Weekly Halloween- Starr of the Show

Almost every town has a local haunted house. That house the kids whisper about and everybody walks a little faster to pass by. Rebellious teenagers and paranormal types try to explore it in hopes of finding something scary. In Royal Oak, Michigan, the Orson Starr house is said to be haunted by several different ghosts. Is it real?

Picks up a Train and fucks up Town

It was just the other day I was talking about Godzilla Singular Point. Specifically, a toy from that series of Godzilla Terrestris. Today, we're taking a look at the next stage of Godzilla's evolution from that series in toy form. This is Godzilla Ultima. You may have noticed while looking at him... that's closer to what you expect. Despite a few obvious design differences for variety... that's undoubtedly Godzilla. Godzilla looks a little more like a crocodile in this form and... that's ok. I've never seen a dinosaur, but I've seen a crocodile. The dinosaurs I see on TV are not the most scientifically accurate and to be honest... the science is constantly changing so... who knows really what they looked like? But I do know what a crocodile looks like and it's a natural fit for a more animalistic version of Godzilla.

It's not unfair to compare Godzilla from Singular Point to Shin Godzilla. There's probably a lot of influence there. Between the monstrosity and the various evolutions, his atomic breath is pretty similar too. Godzilla Ultima is 100 meters tall. That's pretty big. However this Godzilla does have his differences. Each form has different crazy abilities and Ultima is practically indestructible. In fact, Godzilla in Singular Point is immortal. You may eventually kill him, but he will come back. Fuck around and find out squared.

This toy of this particular Godzilla is pretty damned neat as well. The colors and sculpted detail look great. So great that it's almost hard to beleive this isn't a more premium priced toy. He's only 12 dollars like the others. Godzilla Ultima has your standard amount of articulation for a kaiju toy of this type. Tail, head, and arms swivel while the legs move at his hip. The tail is dramatically posed, but also pretty big, so you'll be adjusting those legs to stand him up. Fortunatley most modern Godzilla's tend to have heavier hind quarters which results in a bigger center of gravity. Just a little adjusting and he shouldn't fall too easily. This is a great figure and I love looking at it. It's really great just how far Playmates has came along with these figures.

Weekly Update- 11/28/22

It's the beginning of a new week and the start of the Christmas season on Planet Zone! Hope you all didn't mind me taking a little break last week. I sure do love the Thanksgiving holiday and the extended time off. I really needed that! I spent the time watching kaiju movies, episodes of Transformers, and Christmas specials! Turns out Gobots are in Guardians of the Galaxy! Speaking of Gaudians of the Galaxy, stay tuned to my social media starting Thursday December 1st for my daily coverage of the Guardians of the Galaxy Lego Advent Calendar! In the meantime, I've got a fun week planned for you readers. Thanks so much for your support and please share with your friends!

Happy Thanksgiving from Zone Base!

It's Thanksgiving on Planet Zone! Time to get some rest and be thankful for what you have. Me? I'm thankful for all of you continuing to read my nonsense and supporting the site. If you could share posts with your friends, I'd be even more thankful. If the week's content so far wasn't any indication... I'm taking a bit of a break this week. Don't worry, I'll be back next week with more of the robots, monsters, and misadventure! But until then... I'm uh... taking a nap. Damn, I'm tired. Thanks for reading and I'll be back next week!

Bios: Squawktalk

"If you have nothing interesting to say, say it anyway."

Function: Translator

Never stops talking except to refill his fuel tank. Knows over 250 Earth and 6300 alien languages, but never has anything important to say in any of them. Other Decepticons often threaten to rip out his vocal circuitry and wrap it around his beak to shut him up. Carries two deafening high decibel sonic boomers. Combines with Beastbox to form robot Squawkbox.

Strength: 3 Intelligence: 5 Speed: 6 Endurance: 5 Rank: 6

Courage: 6 Firepower: 5 Skill: 8

Bios: Laserbeak

"The only point I like in Autobots: melting point."

Function: Interrogation

Laserbeak takes pleasure in hunting his prey -- usually the straggling survivors of a battle. Noticeably not brave. Will run for safety if threatened. Flies at speeds up to 250mph. Uses two independently targetable laser cannons with extreme precision to get information from capitves. Shortage of ruby crystals that powers the lasers can panic his systems into shutting down.

Strength: 5 Intelligence: 6 Speed: 8 Endurance: 5 Rank: 6

Courage: 2 Firepower: 8 Skill: 9

Weekly Update- 11/21/22 Holiday Edition

It's the start of a new week here on Planet Zone! Not just any week, a holiday week! Between the days off and pretty much working non-stop until then... It'll be a mini-Bios week before taking a much needed break. But don't worry, everything will return back to normal next week. Pinky Swear. Thanks so much for continuing to support Zone Base. I really appreciate it and just ask that you share with your friends!

Beast Lord Dino Robot

Dino Robot is a set I've been tracking down for a few years now. Thanks to Shawn's tip, I found a set at my local Rose's. A store I often forget exists. As you can tell by looking at the pictures Dino Robot is a knock off of Go! Goradora/Beast Hunters Abominus/TF5 Infernocus. Specifically it's a K.O of Goradora as those are the closest in colors it comes to. The individual combiner members are sized up a little being closer to Core Class scale than the Legion/Legend scale the originals were. I'm a fan of both size classes (as you probably know by now), but having more Core Class bad guys is definitely a good thing. I have both versions of Abominus, Infernocus, and multiple (but not all) of the individual uses of these molds... but no Goradora. So Dino Robot is a good substitution for the Goradora I don't have. However, I'll be refereeing to the set at Dino Robot the rest of this post because I kinda love that name. It's a discount store bootleg robot toy... it damn well better have a name like Dino Robot.

Speaking about names... these guys man. Each member's name is their alt mode, or what the shady company that made the set thought their alt mode was. Jurara is named Tyrannosaurus Rex, which is a stretch. However the original mold has been used for Grimlock a few times, so I guess it works. Barara is named Pterosaurs. Which I guess works, even though he's more of a take on Firebird from the Hanna-Barbera Godzilla cartoon. He's supposed to be a dragon of sorts, but now you can't unsee it either. Burara is Monster... which fits. Lastly both Dorara and Garara are named Double Dragon. Which is awesome. However as they both are named Double Dragon... I guess one is the NES port. These are not complete 1 for 1 matches to the originals as the colors are not exact. Dino Robot is closer to this team than the others, however.

This is a pretty good set for some knock off toys. For Twelve dollars and ninety nine cents I got what the box advertised as an 8 piece set. The Five In One Dino Robot and three weapons. Yeah... they counted the weapons as pieces to advertise on the box. The figures are larger than their original use as I said above, but don't look too bad. Considering the age of the original toys and multiple uses they look pretty sharp. Of course I don't know when this mold set was made off the original toys or if it's just a  stolen CAD file as the box art is CGI models. There is some loose joints here and there, but for the most part the figures are decently sturdy enough. Pterosaurs is probably the worst of the batch when it comes to that. Those three weapons... the group does have a problem holding them correctly and they don't connect together well either. So I just kinda had to make them work where they could.

I was pleased with how stable they were combined together. When it comes to these sets the combination is either sorta ok or a complete shit show. These guys were pretty high in the sorta ok end of things. Everything actually worked pretty well, but the legs could have been a lot better. Admittedly the original toy's legs were never so great either. This was during an era of Transformers where there was obvious sandbagging when the creatives didn't want to do something the higher ups commanded. You'd think HBK was loosing the match with those legs. Honestly, the arms are a little half assed too design wise, but considering it's supposed to be a monstrous robot... it works. Just the legs could have benefited from a little more effort. To be fair they were small toys sold at a pretty low price.

I am pretty happy with Dino Robot as is, not only does he make a good stand in for Goradora but at that bigger size makes for a great villain for the upcoming Core Class Volcanicus to fight. It's been a while since I've bought a discount store robot and that's an itch I've been needing to scratch that Dino Robot fulfilled. Despite some hit or miss points in the toy, it is a satisfying experience. For twelve dollars and ninety nine cents you're not getting a lot these days, hardly even lunch at a fast food place. So a somewhat decent robot toy set that didn't crumble in my hands (it has happened before) that definitely has a purpose... yeah. Dino Robot's ok.

Bios: Grotusque

"If it ain't fun to do, it ain't worth doing."

Function: Military Strategist

He says that nothing frightens him, except when he looks in the mirror. He thinks that everything is a big joke and acts accordingly, even during battle. Goofy, irreverent, sometimes annoying... but a top-notch warrior. In robot mode, wields a vaporator which gassifies a target's fuel, leaving it inoperative. In creature mode, has indestructible tusks. Flies at 45 mph, can leap 3 miles at a time.

Strength: 7 Intelligence: 9 Speed: 4 Endurance: 6 Rank: 8

Courage: 10 Firepower: 7 Skill: 10

Transform Squadron 38- Tryptophan X

LISTEN NOW!

Happy Thanksgiving! While observing turkey day, Rob takes time to reflect on the holiday. Godzilla turns 68, and Shogun Warriors are discussed. Transformers EarthSpark and the hunt for the Black Friday 2003 Build Team is discussed. There's talk of discount toys too! Wake up from your food coma... or maybe fall asleep while listening to this transmission from Zone Base!

Weekly Halloween- Ghost Army

Kyuukyuu Sentai GogoFive S1 E23- The Ghost Resuce Mission

Tomb Profanation Psyma Beast Zombeast or Zombeast as his friends call him (he has friends?) is a very unique monster. He takes control of a cemetery and uses the dead as his own personal army. Before long the town is overrun with murderous ghosts attacking citizens. The Rangers come to stop Zombeast only to meet a young boy who's recently deceased Grandfather is among the Ghost Army. Things are not what they seem in this spooky edition of Weekly Halloween.

Blue skinned and Bloody shielded

Godzilla Terrestris is the third form Godzilla takes in the Netflix series Godzilla: Singular Point. Like in Shin Godzilla, the monster takes multiple forms as the story line progrerssises. The there is four forms alltogehrt, with this one nearing a more traditional look and uses a mix of the roar from Godzilla 1984 and the Millinium series. Today we'll be taking a look at the new Playmates figure of this particular Godzilla. I've had it a few weeks now (as noted in a prior Weekly Update), but have been obviously busy with the Pumpkin Spiced Mayhem.

It probably goes without saying that I really like the blue coloring. It doesn't look like a traditional Godzilla, obviously, but makes for a cool looking monster (that comes later). Godzilla is more of a mythical creature in Singular Point and that comes into play with the design. To me it looks like a cross between a dragon and the Godzilla 1998/Zilla design. It's a neat look overall. My wife outright didn't think it wasn't Godzilla when I picked it up at Target. That's how different looking these earlier forms are. I'm in the middle of liking that and not liking that. I do think it's neat looking, while also wishing it was a little more traditional. It's not a deal breaker either way.

You may have noticed the paint apps end towards the end of the tail. They just do. It's screen accurate, but a little blunt in the way it stops. It looks like there should be a transition there as it changes tone. The Bandai figures do the same way. That's really my only complaint with the toy/design. That red on teal looks so great, it just feels liek a book slamming close when it stops. I like to think of it as a visualization of the sheild he creates from his own blood. I don't know why more recent versions of Godzilla uses blood so much... but I kinda dig it.

Like your standard kaiju toy, Godzilla have articulation in the arms and legs with swivels in the head, and tail. The legs movement is more for stabilization as is the tail's pose. He does have some tiny arms compared to that bulky body. This of course is part of the overall design and not a shortcoming of the toy. It's actually a REALLY good representation of Godzilla's on screen appearance in the Terrestris form. I've noted before about my admiration for these Playmates Godzilla toys and readers might remember the gradual improvement the line has made since it's shaky initial waves in 2020. The Singular Point designs may not be your cup of tea and that's fair. I really like the dragon like appearance and love that bright blue. This is a pretty big and bulky toy that nails the character's look for only $12. I can't even buy lunch for that anymore.

Weekly Update- 11/14/22

Hope everyone is ready for a new week on Planet Zone! This weekend was pretty laid back. We did some shopping and started decorating the house for Christmas. That'll be finished next weekend, but we got a good start. This is going to be a pretty busy week for me as it'll be pretty much a straight shot from tonight untill Wednesday morning at work. Aside from Saturday, I'll be working all week untill getting off for the Thanksgiving break. Not looking forward to that, but hopefully you all will enjoy the upcoming episode of Transform Squadron!

As far as toys go- Five Below resulted in a Bakugan Gorthion, a Stanger Things blind bag Demogorgon, and Mario from a Super Mario Bros. blind bag. A stop by Ross resulted in some more Bakugan whose names I can't remember at the time. The Flash and Batman who Laughs from Super Powers was bought at Walmart. Unfortunately no Transformers I didn't already have were found. Goes that way sometimes. I've got a fun week in store for you all. Thanks for reading Zone Base and please share with your friends!

Earthspark is good

Transformers Earthspark, the newest TF cartoon, premiered today on Paramount Plus. The first episode was available via a few sneak peaks that I wasn't privy to and the pirated copy floating around on Facebook that big name sites hid behind click bait links... I never had time to watch. It's an extremely busy time for me and things happen. I did manage to watch a few episodes of Earthspark today and want to talk about it a minute because I really liked it. I had been looking forward to the show and am really glad that it's turned out so good.

I won't intentionally get into spoilers, the show just came out and I'm sure you'd rather find out stuff for yourself. I will talk about things I feel are fair to talk about publicly. Lot's of this is already out as part of the marketing blitz, so you probably know most of it already. The basic premise is that the Autobot/Decepticon war is over. Megatron has joined up with Optimus Prime and other Autobots as part of an X-Files style government organization called G.H.O.S.T. that are gathering up all the remaining Decepticons that are still doing bad guy stuff.

Might as well Jump (Starters)

For the longest time, the Transformers Jumpstarters were generally pooped on by most folks in the Transformers fan world. I'm not sure why, I've always thought they were neat. I tend to gravitate towards super robot flavored space robots and that's exactly what the Jumpstarters are. They seemingly come from other DNA than the original batch of Diaclone and Microman robots. However, they were originally Diaclone toys and ironically some widely accepted original G1 bots like Windcharger hail from the Mysterians before being Microman figures. It's weird how Top Spin and Twin Twist feel like distant cousins despite being in the direct lineage.

I suppose it's the simple transformation that turns off a lot of folks, that gimmick based play pattern. Admittedly the complexity of the transformation has never mattered much to me. Sure, if it's ingenious... I'll appreciate it. I'm more concerned with the individual modes more than the trip from A to B for the most part. That being said, the pull back engine resulting in the jet flipping and transforming mid-air was always fun for me. Seeing it spotlighted in the commercial, obviously that's the focal point. Sometimes a toy isn't necessarily the physical thing, but how you interact with it.

The Jumpstarters are more popular these days than they were in the past. Newer figures are well sought after, but I think the original G1 toys can still be gotten very cheap. I clearly remember cardboard boxes with loose ones at older BotCons and buying a couple for a dollar each. Some of the knock offs and international versions are more popular than the original duo out of neatness. That new Diaclone colors version of Twin Twist has been pretty popular. Part of me hopes to see them as gimmick toys in something like Earthspark. I'd like to think in today's world of gimmick heavy children's toys that they'd be a hit. There was those Avengers Transformers that mirrored the gimmick a while back after all.

Bios: Road Rocket

"I'm faster than the speed of light!"

Function: Street Defense

Although he exaggerates actual speed capabilities, this Autobot can really burn up the pavement! Always ready to hit the throttle hard and race into battle. Constantly red lines his triple-turbo engine that glows upon reaching excessive temperature parameters. Cools off by ingesting mixture of anti-freeze and oil for catalytic stabilization. Light saber weapon dissolves Decepticon armor faster than ice cream melts on a summertime sidewalk.

Strength: 6 Intelligence: 6 Speed: 8 Endurance: 4

Rank: 4 Courage: 5 Firepower: 6 Skill: 5

Weekly Halloween- Haunted Lavatory

Public restrooms can be scary enough sometimes, let alone the ones ata  school. Though I think a ghost terrorixzing you while sitting in there just might be worse than some bully banging on the door and laughing.  Depending on who tells you the story, Hanako-san was either murdered by a stranger or a parent in a school restroom. Sometimes the story says she (sadly) killed herself or was the victim of an World War II air raid while in the restroom.

All of the origin stories are pretty sad. If you choose to summon Hanako-san, you must individuially go inside a girls restroom inside a school, knock three times on the third stall and ask if Hanako-san is present. If she's there, she's answer with form of 'yes, i am'. You'll then see a ghostly or bloody hand. Either that hand or Hanako-san will pull you into the toilet or straight to hell! Or maybe just eaten by a three-headed lizard for disturbing her privacy. Like most urban legends there's a lot of variations depending on who's telling the story. I'm assuming that person didn't actually attempt it themselves...

Bonk at the Moon

King Drool III has stolen precisely half of the moon and it's up to Bonk to save the day! I'm not exactly sure how he plans to reassemble the moon once the task is done, but it probably involves bonking it back into place with that big old noggin. I'm specifically talking about the Game Boy version of Bonk's Revenge even though all the versions have the same plot. Bonk games are generally fun platform games with colorful graphics, and weird characters/locations. The series established itself on the PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 before moving to other platforms. I'm quite fond of the Game Boy (it could be my all time favorite system), so I tend to focus on those particular Bonk games.

Weekly Update 11/7/22

It's a new week in what feels like a new world here on Planet Zone! I know it's weird now that Halloween is over, but don't you worry, every day is Halloween on Zone Base! There's our weekly spooky Wednesday posts and random frights throughout the year keeping things scary even when Pumpkin Spiced Mayhem is over. I spent my weekend taking down all the decorations here at the homestead and preparing for Christmas. Good thing I like that holiday too. 

As far as toys go, I didn't buy a lot. It's getting close to the Christmas season and I tend to taper off my spending as it's not the time to think of myself. I did pick up Playmates Godzilla Ultima from the Singular Point cartoon. I was honestly surprised to find him as I wasn't aware that version was getting a new toy. It's a neat figure to own though, that's for sure. 

My mother randomly got me the Lanard Aliens Xenomorph Drone figure. There's been some new Predator figures by Lanard and I've been seeing the Aliens restocked as well. Cool, low cost action figures will be showing up more often at stores for the Christmas shopping season. Don't turn your nose at these there are some really good things among them.

I've got a fun week planned for you all. Thanks for continuing to read Zone Base. I am planning to stretch out my social networking for the site as the landscape looks to be shifting around. I'm still mulling around possibilities and kinda just waiting to see how things work out as well. However, it'll still be the same old place about robots and monsters. If you like what I do here, please share with your friends. It's all I ask!

Oh shit! What are we going to do now?

I was really excited to get the new Spike figure from the Transformers Studio Series 86 line. Not just because I really enjoy Transformers, the 1986 movie, the Studio Series line, Core Class, and everything else related to Transformers. No... well that's not just why. Spike also looked really cool. As someone who grew up with various sci fi/fantasy toys from the 80's and never left them behind (as you can see), Spike feels like a culmination of those ideas into a neat little figure. 

Spike, of course, represents his appearance in the 1986 Transformers movie decked out in his Exo-Suit. As seen in the movie, the suit has an attack mode as well as a vehicle mode that the figure pulls off pretty well. Before I go any further, let me just say that I REALLY like this figure. So I have nothing bad to say AT ALL. He is fairly articulated for a figure at his size and price. For a change, I really dig the included blast effects. I usually take them as a novelty and don't think much of them. Here's they represent the rocket fire from the vehicle modes booster pods. In attack mode, they're the blaster fire! That's nothing new... but it really did it for me this time.

Spike really feels like a natural evolution of Takara SF. All that old Microman and Diaclone art really seemed to be reflected in the 1986 Transformers movie and subsequent seasons. Honestly, if I were in the position to make convention or store exclusives, Spike would get made into a new Microman figure. Some of you are probably glad I'll never be in that position. I want repaints of this toy. Give me a Buzzworthy Bumblebee version in weird 'stealth' colors. They already use the Micronauts font in that line anyway. Let me find some weird knock off of this figure. I want that grind house feel of bootleg robot toys on this mold. I just envisioned a bootleg line where this figure is another character ala Inter-Changeables. Spike is a great version of his appearance in the 1986 movie and the culmination of so much more.

Happy Godzilla Day!

Happy Godzilla Day Zone Base reader! I can't think of a more fun way to celebrateit than the premiere of Godzilla vs Gigan Rex!

Bios: Sentinel Maximus

"...Til all are one."

Function - Matrix Guardian / Armored Transport

One of the Heralds created by Primus when it first withdrew it's consciousness to the core of Cybertron, Sentinel Maximus has emerged from the shadows of Time to serve as a guardian over Cybertron during it's darkest hour. With direct access via interdimensional datalink to the nearly limitless knowledge of Vector Sigma, he is a master battlefield tactician and an ideal leader. His perfect synergy with his Mini-Con Ape-Linq is driven by a totally unified consciousness; the two bots act as one in all things. The vast processing power at his disposal allows him to download holographic items into reality, and the power upgrade granted him by Primus prior to his ancient battle with a diabolical and long-forgotten entity from the southern polar regions of Cybertron make him a nearly unstoppable force on the battlefield.

Strength: 10 Intelligence: 10 Speed: 7 Endurance: 10 Rank: 9

Courage: 10 Firepower: 9 Skill: 10

Replay- Return of Wednsesday

Don't be sad that Halloween is over, Everyday is Halloween on Zone Base! Pumpkin Spiced Mayhem may have subsided for the time, but Weekly Halloween is here to keep your Wednesdays Weird! Today we're enjoying another 'Replay' video compilation. One thing I like about this type of ghost video is how you have to look for what's so scary about it. It's not completely obvious... and doesn't that add to the creepiness? Like, imagine a picture in your living room that's been there for years. It's the whole family. Then one day, you notice a face without a body you never noticed before.

Super Joanie loves Chachi

I'm not into sports. Wrestling is the closest I come and that's not really the same thing. Athleticism, sure, but not really a sport. I'm obviously not playing many sports based video games. There's a few I do enjoy, and it's not really the actual game that I mind... it's just I'm largely not interested. One game that's technically a sports game that I do like, however, is Super Doge Ball/Nekketsu Kōkō Dodgeball Bu. Just in-case the name wasn't clear, it's a dodge ball video game and part of the Kunio- Kun game series.

You know, I appreciate the Kunio-Kun games so much that one day I should take a deep dive into the series proper and not just the old Nintendo Games. I didn't even know it was an ongoing series as a kid, I just noticed all the characters in the seemingly unrelated games looked alike. I got some insight (thanks to the internet) and I for the most part like all the games in the series I've played (Renegade, not so much). So maybe a deeper dive should go in the 'to do' list.