Scamble! Devil Invaders Attack!

Hotlink, Heartburn, Heatstroke. Yeah, The Bot's a Fire Bomb

Another of the Christmas gifts from my wife was the ultra cool Hotlink with Heartburn and Heatstroke set. If you find yourself wondering who Hotlink is, he's that random purple Seeker that sometimes shows up in Transformers cartoons.

He's the one with a flame thrower who was next to Sunstorm on the very first episode of the original cartoon. At BotCon 2013 they finally gave him an name. Prior to all this, I'd had always thought Hotlink would make a good name for a Transformer. It just works.

This version of Hotlink uses the Siege Seeker mold, which is super appropriate because it's based on that original cartoon tertrajet. This is a super accurate toy of the guy as he appeared originally. He also appears in the Netflix War for Cybertron series and has popped up from time to time in other TF media.

I had only gotten the Starscream version of the Siege Seeker mold prior to this. While I thought it looked cool, hunting down various other Seekers in the past has worn off the novelty of completing the team each and everything. Usually I'm happy to get one or two of them. Not to mention, my Siege Starscream had the chest issue early versions had. 

For whatever reason, the chest piece would come off very easy. Which could be super frustrating during transformation or just occasional clumsiness. I was aware they had fixed the problem, but I didn't forget the annoyance.

So getting a 'fixed' version of the mold after the fact was pretty great. In fact with the fix, the Battlemasters, and the paint job. Hotlink almost feels like a completely new toy.

It's not a new toy, it's 3 prior used molds that feel like 3 new toys. It's a wonder what a new paint job can do. Hotlink is joined by Battlemasters Heartburn and Heatstroke. The two are seemingly identical aside from their visors. Their included action effects thingies look a lot like flames.

Hotlink's flamethrower in the original cartoon was light blue like these two. It's easy to see they're supposed to be living incarnations of that. It's a cool little touch that makes me think of older fandom days. I strongly remember a friend on an old message board who had this thing for Headmaster Seekers. They didn't exist, but he would bring up the idea often. A Battlemaster is an updated Targetmaster, so this isn't too far from his idea. I wonder if he likes this toy?

Your Move, Roach

Spider Maul: Far From New Hope

I've been a fast fan of the Star Wars Mission Fleet toys, specifically the Gear Class (standard/basic class). While the larger vehicles are cool, the charm is in the way cool accessories they package with the figures. Jet packs, little helicopters, and jet skis really add something to the little figures.

I've been speculating this is a result of Hasbro's Micronauts line they had planned that never materialized (maybe it will eventually). I don't know if I'm right, but they sure do seem Micro inspired. I love Star Wars, and adding in some extra far out to the mix is a welcome addition.

After what felt like an eternity, Hasbro has finally graced store shelves with a second wave of Gear Class. It's a small wave. A repeat of Boba Fett, a Clone Shock Trooper (good repaint of the wave 1 Clone Trooper), and Darth Maul. Darth Maul here is as he appears in the various animated series. Not dead and with robotic legs. Spoiler alert: He got cut in half in a movie that came out 21 years ago. 

Like all Mission Fleet figures, Darth Maul is a mini figure with a pleasantly rubbery plastic. The toy is decently articulated and has that distinct sculpting that the Mission Fleet toys have. Think of a cross between a classic Kenner Star Wars figure and an Imaginext figure. He has that 5 points of articulation a Kenner would, but the shoulders of an Imaginext. For such a basic toy, it gives him an extra touch of movement that's pretty nice.

Maul has his trademark double lightsaber. It's just as awesome as it was when I first saw it in 1999. His included accessory/vehicle is a spider droid that doubles as his spider legs. The spider unit is pretty neat, some of the legs swivel for posing or stability. There's a spot for lightsaber storage and it has amounted gun. Darth stands on a little platform with foot pegs to ensure a snug fit. It's a chunky representation of his cybernetic spider legs that's hard not to like. It's a badass little figure from a neat little line. I dig it.

Organ Harvest, For Kids

RUN

These Two Are Buzzworthy

While taking the wife shopping for her birthday this past weekend, I stumbled across the new Bumblebee and Spike set. This 2 pack is part of the new Target exclusive Buzzworthy Bumblebee line that as you can guess focuses on Bumblebee. The line mainly reuses older molds from various lines (movies, Cyberverse, etc.) aside from this one. This is a new Core Class figure that's either getting left out of Kingdom or the mold itself will get used differently later on. 

I've been speculating that Core Class is going to be staying around for awhile, so seeing the usual players in the class isn't surprising. I'm pretty sure this mold will get used in different colors and likely different heads. It looks like it could fill in for a few different bots. I'm not sure where the Spike comes from, maybe the new 1986 Studio Series figures has a Daniel in exosuit included. It's a neat little minifigure that I'd like to see get plenty of use.

I like Bumblebee and Spike, but I don't like transforming Bumblebee. Spike is fine, he's not much more than a Targetmaster. Just fold them legs up and keep his arms down. Now he's in that vehicular mode exosuits have. It's pretty simple.

Bumblebee's alt mode is a generic sporty hatchback. The transformation itself isn't terribly bad, but getting things to lock into place was a pain. It's either the plastic being used or the engineering. Like it's designed too exact or off a hair somewhere. I kept popping his arm off trying to get it into place. Once it was there though, I was happy.

It does have weapon storage inside the alt mode. That feels like a lost art these days with guns hanging off the sides of vehicles. Aside from the transformations annoyances, I'm pretty happy with the set. Looking forward to future uses of it and the Core Class in general. I like Spike a lot as well. Core Class generally costs around $10 right now, this was $15 with the addition of Spike. I'd gladly pay the extra for more partner figures. I uh... like partner figures.

Revenge Of The Gobots

Kong's Going To Whoop Your Ass

One of the Christmas gifts from my Mom was the Giant Kong figure by Playmates. Seeing how a certain trailer is pretty popular right now, it seems like a good time to talk about this toy. As you could guess this Kong as he appears in the upcoming movie. It's been 48 years since his last adventure in Skull Island and he's grown up quite a bit since then.

In case the 'giant' part of Giant Kong wasn't very clear, this isn't the standard figure. It's a much larger toy. The standard Kong figure has a bit more articulation and accessories, this is a big ass monkey your going to stomp around while yelling. The figure is 11 inches tall and looks really great. His head swivels as does his feet. There's basic shoulder and upper leg articulation. I'm sure he can hold something in his right hand if you put something there. This guy has a lot in common with the last Giant Kong by Playmates, but still just enough to make him different.

I had honestly figured this would be a repaint of the prior Giant Kong toy with some paint differences and maybe a new head. I was wrong, even though the figure has the same basic stature and articulation as the last one. This is a newer, beefier Kong with a big beard. In story he's bigger and older now (he was pretty young in Skull Island, they made a point to say that) so he's got to be more battle hardened looking. He's been whooping all sorts of ass in the past 48 years and now he's ready to kick that suddenly evil Godzilla's ass. *cough* 

It's a pretty good Kong toy. I've been a steady fan of these Playmates Godzilla and Kong toys as readers know. They're pretty fun and don't cost very much. It's hard to complain about that. Somebody will, but not me. This Kong costs around $20 and is exclusive to Walmart here in the states (not sure for other countries). This is a good King Kong toy. I can't say enough good about it, so let's watch that trailer again!

Bustin' Makes A New Week

It's an all new week here on Zone Base and I'm pretty disappointed that Ghostbusters Afterlife has been delayed again. Fortunately it's just a few months, but I'm hoping the merchandise doesn't get delayed as I freaking want the new Fright Features figures SO BAD. What isn't delayed is this week, which has got a whole slew of new posts for your eyeballs! 

I don't know how used to these 'new week' posts you are. I hope not a whole lot, because while I appreciate you reading and sharing with your friends, but this is going to be the last one. There's something new coming to Zone Base starting soon that'll come out every Monday (normally) that I'm going to introduce to you in this space next week.

Making Soundwaves

After Christmas, like many of you, I was doing a gift card shopping spree. While doing so, I lucked up upon the new deluxe Cyberverse Soundwave figure. I've liked the warrior class version of Soundwave and jumped at the nicer toy.

The design is a cool mix of traditional G1 Soundwave and Euro G1/Early G2 styling. The old school nature of the warrior class toys made him feel like one of those late G1 European toys lost in time. The deluxe is like a modern Generations update of that toy. 

Soundwave comes with Laserbeak who turns into a cassette that can be loaded into his chest. However Soundwave turns into a type of armored truck instead of a tape deck. They don't make those anymore, shit happens. I do like this truck a lot. Not sure if it'd make a good communications truck, but it looks cool.

Like I said, Laserbeak can store in Soundwave's chest. What I didn't say was he can also perch on his arm or shoulder via a peg. There's also an action effect thingy that you can plug into his radar dish or gun. That's to show a sonic attack emitting from the dish or gun. It's in his name. It's a sound wave.

Laserbeak is pretty basic and hollow. Considering he's not much more than an accessory, I guess that's understandable. It would have been nice if he was a little better. He makes me think of those trays Coke vendors have the bottles in while they refill the cooler at Circle K. Like if one of those was broken and it kinda looked like a bird.

Soundwave himself is a decent figure. He's got a good bit of articulation and his transformation isn't too hard. There's some hollow parts from storage in alt mode present in robot mode. There's also that big backpack that's the trucks roof. It's a little in the way. Honestly it just feels like he needed another pass over in the design stages. Not bad though, just could have been a little better. 

It's hard not to like this version of Soundwave, those design cues just look so good. I'd love to see some repaints inspired by his Machine Wars toy or even a Stalker made from this toy. The thought of a Ghostbusters version just popped in my head and I can't ignore it. A little far fetched... but I kinda thing it'd be awesome. Admittedly, I have Ghostbusters on my mind. As usual. Afterlife yo.

I Don't Say He's Got To Go

I've not been covering Playmates Godzilla vs Kong toys here much for no particular reason. So I thought I'd do something about that as I have some and plan on buying more. With the movie's release date changed again (I fucking swear...) it seams like a good time. 

I've talked about Playmates general Godzilla line here before and have been pretty positive about it. This isn't the same line, it's literally an action figure line. Not soft or hard vinyl, action figures similar to the Godzilla toys Trendmasters produced in the 90's. I can only hope these guys get Cyborg Armor too. That'd be freaking amazing. *cough*

As you can probably guess the line has multiple versions of Godzilla and Kong in it. There's also a few other kaiju from the Monsterverse thrown in for good measure. Today I'm talking about the Godzilla with Heat Ray figure. I first typed 'hat' instead of ;'heat' and now I really want to see Godzilla with a hat ray.

This figure is from the standard assortment (there's a giant/mega size class as well) and might be the same mold as the Godzilla with Radio Tower figure. I don't have that one yet, but it looks like it is. The difference would be the paint job and included accessory. 

This figure has a much darker skin with super nice looking translucent blue back plates. He comes with a 'heat ray' burst of flames meant to represent his atomic breath. The 'heat ray' part is the same colored plastic as the back plates, which looks nice. Clearly Godzilla is charging up that blast. 

His mouth is articulated to open or close. Obviously when inserting the 'heat ray' piece, you'll need it open. It doesn't just prop up in there either. There's a little ball joint that inserts into his upper mouth. Usually these companies bullshit that kinda of thing, so I found the insertion point pretty nice. 

The figures in the standard range have removable battle damage similar to older Jurassic Park toys. Just a satisfying chunk of meat that can get ripped off exposing the gore underneath. The chunk is a rubbery piece that snaps into place pretty well and doesn't fall off easily. Godzilla is reasonably articulated. Head swivels, half the tail is on a ball joint (has to be snapped on after opening package). Legs move at his hips and arms on shoulders for tearing high tension wires down.

No matter who makes the figure, you can only expect so much articulation on a Godzilla toy. Anything over that is a plus. It's a good figure, I can't really find any faults with it. For all the negativity I've seen in kaiju groups on the Playmates Godzilla toys, I've been steadily enjoying them. Each his own I suppose. The line is exclusive to Walmart here in the states. I kinda love it.

Load Nightmare

My parents would never buy me one.

Clone High

Another of the Christmas gifts from my wife was the super cool Autobot Clone 2 pack exclusive to Amazon, otherwise called the Biosfera Autobot Clones. The name is due to the Autobot Clones going to Planet Biosfera to search for Energon and end up fighting the Decepticon Clones. If it was a wrestling match, Jim Ross would say "I can't tell which one's which" a million times.

I haven't made it very clear, but I've always really liked the Clones. Something about identical robots that turn into different alt modes. It just triggers me in a positive way. I really wish there was more of them, they're neat. In a line full of repaints, specific ones that seemingly mock the repetitive nature of the line itself as a play gimmick is kinda awesome. It's like when you shoot somebody a bird, but do that cranking motion first. 

When it comes to G1, it's the post movie era I like the most. Between the space opera and far out ideas is some really neat stuff. Not to mention, there's that point where Decepticons clearly focus on more monster based alt modes with the Autobots holding the line. It's the basic super robot formula with that special something that makes Transformers it's own thing. If you've looked around the site a little, it might be pretty obvious as to why it's something I'd like.

While I super enjoy the wild colors Decepticons tended to have at the time, the more traditional colors worn by the Autobots manage to look pretty far out somehow. Fastlane and Cloudraker here are a pretty traditional mix of red and a cream/buff color with some black thrown in. By all means these are pretty plain colors. They just look extra spacey on these designs. It's a cool contrast to see these bright red heroes fighting those teal monsters. 

As far as the toys go, these are really good updates as the Decepticon Clones were as well. Maybe a little better. As much as I like those far out monster and beast alt modes, they were usually pretty boxy in G1. It came with the times back then and doing an updated homage requires keeping those classic looks. I'm not arguing that, but these guys in alt mode just look a little better as a new toy. Don't get me wrong, I love the Wingspan and Pounce. Just I'm a little happier with these alt modes than those. Just a little. I have no clue how to end this post. Gonna eat a Babybel now, that's a two handed snack.

Replay: Sunroof

Just keep that thing closed.

Smashing Dinosaurs From Their Icy Tombs

Blind assorted, tiny rubber keshi toys are pretty easy to get. I buy plenty (like a ton), but I've been wanting to find a new line to really get behind. Not that I'm ignoring the others ones I buy, but without Grossery Gang, there's been an empty spot. An Instagram friend has been posting quite a bit of the Zuru Smashers lately and they've been catching my interest.

The Smashers line by Zuru is a neat keshi line blind packed in collapsible plastic capsules that you 'smash' to open. Series 1 passed me right by. I don't think I ever saw it. I did buy a few from series 2. Fun, but I just didn't see them often. That brings us to series 3 which kinda snuck in under my radar. This was the 'Dino' series, which as the name implies was a dinosaur themed set. I really wish I would have gotten in on these guys earlier as the dinosaurs rang from standard, to mutants, to robots, and even skeletons. Really awesome stuff.

Fortunately I began seeing these at the same time as I discovered series 4, which is the 'Dino Ice Age' set. So there's still plenty to go around. Actually I see more series 3, so no problem there. I don't think I have to tell you, but series 4 is an ice age expansion of series 3. The toys are available in a range of prices, but I usually see the 8 pack at my local stores for around $9. 

You get 8 toys on a card, 6 in smash-able capsules (egg shaped for the dinos) with 2 visible on the card and a random slime pack. There's also larger eggs that have larger figures inside... but I'm focusing on the little rubber dudes here. Part of the reason I didn't notice them is my stores tend to just put them wherever. You might have to really look if you'd like to pick up a pack, and they could be anywhere. The figures are pleasantly rubbery with wacky sculpts. So far I've been really enjoying these little prehistoric freaks. I think Zuru just makes blind packed dinosaurs I like.

Do The New Week

Holy crap it's Monday and the beginning of a new week here on Zone Base! I've got some fun content planed for you all this week... did that kid not notice her hand was cold? As usual, thanks for reading Zone Base and please don't forget to share with your friends.

Optimus And Freinds On Netflix At Walmart

Another of the Christmas gifts from my wife is the Netflix Optimus Prime set exclusive to Walmart. Like some of the others in this line, Optimus comes with some Battlemasters. It makes for a really cool set and still makes we wish the Netflix War for Cybertron series included them as well. 

Optimus is the Earthrise version sans trailer. It's a really good toy. I've talked about it here before and that didn't keep me from wanting it again. His slightly different colors make me think of that one G2 version. Which I've always liked. This is just a really good Optimus Prime, I kinda want them all.

Optimus comes with Battlemasters Sheeldron and Enerax. Sheeldron is a repaint of Soundbarrier whom I've also talked about here before in a really cool yellow scheme. Enerax is a repaint of Pteraxadon from Siege, whom I have but not talked about here before. I'm gonna rectify that now. I also wish there was a Battlemaster named Rectify.

Enerax turns into an energy axe or laser gun. What makes this neat is that his robot mode is a pterodactyl instead of your standard humanoid robot. It's always been pretty cool when Transformers have non-traditional robot modes like this. Enerax is also in that great yellow scheme like Sheeldron. Yes, those are some awkward names. I wish Enerax was Sundor. Another clear yellow bird Transformer.

The addition of the two makes for a more savage Optimus Prime wielding an energy axe and shield in battle. Mentally skipping past the Netflix series, I could easily see this team up on some cosmic adventure. It's visual says Marvel to me more than that War for Cybertron. I love this Optimus toy and partner figures with it just makes a lot of sense. There's literally nothing bad I can say about this set and a million good things I can. Go buy it.

DDT Stands For The End

Masters of the WWE Universe is a weird toy line. I know I've talked about them before here, but it's one of those concepts I can't help but to describe each time. Are they wrestling figures or He-Man toys? 

Both. They're both. 

These are literally MOTU Origins toys with wrestlers as characters in an alternate timeline. I'd been really wanting to get a hold of the new Jake the Snake Roberts figure since learning about him. Jake is one of my favorite wrestlers of all time and I was instantly sold on him being in the MOTU ranks. Thankfully, the wife got me one for Christmas. Or as she said, she got me a weird old man toy.

Playing into his scary guy who carries around a snake gimmick, Jake is WWEternia's answer to King Hiss. In human form, Jake pretty much looks how you'd expect. With MOTU style armor decorated like his tights carrying his trademark snake. I'd like to think it's Lucifer, not Damien.

But remember, you can't trust a snake! By removing his armor and mask a reptilian freak is exposed! A reptilian freak with a mullet! I've mentioned a million times about how Masters of the Universe is a bunch of Halloween decorations. This is literally a toy of a person who removes his disguise to reveal a demonic true form. It's January, doesn't matter, trick or treat mother fuckers.

If you haven't gotten you hands on a MOTU Origins figure yet, let me explain one to you. Imagine all the charm of an original He-Man figure with modern day articulation. They're literally using Origins molds to make these with oddball WWE parts and whatever other stuff they have laying around. 

Jake might have the most original molding with his face mask and reptilian head. I'm sure the snake is from other figures. The armor is the same that came with Macho Man, but sans the additional chest plates for battle damage. I kind of wish he came with a weapon. The snake works, but a knife would have been perfect.

Jake is an obvious choice for a Snake Man on WWEternia. I really like the playing up of 'one with the darkness' into his overall presentation. Jake always seemed like that guy in a random episode of Tales from the Darkside. The shady dude in a silk shirt, cowboy boots, and was involved with a voodoo priest. Later who turns into a snake to kill the guy who wronged the voodoo priest. Or I guess that guy from the old PSA. Come to think about it, I always saw that during Tales from the Darkside. Dang.

Goopy And Spooky

Say 'Spooky Goop' just like the announcer.

Right now.

Megadudes

Another of the Christmas gifts from my wife was the super cool Megatron with Pinpointer and Lionizer set exclusive to Walmart. This is both winners with chicken dinner for me as I love toys with partner figures and the Siege Megatron mold as is. The more premium looking chrome paint on said mold is irresistible. This toy is part of the Netflix series and is intended to represent Megatron as he appears on the show. Considering how toy accurate the shows CGI models are, I'd say it does that pretty well.

It's a really good updated version of classic Megatron. It looks pretty much just like you want him to look. No he doesn't turn into a fucking gun. He turns into a tank like usual. You that saying "I remember when Mtv played music?" It's been longer since they haven't than they did. Things change, and sometimes it was a long ass time ago.

I really wish the Battlemasters were in the Netflix show. They're not, but they are in some of the sets. I love a good partner figure and here we've got a neat situation. Instead of just throwing some in their for Megatron to have, these are his captives. Just a little bit of toy only fiction, but it's appreciated. These two are being forced to serve Megatron. Considering their alt modes are weapons, that's some pretty dark stuff.

Lionizer is a catbot that turns into a sword and Pinpointer has a more traditional bot form that turns into a double barreled gun with some sort of cluster bomb attachment. That's the fun thing about Battlemasters. Instead of just generic guns, you get a variety of weapons. Like other Battlemasters, they come with action effect thingies. A swoosh and two pew pews. A Battle is getting mastered with flair.

If you haven't had any experience with this mold, he's quite the treat. Plentiful articulation and a transformation with just enough steps to please almost everybody. It's a pretty good toy all around and a great Megatron. So much a perfect Megatron that the only other character they could make with it is Archforce. That's not a bad thing though. Often they get so creative with Megatron designs, he could be anybody. So much so that you wonder why didn't they just make a new character. Having a Megatron that without any kind of doubt is Megatron is the perfect thing to do here.

In case it wasn't clear, I like the toy. It's a good looking version classic Megatron that 100% fits the part. From his fusion cannon to sword, he looks like a happy marriage of the old box art and cartoon made into a pretty great toy. The shiny chrome is offset by the 'battle damage' that I personally dig. Megatron has been through hell and it looks like it. He's fighting a War for Cybertron after all. I also love the inclusion of the Battlemasters. Partner figures is a toy gimmick I never get tired of and with the additional fiction of these being his captives just feels like something Megatron would do. The black and orange colors looks good on the little guys too. This feels more like something I would have gotten as some sort of convention exclusive rather than a store exclusive set. That's hard not to appreciate.

Disco Dracula On NBC

Why the hell not?

Boss Monkey

I've been pretty excited Kingdom toys to come out. I figured it'd be around March when they started showing up, so imagine my surprise when I stumbled upon Optimus Primal at Target when running a few errands this morning. He was the only one out, so I don't know if I just got lucky or one found it's way out from the back. The rest of the section looks much like it did about two weeks ago. Well, aside from a fancy new section header. So maybe the rest will get stocked soon.

I was thankful to get him too. I love Transformers as a whole, but the beast era is without a doubt my favorite part. An updated gorilla Primal as part of the main line is just the bit of awesome I need to kick off what I hope to be a great year. 

Optimus is a voyager class toy who's a little smaller than they've been in the past. I recall reading somewhere that Kingdom toys would be, but mentally put it in the rumors section of my mind. Oddly enough he's about the size of a Beast Wars mega class toy, but more expensive than the ultra class. Which was what they called voyagers back then. Things change dude.

If you're new to Transformers, Optimus Primal isn't Optimus Prime and doesn't turn into a truck. He usually turns into a gorilla. Aside from his initial figure that is, which I really hope gets a core class update. This new toy is an update of the first gorilla Optimus Primal toy which he's most associated with. I've always liked the way this design looks. The mix of classic Optimus with King Kong is just fabulous. It just looks great.

In robot mode he looks ready to kick some ass. Big, beefy, and brandishing those trademarked swords. Speaking of those swords, Optimus retains his shoulder cannons and wrist guns from the original toy. He's missing that rad skull mace, however you can still get it separately. Primal has a lot of articulation, more than I initially thought he had. It's pretty neat and I'm sure those who pose their figures better are having a lot of fun with it.

Transformation is pretty easy. A common problem people had with beast era transformations is that they essentially stood up to transform. I don't have that problem, so I don't mind it. Just like Optimus Prime, Prowl, Bumblebee, and a lot of transformers before the beast era, Primal pretty much stands up to transform. You do adjust his limbs and twist around his hips to properly position them while arranging the back panels into place. The chest opens up to flip around his robot head and beast head out. It's pretty easy. I did have a little problem getting the beast head tucked away when transforming back into robot mode though. Not to the fault of the toy, I was just being a klutz. 

Those swords I talked about up above store on his back in beast mode. There may be another place more inconspicuous to put them, but a giant gorilla carrying swords is pretty hard to not want. That gorilla has some well sculpted hair and a much better face than the original. I'm pretty happy with this guy. I had been looking forward to this so hard that getting one practically made me shit my pants. Don't look at me like that. I had Pizza Hut. I'm pretty surprised to find these already at physical retail and I'm not complaining either. This is a good update to a classic toy and I really hope that positive lead continues. I'm super looking forward to more Kingdom toys and hoping mainline beast warriors are here to stay.

Attack Of The New Week

It's Monday and you know what that means? Mushroom people... I mean a new week here on Planet Zone! I've got a fun week of content planned. Thank you for reading and please share with your friends!

Soundwave Superior

Another of my Christmas gifts from the Mrs. was the new Netflix War for Cybertron Soundwave. Like all other Netflix Transformers toys, he's exclusive to Walmart and quite the hot commodity right now. While most of the Netflix lines is repaints of prior Siege and Earthrise toys, Soundwave is a remold of his Siege toy. In Siege he had a pretty G1 faithful robot mode and turned into some kind of space ship. Now with a few remolded parts, he can turn into a very faithful version of his G1 tape player mode. 

This gives fans the best homage of the original Soundwave as a Generations toy. Prior to that was the Masterpiece toy which can command a pretty high price these days and may not be as easy to find. Now you can easily go to your local Walmart and pick one up for $40. Not a bad deal at all. Now the only issue is if he's in stock, which results may vary.

Like I said, he's a very faithful recreation of the Soundwave from G1 and looks very much like his cartoon appearance. He even comes with a Laserbeak and Ravage. Those are direct reissues of the Siege versions as far as I can tell. I'm a big fan of the Laserbeak, though Ravage is a much blockier cat than you expect going in. I don't mind it, but there's no ignoring it either.

Soundwave can store a single cassette in his tape door and the eject button opens the door as you'd expect going in. The transformation from robot to tape deck is pretty simple and not very much different from the original G1/Microman toy. You do have to get a few things exactly right or he won't tab together correctly. It's not too hard thankfully.

Soundwave overall is pretty great. I already really liked the Siege version. I can't really complain about an improved version of it. He's classic G1 Soundwave with modern toy upgrades such as plentiful articulation. When you buy this, you know 100% what you're buying it for and you're getting exactly that. 

I'm not sure if he can still change into the spaceship mode the original Siege toy has. I didn't even bother trying, I already have that toy (and Soundblaster) and wanted this for the obvious reasons. I don't really have anything to complain about either. Though have seen some complaints about some of the random gaps in robot mode from part storage in alt mode.

That's kinda a 'is what it is' thing with Transformers though, just going to happen sometimes. I've seen others complain that it's another G1 update, which is another 'is what it is' thing. Hasbro is a big successful company, their going to do what makes them money. That's just how the world works. It is what it is.

For me, Soundwave is another one of those classic characters I just can't get enough of. I don't mind when they get experimental with him or when they do something like this. He's one of the more iconic parts of Transformers and as the line approaches 40 years it's legacy is going to be more and more important. They'll make a brand new looking Batman and release a traditional one right after. They'll be a new bad guy in Star Wars and a updated Darth Vader figure on the hooks as well. That's just how legacy brands work and I don't have a problem with that. I'm happy to have another updated classic Soundwave.

Wicked. Ass. Pumpkin.

It's the first week of January, hard to believe it's already Halloween time. No it's not, this is Zone Base where everyday is Halloween! Speaking of Halloween, boo! Another of the Christmas gifts from my wife (there is going to be a bit of these posts for awhile) was the new Pumpkin Rapper figure from the Power Rangers Lightening Collection. I probably don't have to tell you this but, I've always liked him.

Pumpkin Rapper hails from the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Which as boring as that may be to some Power Rangers fans, is my favorite era of the show. However the character isn't from original Super Sentai footage. Instead from the new footage Toei had made for Saban as they had burned through Zyuranger episodes and needed more content.

Like Frankenstein, Pumpkin Rapper is another Halloween episode monster... and the coolest one in my opinion. He appeared in two different Halloween episodes. In 'Trick or Treat' as the main villain and returning in 'Zedd's Monster Mash' which takes place in a haunted forest!

There's been a few figures of the guy. The newest being this Lightening Collection figure, which is a super nice representation. In the box you get the Rapper, three pumpkins, two vines, a magic doo hickey, and 2 sets of hands. One set can hold things, like the vines. The other is in dramatic positions for dramatic posing with one hand in a fist and the other open. Dramatically.

The two vines can be held as weapons to be used a whips and lassos. The pumpkins can be placed over the heads of Rangers or the Putty Patrol to recreate the big battle in 'Trick or Treat'. The magic doo hickey can be placed over his arm to show him casting those spooky spells. You can put a pumpkin in it as well, it's neat.

The figure is very well articulated with all sorts of joints that move all sorts of ways. I think the only thing keeping you from putting him into any pose possible would be that giant noggin.

It's an awesome higher grade figure of one of my favorite Power Rangers monsters. I love a pumpkin headed freak and he fits the bill with that specific flair that comes from a Japanese production.

From various shows, cartoons, and games, I've always loved the Japanese style of portraying monsters. That specific style on something that represents my favorite time of year is impossibly irresistible.

Halloween is quite a ways away, even with the way I celebrate it. Throughout the year I'll watch random specials and commercials, because I just love it in general. Something like this is another fun way to experience the season all year long. It doesn't hurt that it's a excellent figure either.

Ooh, you Rangers make me mad; waking me up with a rap that bad.

FUCKING RUN

SAVE YOURSELF

Netflix Bumblebee And Chill

One of my Christmas gifts from my wife was the new Netflix deluxe Bumblebee. Part of the War for Cybertron series exclusive to Walmart, I was really excited when I opened him up. I really wanted this one. Y'all know I love me some Bumblebee. Unlike prior Classics or Generations style Bumblebee figures, this one turns into his classic VW Bug alt mode. I've never complained about the sporty hatchback they've used in it's place, but man I do love that classic look.

Bumblbee is a re-shelling of the skeleton used for Earthrise Cliffjumper (I also have him). Which means literally the same thing it meant for the G1/Microman versions of the toy. Same skeleton, different car parts and head. So if you liked one, then you'll like the other. Probably. 

There's also a Bugbite and Hubcap version of the mold and I must get the Bugbite. Ever since that old E-Hobby set, I've had a thing for Bugbite. I'm going to say Bugbite one more time.

Bugbite. 

Bumblebee has the same big ass gun that Cliffjumper had. It can be split into 2-3 smaller guns, which fit Bumblebee better. The back stock of the big gun can be unfolded and used with the guns, but all I could ever come up with was a panini press which is just silly. He's fighting a War for Cybertron, there's no time for lunch.

The back windshield/roof of the car can also be used as a shield. Which anyone who's had a pine comb fall on their car while driving or a rock hit their windshield can tell you is a horrible idea. But once again, alien robots from outer space who disguise themselves among humans as dinosaurs. Reality isn't their strong suit.

I hope Bumblebee doesn't try to run holding that big gun. He's gonna trip and bust his bumble ass.

Bumblebee is exactly what you'd be expecting when buying a War for Cybertron toy. That's a very faithful updated toy of a classic character. There's no mistaking classic G1 Bee when you see him and that's him 100%. As a toy he's pretty well articulated with a variety of joints. If scales your thing, you should be pleased that he's fairly to scale with other Generations figures appropriately to character. I think that made sense.

Transformation isn't too difficult, though I did have problems getting everything to fit in at first. I admittedly use baby hands when transforming these things as to not accidentally break my toy. I have big grown man hands things can happen. That being said, I couldn't get that back portion to sit in flush with the rest of the car. I probably did something wrong.

Overall, I really like this figure. Not in that "Rob likes everything" way (I'm that weirdo that enjoys his hobbies), but as in I was very pleased with him outside of expectations. I've been a fan of the War for Cybertron toys (as you know) and this is another really good one. It feels like Bumblebee walked off my TV screen and awkwardly posed on a TV tray in my living room.

GARLIC ALIEN Appears!

Spicy garlic beemed by GARLIC ALIEN!

Vertebreaker, Will Slap Your Face

With some Christmas Amazon gift card money, I was able to snag a Kingdom figure before they were only from third party sellers at thrice the price. Fortunately it was one of the new Core Class figures, a new scale I've been really wanting to get my hands on.

For those not completely in the know, Kingdom is the third part of the War For Cybertron trilogy that's been going on in the Transformers Generations toy line for the past few years. No, it's not tied to the game of the same name, but the Netflix animated series. Kingdom is a mix of traditional and beast era Transformers. As a fan of both, I'm pretty excited for this. 

Vertebreak is a Predacon that turns into a Dracorex skeleton. While you'd assume she'd be a Fossilizer (I did), she's just a Predacon that turns into a Dinosaur skeleton. A Fossilizer separates into parts and can be used for armor or weapons. Vertebreak is just a skeleton. I'm not to hung up on the confusing nature of it all as I really like the toy.

A Dracorex may or not be an actual dinosaur. I'm not a paleontologist, but I'm pretty sure dinosaurs weren't actually robots from outer space. So I'm not very concerned with scientific accuracy here. Skeletons usually can't walk around on their own either. That's just how important inner strength is yo, and this little dinosaur skeleton is a pretty strong lead into Kingdom. 

Vertebreak transforms pretty easily, everything just folds into place naturally. You'll probably be able to do it just by looking at the toy. You also probably noticed the backbone of mine sticking up in the picture. I couldn't get it to stay in place. Either from plastic quality or maybe I did something wrong. Her tail turns into a bone whip or sword that I just dig. 

That's one of the weird thing from beast era toys that my appreciation of depended on the figure itself. In this case I like it, it looks gnarly. I like this toy overall. The idea of a skeleton robot that turns into a skeleton dinosaur is just awesome. Vertebreak as a name has been used before, but really fits here perfectly. As a character, Vertebreak is a female, but the mold isn't overtly feminine. I can see it being used for a variety of male and female characters. Which is my way of saying I want a lot of repaints. Gimme a glow in the dark or a translucent one.

The new Core Class is pleasantly small. I often feel like Transformers toys are too big, so scaling them down a little brings out more detail and just overall feels right to me. I don't know if this return to beast era is limited to Kingdom or if Kingdom is Hasbro's way of working beast back into Transformers. Personally, I hope it's the latter. But I'm sure you knew that.

Bios- Megatron

Millions of years ago, Tyrannosaurus Rex ruled the earth. Today, Megatron plans to do the same! Duplicating dinosaur DNA stolen from human research labs, the evil leader has re-engineered his body structure and equipped it with fearsome high-tech firepower! Poisonous paralyzer fluids blast from his gaping jaws, while his powerful pincher claw can cut an enemy in half! Be afraid, earthlings. Be very, very afraid!

New Year, New Week, Same Zone Base

It's Monday and you know what that means? A new week here on Planet Zone! I've got a fun week of content for your eyeballs! Thanks for reading Zone Base and don't forget to share with your friends!

Happy New Year From Zone Base!

Happy New Year! It's been a rough 2020, but here's to a better 2021! Hang in there gang, we're almost through this mess. Thank you for another year of reading Zone Base. I know there's bigger and better sites out there but... there's bigger and better sites out there. However you still chose to read this weird site about robots and monsters and that means a lot to me! I'd like to say I've got a lot of fun stuff planed, but hell. I don't even know what I'm going to do tomorrow. Regardless, we're gonna have another fun year on Planet Zone and I'm glad you're a part of it! Don't forget to share with your friends!