Happy Halloween from Zone Base!

Happy Halloween Zone Base Readers!

The big day is finally here and honestly... I'm a little bummed about that. This season FLEW by for me and I'd would have preferred it to have dragged by. It was a good Halloween season and you know what they say about time when it's good. I hope all you you have a great Halloween. I'll be sure to update my Instagram and other various social media accounts (the links are over there in the side bar -->) with my on goings and fun if your curious. I'm glad we got to spend another Halloween season together here on Planet Zone! It might be coming to a close, but everyday is Halloween here! They'll be regular Weekly Halloween and various spooky events through the year as well as the Walpurgis Week and Halfway to Halloween event in a few months! In the meantime, thanks for supporting Zone Base and my nonsense. If you like what I'm doing, thanks! You don't have to share your candy, but I'd appreciate if you shared the site.

Black cats and goblins and broomsticks and ghosts, Covens of witches with all of their hosts. You may think they scare me, you're probably right. Black cats and goblins, on Halloween night.

Trick or Treat!

Is my National Holiday

We're winding down the spooky season and it's time to dust off my absolute favorite Halloween special. The Halloween That Almost Wasn't/The Night Dracula Saved The World. It has two names depending on how it's distributed, but the same all time great. There's just something special about a bunch of TV actors getting together and putting on a silly production with an obvious shoe string production for the holiday. Well, I say shoe string... they're was obviously a lot of *ahem* substances in use. That couldn't have been cheap. The Mummy has a pretty hard time staying upright after awhile.  It's a great special though. Halloween in it's purest form.

Draculus X: Rondo of Energon

"Halloween is my national holiday!" Dracula proudly exclaims in 'The Halloween that Almost Wasn't/The Night Dracula Saved the World'. Truer words have never been spoken and there's no better time to look at Dracula's Transformers debut as Draculus. The Universal Monsters are something I truly love as readers know and as an older post would tell you, something Hasbro tried to work into Transformers in the past. Draculus is ultimately the culmination of that idea finally seeing light as he is an Official Universal Monsters crossover with Transformers. Neat, huh?

Monsters vs Teddy Bears

What happens when you have an entire town of bears? Probably nothing other than an amusing 'hey, there's an entire town of bears' being said on occasion. However, this town of bears lives in fear. Because, as you see, Monster Mountain overlooks the town of bears. The totally metal Monster Mountain ran by Dracula himself for whatever reason overlooks a town full of bears. So naturally they decide to invade. Thankfully Ted E. Bear figures out how to stop them. I assure you that I didn't just make that up, it's the plot of The Great Bear Scare... and... uh... wow.

Bios: Black Zarak

Function: Dark Emperor

Abilities: The secret weapon of the Destrons possessing the rebuilt body of the former Mega Zarak using ultra-weight metal. His size is smaller than before, but his weight is heavier. Does he hold a black hole within him? Leaving destruction in his wake wherever he goes, he is the ultimate weapon of mass destruction!

Weapons: Black Hole Cannon, Blacking Cannons, Tyrant Spear, Black Scissors, Golden Scissors.

Final Attack: "Black Thunder."- He utilizes his super-soul power at maximum strength creating a strain on the surrounding fabric of space, swallowing everything like a black hole.

Strength: 10 Intelligence: 10 Speed: 9 Endurance: 10 Rank: 10

Courage: 9 Firepower: 10 Skill: 10

House of Magoo

Mr Magoo has meet with Frankenstein before, but let's not worry about that shall we? It's Halloween and nothing better than a stay at Hotel Transylvania! Well, it's not that either, but what it is... it's a blind old man who has mistaken Frankenstein Castle for a hotel. For some reason the Dr wants to use Magoo's brain for his monster who currently has the brain of a rooster. Just watch it, it's good... I promise.

When you got the (Scare) Glow

Here to ring in Halloween is Scare Glow, the ghost of Skeletor! Not Skeletor's actual ghost, but a ghost under his service. Glow in the dark skeletons are a staple of the season and this phantom is exactly that! I've briefly talked about Scare Glow and his demonic friend before, however today we're taking a look at his Masterverse representing the spooky one's appearance in Revelation. This is the standard retail version available at regular retail, however there is a SDCC 2021 exclusive version with slightly different paint in cool evil book packaging. They are ultimately the same toy, I just thought pointing that out would be appropriate.

Appropriate is the word for Scare Glow at Halloween. Like i said, he's a glow in the dark skeleton wearing a Dracula cape while caring a scythe. Why a bigger deal isn't made of him this time a year I'll never know. Just picture it, an orange version with a black cape! Really, why Mattel doesn't have a Halloween edition MOTU toy each year is perplexing. I mean, the bad guys are literally walking Halloween decorations and the play sets are haunted houses. Yo Mattel, next time you need a fans input hit me up. 

*sigh, they won't*

Because it's Thriller Night

Nothing says Halloween like a horror marathon. The entire season and the big day itself is a great time for TV stations to pull out the classics and not so classics for some prime viewing. No matter if you prefer broadcast, cable, or streaming channels... you'll be sure to find some some spooky fun. Get a soda and kick back. Personally, I'm found of the Pluto Horror Channel and AMC's Fright Fest (as previously noted) these days (not to mention Ghostober). However like many of you, I fondly remember local TV marathons. Back then those small channels would produce their own bumpers for programing in house.

Even though the clips from today's post aren't from any of the channels I grew up with, it feels so familiar. This isn't even a Halloween time slot, it was a weekly programming block. It oozes with Halloween spirit. The vibe may be lost on some of my younger readers, but those a little older probably remember that old packaging that would often adorn such things as spooky sounds tapes and other oddball Halloween merchandise. The more low rent, the more radical the package. I don't know what you're doing Saturday, but I'm watching Thriller and playing SEGA... that actually sounds rad.

Bios: Deathsaurus

Function: Emperor of Destruction

Succeeded Overlord as the fifth Destron Leader. Together with Leozack and company, he formed the Breast Force, and has been ravaging through the universe for eons. Savage and cruel, he despises humans, yet has a soft spot for children.

Strength: 10 Intelligence: 10 Speed: 10 Endurance: 10 Rank: 10

Courage: 9 Firepower: 10 Skill: 10

Weekly Update 10/24/22

We're in the last stretch of the Halloween season Zone Base readers. I hope you're all in for the last of this years Pumpkin Spiced Mayhem. I wish it could go on all year, and in a way it does on Planet Zone! This weekend the Mrs and I exchanged Halloween gifts as we usually do the weekend before the big day. She got me a bag full of candy (Kinder Surprise Eggs included) and a set of Toony Terrors Halloween 3 kids! We also went out to look at Halloween lights and to get pumpkins! 

I managed to get the last of the McDonald's Pumpkin pails earlier today. Don't worry, I didn't eat 3 Happy Meals in one week, but I'll be sure to not eat anything bad for quite a while regardless. Outside of all that, I got the Transformers Jada Metalfigs series 2 set. It's the Walmart exclusive set with extra guys. Walmart had also stocked Bakugan, so I grabbed a Ghost Beast. There's plenty of spooky season appropriate toys in that little line. Well, I've got to go out and vote in the morning. I'm not a very political person, but I suppose it's my civic duty. Thank you for reading Zone Base. I really appreciate it and ask that you please share with your friends!

Go to Hades

If you were in Chicago in 1995, chances are you visited Hades Haunted House at Halloween. Despite the corny 'acting' and ham fisted themes, haunted houses are great. I always enjoy good lighting and the black lights inside these things make everything look amazing. There's a certain charm about older haunted attractions. The dated costumes and effects give them a different character than newer affairs. Though, in time, the newer ones will join the ranks of the older haunts. There is definitely a hard line somewhere in the presentation of these commercials though. I have a real appreciation of that older style. I'm sure you've noticed.

Full Circle of the Moon

I don't know about you, but the first thing that pops in my mind when I think about Halloween is a snow leopard. The Halloween Horrorcons were one of the first Halloween posts I wrote on the site. In short, they were a planned Halloween Walmart exclusive set during the original Universe line that got canceled. Fortunately two of them have been homaged in Legacy. This one is a Walmart exclusive. I'll get to the other later. After all, everyday is Halloween on Planet Zone! It's in the site description... duh. Today though, today we're going to talk about Nightprowler. Older readers will remember that Halloween Horrorcon was the original naming of the spooky season here on the site. Clearly this one is a big deal to me.

Since the original Nightprowler was a repaint of the original Beast Wars Cheetor mold, this new (and actually released) one is a repaint of the Kingdom Cheetor mold. I talked about that one here if you'd like a more in depth look at it. In short, I liked it.

To some people, this might just seem like a throw away repaint. It is a pretty obscure character that technically doesn't exist. They could have made Prowl for obscurity points and had a more recognizable name. Obviously I love it. If you heard a scream around the time it was announced... that was me (sorry). Legacy sure is a cool Transformers line. It cherry picks from random places in Transformers history to really create fan friendly and still fun updates. The store exclusives go a level or two deeper. This is the kind of thing I'd want as a fan club exclusive. But things like the Velocitron Speedia 500 and Buzzworthy Bumblebee have done it better at regular retail. That's pretty awesome.

If you're stuck inside...

I post this cartoon every year, I know, it's one of my favorites. Before you go any further... yeah it's weird how the people are drawn. Either way it's a great little cartoon. Specials like this and Garfield deliver what I consider to be the ideal Halloween. The fun of trick or treating and a scary adventure. I think most of us have had a spooky story from a Halloween or two. Did you hear something? See something? Get chased by a nutjob? Those folks saw monsters.

Bios: Krok

"The road to conquest is best traveled one step at a time."

Function: Foot Soldier

Gets his kicks from kicking! One blow from his automatic-powered foot can send an Autobot into orbit. Centuries of playing all-star mecha-soccer on Cybertron has made him the terror that he is today. By taking a single-stomping step, he can create a mini earthquake with a scaled reading of at least 7.0. His faithful partner, Gatoraider, uses his vise-like jaws to crush any unfortunate being caught in the aftershocks. Converts to powerful concussion cannon.

Strength: 9 Intelligence: 6 Speed: 2 Endurance: 10 Rank: 5 Courage: 7 Firepower: 6 Skill: 8

Transform Squadron 37- Season of the Witch

LISTEN NOW!

It's Halloween and this month we'll be celebrating the spooky season! Rob talks about his cherished Dynabot (Snarl) costume before a look at Halloween urban legends! There's all that and even vampire robots. It's sure to be a scary good time!

In Disguise

I've talked about the classic Garfield Halloween special here before. 

You know, this one.

Well, that's not the only time he went trick or treating. In his 2008 CGI series, Garfield went out again. This time dressed up like the recently escaped from the local zoo Catzilla! Considering how it went the last time, nothing can go wrong again can it? Both of these are the perfect Halloween adventures. The excitement of going trick or treating. The spooky fun. Getting a costume together, knocking on doors. Then, like any good Halloween should, a scary adventure before the night ends. Garfield has had two ideal Halloween nights, how about you?

Spherically Scary

Nothing says the spooky season like a bat and a black cat. It's funny that fate provided that Halloween appropriate Bakugan toys would be at my local Walmart. Guess even the universe is in the spirit. Wrath, the feline of the pair is normally a white colored character. Bakugan doesn't shy away from multiple color variants of their toys, so the magic of Halloween was working overtime for this coincidence. Griswing, (the bat) the same.

All things considered, I'm taking this find as the work of The Great Pumpkin.

These two are from the Evolutions sub-line and are of the basic all plastic variety. While I do tend to favor the True Metal versions, that doesn't take anything away from these guys. As you can see in the picture above, they're seemingly simple. The chunkiness is something I like and part of the overall charm of these guys. Readers know I'm a fan of egg bot style transforming toys and that older school robot toy chonk as well. I wish they had chromed weapons to really top it all off.

I said above that they're seemingly simple. Seemingly being the key term as Bakugan mostly self transform. The 'marbles' are rolled out onto the cards and tiled tokens as the game is played. Magnets in those tiles trigger the auto transformation springing Bakugan to life. The more complex toys require a little extra fiddling to unfold out other parts, but that's generally the gist of it. You, however, have to fold it back into place yourself. That's where the seemingly simple comes into play. Some pop right into place, while others have to be done in exact order. Both of these guys are in the exact order club. It's not super difficult, but I can see it being frustrating on a bad day. Considering the spooky flavor these two bring to the table, it's kinda fitting.

Godzilla Type Evangelion

I'll probably never play this machine. But I'll gladly admire it.

X-Ray them Apples!

Trick or Treating is fun... and possibly dangerous. One danger that everyone knows is bad people could tamper with the treats being handed out and cause some real harm or even kill someone. Now, this old urban legend is often dismissed with 'studies show blah blah'. And it's true, there's a lot of myth to this. However... there's always a little truth to these kind of things. Not to mention... what studies? It's not like the local urgent care or emergency room is reporting everything that's going on. It's always better safe than sorry? Well, I can't tell you how many times I've seen or heard of a towns hospital offering to x-ray your candy to find any razor blades or straight pins in those snack sized Snickers. It's a good thing too... because dang. Remember that scene in Halloween 2?

Bios: Snapdragon

"If it doesn't get you dirty, it's not worth doing."

Function: Interceptor

Wading up to his neck in grease is his idea of a good time. Lazy, difficult to motivate, but has a hair-trigger temper. Binary bonded to Krunk, the vicious, vile bodyguard to the Nebulan leader, Lord Zarak. In jet Mode, maximum speed 8800mph... has 2 independent booster fins. In reptile Mode, carbon-steel claws and teeth can cut through almost anything. Has 2 balance destroying gyro-guns in robot mode.

Strength: 10 Intelligence: 9 Speed: 9 Endurance: 8 Rank: 6 Courage: 7 Firepower: 7 Skill: 7

Weekly Update 10/17/22

Looks like another week is starting up here on Planet Zone! I hope everyone had a good weekend, I sure did! The Mrs and I got candy including some mini Pez dispensers to give out to the kids on Halloween. We may get some more Pokémon trick or treat cards next weekend, if we don't open them for ourselves (again). We watched Halloween Ends Saturday night (which I already posted about) while enjoying some food from Longhorn Steakhouse. I don't eat out much anymore, so when I do, I really enjoy it. I'll be having some Happy Meals the next few weeks to get those sweet new buckets! Gonna do some healthy eating to compensate, don't worry! Definitely after taking a short road trip to the nearest Krispy Kreme (over an hour away) for this years Halloween donuts! My favorite holiday is full of junk food, fortunately I watch what I eat the rest of the year.

Some good toys were got this weekend as well. Legacy Knock-Out and Wildrider was picked up from Target. They had a pretty large amount of Tonkanators as well. I want one, but trying to watch my spending during the holidays. Maybe Santa will bring me one. I also got a Godzilla bag clip  blind bag figure from series 4 ... know what? I'm going to open that right now. It's Gorosaurus! Also 2 more Halloween Kinder Surprise eggs. I haven't opened them yet, just need two more to complete the set. So far only one duplicate, so I'm doing good.

I've got a fun week planned for you all. We've got 2 weeks left of the annual Halloween party. But don't worry, I've got something different in store for next year. There's a new episode of Transform Squadron coming that's gonna have some details about that. I have no clue how many people listen to it, but a lot of people sure do like the spooky side of this site. If you're one of those folks, you should like it. Thanks everyone for reading Zone Base. I really appreciate it. If you like what I'm doing here, please share with your friends!

Shin Halloween: Thrice Upon a time

What they're billing as the final Halloween movie (and this time they mean it) was released this weekend. I enjoyed watching it in the comfort of my living room on Peacock. Halloween Ends is effectively a narrative ending of the series. Or at least this most recent rebuild series that started in 2018. That movie picked up 40 years after the original and ignored the other sequels. While I really enjoyed that 2018 movie for the most part (not a fan of the ending), it's follow up, Halloween Kills, was a pretty big let down. 

To be fair, there was parts of Halloween Kills that I liked. It was just the muddled execution that overall resulted in a not so great movie. Halloween Ends picks up 4 years later after Halloween 2018 (Kills takes place in the same night) with Michael Myers missing and Haddonfield worse off for it. I'm not going into spoiler territory as it literally just came out. I liked this movie a lot more than Halloween Kills. I like the story, but it could have been told better.

If this really is the last Halloween, I'm ok with it. Despite it's flaws, the movie really does feel like a proper end. Usually these 'final chapters' installments are not much more than another entry in the series without much finality to them. I'm sure in time the series will receive another reboot. I could go for a sequel to Season of the Witch if so. For now though, I'm ok with saying goodbye this time. Saying goodbye never feels perfect and there's always those thoughts of how it could have been better. If it is goodbye, then at least I have closure.

Goodbye, Michael.

Breaking News- It's Halloween!

The local news usually makes the most out of the Halloween season. In this clip from the far flung distant past of 2019 (boy what a difference a few years made) the WaCkY roaming reporter visited a Party City. Party City (a store that seemingly only has a business model during Halloween) is a great place during the spooky season. Tons of masks, costumes, make up, and more! It's fun to browse the decorations and oddball trinkets. Our ZaNy news corespondent asks the staff about scary stuff and tries out some creepy make up. He looks great!

So... the minute I said 2019, we all got a little depressed huh?

Swings from a Creepy Web

I'd been really looking forward to Legacy Tarantulas. I've always liked the guy, and not just because he's a bug. Specifically because I've always liked his evil mad scientist characterization and his neat design. He's also a bug, but that's just bonus points. Since I can't think of a better time of year than to talk about a spider, I figured Tarantulas is a perfect candidate. I've always really liked his purple coloring BTW.

Tarantulas is not difficult to transform, however it can be a bit annoying to get everything to line up just right. That's something that really stuck out to me about this toy. I felt like things just suddenly went into place after doing the same thing over and over. That's probably more of me having clumsy hands than the actual toys fault. Either way, he's pretty great in both robot and beast modes. One thing that'll probably stick out to folks who either don't like Beast Wars or are new to beast era stuff is the kibble. Alt mode kibble is just something you get used to when dealing with Transformers.

Usually it's part of the robots design overall. With many beast era toys... you tended to have things like animal legs just hanging off a body part. Sometimes it'd be a clever part of the design... sometimes not. With Tarantulas, there's no ignoring those spider legs in robot mode. The best thing you can do is pose them out of the way or as guns as they'd be used in the show. Basically I'm describing a part that that'll either be a deal breaker to some folks or a non-issue to others. I clearly love Beast Wars, so it's a welcome annoyance.

Tarantulas is a good toy (assuming you like this sort of thing) and a solid update of him. He had his signature weapons. Both the crossbow from his original body and the buzz-saw weapon from the Transmetals version. Unfortunately he doesn't have the vehicle mode that would suggest, but both weapons can be combined into a larger rifle... or tree saw

Galaxy Scarecrows

The Galaxy Rangers tend to get into some crazy adventures in space. I guess the wild west is bigger than I thought. In today's adventure they find themselves attending a harvest dance while visiting a planet. Harvest? Yeah, Halloween happens even in space and there's a spooky ghostly Scarecrow running wild! You know... for a cartoon about space cowboys... this one leans pretty hard into the horror territory. Though... with the premise of the show... why not?

...wait...Zozo?

Bios: Splashdown

"Outflank your enemy and you won't have to outgun him."

Function: Naval Commander

A hard-living, hard-hitting, wind-torn soldier. A veteran of battles on 10,000 oceans on 1,000 worlds throughout the universe. At home on water, mercury, even liquid lead. Outer shell armed with long-range, armor-piercing harpoon gun and electro-sword. Robot and hovercraft Modes armed with photon blaster. Outer shell composed of high-density armor impervious to corrosive liquids and strong enough to withstand underwater depths of over 30,000 feet. Transforms to hovercraft with maximum speed of 210 mph.

Strength: 7 Intelligence: 8 Speed: 6 Endurance: 7 Rank: 8 Courage: 9 Firepower: 7 Skill: 8

Spooky Fact or Scary Fiction?

Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction is one of my all time favorite shows. I still watch it now as I've mentioned here before. Well, of course one of my favorites dipped it's toes into another of my favorites as there's a great Halloween segment from season 3. To be frank... not the host... the term... it's only fitting. The show was pretty spooky most of the time. Honestly I'm surprised there wasn't more Halloween themed bits. Here we have a great little version of the tried and true mean old man on Halloween story. Did it really happen, or is it just a Halloween trick?

A Wonderfully Mischievous Monstrosity

To be honest, I generally haven't cared much about Loki. Sure, he's a fun villain. It's hard to ignore his charm and he's pretty likable in the Marvel movies... but I generally don't pay him much mind. It's just me. Then this wonderfully awesome version of him was released in Marvel Mech Strike Monster Hunters and I was instantly sold. I've been singing the praises of this wonderful little line since being introduced to it and Loki is a great reason as to why. Like with the other bad guys in Monster Hunters, Loki is firmly a monster. The magical Eye of the Kraken combined with super villain science has turned him cool insectoid creature.

The figure is larger than your standard Monster Hunters figure, maybe 6". He has neat dragon fly type wings that move with the push of a back mounted lever. The same lever opened his chest mounted eye. Like I've said before, it's Lovecraft without specifically being Lovecraft. So that's the Eye of the Kraken. Different ancient evil. Aside from the wings, Loki has some big pointy bug legs that unfortunately don't move as far as I can tell. I say that because as soon as this goes up, somebody will figure out how to properly operate a child's toy. Articulation I can figure out immediately is his basic head and shoulder articulation. Loki's legs move at the waist, but are on more of a universal joint that gives a bigger range of motion that the basic swivel joints of his legs and head.

Visually he looks like classic Loki... if Loki was a giant bug monster. It's not much of a stretch to compare him to a Power Rangers monster... and these toys are at the perfect size and scale to pair them up with current Hasbro Power Rangers toys. Like I've said, there's definitely a tokusatsu vibe going on here. Certainly not something I'm going to complain about. Clearly he's meant to be paired up with Thor (whom I'll cover here later), but would be a monstrous foe for any of your Monster Hunters to fight. Or even your Power Rangers. He's a cool, solid feeling monster figure based on a classic comic villain. Pretty hard not to find that great.

Hey Hey Halloween

Halloween is a time for tricks and treats. Some of the Junkyard Gang are more interested in tricks causing the rest of the group a lot of problems. It's all fun and games until a trip to the local spooky house next to the graveyard. Trick or treating, a scary movie, and a trip to a haunted house? Man, this sounds like a great Halloween... until somebody gets a belt whooping.

Sucks to be him.

Bios: Gunrunner

"The truth wrapped in a lie is still a lie."

Function: Squadron Leader

A super hero in reverse. Daring and defiant when inside outer vehicle, but shy and insecure when out on his own. Armored outer vehicle equipped with armored wheels and hydraulic lifters for all-terrain combat capabilities. Gunrunner transforms from robot mode to hypersonic jet with a maximum speed of Mach 5. Equipped with twin, turreted 8mm electro-static cannons with a range of over 60 miles. Also armed with two armor-piercing, energy-plasma missiles. Armor plating equipped with thermal generators that "burn" through solid rock.

Strength: 7 Intelligence: 9 Speed: 7 Endurance: 6 Rank: 7 Courage: 9: Firepower: 8 Skill: 7

Weekly Update 10/10/22

A new week has begun on Planet Zone bringing robots, monsters, and misadventure! The weekend is already over, so that means some fun posts for you all! Thank you so much for reading and please share with your friends!

This weekend I didn't do much. The Mrs and I went to a Halloween Squishmallows event at Five Below. That was really it aside from some shopping. Unfortunately there wasn't any Transformers I needed at the stores. Well, there was a Tonkanator, but I'm not making any big purchases this close to Christmas. I did pick up two Micro Galaxy Squadron blind boxes,  and Bakugan Evolutions Wrath and Griswing at Walmart. Grabbed Playmates Godzilla Terrestris at Target in addition to ordering the 40th Anniversary edition He-Man.

At Five Below they had the small figure versions of Monsterverse Godzilla, Kong, and Mechagodzilla. I'd been looking forward to these guys for awhile now. Playmates did a small series from King of the Monsters that never showed up here, so these are a welcome addition. They're a little bigger than the minis that Jakks Pacific made a few years back and seemingly better figures.

I also picked up my Halloween mask for this year. I won't go into much detail here as it'll show up on my Happy Halloween post as usual. It's pretty great! Two more Kinder Surprise eggs were picked up as well. I haven't opened any of this weekends blind toys, so here's hoping for more costumed kids I need. Just 3 more to complete the set. Halloween is in full effect on the site. We've got a few more weeks and I wish it wasn't flying by so fast. I spent Sunday watching Yokai movies on DKUTV full of the spooky spirit and hope your enjoying the Pumpkin Spiced Mayhem too!

Light your Night with Fright!

I'm not sure if you've noticed, but I love Halloween. One particular thing (among many, many, many things) I enjoy about the holiday is the little weird oddities. Take the picture above. That's a Fright Light pin. What's it for? Well, you pin it on your shirt/jacket to spread some Halloween cheer. You can't always wear a costume... you might not always want to wear a costume. But something like a Fright Light on your hoodie let's folks know you're up to something spooky.

Fright Lights came in a variety of spooky shapes, the one pictured is a pumpkin (duh), but I've seen skeletons, Frankenstein, and I swear a witch. There was probably others, but that's what I remember the strongest. There was a little switch you could flip to make the eyes light up... and you probably didn't leave it on for long as to not drain the batteries before the end of the season. They also glowed in the dark, because everything should really. Real ones know. Little things like this man... I just love. I can (and do) look at pictures of them all the time... and all year. The packaging alone... just look at it. That should be in a museum, it's high art! I have a real love for Halloween packaging and the Fright Light card is a solid example.

Crunch Skull Supreme

With EarthSpark around the corner, there's been plenty of video clips and teasers to get us all ready for the show to debut. I'm looking forward to it as I'm sure some of you are. Seeing that the Skywarp toy is using the Cyberverse Warrior Class Seeker mold made me wonder if Skullcruncher will his Cybervese toy mold? It's a good figure and I think flew mostly under the radar, so why not? That brings us here today as we look at the aforementioned toy. I used the word aforementioned and feel super fancy about it.

Skullcruncher is a larger Ultra Class figure that sells for around $20 if you can still find him. A Cyberverse Ultra is equal in size to a Generations Voyager for the price of a Generations Deluxe. So you can expect a simpler and more hollow toy for the money. I'm just getting that out of the way right now. It's specifically intended for children while Generations toys are intended to be collector friendly with a higher quality. Fortunately the hollowness doesn't really effect Skullcruncher too bad. It doesn't stand out blatantly. The most I noticed it was in his lower legs, which is where his thighs fold into when transforming. He's definitely light though. That'll bother some, but not others.

Like most Cyberverse toys, Skullcruncher has a play gimmick, his being 'Energon Armor'. This is a pretty non-intrusive gimmick in which a clear green alligator shaped helmet/mask pops out and covers his head. It looks kinda neat. Thanks to the transformation, his wrists swivel and beast claws fold over the hands. With that helmet on and those claws properly displayed, you've got a Battle Beast! As you'd expect, Skullcruncher transforms into an alligator. Aside from the lack of a Headmaster, he's pretty much a traditional toy of Skullcruncher. A simplified update I guess. He has quite a bit of articulation as well. In all honestly this is a pretty good toy.

Weapons are a laser gun for shooting and a pointy tail. I'm not really quite sure what to call the tail weapon as a large blade unfolds out and Skullcruncher holds in from the tails base. A pointy traffic cone? Seeing as there's no other way to store the tail in robot mode, I guess they came up with this as a quick fix. I'd have preferred it to be a shield or a backpack. The tail weapon is my only real complaint... because I don't like it. I do have another complaint, I wish his mouth opened in gator mode. That's the only real complaint I have. The weapon is pretty subjective.

Make no mistake about it, this is a toy meant for children and not adults. So, that's something you'd have to keep in mind. I wouldn't compare it to Titans Return or the Walmart 'Vintage' Headmaster Skullcruncher toy. On it's own though, matched up with other Cyberverse figures? Yeah, it's pretty good. The simplification gives it a touch of that old school charm I've talked about before. He could have been a G2 figure in terms of construction and feel. Just needs to be a little heftier and have weird random stickers. A Decepticon or transformers logo across the tail or something. I... kinda want that now.

Davey's Night

Trick or Treat isn't just fun words to to say, they're words to live by. Davey, Sallie, and Goliath must have got one too many of those nasty peanut butter chews- because it's hell on earth this hallows eve! Some kids and a talking dog just want to watch the world BURN! Come to think about it, know who else was advised by a talking dog? DAVID BERKOWITZ! Wait... David... Davey... well shit. It all makes sense now.

Bios: Apeface

"Obnoxiousness is not a problem, it is an art."

Function: Saboteur

Thoroughly obnoxious -- pounds loudly on his chest plates, insults everyone he talks to, knocks over anyone in his way, never changes his lubricant so he smells like a grease-encrusted turboworm, and spits fuel in public. Binary-bonded to the nervous, insecure Nebulan Spasma. In jet Mode, maximum speed: 3250mph, emits powerful jamming frequencies. In ape Mode, has super-agility. In robot Mode, carries electro-shield and semi-automatic sonic boomer gun.

Strength: 10 Intelligence: 9 Speed: 9 Endurance: 8 Rank: 6 Courage: 7 Firepower: 7 Skill: 7

Monster Carlo

Dig through the ditches and burn through the witches and coming in first is Tom Slick! When the words racing come up in Transylvania, usually it's people describing what they were doing for their life. Tom Slick, however, is racing against some groovy ghoulies for a trophy and some prize money. It's a scary town and a spooky place. Good thing it's Halloween!

Time to Shin Again

I've got a few Shin Godzilla toys, this is the newest. Playmates decided to improve upon their prior toy with this vastly improved figure. I really like it. It's Shin Goiji in all his glory... but safe to sell next to other toys on the aisle. Just a little toned down, you know? I've said it before... and I'm saying it again. I REALLY like the Playmates Godzilla toys. Not to mention, it's been neat watching the rocky start to the more polished current toys. Godzilla (2016) as they label Shin Godzilla, like I said is a great representation of that timeline. The first Playmates Shin was a bit of a mess, a mess that I found some charm in, but still a mess. This is a more refined figure and sculpt. 

This is a bulkier figure that represents Godzilla in his Shin Japan Heroes Universe depiction pretty well, though a little toned down as I said before. It's a pretty scary version of Godzilla and they're selling these next to Batman figures at my local Walmart. Though he's still pretty accurate and a good representation. Shin has a few points of articulation, what you'd expect from a sofubi style kaiju toy. Basic arms, legs, head, and tail articulation with some ankle swivel for stabilization. As with the prior Playmates kaiju, he's a harder vinyl, but still fits right in with your Bandai soft vinyl toys. 

The paint looks pretty good, maybe a bit simple, but still looks good. Sometimes less is more and with a layered look like Shin Goiji has it'd be pretty tricky to nail at this figures price range (around 12-13 bucks). Still they managed to get that crispy scaly look down with some red cracks and highlights in the fins. I do wish the second head at the end of his tail would have more detail... but that's such a small detail that it doesn't hurt to not highlight it much. Like I said, they curbed the freakishness a little. I don't think all those skeletons would have made for an ideal kids toy. Regardless, it still looks good and looks like Shin Godzilla without any question. It's a great figure of a scary monster idea for kids or adults.

Safety Incorporated

Everybody, look around, certain doom is coming your way-hay. Halloween is fun... and dangerous. I've spoke of the necessity of a light and checking candy apples for razor blade for a good reason. Stranger danger plans to harm you this Halloween season. Fortunately, KIDS Incorporated is here to help out! If you just follow these tips, you'll have a fun and safe Halloween. Maybe... ok... probably not. But at least you've got the theme song stuck in your head now. Looks like we've made it, we're gonna get annihilated.

Bios: Battle Squad

"The higher they fly, the faster they'll fall!"

Function: Aerial Counterattack

Utilizing the Micromaster Combiner feature, each micro robot of the Decepticon Battle Squad has the ability to connect with other Micromaster Combiners to form powerful, devastating vehicles of destruction! The nucleus of the Decepticon's off-radar defense system. Banded together by a cybernetic compressor to ignite the stratosphere with a magnitude of firepower! Equipped with sophisticated, visual tracking devices for high-definition, target-lock capabilities! Usually to blame when Autobot space crafts suddenly disappear from radar. Able to annihilate anything within a three mile radius. When separated, take pop-shots at each other for sport. Combine to form an armored assault vehicle, blast cannon transport, and high-spy jet.

Teamwork: 7 Cooperation: 7 Strength: 8 Endurance: 6 Speed: 7 Intelligence: 8 Courage: 9 Skill: 5

Weekly Update: 10/3/22

Time for another week here on Planet Zone! Thanks everyone for coming back for more robots, monsters, and misadventure! It's officially October and we've only got one more month of Pumpkin Spiced Mayhem. I guess it's time to turn up the spooky dial up! Thanks for supporting the site and continuing to read my badly written nonsense. Don't forget to share with your friends!

I decorated my yard for Halloween this weekend. Well, mostly, I'll add more as the big day draws near. Turning your front yard into a spook show is fun, but a nightmare to keep up with for a month. So stay tuned! As far as toys go, I bought Legacy Elita-1 and a Gundam Mobile Suit Ensemble blind box from Target. I got the G-Fighter. I really wanted the Unicorn Gundam, but I'm happy with what I got. I'd like to complete the series. Couldn't find any Halloween Kinder Surprise eggs, just 3 more to go to complete this years set. Wish me luck! A stop by the Dollar Tree resulted in the new series of Transformers mini figures. They're similar to the prior set, just smaller.

I also found the last Final Faction accessory pack I needed for now. I thought I had caught up with them prior before realizing I was short one. A later stop by Pop Shelf resulted in a Kirby blind bag. The figures are of Kirby in his various forms and I'm honestly not sure what the one I got is called. I've seen if before, but not sure what it's called. He's angry and has a big purple poof coming out of his head. I dunno, goes that way sometimes.