Damn That's Sour

Skittles is a long standing star of the trick or treating experience. So much so that they're no stranger to putting out special Halloween varieties of the beloved candy just for the occasion. A few years ago Skittles upped their Halloween game with Zombie Skittles. A bag of spooky themed candy with mystery zombie pieces that tasted like shit in the mix. They were really gross too. Last year as we were cleaning up after the trick or treating was over, I was sharing a bag with my Mom. My mother who was raised by working poor parents whom survived the Great Depression. Parents who drove home the belief that you do not waste food. EVER!

Such a deep rooted belief that she even quit a job working at a hospital cafeteria because she couldn't stand to see them waste food by throwing away what was left at the end of the day. Mom got a Zombie Skittle and the look of pure disgust had the wife and myself telling her to just spit it out. You could see the battle going on in her head. A lifetime of programming battling it out. She spit that candy out with a look of victory. It was just that nasty, nasty enough to defeat 70 years of a belief system. That's just how gross they were. 

So maybe they were a little too icky. Skittles replaced the Zombie Skittles this year with the brand new Skittles Shriekers! candy. It's an improvement to say the least. Instead of the gawd awful Zombie mystery pieces, you get the super sour Shriekers! mystery pieces. Same idea, just a different surprise experience. For the record, they're pretty dang sour too. I've got a bag and honestly like them quite a lot. The regular candy is really good,and the sour... is a new kind of pain. Leave it to Skittles, one of the best Halloween candies, to deliver a solid trick in your treat.

Bios: Cheetor

Function: Jungle Patrol

Like a bolt of greased lightning, Cheetor strikes fast and strikes hard. Quiet and confidant with incredible reflexes, he is equally efficient when battling in robot mode or in his artificially enhanced organic earth form. Cheetor constantly stalks the jungle in search of Predacon enemies, daring them to challenge him and his laser-powered quasar cannon.

Woolworth's Has Pass Kits For $3.97

I never seem to shut up about Paas Halloween make-up kits. I love them so... I've said as much before, I know. This old Woolworth's commercial really hits home for me, just seeing all those kit's lined up with the Halloween Hair Spray Color cans, sure to complete the look. I don't know why I love this stupid holiday as much as I do. I don't care, ignorance is bliss and I'm fucking happy. Speaking from my own experience (because it's the only one I can), these old commercials really hit home for me.

It's not just a nostalgia thing, but a look back at a bygone era that I wasn't ready to be over yet. It's part of the reason I like the town I live in. There's a good 50% seemingly stuck in the 80's while the rest of the town lives in the now. It makes holidays like Halloween that I firmly keep one foot in the past during just a little more fun. Normally I make some bad joke about the video I post but, well, maybe I'm just wallowing in my own joy for the moment. Well, ok, did you see the adult costumes? Holy shit, what a nightmare.

I'd Buy Those Masters For A Dollar

I'd been looking for these Micro Collection MOTU figures for what felt like an eternity. Fortunately on a random swing by the Dollar Tree, the wife saw picked them up for me. In the grand tradition of producing discount versions of mainline toys for dollar chains, Mattel released these figures at stores like the Dollar Tree and 99 Cent store. They're mini figures of some of the base characters in action poses. You know I love them. 

Each figure is on a rocky base with the MOTU logo proudly displayed. You could easily display them with a Castle Grayskull and they'd blend in... of course the castle may look huge in comparison, but shouldn't it? They're a soft plastic with pretty good sculpting and decent paint. For a dollar each they look pretty good. My favorite is Orko, who came out perfect. Man At Arms unfortunately is the worst. His sculpt is ok, but there's just something off about him. He's not terrible, just could have used a little extra work overall.

I'm super happy to have these and hope there's another series. Even if it's just repaints, I'd be down. I love little oddball things like this. For the price they're hard to beat and fun to collect. I could see if there's ever a time that I slowed down on my toy collecting, things like this would likely be my outlet for toys. I'd be happy with mini figures and keshi. Especially when the quality is as good as it is here. This is a great little set of figures for a total of $5. They totally have the power. I'm not apologizing for that, you saw what you saw.

We Need To Talk About Saftey AGAIN

I don't know who needs to hear this, but... Halloween is a dangerous holiday. When you've got all sorts of ghosts, and monsters, and demons just roaming around things are bound to happen. Add in trick or treating and that's just one more thing that's going on. I swear I was going somewhere with that train of thought. Oh well, fuck it. It's a damn fucking dangerous holiday full of danger and fucking devils and all sorts of evil spooky shit and we fucking love it. That being said, to quote Okefenokee Joe, you've got to be swamp smart. Somebody put a needle in your Twix? Sorry to say, things like that are bound to happen. It's best you take in a safety tip or two before the big night. Trick or treat, you're dead meat.

What's Your Sign? He's A Scorponok.

This past weekend I lucked up upon the newest Scorponok figure at my local Walmart. I've always liked the Beast Wars Scorponok and getting this newest version of him was something I wanted to do. His original toy is pretty fragile and I keep mine in storage wrapped up in bubble wrap to hopefully preserve the toy. Though time wrecks havoc on older translucent plastic and the figure is mostly composed of it. Definitely having a newer figure if most welcome. Of course I have countless copies of the McDonald's toy as well but you know what I mean. Not to mention, that's a figure of Creepy with the wrong name, I'm convinced. 

Scorponok looks like he walked off the TV from an episode of Beast Wars, the CGI wasn't that bad give it up. It's a really solid representation of him, but admittedly a little squat. That doesn't bother me though, there's bound the be a little leeway to make that design work in a real world object. The show model wasn't super toy accurate mind you. The transformation wasn't my favorite though. Not necessarily horrible, just a little less than stellar when it comes to his hips and chest. Basically the legs both fold up into his tail and the hips fit up with his robot mode into his chest. It's not hard, just a little fiddly. It was for me anyway, I also had a little trouble getting his beast mode head in and out of position. I pinched the shit out of my finger, so it was probably me being fat fingered.

Scorponok comes with his missile pods and infamous Cyberbee. They store neatly in his claws, so you don't really have to take them out. In all honestly, the implementation of these wasn't something super amazing to pull off. I was so happy to see them that you'd think it was. Love that damn cyberbee. I can see a Quickstrike being made from the engineering and hope that happens. That's another toy I'm a little nervous about. I'd gladly welcome Sandstorm or Double Punch... but would want a Double Punch more. I can't help but to want a Scorp made from the toy, you guys know I love my Gobots. Scorponok is a good toy and a great update of a classic character. I was initially stoked to see that he was getting a new figure and had a great time playing with him in my living room. Like a grown ass man would.

The New Week And The Darkness

It's a new week here on Planet Zone, tell all the hunters! I really don't have much of a weekend report this week. I honestly didn't do much. A quick stop by the Dollar Tree for some more spooky decorations for the Mrs office was made. They have a competition each year for best decorated office and she wins each year. So of course we had to bring the noise again. A quick stop by Walmart for a few more scary decorations (this time for our house) was in order and I found Kingdom Scorponok while there. Go me!

We did make a late nite run to a local grocery store for some ice cream and it was super fun. The store is a traditional grocery store in a older area of town, so it's like a trip to the mid- 80's there. That's what the town I live in is like, a mix of modern and old school rural south. The store had a wonderfully old timey feeling display of pumpkins and Halloween candy. Like I said it's an older style store and they had some religious options. I hadn't seen these in a while and it brought back memories of the houses that would give out Testamints to trick or treaters. Those were butter mints in packaging that would have a bible verse printed on them. The newer offerings were various types of candy with verses on them. My favorite was the Halloween seeds. Little bags of candy corn with a select verse printed on the bag. I also found a Ghostbusters candy toy of the Ecto-1. I'd been looking for one of these for years, so go me!

Sunday I spent a few hours doing the initial stages of decorating our yard for Halloween. It was pretty hot, so I only spent about 2 hours working. Next weekend I'll hang the lights, spiderwebs, and the giant spider. I'll also put up our new giant eyes in the tree. That'll probably be it until the Saturday before Halloween. Then I'll put out the graveyard scene and all the extra spooky stuff. It really makes our yard fun for trick or treating, but it's a nightmare to keep up with all month long. Last year there was a tornado that blew several tombstones down the street. So, this year the extra spooky stuff will have to wait a little bit. 

Halloween Is Glade Night

When it stinks in Whoville so bad that the wildlife starts howling that means one thing, it's Halloween! That's right, our favorite holiday here on Planet Zone! When it starts to stink that bad, they residents lock themselves away in their houses, because The Grinch is about to raise all sorts of hell! Fortunately Euchariah has to take a dump and on his way to the euphemism get blown away by the stinky wind... I'm pretty sure the Grinch is just holding his ass open in front of a fan... and ends up face to face with the Grinch! The showdown ends in a nightmarish fever dream that probably causes some pants shitting. I wish I was joking, this cartoon is one long fart joke and the adventures of a boy who really has to poop. It used to come on the Disney Channel.  

Giving You The Wingfinger

I was happy to find Wingfinger at my local Walmart this past Sunday. He's a Fossilizer, something I'm quite fond of. There's nothing like a robot skeleton dinosaur that can be broken apart to become weapons or armor for other Transformers. Wingfinger transforms into a pterodactyl skeleton giving him a much more thin body than other more bulky bots. Frankly it makes me think of Beast Machines era toys and I liked those, so it's a good thing to be reminded of. Thanks to his thin build, you get a robot who comes off like a skeletal Eva unit. It's a good look and a bit of variety in the mostly traditional area that Generations toys live in.

Ghostbusting Machine

I have pretty fond memories of read a-long story books, had quite a few. Various He-Man, Transformers, and others. Hardee's had a great Gremlins set that I coveted back in the day. This Ghostbusters one has a great original song... probably due to Peter Pan books only licensing the bare minimum. I got more enjoyment out of the gangs calling their Proton Packs laser guns than I should have. Owing more to my enjoyment of games like Meikyuu Hunter G or Laser Ghost that have the same idea (Meikyuu Hunter G did get converted into The Real Ghostbusters after all). Since we're here talking Ghostbusters, check out my new Fright Features figures! I found Muncher the other day, just need... the rest.

Bios: Igaunus

 Sow the seeds of fear and victory is yours.

Function: Terror Trooper 

A hideous, slithering monster. So in love with his loathsome, lizard-like outer shell that he rarely removes it. Shares misguided camaraderie with all reptiles. Equipped with super robotic strength. Able to crush cars with his reptilian claws. Hypnobeam in eyes penetrate enemy cerebro-circuits and override primary programming directives. Armed with hurricane air blaster that shoots concussive blasts of pressurized air. Wheels in cycle Mode equipped with spinning blades that tear through enemy armor. Built-in anti-gyrostators able to disrupt equilibrium of enemy robots. 

Boris Pickett Has Nothing To Do In January

If it's Halloween time, The Monster Mash will get played there. If you're lucky, Boris Pickett will perform it live. However it'll be the most low rent thing you've even seen. Boris will be performing the entire month of October with the best paper plate mask monsters two dollars can buy. But he will be doing it harder than anything you'll ever see.

The New, New, Newer Adventures Of He-Man

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe debuted on Netflix this past weekend and boy was it a fun time. It's funny that I spent extra time with The New Adventures of He-Man this summer, because it's really hard not to draw comparisons between this new show and that old one. On top of the classic He-Man formula is sci-fi and anime influences with a healthy dose of comedy. The show is a mix of action, adventure, laughs, and even feels. It's pretty damn good. 

It's not the same old He-Man either, a complete reboot. I'm surprised I like it as much as I do, because I'm very G1 with my MOTU. It's just the way I prefer it, but man, they did a great job. He-Man is the leader of the Masters of the Universe on Eternos. Once again he's Prince Adam given super powers with the power sword and Castle Grayskull. He shares this power with his friends giving them super powered forms as well creating a team to fight Skeletor who's mastered the forces of Havok and created his own Dark Masters. It's a new twist on some familiar faces that's a lot better than I expected it to be.

The Most Yummy Of Mummies

I grew up with the Monster Cereals as an all year delicacy. It wasn't until I was an adult that they became a seasonal thing only to be sold at Halloween. I was pretty pissed off as they were beloved and just the thing to sit in front of the TV with a bowl of. My favorite was Yummy Mummy, the more odd man out of the group. Like Fruit Brute he's generally forgotten about these days, but not by real ones. I have no clue what it means when you say 'real one'. I'm not imaginary, so I'm assuming I'm a real one. This year the Monster Cereals have a new addition, 'Monster Mash' which is a sort of combination of them all. I haven't found a box yet, but I've gotten some Franken Berry at the local Walmart. Weird, but as soon as I do, you can be sure that I'll... uh... be buying a box... damn straight.

Happy Motoring. Cock-A-Doodle-Doo!

While stopping by Target Sunday, I swung into the toys and lucked up on the new Studio Series 86 Wreck-Gar. I was pretty surprised as I'd just been there Saturday. I wasn't complaining though and gladly grabbed him. I've always really liked Wreck-Gar and even though he's gotten his share of toys, they never quite recreate the original far out design fully. Thankfully the entire purpose of the Studio Series toys is to be faithful versions of the onscreen characters and the king of junk looks right out of the 1986 movie and following seasons. 

Wreck-Gar is a pretty impressive toy and honestly feels like a far more premium figure than I'd expect for a Voyager Class toy at standard retail. The designers really nailed this one, which has been my overall sentiment with the Studio Series 86 toys. There's plenty of articulation, even where I wouldn't have considered it. Like his chest lasers (don't be weird), they're on little ball joints that allow them to be aimed. I've really been impressed with his spikes. Instead of the soft rubbery material you'd expect, they're a hard plastic instead. Safety be damned, you can put an eye out with those things! They're not just for show either, that's how the wheels/shield is mounted! Neat!

Transformation isn't complex. Another Transformer can ride the motorcycle (size permitting) making me wonder if a generic Junkion will be released and I hope so. Just hopefully it's a bit more distinct than the Studio Series generic Sweep. I cannot find a single negative thing to say about this toy and I'm not going to apologize for gushing either. I'm really happy with this toy. There's probably some complaints out there from some folks, but frankly I don't care. I'm so damn happy with Wreck-Gar that I'll happily wallow in my own ignorance about it. Your mileage may vary, of course, but mine is spectacular. I get spectacular mileage!

7 Days...

The new week has started here on Planet Zone, sharing this curse with your friends may just save your life! Speaking of curse, I've got a fun week of content in mind... if that's your sort of thing. The weekend was a pretty good one for personally, it somehow felt like a 3 day weekend... and I'm making the most of that. We did'nt do much, but managed to make two different stops at Target, a trip to Walmart. Not to mention visits to Walgreen's, Dollar Tree, Dollar General, and Big Lots. Target and Walmart are getting their Halloween sections nicely stocked with some good stuff.

I have two nearby locations of each, and the Walmart we went to this weekend is kind of a mess. Normally it's not very organized and messy, but they've been remodeling it the past year... so it's a giant cluster fuck. The Halloween section is just thrown together with no rhyme or reason and in some instances there's just boxes laying on the floor and shelves unopened with no stock on the shelf. This was the same store I found the skeleton action figue last week. I looked for another to send Shawn... but it's like they never existed. 

I did get a Wingfinger, so it wasn't a total skeleton loss. Both trips to Target earned me a Studio Series 86 Wreck-Gar, scout/action attack Ramjet, and Fright Features Venkman and Spengler! I've finally gotten all four Ghostbusters, just need to find... the rest of the line. Very happy that they're selling well... just wish I was having an easier time getting them. Now there's the kids, the ghosts, the car, AND the alternate ghost Venkman and Winston. Dang! They had a lot of Mini Pufts, but I decided to hold for the time being.  

Dollar Tree had none of the He-Man mini figures that I've been looking for, and Dollar General ... still hadn't stocked the Halloween section. Walgreen's was good, no Red Alert, but some spooky skeletons. Big Lots was also a bust, but I grabbed a Transformers blind pack for a video coming soon. Kinda tempted to do a bunch more, but taking the videos slowly with baby steps. Tuesday morning means a trip to a few Starbucks with the Mrs. for the new Halloween cups. You wouldnt believe how long those lines get. Well, you've got 7 days of this curse left. Please share with your friends! Thank you for continuing to support Zone Base. It's fun keeping this thing updated, but awesome to see people enjoy it. 

Hey Creep, Pickup The Phone

If I were younger and somebody were to explain 1-900 numbers to me, I'd probably think they were making it all up. Even though I lived through the relentless commercials in the 80's and 90's... I still have a hard time believing they were a real thing. There was a lot of horror ones, especially around Halloween time. As much as I've never understood 1-900 numbers, this one does look fun. I love the production in general. I guess $2 is worth it for some spooky shit. Maybe for a rainy Friday night in October. Or at least a few spooky minutes.

Target Sold Me Buzzworthy Toys Like This

I was fortunate enough to finally find the new Origins Bumblebee recently. Happily so as I've been looking for him for a while now. For those not in the know, this is part of the Target exclusive Buzzworthy Bumblebee line. It's a new mold representing Bumblebee as he first appeared in the original cartoon before coming to Earth. They put War For Cybertron trilogy logos on the box, obviously implying the toy is meant to be a part of that series. Somebody in marketing must have been trying to flex. Hasbro recently started hosting the original cartoon on their YouTube and it's currently available on Tubi. So this appearance is readily available to view for free if you're not familiar with it.

It's no secret that I'm a Bumblebee fan. He pops up often on this site enough for regular readers to know. Aside from some Bumblebee fatigue around 2008-2012 when he was a little too abundant, I've always loved the little guy. This is a good figure of him. Like I said, it's based on his pre-Earth first appearance in the original cartoon and it's a pretty good representation of that. Both modes look right and honestly I don't have anything negative to say about it. He's pleasantly articulated and the transformation was pretty easy. BB's sporting his laser pistol you saw him shoot at those Seekers before transforming in that first episode. It's black, not grey like on the cartoon. That's going to bother somebody for some reason.

BB is sold as a deluxe, but is pretty small. I'd argue a little smaller than his Netflix deluxe toy, but I think with the alt mode kibble, it's similar in mass. To fill out the price point and his box, they've included the jet pack he used in Dinobot Island. Also in the box is the energy conductors him and Wheeljack were stealing when he first appeared like this. He can't hold them, but he's got them. Like the Cheetor that I talked about this week, his box doesn't have cellophane. I'd take a second to check out the toy before buying one. I really like this toy. Not just because it's Bumblebee, but also because it's a good toy. Go get one.

What A Spooky Poser

This past Sunday morning I found myself in another Walmart than the one I shopped at Saturday. Of course I took the time to look at the Halloween section with the wife. Different Walmart's tend to have different stock and that's usually noticeable in the holiday sections. There's probably a reason for it, but I don't give it too much thought. I just don't care. I like the variety between locations. Each store is it's own thing despite being part of a big chain. Like I said, we were checking out the Halloween section and for the record, this location usually has great holiday areas. 

Each weekend they're getting a bunch of new stuff. It's fun to check it out and maybe get a cool surprise while doing so. Which brings us here today. Whilst looking around, I found a lone peg hook with articulated skeleton action figures for $3.88. It was just there, seemingly hung randomly with no actual spot to call it's own. I like to think it's supposed to go on one of those hanging strips and whoever just stuck it there. But there it was, cool as crap. So I bought one.

A Instagram friend pointed out it's a bootleg ReMent Skeleton that's been making the rounds. If you check the link, you'll see that's a $70 dollar toy. Holly crap, wow. You can imagine my surprise and apparently others as well after I pointed it out to others online. One guy pointed out that it's been in Big Lot's for a few years. I've never seen it, so maybe. On it's own, it's a pretty good figure. Lot's and lot's of articulation allows you to put it in a ton of poses. It is a bootleg, so the plastic quality isn't super awesome, but it'll do. It's not fragile or anything, so go ahead and put it in the Ironman pose.

Bee In The City Going Grocery

@robfromzonebase

trip to the store ##zonebase ##bumblebee ##transformers ##misadventure ##groceryshopping ##grocerystore ##life

♬ Music for the Wii - Ishike

I'm trying my hand at making little short videos on TikTok. I had been making occasional ones on Instagram, but really it's a site for pictures and not videos. So, I guess there's a Instagram and TikTok for more Zone Base. I can't promise what I'll make will be any good, but... well I can't promise anything. But I hope you all like what I make. I'm trying y'all.

The One Thing I'm Not Is A Scaredy Cat

Garfield's Halloween Adventure is really a special kind of ...uh... special. You see, most Halloween specials revolve around the regular cast participating in the holiday. Maybe they're going to a party, or trick or treating. One thing's for sure is the general reveal of familiar faces in their costume. Here we see Garfield convince Odie to come with him, watch them make their costumes, and go out trick or treating. That's already how most Halloween specials go. That would be the entire thing. Maybe somebody would learn a lesson or something. Not here, nope, Garfield and Odie do that BEFORE finding themselves stranded on an island in a haunted house. It's just the type of thing you want to happen on Halloween. Spooky shit of the finest caliber. Garfield's Halloween Adventure is just the best. The best spooky shit.

Riding A High Horse And Opening A Can Of Whoop Ass

Stridor and Fisto are such a natural fit that you wonder why sometimes He-Man is depicted riding the robot horse. Naturally the new Eternia Minis Stridor comes packed with Fisto and it makes for a perfect set of toys. At first glace you may think it's the same Fisto as the single carded version, but like Beastman there's a difference. It's a small paint variation. His belt is unpainted and he doesn't come with his sword. The individual version has a painted belt and the sword. It's minor, I know, but these little things count in a 'collect them all' style toy line. I'd like to get them all, but realistically am happy to complete the sets I'm working on (that Stratos is going to drive me crazy).

This is another reason I wish they came with stickers. I'd like to make a notebook with a page for each series I'm working on. Each character in the series would have it's spot, and when found, I could put it's sticker there. I'd have a stamp made that said something like 'complete' and stamp it at the bottom of the page when I completed the series. I got the idea from some keshi collectors whom make videos of hunting down the figures. Usually mini figures come with a check list to keep up with who you've found and who to look for. Eternia Minis come with a leaflet doing that... but man, imagine a book full of stickers. Dang.

Trick Or Treat, Your Breath Stinks

Whenever I'd get gum in my treat bag, it was usually some Double Bubble or Bazooka. Hubba Bubba or Bubble Yum if I was lucky. Wrigley's thought to throw their hat in the Halloween ...hat pile... and pitched some good old fashioned Wrigley's Chewing gum as a more 'wholesome' treat to give out. I can't fault them for it. It's a standby of the candy stand, everyone loves it. Even inside the pack, each stick is individually wrapped and the stuff is cheap. At least 5 sticks for a quarter. Starting to think about handing out Juicy Fruit myself!

Score One For This Deluxe Cat

Sunday I picked up the new Cyberverse Deluxe Cheetor figure. I also got a Cherry Vanilla Coke and a Bueno bar, but I didn't want to show off. Let's just focus on the cat. Speaking of, what a good kitty he turned out to be. Normally I prefer to focus on the other classes with Cyberverse. Warrior, Turbo Changers, you know the variety. It's not that I don't like the deluxe class, I do. I also buy plenty of it in Generations and enjoy the variety. Not to mention, like I've said before, I enjoy the old school nature of these simpler toys. With the design aesthetic of the more kid friendly lines, they really take me back to older robot toys. It's something I enjoy a lot. Am I crazy? Probably.

Cheetor really works for me here. Cyberverse gave him a more angular design, similar to G1 Predacons. While I love my Beast Wars, I admittedly have always dug that angular animal look and it looks fabulous here. As you could expect from a Cyberverse toy, it's a faithful character representation in the visual style of the series. Cheetor looks like you'd expect him to and turns into what you expect. They did give him some new gear. Dual energy swords similar to the scimitars he carried in Beast Machines and cool snap on armor for beast mode. Combined with the swords, the armor makes for a cool new look on an old design. The claws and helmet can be mounted on his robot mode as well. It's a nice little extra touch. 

Cheetor looks pretty great, and is well articulated. In all he's a pretty good figure. If I had any complaints, it would be his beast mode chest didn't hold together super tight. Or at least it didn't on mine. Another point of concern is newer Transformers toys are moving away from cellophane on the boxes. I don't mind that too much, however you really have to check your figure ahead of time to assure it isn't missing anything. I'd advise looking over the toy and in the box to be sure that you're getting everything that's supposed to be there.

Fortunately the little tie downs they use in packaging hold things in pretty well, but I saw one missing a cheetah head on the shelf. With shitty people in general you can never be too careful. Take an extra second to look over your purchase. Come to think about it, with Christmas around the corner... your loved ones may not know about this. Either let them know or be prepared to do some exchanges in the future. You never know if somebody trashed a toy on the shelf or stole a part. Some people suck.

I really liked this figure. It was fun to play around with in my living room while watching paranormal TV. Cheetor is one of my favorite characters in Transformers and I try to get as many of his toys that I can. Despite my issues getting his beast mode to hold together perfectly, it was still a pretty good cheetah. It's not exact, but it's similar enough to his toys that have came before. I transformed him mostly by muscle memory from those figures and that's not something I mind. The battle armor is a welcome addition and I thought it made him a little more badass. I would easily welcome several repaints of this mold. Score one more for this cool cat.

GeGeGe New Week

It's a brand new week here on Planet Zone and I've got a bunch of fun planned for the week. I didn't do a whole bunch this past weekend, just a trip to Walmart and Target on top of doing stuff around the house. Actually ended up at two Walmarts as my grocery pickup was Sunday at a different store. We also stopped by the Dollar Tree which should be getting new Final Faction figures soon. Looking forward to that. Just hope I can find the Master of the Universe mini figures there. It feels like I've been looking forever.

Speaking of dollar stores, there's been sightings of a NEW Halloween army set at Dollar General. There hasn't been a new set since 2018 and I've been really hoping it'd be a more regularly updated thing. I can't wait until my local stores start their spooky stocking. I grabbed a bunch of fun Halloween stuff at Target's dollar spot. They have these great build kits with colored skeletons. Super neat.

Walmart has these cool skeleton action figures in their seasonal area. Turns out they're bootlegs of a much more expensive figure. That's going to be a post soon. I was hoping to find this triceratops skeleton sold with the usual animal skeletons decorations. They're still stocking the section, so I'll just keep waiting for that one. I love these things, perfect He-Man/Battle Tribes monsters.

Speaking of Target, I usually get something Starbucks when I go. Word to the wise, vanilla bean frappuccino with about 3 pumps of strawberry puree. Amazingly good, tastes like a milkshake. I got a new hoodie while out. When you wear as many as I do it's a big production getting a new one. Usually involves donating older ones to the Goodwill. My new ones looks like a solid new addition to my arsenal and the ones departing are appreciated for their service. 

I still haven't found that Stratos Eternia Mini, and Fright Features are still impossible to find locally. It's pretty frustrating after waiting so long for them, but I'm glad to see them selling well. Eat it naysayers. Ghostbusters rule. I picked up Cyberverse Cheetor, the new deluxe version. I'm glad the line is sticking around, I love it. Hopefully I can grab some of the new Dinobots. They look amazing.

It's that time of year where I have to make a list to help out the wife and relatives for Christmas presents. There's a great new yokai story book I'm putting on that sumbitch. The upcoming Kitaro haunted house at Universal Studios Japan makes me wish collections of his manga were easier to come by. Love that guy. We decided to cancel our trip to the Florida park this year before I had my health problems. It was a hard decision, but at the time we thought it would be a good idea since covid keeps going up and down. We just thought it'd be a good idea, with delta and my recovery, it turned out to be. Well, time to run some errands. Thanks for reading Zone Base and thanks for your continued support. I really appreciate it and please share with your friends!

Also, would you all watch a TikTok made by me? I like making short videos on occasion and it's obviously the best place for them. Kinda debating it.

All Assembly And No Meatballs Makes Jack A Dull Boy

Everybody loves The Shinning, it's a great movie. Honestly, I like it better than the book. Stanley Kubrick replaced a lot of filler words with 5 thousand shots of Scatman Crothers answering the phone exactly the same way until they remembered to put film in the camera got it just right. In the end it resulted in a movie that really portrayed the pure hell Danny and his family went through. It's so well recreated in this commercial for Ikea, that I was expecting Jack to pop out of one of those displays at any minute! When doing the Halloween content here on the site I run across a ton of old local furniture store commercials. Usually it's just the store's owner wearing a Dracula cape and doing a horrible Bela Lugosi impression while pitching no interested for 6 months.

Stratos Of The Bird People And The Wings Of Doom

I've talked before about various MOTU guys I initially didn't pay much attention to and Stratos is right there with them. There were so many different characters and toys in the original series it was super easy to do so. It didn't help that some of the earlier ones like Stratos seemingly got buried under other toys when they were new. I don't remember ever seeing him at the store. Zodac and Tri-Klops always seemed to sit at drug and grocery stores, but the bird guy? Nope. It's not that he isn't cool, he is. There's something inherently great about a monkey/bird guy with a jet pack. 

Fictionally, Stratos is the leader of the Bird People. Which is a race on Eternia that is exactly what it sounds like. Stratos reminds me a little of the winged monkeys from The Wizard of Oz. Which is probably intentional as he was originally planned to be a Evil Warrior member. You can spot him in Skeletor's crew in the first mini comic and early promotional material. Like Moss Man he uses the Beastman mold with a different head and flight gear/wings. Originally anyway, there's some new sculpts in other toys while I'm sure they reuse what they can in others. 

Some of those early mini comics had Stratos in flesh colors instead of gray. I'm sure that's a holdover from conceptual artwork and thankfully it eventually got corrected. Despite He-Man's attire, something about Stratos was pretty unsettling. Maybe it was all the body hair. Despite initially not being to concerned with him, these day's I'm pretty fond. I'm currently trying to track down his Eternia Mini figure which has turned out to be quite elusive. Guess I'm not the only weird money/bird guy fan,

Daniel Mouse Went Down To Georgia

The Devil and Daniel Mouse was a Halloween special produced by Nelvana and first aired on CBS on October 5th 1978. It's an adaption of the short story 'The Devil and Daniel Webster'. I made a point to be informative at first because it's slightly obscure now. This is the information super highway, right? Daniel and Jan mouse are folk musicians struggling to get by when one night at the peak of their struggles Jan makes a deal with the devil while Daniel is away. She signs her soul away for fame and success and becomes a huge star leaving Daniel behind.

I know, this has never worked out in the past, but to her credit, she doesn't realize it's the devil she's talking too. Somehow. All is going well before she realizes who her new agent is actually when he comes to claim her end of the bargain. She runs away and finds Daniel and begs him to help. Daniel represents her in court and you've probably figured out the rest. It's a retelling of an old story that's been redone a million times. This particular version though is pretty cool. Despite the cute animal characters, the devil and assorted imagery are still pretty scary.

Taking place in the 70's, they change from hippy folk music to hard rock really driving home the thematic change. There's such a change in tone from the folksy innocent Daniel and the newly glam Jan that I can't help to see it as commentary from the production crew. I do suppose it was a pretty stark change from flower power to the gritty and glam. Either way it's a pretty unique little cartoon that may not be specifically pumpkin spicy as a Halloween special, but works tonally.

Bios: Bludgeon

Decepticon Bludgeon was nearly destroyed by a fight with the metallikato master Autobot Whirl. Forced to retreat and hide, he scanned a new vehicle mode and disappeared into the southeast Asian jungle. He is desperate to prove himself against an Autobot, however, so he has caused just enough chaos locally to attract the attention of Ironhide. Now he lies in wait for the Autobot, ready to spring his trap and destroy his victim in an instant.

Strength: 6  Intelligence: 5  Speed: 4  Endurance: 8  Rank: 8  Courage: 8  Fireblast: 7  Skill: 10

The Diller Made Me Do It

It's Halloween and Phyllis Diller has pumpkin spice cocaine running through her veins. She's locked herself away in the Haunted Mansion and living her best life. Various Disney characters stop by to join the spooky fun and even participate in ritualistic cult activities. By the end of the night Snow White will write a 'Let's Not Meet' post about Phyllis and Clarabelle is dead. Diller has come to your little Toon Town, sheriff.

Shitting Their Prime Pants

It feels like ancient history now, but then again, I suppose it was almost 20 years ago. At the time some major drama in the Transformers fan world went on that seemed larger than life. For outsiders- the Transformers fandom is more of a subculture than other fan bases. It's a little world of it's own that many members stay pretty wrapped up in. These days it's much larger and segmented, but it used to be much smaller and more tight knit. This particular event took place from 2003-2004, when things were starting to get a growth spurt. The internet was becoming more of a common thing and message boards for various interests were popping up all over. These were quickly taking the place of older online gathering spots, much to the dismay of some assholes.

There was one constant, BotCon. Prior to the last years, it was a smaller more personal affair back then. There were occasional attempts at other TF conventions and some TF programming at other shows, but BotCon was pretty much viewed as the only one. It was like our annual family picnic and a must go destination for many. Hasbro supported the show, but it wasn't officially official until around 2002.  I'm not going to go into the complete history of the con, but here it is of you're so inclined. In short, the brothers who founded it had a partnership with their friend Glen a few years into the cons life. This partnership ran the show for about 6 years. In 2003 they had a falling out and split up. Glen who owned the official license would go on to run the official fan club and con now named The Official Transformers Collectors Club/Convention (OTFCC for short). The brothers would run BotCon as an unofficial show in 2004. And within the fan community, a battle line in the sand was drawn. 

Furious Megaton New Week

Normally I'd say it's Monday and you know what that means, but it's Tuesday and yesterday was a holiday. So it's now the beginning of a new week here on Planet Zone! Over the long weekend I pretty much chilled around the house. Did some housework, that kind of thing. I did get out a little Saturday though. This lead to finally finding Origins Bumblebee, Fright Features Winston, and the new Playmates Rodan and Gorosaurus. 

I hoped to find the Cyberverse Seeker set making appearances at Ollie's, but to no luck. Dammit. I did get the first volume of translated Batman manga and some soap though. A trip to Walmart with Mom led to finally finding the Eternia Minis Skeletor with Roton set. I'd been looking for a little while now. The wife picked me up the He-Man and Road Ripper set earlier in the week. Love these guys. Just wish I could find Stratos. Good grief, he's challenging. Speaking of MOTU, my preorder for the current Mega Construx wave that was put on backorder should be arriving today. 

I've got what I consider a fun week of posts planned. I've also got some errands to run soon, so I've got what feels like a busy day ahead of me. Thanks for continuing to support Zone Base and please share with your friends! 

Holiday Break

Normally this is where I'd do my usual new week post. It's not only a new week though, and not just Monday either! Nope, it's Labor Day! As you can guess that means I'm taking a little break today and will resume normal posting tomorrow! Thanks everyone for your continued support!

Be A Horrible Monster... Or Spuds Mackenzie This Halloween

You've really got to hand it to the Theatrical Costume Shop. They've made a point to show you all the scary monsters available in their store for a good Halloween costume... and Alf ... and Spuds Mackenzie. Theatrical Costume Shop has street cred here on Zone Base though, I mean dollar hockey mask Jason costume right out of the gate. That's the spirit of the spooky season right before our very eyes.

Mini Pufts, Maximum Mess

I finally found some Mini Pufts. They come blind packed in little cans of slime 'marshmallow creme'. The slime is a little old since they've likely been sitting in storage since last summer. It's a pool of sticky crap. The wife (who makes slime) told me to mix it up and it reconstituted into a solid slime again. The paper plate is full of baby wipes from trying not to make a mess in the living room.

The figures are in a baggie inside the slime, and another baggie inside it. I got the melted guy and the on fire guy. The figures are pretty neat and you can remove the paper wrapper from the can which makes them look like a jar of Fluff. There's a non-can of slime variety available in some countries... that I hope becomes a dollar store version of these guys here. That's some messy slime to work through, but some neat little Sumerian terrors.

Do The Bartz's Man

Bartz's Party Store must be somewhere in the vicinity of hell or at least a portal to. How else can you describe the nightmare presented here? That demon welcomes you to a party where Donald Duck is hitting the booze hard and somebodies Grandma morphs into a clown RIGHT BEFORE OUR VERY EYES! Before we know it, even Yoda is up to no good. Which, let's be honest... isn't surprising. Bartz's also sells some excellent decorations! Perfect for all that evil worship going on at that party. Even Mickey Mouse is doing something horrible!

Bios: Rumble

Chaos and destruction are all that Decepticon Rumble lives for. His powerful pile drivers send shuddering shockwaves through the earth, strong enough to knock Autobots from their feet, collapse buildings and open chasms in the ground.

Strength: 5  Intelligence: 3  Speed: 8  Endurance: 6  Rank:4  Courage: 7  Fireblast:6  Skill: 4

Mr. Belvedere's First Name Is Samhain

I know it's hard to believe, but the mighty Mr. Belvedere is only human. After an eye surgery leaves him feeling depressed only Wesley can cheer him up with some Halloween spirit! The unbearable little shit talks Belvedere into taking him and Miles trick or treating. It's then that Mr. Belvedere gets his groove back and raises hell all over Pittsburgh. Meanwhile George joins a cult!

Bumblebee Is Such A Q-T

Q-Transformers wasn't for everyone, but it sure was for me. A short lived line of super deformed Transformers toys that were small and full of charm. There was just enough variations to make you want to get them all, and fairly inexpensive. Whenever you combine the words variations and inexpensive, you've got the recipe for an addictive line to collect. Botshots, another similar line had recently wrapped up. I was a big fan of Botshots and Q-Transformers made for an ideal replacement. The only problem was they were a little harder to get. Botshots were readily available at my local stores. I had to order Q-T toys as they were a Japanese line. I did get quite a few though. Come to think about it, I may have gotten all the Botshots. Those were good times.