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!

Ultra-Spooky Tiga! (4kids edition)

Oh no! There's a witch causing problems for children on Halloween! What do we do! SEND IN ULTRAMAN! It's Halloween and the GUTS team suspects a monster. The team investigates (in costumes, it's Halloween... duh) and soon discovers a witch handing out lollipops to children. Trick or Treat? It's a TRICK! The witch is stealing the children's dreams and converting them into energy! Good thing Ultraman Tiga is here to save Halloween!

Originally Posted 9/16/2022 *now with the 4kids version of the episode*

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!

  

Weekly Update 7/6/26

Welcome back to a new week of robots, monsters, and misadventure on Zone Base! After that holiday break, I feel fresh and recharged and hope everyone had a great weekend! After spending a few weekends moving, the long weekend at home felt like a miniature vacation. I got caught up with the new season of X-Men '97, played some Starfox, watched the new Ultraman Teo, and spent asome quality time with the Mrs. There was some holiday fun in our new neighborhood such as a fireworks display and "Chalk the Block" where sidewalk chalk and popsicles were handed out. We didn't take part in that, but enjoyed the sidewalk art! 

As for getting fun stuff, I sure did! I ordered Energon Surge Off-Road Bumblebee (the quest to get all the Cyberworld continues!) As well as picked up the Target exclusive Hot Wheels X Transformers red Twin Mill and Stranger Things X Transformers Freakwency. A Blokees blind box resulted in a Galaxy Version Elita-1! In all some good pick ups. 

I've got a fun week of content headed your way and some changes to the site starting soon. I hope you all enjoy what I've got in mind. Beast Summer is stepping in where the Summer of Swapticons left off. We've got some delightfully beasty posts coming over the next few weeks keeping it wild. As usual, I've got some household chores to get to keeping Mondays busy around the base. I hope everyone has a great week and really appreciate you reading Zone Base. Please share the site with your friends and be excellent to each other!

Monday Things

Beware Zone Base readers, Monday has came back. We'll have to band together and fight this menace together. I hope everyone had a great weekend. Mine was for the most part, aside from a moment of sadness Saturday. The Mrs and I got out for a little weekly shopping Saturday morning. At Target I got the rest of the goodies for the Mrs's Halloween present and some other great stuff. We then went to Costco, but on the way stopped at Tim Hortons for their Halloween bucket full of Timbits! It's a great glow in the dark bucket decorated with cats full of donut holes that we're still working on. Man they're tasty!

We had lunch at Costco before getting our candy for Halloween. Costco has pallets of Halloween candy each year for amazing prices. We got over 11lbs for the kids this year with a little extra that we've already got. This weekend we'll get some other goodies as the Mrs likes to make some treat bags for the first few kids that'll come by. While passing my Mom's house (she lives a few blocks away) we sadly saw one of the stray kittens who have taken residence in the neighborhood whom had been ran over in the street. I got my shovel and we had a little funeral for the poor fellow in Mom's backyard. Rest in peace little one, I'm sorry you had that happen.

The rest of Saturday was spent at home with dinner and TV... and a long nap. Sunday morning I made a quick trip to Publix for a few things and picked up some Halloween donuts. While out, I swung by TJ Max to get the Mrs a little suprise. She made us a great breakfast and deserved a little something nice. I enjoyed MeTv Toons Spooky Sunday while working on a new backdrop for toy pictures here on the site. Afterwards a nap was had before Mom came over and we ordered dinner from Longhorn Steakhouse. A great meal that was enjoyed while watching True Haunting on Netflix. 

After Mom left, I worked more on the Flame Toys Furai Model Rodimus kit I started last weekend while we watched Silver Bullet. I've almost got it completed... which I'll do next weekend. I've got quite a backlog of models, including some more Furai Model kits. I think I'll follow him with some Blokees as they're a little easier on my fingertips. I spent last night assembling his legs which had more tiny things than the arms had to work together. It's a pretty intricate kit that's looking pretty great. In some ways, I guess I'm still that kid putting Robostrux together on the kitchen table with my brother.

As for toys, yeah, I got a few this weekend. The Mrs and her friends took a trip to the northside of town for Labubu and other similar toys Friday and she brought back some surprises for me. Some ramune candy that I love and a fish wafer cookie. They're delicious and don't taste like fish. Some Transformers soda cans and a TF pencil sharpener as well as some Ultraman sticky notes. She also picked me up a Bandai blind box Gundam figure. The series is based on the Chinese zodiac, I got a delightful green snake one! Target had some Galaxy Version Blokees. I got almost the entire box (it was only missing one) and you can be sure to see those on the site in due time. They had several other Transformers I needed, but I had other things to get. I'll be sure to pick them up soon and of course Christmas is around the corner. I'm disappointed that current Transformers prices are so high. Voyager class is now 42-45 dollars each and that is ridiculous. I do hope things get worked out soon. Though I think lost sales will result in some of these pricing conditions to mysteriously vanish. Money talks and bullshit walks. 

I was sad to learn that Bam Magami's mother had recently passed. It's an honor to express my condolences and be in a position to speak with one of my favorite Transformers artists. Though I'm definitely sad for him. Let's keep him in our thoughts Zone Base readers. Well, it's time to get this week started. There's some household chores to be done and I've got the last of this years Halloween post pics to take. Being ahead is weird sometimes, because we've still got two weeks of Spooky Season to celebrate. This week's full of  pumpkin spiced robots, monsters,and misadventure! Please look forward to it! Thank you all for reading and  your support. Don't forget to share with your friends and Mutual High Fives everyone!

Ultra-Spooky Tiga!

Oh no! There's a witch causing problems for children on Halloween! What do we do! SEND IN ULTRAMAN! It's Halloween and the GUTS team suspects a monster. The team investigates (in costumes, it's Halloween... duh) and soon discovers a witch handing out lollipops to children. Trick or Treat? It's a TRICK! The witch is stealing the children's dreams and converting them into energy! Good thing Ultraman Tiga is here to save Halloween!

originally posted 9/16/22 

 

New Week 2000

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

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

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

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

Monday Burst

It's the start of an new week of robots, monsters, and misadventure here on Zone Base. I hope you all had a great weekend, mine was pretty good... and went by way too fast. The Mrs and I did our weekend shopping and even checked out some early Halloween stock in our local At Home and Cracker Barrel. We got some great spooky stuff and had a lot of fun. 

Ealier in the week my Godzilla Megatron came in and I didn't expect my happiness to be that high. I knew I had it on the way and that it was real. But actually holding it in my hand... wow. I'm not sure when the MechaGodzilla Optimus Prime will ship, I guess it's coming later as it doesn't look like anyone has gotten theirs yet either. Speaking of Godzilla, the Mrs picked me up some fun Godzilla stuff while on a shopping trip with her friend. She got me a bag full of Godzilla blind boxes and bags along with some Ultraman, Kamen Rider, Stranger Things, and Shin-Chan stuff. That was super nice of her while they were in Popmart heaven.

My local stores are still pretty barren. I've still not gotten the rest of the Turtles of Grayskull figures and that's causing me some distress. I really want to complete the line and feel so close to my goal. Not to mention,  not a single new Transformer in some time. I haven't gotten the Studio Series B-127 yet... and that's all they seem to have other than leftover TF One stock. It wouldn't be so bad if I wasn't anticipating Cyberworld so much. I really can't wait to get my hands on those! Considering the show is premiering July 12th, I'm hoping they'll be on shelves soon. I did order a case of Blokees. I sure do love them... I just wish they were easier to get!

July the 4th is Friday and I'm gearing up for the holiday weekend. It's going to be a short work week and probably a hard one too. I'm looking forward to the break though and getting some rest. Well, we've got a fun holiday week in store for you all. Thank you for reading Zone Base. I really appreciate your support and just ask that you share the site with your friends. Mutual High Fives everyone, let's get this Monday started!

Initializing New Week

It's time to get the week started Zone Base readers! I hope everyone had a great weekend, I sure did. To celebrate the Mrs's birthday, I took her shopping and we enjoyed dinner at Medieval Times. We got some fun stuff from Teso and Miniso and had an all around great time. We were exhausted Sunday, so it was spent napping, watching TV, playing video games, and enjoying chilli the Mrs made in the crock pot. 

I managed to get some great stuff. The Mrs picked up MOTU Origins Snake Face for me Friday. Saturday during our shopping trip, I got several Japanese Transformers school supplies. I also got some great Ultraman and Demon Slayer keshi. Godzilla and Ultraman sofubi was purchased (who would have thought Miniso sold kaiju toys?). I also picked up an SD Gundam model and Shin-Chan blind box.

We made a visit to the 52toys store where I bought some BeastBox toys and a Stranger Hands blind box. I got the vampire hand! I played some more of the Halloween game Sunday and as much as I enjoy it... that is one frustrating game. I was all too happy to buy it last October... but still am only halfway through thanks to getting angry and not playing for weeks. Speaking of Halloween, our first spooky season decorations were gifted to us during the week. Considering it's January, we're right on schedule! Well, it's time to get this new week started. I've got some fun posts headed your way! Thank you so much for reading, please be sure to share with your friends!

Have a Ultra Happy Christmas!

Merry Christmas Ultraman and friends!

 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.

Let's all do something super this Christmas and donate to Toys for Tots if you can.

Have an Ultra Christmas!

Merry Christmas Ultraman!

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.

Let's all do something super this Christmas and donate to Toys for Tots if you can.

ToyLanta 2024

It's ToyLanta time once again! My annual trek to the best damn toy convention is going on this weekend! I'll be updating this space daily with my adventures, so be sure to check back to see what all happened. I'll also be hosting the annual Transformers panel Sunday at 12PM if you're in attendance. Speaking of, come up and say hi! Be sure to check out my Instagram throughout the weekend as I'll be updating it frequently. 

Friday: I got to the convention MUCH later than I wanted to thanks to a mixture of rain and traffic turning a 1 hour drive to 2. Once there, I walked in and man... I really like the location. It's the same one as last year and it's great (just wish it was closer). Though I soon found out registration was closed, which was no problem as I've gotten in later before and usually have no problem getting my badge. However, this year Buddy (show organizer) was absent due to illness. Speaking of, get well soon cards for Buddy were being brought around and I made a point to sign one. Since registration was closed, I was just told to wait until the morning to get my badge and just walk around anyway. That was unexpected, but I did just that and took a look around the dealers room as it was being set up. I was very tempted to buy some M.U.S.C.L.E figures, but as it was all shutting down, held off until later.

Friday night at the convention is the popular lobby swap party and of course room trading. I ran into Jacob and chatted for a minute. I then looked around the lobby swap before taking a picture of the room trading board. The room numbers had details on what each offered and I roamed the halls taking in each set up. I found myself in various conversations during this time as I'd cross paths with others doing the same. It became like a fun scavenger hunt for the best room and we'd tell each other in passing. One particular door stunk to high hell, there wasn't a room swap in it, but everyone seemed to have encountered it at some point. I met some cool people like Matthew and Cody. Great conversations and good fun with like minded people. What a convention is all about. 

My Friday toy haul included a Convertors Nofka, which is a scaled down SDF-1. I bought one a few years ago at a prior Toylanta, this one is in much better shape. Both still are missing the back wings/towers though. I then found a Bug Bots Bee Bot in black and yellow! Bug Bots are one of the things I'm specifically looking for this year, finding one so early was a real treat. I got it and a Stranglehold inner robot for a total of $5! Here's hoping I can find more Bug Bots and a Stranglehold Pretender shell this weekend. Last, but not least, a still in box, vintage bootleg Convertors Zardak! A renamed Orguss was such a random find. The dealer had another in alternative colors. I held off incase Shawn wants it. (*Saturday Edit* he got it!) 

I headed home soon after as it was getting late. Thankfully the drive home was a breeze, despite the rain. I'm hoping the rest of the weekend goes well and this year follows the prior years conversations in being the best one yet. This con never gets old and each year feels like an individual experience. I love that. Some more Shawn, Joey, and Brian should be there tomorrow. It'll be great to see them. Hopefully I'll find some Rock Lords and Monster Gobots. Battle for the Rock Lords was released March 21st 1986, it's only appropriate to aquire some so close to it's anniversary. The Mrs had dinner waiting for me. A veggie burger with these seasoned carrots intended to be fry substitutes Birdseye makes. Delicious, I was starving. 

Saturday: Thanks to traffic I didn't get to the convention until 12pm. Not too bad, but I hoped to be there earlier. I got my badge right away and set out to find Shawn, Brian, and Joey. During the search I purchased a Rock Lords Boulder. I eventually found Shawn and Joey and led Shawn to Matthew's table where Shawn bought the Convertors toy. We were twining Convertors. We walked around the dealers area and chatted. One dealer had boxed Microman and even a Devil Satan 6 box set. Dang! 

My Mom had came with me and spent most of the day doing her own thing. However we met up for lunch in the hotel restaurant. On my way to meeting her, I got a Generations Selects Diaclone version Twin Twist. While we waited for our food, Shawn and Joey joined us. Brian joined us not much later and after some food we all roamed the areas and generally had a great time. I picked up multiple Gobots, McDonald's Food Changeables, Zombots, and something else I can't remember right now. Fun fact, apparently Joey's Mom and mine were friends in High School. Small world!

Around 4:30 Shawn and Joey headed home and Brian went to his room. I roamed the areas for a bit. Talked Godzilla with a dealer. Bought a Ultraman Tiga figure, some more Gobots, and a Robotron car. I think it's a Robotron car. Maybe. As the dealers room shut down for the day, I found Mom and Brian with family in tow came down to say goodbye. They'll be headed home in the morning before I get back to the show. The Mrs ordered us Longhorn Steakhouse for dinner when I got home. I was starving. The flatbread I had for lunch was good, but it was time for serious nourishment. There's one more day of the great toy show which includes my panel. Man I hate how it's going by so fast. It's been a great con this year.How many times have I typed I in this post?

Sunday: Well, a day later and I'm updating for Sunday. I got to the convention around 11:20 am after a mostly easy drive, though I was stuck behind what was apparently the President's motorcade. I think so anyway, apparently he was in town. I met up with Dusty right away and we chatted about Transformers up until the panel started. As the room filled up, a gentleman from the botvscon YouTube channel came in and was an absolute pleasure. The room went from half full to mostly full during the panel as usual and Dusty and I had a great chat with each other and those in attendance. We actually ran over time.

Dusty left for the day after the panel and I roamed around for a bit. I bought some M.U.S.C.L.E figures and another McDonald's Food Changeables toy. I spent a few hours just looking and taking in everything. The con was wrapping up as dealers were packing up. I did find another Bug Bot... but it was the same one I got Friday for 20 bucks. Yikes! The same guy had a  very dirty Boulder for 40. All things considered, I made out like a bandit on the ones I got. However, the guy also clearly didn't have many sales so... maybe I just made out decently and he was a bandit. I was getting hungry and debated getting a fruit bowl from the snack stand but decided to just head home.

The con was over and everyone was starting to leave out. I saw Matthew on the way. It was great meeting him and seeing Brian, Shawn, Joey, and Dusty. Good con this year. Actually, I've never had a bad Toylanta. Each year is my favorite until the next one. It's great how after a decade of attending it, I've never had a bad one. Every year is it's own story and experience. I stopped by the grocery store on the way home to pick up some juice left off our grocery order and got home to take a nap and enjoy a great home cooked dinner.

Thank you all for reading Zone Base. This concludes our first special event of the year! The site will get back to normal for now, but Halfway to Halloween is coming up in a few weeks! I've got a lot of fun planned until then. Please share the site with your friends and don't forget... Mutal high fives everyone!

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Monday of the Brain

Dammit, it's Monday again. Let's all pour one out for another weekend gone. I spent mine taking the Mrs out for her birthday. We spent all Saturday taking in a bunch shops like Teso Life, Tokyo Kuma, and other similar shops. I bought her a bunch of fun stuff like Sanrio, stationary, treats, plushies, and other things she likes. It was a good time. I did pick up a few things for myself while out. Got 2 Popmart Transformers blind figures. Starscream and Galvatron. Galvatron came with a arm for the Devastator build-a-figure. Also picked up a BeastBox Jonsen. This was a limited edition version in unique colors and accessories. Neat! I also picked up a Chin Chan blind box, some Bikkuriman stickers, Demon Slayer, Hone Hone Zaurus, Ultraman, Gundam, Mario, and other goodies! 

I've got a fun week planned for you all. Thanks to each and every one of you for reading Zone Base. If you like what I'm doing, thanks! Please share the site with your friends. Mutal high fives everyone, let's get this week started and have a great week!

Last Monday I gave you my.... I don't know guys, Mondays suck

Another weekend has come and gone leaving us with just one more week until Christmas! With Christmas and New Years Day happening over the next few weeks, I'm sure you all will understand those weeks being light on content while I take a little break to enjoy the holidays. That being said, this week is going to have a lot going on! I've got a fun week planned and hopefully the new Transform Squadron episode will go up! 

This weekend was mostly spent finishing up Christmas shopping. However, I finally got to watch Godzilla Minus One as my local theaters finally started showing it at a time I could go. I also took advantage of some deals on the Walmart app and got the 1986 movie edition vintage reissue Hound and Hot Rod for 9$ each. Not to be outdone, I finally tracked down Beast Alliance Airrazor! Aside from those Burning Battle Masters from Japan, I've completed the line. Maybe one day I'll get them. After Godzilla, I used a gift card from my Father in law to buy a Taito Super Pocket. The Super Pockets are a new Evercade model in the vein of the classic Gameboy. I'd been wanting to get in the Evercade world and mission accomplished!

I've got a busy day and week ahead of me. Something about this time of the year. Thanks to each and every one of you for continuing to support Zone Base! I've got a fun week in store! Mutal High Fives all around!

Ultra New Week Revolution

Monday has reared it's ugly head once again, I have no jokes... ugh. Fortunately it's also the start of a new week here on Planet Zone! I enjoyed my weekend, we did some shopping and decorated the inside of our house for Christmas. I'll be waiting for Thanksgiving break to hang some lights up on the outside of the house, but the tree sure is pretty in the living room. With Christmas coming up, I'm trying to limit purchases for myself to smaller items like blind boxes. So it was a good time to grab 2 Micro Galaxy Squadron boxes while out. There's something just so perfect about those little sets. 

I'm planning on recording a new Transform Squadron this week. It's a little soon after the last episode, but the holidays do create a little havoc in my schedule. I'm sure you all will understand holiday programming interruptions in the next few weeks. I'm sure many of you will also be busy enjoying the holidays as well. Thank you all for coming back for another week here on Zone Base. I've got some great content on the way. Since the holidays are about giving and sharing, I'd appreciate it if you'd share the site with your friends!

Transform Squadron 46- Shining Code Orange

Rob talks Code Orange, Telecoma Senshi, and various Tectors while not realizing his beard is rubbing against the microphone.

LISTEN NOW!

Let's have a Spirited Week!

Another Monday has come to ruin the fun we were having all weekend. However Zone Base is here to help make your week a little bit more awesome. This weekend was spent with the Mrs watching paranormal videos and old Halloween specials. A little shopping resulted in some fun toys. A trip to Ollie's brought Bug-Eye Ghost and Fearsome Flush home for pretty cheap. Now if I could just find that Ecto-1, the vintage collection would be complete! I'm pretty close on the Fright Features figures from Afterlife, so hopefully Ollie's will eventually come through. 

A trip to Walmart finally brought me Legacy Inferno! The original is one my my favorite Predacon toys, so this update was much desired. Now if I can ever find Transmetal 2 Megatron or the new Armada updates. When they update favorites, I can't say no. The back to school section is always fun. A few weeks ago, I got some cool Star Wars stationary. Saturday I found a Stranger Things notepad with some way cool Demogorgon and Hellfire Club art. It looks like the old occult books I checked out from the library back in the day. 

There was also time spent doing household chores and much playing of AEW Fight Forever on our PS5. Currently I'm eating breakfast and drinking some iced coffee. It's a rainy day, but it's Ultraman Day! So there will be plenty of Ultraman watched on Tokushoutsu before work tonight. I've got a fun week planned for all you readers. Thank you so much for reading Zone Base and supporting my nonsense. Please share posts with your friends and check me out on Threads!

Transform Squadron 44- Sacred Legend Family Dollar

LISTEN NOW!

This month, Rob talks about Shin Universe Robo, Beast Alliance toys, and Sacred Beast Legend Bioroid! In that order!

Shin Universe Robo

THIS IS AMAZING.

Toylanta 2023

It's time for Toylanta 2023! The great toy show is here again and as always I'm attending. I've been really looking forward to this years con as it's always a good time. If you're in attendance, I'll be hosting the annual Transformers panel on Sunday at 12am. I hope to see you there! I'll be out on the floor all weekend if you feel like saying hi as well. Of course if you can't come, this post will keep you all filled in on the fun I've been having. I'll be updating daily, so be sure to check back for each update. I'll be posting pics to my Instagram throughout the weekend. If you like neat toys, you'll love all the cool stuff I'll be showing.