Blackarachnia and Predacon Tarantulas [Swapticons]

The Summer of Swapticons continues with another taste of Halloween because, if anything, I've got tunnel vision. Code Orange is a summer tradition longtime readers know I really get behind, so some creepy spiders are just the thing to remind us that fall is coming during these blistering hot days. However, if you're not the Summerween type... there's tons of bugs in the summer too.

One thing (among many things) I love about Swapticons is their embracing of Beast Wars. Sure, the beast warriors have been getting a bigger spotlight in recent years, but it's super nice to see a line intended for smaller children highlight them. This set is especially fun as it's the two spider bots from Beast Wars that were a big problem most of the time: Tarantulas and Blackarachnia.

Starting with Tarantulas, who was arguably as much of a threat as Megatron. The Predacons' mad scientist always had some clever invention or scheme causing the Maximals problems. Not to mention, his own treacherous ways caused Megatron plenty of trouble as well. He wasn't just this way by chance either. Tarantulas was actually an agent of the Tripredacus Council and was secretly working on their behalf. Due to the Tripredacus Council's intentions, he found himself opposing the Vok and their plans, which ultimately led to his downfall at their hands. However, as 3H-era BotCon fiction went, Tarantulas' dead body, possessed by the Vok, returned to cause trouble.

Talk about irony.

There's a lot about Blackarachnia that I'm not going to tell you. You already know. She's a schemer and treacherous. She's out for herself and not afraid to admit it. So much so that Starscream saw her worth taking under his wing... only for her to betray him! She out-Starscreamed Starscream.

However... underneath it all, she's actually good, and her relationship with Silverbolt slowly sways her to the Maximals' side of the Beast Wars. She was actually a Maximal to begin with, and it was due to the Predacons, specifically Tarantulas, that her protoform was altered, creating the problem she became. Of course, she and Tarantulas had a toxic partnership of their own that could be a textbook example of terrible behavior.

We could go on forever about Blackarachnia, but thanks to creepers on the internet... she's pretty well known.

It's fitting that the two are Swapticons teammates due to their personal history and, well... both being spiders. Kind of a no-brainer, I suppose.

Combined, the two make a pretty decent-looking spider... or you can go crazy with other Swapticons and have a spider cat or spider car. The gimmick pretty much makes the fun obvious, but I just wanted to point out that I accidentally misspelled "and" as "nads" while writing this and found that absolutely hilarious.

The individual robot modes are, of course, very blocky with goofy faces, but thanks to the spider legs serving as robot mode arms and those chunky proportions, I'm reminded of Buddy L Bug Bots and Sacred Beast Legend Bioroid toys. See? I can compare Swapticons to something other than BotBots and the newest batch of Changeables.

Which they also remind me of.

Sweet Biohazard

Summer is a Spooky Season.

Ironhide and Autobot Ratchet [Swapticons]

The Summer of Swapticons continues with probably the most obvious set: Ironhide and Ratchet!

Ironhide and Ratchet almost always share toy molds, so having a toy where the two combine to form an alt mode makes a lot of sense. Normally Ironhide becomes a red van while Ratchet becomes a white ambulance. As a Swapticons set, they both form a white ambulance because synergy is important when you're a team.

I've always been a little attached to Ratchet thanks to his starring role in the early issues of the Marvel Transformers comic. At the time those issues were on newsstands, I was staying at my Grandmother's house while my parents handled the arrangements for our relocation across states. I must have reread those issues a million times and, despite being a cartoon guy, I always think of comic Ratchet cooking hot dogs with his laser scalpel.

I wish I had a story about Ironhide... but I just enjoy him for him.

His southern drawl. Being a good old soldier boy. He's an enjoyable character who's been around since the beginning, but I don't really have something that endears him to me the way Ratchet does. With as many characters as Transformers has, I can't be attached to them all.

But I do like Ironhide.

How couldn't someone?

Admittedly, First Aid would have worked pretty well in Ironhide's place... but Ironhide is the obvious choice.

They're both your standard Swapticons: chonky, silly, with a tiny bit of articulation in the arms and impossible to hate. They're also not as flashy as some of the other Swapticons we've looked at during the Summer of Swapticons... and that's a good thing.

You need standard bearers, and these two are cornerstones of Transformers.

Sunny Days

Welcome back to another week of robots, monsters, and misadventure here on Zone Base. I've been moving, so it's been pretty hectic around here. I'm mostly done after two weekends spent taking loads of boxes from our old place to the new one. We'd been at our former townhouse for 6 years, so it's a pretty big change adjusting to a new one. The old one was great, but property management had changed and we just didn't want to deal with it anymore. Our new neighborhood and place is a pretty decent upgrade as well, so who could complain (except for all the work of moving)? 

This past weekend, well, I was moving still, but managed to get some toys ordered. Seeing reports of all the cool new Cyberworld toys starting to show up, I got antsy as I haven't been able to locate the last 2 yet. So Optimus Primal and Airachnid were ordered. Optimus should be here today while Airachnid should come in July. Speaking of ordering, last weekend I ordered Star Eagle! I love a holiday edition toy and who'd have thunk a July 4th Transformer? Out of left field and welcoming aliens to Earth. Keep his wife's name out your mouth! I see readers have been enjoying the Summer of Swapticons and that's awesome... and this will probably be the last week of that. After this week, I've got more to get to continue my mission to get them all... and cover them here. HOWEVER, that doesn't mean we're having a short summer special event... you could say after this week it's Transforming... that was lame, but I'm not apologizing. Summer 2026 is changing directions starting next week!

Also starting next week is baby steps in a new direction I'm taking posts. Still my same writing, just a slightly new presentation in the pictures. Hopefully for the better, but like everything, I'm taking it slow. Hope you all like it! Well, I've got... a ton of work to do... a ton. Thank you all for reading Zone Base. Your support means to world to me, especially while moving has made things extra hard. Please share the site with your friends and be excellent to each other!