Sky-Byte [Cyberworld/Cyber Changers]

One of the most exciting figures in the first wave of Cyber Changers is Sky-Byte. Sky-Byte has been a fan favorite character since his introduction in Transformers Car Robots/ Transformers Robots in Disguise. He's a lovable bad guy who writes haiku's and sings little songs whilst getting into mischief. While he hasn't appeared yet in the Cyberworld cartoon (as of this writing), one can only hope this incarnation will retain some of the originals charm.

Seeing as his alt mode is a reference to the episode 'Skid Z's Choice', one can only hope we'll have some poetry being recited while he's participating in some weird challenge. In the episode mentioned, Sky-Byte participates in a race by giving himself car parts. That leaves us with a silly shark car that this new toy transforms into. In robot mode Sky-Byte is the standard Cyberworld figure we discussed earlier this week with Optimus Prime. However, despite that uniformity... he's different. Turning into a sharkcar means his robot mode is pretty beastly. He's normally a Predacon and a bit of a Beast Wars remnant. His original toy, like the majority of the Predacons in Robots in Disguise, was a repaint of a prior Beast Wars toy.

Those beasty designs stuck with all his other incarnations since then. Thanks to the Cyberworld style, there's a Machine Robo flavor to this toy. It's probably unintentional, and maybe just my own take... but he feels like a Devil Invader in so many ways. It's cool. One thing I didn't mention in the Optimus post, these bots have a standard 5mm hole in their hands for holding weapons. Obviously that's great for the Armored Cyber Changers, but give me the hope that something like BattleMasters is on the way. After all, why do bots that don't include weapons have to possibility of holding them? They're unified in design for a reason. Sky-Byte's left hand is his signature claw made from the sharks rear fin. Be careful, this is a separate piece that you have to plug in, it can get lost by accident.

Transformation to sharkcar... damn I love saying that. Sharkcar, sharkcar, sharkcar. *ahem* Transformation to sharkcar (sqweee!) is pretty simple and makes me compare him to a Gobot again. The way he folds in half is very similar to many of those Machine Robo transformation schemes. Not to mention, something like a sharkcar (yay) is so Monster Gobot. Sharkcar (teehee) is a pleasantly satisfying mode. The wheels are nicely large, so you feel like he could easily roll over most obstacles. It's just the right size for such a toy too, just big enough to hold and push around your desk.

Really, this is a great example of how fun Cyberworld looks to be. A solid little Transformers toy that so full of fun that the limited articulation and paint aps are hardly noticeable. Sky-Byte fortunately doesn't have as much of the visible hollowness as Optimus did. It's there, but easy to ignore. I forgot to mention, his claw can be mounted on the sharks head in vehicle mode. Why? I don't know, but there sure is another 5mm port there than could hold a Battlemaster. Maybe something like that is on the way. I keep saying fun in reference to Transformers Cyberworld and Sky-Byte is an ambassador of the brand in that context. He's the greatest shark in town after all.

Yeongdeok

Summer is a Spooky Season.

But now it is time for The Spooky Season.

Optimus Prime [Cyberworld/Cyber Changers]

 

Being the main character of Transformers, you knew there'd be an Optimus Prime toy or two hundred in Cyberworld. Today we'll be looking at his Cyber Changer wave 1 figure. Cyber Changers are the basic figures from Transformers Cyberworld. They're the standard size for the line, with Armored Cyber Changers being the next up with larger bots (like Grimlock) coming in at random. Armored Cyber Changers are the same as regular Cyber Changers, but come with a large accessory.

Cyberworld Transformers have a unifying size to make them all compatible with the larger figures whom they can interact with. Think of them like Micronauts/Microman, GIJOE, Transformers Cyberverse (2011). It's pretty neat. The figures are 4" tall and feature basic articulation standard. Shoulders, legs, hips, knees. Heads look to be variable depending on the design. I've been comparing them to up sized Legend/Legion class toys, but those didn't have a universal compatibility like these.

They're a lower priced line than Generations or any of the other collector focused lines, so they're not going to be as fancy as a Masterpiece. However, for a cheap little bot they're pretty neat. What's so neat about them (other than small and inexpensive toy) is they feature some really creative designs. Optimus, for example, has had a million different toys... and this basic little guy manages to be unique. I mean, look at him... there's no mistaking this is Optimus Prime, and yet he's still unique looking. In robot mode, Optimus is big and strong looking with a newer take on his classic look.

Despite being a smaller toy, he has a satisfying amount of chonk that just looks right. Optimus is often designed as muscle bound, but it's pretty well established here. This Optimus will slap the shit outta Megatron, sending him running home crying to his Mega Mamma. Dad isn't going to do anything either, I mean.. you see that guy? He's swole AF. Transformation to truck mode is simple (it's a vibe) and a little different that you'd expect. His arms form the under chassis of the truck instead of the back of the cab. This leads to his smokestacks forming front mounted guns similar to his Transformers One design.

One thing that really stood out to was that his head fits much lower into the cab than I'm used too. The plate behind his head is actually the trucks front grill. I found that neat, and considering how rare it is that I find transformations anything more than utilitarian... that's saying something. I find the truck pretty cool looking and once again a unique take on his classic design.

Of course there's no ignoring the hollow parts exposing a simple toys limitations. A toy like this is going to have visible hollow parts and they are out in plain view in truck mode. There's possibly a trailer version coming that would hide a lot of it, but for now it is what it is.Maybe you can stick some candy in the back, make the most of it. Regardless this is a pretty neat little figure for now a lot of money (I paid $9 at Walmart). Robot mode is pretty good, but the truck mode exposes the limitations due to budget constraints. The hollowness is unavoidable and that grill could use a little paint. Still, I like it. Mostly for the robot mode, that's pretty neat looking.

New Week 2000

Hello Zone Base readers! Welcome back for another week of robots, monsters, and misadventure! I hope everyone had a great weekend, I sure did! I enjoyed a low key weekend with the Mrs, enjoyed her great cooking, watched Stranger Things with her and Mom, worked on more Halloween backdrops for toy pics here on the site, and played Donkey Kong Bananza! Once again my Walmart didn't have any new toys, but I ordered Cyberworld Bumblebee and Snarl! Bumblebee will be here later this week, but Snarl won't arrive until a little later. I have no clue why he's the harder of the initial batch of Cyberworld toys to get, but I happily got one for standard retail.

My most recent Blokees order came in Sunday and the Mrs and I had fun opening the boxes and checking the trading card to see who as inside! I've got 2 cases of Galaxy Version Defender kits to start work on soon. I'll probably order another soon as well, I really love the Defender type kits and feel like they're perfect for site content. In a conversation on Blokees Facebook page, another poster suggested they do Battle Beasts in the Defender range. What a great idea! Part of me majorly prefers things like Blokees and Yolopark kits these days to traditional Transformers toys. I spent years of my youth painting miniatures and building models and Zoids. I guess these just vibe with that part of my brain. 

Speaking of vibing with my brain, both SCCC and Wonderfest Summer was this weekend. I definitely enjoyed the new toy reveals at SDCC. Transformers, Masters of The Universe, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Godzilla, and others made a great showing with tons of exciting new releases in store. While I appreciate that, I won't lie, it feels like another official reveal like these companies do all year. It's exciting, for sure, but what really gets my heart going is the pictures from Wonderfest. I spent hours this weekend looking them over and wishing I were there. 

Well, I've got a fun week in store for you all. This is the prelude before Pumpkin Spiced Mayhem starts next week! I'm so excited that I swapped the site over to fall colors last week! It's good to freshen things up occasionally and with the 100+ degree heat I'm having...  the cooler temperatures of fall feels forever away. It's about to get extra spooky around Planet Zone for the next 3 months and I'm excited! Well, thank you all for reading Zone Base. Your support means so very much to me. This isn't one of those corporate sites that just want your money and you all are real ones for just wanting to enjoy our hobbies. Please be sure to share the site with your friends and Mutual High Fives everyone!

Tigerhawk [Legacy United/Leader Class]

My love for Beast Wars is probably pretty well known. Earlier today (as I'm writing this), I was watching Beast Wars on the Transformers channel as I often do. It inspired me to talk about today's toy that I haven't covered on the site yet. This Legacy version Tigerhawk was a Christmas gift from the Mrs. last year and a most welcome one at that. The original is one of my 'best of all time' Transformers and something I hold in high regard.

Tigerhawk was created when the Vok merged Tigatron and Airrazor together creating a singular being. With that in mind, the designers used the more recent Kingdom  Tigatron and Airrazor molds for parts to use on this toy. That was both a fun bit of synergy and a good way to keep costs down. This time around, Tigerhawk is very show accurate in a way I wasn't prepared to appreciate.

Original Beast Wars Transformers were pretty thick and chunky as was pretty standard for robot toys at the time. Of course those looks were often streamlined on TV, and it was just something I was used too. This new Tigerhawk has the show models look down really well, and it's impressive. Of course I'm accustomed to the chonk, so it's weirdly different... but I'm very happy that the show model is so right on. I like having my original toys and show models represented well. There's no beating that original toy to me, so the new figure being the show model is a perfect solution!

They even nailed the proper purples and copper Mainframe used. In robot mode, he looks great and is nicely articulated. The feather missiles no longer fire, but can be held in hand. The same is of those wing mounted cannons. The chain gun ends are still present, but they flip around manually to reveal static cannons. Those cannons can be removed and held as well. They even combine to form a larger gun! The wrist mounted blaster is now an removable piece that can be placed elsewhere also. Tigerhawk was always heavily armed, but feels even more so now.

Transformation is similar to the original, but has it's differences. I had a little difficulty getting the chest to close correctly. It fits around the cockpit a certain way and it's all got to be in place just right to work. After a little finagling, it finally worked. The wings have a wide range of movement and can fold forward in attack mode as the original. Being show accurate, the battle mode helmet is gone as is the hidden tank mode. The cockpit is on Tigerhawk's robot shoulder, but hidden in beast mode like in the show.

Cockpit?

Yes, Tigerhawk originally was one of the Beast Wars toys designed with a Spark Figure cockpit. The gimmick was dropped, but those cockpits remained on the figures. Here it's just for show, but I'm glad it's there. This is a really cool toy and a great update of a classic. I'm very appreciative of it's show model accuracy and enjoy the differences from the original. That original may be an all time classic, but chasing down those missiles when accidentally fired was a nightmare. Like the original, this feels like something special I own. It's not just a toy, but a representation of a cherished character from a special time in my life.

Conjured

Summer is a Spooky Season.

Soundwave [Studio Series/Deluxe Class]

Prior to the Bumblebee movie, Dark of the Moon was my favorite of the Transformers live action movies. So various Studio Series releases of the characters from that film tend to catch my eye. The Mrs. probably didn't know that when she picked up this Soundwave for me as a Christmas gift last year. It was originally released in 2019 with a Target Exclusive reissue last year.

I had completely missed out on it's initial release and the universe just made it happen. Neat! Soundwave was pretty cool looking in all his movie appearances, but his DOTM look was really slick. He changes into a licensed Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, which is a really expensive car. According to Google, in 2011 (when the movie was released) it cost from $169,800 to $275,000. I hope nobody scratched it during filming. 

Yikes.

This is a very well done representation of Soundwave from DOTM, looking like he just walked off the screen and very sleek. He comes with a tiny Laserbeak whom can perch on his arm or top of the car. In robot mode, Soundwave is very articulated and can be put into all sorts of poses. Like all the Bay era film designs, there are a lot of sharp points and edges. These are present... but cast in a softer plastic for safety reasons. He is very well sculpted and there is a lot of detail. More than you'd expect for a standard retail figure. I guess Mercedes had requirements for their licensees.

Transformation is the standard car mode layout you can expect, but man it is a tight fit. There's hardly any wiggle room getting everything into place and that can be frustrating. You might notice in the pics mine doesn't look completely connected in car mode. That's because it isn't, I have no clue what black magic it takes to get everything to align properly, but I gave up after taking too long trying to get everything into place. His robot mode hips are between the forearms in car mode and that tight fit meant something was clearly off just a touch right there and I could not figure it out. Even with some gaps in the panels, that is one sleek looking vehicle. Thanks to various pictures online, I don't have to imagine just how sleeker it is without those hips causing a problem. Despite the frustration, I really enjoy this figure. Studio Series is supposed to be the higher quality representation of the on screen characters and it's shows here.

Scrambled New Week

Hello Zone Base readers, thank you all for coming back for another week of robots, monsters, and misadventure! I hope everyone had a great weekend, mine sure felt like a holiday break. Saturday the Mrs and did our weekend shopping which included a visit to At Home to look at whatever new Halloween stuff they had stocked. There was quite a bit with room for more to come! It's quite exhilarating and even refreshing to see it out in the middle of summer. Here in the American South, it gets very hot in the summer. We'll be having 100 degree days from now until September, so a reminder that fall is coming is nice. We picked up a few items and a little more at TJ Max whom also starts early. We had a delivery from Target who begins their Halloween stocking online in summer. This would be our second shipment this summer and they're looking to have a great selection this year. The neon colors are returning alongside their trademark cozy offerings. Of course Lewis has more cool merchandise as well. We're fans of him in our household and can't get enough! 

We picked up Donkey Kong Bananza Saturday as well. What a great game. Action platformer games are my favorite video games to play and this is one for the record books. It's open world with a ton of collectibles to search for with a great setting and story. Add in tight controls and pure fun. It's just so much fun! You can literally spend hours not doing anything important and still feel satisfied with doing so! Walmart didn't have any new toys still, which is getting pretty frustrating. I have a few more Turtles of Grayskull figures to get and it'd be great to find new Transformers on shelves. I love Transformers One, but seeing the same stock for a year now is exhausting. Fortunately my Cyberworld order came in during the week and another Blokees order was made this weekend.

Cyberworld is providing to be a great line that's going to be fun to cover here on the site. While I talked about Grimlock in June, it's going to be great to show the main figures. So far I have Optimus Prime, Megatron, Skybite, and Galvatron. Bumblebee and Snarl have been tricky to find at the moment, though I'm sure will be easier in the coming days as stores stock the toys. They're online at some retailers for a much higher price than Walmart and Amazon. Of course sites with related ads won't tell you that! These figures are essentially sized up Legends/Legion class figures with the higher priced ones coming with large weapons. Simplicity being their nature, you shouldn't pay too much. Don't let the basics fool you though, they're a lot of fun. My look at them will start next week, remember, I'm generally a week or two ahead on scheduling content.

After some sleep Saturday afternoon, I woke up that evening (at that point I'd been awake for 24 hours) to enjoy some good food and TV with the Mrs. She made me french bread pizza which was great! It's worth nothing the entirety of my food Saturday was some sort of pizza breads. Lunch was pizza bites from Wetzel's Pretzels and a boba. Dinner later that evening was some delicious home made french bread pizza. The Mrs feel asleep on the couch, in which I enjoyed some videos on YouTube before the power suddenly shutting off. We had a blackout! Fortunately the Switch 2 had a full charge to entertain in portable mode untill the power came back on. Well that and a nice nap. When the power came back with some much appreciated air conditioning (it's still at least 80 degrees at night) the Mrs went back to sleep while I watched those videos. I spent most of the night enjoying the Retro Kids channel. His content includes assembling and customizing vintage models kits mostly with other fun stuff as well. I greatly enjoyed one with trip to a recent model show in Japan. It sure was cool seeing all that mecha! Between his content and Donkey Kong... somehow I didn't get any more sleep after that blackout nap. It was dawn before I knew it and the magic of a Saturday that felt like a weekend upon itself was over. 

Sunday was spent with a wonderful breakfast made by the Mrs, more Donkey Kong, a nap around noon, and several episodes of Stranger Things with Mom ordering us dinner! I had some wonderful sushi and ice cream as we enjoyed the first half of season 3. Our rewatch of the series is chugging along and Mom is hooked even more than I realized. She literally called me after getting back home that evening to ask me about it! I then spent some time working on spooky backdrops for this years Halloween time content and... more Donkey Kong. It's really that good!

Well, I've got a fun week in store for you! Pumpkin Spiced Mayhem starts in 2 weeks and I've got my hands full getting everything in place. For those who haven't experienced a Zone Base Halloween yet, it's a mixture of Halloween and regular content with a little extra spooky flair! It's a ton of fun, a ton of posts, and a ton of Pumpkin Spiced Mayhem for 3 months. It's our Superbowl, our Wrestlemania, our big event of the year... without one cent asked from you readers. Zone Base is about having fun with our hobbies from the bottom of our heart, not your wallets. All I ask is that you share the site with your friends. Well, I'm going to enjoy the rest of this strawberry acai refresher before getting to work on some household chores. Thank you all for reading Zone Base. We have fun here and that we includes each and every one of you. Mutual High Fives everyone!

Megatronus The Fallen [Age of the Primes/Leader Class]

The Fallen is one of those characters that shows up in Transformers occasionally, but when he does, it means trouble. Megatronus is the Dark Warrior Prime who deals with entropy and destruction. While he originally fought against Unicron with the other Thirteen Primes, his eventual betrayal to them and joining sides with Unicron led to the name we all know him better as- The Fallen.

In addition to being big and imposing, he uses dark magic, has mystical abilities, and gravitational powers. He also carries the Requiem Blaster, Spark Fuser, an Energon Machete, and has additional weaponry mounted across his body. He doesn't understand the term overkill. This newest toy of Megatronus is heavily based on his appearance in War Within: The Dark Ages where he was introduced. His melee weaponry is mostly influenced from his various toys from Robots in Disguise 2015, which is probably my favorite version of him so it's nice to see a little of that flavor here. The barrel of the Requiem Blaster can also be used as a shoulder cannon, which is something I didn't do in the picture. It's worth nothing the Blaster can be held or forearm mounted as well.

If you've noticed the similarities in his arm cannon, or the particular way his face looks, or how similar his name sounds to another bot... there's good reason. He's the first Decepticon, his face is the inspiration for the Decepticon symbol, and the Megatron we all know named himself after Megatronus. It's probably an understatement at this point but, he's bad news. This is a cool looking toy of The Fallen and in robot mode. Big, chonky, and imposing. There's a lot of meaningful articulation and he looks great. The dark colors are highlighted by the yellow from his heat vents. That's actually UV reactive, so they'll glow a nice fiery color under a black light. You probably noticed that he's on fire... yeah... that's something he does. Included are come great flame effect pieces that bring that to life quite well and complete the look. The Spark Fuser and Energon Machete can be combined to form a spear. The melee weapons and blaster can store on the robots back in case he would rather punch someone. 

Unfortunately it's not all great, I did not care for the transformation. At all. It feels like Megatronus opens up to an almost flat shape and you wad up the edges into place. It's not a smooth transformation, parts are either too tight and can't go in easily or just don't stay put. Apparently some folks have issues with a tight thigh and inner thigh connection that cracks the plastic. I've seen various complaints online with his transformation, so it's not just me. I guess he's not just trouble fictionally. Tank mode looks fine, but mine would not stay together. There's places to store the spear and flames with the Requiem Blaster serving as the tank cannon. The tank doesn't look bad, it's just after all the trouble it's hard to appreciate. That's a bummer as I've really enjoyed the toy until then. Really though, The Fallen is a character you buy a toy for the cool looking robot. So as long as you keep him in that mode, you'll be happy.

Hedorah 2004 [Godzilla Collection/Blind Box]

Bandai's various blind box lines are pure love, especially when it comes to something like Godzilla and all his various cast mates. It's been awhile since I've seen this particular series at retail, maybe 2020. Fortunately, during a recent Popmart shopping trip with her friend, my wife found some and surprised me. I believe it's the same series as the ones I was buying in 2020, just in a different box. Luckily I pulled a monster that I couldn't find back then, Hedorah! Or as my wife calls it, that gross booger looking thing.

She's not wrong, the Smog Monster just looks like what it is... a pile of grossness. This figure represents it as it appeared in Godzilla Final Wars. I really liked that movie despite feeling exhausted after watching it each time. That's not a movie, it's a full throttle manic fever dream. Hedorah is about 3" tall with two points of articulation in the shoulders. It's very well painted and looks pretty close to screen accuracy. It's a simple blind box gatcha figue, but a pretty great one. Bandai just makes good stuff, you know.

B-127 [Studio Series/Deluxe Class]

It's a shame Transformers One didn't do as great in the theaters as it's been doing on streaming. Not only was it a great film, but it's got some great toys. I had been putting off getting the Studio Series B-127 for a little while now. Not because I didn't want to get one, but because there was always a lot of them at my stores. So I felt like I could take my time. That turned out to be a good idea as my local Target had him on sale for $12 (which is what a deluxe would have cost in 2012), which was the universe telling me to just buy the thing already. I'm glad I did, because not only was the price great, but the toy is pretty great too. That's the second time I've said something was great and great too. Sometimes you've just got to repeat yourself.

As you already know, this is the Studio Series version of B-127 from Transformers One. As a Studio Series figure, it's nicer than the Prime Changers one I talked about last year. Considering that was already a pretty good toy, nicer should say something. It's more detailed, more solid, more accessories, just better all the way around. Back in the day (and sometimes still today), you'd often see 'STD' and 'DX' on robot toys. It was there to clarify which one was the standard toy (STD) and which was the deluxe model (DX). Studio Series versions are pretty much the DX versions and I'm sure companies have thought twice about putting the term STD on a toy box. B-127 now has more accessories. Instead of just one hand blaster and knife hand attachment, there's two. He's also got a Tracker rifle, one of those generic guns I've been enjoying to talk about with the TF One Blokees. It's neat that he's got so many accessories, as most deluxe class Transformers only have one or two.

He transforms into his Cybertronian car pretty easily, though there is definitely some spots where everything has to be just right. There's just not much wiggle room for error. In car mode he looks as he should, like he did in the movie... which is the point of the figure and how it looks overall. I do like how the weapon storage in vehicle mode makes the car more heavy duty looking overall. It's small, but neat. I wonder who else they could make from this mold that would take advantage of that? I know that I make a lot of comparisons to Microman when talking about modern Transformers, but I feel like one is warranted here. This is another case of the family tree is very evident in the toys design.  I can honestly envision a Takara version using chromed colors (like they did with Transformers Animated) that would make the comparison even stronger. Out of the three B-127 toys I've talked about here, all have been winners. This one is definitely the most premium one of them so far... or should I say DX?

New Week Loading

A new week has started here on Zone Base and that means more robots, monsters, and misadventure! I hope everyone had a great weekend, I sure did! The Mrs and I did some weekly shopping which unfortunately did not result in any new toys, but I've got some Cyberworld toys ordered that we'll be talking about soon. Sunday, I did some toy room organizing and we enjoyed homemade pizza with Mom while watching more Stranger Things. We've rewatched all of Season 2 now and still chugging through. We tend to get 2-3 episodes in every Sunday, so I expect to be finished by the end of August. It's been a fun rewatch and Mom is hooked. Next weekend we're starting Season 3 (my favorite season) and I think some sushi is in order!

Now let's talk robots! Transformers Cyberworld premiered this weekend on YouTube and I really liked it. They're short episodes like Cyberverse was and have the same fun spirit. Long time readers may remember how much I enjoyed Cyberverse, so I'm hoping this will follow suit. The setting finds Optimus and company on a mysterious world that has them pitted against each other in games. The dialog is funny and it looks like a solid story is building to support the adventure. I'm here for it! As I told Chris online, it's premise is similar to a storyline I came up with for Machine Wars when I was younger, so it's exciting to see something similar as a cartoon. This isn't the first time something I've imagined for Transformers has become a reality, but it's neat everytime it's happened. Hooray for tulpas! I'll be talking about the toys soon. 

In other robot news, 52toys announced Sacred Firepower this weekend and I can't wait to get one. I've been patiently waiting for them to stock Sacred Robo on their US Amazon shop and now have another to wait for! Hopefully I'll be able to get the special versions that come with keshi pilots as they add a lot of fun. Both of these Robo toys are compatible with each other and you can swap parts to create something new. 52toys also showed off their new base units and they look great. Not only are they perfect for BeastBox toys, but inchman enthusiasts are loving them too. Playmates has been showing off their new Power Rangers toys and I'm looking forward to building that Megazord! It looks to be of a similar build to their Voltron line from years ago. I think the same design team possibly worked on it and that has me excited. Long time readers may also remember how much I enjoyed those. Here's hoping they do a Metal Force version as well!

Summerween is in full effect as more and more of my stores are stocking early Halloween fun. Even Five Below is sneaking out a little spooky season fun in summertime. Summer is fun, but having a little Halloween infused is better! The Mrs picked up some great spooky stuff Friday and while checking out the Summerween stuff at Walmart, I grabbed some multicolored skeletons. I always grab a few cheap skeletons each year and the bright colors are great! Dokuro Time Travelers?

Tfcon Canada and G-Fest took place this weekend and I couldn't attend, but greatly enjoyed what I could see online. Both looked like good times and teased some great items on the way. Wonderfest Summer will be soon and I definitely look forward to the pictures from that! I've seen some great previews of SplatterHouse figures and man I wish I could go! Well, I've got a great week in store for you all Zone Base readers. Thank you for supporting the site, I really appreciate it. I hope everyone has a great week and ask that you share the site with your friends. Mutual High Fives everyone!

Gamer Edition Ironhide [Studio Series/Voyager Class]

Along with the Age of the Primes deluxes I had been talking about, I had grabbed some Studio Series that I had meant to post about a little while back and just completely forgot about. Admittedly, I don't cover every toy I buy, but like to get a good range in. Gamer Edition Ironhide joins the other War for Cybertron figures in Studio Series. As you'd expect he's a repaint and retool of Ratchet, whose toy I liked a lot.

It's probably no surprise then that I'm fond of Ironhide as well, but we should get into the differences first. I do admit, this version makes me think of the Doomslayer (the newer incarnation of the Doom Guy) and that flavors my opinion some. You all know I love to play Doom. It's funny, the similarities to games like Gears of War was an early criticism of the War for Cybertron games within the Transformers fan base. I guess opinions may vary.

In robot mode, the obvious difference is in the colors and new head sculpt. There's also some other new parts that may not be as instantly recognizable. He's got new shoulders, chest, and a new EMP shotgun weapon. I didn't notices the shoulders at first, but they are indeed different. That feels like a little extra effort that could have probably been skipped, but... Whose going to complain about extra effort? Like Rathcet, Ironhide's right forearm can be removed to attach his gun to match the game appearances. He can also just hold it, which I'm more of a fan of. If you so choose to use the gimmick, the arm can store in his robot backpack as can the gun. The axe is the same as before and can be held by both hands. Ironhide looks pretty sharp in robot mode and is very well articulated wielding his weapons in any badass pose you'd want to put him in.

Transformation is my only complaint with this toy. While I don't remember any trouble with Ratchet, Ironhide gave me a little. Those new shoulders combined with some new vehicle mode back panels proved to be a little too fiddly for my liking. There is some panel forming which may not be everyone's cup of tea, but when done well, I generally don't take any issue. The new parts didn't seem to work as smooth as the existing parts did with Ratchet. Considering these parts are usually included at design time, I'm thinking it's possibly a symptom of mold usage. He transforms the same as Ratchet, it just didn't seem to fit into place as well. That was frustrating.

Once transformed, vehicle mode looks great! While I normally like Ratchet more than Ironhide, this Cybertronian Tactical vehicle seems like a better fit for Ironhide and it looks great in his colors. Like I mentioned above, there's new vehicle mode back panels that I honestly didn't notice initially like the shoulders. Once again, I'm not complaining about the extra effort that went into the toy even though they gave me a little trouble in the transform. Thanks to the new robot mode chest, the vehicles bumper is also slightly different. It's just a neat looking alt mode that looks even better in these colors. The EMP Shotgun can store on the backside, while the axe forms a cannon of sorts on the roof. If you didn't get those back panels just right, the axe won't connect right. Be sure everything clicks into place. Ironnhide looks great in both modes, and despite some annoyance during transformation, I really like this toy. It just looks awesome, you know?

Sentinel Prime [Galaxy Version 05-One]

We've reached the end of the Transformers One themed Blokees case with the most elaborate kit, Sentinel Prime! He's the perfect bot to end our look on this series with. If you're bummed that we've reached the end, don't worry, there's a Galaxy Version 05 volume 2 out with even more bots from the movie. I hope to get it soon, but for now let's look at this extremely amazing AMK kit.

Sentinel feels like a much more deluxe figure than the rest of the bots from this case. He's got extra parts and nicer paint. Let's talk about that paint for a second. The armor bits are nice metallic colors that really pop against the naturally flat colors of the robot parts. He's a regal one and wants you to know it.

The kit uses the new sturdier body as a base and it comes with the two sets of hands and base as you'd expect. Once the main body is assembled, there's some extra parts to put on. His wings most noticeably. Then there's the matching chest and knee ornamentation. I appreciate the double bladed sword as the standard release came with another weapon. I don't have the Studio Series toy yet, so having his movie weapon represented is nice. It's actually two swords that can be held separately if you choose. The wings pop into place with some little pegs and are decently articulated. He's very expressive, so I imagine many scenes from the movie could be replicated.

I'm very impressed with this one, everything just feels so extra. Transformers Blokees heads all assemble pretty much the same. There's the little eye color piece that the neck joint attaches to inside the head. The face piece connects through the eyes and the helmet is in two halves that fit over this. Sentinel does all this the same, but with his helmet being closed off at the bottom and not open... it just feels nicer. There's little peg holes in his forearms that you can attach those arm lasers from Death Tracker of you chose. That doesn't even need to be there and it is. It feels like the designers really chose this kit to show off a little and it certainly impressed me. Good job Blokees.

Orion Pax [Galaxy Version 05-One]

Talking about Transformers One toys over the past year has meant talking about Orion Pax a lot... and there's still several more toys I haven't even touched! That's to be expected when you've got the main character of a franchise. Of course Orion is the earlier form of Optimus Prime who gets talked about often too. Main characters, it's going to happen. Orion Pax was really likable in the movie and has had a good bit of good merchandise, but it's been mostly hybrids of him and Optimus Prime.

Model kits, like today's Blokees, have been the main source for direct representations of Orion. I really appreciate that. In this kit, Orion appears as he before receiving a Transformation Cog. The classic Optimus colors look good on just about anything. To be honest, Orion Pax from Transformers One kinda reminds me of Biotron/Robotman. That's probably just a coincidence, but also it's something I can't unsee.

Once again the Blokees style works excellently with the TF One designs and we've got a great little figure once the build is complete. The build is simple and satisfying. The newer style (no, I will not stop praising it) and Orion's design really form one solid toy. This is one of those times someone would think this was a normal action figure, not a model kit. With all the articulation and the standard set of hands, the kit is expressive enough to match several onscreen scenes. He's got the laser pistol and display stand. That's to be expected. This is a solid kit and a nice representation of Orion Pax as you see him in most of the movie. Series-05 really is great.

Monday Rises

Holy Start of the week Zone Base readers! It's Monday again and time for more robots, monsters, and misadventure! I hope you all had a great weekend, I sure did! I actually had a long weekend as Friday was the 4th of July and led to a 3 day weekend and a much needed break. I've enjoyed the 4th of July since childhood as it's always meant a cook out and shooting fireworks. Summer may be miserably hot here in the American South, but there's still fun to be had. We had a family cook out at my Mother's house. It was good to spend some time with my brother and shoot fireworks with him after some great food. On the way back home that evening, my entire neighborhood was in the streets shooting fireworks as well. It's fun anarchy that I love taking place in.

Saturday the Mrs and I did some weekly shopping which included a trip to the jewelry store to get her jewelry inspected as needed every 6 months for their lifetime warranty. While there, the Mrs did some shopping and I suprised her with a new piece from the jewelry store. It was our wedding anniversary week and I wanted to get her something special. I didn't find any new toys while out Saturday, but an early trip to Target Friday morning did result in some great deals! I got Studio Series B-127 finally, but on clearance for $12! Ironically that's what he would have cost in 2012! I also finally picked up the Grizzlor and Hordak 2 pack on clearance for $14! This is a cool MOTU Origins set based on concept art that looks quite different than the characters we're used to. I thankfully also found Megatronus from Age of the Primes. Unfortunately he was full priced... which is a little higher at Target now. 

Target also had a newer blind box Godzilla series featuring well sculpted mini figures of Godzilla and company in capsules that resembles buildings. It's a Bandai product, so you know it's quality! The chase figure is a glow in the dark Godzilla, so that gives me an excuse to buy more! I had gotten a Showa MechaGodzilla in mine and he needs someone to battle! While Walmart didn't have much of anything (other than leftover TF One stock), I'm anticipating Cyberworld to show up soon. It starting to appear in stores and the show debuts July 12th. I'm very excited for this series and can't wait to cover them here. It's a combination of Transformers legend/ legion class (in a bigger size) with the play patterns found in Microman and Action Masters. Super fun! 

The rest of the weekend was spent at home enjoying some rest and relaxation. The Mrs and I opened some Blokees that came in during the week, played Mario Kart World, and enjoyed a spaghetti dinner Sunday night. Mom came as usual and our rewatch of Stranger Things is going well. We're 3/4ths into season 2 and Mom is hooked! She literally can't wait to see it each week, while I'm happily enjoying one of my favorite shows. It'll be good to see the new season... and a little sad as it's the finale. Oh well, reportedly an animated series in the vein of The Real Ghostbusters is in production. I hope it's good.

That leads us to spooky season talk. Halloween is around the corner and Code Orange is not only in effect, but has developed into a new form this year. In  addition to Code Orange, many of us have used the term Summerween to describe the early Halloween shopping that takes place in summer. Well, apparently companies have taken that to heart and have made Summerween an offical mini celebration! All sorts of summer themed spooky fun is available with jack o' lanterns carved from fruit, ghosts wearing sunglasses, festive summer colored skulls, and more! It's super fun and another chapter to the spooky season that's became part of summer in addition to fall. Here at Zone Base, I take credit for that partially as our official Halloween Party starts in August, which is the hottest month of summer. While this corresponds with Obon, Hungry Ghost festival, and the spooky summer activities throughout the word- I also can't wait for my favorite time of the year!

Thankfully with Code Orange and now Summerween, it's the perfect time for Zone Base's annual Pumpkin Spiced Mayhem to run wild. We've got one hell of a Halloween in store this year. I've got a bunch of cool Halloween posts to place in between regular content (which also will be extra spooky) for the entire 3 months of Zone Base Halloween. I hope you all enjoy it as I love doing it! Well, that's still a little off, but we've got an awesome July in store! Thank you all for reading Zone Base. I've got a fun week in mind for you all. Please don't forget to share with your friends and Mutual High Fives everyone!

Constructicon Scrapper [Studio Series/Voyager Class]

The Constructicons are one of those eternally cool teams in Transformers. I don't know if it's because they were the first combiner team or what... but I love them too. Being the leader of the group, it's only appropriate that Scrapper be the first one of the new Studio Series 86 set to be released. He was among the group of toys I bought a while back that had been completely forgotten about and it's good to get around to them. I'm hoping to not have any trouble completing the set as there's just something special about Devastator.

Scrapper is a Voyager Class like the rest of the team (I think), though he's about the size of a Deluxe. The Voyager designation was due to the extra jointing in Combiner limb mode. So basically, Devastator will be extra poseable compared to other Combiners who tend to just stand there and maybe have a raised arm. Admittedly being charged more for extra joints feels a little fishy, especially thinking of old Beast Wars or Robots in Disguise 2001 toys that were much more articulated at a much lower cost. Times are different I guess... and a little poopy.

I often see some folks complaining that Generations toys (Studio Series is part of Generations too) are basically the G1 toys with more joints. That's a good thing in my eyes, so I don't see the problem. Not to mention, the same people with that complaint love Missing Link. Maybe they're just stupid. While Studio Series 86 is supposed to be more show accurate, that's not an issue with the Constructicons whose individual members were pretty toy accurate on the show. This toy is a happy middle ground of that as Scrapper manages to look both like his TV appearance and original toy. That's awesome, there's just something about those old blocky designs I love. With Scrapper you've got this well articulated chonky boi who looks like he did in the original Transformers movie. What's not to love? Scrapper comes with his laser pistol as well as Devastator's Solar Energy Beam Rifle. Devastator's gun can be broken up into two smaller guns that can be held by Scrapper. His pistol even fits into one. When you're using guns that big, might as well be flippant with a little flair.

Transformation to bulldozer mode is easy. Everything just goes into place without any fuss. This is one of those toys you can transform just by looking at it. Awesome. The two halves of the Solar Energy Rifle can attach to his sides in vehicle mode. The wings from Devastator's breastplate can fit on Scrappers sides as well if you want to recreate the look of the original toy. I always liked the way it looked when the combiner parts were connected to the alt modes back then. Scrapper is the only member of this set I have as of this writing, so I can't judge his combiner mode form at this time fairly. As a stand alone toy however, I really like him. Both modes are solid. He looks both like he did on TV and in original toy form. There's plenty of articulation and so much satisfying chonky robot fun. Scrapper, you're alright.

Hound [Galaxy Version 05-One]

I've made my fondness for Hound known here before (I've got a lot of soft spots for a lot of characters), so you can imagine my pleasure in seeing his inclusion in this Blokees wave. Transformers One had a large cast of background characters that featured many bots from the 40 years of the franchise. Being an original cast member, of course Hound was there. A minor role as one of the miners (there's no avoiding that pun), he was mainly in the background. But here was there!

Representing his Cog-less form, he looks great as a Blokees. True, we're talking about a basic looking robot... but that signature Blokees style works well with it. Not to mention, Army green just looks great. I wish they'd use it more often. There's a lot of small details in Hound that I really appreciate. I initially assumed he'd be a recolor of Ironhide, but no, there's various sculpted details and details added in with tampos. For a simple bot, he looks sharp.

Of course he's pretty sturdy being the new Blokees build, though his shoulder pads didn't want to stay in place. I've had that trouble with the older style kits before, but this is the first time with the new ones. Not a big deal, but disappointing. Might just be a random instance from the factory. He's got the standard set of open and closed hands and base. Like the others from this set, Hound has one of the generic guns used during the Miners uprising. Like I've said, I kinda like these generic guns. With Hound, however, I wish it could mount to his shoulder as it's similar looking to his original toys rocket launcher. I'm of course smitten with anything Blokees and Transformers One, so of course I'm happy with a character like Hound getting a kit. He looks great and these are just all around good little models. Nice things are nice.

Megatron Type Godzilla [Synergenex]

Megatron, hungry for power has scanned the DNA from Godzilla's scales. Now he has an all new powerful form powered by Godzilla's energy and strength! The Emperor of Destruction can now turn into The King of the Monsters! Takara Tomy's T-Spark Synergenex project has been creating some really cool crossover toys, but I don't think nothing has been as cool as a Godzilla! This collab brings us a Godzilla version of Megatron with a MechaGodzilla version of Optimus Prime (whom hasn't been released yet) set in the Millennium era.

Specifically the setting from Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla and Tokyo S.O.S. Which has been perfect for past collaborations and one of my favorites. You've probably noticed that Megatron uses the Studio Series 86 Grimlock figure as a base. I've seen some complaints online regarding this, but personally don't mind. I've gotten several versions of this mold because I like it. Could they have done more? Maybe, but I'm happy with what they did. Not to mention, similarities to Grimlock and Godzilla have been made since Dinosaur Robo Tyrannosaurus. 

Megatron is a Leader Class figure, thus larger than your standard Transformers toy. This is obviously fitting all things considered. It's also a nice hefty and chunky robot, which is super satisfying and fits the character well. His chest for example, with a little clever paint, actually evokes the look of classic Megatron. I really like the little Godzilla Transformers plaque dead center in his chest. A neat touch is the new head, the sculpt originated for Sludge. Thanks to some creative painting, it looks a lot like Megatron with some scale like ornamentation. A nice little touch is that his face is painted a different gray than the silver of his helmet. It may not be immediately noticeable, but looks pretty nice and provides some depth in a mostly same colored head. Megatron has a silver repaint of Grimlock's blaster that looks nice against the Godzilla green. There's a lot of good color contrast.

Transformation to beast mode is pretty easy and fairly similar to the original Grimlock toy. This was something that stood out to me the first time I transformed the Studio Series 86 Grimlock. They really improved on the original. Considering so many toys these days have what feels like unnecessary steps in the transformation, an updated version of the original just works so well. There's something to be said for that.

Once transformed into beast mode, you've got Godzilla! Godzilla mode is clearly Grimlock in a new coat of paint, but it works pretty well. The Godzilla green carries over from robot mode and there's even more scale detail added that really looks great. Some of the translucent bit from his neck has been colored blue to represent him powering up his Atomic Breath. There's no spines sadly, but this little touch conveys it well and breaks up the green nicely. The gun can store on his back and there's some blue effect pieces that connect inside of Godzilla's mouth for that trademark fiery blast!

I'm admittedly on a high with this toy and cannot fairly find any fault with it. A Godzilla and Transformers crossover is a dream come true. I'm really impressed by the creativity used to turn one figure into the cool concept of Megatron modeling himself after Godzilla. The original mold already was a pretty nice toy, but with the new paint and details has made for one premium looking figure.

I'm really happy with it and am looking forward to the MechaGodzilla Optimus Prime. There's some upgrade kits on the way for those who want to add on some extra flair, or may be unhappy with these. I'm obviously enjoying mine, but do think the kits are neat. I hope they come with a bus for him to pick right up and throw back down. I've never said he's got to go. Go! Go! Megatron Type Godzilla!