Optimus Primal with Arrowstripe (Beast Weaponizers/Beast Alliance)

Beast Weaponizers are my favorite part of the Beast Alliance sub-line.  When Rise of the Beasts toys were first getting leaked out on news sties, this particular set was one of the first I saw and was instantly hooked. Beast Weaponizers are a two-pack of a traditional Transformers figure with a Beast Battle Master partner. However it's not specifically stated if partners are Beast Battle Masters or Beast Weaponizers. I tend to think that the set itself is called Beast Weaponizers and the partners are Beast Battle Masters, so that's how I'll be referring to them from here on out. If I'm wrong, I'll correct that in the future.

In this specific set, Arrowstripe is the Beast Battle Master. Not just that, but a new character! Arrowstripe is a cleverly named white tiger that converts into a crossbow. This crossbow can held by most 5mm compatible Transformers. Most Beast Alliance toys can also be mounted via ports on their arms and bodies as well. It's a fun gimmick that hearkens back to Armada. Some of these are even Mini-Con port compatible... which I've noticed on some newer toys as well. Arrowstripe is made from a different plastic grade than the individual Beast Battle Masters and isn't as articulated. That's likely a cost cutting measure as the set was only $16. I didn't mind it too much, but it's worth pointing out.

Optimus Primal is the set's main figure and a pretty nice toy all around. These Beast Weaponizer figures are similar to a Core Class Transformers toy. However they're to scale with the Beast Changers for some nice uniformity. The Beast Combiners (I'll cover them too, don't worry) main figures are to similar scale as well. However they're more simple. I appreciate that everything is to similar scale in Beast Alliance, even though there's some differences in the toys themselves. I'm actually really impressed with Optimus Primal here. This is a fairly nice little figure. Thanks to his beast mode, Primal has some pretty decent articulation. While his colors match the movie, his sculpt is classic Beast Wars. Like some of the Cheetor toys, I'm sure this is due to design changes during production. 

Optimus transforms into his gorilla form pretty easily. Admittedly the beast mode is a lot more simpler than I'd like it to be. On all fours it isn't terribly impressive as the beast mode head will look straight down. Standing upright looks pretty good. With some additional color this would be a nicer toy, but once again, movie. Still, it's pretty decent. I like this one a lot and it's definitely my favorite of the Beast Alliance toys so far. Actually, I think the Beast Weaponizers overall are my favorite part of Beast Alliance. I'm not including the stand alone Beast Battle Changers in that as they belong to the Rise of the Beasts line overall. It's a weird distinction to make, but I'm trying to be specific to keep confusion down. Optimus Primal with Arrowstripe is probably the best set overall in the Beast Alliance toys, which is probably why it's a little harder to get than others. Fortunately the Mrs ordered me one off Amazon right away when they first showed up. This is a solid showing and is pretty recommended. Especially if you're a Beast Wars fan as it's a good little figure of the classic Primal.

Bios: Optimus Prime

Function- Leader

Dedicated to protecting all life, Optimus Prime leads the Autobots in unceasing battle against the evil Decepticons. His courage and wisdom know no bounds, and he is respected throughout the universe as a powerful champion of peace. Carries a blaster rifle as well as the ancient Autobot Matrix of Leadership.

"Freedom is the right of all sentient beings"

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Transform Squadron~ No Mercy Robo

LISTEN NOW!

Broadcasting from Planet Zone, Rob talks about Rise of the Beasts, Micronauts inspired Glyos toys, and Machine Robo Martial Arts Robo!

Go Go Godzilla Channel!

Just incase Pluto TV wasn't awesome enough already, they've announced the all new Godzilla channel! That's right, 24 hours of non-stop kaiju mayhem. The channel launches officially July 1st. I'm pretty excited, as you probably guessed. I already watch Pluto TV pretty much all the time as is... now, there's just no turning it off.

Spooky Summer~ On the road Again

Summer is a Spooky Season.

Grimlock (Legacy Evolution/Core Class)

I really like the Dinobots, Core Class, and Volcanicus. What happenes when all three of those things are combined? You get a Core Class version of Volcanicus! Obviously this is something I'm interested in and happily found Grimlock before seeing Rise of the Beasts a little while back. There's no denying Grimlock's very blocky proportions. Make no mistake about it, this is a small combiner peice and some sacrifices were clearly made. Giving you a simple and blocky robot mode and one awkward dinosaur.. I'll admit my forgivness is heavily influenced by the smaller Pretender toy vibes I get from the toy. Not to mention, I'm used to giving combiner limbs a pass.

There's often some comprimisng done in the individual toy as part of the overall team. I know I'm not the only person to make the comparison, but there's a heavy Dinoforce vibe with this set and hopefully a remold results in an update of that team as well. Perhaps even a future Monstructor. That'd be great. I also can't help but to make mental comparisons to Pretender Grimlock as well. It's not an exact comparison, but there's some familiarity. The gun made from the tail bit contributes to that. Grimlock is a pretty decent little figure. On his own, maybe not so great, but as part of a neat looking combiner... yeah he's ok. Part of me wants to see him worked into a Pretender update as well.

It's Monday, do a Barrel Roll

It's Monday gang, and that means a new week here on Planet Zone! How was your weekend? Mine was pretty good. Did some shopping, watched some TV, played some video games. Good times. As far as new toys go, I didn't buy much. Found new Tacticons! Hashtag and Arcee! Target also had a bunch of Bumblebees, so I'm assuming he was their casemate. I really like these silly little bots, so I was happy with the find. I also finally picked up Warrior class Skywarp from Earthspark. She's been on the backburner since I've already got the mold a few times. Really like her colors though, so she was eventually getting purchased. I also picked up a book of older Japanese ghost stories and some cute monster book marks. Not to mention some great Star Wars back to school items. I may not be a student, but prefer cool stationary for my needs. I also bought a plush SEGA Genesis. They made it, and I own it.

We did some Code Orange work. Many places that usually start early haven't really gotten into grove yet in our area. That's to be expected. It's dependent on summer stuff selling out first and some places are faster than others. At Home did have some stuff. We got a skeleton door mat and an adorable spider. They haven't stocked skeletons yet and my tradition of buying a $1 plastic skeleton hasn't been fulfilled yet. This year they have colored ones. That's important. I also buy a few skeleton animals. From what I've seen, there's a raptor one that I'll definitely be getting. At Home also has some cute monster characters this year. There's a vampire with candy corn fangs and a witch riding a lollipop that I'll be getting when stocked. So far the more vintage Halloween decor of the past few years looks to have been replaced with a rustic style. Oh well, trends end and I liked the vintage stuff. The rustic style is very traditional and fitting, so I'm not complaining. 

Thanks to all of you for reading Zone Base. Clearly Beast Summer has been a success and it's due to all you awesome people. I plan to record a new episode of Transform Squadron today. Hopefully it will be out this week for your listening pleasure. Please, if you could, please share posts with your friends. We're a grass roots site here at Zone Base and I live enjoying my hobbies with others. Now let's get this new week started!

Cheetor (Jungle Mission 3 pack)

Cheetor is the reason I wanted the Jungle Mission 3 pack to begin with. Fortunately the entire set was pretty great. As of this writing, I haven't seen the movie yet (but will have by the time you read this). I know enough going in that this toy is not based on his character design from the movie. A few of Cheetor's toys were made from an earlier working design that's closer to his original Beast Wars character. This is giving us some variety in cool cats, but probably confusing a few folks. To be fair, this has happened with prior movies (and even a few regular line) toys. While I enjoy his movie design, the BW fan in me is overjoyed. There's a fair amount of tech detailing that really adds a cool twist on the classic design.

Of course Cheetor turns into a cheetah, and while the robot mode was classic BW, this has a Transmetal vibe. I dig it. For the record, I do not have a bad thing to say about this toy. Cheetor is one of my favorite Transformers characters and I love getting new toys of him. The more mechanical parts in his beast mode break up the main yellow of the cheetah body with some brown in the hind legs. This is an odd color choice that I wouldn't have made on my own. However I do think it looks good. While it's a different big cat, the colors make me mentally think Tiger Force from GIJOE. I love how these toys are making me come up with all these mental comparisons. The metallic blue Maximal symbol is also a nice touch. It contrasts really nicely against the yellow. I've always like blue and yellow together.

Cheetor transforms fairly easily and everything goes where you'd expect it too. I did find myself struggling here as it is a slight bit different from prior Cheetah toys and my fingers went into full muscle memory from the Kingdom mold. I guess with the multiple different versions of that toy, my mind just assumed it was another one. A lot of people have mistaken this for a remold of the Kingdom one and to be fair... it'd be easy to do so from pictures alone. However it is a much different toy in hand. Things work and joints move differently. Just as visually, engineering is a different take on a similar design.

Cheetor has a variation of some of his classic weapons. A laser gun stores from his abdomen similar to the classic toy's 'gut gun' and the beast mode tail once again becomes a melee weapon. This time a sword similar to the original Beast Machines toy. It's really neat how this toy is as much of an update of prior ideas as is a new take. I really like it. Score one for this cool cat... I'll never not say that.

Bios: Hoist

Function - Maintenance

Hoist is first on the scenewhenever an Autobot is injured in the line of duty. His personal mission is to make sure that each of his comrades operates at peak efficiency levels at all times. Though his primary function is maintenance and repair, he'll gladly convert to robot mode to take on a Decepticon adversary.

 "You have to be rolling before you can be fighting"

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Code Orange: Rise of the Beast or Treat

Just in time for the Zone Base Halloween party starting in August, we've received a press release about the cool new Transformers goodies. Let's check it out~

DISGUISE ANNOUNCES NEW GLOBAL RIGHTS TO CREATE COSTUMES AND ACCESSORIES FOR HASBRO’S TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS

Poway, Calif., June 20, 2023 – Disguise, Inc., world-leading costume design and manufacturer, today announced worldwide rights to design, market, manufacture and distribute costumes, costume accessories, inflatables, adaptive costumes and trunk-or-treat kits for Hasbro’s Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. The latest installment in the Transformers movie series from Hasbro, a toy and game company, premiered globally last week on June 9th, 2023. 

Disguise is thrilled to introduce their new lineup for the movie featuring classic Transformers characters Optimus Prime and Bumblebee, as well as newcomers Rhinox, Optimus Primal, and Cheetor. The Transformers franchise has been a significant contributor to Disguise's retail success and, after years of collaboration and development with Hasbro, they are confident that this new line will be a huge hit.

“Disguise is immensely proud of our long-standing relationship with Hasbro, having collaborated on Transformers for several decades and achieving consistent success at retail year after year,” said Tara Cortner, President and GM of Disguise, Inc. “I’m confident the success of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts will make the costumes a must-have for dress-up this year around the globe. We look forward to continuing to work with Hasbro and bringing these beloved characters to life for years to come.”

Disguise’s line of costumes and accessories for Transformers: Rise of the Beasts hit stores and online in North America, EMEA, ANZ and LATAM this fall. 

About TRANSFORMERS

The TRANSFORMERS brand is a global powerhouse franchise with millions of fans around the world. Since 1984, the battle between the Autobots and Decepticons has come to life in movies, TV shows, comic books, innovative toys, and digital media, bringing incredible "MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE" experiences to fans of all ages. The brand's enduring connection is made possible by its rich storytelling and characters: the heroic Autobots who seek to protect all life, and the evil Decepticons who seek to conquer the universe. The TRANSFORMERS brand is a Hasbro franchise.

About Hasbro

Hasbro is a toy and game company whose mission is to entertain and connect generations of fans through the wonder of storytelling and exhilaration of play. Hasbro delivers engaging brand experiences for global audiences through toys, consumer products, gaming and entertainment, with a portfolio of iconic brands including MAGIC: THE GATHERING, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, Hasbro Gaming, NERF, TRANSFORMERS, PLAY-DOH and PEPPA PIG, as well as premier partner brands.

Hasbro is guided by our Purpose to create joy and community for all people around the world, one game, one toy, one story at a time. For more than a decade, Hasbro has been consistently recognized for its corporate citizenship, including being named one of the 100 Best Corporate Citizens by 3BL Media, one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies by Ethisphere Institute and one of the 50 Most Community-Minded Companies in the U.S. by the Civic 50. For more information, visit https://corporate.hasbro.com. 

About Disguise Inc.

Since 1987, Disguise has been a global leader in the dress up and roleplay industry creating innovative and trend setting costumes and accessories. Based in San Diego, Disguise produces costumes and accessories under many of the world’s leading licensed brands, as well as its own proprietary brands for the world’s largest retailers including specialty, party and pop-up stores. Disguise designs and manufactures millions of costumes each year bringing smiles and creating memories for kids and adults alike.  To see Disguise’s extensive licensed dress up collection, please visit www.disguise.com and follow us on Instagram (@disguise.costumes), Twitter (@DisguiseInc) and Facebook (Disguise Costumes).

Thanks to our friends at Rogers & Cowan for providing Zone Base readers with this cool news!

Spooky Summer~ In the Sewer

Summer is a Spooky Season.

Freezer (Studio Series/Core Class)

Freezer is a pleasant surprise in the Rise of the Beasts cast. Like others, I was initially happy with the return of another bot similar to Frenzy from 2007. However thanks to the onslaught of trailers, I learned that Freezer is more of a generic Terrorcon soldier. As of this writing, I haven't seen the movie yet (but will have by the time you've read it). So, I can't help but to compare these movie Terrorcons with the ones from Energon. Despite the confusing name reuse, I was really fond of those and and happy to see them return even if the Unicron Trilogy similarities are coincidence. 

Freezer is from the Studio Series expression of ROTB toys and is a Core Class. You've probably noticed his (speaking generally) funky insect like appearance. It makes me think of Frenzy from the 2007 movie (I loved him). I think having the visual connection between that first movie and this one is neat. The more traditional bots seemingly blend well with the Bay style robots pretty well. The look also gives me Xenomorph vibes and I love Aliens. This toy is causing a lot of mental comparisons and I like that. It's fun. Freezer is very articulated for a toy his size. His multiple arms and chicken legs can be put in multiple poses.

This is a benefit from a rather neat alt mode. Freezer can turn into a gun for larger robots to use, and a self standing cannon type weapon.That cannon can attach to Studio Series Scourge. I don't have a Scourge at the moment, but it can. That's freaking neat. Freezer isn't technically a Battle Master, but here I am hoping a Battle Master version is released. Freezer is super cool. He's a neat looking little guy that draws a million mental comparisons and a cool toy overall.

Shooting for a Good Week

Thanks for coming back for another week here on Planet Zone! Beast Summer is in full swing and I can see it's going well. I hope everyone had a great weekend, mine was certainly restful. In fact, I think I got more sleep in the past few days than the entire week before. Plenty of gaming was had. Specifically Run Saber for SNES, Cotton for Neo Geo Pocket, and Magical Chase for Turbograpx 16 were enjoyed. I guess sci fi action platformers and witchy cute em' ups were on the menu. Plenty of paranormal TV was watched as well as the debut episode of AEW Collision, a new Saturday night wrestling show from my preferred company.

The wrestling provided a great match for some school lunchroom style pizza from a local grocery store. Just right for a Saturday cheat meal. Sunday was Father's day and even though I don't have human children, apparently our furry ones got me a great suprise (according to the Mrs). A new lunchbox for work and some toys. Studio Series Battletrap and Cheetor from ROTB (which we all recently enjoyed) and some Bandai Ultimate Legends Demon Slayer figures. Tanjiro and Inosuke! I also ordered the new Battle Tribes drop. This drop is a great Micronauts themed set. I got the three new figures and am super pumped looking forward to their arrival. 

It's summer and you know what that means? CODE ORANGE! The past few weeks I've seen a lot of folks finding great early releases from their local At Home, Old Time Pottery, and Hobby Lobby. Myself I've seen some bleeding candles about two weeks ago, and some gargoyles last weekend after ROTB. I didn't look this weekend just to give the store some time. I did see plenty of folks on YouTube showing off theirs including some early Dollar Tree finds! My stores tend to really get in the mood around July so there's no point in getting to excited yet, but I am anyway. Halloween is almost here Zone Base readers and I've been at work preparing for the Pumpkin Spiced Mayhem starting in August. For all of you enjoying Beast Summer, don't worry I got your back. 2023 will be Beastly Halloween on Planet Zone! What's that mean? Well, you'll see. 

Thanks to all of you for continuing to read Zone Base. I know there's bigger and better sites out there. Your continued support means a lot to me. This is just a little fan blog, but in my mind it's all of us enjoying our hobbies together. I don't have any ads, affiliate links, or donation requests. I don't want your money. Your reading and support means the world. If there's anything I ask, if you could please share the posts with your friends. Help spread the word so more like minded folks can enjoy my nonsense. If you could, follow the new Facebook page. It's slowly getting started and I'd love to see it grow. Thanks again for reading, and let's have a great week!

Nightbird (Jungle Mission 3 pack)

Nightbird was a pretty pleasant surprise in the Jungle Mission 3 pack. Initially I wasn't concerned with her toy. She looked cool, but memories from Transformers fandom days of old kinda tainted her for me. However looking past all that nonsense, I really dig her new design for ROTB. She looks super cool, and honestly makes think of the original Shadow Striker with her colors. Considering that particular version of Shadow Striker's history, it's only ironic that a new Nightbird would look so much like her. With that considered, it's funny that it's all due to a Beast Wars flavored movie. All that aside... this is a great figure.

One thing I really like about these ROTB mainline figures is how they are traditional Transformers through and through. They tie into a new TF movie, but could be from a cartoon. These just feel like how a Transformer should feel. Speaking of feelings, I feel like Hasbro is going back to the 2007 book with ROTB. Clearly trying to build on the franchise like in 2007. I haven't seen the movie yet as of this writing (but will have by the time you read this), hopefully all these good vibes don't go to waste.

Back to Nightbird, I like this toy a lot. I'm saying that about everything regarding ROTB and that's a good thing. I'm not paid off like some others, this is my honest opinion. This is wholeheartedly genuine. Nightbird is freaking cool. She turns into a sports car that looks really great. There's a bit of the 'get everything exactly right for no apparent reason' in the transformation complaint I've been having recently. That's something I'm going to have to learn to live with. A cool feature in vehicle mode is her spoiler. Which is Nightbird's weapons in robot mode. The connector pieces make a cool wrist mounted claw weapon, while the fin is a neat sword. The car kibble gives a cool winged appearance to the robot mode that according to various commercials, isn't just for show. 

Nightbird is pleasantly articulated and I just don't have really anything bad to say about this toy. If anything that transformation gripe is a slight annoyance and I'm not super fond of her feet. Their bird like. It matches with the overall design... I'd just like them a little more substantial. Really surprised that I liked Nightbird so much. I wanted the set for Wheeljack and Cheetor mostly, so this is an all around win. I'd absolutely like more toys like this in the future.

Bios: Wheeljack

Function - Mechanical Engineer

Wheeljack is a genius at combining throw-away objects into incredibly effective weapons. He is also a spectacular driver who never passes up a chance to show off his high-speed prowess. Arsenal includes a magnetic inducer sheel, gyro inhibitor and an ever-changing array of new gadgets.

 "Never do what your enemy expects you to do."

 

 

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Spooky Summer~ Breakfast

Summer is a Spooky Season.

Cheetor (Beast Battle Masters)

Like the prior Beast Battle Masters I've talked about here, Cheetor has a beast main form and a weapon alt mode. I really do love a good partner figure, so I'm enjoying the crap out of these. Like prior uses, I do wish these were new characters... but whatever. I like to think Cheetor here is an updated Catgut, even if his weapon mode is different. Speaking of that, Cheetor's weapon mode is some sort of large claw weapon. I'm not sure of it's a melee weapon, or perhaps some sort of electric trident type gun.

He's fairly articulated in cheetah mode, not super articulated, but the basic parts move. If there's anything to point out, it's that his main body is gray as opposed to a matching yellow. I understand he's likely group molded with another toy to save production costs, but the consumer doesn't save anything when they do that, so it just looks cheap. Cheetor is pretty great, just a bit weird.

Rise of the Beasts

I tend to see movies on opening weekend as opposed to opening day. I specifically perfer to see them on Sunday mornings to avoid a big crowd. That being said... I just saw Rise of the Beasts and boy are my arms tired... wait. So anyway, I'm here to talk about this movie today! Since this isn't a clickbait news site, there'll be no intentional spoilers. However I will be talking about some of my views of the movie, so there will likely be some. With that in mind, if your reading this on the main page, please continue after the break if you'd like. If you followed a link, fair warning.

MAYBE SPOILERS BELOW

Wheeljack (Jungle Mission 3 pack)

Wheeljack has been the subject of much controversy in the Transformers fan world lately. Mostly because he doesn't traditionally look like Wheeljack. Normally that's not much of a surprise with movie designs, it's just that he looked so perfect last time. However, all that aside... I like the design.With his suspenders and big glasses, he looks like Steve Urkel. Someone I'd associate with gadgets. With Wheeljack's TV repair van alt mode, it works. I've always associated Wheeljack with that guy who's always making something in his garage. Every neighborhood has one. The local Doc Brown type who drives around a motorcycle made from a lawn mower engine duck taped to an old bicycle. That's Wheeljack to me, and this fits. So, I'm ok with it. 

This toy comes from the Jungle Mission 3 pack that's exclusive to Target stores in the states under the Buzzworthy Bumblebee line. As part of the mainline Rise of the Beasts toy line that is separate from the Studio Series in a move that feel at this point serves only to confuse the average consumer. Yes, the movie is a big deal this summer... but there's multiple versions of the same guy on the shelves and in some instances at the same price class. Studio Series is meant to be a fancier, more pretty toy line for collectors... but ultimately it's another version of the same guy in the same area at Target. I understand capitalizing on the movie hype, but I can't help to feel like it's bordering on potential saturation.

Not to mention, so far, the mainline has been cooler toys. At this point, I don't feel like the Studio Series version of this Wheeljack can compete. This is a great figure. Fortunately it's exclusive to a retailer in a kinda expensive boxed set. I got mine on sale for 50$, which was a good deal considering deluxe figures cost around $22 and you get three in the box. The set is normally around $70. While that still works out to be the cost of three with tax... it's a big upfront cost when economic times are tough. Stretching buying the 3 out individually would be a lot easier for most, or buying it on sale like I did. I could have bought it full retail, but it just felt irresponsible. Come on companies, do better.

The toy itself is pretty great. I REALLY like it. In robot mode Wheeljack is stocky and pleasantly sturdy. He turns into a van, you'd expect that. He's a nerd that can kick your ass. Wheeljack has a laser rifle that I think looks great. He turns into this kinda clunky old van and then whips out a neato space laser gun. It's a nice clashing of styles. Kinda like classic Star Wars, everything is run down and busted except for the guns. Considering how many battles the get into a day... I kinda understand. Wheeljack is also very pleasantly articulated. I'm sure others will point out he doesn't have some point of articulation he doesn't have (his pant's don't crease or something), but it never felt lacking too me. 

Transformation is fairly easy. I say fairly because there's a few spots you'll have to get everything just right or it won't all fit together. That's a regular sticking point in modern Transformers I've noticed. I'm not an engineer, but my theory is somewhere between the CAD model design and probably a rushed production schedule, a looking over is missed and that's a shame. It just feels like a little extra QC could go a long way. I'm not even the type to complain about big companies, so when I take the point in doing so... it's obviously hitting the unacceptable level. I feel like I'm complaining a lot here, which I don't want to do because as I've said, I really like this figure. When the only negative thing you can say about a toy has nothing to do with the actual toy. I love Hasbro's products, but the company themselves... *sigh*

I really like Wheeljack's colors. The white and copper look great. It looks used and a little faded. The only thing that would have been more perfect would be a fender painted only in primer and a few repaired spots. Work vehicles take a beating and Wheeljack seems to be the type that would use a lot of Bondo. I really dig this toy. I know my complaints about the business end have taken a lot of space in this post but that's literally the only negative thing to say. I wasn't looking for anything negative to say either, it's just unavoidable. Hell, the big complaint is that his design was changed and that too is at the corporate level. Dammit companies, get your shit together.

Bios: Prowl

Function - Military Strategist

Prowl is a strategic genius. His logic center is the most sophisticated in the Autobot army, capable of analyzing complex combat situations and making strategic decisions almost instantaneously. Unexpected events, however, have been known to scramble his circuit. Launches powerful wire-guided missiles and high corrosive-acid pellets.

"Logic is the ultimate weapon"

 

 

 

 

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Spooky Summer~ This is Special Time

Summer is a Spooky Season

Skullcruncher (Beast Battle Masters)

Adding some variety to the Rise of the Beasts toys in the aisle is Skullcruncher. This particular toy of Skullcruncher is a Beast Battle Master and turns into a cannon looking gun. If you take issue with the name reuses of Skullcruncher in this toy, the designed has said it was inspired by Gatoraider. I like to think that's who he's supposed to be.

However, as a fan of partner figures like this... I'm not really nit picking the name. I'm really enamored by the idea of an crocodile that turns into a gun. That's all sorts of neat. I like to think of a cartoon episode where Skullcruncher is used and shoots some swamp gas powered attack. If you have one of those blast effect thingies around, it can plug into the barrel of the cannon looking gun. Like other toys in this line, the gun can be held by most other figures or plugged into the ports present on some.

Neatly enough, the handle is also compatible with Armada style power link ports... which I noticed some on my Voyager Rhinox figure (more on him later). Skullcruncher is absolutely charming. His little gator mouth can open to bite your ass before turning into a gun and shooting it.

I heard it through the Weekend

It's another Monday here on Planet Zone and frankly I didn't do much at all this weekend. I pretty much spent it at home getting some rest and doing things around the house. The Transformers channel was playing G1 all weekend and it was on in the background while I did various things like assemble new yard furniture and play old video games on my Q90. I did download Decarnation on my Switch. I had been looking forward to it for a few weeks after learning about it on Instagram. While it isn't the game I thought I was getting, it is pretty interesting. I see the first week of Beast Summer has been a hit. We're just getting started and I've got a fun time planned. Remember, just because it's Beast Summer doesn't mean it's beast warriors only. However they're obviously getting a starring role. Beastbox and others will be making a showing too! Thank you for supporting Zone Base. All I ask from my readers is too share my posts with others. We're all enjoying our hobbies together and that means the more the merrier!

Rhinox (Beast Alliance/Battle Changers)

We're back with another Rhinox toy this week and a pretty good one at that. Since I've spent a little time talking about the Bumblebee and Optimus Prime from the Battle Changers size class, I'm assuming you know my mind set on these going forward. Rhinox is the better of the three currently available in this wave. Thanks to his transformation, there's some additional knee articulation. That's a nice touch. There is some hollowness a discount priced Transformer is bound to have. You know, I'm mentally placing Battle Changers as a middle ground between an up scaled Legion/Legend class to and a Authentics figure. They're fun little toys for not a lot of money. I'm hoping for some crazy repaints.

Rhinox looks as he should, though noticeably darker because movie. I don't mind it at all though, it reminds by his Armada toy a little with these colors and reliance on gimmicks. That's not a bad comparison, to me anyway. I loved Armada and that Transmetal mold. Speaking of Transmetal... that's what these movie versions of the beast warriors make me think. There's a strong bio organic theme going on and Rhinox is a good example of it. Even in this more simple figure, you can really see it. I was always a fan of the Transmetal look and it's a good aesthetic for live action designs. Rhinox is a mixture of gray and silver with a little gold and green in robot mode. It's a simple color scheme, but it works well. If you're into customizing, he's a pretty good blank canvas.

Transformation is pretty easy and both modes are fairly simple. Like the other Battle Changers, Rhinox has a flip out weapon. Though his completely replaces a hand... awkward. However it spins! His trademark chain-gun of doom is represented here decently enough. If you pair it with his Battle Master version then there's so many chain-guns of doom! Ok... just two, but that's still a lot of doom. You could even plug another into his arms via ports! This is a pretty cool little figure. You may disagree and that's cool. Me though, I like it. Sure, the price is what I paid for the Transmetal Rhinox I bought 20 something years ago but... dang, that's a sticking point isn't it? Who can we blame? Inflation? Corporate greed? Dick Van Dyke? Yeah... fuck that guy.

Bios- Silverstreak

 Function - Gunner

Always on overdrive, Silverstreak is an incessant talker whose sharp humor can lighten tense situations. Formidable weapons and incendiary speed make him an impressive adversary, although the memory of his home-city's destruction has left him with a lasting distaste for war. Equipped with long-range bombing capability and 80,000 volt attack beam.

"I never met a Decepticon I didn't dislike."

 

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