Happy New Year from Zone Base

 

It's New Years Eve as I'm posting this and the start of another holiday weekend. Of course I'll be back Monday, but until then it's time to enjoy the little break. I hope you all have a great holiday. Happy New Years Zone Base readers, what a year it's been! Here's to hoping 2022 is better for us all! Thank you all for another year of supporting my weird little site about robots and monsters. I really appreciate each and every one of you for reading and sharing with your friends. I know there's bigger and better sites out there for you to spend your time on. The fact that you take the time to see what I have to say with all the better options out there is really flattering. Once again, Happy New Years Zone Base readers. Thank you for all your support and please share with your friends.

Tigatron (Kingdom)

 

I was pretty happy to open up Tigatron on Christmas morning. He was one of the presents my wife gave me and what a great gift. I'd been looking forward to getting this new version of him since he was announced and having him is no disappointment. Tigatron is one of those great characters that I feel doesn't get as much attention as he should. The original toy was a repaint of the original Cheetor. In Kingdom he's a new mold but still definitely borrows Cheetor's engineering.

That's not a bad thing as they're both great toys. Though Tigatron is a voyager making him bigger than Cheetor's deluxe toy. That's super appropriate all things considered and feels more natural in hand. The bigger size is a definite improvement in the already solid design. His head sculpt really nails the look and once again Kingdom brings a toy that feels like it walked off the TV screen. If I had a complaint, it's that his gun doesn't work into the alt mode and merely pegs into his belly. That wouldn't be an issue if not for the fact that this is the trademark 'gut gun' and has the pink guts incorporated. I appreciate the gun being there, just wish it was worked into the toy a little better.

Tigatron is well articulated and transformed pretty easily. I can't stress just how much I appreciate him being a larger size. It's just more satisfying in hand. Even though I love smaller toys, there's nothing like a big robot toy. Some of the white parts are a different shade than others. I'm sure this is either a plastics issue or maybe the designers thought it made him look better. The white still looks great here and really contrasts well with the metallic teal of his robot parts. Tigatron has always been a really sharp looking character and that continues well here. This is one of those toys that feels more like a premium effort.

Meiji Beastformers Snacks

 

This is the kind of thing I absolutely go crazy over. I love blind bag/box toys as is, but you put something I like already in one and I'll go nuts! Beastformers/Battle Beasts are one of the coolest parts of Transformers that will never fully go away. From official to unofficial, they're evergreen. These little keshi style mini figures sold blind with a card. There's a snack of some sort in there but I can't tell what it is and honestly I wouldn't be buying it for that anyway. I think that's one of the plus's of the Hershey's Treasure boxes, I like the candy already. I still have a bunch of those weird lemon flavored candies that came with Armada/Micron Legend blind boxes some where. Regardless, this is the kind of series I'd go hunting store to store getting as many as I could. I'm pretty jealous of those who got to enjoy this series.

RK-o

 

I've mentioned before how the merging of fantasy and sci fi makes Masters of the Universe so fun. The newest re-imagining, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe is a fun reboot that dives deeper into the sci fi side of things while still blending fantasy into the mix. It's in that environment that we get RK-o, a new version of Orko who isn't exactly what you'd expect. In this new version MOTU, Orko was a legendary magician that's long gone. Duncan (Man at Arms) finds himself in possession of a broken TO security robot. 

While attempting to fix the robot, Duncan uses a magical core found in a chest in Castle Grayskull. Doing this downloads all of the former Orko's memories and knowledge into the little robot who now believes himself to be Orko. RK-o is a fun twist on an existing character that I have a hard time not loving. It's also pretty hard not to love his action figure.

The He-Man and the Masters of the Universe toy line is aimed at a younger group than Origins or Masterverse. Though RK-o is still a pretty neat toy. It is released as Orko and not RK-o, but I'm being specific to the fiction. I might talk about another Orko and it keeps things separate pretty simply. If you came looking for a lot of articulation, you've come to the wrong place. His arms move at the shoulders and the wrists swivel. I've heard some folks say the head turns, but mine didn't. Mine could be a stiff joint or somebody else broke theirs.

As well all know Orko floats, RK-o is floating on a translucent poof of air with a small ball bearing on the bottom. The ball bearing allows the figure to roll easily on most surfaces. Like Trap Jaw, you can twist RK-o and he swings forward. This is used to launch his magic attack which is that energy ball you see in the picture. It's a hollow little thing that easily sits on his fist. It's a simple little play gimmick on a simple figure that's full of character.

Replay: from a social network

 

The internet is a weird place sometimes. You're probably aware of that if you've found this site. Even as innocent as a social network where you keep up with your friends while going about your own day can be something spooky. Between that innocent inspirational post that your mom shared, some silly meme from a friend, that one guco-worker talking about last night's game... for the most part it's just the way society interacts these days. Just like how society in real time though, there's something dark lurking in the corners. Dangerous people up to no good and maybe a ghost or two. 

Raioga Burst

 

This week in our look at Beast Saga figures from the Random Booster v1 series is Raioga Burst. As the name implies, this is the Burst version of Raioga who is basically the main character of Beast Saga. Think of him as the replacement for White Leo/Pirate Lion for a new era. That's how I think of him anyway. Like other Beast Saga figures, Raioga comes with a few dice to use with his chest launcher in the battle game. He's carrying a sword and shield with the usual amount of Beast Saga articulation. I particularly like the orange and red colors of this Burst variation. It makes him look like some sort of fire version, not to mention it just looks in translucent plastics. I particularly like the claw themed armor Raioga is wearing as well. This is an all around great looking figure.

Custom Robo GX

 

Custom Robo is a game series I enjoyed on my Gamecube and DS. I never got the chance to play the Gameboy Advance version, but it looks like a lot of fun. I've played Gundam Breaker on my Galaxy Tab some and it reminds me quite a bit of Custom Robo, but I sure would love a new installment on my Switch.

Scramble New Configuration!

 

It's Monday and a new week here on Planet Zone! I hope you had a good Christmas weekend, I sure did! As we head towards New Years Day you may notice some changes around the site this week. That's been a long time coming. I hope you all like the new look. Of course the content will remain the same. Thank you for continuing to support Zone Base. As always don't forget to share with your friends!

Merry Christmas from Zone Base!

It's Christmas Eve as this is posting and the beginning of a little holiday break for me. I'll be back Monday ready to start a new week here on Planet Zone. Thanks to each and every one of you for continuing to read and support my weird site about robots and monsters. Please share with your friends and have a Merry Christmas!

Tell the Monstroids it's Christmas

The He-Man and She-Ra Christmas Special is a very odd cartoon. Two earth children find themselves on Eternia and have an adventure. It's really a series of sub-plots strung together to make a short 40 minute little movie. One of the more interesting adventures is when the Monstroids get involved. In the MOTU toy line, Monstroid is a large robot monster that's part of The Evil Horde. In the grand tradition of Filmation taking liberties with the source material, instead there's a group of transforming robots called The Monstroids. Though they did later on appear as member of the Horde in a later She-Ra episode.

Clearly both a take on the popular transforming robot toys at the time (obviously Transformers, but there was a few other lines as well) and maybe a little dig at the competition (we've got to stop those evil transforming robots) before the Meteorbs were introduced. I've mentioned before how much I love the bat shit crazy nature of the line in general. A random group of transforming robots showing up in a Christmas special only to be thwarted by another group of robots is a prime example of that.

McDonald's can even kill a star

Bamed Burst

I don't claim to know everything. Bamed is a good example of that, I was fairly ignorant of the character. Upon getting this burst version of him, I assumed it was an update of Pugnacious Penguin. Probably because of the translucent colors look icy on a slightly pudgy bird. However it's a different character whose normal deco looks a lot like the little birds I take so much joy in watching eat from the bird feeders on my front porch. In the end, it's not a bad trade off. 

Bamed as we've spoken is a bird based beast whom battles and looks wonderful. Especially in these burst colors which look so good! The cool lance style weapon and shield have a pleasant speckled look that go along well with the icy translucent colors. I felt it was a natural fit for Christmas week. Beast Saga figures are larger than older Beastformers/Battle Beasts and offer a little more articulation. Instead of just arms, the legs and sometimes heads also move. Not a lot, I know, but it's just enough for a toy of it's size.

They have a dice based game instead of the heat rub symbol play of the older toys. Each comes with various dice that are launched out via chest gimmick. I don't know how to play the game, but find the characters symbol side charming enough for display purposes. Bamed doesn't have a name that naturally rolls off my tongue. Sometimes I see it translated as Bamet. Which may or may not be the correct name, but I see Bamed more often. The other day some of those little birds were fighting over one of my feeders. I can see Bamed on a Sunday morning running off a red bird for some choice sunflower seeds.

Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Clause

Bios: Skystalker

"Terror reigns from the skies, the hapless rule on the ground."

Function: Interstellar Assault

Obsessed with power, acquiring it, keeping it, and using it to tyrannize all who oppose him. Lives for the day when the Decepticons will rule the universe under HIS command. The meanest fighter to ever raid an enemy outpost. Rockets across galaxies in his fearsome space shuttle, destroying everything in his path. Shuttle and detachable jet pod armed with laser cannons, cluster bombs, accelerator beams, air-to-air missiles, and nose cone modulator that emits earth-shaking sonic booms. Control panel armed with long-range aerial tracking devices and lock-target laser guidance systems. Lower platform equipped with atom scrambler that disintegrates objects in seconds.

New Week Loading...

It sure is Monday and that sure does mean the start of another new week here on Planet Zone! It's also the last few days before Christmas and that means a few hectic days. That being said, aside from this weeks Beast Saga post, there won't be any toy posts. I just don't forsee and spare time to dive into the backlog for a bit. However, I do have some other fun in mind, so stay tuned!

It was a good, but busy weekend. Saturday was spent doing the last of the Christmas shopping before the big day. There was a lot of running around and big crowds. I do enjoy shopping, but doing so much in a day can feel like a second job! Not to mention the strange events that took place in the parking lot of one shopping center. The entire area was covered in hundreds of turkey vultures. There was a very bad smell that coated the entire area. Clearly something was dead in the area and judging by the large amount of birds, a lot of it. Christmas is also a time for scary ghost stories and that certainly was one. Fortunately we got everything we needed unscathed before retiring for the evening with dinner from Longhorn Steakhouse (one of our favorites).

Sunday the wife's brother, father, her father's wife and grand daughter came over for our Christmas with them. The Mrs had prepared a bunch of snacks while they brought a sandwich tray. It was a fun dinner that included some sushi from the local Publix for me. I'm still on a low sodium diet while recovering, so I wanted to offset some of the food. I really love sushi from Publix, so no complaints from me. Gifts were exchanged and a good time was had. Afterwards, my mother came by for dinner and holiday special viewings. Actually, we've been watching Christmas specials all weekend.

It's Sunday night as I'm writing this and that means a few episodes of Beyond Belief before sleep. I've got a busy day tomorrow before work. Christmas can be hectic, but nothing beats how nice it is on Christmas Eve. All the stress is over and you can just bask in the joy. It's going to be a fun week here on the site. I hope you all enjoy it. Thanks for your continued support and please share with your friends!

Hans Trapp

Jazz (Studio Series 86)

Jazz has been sitting in my backlog for quite some time now. He's one of those characters I've always liked and usually get new toys of. Each time there is a new Jazz figure, it seems to be a vast improvement over the last. That trend is certainly continuing here with one very good figure of one of the Transformers more iconic characters. Studio Series has been generally great in general and these 86 offerings have been excellent.

As you'd expect, Jazz turns into his trademark white Porsche with a robot mode that looks like he walked off a TV screen. The toy is well articulated, everything moves as it should. At some point I'm going to be disappointed in a Studio Series figure, but that isn't the case with Jazz. He has his trademark Photon Rifle. I wish he also had the rocket launcher, but if I can only have one weapon it's gonna be the gun. I almost feel like this is a transforming version of the Action Masters Jazz. If only the black parts were blue. Pair that with a new version of the Turbo Board and you've got at least one customer.

Ultra Christmas

X

Stop Yelling

Ractonite

A long forgotten Christmas tradition is to tell scary ghost stories at night. That tradition is so forgotten that it seems totally out of place these days. You all know I like it spooky and can appreciate it as a counter point to all the sugar and spice. Admittedly my habit of listening to paranormal and true crime podcasts while at work is a regular thing anyway. But it does help alleviate some of the stress of the holiday season. With that in mind I thought looking at the spooky skeletal Fossilizers would be just the ticket! While I was getting sick this past summer the wife picked him up for me. He's been in my backlog since then and I'm glad I finally opened him up. I like Fossilizers as is. Nothing like a Transformer that's a skeleton that transforms into a skeleton. Add in that the body can be broken up and used as armor or weapons for other transformers and you've got quite a morbidly weird idea. They also remind of of Rock Lords and Bone Age.

Ractonite transforms into a triceratops. That's probably not the most accurate description of the exact dinosaur species represented here, but I'm pretty sure the dinosaurs never turned into robots either. It's a pretty good skeletal dinosaur. Decently articulated. Of course he can be split up and made into a variety of weapons and armor as a Fossilizer. There's a combiner you can make with them and these are the parts that make up it's torso and feet. Considering that he's the widest of the Fossilizers, you'd figure more would be used. I may do so whenever making mine. In robot mode there's a strong resemblance to Ribcage that I cannot ignore. If I was on whatever official board decided exclusives, there would definitely be a Fossilosaurus set pitched using these guys. However that gate is firmly kept by others.

Close Shave

Long Giraffe Burst

Every once and awhile you have to assure somebody that is indeed it's name. Long Giraffe Burst is one such toy. Continuing our weekly look at some Beast Saga figures is a fellow who happens to be a giraffe with a long neck as his name would suggest. The Burst is because this is a Burst version like the others we'll be taking a look at. Like other Burst versions, Long Giraffe is in translucent colors which I just love. They just look so great. Back in the day translucent variations of toys were often called 'crystal' versions.

That's always stuck with me and I mentally default to calling them such still to this day. I recall opening some Gundam blind boxes that the wife had given me and was happy to get a 'crystal' version in the one I opened. Come to think about it, I've got quite a few of those still unopened. Dang. Back to our friend here. Weird name aside, he looks awesome. The giraffe doesn't look out of place in that distinct Beasftformer style. In fact it makes him more neat as opposed to the standard 'vicious' animals used in action toys. He's packing a long sword and shield to battle other beasts in addition to the various dice play the figures game. Long Giraffe Burst is a really neat little guy, different, but we like that sort of thing around here.

Clean up and Slay the new Week

It's a new week here on Planet Zone and one week closer to Christmas! I don't know about you guy's, but Christmas time is a strange flavor of chaotic for me. Between the shopping and holiday gatherings while still working and living my normal life, it's a stressful yet fun time of the year. Though on Christmas Eve, there's a peaceful calm that's never replicated any other time of the year. I spent most of this weekend shopping for gifts as well as another Sunday Squishmallow event at Five Below for the wife (they're practically having one every weekend lately) before having Mom over for dinner that night. Sunday was my Mom's birthday and she turned 70!

We had a wonderful pot roast the Mrs cooked in the crock pot and some cake while watching various Muppets Christmas specials. Mom brought me a Mega Construx MOTU Skeletor head she had grabbed while out. It's the Fisto set, I already have it, but welcome the extra parts. Whenever Mom finds them in the clearance aisle she grabs them for me. I've got a couple extra figures by her doing that which provides excellent extra parts for future use.

While out I did manage to find some if the new Final Faction toys. I got all the new figures, just need the Arrow ATV and new accessorie sets to be caught up. I never thought something like a cheap dollar store toy line would be as popular as it is. Pretty cool to discover something like that on launch as well. Neat. Fun fact, the guy who designed the figures works for Super 7 now. I happen to think very highly of them and happy to see that merging of things I like. This year I missed out on the Lego  Star Wars Advent calendar.

Bummer, but in it's place the Mrs gave me a different kind of toy calendar. The Microbots Advent! These are small block kit robots that are a merge team. There's various sets available, mine is a dinosaur team vs a car team. It's a 12 day Advent Calendar, so I'm just now starting to feature it on my social media. That Instagram of mine is going to be a pretty neat place for a while! Well, I've got some household chores to do in between a little toy pics for this week on the site. Better get to work! Thanks each and every one of you for continuing to support Zone Base. It means so much to me that you continue to enjoy my madness. Put on a sweater (it's cold out there) and please share with your friends!

You don't take back a present

Bios: Snarl

"Only in war is there happiness."

Function: Desert Warrior

An unhappy loner of few words and fewer opinions. Finds joy only in battle. Hates his Dinobot form, longs to return to Cybertron. Large golden plates on spinal assembly are solar collectors... strength increases tenfold in sunlight. Tail can shatter 20 foot concrete cube. Armored hide resists most missiles. Vulnerable to nighttime attacks due to his weaker state. Slow... uncooperative nature hinders others from helping him.

Santa takes a Pause

Deep Cover (Netflix version)

Deep Cover is one of those characters who's been around for awhile but is just there. Literally a repaint who serves as only a background character. I'm not complaining though, because he's a cool repaint that pays tribute to Transformers history. Originally Sideswipe was made from a Diaclone mold which came in a few different variations. Deep Cover originally was a E-Hobby exclusive made from the early 2000's Sideswipe re-issue based on a version of New Countach LP500S.

Along comes the Siege version of Sideswipe and there's a version of Deep Cover based on that toy (which I sadly missed out on). Then oddly enough this Deep Cover was released in the Walmart exclusive Netflix War for Cybertron line. This time seemingly based on the G2 Sideswipe Go-Bots toy. Which is funny since a lot of folks thought Deep Cover was based on the regular Sideswipe G2 toy.

With all of that talk of different versions and repaints, I didn't talk about this toy very much. That's because it's another repaint of a toy that's gotten quite a lot of repaints. Deep Cover is based on the Siege Sidewipe mold which is a very good toy. I'm generally fond of Sideswipe toys and I liked Siege a whole lot. It's nice to revisit Siege and one of my favorite molds from it in such a cool way.

Rudolph's Bogus Journey

Bios: Jetfire

"You can fall alone or you can fall together!"

Jetfire adopted the form of Earth's most advanced and adventurous craft - the Space Shuttle. He is Optimus Prime's executive officer, second in command and has the honorable and rare task of being able to combine with him - redefining the term teamwork. He exemplifies all of the special qualities found in Autobot commanders: courageous, tactically skilled, and a natural leader. Taking the time to know each Autobot, Jetfire understands their individual strengths and weaknesses - in battle, he knows exactly where each soldier will excel. While relaxed with the troops, he becomes all business when it's time for action. He is heroic in battle, caring not about size or number of enemies; with a take on all comers' mentality. Equally efficient and effective on the ground and in the air, he is air mobile and ground capable.

Santa is freezing his ass off

Deseeus Army Drone

There are some really good characters in the Transformers universe. This isn't one of them. I'm not being sarcastic, for you see the Deseeus Army Drone are literally just Drones used under the command of the Quintessons. This one specifically works for Deseeus, though I'd like to think the other judges have some as well. Going by the original cartoon creation story that the Transformers were created by the Quintessons before miraculously gaining sentience, it only makes sense that they'd have some non-living ones still in use. Not to mention, drones make for good generic soldiers and this literally is just that. If it looks familiar, that's because the Drone is a straight repaint of Siege Ironhide.

The Drone is a silver/grey robot with a lot of black undercoat. Clearly the War for Cybertron has caused some paint damage. The Cybertronian vehicle makes for a cool sci fi alt mode and with the gun mounted on top, it looks like a solid military grade vehicle form. Several of the Siege molds had that Diaclone flair and it works pretty good here. Really, I can't think of a better mold to use for this idea. I liked the Siege Ironhide mold a lot. I liked Siege a lot in general so it's nice to revisit it. The rifle can convert into a sledge hammer for some melee combat. Really, this is just a solid Transformers toy. The mold has gotten a lot of use and each time felt fresh. There's plenty of articulation and it looks the part. Deseeus Army Drone may have a funny name, but it's a great idea.

Bucket Humbug

Bill Sword Burst

Back in 2018 at Toylanta, I was fortunate enough to stumble across a dealer selling Beast Saga figures at a really good price. He had several figures from the Random Booster vol. 1 Burst Collection set and I bought one of each. I think Shawn and myself revisited his booth a million times hoping he'd add more to the box. While we didn't have any luck with that, we did manage to each complete a set. They've been in a plastic storage container on top of a drawer I use for mini-figures and off keshi storage ever since. 

Something inspired me to take a look at each one here. 

Bill Sword is a sword fish. That's the kind of animal that seems like an odd choice at first, but then makes plenty of sense. I mean, it's a BATTLE Beast right? A weapon is implied in it's name. There was even a few in Beast Wars, it makes sense. Here though, he seems a little silly. Probably because a slight resemblance to Gonzo The Great a little. Still this is a great little figure. Beast Saga figures are a little bigger than a normal Beastformer/Battle Beast. They also have articulated legs in addition to the dice launcher. It's a more complex figure with a more complex game. The Burst versions came in very nice looking translucent colors. I really like translucent plastic, but it does get fragile over time. Beast Saga figures are made from a more rubbery grade, so that won't be an issue. Bill Sword is a weird little guy, but still a pretty cool dude.

New Week Build

It's a new week here on Planet Zone! I had a pretty good weekend. Helped my Mom put up her Christmas decorations. Putting lights up outside is so fun I do it at two different places! The Mrs surprised me with a super neat Advent Calendar that I'm looking forward to working through. Speaking of the Mrs, we went to Five Below Sunday for a Squishmallow event. There wasn't much there she didn't already have, but we still got a few. I grabbed a Treasure X Monsters while I was there. I haven't had time to open it, but you can be sure it's awesome. I've got a fun week in mind here on the site. Thank you for your continued support and please share with your friends!

There'll be scary ghost stories and tales of the glories...

Did you guys think I forgot what site this is? Sure I enjoy Christmas, love it actually. Zone is a weird planet with lot of dark corners where creepy things lurk. Kowabana is one of my favorite podcasts. It's translated true ghost stories and creepypasta from Japan. Kowabana itself means scary stories, which we're supposed to be telling as well as those tales of the glories  you know...

Warpath post with clever title

Kingdom Warpath was one of my birthday gifts from the Mrs. I'm not sure what's taken me so long to get around to opening him, but my backlog does have a few stragglers from before I got sick. Adulthood sometimes gets in the way of childlike hobbies. I'm pretty impressed by just how much Warpath looks exactly like Warpath. I say that because so many toys of his is a different take on the design. This is 100% classic Warpath and a pretty good Transformers figure as well.

He's got a good amount of articulation and while I wasn't a fan of how the legs work in transformation, the tank mode is pretty solid. Warpath is one of those bots that manages to stick around, but still is a little under the mainstream eye. He's usually not the first or even second that come to mind when most people think about Transformers. However Warpath isn't obscure by any means either. That's an odd place for a classic character to be in, but it fits him doesn't it? This is a really good toy of Warpath. Really happy with it.

Castle of Devils XX

Castlevania is one of my favorite video game series. I love the mixture of fantasy and horror in addition to the platforming and action. Between the straight forward game play of the originals and the exploration of later ones, each game is usually a good time. One game though that doesn't get a lot of credit is Castlevania: Dracula X. Before you correct me, I'm not talking about the PC Engine classic Rondo of Blood. I'm talking about the Super Nintendo game.

While essentially being the same story, it's basically an alternative version of the game. Slightly different levels, difficulty, and other game play mechanics make for a new experience instead of simply being a port of the prior game. It both a substitute for Rondo of Blood to set you up for Symphony of the Night or a sequel to Super Castlevania (an alternate version of the original game). 

Basically the SNES games make for a fun little side pocket continuity that either does or does not connect with the overall series. For what it's worth, the Japanese version of Dracula X is called Dracula XX in Japan to differentiate it. Other differences between versions is the amount of gore (and there is a lot of it) is toned down for the American and European versions. It was a different time back then before games had a ratings system. Companies often tailor their products to meet regional norms. Nintendo in Japan was more open to things such as blood and religion, while in America... not so much at the time. 

Rondo of Blood is often seen as a benchmark in Castlevania games, while the SNES Dracula X is generally panned as an inferior product. Something I've never understood. Personally I've always liked the SNES game. It's a good game despite being different from the PC Engine version. Just different. There's never been a clear reason as to why the versions are different, but to me it kind of fits. Rondo of Blood is the epitome of a PC Engine game. While Dracula X is 100% full of that Super Nintendo flavor.

Recently when I bought Castlevania Advance Collection I was super pleased to discover it had the SNES game on it. That was a surprise considering the love the PC Engine gets. Getting reacquainted with it pretty much inspired me to write this post and show you all this cool game guide from Japan. Even if you can't read Japanese, it's still neat to flip through. That's actually something I plan to do periodically here when I talk about old video games is include some of the cool guides and magazines made for them. I've always loved them and willing to bet you'd appreciate them as well. The embedded reader can be adjusted to make it easier for you to flip through the pages or you can read it here.

Alex Karras has the perfect gift idea

Woolco will save you from horrible children

Wings Down

I bought Airazor sometime last spring. That's the thing with my backlog, it's pretty fucking big. Though select items from it will make for fun posts here! Released in Kingdom, Airazor is making a return appearance from her time in Beast Wars and a brief appearance in Armada. This new toy is based on her original toy which honestly benefits from the update. Airazor looks like she stepped right off the TV screen. 

As soon that description stops being applicable, I'll stop using it. 

Airazor is a pretty good toy. She has a lot of articulation in both modes. I'm honestly impressed by all the ways her wings can move. Transformation into a falcon is pretty smooth even though I had a little trouble getting things to tab in correctly. That was probably on me. In beast mode she looks great, though admittedly there's a bit of robot mode kibble underneath that really has nowhere to go. That's a pretty common thing in Transformers that turn into birds and jets. I'm not apologizing for it, just accepting it. Like I said earlier, her wings can move in all sorts of poses making for a pretty neat toy falcon. I regret taking so long to open her up now that I've finally gotten around to the mountain of unopened toys. I thought her old Transmetal toy would be hard to beat. I still prefer it, but this is a nicer figure thanks to modern engineering.

Santa perfers Camels

Don't miss your train

At Toylanta this past year, I managed to get a few Gobots for pretty good prices. I pretty much focused on them at the show and had fun doing so. I plan to do the same again this coming show and opefully bringing even more home. You guys know I love my Gobots. 

Loco here is one of those bought from this years con and man I really won out with him. He was only $5 and in pretty good shape. A few dings in the paint and that's it. His joints are tight and as you can see in the pics, he looks a lot better than I'm used to when buying a used Gobot. Go me.

Loco is a pretty simple robot, but still pretty solid. As his name implies, Loco turns into a train. Not a bullet train like you'd usually expect. Nope, an old timey steam engine style train. I believe the technical term is a choo-choo train. Transformation is pretty simple, his arms poke in and he folds over. Despite the simplicity, Loco has solid train and robot modes. In Machine Robo his name is Steam Robo, can you guess why? Loco is mostly black with some red and gold. Don't forget that classic chrome. His chest stickers are leftovers from Steam Robo and they look great. That's just about the only word to describe this toy. He's pretty great.

The Genesis of a New Week at Christmas

It's a new week and the start of the Christmas season here on Planet Zone! It's also back to a normal work week after the long holiday break. I've always seen the Thanksgiving break as a mid- year vacation and honestly this one was a pretty good one. Between the holiday shopping, taking in the Christmas sights, and some quality time at home. I enjoyed the holiday a lot. Now that it's Christmas time I'm also under the official 'don't buy anything until after Christmas' order. So for toy posts during the next month, we're going through the back log from the time I was getting sick to just too busy to open. There's quite a bit. My Draculus did come in Sunday, so happy to finally have him! Also now that it's Christmas time, we're going to celebrate the holiday here on Zone Base! It's not the same as Halloween time, but it's going to get pretty weird here on the site over the next few weeks. Between weird, cursed, and charming (I do like the holiday you know) we're going to have a good time with Saint Nick. He knows when you are sleeping, he knows when you're awake, he knows if you've been bad or good. So share with your friends for goodness sake!

Happy Thanksgiving from Zone Base

Happy Thanksgiving! Here on Planet Zone we're looking forward to the turkey and cranberry sauce! It's a long holiday weekend, so I'll be back Monday with another fun week of robots, monsters and misadventure. I'm thankful for all of you who continue to read and support Zone Base. Pass the rolls and please share with your friends!

Long Neck

A few weeks ago I picked up Sludge from the Transformers Cyberton line. Ok, it's actually Energon Armor Dinobot Sludge from the Transformers: Bumblebee Cyberverse Adventures line. At some point in the future the box will just be a page of text. Sludge is a really neat figure.

He's large, about the size of a Voyager Class figure, with a decent amount of articulation. There is a fair amount of hollowness, which keeps the price below that of a Deluxe Class. Cyberverse figures are generally intended for smaller children as opposed to collectors. There's going to be concessions to keep the price lower. 

Aside from the hollowness, Sludge is a nice toy. A big chunky Brontosaurus that turns into a cool super robot. Once again these Cyberverse toys feel like a toy from another time. It's almost like a G2 era mold that was unreleased. The Brontosaurus's tail turns into a big spear/club type weapon that looks like something out of Monster Hunter. Combine that with the Energon Armor and suddenly Sludge is straight out of some anime. Energon Armor? Yeah, he has that. It flips out from the backpack area and covers Sludge's face and chest. You could call it a gimmick, because that's what it is. The armor is a clear blue with a dinosaur shaped helmet. It's pretty awesome looking if you asked me. I'm assuming you did.

Portal to Hell

Phony Baloney

Faker is another MOTU character I wasn't concenred with as a kid. He was just this oddball evil blue He-Man clone that wasn't given much focus. Not to mention, he pretty much flew under the radar. Honestly, I don't remember ever seeing his toy at the store. As an adult toy collector, I'm aware he was just case filler and the most blatant repaint in the line. Also as an adult, I fully recognize just how awesome he actually is. 

Depending on the fiction Faker is a robot either created by science or magic. I like the magic origins because it makes him seem like some weird Eternian Golem. This new toy follows the Origins model perfectly in that it's literally a blue He-Man with red hair and an orange Skeletor outfit. Of course there's the requisite sticker of all his circuitry. How else would you know he's a robot? He has the 'vintage' He-Man head that comes with some figures on the standard He-Man Origins body. There's a ton of articulation included with that. Of course he's sporting his orange take on Skeletor's outfit with a fake orange version of the Power Sword. There's a Powercon Exclusive version of Fake with a slightly different deco and Dupli-Cat. Dupli-Cat is his evil robot clone of Battle Cat. The pun based names never end... thankfully. It's hard not to like Faker, he's a Halloween colored evil robot clone of He-Man that relishes in it's ridiculousness. In the included mini-comic of this wave, it's shown that Skeletor has an army of Faker clones. There's not one fiber of my being that doesn't love that.

Head On into a New Week

It's Monday and that means it's the start of a new week here on Planet Zone! It's Sunday night as I'm writing this at my desk here at work. Thanksgiving is one of the holidays that I work on Sunday night to compensate for the offset holiday week. Even though I only had Saturday off, I still had a pretty good weekend. The Mrs an I got our groceries in person instead of the normal delivery service. Being Thanksgiving we needed a lot and sometimes it's just better to pick things out. Saturday night we saw Ghostbusters Afterlife. Which you've already read about. I totally schedule posts to publish later than when I wrote them normally. YOLO.

After the movie, the Mrs wanted to stop by Target for something and I was hoping to find a Winston with Slimer. I totally failed on that but did get a MOTU Origins Faker. Score. It's going to be a shorter week, I could really use the mini vacation the holiday will give me. However that doesn't mean it won't be a fun week here, I've got one of those in mind. I'm thankful for all of you continuing to read and support my weird little site. Please share with your friends and pass the cranberry sauce!

Ghostbusters Afterlife after all this time

This past Saturday I finally got to see Ghostbusters Afterlife. It was a happy moment as it's been 2 years since the trailer first hit the internet. That was before covid-19 happened and everything changed. I got my tickets last week and happily enjoyed a movie that never seemed like I was going to get to watch. It was well worth the wait, this was a wonderful movie. To give a little perspective, this is Ghostbusters part 3. 

The 2016 reboot is ignored. Like the video game (which at the time was considered part 3) it follows up on the Gozer plot line from the original movie. Part 2 isn't ignored (and it's still cannon) as Ray's book shop is in the movie as is the Vigo portrait. They had more than one adventure you know. If I could compare it to another movie, it'd be Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Strongly played off the original movie while setting up future films. Future films is something I'd be more than happy to see. I like this series. You may have noticed.

I'm not give a review here. Nor am I going to spoil anything(intentionally anyway). I'm just going to talk about something I like. I like Ghostbusters and I liked this movie. I didn't like the movie just because I like Ghostbusters, I liked it also because it was a good movie. Fortunately it was a good Ghostbusters movie. I like the new kids, Phoebe and Podcast were particularly fun new versions of Egon and Ray. In fact Podcast was the one kid I didn't have an opinion about going in and came out liking a whole lot.

Trevor and Lucky I assumed were going to get much bigger roles, but they came in second while still getting decent screen time. Admittedly Lucky got less than all four, but I honestly can't see what else she could have done. Well, I'd like to see more of how she got to the dirt farm in the final act. Not exactly going to lose any sleep over how some characters got to locations. It's a movie and I have a life. Once again it was a good movie, so I wasn't too hung up on 'how' and instead was preoccupied with watching it unfold. It would be a safe assumption that the kids would play out like a copy of Stranger Things. I wouldn't have had too much of a problem with that, but also happy that they felt more like an indie movie initially. Considering it's directed by Jason Reitman, that's not surprising. 

The movie manages to feel like a Ghostbusters movie while also feeling like something new. That's cool, it's a new team, it needs to have it's own identity. It's funny, scary, emotional, and nostalgic. The way a Ghostbusters film with this story should be. It even felt a little like The Real Ghostbusters with some of the equipment and plot. It's nice to wait so long for something and leave completely satisfied. It's been a long two years since that trailer first hit the internet. Here's hoping there's more to come. If not, then hey, they left on a strong note.

Superior to the Core

I picked up Core Class Soundwave this past weekend. I really like this new size class Kingdom introduced. Seeing as it's continuing in Legacy and being worked into Studio Series, I'm not the only one. Soundwave is a really nice toy for what's is the new basic size.

He's pleasantly articulation. Mostly due to transformation, but I'm not complaining. In fact, it almost makes him comparable to the Microman figures he originated from. Soundwave turns into his traditional cassette player and even has an opening door complete with Laserbeak in tape mode!

Laserbeak doesn't transform, but it's still a nice extra. I have no complaints with this figure whatsoever. I do wish his robot mode feet tucked away better in alt mode from abetter looking tape player. So far Core Class has had some really great figures. I'm really looking forward to more as it's been great so far. This one though, is going to be pretty hard to beat.

Enfield Poltergeist

Fish Lips

This past weekend the Mrs. picked up the Lords of Power version of Merman up for me. I've been trying to find these guys (damned elusive Beastman) and was very thankful for her efforts. If you didn't already know, Lords of Power was the original name for Masters of the Universe during it's development. These LOP versions are based on the mock-ups for the developing line. MOTU Origins is a very neat line like that, G1 He-Man stuff to the weirdest detail. However in the Masterverse line, they're doing the Barbarian He-Man. I honestly don't know what extent Mattel has in mind with all this. Either way it's super fun.

The most noticeable difference between this and the standard Merman is his head. The sculpt is more detailed and closer to his depiction in the original paintings. That old concept figure was mostly modeling clay meant to sell an idea. Details like the fishy bits stood out more as they were basically glued onto the base toy. Aside from that, Merman is the standard Origins figure with all the bells and whistles you'd expect. As an adult, I really appreciate the weirdness of classic MOTU. Merman is a good example of that.

Bios: Seaspray

"Be unyielding as the ocean waves and your enemies shall fall."

Function: Naval Defense

Displays a zest for his job unmatched by fellow Autobots. Loves the ocean and its creatures... unhappy when he returns to land and reverts to robot form. Loves the thrill of naval battle. Can go 120 knots, 4000 mile range. Has sonar radar and underwater and surface-to-air lasers, also used in robot mode. Wheels allow limited land travel. Not too strong or mobile as robot.

Double Dragon 4: Underground Nightmare!

I was a big fan of Double Dragon as a kid. Don't get me wrong, I still love it, but back then... man. I'd draw the characters, play out adventures using action figures and so on. I still remember the first time I played Double Dragon. My brother and I would go to the neighborhood Circle K. We'd play the arcade games, eat candy, and drink Slush Puppies. It was a pretty popular place for kids in the neighborhood. Much to the obvious annoyance of the cashier.

Occasionally the games would be swapped out and one day there was new game called Double Dragon. It was unlike anything I had ever seen before (never played Renegade until years later on the NES). You had these cool guys fighting other guys, they could pick up things to hit the other guys with, and they all looked like Mad Max. It was amazing. I spent the rest of the day talking about it until I was finally told to not say another word for the rest of the night. Which I did and gt in trouble. I was surrounded by folks who never played Double Dragon. They didn't understand.

Soon enough I was hooked on the NES version and it's sequels. What really added to it all was the instruction manuals. Back in those days game manuals were usually more than just instructions booklets. Often they were the source for a lot of the games fiction. The backstory and characters would get covered with some cool art usually. It was somewhere during this time that I came up the perfect Double Dragon game. Double Dragon 4: Underground Nightmare! Being 12 and not having much of an understanding how the video game world worked, my solution to creating this game was to write and draw the story and characters for the instruction book. Then send it in to the game companies and they'd just throw it together. To be fair I was 12 and admittedly a pretty weird kid. Not at all like the well adjusted adult I grew to be.

*cough*

That story? Those characters? After the events of Part 3, Jimmy turned evil again (he was the villain of the original after all) and kicked Billy out of the Double Dragon dojo. Now homeless, Billy lives underground in the sewers (like the TMNT). It's there that he finds his long lost other brother Timmy! Timmy also is  martial arts master and reveals Jimmy has been evil THE ENTIRE TIME and was behind the events of part 2 and 3 THE ENTIRE TIME! Jimmy also wasn't really their brother, but an evil robot from the future (like T2). Now that Billy is living in the sewers and has found Timmy, Jimmy sends The Black Shadow gang to get rid of them once and for all. But now, they're all mutants!

To be honest, I kinda still want to see it made.

Waspinator here looking for Sara Connor

A few weekends ago, when the Mrs picked up Shadow Panther and Tracks for me, she also found the new Kingdom Waspinator as well. Like many of you, Waspinator is a favorite character from Beast Wars of mine. Obviously I was looking forward to this new toy. Like most newer Generations figures, Waspinator looks like he walked off the TV screen. That's a pretty impressive since something like a wasp that transforms into a bipedal robot cannot be easy to design. It's not perfect s there's some left over kibble from each mode slightly visible in each mode and not everything held together as well as I would have preferred. However, I'm mostly happy with him and not to bothered by his flaws. Your mileage may vary.

It's been great having these new updates of classic Beast Wars characters lately. Sure, they occasionally put one out every so often, but the past year has been full of Maximals and Predacons much to my happiness. I'm not sure how many will be in Legacy, there'll be some in the Rise of the Beasts toy line , but that's not due until 2023. Guess I'll just have to see. Good thing I like the way the Legacy figure are looking anyway. Like I said, Waspinator is a fan favorite and it's hard not to be happy when he gets a new toy. Just thinking about it brings up a ton of memories of horrible impressions of him at BotCon (myself included). The last Waspinator mold got used as Waruders at a BotCon which is funny since this one makes me think of Repto. That's probably unintentional, but I wouldn't mind seeing some of those older bad guys made from this toy.

The Elevator Game

Before you play, maybe look over more in depth description. Just to be safe.

See you on the other side.

We need New Week

It's Monday and you know what that means! It's a new week here on Planet Zone! Also, the last normal week on the site for awhile. Next week is Thanksgiving, and it'll be a weird week offset by the holiday. Then starting soon after will be Zone Base's annual Christmas Chaos! We'll be celebrating Christmas together here on the site all December. It doesn't matter if you've been naughty or nice, but a good sense of humor helps.

This past weekend was pretty good. The Mrs surprised me with a MOTU Origins Merman before I left for work Friday. Not just any Merman, but the Lords of Power version. Super cool! The following Saturday we made a visit to Walmart which rewarded me with Kingdom Soundwave! Not just that, but we bought our tickets to Ghostbusters Afterlife this coming weekend. The rest of the weekend was spent decorating our house for Christmas. What? We can love more than one holiday. I need to grab a few more lights for the bushes outside!

I've got a fun week in mind for the site. Thanks to each and every one of you for continuing to support Zone Base. As always, share with your friends!

Tracks in the sky with Diamond Cylones

When the Mrs. picked up Shadow Panther for me, she also grabbed Tracks. I've always really liked Tracks and have been looking forward to this toy despite hearing various people online say he wasn't so great. I don't mean to be totally dismissive of others opinions, but these kind of things are subjective, so I generally decide for myself. Not to mention, some folks just can't be pleased. Regardless of the cries of those with urine soaked beds, I was looking forward to Tracks. Like I said, I like him. I've always thought he looked cool and had a cool personality. Just a good Autobot car, you know?

Tracks is a pretty good toy once you get him into the various modes. Transformation though, wow, really didn't like that part. Lot's of panels that have to be aligned just right and getting his legs into the cars front end was not pleasant at all. Once you got through the frustration of all that, he's a pretty nice looking toy. Tracks looks like he just walked off the TV screen like most recent Generations toys.

He's pleasantly articulated and everything is where it should be. In car mode, assuming you got all the panels to pop into place, he looks great. From car mode, conversion to flight mode is simple. Just fold out the arm parts and wings/fins. Tracks's flight mode is the predecessor of  those Transmetals vehicle modes and similar to M.A.S.K. Basically, it's a car with wings. Before you comment on how that's unrealistic, remember it's an alien robot from outer space that disguises itself as a car. Also remember it's a toy. Then remember the word masticate, it means chewing. Somebody felt another word for chewing was necessary.

Aside from the frustrating transformation, I don't have a single bad thing to say about this figure. Generations has really been on a roll in the past few years. As an adult who grew up with Transformers since it's inception, these are exactly the toys I want as a fan of the line. Classic characters updated with improved designs that look as they should. While I absolutely love it when we get new characters, I'm not going to pretend that new toys of classic characters aren't great. Even as frustrated as I got with Track's transformation, I still liked the toy. The colors really look great and he's fun to fiddle around with. Kingdom made Tracks pretty good.

I tried to think of the most harmless thing

I finally found the new Fright Features Stay Puft Marshmallow Man last week. I say finally because it took a long time. I know that's obvious, but sometimes you really have to explain things. Now got to find Winston with Slimer and the kids! If I was really crazy, I'd look for the Ecto-1 with alternate box art. Not doing that, it's literally the same toy in the same box with the same art(just slightly different). Toys can be weird. What's weird in a good way is Stay Puft's Fight Feature. In fact... it's a little morbid. If you squeeze together those marshmallow man legs, his upper torso spins upwards while raising arms. Now the ghost has been pulled apart showing marshmallow cream seemingly made of Mini Pufts (potential spoiler?) and a spinal column made of jumbo marshmallows. I never knew the intestines of a Sumerian deity could look so tasty!

Bios: Jazz

"Do it with style or don't bother doing it."

Function: Special Operations / Saboteur

Optimus Prime's right-hand man. A danger-loving daredevil with a bottomless bag of tricks. Loves Earth culture, particularly rock n' roll. Outer shell armed with semi-automatic ion pulse gun and deflector shield. Inner robot armed with photon rifle and hydraulic lifters in legs that enable him to jump over fifty feet. In race car mode, equipped with blinding, full-spectrum headlights and deafening 180 decibel speakers. Nitro-injected 12-cylinder engine allows him to reach speeds in excess of Mach 1. Thermal-sensitive windows also provide supplemental solar power.

Shut your Trap

The new He-Man and the Masters of the Universe toys have finally started showing up at my local stores and I was happy to see them. I loved the show and couldn't wait to get a few of the figures. Honestly this new He-Man renaissance is pretty great. There's so much new stuff available that it's a MOTU fans dream come true. It's been super fun in the MOTU groups talking the various different toys. I grabbed Trap Jaw this past weekend happily. He's my first figure from this new line and what a cool toy he is. These new figures serve as a core class for MOTU at $10 each and more basic articulation. It's not much of a concession as they look great and even have gimmicks. 

Trap Jaw is a departure from his classic look, while still looking familiar. He's a nice mix of cyberpunk and fantasy with that robot arm and goblin boots and stitched tights. The helmet is a play off the original design while being more scary. There's even a throw back to his classic zip line loop. Trap Jaws gimmick is that energy projectile can be shot. It's not on a spring, instead if you twist him at the arms and waist, he'll bend around as if putting some effort into the attract. Let go and the toy swings around flinging the blast out towards the Masters. Pretty neat.

Notice I said Masters? That's because in this new series there's no more Heroic and Evil Warriors. Instead we have the Masters fighting the Dark Masters. You can guess which side Trap Jaw is on. It's a reinvention of a classic story that still manages to homage the original. Obviously intended for smaller kids, but so far us adults seem to really like it. I've even been seeing adult fans praise it over Revelation. I'm sure that's pretty surprising to Mattel who you can bet are paying attention. I'm usually very G1 about MOTU, but am happily enjoying this new series a lot. 

Living on the edge, not afraid to die

A few weeks ago I spoke about how excited I was for the new Kingdom version of Shadow Panther. Fortunately the Mrs found him a little bit back and I now happily have one. If you don't know who Shadow Panther is, let me educate you a little on him. His bio reads-Outer appearance looks like a Cybertron but in fact he is a Predacon soldier. Shadow Panther specializes in performing surprise attacks from the darkness. He doesn't stop his hunts until he has preyed upon countless Maximals. Depending on release, he may or may not be Ravage. That's because he was originally a Japanese exclusive character, however Hasbro chose to import him when they ran a collectors web store (pre-Hasbro Pule). Initially sold as Shadow Panther, however at some point they renamed the toy Tripredacus Agent.

If you couldn't tell, it's a repaint of Cheetor. However not a direct repaint as Shadow Panther has a different head. The first bath of Beast Wars toys had the mutant head gimmick. This would usually give the figure another head that could be swapped out to represent a battle mask or helmet. When it came to repaints, these mutant heads would usually serve as the new characters head. Shadow Panther normally used the standard Cheetor head, but for this release he has the mutant head. Considering there's another Cheetor likely on the shelf nearby, that's a pretty good idea. Not going to lie either, it's a good choice. Makes him look more savage. With that sickle/whip weapon and the black colors, Shadow Panther looks like the anime shadow warrior the bio makes him out to be. 

The black on yellow with silver colors look as good as ever to me. Silver on black is a classic look and the yellow is so strikingly different that it contrasts nicely. Not to mention, makes me think of a Henshin Cyborg. There's a pretty big Transformers iceberg, and it's probably a coincidence, but the similarity is hard to ignore. As you've guessed by now, I'm happy with this toy. You might be too. The base mold is already a good one and it's a character I have a fondness for. I'm pretty happy that Hasbro went with Shadow Panther for Kingdom. With the Netflix version of Cheetor also available, I would have assumed they'd pass over another use of the mold on the shelf at the same time. Sometimes it's good to be wrong.