Supersize Mech

It's time to start another week of robots, monsters, and misadventure Zone Base readers! I hope everyone had a great weekend, mine sure was! Friday morning I headed out shortly after eating breakfast to get a copy of Pragmata for my PS5 before they sold out. For whatever reason, my local Target didn't get any (they're actually getting terrible at launch day releases). So after a visit to the Mrs workplace to drop off some stuff, I stopped by Best Buy shortly after they opened and got a copy. It's funny, Pragmata is a pretty big deal... and I was the only person who knew what it was at either games department. It's really, really good and I'm looking at some serious time spent having adventures on the the moon. I also picked up Age of the Primes Sideways while out Friday morning! This is a toy I've been looking forward to greatly and am so happy to have one!

Saturday, the Mrs and I went to Daiso. I'd been looking forward to this little trip all week as I'm starting a binder project for the various cards and instructions that come with my models. I'm starting small with Blokees, but plan to work my way up to the larger kits. This is the kind of project that's going to be an ongoing adjustment, so I'm predicting a lot of trial and error. I got some binder pages intended for storing Bikkuriman type stickers, which is just right for the pogs and mini cards that come with the blind box Blokees, this project is going to be fun! While there, I also got some figure stands, a Street Fighter blind pack acrylic stand (got Guile's electrocuted skeleton), and some ramune candy for my desk at work (love that stuff). Also of note, I picked up a bity blocks (their version of Nano Blocks) of a little converterting robot that turns into a space ship. I've got a Nano Block backlog that's demanding attention that it's going into. Maybe those will start showing up here. 

Another neat thing Daiso had was little models of Police motorcycles and helicopters that looked perfect for Diaclone pilots. I didn't buy any, but was super tempted. We then stopped by Walmart where I picked up Age of the Primes Big Convoy and Liege Maximo! I've been chasing Big Convoy all year, so this was a big win for me! Also, they had restocked MOTU Mighty Masters and I got Man-at-Arms and Beastman completing the first series. Hopefully these continue as they're certainly coming to random Wednesday posts here soon!

The rest of the weekend was spent playing Pragmata and assembling a desk for the Mrs. I intended to do some room organizing, but my knee was giving me a lot of trouble so that got put off until next weekend. I had broken my left knee a long time ago and there's lingering pain that comes and goes, especially when seasons are changing. Spring is quite chaotic here in the American South, so you can be sure that I'm feeling it literally in my bones. I spent all weekend in my brace unfortunately. However I did get some Blokees assembled Sunday (Sunday is build day!) and enjoyed an excellent Red Robin dinner Sunday courtesy of my mother. She gifted me a dancing Megatron found on clearance and I'm admittedly fond of the silly thing. 

Well, it's time to get this week started Zone Base readers. I've got a fun week in store for you all. Thank you all so much for reading the site. Please share it with your friends and be excellent to each other!

Super Street Fighter II Ken Stage Diorama [Console Heroes/SEGA Genesis]

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.

Round one—we win.

Monday Fighter

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

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

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

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

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

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

New Week Dash Plus

It's a new week here on Planet Zone and boy are my arms tired... wait. Anyway, it's a new week! I had a pretty good weekend and I hope you did too. The Mrs and I did our spooky season tradition of exchanging seasonal appropriate gifts and watched Halloween Kills on Peacock. More on that later.  We also went to get the annual Halloween set of doughnuts at Krispy Kreme. There was a Squishmallow event at Five Below with Halloween Squishmallows for $4 each. The Mrs collects those and we got her some good ones. I love a trip to Five Below!

Finally found a Dracodon and in the spooky gift sack I was spoiled rotten. A new Fright Features Ecto-1 and some Mini Pufts. Some Treasure X Monsters, Studio Series 86 Gnaw, candy, and this year's Halloween Star Wars Droid! Spooky fun with half the month to go! I've got a fun week in mind here on the Base for your eyeholes. I'm still a little extra busy, so don't be surprised to see some shorter posts here and there. There's no ads either and I buy my own coffee too! Thank you for your continued support and for reading Zone Base! Please share with your friends!

Street Fighter 2010

Man, the future was a decade ago.

GI JOE Street Fighter 2 commercial

It's been over 20 years since this happened and I'm still excited.

Street Fighter Toyata C-HR commercial

So, I really like this commercial. I probably don't have to explain why, I didn't want a C-HR enough already... good job.

Power Rangers Legacy Wars: Street Fighter Showdown

It's finally out, enjoy!

Man, I need a toy of Ryu Ranger.

Vlog 2

Nanos are pretty metal

I had been eyeing the Nano Metalfigs at stores for some time now. Thinking they were really neat, but ultimately deciding the last thing I should do is take up another toy line. My wife took note of my attention, loaded up a stocking full of them for me at Christmas basically made me change my mind on another toy line.

They're really cheap, a dollar a figure, with multi packs basically still costing a dollar a figure. They've got plenty of fun properties to sell. So far I've got the complete Street Fighter series, a few Disney, and a good number of Spider-Man figures.

My overall direction with this line is complete a few series depending on overall feeling towards it and random figures from other sets. I've completed Street Fighter untill they release more. I think for Disney I'm going to aim at a more sci fi/fantasy area. I've got Gizmo Duck and the Armored Baymax. I'd like to get the matching Scrooge McDuck and non armored Baymax and then see what else they release down the road. The classic Disney stuff is charming for sure, but not sure if I want it at the time. Spider-Man is a very fun series, various Spider Society figures with various costumes makes for a fun thing to collect. Though Carnage is a really hard to find figure, so he's going to take some effort. I think I may also try to get all the Batman figures. Not necessarily DC as a whole, but definitely Batman and his multiple figures.

There's so many figures with so many exclusive figures at such a low cost that it's just the right mix for enjoying the past time of collecting alone as well as the things I like that they've licensed. The above picture is just what I grabbed at Walmart while running out to get a roll of plastic to cover the windows (wintertime, you wouldn't believe how much that little plastic cuts out drafty windows and the heat kicking on). That's $6 worth of stuff (not counting my nachos underneath... I was hungry...and hey, they were a dollar too!). The 5 pack is actually about 10-20 cents cheaper than buying figures individually and there's multi pack exclusives.

There's even display playsets Jada makes to go along with them, though for now I've been using my tried and true plastic craft boxes I've always used for sorting and storing small things. The Nano group I'm in is often taking those and making pretty sharp display cases, and I'm honestly tempted to try that out.

In all it's a fun addition to the stuff I already buy and at such a cheap price gives me something fun to pick up even at times when finances can be tight (hello household bills directly after Christmas). Here's hoping the fun little diecast figures keep being fun.

Insert Coins

Takara is just baiting me at this point.

World Warriors

I love this image. Just love it. I really want these, but don't see it happening with all my plans next year. So, I'll just have to live vicariously through super slick pictures.

Street Fighter Transformers!

HYPER!

Planet Iacon  recently posted magazine scans of some upcoming Street Fighter Transformers crossovers figures. These look absolutely nuts! I want... no, no. I am a grown man with wants and needs. And I NEED these.

Oh man, OH MAN!

*edit*

Better pictures without the scanners watermark are online now and man oh man.

I really, really appreciate the level of detail in the paint here. Ryu is my go to guy in Street Fighter (or Akuma) and he looks awesome in that Titans Return Optimus Prime/Octane mold. The very clever paint job is just amazing. Not to mention M. Bison from Titans Return Megatron/Blitzwing is really clever. I don't think I ever would have thought of that. Chun Li from Generations Arcee really works, though I wish she got an extra cool Titanmaster like the others. Though you cannot ignore how well it works. Ken from Titans Return Hot Rod is really smart. The paint maps to the mold really well, but most cleverly is the use of Hot Rod's chevron into Ken's distinct eyebrows is really smart. I want these so bad, but the price is a little steep. The Ken/Chun Li set is 8000 yen, which is around 70$ US, and Ryu/Bison is 12000 yen, which is around 100$ US (give or take). So that's a really steep price to pay, but man these are wonderful. Maybe I'll win the lottery by then.