Godzilla (Zebra Version) [Godzilla Scramble]

We're cracking open another Toho-flavored Monster Egg this week with another look at those wonderfully decoed Godzilla Scramble toys I'm so drawn to. I mean, really, can you blame me? Absurdly artistic color variations of a Godzilla Monster Egg toy by Bandai, sold gacha style? I never had a chance.

This one is an absurdly wonderful take, with a zebra colored Godzilla looking absolutely fabulous! I'm especially fond of his silver eyes. It's such a tiny detail, but it absolutely mesmerizes me.

Speaking of Bandai and zebra themed color schemes, it's been far too long since I've talked about M.U.S.C.L.E. or Kinnikuman here on the site. I'm drawn to think about them here because, back in the day, my favorite of the intergalactic wrestlers was Zebra!

*edit* the video for the post before whatever caused them to stop working is here*

Godzilla (Astronaut Version) [Godzilla Scramble]

@robfromzonebase Godzilla (Jet Jaguar Version) [Godzilla Scramble] #zonebase #godzilla #godzillascramble #kaiju #blindbox ♬ Noroi No Syananana - SEIKIMA-II

It's time to crack open another kaiju egg from Godzilla Scramble, and ho boy, this one's pretty great!

It's Jet Jaguar!

*edit* It's not. Up until after writing this thought it was Jet Jaguar until reading the box at Target and learning it was an astronaut. So, the rest of this post was written when I thought it was supposed to be Jet Jaguar. I'm laughing at my mistake and absolutely not rewriting this as I find it hilarious now.

Well, Godzilla colored as Jet Jaguar... which looks outstanding as a slightly derivative take on the Jet Jaguar look on Godzilla.

For example, instead of being silver or grey as you'd go in expecting, Bandai used a wonderful slightly translucent silver color that's almost more of a shade of white and quite pretty.

Then they gave him blue armbands similar to the ones classic Jet Jaguar sports, along with a set of red ones around Godzilla's thighs that kinda invoke the red coloring on Jet Jaguar while still being unique, but slick-looking.

His chest features a computer readout and logo, leaving the bulk of Godzilla in that wonderful base color.

It's really pretty, and the whole deco screams art vinyl more than blind-box Egg Monster toy.

Weekly Update 10/12/26 — Rebellion Looks Good on You

Monday has reared its ugly head again, Zone Base readers, and it looks like the perfect time for another week of robots, monsters, and misadventure!

We're waist deep in pumpkin-spiced mayhem as the annual Halloween party is entering the main event. It's been another fun Halloween season, so let's keep going and make it another one for the books.

Thousands of you read Zone Base daily, and that's without the shameless shenanigans those big sites pull. The TikTok and Instagram project has been slowly growing, and more and more people are seeing the fun side content I've been publishing over there.

And all without paying for views like those big-name sellouts!

Please like and follow so we can keep growing this community together and take back fandom for ourselves!

Like I said, it's Halloween, which is like WrestleMania... the Super Bowl... the main event of Zone Base!

Wait, I already used that analogy earlier.

It's super flattering to see the extra readers I get each year who just want to go trick-or-treating with me. Let's continue to throw our horns in the air and flip our middle fingers to those who just don't get it!

Transformers-

Speaking of capitalizing off our interests, NYCC 2026 has been going on, and with it comes a slew of new toys soon to empty our bank accounts.

You've probably found your social media impossible to use thanks to all the clickbait news being shared, just like I have, but I'd like to point out a few of the things I've seen that have grabbed my interest.

In Generations, there's a repaint of Onyx Prime that I'm absolutely sold on. It's blue and is meant to represent The Deceiver from the IDW comics (I think that's where that came from), but frankly, I just really liked that toy and think it looks fabulous in blue.

There's also a new Machine Wars Starscream toy getting released that made me make audible noises of excitement when I first saw it.

I say it like that because I can't fully explain the sound I made. It's beyond comprehension, but if your dog suddenly started howling... that's probably my fault.

Then there's the new Walmart-exclusive Bugbite and Exhaust. These are part of their retro-carded series and look absolutely incredible. And I am absolutely ecstatic for that cassette set!

I must have them!


They're so pretty!

Also, it's been reported that both Steven Spielberg and Michael Bay are in talks to be brought back into the Transformers live-action movies.

It's hard to deny the power Spielberg brings, and one can only hope his involvement is a good thing. But let's not forget, Bumblebee not talking was his idea.

Michael Bay is a weird one, as his movies have developed a reputation for *ahem* their quality. However, they also make a ton of money, which means people were watching them regardless.

I mean, there's literally one always playing on a FAST app channel, still making money, still being watched. Why do you think they keep making those movie-based Studio Series toys?

It's hard to be too critical, because I'm going to see the movie and buy a copy of it.

Hell, I legitimately like the 2007 and Dark of the Moon movies.

Problems? Yeah, they have them.

What doesn't?

The Weekend As reported from my phone Monday morning while eating breakfast-

This weekend was pretty busy. The Mrs and I stayed out almost the entire time doing some shopping. Visits to Walmart, Target, Ross, and TJ Maxx were made with various things bought. I hoped to find some of the Yolopark Transformers models that have been allegedly showing up at Ross stores, but nothing at mine yet. I actually need to order the Yolopark Transformers Mini wave 3, but am still admittedly a little burned from my clear Hound and Acree from wave 2 being shipped with missing and wrong parts with the multiple customer service emails being completely ignored. That and I won one of their social media giveaways in January and they just never sent it. Doesn't make someone super excited to buy more of their products, but whatever I guess. Companies aren't your friends, and things like this happen. Regardless, I still want their kits so I guess it didn't completely sour me on them, just turned me off a little. I've never had a bad experience with Blokees or Flame Toys, just saying. 

We actually spent almost the entirety of Sunday at Costco stocking up for the next few months of groceries in an attempt to lower our weekly grocery costs as those companies just keep gouging the crap out of everything. It was fun, but man, as much as I enjoy Costco trips, that was a lot of walking! Still, a lot of good things were purchased to keep us fed for quite some time. I even got a fun tray of rice balls that I plan to eat for the next few days. We topped off Sunday with a fun take out dinner from Olive Garden Sunday night and even got some fun Halloween donuts from Donut Worry that we've enjoyed all weekend. I managed to get in some quality time playing Heretic, because some games I'll never get tired of.

I mainly purchased needs over wants this weekend, and while I'm sure you're potentially fascinated about my new pants, I did get quite a bit of toys that are on subject for this site.

I ordered a case of Blokees Transformers Wheels Series 4 as well as the new Wheels Motormaster kit that should show up soon. In addition picked up a Transformers the Movie ReAction blind box and 2 Godzilla Scramble blond boxes from Target. Target had a large blind box section now that the Mrs and I enjoy quite a bit! I got an Optimus Prime from the ReAction box, which has lovely chrome paint and battle damage.

The 2 Scramble eggs yielded in Zebra and Jaguar deco Godzilla figures! While at TJ Max, I checked their growing toy section (Christmas is right around the corner) and found a Transformers Cyberworld Energon Surge Off-road Optimus Prime! He was standard retail, but that's one more I needed for my all of Cyberworld quest. Just need one more Cyber Changer and then time to focus on the larger figures.

At Walmart I picked up Transformers Age of the Primes Joyride, something that made me super happy to find as I sure do love Powermasters! It was pretty awesome to see his colors on the shelf, he's so pretty! I forgot to mention the tiny bat mini figure I picked up fron Target's dollars spot, I think he's going on my desk at work. 

Infinite Lance Gigan [Godziburst]

@robfromzonebase Infinite Spear Gigan [Godziburst] #zonebase #godzilla #godziburst #kaiju #monsters ♬ MELANCHOLIA - KNIFE BRIDE

Gigan is basically Toho taking something completely batshit crazy and making it super awesome.

Originally in the Showa era, he looked like something out of a hallucination. A mixture of chicken, robot, and dragon... with hook hands and a saw in his belly.

Then this ridiculous thing absolutely kicked the shit out of Godzilla.

Gigan is a force to be reckoned with!

After some off appearances in Zone Fighter and various other media, Gigan returned in the insanely awesome Godzilla: Final Wars in 2004. Now upgraded with a sleeker body and FREAKING CHAINSAWS!

Gigan later got another upgrade in TV Magazine in 2007 with Armed Gigan, now sporting armor, a dual-hooked hand, and another hand with DUAL GATTLING GUNS!

Basically, how much more dangerous can they make Gigan?

Hold Toho's beer. Any day now they'll make him a politician.

Then he'll endanger EVERYONE'S LIVES!

There have been other Gigan developments like Gigan Rex, but I'll stop there because it's the ones I've been talking about that influence today's post the most.

A Godziburst figure of Gigan, reimagined as...

INFINITE LANCE GIGAN!

Actually, this is a repaint of a prior Godziburst Gigan figure from Japan named Gatling Gigan, which combined the look of Final Wars Gigan with the Gatling guns from Armed Gigan in a wonderful black and green deco.

Infinite Lance Gigan is a repaint and remold of that Gigan, with a MUCH larger right Gatling gun arm and now including a lance that can plug into his left arm's Gatling gun.

Because why not?

Infinite Lance Gigan also sports a new red and gold deco that looks amazing and is pretty similar to Gigan Rex, whom I feel is the inspiration for the new colors.

This is a damn fine figure of Gigan on its own as well. There's several points of articulation, and the smaller scale just makes him so satisfying. Like other Godziburst toys, you can mix and match his parts to make the freak even freakier.

And honestly, what more could you want from Gigan?

I clearly adore this toy and Gigan in general. His appearance in Final Wars has always been one of my go-to awesome moments in Godzilla movies.

Final Wars gets a bit of a bad name for being so... nuts, but I love it.

Admittedly, having an appreciation of Japanese cyberpunk helps, as the film is absolutely in the vein of movies like Zeiram, The Guyver, and Mechanical Violator HaKaider while somehow still being a love letter to Godzilla and the works of Toho.

Infinite Lance Gigan is definitely the monster spirit of “kill everything,” and I just want to hug it.

Godzilla (Ice Cream with Sprinkles) [Godzilla Scramble]

@robfromzonebase Godzilla (ice cream with sprinkles) [Godzilla Scramble] #zonebase #godzilla #godzillascramble #blindbox #kaiju ♬ Halloween - Siouxsie And The Banshees

It's well past time that I've started talking about the Godzilla Scramble toys here on the Base.

Godzilla Scramble is a cool blind-box gacha line by Bandai utilizing their Godzilla Monster Egg toys in fun color variations. Series 1 is out now, and I've gotten a few of them and want to get them all!

These are great.

The color variations remind me of art vinyl sofubi and various pop art pieces, while I just love transforming egg toys. Not to mention, Bandai.

You say Bandai, I'm in.

Today we're looking at the Ice Cream Godzilla, or as I insist on calling him, Ice Cream with Sprinkles, because he has sprinkles and I love that extra detail.

Despite not normally liking sprinkles on my ice cream.

I initially thought he was supposed to be a cupcake thanks to those sprinkles, which is probably why I focus on them so much.

I'm neurodivergent. Work with me.

The mold used is the standard Godzilla from the Egg Monsters series, and I've talked about that a few times before here, so pardon me while I focus on the spectacular deco today.

Now, it's easy to just glance at this toy and write him off as just pink with sprinkles painted on his chest.

Which, frankly, would have still been awesome.

However, there are little swirls of colors floating around that add to the look and frankly just look nice. Godzilla is basically a living nuclear reaction, so he's going to melt that ice cream, and that's what happened to some of those sprinkles.

Those little swirls of color...

We've all made that mistake of adding sprinkles to our ice cream only to regret biting into the little shards of hard asshole particles floating around. Some people like the added texture. I prefer to enjoy my food.

My point is, those sprinkles tend to leave little swirls of color in your ice cream, and those little swirls of color look fabulous on this design.

Not to be left out is the slightly darker and metallic shade of pink used on his dorsal fins. I've seen multiple kaiju fans refer to those as sploots, which kinda fits on an ice cream-themed kaiju.

It just occurred to me that egg mode looks kinda like a scoop of ice cream.

That's probably unintentional, but I'm going with it.

The other color versions in Godzilla Scramble are fun too, and I plan to go more into those in time. This is a fun little blind-box series to collect that's pretty creative with some of the color versions and right up my egg-robot-loving alley.

I do hope future series utilize more monsters from Toho's catalog. Bandai has made plenty of them into Egg Monsters, so it's probably a safe bet.

Weekly Update 9/21/26 — Still Got the Touch

It's Monday yet again Zone Base readers, thank you all for joining me again for another week of robots, monsters, and misadventure!

Like many of you, this weekend I went to see the 40th Anniversary showing of Transformers: The Movie at my local theater. It was nice to see it on the big screen again and celebrate the occasion. Of course, I'm writing this in advance, and below is the weekend update written on my phone Monday morning, hence the grammatical shift.

Because apparently this is what happens when I try to write a blog post before I've fully become a functioning human being for the day.

Despite Zone Base getting thousands of views a day, it's always been something of a ghost town on social media. I mean, I am there, and I even made a Facebook page just to share the site in groups. However, it's just never been a big social media destination.

While I'm definitely not trying to be an influencer, I'm trying to get Zone Base more established on TikTok and Instagram and use those resources as part of the site. My videos have been getting increasingly more views on TikTok, which is awesome, and I'd like to keep growing those accounts. There's a lot of stuff I post there that doesn't necessarily get covered here, so I think of them as another part of Zone Base rather than completely separate things.

If you could, please like and follow me on TikTok and Instagram for more site content that doesn't get posted here. I'd really appreciate it!

Thank you all for supporting Zone Base. Please share it with your friends, and as always, be excellent to each other.

Now, let's get to the weekend!

The Weekend (via poorly written cell phone entry)

My viewing of TFTM was a really good time. I'd been seeing where Shaw Theaters in partnership with Yolopark had been turning their showings into little events and honestly I'm jealous! My theaters didn't even have posters for their showings, talk about slack ass! Regardless, the movie was excellent as always and it was great seeing it on the big screen again. The tribute to Peter Cullen at the beginning was a nice touch and the additional short Transformers: Awakenings was fun to watch even if the plot/message felt a bit... bad fan fic? I dunno, guess I expected more than I should have on that one. Still, like the 40th Anniversary theatrical event in 2024, I really enjoyed myself. This is tge type of thing I'd love to happen more often. It's nice to have local things for fans to enjoy without having to go out of their way at great expense like conventions in more recent years. Man, if only Yolopark had set up in my theater. 

The rest of the weekend was spent helping my mom move. I swear/hope the word move leaves my vocabulary soon and I can find leasure time again. I did manage to watch the newest episodes of Ultraman Teo and Kamen Rider My-Th and get in a little more time in the game of Gargoyle's Quest I've been enjoying for the Halloween season. I'm hoping to get more time soon to organize my toy space as I've got plans for it that I'm really excited about! Didn't really get any toys this weekend. Well, the Mrs surprised me with the last 2 Godzilla x Hello Kitty toys I'd needed that she got from trading groups. The Dragonzord Kickstarter finished up, so I can look forward to that in May. My Big Figs Optimus Prime came in and I love it! Look forward to a post on that in the future. Next weekend I'll be hosting a Transformers panel at Joelanta and am really excited about it. I haven't been since Toylanta was split from Joelanta and it'll be nice to go again. Well, next weeks report will be full of talk about that. Until then, it's time to get this week started!

Formula Type 3 Kiryu [Godziburst]

@robfromzonebase Formula Type 3 Kiryu [Godziburst] #zonebase #godzilla #godziburst #kaiju #monsters ♬ SPECTRAL__WITNESS - ZANKYO://ERROR

One of the many things that draws me to Godziburst is the wild colors they put the kaiju in. It's not a new idea, sofubi and other toys have been doing it forever, but it's still awesome and I love seeing it. When it comes to MechaGodzilla, I can't get enough. When it's Kiryu, that goes quadruple billion.

Like many other kaiju fans, Kiryu strikes an emotional chord with me that's stuck all these years. He's also freaking awesome looking, so when they put him in alternate colors, it's usually pretty great. That's the case with Formula Type 3 Kiryu from Godziburst.

Admittedly, he's got a more muted color scheme than some of the other figures in the initial US wave. He's black gunmetal and blue with gold armor, which is intended to invoke racing imagery.

Personally, I can't look at him without thinking about 90s movies like Zeiram, Mechanical Violator Hakaider, or The Guyver.

I suppose the armor could also be compared to the Gold Ranger from Power Rangers Zeo or King Ranger from Chouriki Sentai Ohranger. Pick your poison.

Kiryu is a wonderfully articulated figure, like most of the Godziburst gang. His armor can be used in a variety of ways or combined with armor from other Godziburst figures to come up with something unique. It's a fun little modular system that encourages you to experiment with the figures and see what ridiculous combinations you can come up with.

Though his armor does present the only problem I actually have with this toy.

Not the armor itself, but... getting it to connect to Kiryu.

You see, these toys are made from a softer plastic that I find really satisfying, but that also makes Kiryu's armor connection nearly impossible to use. You'll notice in the post video that there's a plug that's just not connected. It kept falling out. It was frustrating, but it didn't ruin the toy for me. I really just wanted the Kiryu figure, and I wasn't too fussed about the armor.

Though I suppose I should try plugging that armor into some of the other Godziburst figures just to see if the problem is with Kiryu or the armor itself.

Man, how many times have I said "armor" today?

Weekly Update 9/14/26: It won't be over in five minutes

It's Monday again, Zone Base readers, and time for another week of robots, monsters, and misadventure! We're back from last week's holiday weekend and well into Halloween!

Transformers

While the Transformers world is currently rotating around the 40th anniversary showings of the 1986 Transformers movie, there's news of several fun tie-in products that look pretty damn cool. New blind-box ReAction figures by Super7, that way-cool 30" Optimus Prime by BigFig, various tumblers, and other neat items—the list goes on.

I plan to take in a viewing of the film myself. Like I've said too many times before, I was there opening weekend in 1986. You know what that makes me?

Old.

In other news, the newest Mattel Creations Hot Wheels Transformers collaboration was announced: Bumblebee! I've said time and time again that I'm convinced someone at Plex or Bandai is shadow-working on these Hot Wheels collaborations. The truth is, they're designed by Mattel and Hasbro/Takara Tomy.

The reason they have that Machine Robo feel is, like with Plex or Bandai, the designers are keeping the dimensions of the car and working around it instead of stretching things out to fit a robot.

Still, I see that Bumblebee and I envision an alternate reality where Transformers were sourced from Bandai toys and not Hasbro.

Humor me.

Godzilla / Tokusatsu

The trailer for Godzilla: Minus Zero is making waves and for good reason—it looks amazing! While the sequel looks to follow Minus One's story, it also looks like Ghidorah is joining in, making for an exciting movie. I love how Minus One was essentially a remake of the original Godzilla movie, with this new movie continuing the monsters down a familiar path.

The Dragonzord Kickstarter has been successfully funded and is heading into stretch goals that will include more goodies in the toy box. One of the goals was a White Ranger micro figure to be included alongside a Green Ranger, and that's where my mind checked out after it hit that goal.

So I guess I'm getting more stickers with my tiny Rangers?

I'm sadly adjusting to Zeztz ending while still hoping for a new episode. Damn, I really loved that show. However, Kamen Rider My-Th has begun airing, and I do enjoy it so far. It's such a radical departure from the show before it that I'm having a hard time letting go and... kinda refuse to.

Part of me sees Zeztz in the same light as shows like Neon Genesis Evangelion, where they stick with you long after they end. My-Th, however, is a pretty fun series so far, and I'm enjoying all the different animal-themed Riders in a slightly more... Victorian? flavored setting.

Ultraman Teo continues to be a fun ride, and I'm certainly enjoying Pucchi's involvement more now that he has been fighting alongside Teo. The show is pretty funny as well, and the kaiju look awesome.

I'm a few episodes behind on Omegahorn at this writing, but am still enjoying it more than I thought I would. I really hope Toei starts airing Project R.E.D. on their YouTube channel alongside Kamen Rider.

Weekend Report (as written on my phone Monday morning)

The weekend was pretty good if not over too fast. The Mrs. and I did some things around the house like enjoy dinner from Olive Garden and watch 1000lbs Sisters. I also started a new game of Gargoyle's Quest up while enjoying some ghost videos for some spooky fun. Sunday I finally put our patio furniture back together from the move. It's nice to have it all back after sitting unassembled since June. I started going through some boxes as part of organizing my storage space and slowly building myself a work area. Going through several boxes of older text books and magazines to donate to Goodwill I found several older fanzines and doujin work from my past. Of course those went in the keep boxes. It's going to take a few weekends to get the area in shape, but it'll be good to finally purge a lot of things that have been taking up space for far too long. Not my toys of course, but other assorted crap.

I didn't buy much, but what I bought this weekend was spacious! The Big Figs 30" Optimus Prime figure was ordered and should be here tomorrow and I picked up the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Re-Ignition Season 2 White Tigerzord! I've got to get that Thunder Megazord built! The Dragonzord Kickstarter will finish up this week as well, guess it's been a big ass robot toy kind of week. Well, thank you all for reading Zone Base. I've got to get my day started and get some things done. Please share the site with your friends and be excellent to each other!

Plasma SpaceGodzilla [Godziburst]

@robfromzonebase Plasma Space Godzilla [Godziburst] #zonebase #godzilla #godziburst #kaiju #monsters ♬ VENGEANT - Uz:ME

I was overjoyed when Bandai announced they would begin selling Godziburst toys here in the States. The toys have been available in Japan since last year, but thanks to various issues, certain imports are a little more affordable than others. Thankfully, they're now as close as my local GameStop and Target, both of which are only a short drive away.

Godziburst is a fun new expression of Toho's classic kaiju as small action figures in fun colors with unique add-on armor. The armor can be used on other kaiju as well as combined with each other, and the kaiju themselves have parts that can be swapped around, allowing you to create all sorts of custom designs. They're also super cheap, with a base price of $9.99 at Target and GameStop, putting them in roughly the same category as Transformers Cyberverse. Fun, imaginative, and affordable. What's not to love?

Clearly, these are right up my alley, and you can expect to see me talking about them a lot here on the site. I mean... they're literally made of Zone Base DNA.

To my knowledge, there isn't an ongoing fiction behind Godziburst, which is something I'd love to be wrong about. If you've read something about one and know otherwise, please let me know. I don't have a Patreon or ads, so I don't mind being corrected. Currently, the closest thing to any fiction I've seen is this blurb on the back of the packaging:

"GODZIBURST, the place where battles no one has ever seen unfold..."

That tells me Godziburst is a physical place of some sort, and I love the idea that there's possibly an entire town. There's a mayor of Godziburst. There's apparently a Walmart. Honestly, the basis of the line just being monsters fighting is pretty much on par for anything Godzilla.

Here's a pink and teal Godzilla with enormous cannons beating a completely translucent Gigan with weed whackers until his brains hang out of his ears.

Honestly, I was joking when I wrote that last bit... but it's also completely on brand for Godziburst, and now I want those toys.

The first toy we're looking at is Plasma SpaceGodzilla because... I like SpaceGodzilla.

Plasma SpaceGodzilla is colored in a brilliant purple that's much brighter than he's normally colored in, with vibrant gold and... a pretty pearl color on his feet. He's got pretty feets!

Painted-on lightning detail is a recurring theme with these Godziburst toys, and they've done it particularly cleverly with this one. In the post video, I have his accessories attached, so you can't see this, but his left shoulder crystal is unpainted. This is obviously for budget reasons, and the shoulder lightning covers it anyway. However, the right one is painted with that vibrant gold, and the lightning detail spreads out from it, giving a little visual story to the deco that I love so very much.

OMG, this line is awesome.

SpaceGodzilla is actually fairly articulated, and that's something that has stood out to me. Godziburst toys have a surprisingly decent range of movement for small, inexpensive figures. SpaceGodzilla's accessories are these large energy lightning effects that attach to his shoulder crystals, making for a much more dramatic-looking monster.

With that lightning spreading across his chest, he's clearly radiating all that energy and preparing to strike. This is a rather dramatic amount of energy to radiate off of someone, clearly giving him the look of a big attack that's about to happen. It looks great.

SpaceGodzilla is an absolute pleasure and the ideal introduction to what will be ongoing Godziburst coverage here on the site. Not only is he pure kaiju bliss, but he's also one of the more simple figures in the assortment, allowing me to introduce the line without writing an entire novel as a post.

DOUBLE TROUBLE!

In case my abundant excitement wasn't clear, I am overjoyed with Godziburst. These little monster toys are awesome.

If I were on stage, I'd drop the mic... assuming I didn't pay for it. Because microphones are expensive...

UNLIKE GODZIBURST TOYS!

Weekly Update 8/24/26 — Kaiju, and Dragons, and Gatcha Oh My!

It's time to start a new week of robots, monsters, and misadventures here on Zone Base! I hope everyone had a great weekend! Pumpkin Spiced Mayhem 2026 is chugging along nicely, with the fun just getting started. We still have two more months!

It's still August, which means there's plenty of fun ghost stories coming out of some Asian regions. Zone Base gets a lot of its readership from those areas, and I not only appreciate my friends from that side of the world supporting the site (thanks, guys!), but really enjoy their ghost season. As usual, I've been partaking in the various podcasts and videos from those areas and enjoying the spooky stories.

Japanese car camping videos are also a guilty pleasure of mine, and so many of them have been "Horror Camping" during the month. It's been fun watching people find themselves in scary situations while cooking ramen noodles in the back of their cars. 

Me? I've been busy getting my new place arranged. Being a graveyard-shift CNC programmer means I work some odd hours, so a lot of tasks like arranging shelves tend to wait until the weekend, and even then they have to wait until after everything else gets done. I'm setting up my new desk space inside the house while simultaneously organizing the storage space where the bulk of my toys are. Eventually it'll be nice, but right now it's just poorly organized chaos.

You know, I never think I have a lot of toys until it's time to move. Then I just stare at the boxes like I'm in that warehouse at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Transformers- It seems we're not done talking about Jada Metalfigs or blind boxes, as Jada Transformers Nano Metalfigs and Nano Rides have been spotted for sale individually in blind bags. Just when I was lamenting the glory days of individual Nano Metalfigs, they return! Hopefully they'll make an appearance at my stores soon!

Target has recently been expanding its blind box section, while Five Below, which has always been a good source for them, has started putting an even bigger emphasis on blind boxes as well. Hopefully the bags will pop up there soon, as I'd love to get some gatcha of my favorite characters!

A new Godzilla x Transformers collaboration also seems to be in the works, as listings for two figures have surfaced recently. Obviously, this is in part due to the upcoming releases of Godzilla Minus Zero and Godzilla Supernova. Part of me wonders if they're rereleases of the Takara ones from last year. Hopefully they're all new and... not a struggle to get.

A Target exclusive 30" Optimus Prime figure was shown off in conjunction with a Target end cap tied to the 40th Anniversary showing of TFTM next month. Here's hoping they don't vanish before I can get one. I'm looking forward to attending a showing of the movie and a trip to Target afterwards sounds awesome!

Blokees- The new Wheels Motormaster truck and trailer kit was shown off and I definitely want it. I would have never thought Wheels would be something I enjoy so much, but it is and I love these trailer sets.

Godzilla- Speaking of Godzilla, the new Godzilla x Hello Kitty collaboration Happy Meals have launched at McDonald's and they're pretty great! The toys are figurines of various Sanrio characters dressed as Godzilla and his fellow monsters. Kaiju fans are practically stalking their local McDonald's, just like with the Changeables from February. I'm going to spend some cheat meals with Ronald! Hopefully I get Rodan/Badtz-Maru!

Power Rangers- The MMPR Re-Ignition Dragonzord has been a hot topic lately. Like many of you, I felt his absence last year while completing the Re-Ignition Dino Megazord and was pleased, if not a little perplexed, to see Playmates offer it through a Kickstarter. I pledged right away on launch day, as I definitely need him to go along with my set. The base toy comes with a mini Green Ranger to boot, and there are plenty of add-ons and additional packages available when you pledge. Here's hoping he meets the goal!

The Re-Ignition Thunder Megazord is also now showing up on store shelves, and I'm looking forward to building it. The Thunder Megazord has always been a favorite of mine. Hopefully the blind box MMPR minis will show up soon, too. I really want those.

Man, blind boxes are all over this week's update.

The Weekend (written from my phone Monday morning)- It was a pretty low key weekend with not much going on. I hit a few McDonald's trying to get some of the Godzilla x Hello Kitty toys and got Rodan and Godzilla. Hopefully I can get more, my local stores aren't great and have some pretty terrible customer service, so these things can be tricky. A stop by Gamestop resulted in me finally getting some Godziburst figures and Godzilla Scramble eggs. I picked up 2 of each with plans to get more. I got the cupcake and Jet Jaguar Godzilla toys in the eggs. In Godziburst I picked up Plasma Space Godzilla and Formula Type 3 Kiryu. At Walmart, I grabbed 2 more Transformers Blokees Galaxy Version blind boxes from the Transformers One wave 2 case... and got Elita-1 and Starscream again... ugh. CVS sent me a great coupon for a metalic poster print that combined with rewards points was free. I've now got a great poster of the site badge (mobile readers, check out the desktop version!) and thanks to a slight scuff on the first print, got two! The scuffed one will go in the storage space as it gets organized. A little later after I originally wrote this, my mom stopped by and gave me a Wold Cup x Transformers Breakaway she had purchased on clearance. You know, I'm not a sports guy, but he's kinda neat!

I got some gaming in, dropping back into Resident Evil Requim after not playing it for too long and gave Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare for Gameboy (via Switch Online) a try and had fun with it. Definitely putting some more time into that. Built the Mrs's new hutch this weekend and more Blokees Wheels from the backlog. Well, I guess it wasn't the most momentous weekend, but they don't always have to be. It's time to get the week started Zone Base readers. Thank you all for your support. Please don't forget to share the site with your friends and be excellent to each other.

Weekly Update: 7/20/2026

Another week has begun here on Planet Zone, and with it comes more robots, monsters, and mayhem!

Now that we're settling into the new posting routine, I guess it's time to make these Weekly Update posts about more than just telling you where I ate and what I picked up at Walmart. I mean, I'm still going to tell you about eating at Olive Garden and what I found at Walmart... but, you know... other stuff too.

Since I'm gathering my thoughts throughout the week now, I'll probably write the final part of these updates Monday morning from my living room while poking away at my phone just before I hit "Publish." Everything else? Well, those are just random thoughts that popped into my head during the week.

Transformers Cyberworld

I'm excited that the new Cyberworld toys are finally starting to hit store shelves. It's been way too long between new releases, and I'm practically salivating over the new Energon Surge figures.

Hopefully they'll be a little easier to find than last year's assortment. While toy hunting can certainly be fun, I'm nowhere near as patient about it as I used to be. Honestly, with just about everything available at my fingertips these days, it's always a little surprising when something winds up being genuinely difficult to track down.

I also got a chuckle out of seeing several Cyberworld fans practically will the Transformers Wiki into adding each character's biome to their entries. It reminds me a little of the Transformers Cybertron days when fans became absolutely obsessed with maps of the various planets and collecting keys.

Now I'm wondering...

Will Hasbro eventually release an official guide to all of the Cyberworld biomes?

If not, that sounds like a pretty fun fan project.

I'm particularly fond of the upcoming Ultra Magnus toy. I love how his robot mode resembles his appearance in Transformers Prime, although I still wish that toy line had paid a little more tribute to his original toy from the line.

At first, I couldn't quite tell what his alternate mode was from the early pictures. Was he some kind of Dustbuster? Thankfully, once better images surfaced, I realized he transforms into a jet that reminds me a lot of Wingsaber from Transformers Energon. That's always been a design I've liked (yes, even with the limited articulation), so the resemblance is a welcome one. Like the Cyber Battalion and Authentics Shockwave figures, he transforms into a ship that looks like it flew straight out of a 16-bit shooter. I'm half expecting someone to discover it's secretly paying tribute to some obscure PC-98 game.

He's also an Ultimate Cyber Changer, which means the standard Cyber Changers can interact with him. We've already seen that one can ride him in his jet mode, and I'm curious to see what other interactions they've built into the toy.

He just looks incredibly cool, and once again Cyberworld has me slipping into pure fan-mode giddiness.

I absolutely love it.

The new Lockdown Cyber Changer also looks like a lot of fun. I really appreciate that they chose to have him transform into one of his wolfves from Age of Extinction instead of simply giving him another sports car mode.

I've seen a lot of people comparing his robot mode to Wildwheel from Transformers Cyberverse, but honestly, my first thought was Cad Bane from Star Wars. Whether that resemblance was intentional or not, I couldn't tell you, but I definitely see it.

Blokees

Now that the move has settled down, picking up Blokees Wheels Series 3 and that new Shattered Glass Optimus Prime truck and trailer set has become a pretty high priority for me.

I still haven't assembled any of my Series 2 kits, but that's mostly because every weekend has been spent getting the new house organized. Once things finally calm down a bit, you can bet I'll be snapping together a lot more Blokees and other kits.

Blokees have also begun showing off another one of their original IPs called Astral Rally, and I absolutely love what I'm seeing so far. They'll be releasing kits in the Defender Class (which, as you know, is my favorite), and I'm already excited to jump into these. Astral Rally looks like it's going to be a wonderful mix of science fiction and fantasy, and a really fun new robot series to follow! 

Sandbox Mainline?

Recent comments from Hasbro's designers have revealed that future Transformers lines are going to be more of a sandbox made up of different fictional settings. That's actually something I've been hoping they'd do with Generations (or Legacy, as they called it. Honestly, I was hoping they'd just rebrand the whole Generations line as Legacy) for a while now.

When you think about it, Generations already works this way. Studio Series falls under the Generations umbrella, and that line itself now includes characters from the live-action movies, video games, and soon various cartoons and comic books. Whatever the current Generations line happens to be called—*Siege*, *Legacy*, *Age of the Primes*, or whatever comes next—it's really just a big hodgepodge of characters from across Transformers history held together by a loose framing device.

And don't even get me started on the crossover figures.

Meanwhile, the kid-focused toys have quietly become much easier to understand. They're all packaged in those white boxes with a small logo telling you whether it's Cyberworld, Prime Changers, or one of the general-purpose Optimus Prime and Bumblebee toys that aren't tied to a specific series.

Basically, they're saying:

"This is G1 Powerglide."

"This is Cyberworld Optimus Prime."

"This is just Bumblebee."

I actually like that approach. It clears up some of the naming confusion while making it easier for both kids and collectors to figure out exactly what they're looking at.

Generations.

Mainline.

I'm in.

It also makes me wonder if they're designing all of this with FAST channels in mind. With those channels constantly cycling through one Transformers cartoon or movie after another, organizing the toy line this way makes a lot of sense.

Speaking of FAST channels...

It looks like the dedicated Transformers Channel is slowly being replaced by the Hasbro Legends Channel. While I enjoy the new channel, I have to admit I'm going to miss having Transformers running 24 hours a day.

It was like carrying the old 3H-era BotCon video room around in your pocket.

I can't tell you how many times I'd doze off with it playing in the background. Kind of like those folks who'd spend half the convention sleeping in the BotCon video room before wandering off to borrow a shower from a friend.

...Wait.

Did anyone wake Hellbat up before the voice actor panel?

Uh oh. 

Kamen Rider Zeztz, Myth, and Ultraman Teo

Kamen Rider Zeztz is quickly coming to an end, with Kamen Rider Myth taking its place this fall. I've really been enjoying Zeztz, so I'm honestly a little heartbroken to see it end. Myth certainly looks like it'll be a lot of fun, and I hope it manages to keep the momentum going after just how good Zeztz has been.

Ultraman Teo is also getting a synchronized launch, airing in both Japan and America on the very same day. That's fantastic news, and I really hope more series start following the lead of Kamen Rider and Ultraman.

So far, Teo has been a lot of fun. It's a little sillier than Zeztz, and I'm really enjoying that. Of course, since I've been watching each new episode right after Zeztz every week, the tonal whiplash can be pretty amusing.

Godziburst and Godzilla Scramble

Bandai will soon be releasing the Godziburst figures here in America, and I couldn't be more excited. I've been watching these from afar for about a year now, just waiting for my chance to pick some up.

Multi-colored Toho kaiju figures with customizable weapons and armor?

Yes, please.

I'm also practically salivating over *Godzilla Scramble*. It's a blind-box series built around the Godzilla Egg Monsters I've talked about here before. The first assortment includes several wonderfully bizarre versions of Godzilla...

...including a hamburger Godzilla.

I don't think I have to explain how badly I want one.

Power Rangers

Playmates is following up its combinable Dino Megazord with a Thunder Megazord at the same scale. I really enjoyed the first set, so you know I'm looking forward to another Shogun Warrior-sized gattai.

I've always loved the Thunderzords, so this one's definitely a treat. There's even a White Tigerzord included!

Of course, this also highlights the absence of the Dragonzord from the original Dino Megazord set, which was something I had been hoping they'd eventually address.

Well... they have.

Playmates has announced a Kickstarter campaign for a Dragonzord designed to go with that very set.

I'm a little conflicted.

I definitely want a Dragonzord... but I'd also really just like to buy one at regular retail. I guess I'll have to wait and see what the Kickstarter pricing looks like before I decide what to do.

Star Fox

I've been having a blast with the new *Star Fox* on my Switch 2. Even though it's technically a remake of Star Fox 64, it really feels like an entirely new game.

I've also been trying my hand at the online mode.

I'm terrible.

Absolutely terrible.

But it's still a ton of fun playing against people from all over the world. Hopefully, with a little practice, I'll start getting better. 

The Weekend and What I got

The weekend went well. The Mrs and I spent time at the pool and organizing our new home some. Weekend shopping included a trip to Burlington, Five Below, Aldi, and Target for some needed items. I got a fun blind box at Five Below that was Japanese take out. You'd get a tiny toy of the food from a restaurant and a delivery box. I got shrimp tempura! Target didn't have anything I was looking for, but ordered Cyberworld Energon Surge Armored Cyber Changers Ratchet and Bumblebee Sunday morning. Sunday meant more time at the pool and organizing the new place. I took the Mrs jewelry to the store for their 6 month inspection and got us donuts from Donut Worry while out. So good! Probably not my most exciting weekend, but a very relaxing one. Thank you all for reading Zone Base. Please share the site with your friends and be excellent to each other!

  

Mission Start: Monday

Start battle protocol, initializing a new week. I hope everyone had a good weekend, mine was hectic. The Mrs and I are moving next month which means a lot of work and planning. Not to mention finding time for other activities. The Mrs had gotten some free boxes on Facebook, so Saturday afternoon we took a short trip to a neighboring town to retrieve them. It was quite a lot from a friendly guy who we made small talk with while breaking them down and loading them in our Corolla Cross. Also I partially disassembled the Mrs's vanity as she sold it with intent on getting a smaller one after we move. I remember assembling this one not long after we moved here 6 years ago. As usual, I stayed up late Saturday night with a TV for company. I watched Star Wars, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, and both Mr. Boogedy movies while assembling it. The father and daughter who bought it came early Sunday morning, also a friendly group of people. We packed a few box and made plans for our new home with some Halloween cartoons on for background noise. Sunday was also mother's day which included a spaghetti dinner by the Mrs at my mom's house with my older brother visiting.

Not everything was work though. We got some shopping in which finally led to me finding some of the new Tiny Turbo Changers! Long time readers are no doubt aware just how much I loved these. While they're slightly repainted reissues of some of the Cyberverse molds, I'm glad to see them. I picked up 3 packs wanting to keep my spending down (moving is expensive). Of course I have the codes on my phone and picked out Hot Rod, Sky-Byte, and Soundwave. I plan to get the entire series, but in due time. These and other smaller purchases will be fun during the move. I did see some new MOTU movie toys while out. I definitely plan on getting some Chronicles (formerly Masterverse), the new Core line is likely going to be a focus and it looks fun! The Mrs got me a Happy Meal! The current promotion is a Stranger Things tie in with the current animated series that I'm enjoying with mini figures. I got the Vine Monster! Speaking of Happy Meals, those luky folks in Japan are getting an excellent new Changeables series that I'm very jealous of!

I also ordered a box of the new Transformers Blokees Defender Version series 07. I was going to wait for Blokees to stock it on their Amazon store, but sometimes that takes weeks and I'm too damn excited for it. Speaking of, the Mrs and I opened the case of Transformers Blokees Wheels series 2 that came in last week. As usual we took turns opening the blind boxes to see who came in it. One of each in the set with 1 chase taking the place of that characters toy. I got Radiant Roadbuster! I was excited for this as that's specifically the Cloud Roadbuster deco... meaning it's Superlink Roadbuster or Energon Ironhide to us in the States. I do hope to get a regular Roadbuster at some point though. I got some time playing Pragmata in, which I just love. I absolutely love this game. There was an announcement regarding the new Starfox game coming soon for Switch 2 that I'm excitied for. I'm not sure if I'll get it at release or wait a little as I'm not sure if I'll be ready to put Hugh and Diana to the side yet by then. Speaking of Starfox, I'd been planning to use this week's video for a few weeks making for some fun synergy with the timing, but would like to point out some trivia with those infamous puppets that I recently learned.

Takashi Yamazaki, director of Godzilla Minus One, worked on the puppets and commercial! That's so cool! I had a Starfox poster in my room through high school and college with them on it ( it's probably still around here somewhere). It's fun knowing that after all this time he was involved. Apparently Nintendo had plans for Starfox to have a Thunderbirds style TV show to be produced around the time. That would have been so cool! Speaking of cool, this coming weekend I'll be at Rangerstop in Atlanta hosting the Transformers panel with my pal Dusty. That's right, we're working Transformers into Rangerstop! Brett, owner and operator of Toylanta asked if I could help make Transformers part of the show and I'm too happy for the chance. The panel will be Sunday at 12pm, I hope to see some of you there! With the move I'll only be there Sunday, but as this continues to grow, be sure to see me as a permanent fixture! I'll be running off more Zone Base stickers, be sure to get one!

Well, time to get this week started. I've got some work to do around the house and pictures to take for upcoming posts. Life is getting extra busy for the next few weeks, but you can be sure I'll still be bringing plenty of content for your eyeballs! Thank you for reading. Please share the site with your friends and be excellent to each other!

Kaiju Ranger Red Rodan [Godzilla VS Mighty Morphin Power Rangers]

This year, the stars have really aligned. For whatever reason, Zone Base’s 10th year feels like the universe decided, “yeah, let’s just give this guy everything he likes.”

Case in point: these new Playmates Toys figures based on Godzilla vs. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.

I’ve talked about the bag clips before, but now that there are actual figures of these designs? It’s a little mind-blowing.

Like I said before, I haven’t even read the comics yet. I’m tempted, but I’ve been holding off. Still, as a fan of this stuff, this hits some very specific part of my brain I can’t quite explain.

Pure euphoria?
Yeah… something like that.

I’ve always had a huge soft spot for Rodan, going all the way back to my old Shogun Warriors toy as a kid. So seeing him reimagined as a Ranger—and of course as the Red Ranger—is just incredible.

And it works.

The design is such a perfect blend. The Rodan-inspired helmet is full-on monster and packed with character. The scaled body armor looks natural, and those wings coming off his back just sell the whole thing.

This feels like something that should have always existed.

Alright, let’s talk accessories so I’m not just saying “this is awesome” over and over again… even though it is.

He comes with the Red Ranger’s Power Sword and the Blade Blaster, which can be displayed in both blaster and blade modes. There’s also a display stand shaped like his Morpher Medallion, embossed with the Rodan symbol that Toho uses for the classic character.

That detail is so cool. I tried to show it off in the photos—and I was probably more impressed by it than any reasonable person should be.

I… love this thing.

Like, seriously love it.

This isn’t a constructive post.
It’s me fawning over a toy.

Battle for Monday

Good morning Zone Base readers, thanks for coming back for another week of robots, monsters, and misadventure! I hope everyone had a good weekend, mine was a little chaotic thanks to a family emergency, but thankfully not terrible. The Mrs and I did manage to get some shopping done where I picked up Transformers Studio Series Devastation Bumblebee and a Godzilla blind box. I pulled a clear red chase MechaGodzilla! We watched some of the new Stranger Things Tales from '85 animated series and I played plenty of Pragmata. Next weekend hopefully things will get back to normal. I didn't even get to work on any models Sunday (dammit). Oh well, a little chaos every now and then is to be expected. I've got a fun week in store for you all. Thank you so much for reading Zone Base. Please remember to share it with your friends and be excellent to each other! 

Godzilla Minus Zero (trailer)

November 3rd & 6th 2026

Holy Shit 

Monday & Punishment

Monday again, it was just Sunday and I was happily playing Doom and enjoying my weekend. Oh well, welcome back to another week on Zone Base. Hopefully you all had a great weekend, I did. The Mrs and I did our weekly shopping and enjoyed a fun Easter by Watching The Super Mario Galaxy Movie and enjoying a peaceful day at home. While out Saturday I picked up a few fun things. We stopped at Aldi because they have excellent produce and I picked up a MrBeast Labs Hybrids. I've been meaning to check these blind monster packs out regardless of the apparently famous YouTube guys name on the label. They're fun modular figures with emphasis on mix and match parts that look to use the Glyos system. I got Serpanther in mine, a red Gorgon/panther hybrid. Pretty neat, though the tail section is made of some cheap plastic.

At Walmart I got a Blokees Classic Class Soundwave from Transformers One and the new Walmart Exclusive gold Skeletor from the new MOTU Core Class line that I'm pretty excited about. It's a slightly smaller action figure range for Masters of The Universe that's seemingly movie and classis character based. I plan to cover them pretty throughly here as they're perfect Wednesday post material. I also look forward to building that Soundwave soon. 

The Mrs surprised me with a very cool Easter Basket full of candy, a MrBeast Labs Swarms blind pack, some of his candy (literally, who is this guy and why is his name on some pretty good products?) A MOTU X Transformers Scareglow Starscream (now I own the complete set), The Red Rodan Kaiju Ranger figure from Playmates new Power Rangers X Godzilla figures (must get all these), as well as some Reese's and Hershey Easter Candy. There's also a Super Mario Pez dispenser in there that I'm tempted to carry around regularly. Some people vape, I Pez. It was a great surprise and I think she liked her Easter basket from me. I got her a canvas print of our cats... it's on the wall over the TV. 

She made one excellent Sunday dinner that I enjoyed while finishing the last of my Blokees Defender Version kits that haven't been assembled yet and of course playing Doom. There's a new Defender Version series on the way that I can't wait to get my hands on as well as more Wheels. So good! Well, it may be spring, but I've got Halloween on my mind and the beginnings of this years 3 month long spooky season is cooking in my brain. Last year we broke site records, let's see how big Pumpkin Spiced Mayhem is in 2026! Well, it's time to get this week started. It's a special week here on the site as I renewed the domain for the 10th time... that's right, Zone Base turns 10 this week and it's really amazing to see how it's grown over the years. Thank you all for reading and supporting the site. Please don't forget to share with your friends and be excellent to each other.

Leo X Godzilla [Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles X Godzilla]

Rounding out the first wave of figures in the awesome TMNT X Godzilla line from Playmates is Leo X Godzilla. Pairing the Turtles’ leader (regardless of what Raphael says) with the King of the Monsters, and utilizing Leonardo’s signature blue alongside Godzilla’s atomic breath, just feels natural.

The blue flames on his katana combine the two characters’ signature weapon/attack perfectly, and it just looks fantastic.

I’ve made the comparison before, but I really feel the need to make it again — these feel more like designer toys than action figures you can just pick up at Target.

After this year, Mattel will be taking over mainline TMNT action figures, and thanks to Turtles of Grayskull, I know they’ll be in good hands. This crossover feels like an excellent finale to Playmates Toys TMNT for me, as I’ve been buying them since I was a kid in the late ’80s.

Once again, the figure has excellent articulation and sculpted detail. It’s pretty amazing just how well the melding of Godzilla with the TMNT aesthetic works. I really like the way his tail and back plates integrate with the turtle shell.

Part of me wishes they’d do a Gamera. Now that I’ve said that, I really want one.

Unfortunately, this is the last TMNT X Godzilla figure we’ll be looking at for a while, as wave 2 isn’t due out until this fall.

ToyLanta 2026!

It’s time once again for ToyLanta!

I’ll be attending the convention all weekend and, as usual, doing a daily report right here! I’ll also be hosting the annual Transformers panel with Dusty — if you’re at the show, please come by and join in! The panel will be Sunday at 2pm!

Be sure to check out my Instagram for photos from the show, and don’t forget to check back here daily for updates as the weekend unfolds!

Friday – I got a late start heading to the show for the first day thanks to traffic (ug, driving through Atlanta) arriving just before 7pm. This left me a little time to check in (Hi Brett!) and and check out the Friday preview. ToyLanta has really grown to a HUGE show, so I hardly had time to check out around 1/4th of the lower show floor before it was time to leave. Fortunately I made the most of that time and enjoyed myself greatly.

There were many cool toy companies on hand and I found myself having some great conversations. While checking out things, I ran into Jerry. Jerry is a great guy and it's always good to see him. We chatted some about Transformers Cybertron before heading about to check out more of the show. I look forward to seeing him more later. I also made a new friend Garry who was setting up one really awesome booth. He had a ton of Transformers including a plentiful amount of Blokees and a great Unicron display. Speaking of Blokees, there was SO MANY! I was in heaven... will be buying so many.

One thing that absolutely floored me was the amount of people enjoying my stickers. The Mrs had gotten me a thermal printer at Christmas and I designed a new sticker to hand out for Zone Base. Well, I brought a little over 60 (in multiple colors) in my Shin-Chan pouch to hand out and... they were gone in minutes! I saw people sticking them on their bags, their phones, everywhere! Talk about flattering.

After roaming around after the dealer preview closed for a little bit I headed home for the night. I had stopped by Kroger to pick the Mrs up a few things before heading home and parked next to an SUV completely full of trash. Well, it looked like trash. Tons of crap.. and boxes of pho. Weird. After heading home I enjoyed some pizza and TV with the Mrs before printing out more stickers for Saturday.

I printed out 120-130 more (in various colors) while the Mrs cut them out. The Shin-Chan pouch is full again! Well, it's late as I'm writing this on my phone in bed with MXC on in the background. Time to get some sleep, there's a whole weekend of Toylanta ahead of me... and I'm excited.

My haul for Friday is was a Servo from Super Human Samurai Cyber Squad/Gridman and a purle keshi of the Last Seeker that comes with a mini-comic. It was originally a BotCon 2022 exclusive, so that's neat to own. The Last Seeker had a booth with the main toy available in multiple colors. I'm deciding which one to get as it's pretty tempting in each option. Also Warlords of Wor have an excellent booth (as usual) and I've got my work cut out for me picking what I want. Decisions, decisions.

Saturday – I got to the show around 12pm starting my day not terribly long after the show's start. I ran into Mike and Judy in the parking garage as we were taking pictures of our parking locations to remember for later. The day is actually something of a blurr, so I'll just give highlights.

David Faustino was a con guest for Saturday only, leading to Bud Bundy delivering many of the convention announcements. I stuck around to see his autograph session begin with a guy dressed as Al Bundy who brought a replica of the Bundy couch for the two to sit on for a picture. Later after I had went to put my hoodie in my car, I saw the guy carrying the couch out of the convention center. Dude just brought a couch with him.

Speaking of guests, Daniel Pesnia and Anthony Marquez who were in the original Mortal Kombat games were guests at the show (among other esteemed folks). By chance I was wearing a cool Mortal Kombat t-shirt the Mrs had given me. As I walked past them, Daniel Pesnia stepped to me to tell me he liked my shirt and introduce himself. We totally shook hands and exchanged pleasantries for a bit. Johnny Cage is a very nice guy. 

I ran into Jerry again who had friends in tow whoms names I can't currently remember (sorry guys, it was cool talking with you). I also ran into Matt whom I befriended at the 2024 show and never saw last year. I'm looking forward to catching up with him tomorrow! I also chatted some with 2M3D Prints whom I had bought some cool dragons for the Mrs from in 2023.

I also met Team No Sleep 3D and bought some cute stuff for the Mrs. That was a real treat as they work in special effects for movies and TV. It was cool talking with them, especially as that was something I wanted to do as a kid. Speaking of new friends, I met Rise of the Nexus a husband and wife duo whom were showcasing their new action figure/table top game system. Really cool people whom I enjoyed speaking with.

Of course I made time to chat with Gary some more whom I met Friday. Seriously cool dude. I also enjoyed chatting with others whom were working with him at their booth, an all around great group of people. Of course I made a point to say hi to Brett, the organizer of Toylanta whenever I saw him. He's doing an excellent job with the show and has taken it to all new heights. It's really impressive just how big this convention has gotten.

As for toys I bought today, first I picked up one of the full Last Seeker in Euro G2 colors. It looks fabulous and had a hard time not getting the black version... but me and G2, it's a vibe. I also picked up a great Zombie Sci Fi guy set from Warlords of Wor with plans on getting a few more kits from him before the end of the show. Skeletron had a booth and I picked up the new Red Shadows figure that they debuted at the show.

I picked up a Blokees Shining Edition  blind box from Gary's table. I opened it with some of the cool people at the table and got a Ratchet! I'll definitely pick up a few more from him tomorrow (and open them with my new friends). Speaking of Blokees, there was SO MANY at the show.

Some dealers even selling loose assembled figures, in which I picked up a Bombshell whom I've been looking to get. That completes the Insecticons, leading to a post Ive been wanting to write here for the site. Please look forward to that soon. I also picked up a Gobots Psycho for $15 in decent shape. I've been wanting a Psycho for sometime, so this was exciting. 

I headed home shortly after the dealer room closed for the evening very, very tired. According to my Galaxy Watch I've walked almost 8,000 steps today (cons are WORK). The Mrs had a sandwich from Subway waiting for me as well as a birthday cake and presents! Monday is my birthday and she made a point to celebrate with me today as a way of making the con even more special.

I won't go every gift, but there was Transformers and He-Man toys. A new pair of ramen noodle sandals, a new pair of Hey Dudes (my favorite shoes), a case for my Atari Gamestation Go, a Godzilla sticker, some awesome Jada Godzilla figures, Zoids, and another box of color sticker paper for my sticker printer.

Those stickers were just as popular today and people were proudly representing Zone Base. That's so flattering and amazing for me personally. I don't have the biggest social media presence, but I take notice of the sites views. Several thousands of you come out each week and read my site and it's so flattering and awesome. However actually seeing people happily taking my stickers and proudly displaying them is something I never imagined. Seriously, thank you everyone. Your support means so much to me.

We've got just one more day of Toylanta 2026 left and I'm both excited for another day and sad there's just one day left. This has definitely been one for the history books. I've actually been extremely overwhelmed latley and this weekend being pure exhilaration has been amazing. Just a heads up, the Sunday report may not be published until Monday morning. The Mrs and my Mom will be having my birthday dinner Sunday evening for me when I get home from the show. Seriously, best weekend ever.

There's a guy who looks like Adam the Woo (RIP) whom I keep seeing, I'm probably creeping him out.

Sunday – Sunday started out at home with the Mrs making us breakfast before me heading out to the show. Getting there just before noon, I decided that I wanted to get selfies with friends and the various awesome people at the show. I got to work on that right away and handed put more stickers. Speaking of, if you're new to Zone Base, thanks for checking it out! I bought a Big Bad Beetleborgs Titanium Silver figure that was taped to a jet? The jet connects to the kabuto toy from the same line, so if I ever find that.

I also picked up a Geodraxus Stealth MK IV from the Warlords of Wor booth. I've been wanting a Geodraxus for some time and they tend to sell out fast. Actually, there was a pleasant amount of Glyos on the sales floor and I kind of wish I would have gotten more. There was one Zeiram figure made from Glyos I was sooo close to buying, but was a little too pricey for comfort. I also grabbed two more Shining Edition Blokees from Gary's table. I got Grimlock and Sideswipe! I'm definitely getting more Shining Edition kits in the future, though Wheels Series 02 and Defender Version series 7 are next on my Blokees buying radar. 

I did my rounds getting selfies and talking with awesome people before Dusty showed up. We chatted a while before heading to start the annual Transformers Panel. While there Dusty gifted me the new Generations Seaspray figure! Thanks Dusty! While we were preparing to start the panel, Dusty set out more repro label faction sticker sheets for guests as well as a print of Gears he had drawn that the art had been pirated for a third party toy. While we waited, Greg Berger walked in and joined us! That's right, Grimlock himself. Which made for the second time I got a Grimlock suprise that day. While Sunday panels tend to have lighter attendance, we had a great group and the panel was a great time.

Heading out, I took the Gears picture with intentions to frame it. It looks like the Mrs and I will be moving soon and I can't wait to put it on the wall of my new toy room. The con was wrapping up and I said my goodbyes to everyone. It's always sad to see it end. Fortunately Brett has recently taken over Ranger Stop and asked me to host a Transformers panel there this summer. After checking with the Mrs (we're moving this summer, so making sure it was an option was really important) I can gladly say I'll be there! 

Traffic on the way home was interesting. The opposite side of the interstate at one point had been shut down. It looked like something serious had happened, but I'm not sure what. Wow. I got home just in time for the Mrs to have my birthday dinner ready for us to eat. Mom joined us and gave me two Masters of the Universe Masterverse toys! We enjoyed dinner with birthday cake before I ended the night playing Doom before watching the 70's Tales from the Darkside movie. 

Today though, we're back to normal. It's actually my birthday today, and I plan on spending it relaxing and getting a nap or two in before work tonight. Of course there's pics for upcoming posts to take and a few household chores to do. Our first big event of the year may be over, but as always it's always robots, monsters, and misadventure here on Zone Base! Thank you all for reading. Please don't forget to share with your friends and be excellent to each other!

Ralph X Rodan [TMNT X Godzilla]

So, if anything, the slightly random nature of the TMNT X Godzilla toys is part of the magic. Clearly there was going to be a Rodan, and since Raphael wears red, they’re a match. However, as a fan, I can’t just let it be that simple. See, Raphael (cool, but rude) has that infamous fiery temper. The Rodans not only died in a volcano in their debut movie, but Fire Rodan was introduced in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, complete with the Uranium Heat Beam ability. The MonsterVerse Rodan was discovered in a volcano as well. See? Spiciness is implied… it works.

The merging of Rodan and Raphael also looks absolutely awesome. Admittedly, combining monsters and mutants is already a winning combination, but all of these designs have been great so far. I didn’t mention it in Mikey X King Ghidorah, but these figures have an excellent amount of articulation in addition to the detailed sculpting and strong coloring. Playmates makes awesome toys, and that’s on full display here.

I’ve always had a soft spot for Rodan thanks to that Shogun Warriors version I played with until it literally fell apart. And even though Michelangelo is my favorite turtle, there have been times when Raphael has taken that spot. Sometimes, when life gets hard and you’re mad at the world, you can relate.

I love how the wings are incorporated, and I really enjoy his trademark sai being enhanced with that fiery Uranium Heat Beam energy. This one really nails the concept and is sitting somewhere special in my heart.

Mikey X King Ghidorah [TMNT X Godzilla]

When I first learned about the TMNT X Godzilla crossover line, I about crapped my pants. Something so right, just sitting there at Target. The Mrs. picked up on that instantly and grabbed me the first wave of figures for Christmas, and we’re about to spend the next few Wednesdays taking a look at them.

It’s also been far too long since I’ve talked about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles here on the site, so this whole thing is prime subject matter. We’re going to start things off with my favorite of the turtles, Michelangelo.

I’m assuming Michelangelo was chosen to represent King Ghidorah because of his orange colors. There is a tie-in comic, which I haven’t read, but I assume it provides an in-universe reason. Either way, it looks fantastic. Mikey is almost completely colored in Ghidorah’s trademark gold, and it works incredibly well. His head sculpt blends the traditional TMNT design with elements of Ghidorah’s dragon head. Ghidorah’s other two heads can be worn as shoulder armor or held to recreate the signature three-headed dragon look we all know.

Of course, being Michelangelo, he’s got his twin nunchucks. Instead of the usual wooden ones, these are translucent energy nunchucks patterned after Ghidorah’s Gravity Beams. There are also two giant wings and Ghidorah’s twin tails to attach, completing the whole package. It’s crazy how good this thing looks — more like a designer toy than a standard action figure. This has absolutely no right to look as good as it does, and yet it somehow pulls it off anyway.