Happy Thanksgiving, Zone Base readers!

I don’t know how many of you are reading this today, but I’m thankful for everyone who visits the site and checks out what I’ve got to say. Even though I don’t make a fuss over it, I’ve always enjoyed Thanksgiving—watching the big parade, spending time with family, enjoying the great food, and, of course, the tryptophan naps. 

The holiday break is a great time to rest and recharge… something I definitely could use right about now. And, of course, there’s the joy of diving into some Christmas shopping on Friday! Nothing like throwing a few elbows in Walmart to kick off the season. By now, we’re all digesting our food… and maybe the new episodes of Stranger Things too. Thank you all for supporting Zone Base—don’t forget to share it with your friends. I hope you win the wishbone and enjoy the day! Mutual High Fives, everyone!

Scorponok [Cyberworld/Strike Battle Set]

I've been meaning to get around to looking at the Transformers Cyberworld Scorponok Strike Battle Set here on the site ever since getting the big guy a few months ago. Despite often getting larger toys, I tend to focus on smaller robot toys here. So needless to say, it was a bit of a challenge for me to figure out how to work him into my posting rhythm. I also admittedly don't post about everything I get; however, as I've chosen to cover the entirety of Cyberworld here, these larger bots have to get figured in. Transformers Cyberworld is a very fun series to blog, so it's not a struggle — just a little bit of a challenge.

Being Thanksgiving week, the time feels right for a big robot post. Not to mention, I often find myself remembering the Thanksgiving Day Transformers Energon marathon in 2004. I didn't watch it all, but a good bit of time was spent tuned to Cartoon Network. I enjoyed Energon despite its issues. Speaking of Energon and the toy we're looking at today… this has a very similar design to that series' Scorponok mixed with the traditional character. It's pretty neat — just big robot monster energy all around.

Scorponok is wonderfully big and chonky, coming in at 14 inches tall, which is smaller than a Titan Class Transformer but in a good way. Cyberworld is intended to be a toy line for younger kids, and this is a toy all the way around. He's just big enough to be imposing, but not too large for a smaller body to move around. Honestly, he's still pretty large for me to handle. As the pictures show, I got down on the floor to play with him for this post. Like the other larger Cyberworld toys, he's full of Cyber Changer interaction and that is awesome.

I'm really reminded of Micromaster bases and the various interaction Mini-Cons had with Transformers Armada toys. Also, due to the upsized Legend/Legion Class nature of a Cyber Changer, it's similar to the Cyberverse toys from Dark of the Moon and Transformers Prime. I enjoyed those a lot, and I'm really starting to think Cyberworld is pretty much what would have happened if Action Masters were more successful. Scorponok is not very articulated in robot mode, but not a complete brick either. His arms have quite a decent amount of movement, though his legs are static. Also, his little visor can be moved up or down to cover or uncover his eyes. This is likely to bother some, but I'd think you'd be aware of what you're buying going in.

He's not a cheap toy, but fortunately not as expensive as others out there. Considering it's Thanksgiving week right now, there's likely some sales too. I'm sure you've seen more than your fair share of affiliate links by now. I'm quite fond of his bright colors. While Scorponok is normally a colorful bot, these are very bright and look great. It's a little reminiscent of the Scorponok from that G1 Micromaster commercial. He also lights up on his chest with some sound effects. That's obviously something the target audience would enjoy… but it is fun to see them go off on occasion no matter how old you are.

There's some big guns mounted on his shoulders that are similar to the ones from the G1 toy. Those can be placed in several spots and manned by a Cyber Changer figure, adding to his firepower. In addition, his lower arms can be disconnected and combined with a portion of the scorpion's tail, creating a motorcycle vehicle for a Cyber Changer to ride. There are some small handlebars that plug in that'd be easy to lose, so be careful. In addition, the big guns or his sword can also be  used. Or, if you're feeling wild, some of Grimlock's parts. There's a lot of modular play in use. The sword becomes the scorpion's stinger… but you could swap it out for any of these parts, creating some real creature chaos. Scorponok is something of a final boss character in the cartoon's video game world, so it's easy to imagine him having a variety of attacks.

Transformation to scorpion mode is pretty easy, and you pretty much just lay him down and arrange the arms and insect legs into place. Those big guns can be placed in a few different spots and once again can be manned by a Cyber Changer if you'd like. I didn't point out the handle on Scorponok's back. There's a handle — it's on his back. At first you'd think it's just for easy movement of the big bot, but there's actually a trigger that'll need to be squeezed to fully unfold his robot legs for beast mode. This creates a larger rear section with tank-like treads. The trigger on the handle also sets off various lights and sounds, as does pressing Scorponok's head down. There's a variety of sounds that play seemingly at random, including the classic transformation sound.

This is a great toy that's admittedly not going to be for everyone. Like I said, there's not a ton of articulation and he's definitely a kids' toy upon first glance. However, thanks to the old-school nature of Cyberworld, Scorponok can easily fit next to your older super robot toys on a shelf. I've actually seen pics of fans sticking him next to their G1 Scorponoks and Black Zarak toys. I could easily see him at home among a Brave toy or even some Shogun Warriors. I'd actually wager he's pretty appealing to the jumbo crowd. I like the bright colors and the fun big chonky robot toy nature he brings, and dammit if that saw blade hand isn't great. While the strength of Cyberworld is within the Cyber Changers that are flying off the shelves, giving them a giant playset like this is perfect. It's just hard not to love a big chaotic final boss monster, you know?

Thankful for a Holiday Week... but not a Monday

It’s a new week, Zone Base readers — but not just any new week. It’s a holiday week! I’m really looking forward to the time off work and getting some rest while enjoying time with the Mrs. and family.

It’s actually Sunday night as I’m writing this. Working overnight like I do, I usually have to work the Sunday night before a big holiday to offset the week a little. It’s not fun, but… it’s not fun. Adulting sucks. Fortunately, it’s a short work week, so at least it’s worth it.

I hope you all had a good weekend. Mine was pretty short, but still enjoyable. Had a fun dinner Saturday afternoon at Outback Steakhouse with the Mrs. and my mom. Got out to do some Christmas shopping, too. Black Friday deals started early at a lot of stores, and I managed to snag a great discount on a few things!

Sunday morning, the Mrs. and I went out and bought a new Christmas tree for our living room. We’ve been using the same flocked one for a few years now, and she wanted to mix it up with something that had a little extra color. It’s a big one, too — so, as usual, I’ll be putting the star on top!

Since Thanksgiving is this week, we did our grocery shopping in-store for a change instead of delivery. I’m already looking forward to smelling the turkey cooking Thursday morning while we watch the parade.

It’s probably safe to say many of you won’t be reading as much this week — but for those of you worldwide who do check in every day… thank you so much. It honestly means a lot to see my large international audience come in regularly to see what I’ve posted.

I’ll be on holiday this week enjoying a break from my normally hectic schedule, so posting will be a bit limited. However… I’ve got something BIG coming to help make up for my absence.

Thank you all for reading — every single one of you. Please don’t forget to share with your friends, and mutual high fives, everyone!

Optimus Prime [Cyberworld/Armored Cyber Changers]

Being the main character, Optimus Prime is bound to make a few repeat appearances in any Transformers toy line. For Transformers Cyberworld, today we’ll be looking at his second release — a big improvement over his first. We talked about that one a few months back and while I liked it, there was no ignoring its faults. He looked great in robot mode, but the various hollow parts were clearly visible in truck mode. That was disappointing.

Thankfully, those hollowed-out parts are hidden a lot better this time around. his Optimus is like the “Offroad” version of Bumblebee we looked at a few weeks ago. Both were originally solicited under the Offroad name, but that labeling is missing from the packaging. So this is just “Armored Cyber Changer Optimus Prime” — as opposed to the “Cyber Changer Optimus Prime” hanging on the next peg at Walmart. That Offroad name would’ve made things easier in the end, but naming systems in Transformers are a regular nitpick of mine.

I like this Optimus a lot better than the regular one. It looked great, but that vehicle mode was impossible to ignore. This time we’ve got a solid robot and vehicle with a very interesting sculpt. Optimus transforms into a non-descript armored offroad truck, and that design carries over nicely to his robot mode, creating a more unique version of Optimus that I think looks great. He’s pleasantly blocky too — just super chonky in all the right ways. A very satisfying little robot toy. 

Optimus has the same articulation and dimensions as other Cyber Changers (armored or not), which I oddly appreciate for reasons I can’t fully explain. They’re just satisfying little figures. His traditional red and blue colors look super sharp, and the truck’s brush guard makes for a nice variation of the car-front chest Transformers often have. He looks rough and tumble — it’s a good look. Optimus also doesn’t have his trademark faceplate, which actually works really well with this sculpt. I’m anticipating (and hoping for) all sorts of repaints from this mold. It’s a good Optimus, but it could easily be a variety of other characters. It’d make a great Clench — just imagine it in black and purple!

Transformation uses the standard Cyber Changer scheme. I’m guessing the shared engineering across the line helps keep costs low — and I’m totally fine with that. The torso compresses and accordions while the arms fold up and the legs fold in. Simple, effective, and it reminds me of the auto-transformations from early Beast Wars and Machine Wars basics… just without the spring.

The truck mode is really good — pleasantly blocky again, with a bit of a military vibe to the sculpting. It looks tough, and I could see this scaled down into one amazing Micromaster. The “Armored Up” gimmick that differentiates Armored Cyber Changers from the standard versions is a large weapon that converts slightly, giving it some interchangeability between modes. I’ve been taking these as they come, usually just accepting them as a tacked-on gimmick. This time, though, I’m outright enjoying it.

Optimus comes with a big chain gun that makes for an imposing weapon — it’s giving me Big Convoy’s Big Cannon vibes. Its alternate mode opens into two cannons and wing-like extensions. At first glance, the dual barrels might look like halves of the gun barrel, nothing too special — but look closer and you’ll notice sculpted rockets inside those barrels, suggesting it’s a rocket launcher. The bright blue colors and dual rockets remind me of Robots in Disguise Ultra Magnus with his “Blue Bolts” weapon. Thinking about it, this would make a good Magnus toy too.

The cannon can attach to the truck mode’s roof and looks 100% at home there. And those wings? They plug into the robot mode’s back, making for an upgraded look that isn’t called out on the packaging but is clearly intended. I really should’ve included a picture of it, but I wanted to show clean shots of the toy as it’s “supposed” to look. It’s literally the same position as the truck mount. It looks so natural there — can’t just be my imagination. Or maybe it is. I swear I saw Elvis at a Walmart once. He was buying ice cream.

Clearly, I like this figure. Its simplicity might turn off the display-case crowd, but it’s right up the alley for folks who just like neat toys. I’ve made all sorts of comparisons — from Microman to G.I. Joe to Action Masters — when talking about Cyberworld. It’s chock full of the DNA from toy lines that came before, and those influences are impossible to ignore. Yes, it’s simple, but sometimes simple works.

This is a cool toy line that I enjoy a lot. Without a doubt, this is my favorite of the line so far. It’s just a cool robot toy — the low price is a bonus. The colors pop, the sculpt is sharp, and the play gimmick works great. Everything just comes together solidly. Like I said, I could see this mold repainted into a million different characters — and hope I do. An arctic camo version would be great. Like everyone else who writes about Transformers, I’ve got plenty of opinions and think Hasbro should hire me. But with this toy, I think I’m actually onto something.

Burning Godzilla [Godzilla Monster Series 5"]

November 2025 is clearly the month of Burning Godzilla. With the 30th anniversary of Godzilla vs. Destoroyah in December, the all-new Fest Godzilla II: Shinjuku Burning released earlier this month, and, well... I got a bunch of related toys recently and decided to cover them in November. Godzilla Day and all — it made sense.

Today we're looking at the Burning Godzilla 5" counterpart to the Destoroyah I talked about last week. As I reiterate every time I talk about a toy from this line, I've really grown to love the Godzilla Monster Series 5" figures. I repeat it for two reasons. One, it's true. Two, this is the internet — you've got to repeat yourself constantly.

I don’t believe I’ve covered a Heisei era Godzilla in this series here on the site yet. However, in some aspects, there’s not much new when it comes to this figure. It’s got the same articulation you expect from this style of Godzilla toy: legs move at the hips, arms swivel at the upper bicep, and the tail swivels... because you have to attach it after opening the box. I don’t think that actually counts as a joint, but movement is movement. Of course, these aren’t the type of figures you buy for articulation.

To quote Billy Bob Thornton from the classic movie Sling Blade, “No sir, I don’t reckon.” Then he said uh huh a million times and ate a shit ton of mustard. These types of figures make great representations of classic screen monsters — and that’s exactly what this figure is.

Seriously, why did he eat so much mustard?

The sculpting on Godzilla is really great. It might just be another Godzilla to some folks, but for fans, the differences are crystal clear. Godzilla looks a great deal like the MogeGoji suit used at the time. Of course, he’s in the traditional Godzilla colors except for the burning detail that makes Burning Godzilla stand out. Don’t ask me why a slowly dying Godzilla looks so great, but dammit — it looks amazing.

All that radioactive dermatitis looks beautiful despite probably hurting like hell. A wonderful mix of coppery reds and oranges extends to his spinal plates so perfectly. The nuclear meltdown inside has even tinted Godzilla’s eyes to match. Every cloud has a silver lining, apparently — because, you know, he’s dying here. But it’s so pretty. His internal pain has resulted in beautifully red and orange eyes that just look so good.

No wonder Godzilla is so angry — here he is in pain, and I’m telling him how great he looks. Sorry, big guy. I’d give you a hug but... well, you’d step on me. Clearly I don’t have anything bad to say about this toy. It’s a wonderful depiction of a memorable version of Godzilla that thankfully doesn’t cost much. How can I find any fault in that?

Starscream [Cyberworld/Cyber Changers]

There are just certain things you accept in life, and Starscream being in a Transformers toy line is one of them. For Transformers Cyberworld he’s a standard Cyber Changer, which is a size class I’ve been enjoying very much. Interestingly enough, he shares a mold with Mirage, who I talked about a few weeks ago. With Starscream, it’s safe to assume other Seekers will come, so Mirage was a weird surprise. A welcome one — I liked that toy.

Starscream uses the same mold with the exception of a different head and, of course, different colors. Cyber Changers are neat little simple figures full of DNA from older robot toy lines. With Starscream I can’t help but mentally compare him to older G2 jets and GoBots like I did with Mirage. And thanks to his head sculpt, I’m also getting some Machine Wars energy. One of the fun things with cheaper toys like these is the variety of recolors they tend to get. Here’s hoping we get some fun ones in the future.

Seekers are easy enough to predict, but with this design I’d love to see some of the weird camo patterns toys like Machine Wars Thundercracker or Soundwave had. I also found myself imagining various jet bots from Robot Masters while typing this. A simple jet with a unique silhouette like this can be reworked into so many interesting characters.

As said above, Starscream uses the same toy mold as Mirage, so there’s nothing majorly different in how the toy works. Cyber Changers are such pleasant little figures that I don’t mind a mold reuse this early in the line. I will say my Starscream transforms a little rougher than Mirage. I doubt it’s mold degradation this early, so I’m thinking there’s some excess material left from the sprue somewhere. It’s in the compression mechanism in the torso that all Cyber Changers seem to use for transformation. It just kept sticking. I may try to clean that up a little — hopefully it’s just a QC quirk with mine and yours works better.

I really like the jet mode they’ve come up with for Cyberworld. It’s a mixture of jet alt modes we’ve seen in the past that somehow feels fresh thanks to the downward-bent wings. I do wish he had a weapon. In the cartoon, Starscream uses a spear that looks pretty similar to his Dark of the Moon Mech Tech weapon. Once again, the weapons in the show not being included makes me wonder if they were cut at some point in development. Same for the multiple ports on the figures’ bodies. One day I hope to find out there was some gimmick planned that used them. I also hope there’s still one coming.

I’ve probably said it before, but I hope Cyber Changers remain as a size class for the foreseeable future. I think it’s a good format for a mainline series intended for kids (despite my adult ass loving them) and would allow older figures to be compatible with future ones. The setting could change — they can’t stay trapped in the Cyberworld forever — but they can go on new adventures.

I’ve also seen these as something of a follow-up to the Beast Alliance toys from Rise of the Beasts. Considering their similar sizes and the use of an older movie toy already in Cyberworld, some of those molds would be a welcome addition here. Those Beast Alliance toys already had all those ports — let’s get some more Battle Masters! In the end, this is a fun little toy that makes my mind run through tons of possibilities. And that’s something I really enjoy.

Bring out the Monday in you

Good morning Zone Base readers! It's time to start another week of robots, monsters, and misadventure! I hope everyone had a great weekend. Mine was pretty great! Did some Christmas shopping, played some Doom Mods, and assembled some Blokees. Saturday the Mrs and I had a great date night at Outback Steakhouse that was amazing! However, she cooked an even better BBQ dinner Sunday night. I'm looking forward to the leftovers later today. 

I've got a great week in store for you all. I've also got a busy week in store for myself, so I hope you all will excuse a shorter Weekly Update this week. It's the week before Thanksgiving, which means a well welcomed holiday break next week... but one hell of a crazy one ahead of me. Including some weekend work and one tired Rob come the break. But don't worry, we have a fun week of content coming your way. Please look forward to it and don't forget to share with your friends! Mutal High Fives everyone!

Venin/Venom [Age of the Primes/Deluxe Class]

I’m double-dipping into things I love with today’s toy. Both an Insecticon and an Armored Insect Corps Beetras update, Transformers Age of the Primes Venin is a treat for me. Of course, the name Venin is an alternate name for his real name, Venom. Despite the Insecticon Venom pre-dating the extremely more popular Marvel character… he’s only had three toys total. And there was a 29 year gap between the first toy and the second.

During those 29 years the trademark lapsed and Eddie Brock got the symbiote suit… and a ton of toys. Actually, that second toy and now this new toy are both named Venin, so it’s not too hard to adjust. However, venin isn’t just a made-up word — it’s the toxic component of snake venom and literally means “venom” in French. So it works, even if it doesn’t exactly make for the best character name. Much like the rest of the original batch of G1 Transformers, Venom was made from a pre-existing toy mold. The Deluxe Insecticons came from the Armored Insect Corps Beetras toy line. These weren’t from Takara, so they didn’t show up in the original cartoon. Venom was made from the Beet-Zeguna mold, though with very different colors. Interestingly, the Deluxe Insecticons do appear in their Beetras colors on the 1985 Transformers box art. Always found that neat.

Unlike his second toy which I love, this new Venin is a direct update of his G1 figure. The modern engineering gives us one well-articulated bug robot. His bright colors look as great as always. The Insecticons usually stick to darker palettes, so Venom having this bright green and orange with light gray robot parts really makes him stand out. Not just visually, but as a personality among them. It just looks great. His colors and helmet have always reminded me of Samus Aran — same era, so there was probably some shared visual inspiration floating around. Ironically, it occurred to me that one of the core reasons I like Insecticons and insect-themed robots is likely tied to my appreciation of bio-horror. Metroid itself is heavy bio-horror. And yeah, I am really looking forward to Metroid Prime 4.

Venin has recreations of his original toy’s electric-blaster gun and battle axe. I honestly forgot about the axe entirely since my G1 toy was bought loose and missing it. I really like it — it’s not your standard He-Man style axe. Both weapons store on the sides in beast mode. Speaking of, Venin transforms into a cicada. Being from the American South, I’m used to hearing these guys all summer. It’s generally pleasant… unless one gets on your window. Then it’s maddening. I once had one trapped under some porch furniture that screamed non-stop. When I tried to scoop it up, IT GOT LOUDER. I never thought flinging a bug across my yard would be so satisfying. Little bastard.

Transformation to bug mode is pretty easy. His arms fold into the upper torso while the legs fold into themselves. Then it’s just arranging bug bits into a pleasantly blocky robot cicada with the most adorable face. In beast mode, his wings and legs have decent articulation, and the weapons can store on the sides for added firepower. If there’s anything to complain about, his wings can get in the way in robot mode, and folding his arms into place during transformation feels like the toy is about to break. Some sturdier plastic would have helped. But it’s not enough to ruin the toy. I’m admittedly biased when it comes to insect robots and am loving this one unabashedly. It is a good toy outside of my affections, and it’s just great to see a new Venom figure. I wouldn’t mind finding this cicada on my porch. Well… assuming he isn’t loud.

Destoroyah [Godzilla Monster Series 5"]

Godzilla vs. Destoroyah is turning 30 this year, and in case last week’s Burning Godzilla Egg Monster post wasn’t a clear indicator, we’re spending some time observing it. This is also totally by coincidence, because I got some toys related to that movie a few weeks ago and am just now getting around to talking about them.

Regardless, it’s an AWESOME movie that came out my senior year of high school and felt so much more dangerous and edgy at the time than it actually is. I was 17 and it was the 90s, bear with me.

This Destoroyah is from Bandai’s 5-inch Godzilla Monster Series vinyl figures, which I’ve become a fan of over the past year. Just the right size and just the right price. And yes, I know the regular-sized Bandai vinyls were $9 a few years ago. It sucks. We’re all pissed about it. Moving on.

This is a great little figure of Destoroyah. Like, the sculpting is really great. I’ve always liked his design, and it’s really appreciated here. Destoroyah is a kaiju that began life as a colony of Precambrian crustaceans exposed to the undersea conditions created when the Oxygen Destroyer detonated in 1954. They mutated and evolved into the monster we have today.

So yes — a bunch of sea bugs got super-powered into a giant death demon because of the nuclear anti-oxygen murder bomb from the first movie. Shit happens. It’s crazy.

For what’s essentially a cheaper toy, Destoroyah looks freaking amazing. His sculpting is excellent and brings out all that nuclear-powered evil. Unfortunately there’s not much articulation to speak of — you can twist the tail and adjust the wings a bit. However, you don’t buy these figures to do the fucking Iron Man pose in your detolf. You buy them because you love these monsters and just want them around. Put him next to your movie collection or by the PlayStation... or in that detolf. He'll look great.

Speaking of, that red really pops. The color looks amazing, and those giant wings? Perfect. I love this design. It’s just pure horror in rubber suit form. I’ve always felt like Gigatron from Car Robots / Megatron from Robots in Disguise (2001) borrowed from his look. If only there was a red version. Honestly, I can’t say anything bad about this. I freaking love it.

Skydive [Age of the Primes/Deluxe Class]

In our ongoing quest to complete the Transformers Age of the Primes Aerialbot team of five buttheads, today we’re looking at Skydive! Skydive is the bookworm of the squad — well-versed in aerial tactics, strategy, and history. He's also the most visually distinct member of the team thanks to his mostly black color scheme, compared to the primarily white look the rest of the Aerialbots have going on.

This figure is a remold of the Air Raid toy we looked at a little while back. Honestly, I probably wouldn't have noticed if it hadn’t been pointed out, but side-by-side the shared engineering is clear. Still, the sculpting and new parts are handled so well that it doesn’t feel like the same toy with a new coat of paint. And really, it makes sense to stretch the tooling budget when the original characters themselves shared similar silhouettes in the first place. Skydive and Air Raid have usually been “same shape, different guy,” so this is just accurate to life.

As I’ve been saying with these current Transformers Generations figures — Skydive looks like he stepped right out of the cartoon. Which would be terrifying if he did that while I’m napping during G1 reruns on the Transformers channel. Damn.

Skydive is nicely articulated and comes with two blasters. They work well in robot mode and can also peg under his wings in jet mode. Transformation is quick and easy: legs compress, arms fold in, the backpack settles into place — your standard modern jet-transforming-guy routine. In jet mode, Skydive’s unique colors stand out even more. The darker gray body and lightning pattern on the wings look great, and now that I’m thinking about it, that kind of flashy detail seems to originate back to his G1 toy. I don't remember similar patterns before him, but plenty after. Neat!

Like his teammates, Skydive forms part of Superion — and we’ll take a full look at that combined mode once Fireflight finally joins the squad. These Age of the Primes combiners are a big improvement over the Combiner Wars versions from ten years ago (which I actually liked a lot at the time), so I’m excited to see Superion come together here on Zone Base.

Monday Fighter

Hey there Zone Base readers, thank you for coming back for another week of robots, monsters, and misadventure! It's been a little longer since my last weekly update thanks to a slightly busy Monday last week, but we're back to the non-spooky routine after one hell of a successful Halloween season. I hope everyone had a great weekend, mine was pretty low key. Saturday was a somewhat rainy day with a trip to Walmart and a great hamburger for supper. The Mrs and I finally watched Jurrasic World Reborn... and unfortunately it wasn't great. Still, I enjoyed the dinosaur action and world building. I actually thought the movie had a good story, it just wasn't told very well. 

Sunday, we had plans to do some housework that fell through as time got away from us. That and I fixed a drawer with a broken runner leading to an achey body for the rest of the day. The fix itself wasn't terribly hard, just twisting myself into where I needed to be was. Next weekend, we'll make up for lost time. I plan to do some toy organizing. Not hard or exciting, but time consuming and fun. And now that it's November, I'm on the annual 'don't buy yourself anything until after Christmas' rule. Don't worry though readers, there's plenty of content coming for your eyeballs in the coming weeks. After all, I get and have more toys than covered here. I'll always find something to talk about.

I did pick up a Funko Pop Rhinox this weekend as the Mrs suggested I should. Just need Black Arachnia to complete the Beast Wars set of Pops. I've really come to enjoy their mini Pop line this year, those are pretty neat. Unfortunately Funko doesn't seem to be doing so well business wise, which is a shame. I hope any employees that might loose their jobs bounce back quickly. Since I didn't post last week, I got some neat toys last weekend. Ordered Cyberworld Cyber Changers Starscream and Armored Cyber Changers Optimus Prime. At this point I've got the entire Cyberworld toy line and if things go according to plan will cover the rest of the line in the next coming weeks.

I'm sure more Cyberworld toys are on the way, hopefully 2026 will provide more of that neat little series. I also ordered the Blokees Transformers Defender version Devastator kit and one blind box from Galaxy Version series 08. I was trying to keep my last toy purchases for awhile simple and completing the Defender version Devastator is a goal I must finish! Actually, Defender version series 04, 05, and Galaxy Version 08 are sets I'm highly anticipating. I let Santa know how much I want them, let's just see if I was good enough all year to find them under the tree.

I also find myself wanting an Atari Gamestation Go as it looks awesome! I've got the Atari Gamestation that was released a few years ago and initially wrote off the Go when it was revealed. However it's proven to be an improvement of the original Gamestation all together and I'll be needing to get my hands on that! They've improved things like updating firmware and adding game roms making for a better experience. Not to mention it has a number pad incorporated in its design as well as in the extra controllers. Extra controllers? Yes, it's portable, but can be connected to a TV and used as a traditional console! Modern day Atari is a really neat company with some cool products. Admittedly a little under the radar... but that's where this site lives. 

Speaking of this site, I hope the various improvements make your experience as a reader more enjoyable. I'm always trying to improve myself and that extends to this podunk site. Thank you all for reading and continuing to support Zone Base. I guess it just goes to show how many of you just want to enjoy your hobbies without all the click bait trash nonsense. Bird fingers all around, but Mutual High Fives everyone! Be sure to share the site with your friends. There's another week of robots, monsters, and misadventure coming up!

Micronus Prime [Age of the Primes/Deluxe Class]

It's no secret — I love Mini-Cons. Mini-Cons, Micromasters, Battle Masters, Titan Masters, Prime Masters, BotBots… the damn site is named after a Micromaster Base, k? Micronus Prime is where the Mini-Cons began, after all. That's right — they are his Cybertronian descendants, and today we're looking at his most recent toy.

One of The Thirteen Primes highlighted in the current Transformers Generations: Age of the Primes line, Micronus Prime is one awesome toy that's right up my alley. You might ask yourself why such a little guy has a new toy in the Deluxe Class release. Well, that's because he comes with a really cool transforming exo-suit. It's taking a lot for me not to just type "this toy is awesome" over and over again.

Micronus Prime himself is a short, stout little Mini-Con with a good amount of articulation in a mix of translucent and opaque greens and blues. He transforms into a disk that resembles the Mini-Con storage panels from the Transformers Armada cartoon or the data disks characters like Eject and Ratbat turned into in the Fall of Cybertron toy line. These disk modes pop up all over Transformers history — and I always love them. And now that I’m thinking about it, this also feels a bit like the disk alt modes from Robots in Disguise 2015. I liked those too.

Clearly non-descript disk alt modes are my thing.

But the similarities don’t stop there. There's a lot of old toy DNA here, and this post is probably going to go down as the epitome of me comparing new toys to old toys. But that’s what you come to Zone Base for — right? (Unless you're an Amazon seller or someone looking for a firewall, in which case… sorry this keeps happening to you.)

In his disk mode, Micronus Prime fits snugly inside the chest of his exo-suit. It closes up tight, almost completely hiding the little pilot. The exo-suit itself is a pleasant mix of greens, silver, and black. The included Chimera Stone fits onto its chest or Micronus’s back. The suit is nicely detailed and articulated — I’m fond of the gun-barrel hands.

There's strong Pretender shell energy here, with a bit of Transformers Prime Apex Armor influence as well. The armor can be disassembled and connected to other Transformers figures, similar to Siege Weaponizers and their contemporaries. In a further bit of neatness, the armor also transforms into a one-wheeled bike vehicle Micronus can ride. Translucent pilot + power suit + vehicle mode = full-on Microman / Micronauts vibes. This toy’s practically a pocket history of Transformers.

This toy is truly wonderful. I’m honestly having a hard time being critical of it. The closest thing to a flaw I’ve found is that Micronus didn’t fully close into disc mode on mine — even straight out of the package. Not the end of the world, though. I'd also love just a little more paint on the exo-suit to bring out the sculpted detail. And the one-wheeled bike can’t stand up on its own. (I even tried using the Chimera Stone as a kickstand. It did not work.)

But that’s basically it. The positives absolutely outweigh the nitpicks. This thing hits so many of my collecting sweet spots at once. I’m really hoping this mold sees multiple colors and multiple characters — it deserves it. And while I was writing this, I realized the bike mode can kind of be arranged into something vaguely similar to Revenge of the Fallen Demolishor. Probably coincidence, but neat all the same.

Burning Godzilla [Egg Monsters Godzilla]

30 years ago, in 1995, Toho released Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, closing out the Heisei era and marking the end of that series’ Godzilla. Even three decades later, Burning Godzilla is still burned into everyone’s memory. His internal nuclear reactor-like heart was approaching a full meltdown — once it hit 1,200°C, it would trigger a thermonuclear explosion capable of melting the Earth down to its core. And on top of all that: a new monster enters the scene — Destoroyah! Due to his meltdown state, Godzilla spent the movie covered in glowing, burning patches as he neared critical mass. Needless to say, it looked extremely cool.

Today we’re looking at the Egg Monsters toy of that incarnation. Originally released in 2014, Bandai reissued it last November alongside several others. I had already gotten the rest of that wave, but I just found Burning Godzilla recently at Target. He must’ve been hiding in the back or something.

As you’d expect, Burning Godzilla uses the same mold as the standard Egg Monster Godzilla — which is fine, because it’s a great toy. The new deco is what sets it apart. The figure is mostly cast in translucent orange with dark green painted over it. The green is so dark it almost reads as black, and the orange shining through gives the whole thing a more sinister presence. Between the translucent plastic and the glowing lava look, I kept thinking of Rock Lords — this could practically be one.

Bandai really nailed this one. Burning Godzilla has always been one of the most visually striking forms of the King of the Monsters, even if it's depicting his death. Combine that with my love of transforming egg toys and this becomes a stellar release. Awesome job as usual, Bandai.

edit- I wasn't aware of the new Godzilla Fest short, Shinjuku Burning Godzilla when I wrote this. This post was written a week ago and sometimes the universe is just really neat.

Rodimus (IDW ver.) [Flame Toys Furai Model]

Flame Toys Furai Models are model kits that, once assembled, result in high-quality action figures full of detail and style. I’ve got a few, and for whatever reason, haven’t really talked about them here. My intention to feature more models over the past few years has already brought in kits from Blokees and Yolopark. Both brands I outright love. I’m pretty fond of Flame Toys as well.

Being our first post after this year’s epic Halloween season seems like the perfect time to look at one of their offerings. I’ve been sitting on this Rodimus kit for quite some time after buying it earlier this year, and spent a few Sunday nights in October building it. I’ve admittedly gotten used to Blokees’ simpler kits, as Rodimus seemingly had a million parts. I think I spent two hours one night just working on his legs.

“Intricate” is the word here, as each body part is composed of several tiny pieces joined together. Of particular note are the joints where his legs meet at the waist—holy crap, I had a hard time with those. What you see as ball shapes were actually the halves of that ball, with a joining piece in the middle. There’s a little peg that inserts into a little hole in each of those halves. That doesn’t sound too bad, but those holes were very tight, and the small parts were just the right size to not fit well in my fingertips. I’m used to a little pain after assembling a model, but those freaking joints had my thumb tips sore for a few days. *Ow, dammit*

That’s all part of the process, though—taking a bunch of parts and assembling such an ornate figure. It’s really therapeutic going through the sprues with my nippers and putting it all together piece by piece. Sore fingertips regardless.

The IDW Comics incarnation of Rodimus, as he famously appeared in the Lost Light series, is a very stylized design. Being a model kit and not a toy sharing an aisle with Paw Patrol allows for a much more accurate finished product. All those points and edges would have to be rounded off for safety purposes otherwise. Thankfully, that’s not the case here. Rodimus both looks and is very sharp.

*Also pointy. Very pointy*

Once fully assembled, our Autobot Cavalier stands just under six inches tall and features more than fifty points of articulation. All those movable joints make for one expressive robot. Adding to that are three different sets of hands: closed fists, slightly open poses that can be used in a variety of ways, and a kung-fu-grip style for holding his guns.

Those guns are a particularly clever detail. Some of you may remember the original G1 Hot Rod toy came with two pistols, while the G1 Rodimus Prime had a rifle. This gun can separate into two pistols or join together into one rifle. I don’t recall if that was something used in the comics this kit is based on, but it’s neat regardless.

His stickers took a bit of extra skill, and thankfully I had my curved-tip tweezers handy to apply them—especially those little black dots on his upper thighs. They look great, but putting them on took a lot of patience. I think the Autobot symbol came out a little crooked, but that’s okay. Sometimes they’re like that when applied in factories.

Speaking of tools, I misplaced my hobby knife, so it was absent from this project. Normally I use it to shave off that little excess of plastic left from the sprues. For the most part, I was able to trim it away with my nippers, but there are a few parts that could use the extra precision of the knife. Whenever I locate it, that’ll be a small task to revisit later.

In the end, Rodimus came out looking great. Despite all the trouble assembling him, the finished product looks amazing. I’ve got a few more Flame Toys kits in my model backlog that’ll make for great future projects.

Welcome aboard. Maybe you’re not good. But you’re sure as hell good enough.