It’s been weeks, but we’ve finally reached the end of the SEGA road—for now. Completing Series One of the Console Heroes SEGA Genesis dioramas means taking a look at the console itself. Last week was Part One of the Supervillain Bundle coverage. This week, we open up the rest of that big box: a SEGA Genesis to plug all these cartridges we’ve been looking at into.
No, seriously—you can actually insert them into the console.
The Genesis/Mega Drive here doubles as a display case for the various figurines included with the games, and honestly… this whole line is neat, isn’t it? A faithful (if slightly larger) reproduction of the legendary system looks impressive on its own, and frankly stirs up a little emotion. I do love this console. As silly as that may sound.
When opened, the inside reveals a large display space for your figures, complete with shelves set against that classic SEGA grid background. It gives the games a place to “play” together, which is a really charming touch. Adding to the magic is the Supervillain angle. Included are figures of several iconic Genesis-era villains: Mr. X from Streets of Rage, Death Bringer from Golden Axe, Mecha Sonic MK II, and the Death Egg Robot from Sonic the Hedgehog. That lineup alone gives me hope for future releases—especially more Golden Axe
But that’s not all. Remember all those cartridges we’ve been talking about? Not only do they insert into the console, but there’s even a little storage tray included for the extras. That’s one of those details that might not mean much to everyone, but for some of us, it creates an instant smile. There’s something deeply satisfying about seeing your games lined up on the shelf like a tiny trophy rack.
Overall, this makes for a fantastic centerpiece to the collection, and I genuinely hope more releases are on the way. It’s a little strange coming to the end of this line after writing about it for so long, but it’s also incredibly rewarding. The Genesis/Mega Drive is one of those systems I probably cherish a little too much, and seeing all of these sets under the Christmas tree was a moment of pure elation. The Mrs. definitely knew it was something I’d love—and she was absolutely right.
Our look at the Console Heroes SEGA Genesis line is winding down… but it’s going out with a bang. The final set in the initial series is a BIG box absolutely packed with Genesis goodies. The SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive console itself is here-because of course you need a console to play all these great games-and just like consoles back in the day, it comes with a game!
Since this set is pretty big, I’m splitting it into two parts: this week and next week. We’re starting with the game most people remember coming with their Genesis. I know, I know-some of you got Altered Beast or Streets of Rage… but work with me here-Sonic the Hedgehog. There’s a reason I went a little out of order with the Sonic games.
As you’d expect by now, Sonic in cartridge form is a well-done (and slightly larger) replica of the original cart, complete with reproduced artwork. When opened, it reveals a nicely sculpted recreation of one of the game’s subterranean sections. You’ll have to pardon my brain fart on exactly which specific zone it’s meant to represent. There are some great vines and little spikes included that decorate the background and complete the look. No matter how many Sonic games I play, those damn spikes still get me.
Figure-wise, we get a repeat of the Sonic figure from the Sonic 2 cartridge, which at this point feels fair-and frankly, justified. There’s also one of those clear rod doohickeys… do those even have an official name? The clear rod doohickey is used to suspend the also-included Dr. Robotnik/Eggman in midair as he flies around in his signature Eggmobile. I completely geeked out over this figure, because I’ve always loved the image of Robotnik swooping in at the end of a level in his little pod.
All told, this is a great little diorama that pairs perfectly with the big tamale playset diorama we’ll be getting to next week. It’s been a blast covering this series, and our final item-at least until they hopefully make more-is going to end things with style. The Genesis “Supervillain Bundle” is truly something to behold. Make sure to come back next week for part two of Blast Processing!
I’m honestly a little surprised Sonic 3 got a Console Heroes diorama, given how slightly buried the game has become over the years. Thanks to its soundtrack featuring Michael Jackson’s music, it’s existed in a bit of a legal gray area due to licensing issues.
Thankfully, it’s starting to see the light of day again with a new soundtrack, because it really is a great game. Fortunately, these dioramas don’t have soundtracks, so it’s not really an issue here. Though I suppose you could just play some Michael Jackson on your Bluetooth speaker if you really wanted to complete the experience.
Sonic 3 is more than just a licensed-music curiosity, though — it’s where the world was introduced to Knuckles! Knuckles is forever linked to the series and an integral part of Sonic’s team. I’ve always liked his ability to glide and climb. Not to mention… he’s just cool looking.
This Console Heroes set faithfully replicates the cartridge at a slightly larger scale, including the red label colors that graced later Genesis/Mega Drive games. Do not ask me why I care so much about that, but it’s an appreciated detail. I just wish the box did the same, for no sane reason whatsoever. Once opened, the cartridge reveals a really well-done diorama based on the Carnival Night Zone from the game. Included to complete the scene are a balloon, a ring, a platform, and some spikes. Of course, we also get figures of Sonic and Knuckles. Knuckles stands stoically, like he often does, while Sonic is wagging his finger with that unmistakable ’90s attitude.
This is a fun little diorama and it’s neatly distinct from the other Sonic sets in the line. Really, Wilder Toys has made something special with the Console Heroes series, and I genuinely hope they dig their heels in even deeper with future releases.
This week’s Console Heroes post comes just in time for two different occasions. First off, Setsubun is in a few days, and while Aggar may not technically be an oni… he is a giant red horned ogre. Second, I’ve been wanting to talk about something a little ooky spooky. We’ve got almost a year until the Halloween shenanigans kick off here on the site, but monsters are in the site’s description. It’s always a little spooky when every day is Halloween.
Altered Beast is a classic SEGA game originally released in arcades, and it completely blew my little mind the first time I saw it at the local Circle K. I was a kid who couldn’t get enough of monsters, and the ability to play as a werewolf absolutely floored me. The Ancient Greek setting, packed with other monsters, was just icing on the cake. While multiple home console versions were released, the most popular was the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive version, which also happened to be the system’s original pack-in game.
This Console Heroes Altered Beast diorama, aptly named the Graveyard Diorama, represents the first level of the game — which is what most people immediately think of when they think of Altered Beast. This opening stage is where Zeus resurrects you, the Centurion, and sends you to rescue his daughter from Neff, the demonic ruler of the underworld. Here, you fight zombies and other freaky monsters while defeating giant wolves to POWER UP! Each time, you transform into a stronger version of yourself until finally becoming a werewolf. Shortly after, Neff confronts you and a battle with Aggar ensues. After defeating Aggar, Neff reverts you back to your base form. Each subsequent level introduces a new monster form to POWER UP into, along with even more freaky bosses.
The diorama features the familiar cartridge replica opening up to display the graveyard level as it appeared in the game. Included is a werewolf figure in a fighting pose, a fireball accessory with one of those clear rod doohickeys to make it float dramatically in the air, and a large Aggar figure for the werewolf to hurl that fireball at. There are also life and status bars that clip onto the clamshell, further selling the game recreation.
Overall, this is a really solid set. Aggar doesn’t actually plug into the pegs on the diorama base, but that’s not really necessary. Both the werewolf and Aggar look great, and I really appreciate the dynamic fighting pose… even if it does result in a werewolf showing off his butt in toy form. Seriously, man — put some jorts on or something.
While Altered Beast does get merchandise from time to time, it’s nowhere near as common as other SEGA properties, which makes this set feel like a special treat. There are also a lot of Easter eggs in Altered Beast that reference other SEGA games. In my mind, it exists in the same continuity as Golden Axe and Streets of Rage. Maybe even Shinobi. I like to imagine a shared SEGA universe — which is funny, considering SEGA also gave us the excellent Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker arcade game (and an okay console version). Michael Jackson famously contributed to the Sonic 3 soundtrack (we’ll get to that one soon), and possibly even more SEGA projects, as that bit of history is a little murky. Thriller was also an inspiration for Altered Beast, which is pretty sweet — and fittingly, Thriller is also the name of an album by Matthew Sweet, who later named an album after Altered Beast.
You know… I think it’s time to be welcomed to my doom and go play this game again. It’s been a while.
It goes without saying that Sonic the Hedgehog was a huge hit. It should come as no surprise, then, that it got a sequel that was also a big hit. Naturally, the Console Heroes SEGA Genesis line took notice and has made diorama sets based on these games (we’ll be getting to part one a little later).
Sonic 2 in Console Heroes form is pretty great. The cartridge looks exactly as you’d expect — a slightly larger replica of the original game cart. Despite being a bit bigger, these replica carts feel really nice in hand. It’s oddly satisfying. When you open the clamshell, you’re greeted with a sculpted incarnation of Emerald Hill Zone. It’s the first level of the game, and very similar to Green Hill Zone from Sonic 1. The look of these levels is pretty much what many of us automatically picture when thinking of Sonic the Hedgehog, so it’s a perfect setting.
There are rings to place on the various pegs, along with great little figures of Sonic and Tails. Sonic is running (it’s what he does), and Tails is in flight with both tails whipping around like helicopter blades. There’s an included clear rod doohickey you can use with Tails to position him in the air. This is a fun little set, and I really like the small bridge in the diorama. You can have the two racing across it to gather rings, or Tails trying to catch up after Sonic’s left him behind again.
This is a great addition to the Console Heroes line — but I have to wonder… can it Julian fries?
A little while back, I was very pleasantly surprised to discover the Console Heroes line at my local Target. Not only because the line itself is amazingly cool, but also because it was nice to discover something out in the wild. Console Heroes (so far) is a neat line of little retro gaming dioramas, with the current SEGA Genesis series obviously based on my beloved SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive.
The Mrs. saw my excitement, and I was very happy to find almost the entire series under the tree on Christmas morning. The remaining one was bought shortly after, and we’re about to spend the next few weeks looking at Series One here on our random Wednesdays.
The first set we’re looking at is the Super Street Fighter II Ken Stage Diorama, which is currently the only third-party game represented in the series. This is the standard diorama set, which comes as a replica cartridge that opens clamshell-style to reveal sculpted scenery and pegs for the included figures and accessories.
Since it’s Ken’s stage, it’s obviously a diorama depicting… KEN’S STAGE! Usually, Ken was the first World Warrior you’d face in a one-player game, and his theme is one of the songs most associated with Street Fighter. So this is a pretty obvious choice.
The set’s accessories include a barrel and four of those concrete dock things that sit in the corners. I think they’re called pilings, but I’m totally not sure. Also included is a clear stand-up doohickey and a HADOKEN fireball, which can be used together to position the HADOKEN dramatically in mid-air.
Why would there dramatically be a HADOKEN in the air?
Because the two figures included to round out the set are Ken Masters vs. Ryu! These nicely sculpted figures plug firmly into the base, with Ken blocking the HADOKEN that Ryu is firing at his longtime rival/bestie. The figures and accessories can be plugged into multiple ports across the base, letting you arrange the fight however you like.
Last—but not least—is one more accessory: a life bar that attaches to the top of the diorama.
This is one neat little toy, and I’m really happy to have it. The cartridge looks very much like a classic Genesis cart, albeit a little larger. Even the box resembles classic Genesis packaging. The whole series is great and feels like a giant high five to those of us who still love our Genesis/Mega Drives.
I was a big Street Fighter II fan back in the day and still love it now. Like many of you, I’m looking forward to the new movie and have been enjoying the awesome Japanese McDonald’s commercials tied into the crossover promotion.
Another weekend has sadly come and gone bringing the start of another work week. Fortunately, Zone Base is here to save the day with robots, monsters, and misadventure! I sure have a fun week in store for you all, but first let me catch you up on my weekend. Well, first off, I hope yours was great. Mine was a nice and relaxing spent mostly at home. It was actually pretty rainy and a tornado even popped up Saturday afternoon. Winter in the American South can be tumultuous. It gets very cold, but storms roll in occasionally bringing humidity and creating all sorts of chaos.
I went out briefly for a few things needed outside of our grocery order and man, it was crazy out there. Too many people for me at the moment, with lots of folks just standing in the way. Good grief! As far as toys go, Target was pretty barren. Being just weeks after Christmas, it's going to be that way for awhile, but it's always jarring. I've been on the hunt for a Big Convoy and Quickstrike (in addition to Combaticons and Primes) and it's disappointing to come up enpty handed. They had a Razorclaw who is the case mate of Big Convoy, so they did have him at one point. I picked Razorclaw already, so the hunt continues! I didn't walk away empty handed this weekend, as Yolopark's mini wave 2 is on the way! I've been meaning to order them already, so it'll be good to finally get my hands on them.
For whatever reason, my temperment wasn't there for video games this weekend. It seems like everything I tried to play felt like a struggle. It didn't help that I'm stuck in a few different games that I've been playing. Oh well, it just goes that way sometimes. However, I had fun with the Mrs opening my new Blokees that came in during the week. I had ordered Defender Version series 04 and 05 with some Christmas money (as well as the Unicron head) and it was fun seeing who all I got. We generally do this together as even though Transformers aren't her thing, she has fun opening blind boxes. We opened them while watching The Twilight Zone movie.
A new season of 1000lbs Sisters started and we enjoyed the premiere during one amazingly good dinner. It was my cheat meal of the week and we had Steak and Shake! Speaking of dinner, the Mrs made an excellent Sunday dinner that I enjoyed while building more Blokees! I assembled Classic Class 07 Movie Megatron and that Unicron head! I've got quite the backlog that's fun to work on! To be honest with you all, with the way toy prices are going, models might be the main focus of my buying going forward. That's not to say I still don't want regular Transformers. But distribution and rising costs are not making it an easy hobby. So while I'll definitely still be buying regular Transformers, frequency might slow down a little. It's a good thing the universe has been steering my focus towards various model kits anyway. I've built models on and off my entire life. So it's just another day for me.
Speaking of Transformers I want to buy at stores, Tiny Turbo Changers have returned! I've got the codes for wave 1 ready for packs to appear... now if they'd just appear. Currently they're repaints of the Cyberverse figures from years ago. Seeing that the last waves were impossible to find and I loved them so anyway, no problem! Here's hoping new molds do appear. According to online leaks, there's more Cyberworld on the way as well. I'm chomping at the bit for more Cyber Changers, so here's hoping it's not a long wait. Generations may be making itself difficult to buy, but thankful there's other retail lines that I've had no problem getting!
In addition to Transformers, I've been on look for a Donatello for my TMNT x Godzilla figures. He's the only one of the set I haven't gotten yet, and when I do, you can be sure to see all 4 covered here on those weird, random Wednesday posts! Speaking of Wednesday posts, starting this week is the first of a cool 5 part series on a neat line I discovered shortly before Christmas. One that Santa surprised me with under the tree! Hope you all are ready for some Blast Processing!
Before I end this week's weekly update, about those bootleg Micromasters I spoke about last week. The correct assortment came and they were marvelous! I got a box of 40 Micromasters that despite being unofficial, are really cool! Coming in a variety of wild colors, there was some straight recolors of existing toys, and a lot of original creations using Micromaster skeletons. As in, they made ones with new vehicle bits! New Micromasters! There's a few mystery bots as well, some tiny transforming bots from a line I don't recognize as well as some Hot Wheel bootlegs. Funnily, they bootleged some of the Speed Demons series. That was a line of monster Hot Wheels I loved as a kid and occasionally pick up still. So those few in my crazy case of bootleg Micromasters were a welcome site. The Micromasters are available on Amazon, but be careful if you buy them. The sellers offer different sizes for different costs. They mistakenly sent me the 16 count case... and those were not Micromasters! It looks like the 40ct will get you the set I got. They're also available in a 28ct Valentines set. I'm not familiar with the cost, but you get 28 Micromasters with Valentines cards. Pretty neat!
Well, I've apparently written a novel this week. I guess after a few weeks of brief updates there was a lot to say. Thank you all for reading Zone Base. You'd never know it from social media, but THOUSANDS of you show up each day to read my thoughts on robots, monsters, and misadventure. That's extremely flattering and it means a lot to me. Thank you all so very much. I don't plan to make the biggest deal about the sites 10th anniversary, but starting the 10th year with all you reading feels amazing. Thank you. Please share the site with your friends and be excellent to one another.
A new week is upon us Zone Base readers! A new week, and a new year! 2026 is Zone Base's 10th year and I hope it proves to be a great one! Like many of you I'm dealing with the hecticness that comes with getting back to the real world after the holidays. My Christmas and New Years were great, I hope yours was too! I got a mountain of new toys, games, and neat stuff. More than I can wrap my mind around. You'll be sure to see some of it in future posts here on the site. One thing I'm not sure if I'll talk about in a regular post is a box of bootleg Micromasters. The listing showed a neat option for 40 of them with lower quantities available. Well, they came and... the wrong assortment was sent. Apparently the lower assortments had different bootleg robot toys. Smaller robots, but not Micromasters. I've handled the return and am just waiting for the correct assortment to arrive soon. I'll tell you all about it next weekly update, assuming they send the right box. Well, I've got a busy day ahead of me. As usual, household chores and pics for upcoming posts need to be done. See, back to normal! Thank you all for reading. Please don't forget to share with your friends and be excellent to each other.
The holiday break is sadly over and it's time to start another work week, HOWEVER, it's also time to get back to the robots, monsters, and misadventure! I've got a fun week of content coming for your eyeballs this week, but first, let me tell you about this holiday break I had. It started Wednesday with a relaxing evening at home with the Mrs. We watched the new episodes of Stranger Things while making some dishes for Thanksgiving dinner. We'd watch an episode and make a dish. Watch an episode and make a dish. Things like pies and cranberry sauce that can be made ahead to save on the crunch time. The new episodes were great and I'm really marveling at how much the show has changed since it began. Rewatching it this past summer was a great idea.
Thursday was Thanksgiving and we started the day watching the big parade as we always do. I've been watching it my entire life and still love doing so. Though, in the future, I may start watching the alternative presentations. I really just want to watch the floats and balloons. While some of the musical productions are neat, I really don't care. I've discovered an alternate camera angle edition of the show on Peacock where I watch it and know of some other showings. Regardless, it was great seeing Spider-Man, Mario, Pac-Man, Pokémon, and Labubu making appearances.
We spent a few hours at My Mother's house afterwards. My brother and his family came over and we all enjoyed dinner together. Of course with Christmas coming, there was a lot of opportunities to get ideas for gifts. The Mrs is an excellent gift giver, but you always need inspiration for the right ones! My brother is an outdoorsman and does a lot of livestreaming in relation. It's kind of funny seeing how his hobbies and mine are so vastly different... but use the same internet to interact with others. It also helps me figure out what to get him because I know nothing of the great outdoors.
Afterwards, the Mrs and I had our own Thanksgiving dinner Thursday evening. It was so good as she is an excellent cook. This may have been her best turkey yet! We spent the evening watching Most Extreme Elimination Challenge while I built Blokees and she played a game. It was time to rest as Black Friday neared. We initially planned to get up super early and stand in line at Target... but slept in instead. That turned out to have been a good idea as the gift bags Target gave out to the first 100 customers turned out to be a bust. They promised the moon and stars only to deliver a pile of turds. Oh well!
Friday was spent doing an amazing amount of Christmas shopping. Like, an amazing amount. According to my Galaxy Watch, I got nearly 10,000 steps in and I believe it! We started shopping in November, but took advantage of the sales to really get a lot of stuff. Today is the first of December and we're mostly done... though I've got the feeling we're going to still go nuts. We always spoil each other at Christmas and love getting our loved ones just the right things. While I focused on others, I did grab a few things for myself. Specifically some Mr Beast Labs Swarms.
I know alot of folks on social media take issue with him, I hardly have an idea who he is. However, his line of toys is really great. He partnered with Moose Toys whom have made a lot of fun stuff. Some I've even talked about here. Swarms are something I specifically like. Years prior, Moose Toys made Trash Pack and Grossery Gang. A series of awesome keshi with gross out designs I really enjoyed. Swarms are something of a spiritual successor to those with similar designs and some really cool monsters! I got a few packs happily as well as a neat 3D printed lizard figit toy from Five Below. Speaking of Five Below, they had a great series of troll dolls as classic movie monsters! I got Michael Myers! I was a big fan of trolls as a kid and feel a little of that love seeing these! So cool! Not to be left out, a Stranger Things blind pack. I got a Demogorgan in slime!
Saturday we went grocery shopping in person as holidays are a terrible time for grocery orders. Afterwards, we found ourselves checking out a different Target before enjoying a nice dinner at Outback Steakhouse. I got some more Swarms, actually there's a neat Target exclusive Christmas series. I think I've got the distribution figured out and just need two more packs to complete it. We actually discovered another newer brand of tiny toys while there that the Mrs fell in love with. Wigglitz is a delightful series of tiny 3D printed segmented animals that come on a variety of sculpts and colors. They're part figit toy and part collectible. She got several packs and Ginger the pink wolf accompanied us to dinner.
Saturday night we decorated the inside of our house for Christmas which included putting up our new tree! It's a big 7 and a half feet tall featuring pre-installed lights that can be controlled with a remote for a variety of functions. Man, living in the future sure is neat! Sunday I had planned to decorate the yard and house, but a rainy day changed those plans. Hopefully the weather will be better next week. Instead I did chores and built Blokees while watching more Most Extreme Elimination Challenge. You know, I watch old episodes of that regularly... but I think I got the entire series in over the break. Mom came over for Sunday dinner, we had Christmas tacos! We also showed Mom the first episode of the new Stranger Things season. We'll probably get an episode in each week up until the new batch of episodes at the end of the month. I'm not looking forward to it ending, but happy that it seems to be on a high note.
Well, I've got some stuff to do. I actually wrote this while running errands and doing chores. Ironically I talked about Wigglitz while refilling the bird seed on our porch. We always keep some out there, but now that it's winter, we're keeping extra. There's not alot for them to eat while it's cold, so we try to help. Actually, let me get on a soap box for a second. You've probably seen a lot of self righteous assholes on social media telling you what to think and who to give money to (it's always something that benefits them magically). Just try to be a good person and help out when and how you can. If it feels right, it usually is and those dipshits are just out for clout anyway. Don't listen to redundant mother fuckers and if that includes me, then I understand. I don't make a dime off this site, so whatever. Zone Base is just a way for me to enjoy my hobbies with whomever wants to enjoy them with me. Thank you all for reading and supporting actual independent thought. We're getting back to normal this week after the break, but we're going to have one fun Christmas here on Planet Zone! Please don't forget to share with your friends, look after your loved ones, and take care of each other. Mutual High Fives everyone!
It's Monday again Zone Base readers. Time for another week of robots, monsters, and misadventure! Thank you all for coming back and supporting the site. I hope everyone had a great weekend, I sure did! Saturday the Mrs and I watched the latest The Conjuring movie despite planning to wait for streaming (we couldn't wait). It was good, not perfect, but definitely better than the last one. They're clearly setting the series up for the upcoming TV show. We also decorated the yard and front porch for Halloween. Well, mostly. I plan to redo the power cords for the lights and maybe put up some spider webs next weekend. I have no clue how it takes all day, but it does.
We bought a new decoration this weekend that a lead to an ill-fated order pick-up at Home Depot Sunday morning. The Mrs ordered it Saturday night with intentions of me picking it up before breakfast. Well, there I was in the pick-up area for 30 minutes before barging in the store. Ugh, oh well, we now have a 6ft demon skeleton hanging in front of our garage! Thing is pretty heavy too. Friday, I picked up the new Silent Hill F game for the Mrs. She loves the series, I played it some Sunday myself. It's a solid new entry in the series. Once again stores didn't have much in the way of new toys (dammit), so I ordered Transformers Cyberworld Off-road Bumblebee and Elita-1.
The Mrs and I have been working on our annual Halloween gifts to each other and I got a great order placed for hers. We exchange them a little before the holiday, so times a ticking! I think this year I've been building her a pretty good haul. Hopefully the rest of it fills out well. I know October is just starting this week, but it feels like the season is already over! It's went too fast this year for my liking, but it's been a good one so far. Sunday evening the Mrs made chili for dinner and Mom came over as usual. We watched half of Over the Garden Wall and Mom loved it. We'll finish it next week and I look forward to Spooktacular Sundays on MeTV Toons starting. I've greatly enjoyed the channel since launch and their holiday programming is so fun!
Well, I guess it's time to get this Monday started. I'm currently watching Beast Wars and drinking coffee... that reminds me. I need to track down more of those BW Funko Pops. Well, I've got some toy picks to take and chores to do before getting todays exercise in. We've got a whole month of the Halloween party on the site left, it's time to crank up the pumpkin spice! Thank you all for reading Zone Base. Traffic has really been up the past few months and it's so flattering that so many of you are coming to see what I've got to say. Please don't forget to share with your friends and MAXIMIZE... wait... that's on TV. Mutual High Fives everyone!
It's impossible to think about Altered Beast without the soundbites and music playing in my head. Just like Matthew Sweet, I love the game. Memories of the millions of quarters sunk into the arcade machine at Circle K and elation of discovering the continue code when playing it at home. Of course I was excited to see the Werewolf represented in Jakks Pacific video game figures. Jakks has been pumping out a pretty solid line of toys inspired by several all time favorites and frankly... Altered Beast was one I never thought would ever get toys. There's a Weredragon figure as well that I hope to eventually get.
I had actually intended to talk about this figure last Halloween season but... completely misplaced it. It wasn't until recent organizing efforts that it was found and put aside once again to look at during Halloween on the site. Fortunately, I remembered where it was this time. As I said above, Jakks has a great video game figure line and Werewolf is another solid effort. He's pleasantly solid feeling, like a much more premium figure... but only cost $9.99. That's awesome. There's 22 points of articulation on his 4" body resulting in one super pose-able monster. Though I did have trouble getting the arms to close close to his body. Initially I wrote that off as a articulation limitation, until I saw others not having this problem online. Then I saw others having the same problem. Clearly it's a molding or QC issue as you can see where the joint is for that amount of movement. I chose not to force the joints on mine, maybe there's a fix out there for this?
Also, the head and crotch are a darker brown than the rest of the body. That's not a big deal, but you can't unsee it. As for accessories, he comes with a Spirit Ball, like the ones from the game that allow for your undead warrior to POWER UP! That's a nice little extra. There's a hole in the bottom of the ball for where a stand would have plugged into. Guessing it was omitted at some point. Clearly the figure isn't perfect, but I'm happy to actually have something from the game in toy form and honestly not bothered enough by the problems for them to overshadow that happiness. However, I'm an honest person and it wouldn't be honest to ignore those issues here. Regardless, it's still a pretty good figure. It's well sculpted and looks great. Hopefully I eventually get that Weredragon and more of the SEGA characters Jakks Pacific has been putting into their video game line. In my mind Altered Beast, Golden Axe, and Streets of Rage all take place within the same continuity. With these figures, they can take place on the same bookshelf.
This year, Marine Toys for Tots has set an ambitious goal to donate 11M in toys. A partner since 1996, Hasbro is proud to champion this challenge by donating more than 4.3M toys in 2024.
Regardless if you know him as Axel Stone from Streets of Rage or Akuseru Sutōn in Bare Knuckle, there's no doubt he's one of gaming's biggest badasses. One of the main protagonists from the prior mentioned game series... Axel doesn't get a lot of merchandise. So imagine my surprise when he gets a figure in the excellent Jakks Pacific video game based toy series. I've been a fan of these toys, often buying their Super Mario or Sonic offerings. They're great looking, high quality, and reasonably priced. Axel is 4" with 24 points of articulation. He's also pleasantly solid and feels like a higher priced toy. Included is a flame effect to recreate Axel's various Dragon attacks. It fits snugly over either hand and thanks to the articulation, practically any special move can be recreated. This is a cool figure of an awesome character from a classic game. I was really happy to see it announced and even happier to get one.
It's Monday again Zone Base readers and time to start another week of robots, monsters, and misadventure! I had a great weekend full of paranormal videos, kaiju movies, and robot cartoons! Summer is starting and that means Code Orange is go! Early Halloween stuff is starting to show up at Joanne's and At Home stores with various sneak peaks coming left and right! We didn't check our local stores as they tend to take a little longer getting the spooky stuff. Though next weekend a little Code Orange fun is planned. Work on this year's Pumpkin Spiced Mayhem is in full effect and we're looking to have the best Zone Base Halloween yet!
As far as toys bought this weekend, I got some great stuff! I found Turtles of Greyskull Merman and the Jakks Pacific Axel from Streets of Rage figures. No new Transformers at my local stores, so I ordered some Yolopark Transformers AMK models. Got the feeling I'm going to be ordering toys for a while. It's clear my stores are going to be clearing out some older stock until Transformers One toys start arriving. Speaking of, I'm super excited for those and the Star Raiders collection from Walmart. I plan to finally get some Missing Link figures soon as well. Really looking forward to that.
Well, it's time to get the week started. I have to take my mother to the doctor and bring a mini refrigerator to my wife's office before doing my daily exercises. Five miles on the exercise bike and pumping iron with the resistance bands! But first, I need to finish breakfast. There's a fun week of content coming your way this week. Please don't forget to share the site with your friends and Mutual High Fives everyone!
It's Monday gang, and that means a new week here on Planet Zone! How was your weekend? Mine was pretty good. Did some shopping, watched some TV, played some video games. Good times. As far as new toys go, I didn't buy much. Found new Tacticons! Hashtag and Arcee! Target also had a bunch of Bumblebees, so I'm assuming he was their casemate. I really like these silly little bots, so I was happy with the find. I also finally picked up Warrior class Skywarp from Earthspark. She's been on the backburner since I've already got the mold a few times. Really like her colors though, so she was eventually getting purchased. I also picked up a book of older Japanese ghost stories and some cute monster book marks. Not to mention some great Star Wars back to school items. I may not be a student, but prefer cool stationary for my needs. I also bought a plush SEGA Genesis. They made it, and I own it.
We did some Code Orange work. Many places that usually start early haven't really gotten into grove yet in our area. That's to be expected. It's dependent on summer stuff selling out first and some places are faster than others. At Home did have some stuff. We got a skeleton door mat and an adorable spider. They haven't stocked skeletons yet and my tradition of buying a $1 plastic skeleton hasn't been fulfilled yet. This year they have colored ones. That's important. I also buy a few skeleton animals. From what I've seen, there's a raptor one that I'll definitely be getting. At Home also has some cute monster characters this year. There's a vampire with candy corn fangs and a witch riding a lollipop that I'll be getting when stocked. So far the more vintage Halloween decor of the past few years looks to have been replaced with a rustic style. Oh well, trends end and I liked the vintage stuff. The rustic style is very traditional and fitting, so I'm not complaining.
Thanks to all of you for reading Zone Base. Clearly Beast Summer has been a success and it's due to all you awesome people. I plan to record a new episode of Transform Squadron today. Hopefully it will be out this week for your listening pleasure. Please, if you could, please share posts with your friends. We're a grass roots site here at Zone Base and I live enjoying my hobbies with others. Now let's get this new week started!
I picked up this cool clear version of Neo Trox at my local Walmart recently. Trox is green generally, but like most Bakugan, his toys can come in a variety of colors. In this cool clear plastic, it's impossible not to compare him with a Microman or Micronaut. This is definitely a toy that I wished ad some sort of chromed weapon. There are ports where you could plug a Nanogan in, that'd be a good place for a laser gun. Trox is pretty easy to fold back up into his marble form and an all around pleasant little guy. I'm pretty glad the Mrs spotted him as he's so great. Just a simple little guy that I want to walk around a play set and have adventures with.
It's pretty safe to say Atari hasn't always made the best decisions when it comes to their game consoles. Sure, they had success with Pong and the VCS/2600 and their home computers were definitely popular. However, when it came to following up the 2600... they just never got it together. There was solid and not so solid attempts, but clearly someone was not connecting the dots. Admittedly the general ignorance about computers at the time didn't help. When Atari released the 5200, the 2600 was still pretty popular. What was the difference? Well, it's more powerful. Oh yeah? Yeah, here's the same games you already have for your 2600. See the disconnect?
The weekend is over, but at least a new week on Planet Zone is here! Yeah, I don't blame you. I'd like more weekend too. I spent mine with the Mrs showing my mother a good time for her birthday. We went looking at Christmas lights and generally enjoyed life. I didn't really get myself anything as usual during the Christmas season, but did grab a Jurrasic World mini and Sonic the Hedgehog figurine. I on and off buy the minis. They're a lot of fun, and buy the occasional inexpensive video game figures Jazwares makes. They're a great little representation of the characters I love without costing very much money. That's important this time of the year.
It's Christmas, so I got to have the occasional clarification of Transformers and other robots. The Mrs and the mother tolerate my hobbies, but it can be confusing for people outside of the robot world. Next weekend will be spent doing one more massive shopping trip before the big day. We're going to be exhausted, but the madness is all part of the fun I suppose. Speaking of fun, I've got a fun week in store for you readers. Hopefully the new episode of Transform Squadron will get posted this week for your listening pleasure as well. If you could, would you mind sharing the site with your friends? This isn't one of those big mega sites bankrolled by the big companies, just a labor of love by a crazy fan. It's all I ask that others help spread the word. Thank you for supporting Zone Base. It's super awesome that you do.
