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.
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.
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'sTreasure 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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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!
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!
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.
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.
"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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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...
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.
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.
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.
