and have been packing. That's what I did all weekend, pack and organize. Spent Sunday cleaning out my garage, working like a mofo. 

However I did have some fun, spent some time with Pragmata, which is always a good time. I've beaten the story mode, but now have the Unknown Signal mode to play as well as the newer (harder) remixed version of the game to play. Hopefully I can beat it too, though when Starfox comes out, I'll likely take a break. I freaking love this game and hope a sequel keeps up the quality. I want toys! 

I didn't get much, as I'm moving, but I did grab a few things. While at Ross I found a Transformers Authentics Elita-1 for 2$, which I jumped on. While I haven't been chasing every Authentics mold like I was, I do like to pick them up still. I also bought a Blokees blind box while at Walmart. It's from the Transformers One wave 2 Galaxy Version series. I pulled Starscream and will hopefully find time to build his soon. Moving had thrown a wrench in my Sunday building for the moment, but I'll still keep content coming regardless. For example, now that it's summer we're starting a new summer special event! Since Beast Summer was so fun a few years ago, I thought I'd do another! 2025 will be the Summer of Swapticons!

Like Beast Summer, Summer of Swapticons will still have normal content, but an increased focus on Swapticons during the next few weeks. I've been stocking up on them preparing for this moment and can't wait to start the fun... which begins this week! There's things to be done during this extra busy time... but Zone Base is still chugging right along. I'm probably crazy for keeping up this steady posting schedule, but... well I'm crazy. It's ok. Thank you all for reading the site, I really appreciate your support. Please share the site with your friends and be excellent to each other.