Scourge is possibly the most despicable of the already loathsome Predacons. Delights in taking depravity to all-time- low levels. Obsessed with germ warfare and lethal chemical development. Despised by peers for his inclination to test deadly viral and bacterial concoctions on fellow Predacons. Skilled in combat, Scourge wields photon cluster cannons with chemical warhead capabilities. Has electrostatic disrupters inside antennae; capable of leaping distances exceeding two miles with use of wings.
And nothing is as perfect for a Spooky Summer as a new season of Stranger Things. This season so far has been a banger and with the second half of it coming out this weekend. Fans are on the edge of their seats waiting to see how it all comes down. There's plenty of theories on who will die and clearly Netflix is playing into that with the trailers. I've got my Stranger Things nuggets and Sour Patch Kids ready for binge watching it this holiday weekend. Can't find that dang pizza though. It's not fair that one has to wait years in between seasons, but when each one is progressively better you really can't complain. Season 3 still might be my favorite, but this extra long season 4 isn't holding back.
I was pleasantly surprised to see the new Mobile Change Haro toys on Bandai Namco Play's Facebook page. In case you couldn't tell from the pictures, they're various Mobile Suits that transform in Haro's. Putting it into even simpler terms, they're egg bots. The Mobile Suits are pleasantly small and cute, almost Super Deformed. For such a silly toy, it's very welcome. They're up for pre-order on Amazon with a shipping date of 10/17/22. Just like the new series of Gundam Infinity figures, I'm assuming (hoping) they'll be showing up at Target stores soon. These little bots are too full of charm to ignore... and I may have a thing or two for egg bots.
NEW WEEK, BRAIN ON! Thanks for coming back for another week here on Planet Zone. Next weekend will be another holiday weekend, so I'll be taking next Monday off. Check my social media to keep up with what I'll be doing. I can't promise it'll be exciting, but... it's something.
This weekend went by way to fast for my liking. I didn't do much, but managed to find Legacy Blitzwing during a trip to Walmart Saturday. Tried Morning Star vegetarian chicken nuggets and they were great! The rest of Saturday was spent watching paranormal videos and Jetman. Not bad!
Sunday was a Squishmallow event at Five Below. Before the event I played some Demon Slayer on my PS4 while enjoying a bagel and iced coffee. The Mrs found the Squishmallows she was looking for as well as a new plush line the same company had released. I got a new light box for my TikTok/Reels. I can't find my light tent and have been using a temporary solution. So this will be an upgrade in the meantime.
My little videos are still small, but people seem to be liking them. I'm learning as I go, and they're slowly getting better. Think a light ring may be in my future. I also got volume 3 of the Attack on Titan manga. I've gotten the first two at Five Below and it's looking like that's how I'll keep doing it. No problems there! I spent the rest of the day napping, watching spooky stuff, and playing with my Gundam Infinity figures. Still haven't found series 2, but the first batch is a lot of fun. The idea is to disassemble them and mix the parts. So while they're not models, you can still build a cool new Gundam!
I've got a dentist appointment in the morning to start getting some chipped teeth fixed. I'm looking forward to getting them fixed, but not the appointment. Just don't care for the dentist. Hopefully this won't suck too much and hopefully this weeks content here on the site helps to keep your week from sucking. Thanks for reading and please share with your friends!
Summer fireworks season is still going on and with it our look at monster sparking Transformers. This week, we're taking a look at some monsters who aren't here to hurt you... unless you're a Decepticon. The Monsterbots! The Monsterbots are Autobots who turn into big scary fire breathing monsters. Released in 1987, these are some seriously cool toys. In Headmasters, they're mainly stationed on Planet Beast helping the Beastformers.
In more recent times they got new updated toys. Now with with the Titanmaster and Primemaster gimmicks that are modern updates of Headmasters and Powermasters, they fit more into the timeline that they were introduced in. Some of the Titanmasters are Beastformers even! Repugnus seemingly gets the most new toys over the years (it's impossible to ignore his excellent Cyberverse figure). However Doublecross/Twinferno has been getting some extra attention in more recent years.
Summer is a fun time that can also be pretty scary sometimes. We've got one more look at sparking Transformers until the fireworks season is over. But don't worry, Spooky Summer won't be over for a while and we've got some more scary themed Transformers to help with the creepiness of the season. After all, we're getting into ghost story time.
Fallen forgot his real name long ago. It didn't matter. It was a name given to him by his creator - the one he betrayed. It was a relic of the time before he had some to see the truth. The truth of Unicron.
Created as one of the original 13 Transformers to serve as a protector of Cybertron, Fallen has always been a creature of chaos and degradation. His original purpose was to oversee the stately running down of the universal clock, the ordered tick of universal balance from energy to entropy, the slow and total collapse that heralds a new creation - for what are creation and life without dissolution and death? He knew his purpose only too well, and became obsessed with the end of all things. Intrigued by the dark sciences, he came in contact with Unicron, and fell under the evil planet's thrall.
He exists now for one purpose alone: the destruction of the Seal of Primus and the release of Unicron into the universe. He lives only so that one day he might witness the last star in the universe wink out, and eternal ending fall.
In this June of 2022 edition of something- Rob talks
about the infamous Walmart Pose Skeleton knock off, Kinder Jurassic World
toys, and the Transformers TV channel. He also talks about a few other
things, but bullet points y'all.
Some of the coolest toys right now are Buzz Lightyear toys. From the new Lightyear movie (which itself is based on the adventures of the 'real' Buzz Lightyear the character in Toy Story is based on) is a great series of toys by Mattel. There's the standard action figures that look pretty sharp, however it's the Hyperspeed Series we're here to talk about today. These are smaller scaled vehicles from the movie with tiny, almost Diaclone sized pilot figures. Think Star Wars Micro Machines Action Fleet.
While your first impression of Buzz Lightyear is silly and cute, these have some seriously neat sci fi designs. There's a big similarity to other sci fi series in these designs. The Zyclops are a great hybrid of a Zaku and the Yellow Devil robot for example. The various ships resemble a mix of Star Wars and odd ships from various space shooter games. I half expect the Star Bird to make an appearance. There's even Air Raiders and Sky Commanders energy in there. Tome anyway. I haven't tried if the pilots could fit inside the cockpit of a G1 Transformer or a Zoid yet. They do look about the same size. Maybe. I'd never imagine in a million years that Buzz Lightyear would have such awesome little toys. But here we are.
It's Monday and the beginning of another new week here on Planet Zone! This weekend sure did go by pretty fast, but was pretty enjoyable. I went by Target to hopefully find the new Gundam Infinity figures to no avail. I did get, however, some Transformers Micro Machines and the larger Jada Optimus Prime. I've been really looking for these Micro Machines, so that was exciting. Just some regular stuff, not the blind packed city sets. It's still a start. I noticed the Bumblebee playset is also available as a non-Transformers branded red Camaro as well. Weird. Target had New Eternia Beastman, but I wasn't about to pay $30 for him. Waiting for a sale. Wish I could find new Eternia Skeletor and He-Man. Or some new Eternia Minis.
We stopped by At Home to check on Halloween stocking. Nothing yet, though others have been reporting on theirs getting started. Ours has been starting more around late June/early July the past few years, but I'm too excited to be patient. Picked up the Upside Down glow in the dark Demogorgon and CGI Man-E-Faces at Walmart as well. The Mrs got me a pair of New Balance for cat dads day. Now I've got a sweet pair of vintage type sneaks for hoodie and jeans season. Which is quite a while away, but I'm not complaining. I also picked up a new Jurrasic World Kinder Suprise. The new ones aren't as great as the last set they did, but still pretty cool.
I've got a fun week in store for you all. Spooky Summer is chugging along and I guess regular readers have noticed the focus on Sparking Transformers over the past few Fridays. Summer is a Spooky season, but also a festive time. Here in the States, there's a lot of fireworks shot from Memorial Day to Independence Day. June is a pretty good time to look at those pretty explosions that are really dangerous! Thank you for continuing to support Zone Base. Be careful while shooting those things and watch out for ghosts while sharing with your friends!
Somewhere between the running in the sun, shooting fireworks, and pool parties is some unfortunate tragedies. Summer is fun... and scary. Continuing our ongoing look at fireworks and monster Transformers this week is Sparkdash. Those lovable Firecons and Sparkabots we've been talking about also were featured in the Japanese Transformers in Masterforce. The Decepticon Sparkdash were drone foot soldiers similar to the Seacons in this series. The Autobot Sparkdash were toy only, not appearing in cartoon or manga.
Unlike the G2 versions, the full teams were released in different colors (some characters more than others) and with different names. The Firecons are the only Sparkdash to appear in the fiction. Manga was of course black and white, but on the cartoon, they had the same colors as the Hasbro versions and not their Takara toys. Like other toys of the time, the Masterforce releases came out around the same time as the G1 versions. All the neat monsters in Masterforce help add to it's more unique spot in Transformers history. It's got more in common with more traditional super robot or tokusatsu productions. All those scary monsters and fireworks sure make for a fun and spooky summer.
A ferocious warrior. Usually too busy worrying to fight. Always afraid his outer shell won't unlock, that his fuel might be low, that his joints are rusting or almost anything imaginable. Sometimes appears inoperative because he worries himself to a standstill. Outer shell is equipped with serrated thermal claws that can sear through metal like paper. In robot mode, armed with a double-barrelled, solid sonic energy blaster.
I'm just now getting around to talking about this even though it was announced a few days ago. Partially because I was holding out for more info before I started talking about it. SEGA announced the Mega Drive Mini 2, following up the Genesis/Mega Drive Mini in 2019. It's not just in name either. A whole new line up of games including SEGA CD titles and the console is based on the Mega Drive/Genesis 2 version. This is super cool, I had assumed the Mini was a one and done type of deal. There's even a Mega Drive 2 CD add on kit as well! Right now they've only announced a Japanese release date, the more info I was hoping for would be a US release. Which thankfully was announced a few days ago as well, but I had initially missed.
It's another Monday here on Planet Zone, but not just any Monday. Starting today the Transformers Tv channel on Pluto Tv goes live! Make sure to add it to your list of favorites. As far as weekends go, this was an odd one. A trip to the vet to get our new kittens their shots ended up being a hassle. They were having some event and didn't bother to tell anyone. So a long line full of cheesed off pet owners in the hot summer sun all suffered together. That sucked!
After finally getting done and a little rest at home, some shopping was done. We needed to get the father in law something for father's day and his birthday. Then a trip to Walmart for a few things. They haven't restocked the Transformers or others toys I buy. Thus giving me a chance to finally divulge into the new Buzz Lightyear Hyperspeed series toys. These things are seriously cool. I also picked up a Savage World Freddy Kruger on clearance for only 5 dollars.
There was much television, napping, and even some Morning Star vegetarian buffalo wings! I've got a fun week planned for you all. Currently I'm writing this and watching Voltes V while drinking a Cherry Coke. Hope you all are enjoying Spooky Summer. Halloween is around the corner and I've been having fun looking at leaks of whats to come! As usual, please share with your friends! My weird site about robots and monsters is nothing without all of you!
To be completely honest, I've always associated bright neon colors with summer. Probably from various water gun fights, pool floats, and various summer time stuff. Weirdly enough, despite being so bright and colorful, there's always been something threatening about neon colors. Probably thanks to their use in various cyber punk, post apocalyptic media, and Halloween costumes.
Following up on our fireworks themed post from last week is a look at the Sparkabots! Sparkabots are one of those weird areas of Transformers that are somewhere between obscurity and urban legend. I've seen a person or two dismiss their existence or disregard them as bootlegs. They are real however, and absolutely fantastic.
European Generation 2 is an extremely interesting time. G1 didn't really end. It just stopped in the States while continuing in other parts of the world. This time of Transformers in Europe is often referred to by some fans as G1.5. In the States, G2 was the relaunch of Transformers after pausing in 1990. During that two year gap in US Transformers, the G2 symbols and branding were used on those European toys... but sold as just Transformers without the additional branding until 1994. Many of these were sold in G2 later on.
Of course you can't talk about G2 without mentioning the bright neon colors and the reuse of G1 molds in them. That brings us here today. A European market only version of the Sparkabots was released in 1994. In G1, the Autobot Sparkabots were matched up against the scary Decepticon Firecons. However this odd new version of the Sparkabots combined members of those teams to form a new group of Sparkabots.
Blaze and Sizzle were joined by Flamefeather and Sparkstalker. However this union only existed in name only as the Firecons were still Decepticons. The two different teams were sold under the shared banner with only two members each. Cindersaur did later join his teammates in 2010 though. The toys use the same molds, however now in some amazingly eye searing neon translucent colors. They're quite nice looking, though thanks to the unfortunate issue with translucent plastic aging... finding them in decent shape for a decent price now is a bit of a challenge.
A shark transformer. Like a bullet, he's a very warlike guy. He likes to make a surprise attacks with his simple-teleport ability. A great eater that bites everything with his fangs. Weapons include Phanthom Jaws in mecha-beast mode and Phanthom Fin, also in mecha-beast mode.
Summer is here and with it Halloween sneaking onto your store shelves. It's an exciting time. Me? I'm looking mostly forward to the coming days when At Home will start stocking the spooky stuff little by little. Some of you may have already hit up your local craft stores for material and other materials to make pumpkin spiced DIY. Either way, hit the alarm, it's Code Orange time!
If you're an Instagram user like me, then you've already started following the tags. Various combinations of Halloween, 2022, Code Orange, and whatever stores you plan on targeting in this exciting time are sure to soon bring news of creepy things creeping onto shelves. Make sure to look at plan-o-grams. The shelves won't be fully stocked at first. It's going to take a while, and during that while, they'll be those handy stocking plans taped to the shelves. It's good way to get a hint of what's coming.
Despite his long body length and the giant
pincher claws he drags behind him, Powerpinch is surprisingly fast; six speedy
legs power him forward over almost any obstacle. His greatest assets are the
powerful pincher claws that are strong enough to sever most enemies in half.
And as all Maximals know, those pincher claws are as dangerous in insect for as
they are when he converts to robot mode, which is why they never underestimate
the ferocity of this truly evil insect.
It's the beginning of another new week here on Planet Zone and time for another update! I hope you guys are enjoying Spooky Summer. We'll be enjoying some of the more scarier things out there at a higher volume mixed in the the regular content until August when Halloween moves in! It's a lot of fun and a great way to spend the scorching heat of summer time. This is where I'd make a pun about the chills or something cooling you down if I were a better blogger.
This weekend was a much more relaxed weekend than normal. I didn't do a weekend report last week due to the holiday. Which was a busy weekend with a lot of shopping in between relaxing. We needed new clothes and got some fun stuff as well! This weekend was mostly spent at home aside from a few errands. Thanks to dropping the Mrs's car off to get a tire fixed taking most of the day, I didn't get much sleep between those errands and random phone call from the shop when they managed to work us in.
I did work in a pleasant supper of a Morning Star vegetarian buffalo chicken sandwich with some Nathan's crinkle cut fries. I've mentioned my low sodium diet before here and those vegetarian buffalo wings and fries are pretty compatible while being really good. I honestly look forward to eating them and make it a weekend thing. Just right while watching Obi-Wan and some paranormal television. Followed it up with some nice watermelon chunks.
Sunday was spent playing with some toys from the backlog and napping. I finally played with Legacy Kickback and man I love him. As long time readers know, I do enjoy insect bots. No clue why, just do. Meant to crack open Laser Optimus Prime, just didn't get to it. I really need to play with my Gundam Infinity figures. I got the complete set for Christmas and have a fun plan for them in the future. We ate lunch at my Mom's house. My brother, his wife, and their youngest daughter was there as well. My brother and I worked the grill and cooked up some great T-bones and hamburger sliders.
Afterwords the Mrs and I meant to do some yard work, but that just didn't happen. I also meant to organize my toy room this weekend, but that didn't happen either. Oh well, there's always next weekend. Now that it's summer, we're prone to staying home more. So it'll get done. I didn't buy any toys this weekend, but I did get something I've been wanting for making TikTok and Reels. You'll see.
My little videos have been hit or miss, but I've had something in mind for them for a while now. No time like now to get working on that! I meant to find my light tent for this project, but must have put it somewhere other than I remembered. An alternative was constructed in it's absence for the time being. It's been a minute since I've done toy posts here on the site, and a while since doing them on the socials. They'll be back, but without the TV tray. Well, mostly. I do like that thing.
I've got a fun week in mind for you all. A little heads up, there's going to be an extra bio post this week. I've mentioned before that most content is made in advance and the holiday week threw that off a little. Good thing I like bios posts and you guys clearly like reading them. It won't be 100%, but they'll be a little scarier for summer. We're in for a spooky summer before the pumpkin spiced mayhem and a lot of fun here on Zone Base. Thank you for reading and please don't forget to share with your friends.
People tend to shoot a lot of fireworks in the summer. They do here anyway. Between Memorial Day and Independence Day, there's a good chunk of the planet getting blown up in some festive displays. I'm not complaining, it's fun to shoot them off and they're pretty to look at. But summer is a spooky season. Remember Silver Bullet?
It's pretty common on Cybertron as well. The Sparkabots, whom shoot festive sparks are often at odds with the Firecons. Decepticon monsters who breathe sparking fire. It's a true yin and yang on the battlefield. The heroic Autobots vs the evil Decepticons. Valor versus venom... and the prettiest fireworks display.
"We will win if we believe in ourselves and our unity."
After his ultimate sacrifice to defeat Megatron, in which he became part of the core of Cybertron itself, Optimus Primal rose to the level of a mythic legend among the grateful populace of Cybertron. Now as the battle against the ancient monster planet known as Unicron has begun once again, Primus himself has called Optimus Primal to be brought back into action to help in the fight for the very survival of Cybertron. Optimus Primal represents a uniquely powerful fusion of the Maximal Forces' advanced technology with the raw power of their mighty Autobot ancestors. In this supercharged form Optimus Primal possesses unmatched strength among the techno-organic populace of Cybertron. His weaponry has also been upgraded significantly: He wields an impressive array of both long range and melee weapons including twin battle blades that can cut through solid rock, a vanadium steel reinforced mace, left arm retractable double barreled plasma cannon, and twin independently targetable shoulder mounted missile launchers. Rear mounted jets give him flight capability. Energy receptors allow him to absorb much of the damage from energy-based attacks and re-channel it back at his enemies. Intelligence, experience, passion and skill are all crucial parts of what makes Optimus Primal a born leader of the Autobot cause. Serves as an inspiration to help others find their own strength to keep fighting despite the odds.
It's not uncommon to be told something spooky as a child as a way to keep you in line. One childhood horror of mine was not to talk about the devil or say the word hell. Doing so would cause the devil to visit me in my sleep. Now obviously this was partially a easy way to keep kids from having a potty mouth and probably a little of that Satanic Panic I've talked so much about here.
It's safe to say, the idea of the devil visiting you while sleeping is enough to mortify any 6 year old. This extended to various visages of the devil and other demons. It was already pretty scary for a small child, but adding in the additional danger of that night time visitation? Sometimes I wasn't sure the adults were taking it serious enough. The devil would show up randomly, unexpected, terrifying a young me. Lunch wasn't even safe. Satanic forces were lurking everywhere.
Which is why the commercial I've posted above hits particularly hard. I was so uncomfortable with Dirt Devil vacuums, it was a small relief that my parents never bought one. We were a Black and Decker household thankfully. Of course now I have a Dirt Devil and so far no unholy visitations (that I know of). But I still remember when such evil things were unspoken.
