Battle for Monday

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

Build Saga- Zoids Command Wolf RMZ-003 Mission Complete! [Realize Model]

Picking up after last week’s beginning, this is the conclusion of assembling RMZ-003 Command Wolf from the Realize Model Zoids range. I did notice on the box that the full designation is RMZ-003 RZ-009 Command Wolf… but I think you get the picture.

Today’s post, we’ve completed the kit and now have the full wolf-type Zoid to enjoy.

The bulk of my work finishing the kit was assembling the legs, which wasn’t difficult, but was time-consuming. Since I usually reserve Sunday evenings for building, I actually had to finish up Monday morning after getting a late start. We’d watched Dracula: A Love Story while enjoying some Olive Garden takeout. Good movie, if a little silly in spots, but I like my Dracula a little absurd.

Like the other body parts, there were some grommet pieces to work into the insides of the legs, made of a pleasantly rubbery material that I admittedly enjoyed bending on the sprue a little too much. A couple of them were a bit tricky to fit into place, though. There was also an ankle joint on each leg that took a little extra effort to assemble. A rod from one piece had to fit through a tight opening in another that connects to the wolf’s foot. It was a snug fit, and by the last one, I was pretty much over it.

Thankfully, the white armor pieces didn’t require much cleanup, but the grey parts did. One rear leg shoulder area, in particular, separated from the sprue in a weird way, leaving a mark I couldn’t completely shave down. I think some sanding is in my future. Without decals, the Command Wolf would definitely benefit from some panel lining as well — something I may tackle later, which would also be a good time to fix that sprue scar.

There were polycaps used in the leg construction, which did my heart good. However, as I mentioned in the first post, they’re not made of that classic, satisfying polycap material. It makes sense for the construction, but man, I just wanted to squeeze them.

Once the legs were assembled, it was just a matter of attaching everything to the torso. This part was pretty straightforward, though some joints were tighter than others. That tightness does pay off, though, as it allows Command Wolf to hold just about any dramatic pose you’d want.

All that was left was attaching some hoses to the sides and placing the tiny pilots into their cockpits. The hoses will attach backward if you’re not paying attention — something I realized after they didn’t look quite right and I double-checked the instructions. The pilots are incredibly small, and each cockpit has a specific one. I ended up using a pair of bent tweezers to get them into place. Thankfully, there’s a connection point to keep them from rattling around, which is something I’ve grown used to with older Zoids.

Once fully assembled, Command Wolf is awesome. It’s packed with articulation and ready for action. The detailing is great, and I’m definitely planning to do some additional work on it in the future. This is my first Realize Model Zoid, and it definitely won’t be my last.

ToyLanta 2026!

It’s time once again for ToyLanta!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Build Saga- Zoids Command Wolf RMZ-003 pt 1 [Realize Model]

I normally talk about models that come together pretty quickly here on the site. Even if it takes a few hours, it's pretty much done in a single session. However, I can't help but think about the Furai Model Rodimus Prime I posted about in November of last year. My normal build time is Sunday evening... and I find it a pretty great way to end the weekend. However, that Rodimus Prime took a few Sundays. I'd mention it in the Monday 'Weekly Updates', but didn't outright talk about it until I had finished the kit.

Which got me thinking — I'd like to talk more about the more intricate kits here as well... and, well, they take time to build, something I enjoy, believe it or not. It's very therapeutic. It also occurred to me, with the shift to more and more model talk on the site over the past few years (seriously, I've built them my entire life, why don't I focus more on them on a blog of all things?), that if I talk about the building process so much on a model post... why don't I make these long builds a multi-part so we can talk about the journey to the finished product? After all, each Sunday is its own story. So that's basically what we're starting here with our first Build Saga post — a look at those more intricate kits as they come along, with a goofy name... because obviously.

I've talked about Zoids here in the past, but this is going to be the first of their model kits I've covered. That's pretty exciting for me, as I've got a long history with Zoids going back to early childhood, assembling Robo Strux (what they called Zoids at the time here in the states) at the kitchen table with my older brother. I've never outgrown those memories, and it's obviously something that's shaped my life going forward. Countless times putting together things all stemming from those Robo Strux, or oddball models and toys that required assembly. Considering I program CNC machines for a living... clearly watching something come together is really fascinating to me. The last Zoids I built were some smaller Zoids Wild kits a few years ago, today's kit is much different. The newer Realize Model kits from Takara Tomy are a very neat line of models, more in line with something Bandai or Flame Toys would release. Starting with Zoids is a great idea, as they have always been models to begin with (for the most part), so it's a nice way to establish the series. It's also part of the T-Spark line, so I'm excited for whatever else finds its way into Realize Model.

Command Wolf is not the largest or most extensive kit. I'd like to think that I completed half, if not more than half of it, my first night working on it. However, there are a lot of parts on the sprues left, so I'm assuming the legs are going to be very time-consuming. Considering how heavily articulated the finished product will be, I'm anticipating spending a lot of time on them. Fortunately, the instructions are pleasantly large and nicely printed in a booklet, not the little slip of paper they sometimes can be. They're almost completely in Japanese, but clear enough that language isn't a barrier whatsoever. Mine came with two copies, and I'm not sure why, as they seem to be identical. Either it had an extra by accident, or they knew it was nice enough that you might want a pristine copy.

Command Wolf's primary colors are grey robot parts, with white making up the bulk of the wolf parts, while black and orange are sprinkled in. It's really sharp looking. However, an early challenge raised its head. Not only did I buy a new hobby knife, but I also found my long-missing one, and some other cutting tools have been acquired, meaning I've been a little extra when shaving down the excess plastic the sprues leave behind after using nippers. The hobby knives are basically little razor blades, so they make short work of removing the excess... but also... I poked my thumb with the tip of the blade while trimming. Nothing major, other than some cussing, but now I'm bleeding while handling white plastic. I really should have put some liquid skin on the wound and stopped it in its tracks, but now that we're entering spring, my skin is finally not splitting open from the cold, and I've liquid-skinned my hands all winter... I just don't want to do it anymore. Also, I didn't want to worry the Mrs., who's reasonably nervous around things like a razor blade... I mean... some idiot could just cut himself.

It wasn't serious, either. However, I didn't want to stain any of that white plastic, so extra care while handling was needed. Talk about making things difficult for yourself. It's worth noting that awesome amount of articulation the finished product will have, because the parts I got assembled were already showing a bit of that off. What was assembled was the wolf's head and neck, the torso, as well as the gun pod, some exhaust pipes, and the tail. It was pretty neat putting that head and neck together, as it can bend all over the place. Pretty impressive to notice the articulation in what's essentially a severed head. Something tells me Realize Model is going to be something really special.

The plastic quality is pretty good, on par with its contemporaries, though there are a few parts I found interesting. The polycaps that are pretty standard on Zoids seem to be a completely different material and not the pleasant rubbery little bits I associate with the brand. However, there are a few parts on one sprue made from a more rubbery material that serve various functions. For example, some balls that worked as connectors, but oddly also as a gasket. Very interesting. There also doesn't seem to be any pilot figures that I've noticed yet. The cockpits are smaller than traditional Zoids, so it's understandable, but the absence is impossible to ignore. I can't tell you how many of those Robo Strux pilots got behind the wheels of my G1 Autobots. That being said, I did have a little trouble putting the cockpit's control mechanism in place — it is especially tiny.

*I totally discovered the pilots after writing this.*

Next Sunday I plan to assemble the legs and whatever else. I want to assume that will finish the kit, but there were several more steps left in the instructions, so we'll just have to see.

Monday RX- Requiem

Good morning Zone Base readers, it's Monday and time again to start another week of robots, monsters, and misadventure! This weekend wasn't a very busy one. The Mrs and I did a little shopping at Five Below and Walmart, but mostly did some cleaning around the house. That included getting back to work on organizing my toy room, which is a much delayed project. The Mrs had gotten Pokopia, so I didn't play any Resident Evil Requiem so she could enjoy it on our Switch 2. That gave me a chance to get back into my campaign on Doom the Dark Ages, which I've been meaning to do. I've been on a level that I don't enjoy and making myself work through it begrudgingly. She made an excellent Chicken Alfredo dinner Sunday and I finally got started building the Zoids Command Wolf model I got a few weeks ago. These Realize Models are fairly involved, so I think it'll get finished next weekend.

For toys, I didn't get many. My birthday and Toylanta are around the corner, so I've been holding off a little on purchases for myself. I did get a bunch of Madballs at Five Below. Finding a Mutant Monster Ball I've been hunting for as well as apparently Five Below is selling mini Madballs for $1 each now. I picked up one of each they had available happily. Walmart thankfully is stocking Blokees Transformers Galaxy Version 08 in their Easter Basket toy displays. I picked up two and got the chase Optimus Prime (yay!) and Insecticon Shrapnel! Great pulls on two kits I'm very excited for. Shrapnel will join the Kickback from a prior series I got last year, now just to get Bombshell! These Galaxy Version Insecticons come with a mini insect mode Insecticon as well... I'm looking forward to Bombshell and one hell of a post here afterwards!

Well, it's time to get this week started. As usual I've got some stuff to do around the house and pictures to take for the site. We've got another fun week in store full of robots, monsters,and misadventure coming for your eyeballs. Thank you for reading and supporting the site. Please share it with your friends and be excellent to each other. 

Go Go Go (away) Monday!

Monday again? Crap. I guess it's time to start a new week of robots, monsters, and misadventure. I hope you all had a good weekend, mine was busy, but good. I've actually got a busy week ahead of me... next weekend will be forever away. Saturday, the Mrs took me to Visionworks for an eye exam and some new glasses with us doing a little shopping after. We enjoyed a delicious supper from one of our favorite restaurants that night. I got what's become my favorite sushi combination. Spicy yellow tail rolls paired with sweet potato rolls and of course cucumber rolls. Paired with some fried rice we shared, wonderful. Sunday was spent cleaning out my car and giving it a good wash. We'll be trading it in next weekend, so it'll need to be clean. We're getting a new car, which will be the Mrs's daily driver while I take over her old car. My graveyard shift working hours and short commute make it just right. My old car was great, but I've had it for 12 years. It's time for a change, thank you for your service Ford Fusion. I'm sure the Corolla will be proud to fill your shoes. 

Mom came over for dinner and we ordered pizza while watching 1000lbs Sisters. Not sure how many episodes are left in this season, but Tammy is out of control. It's ridiculous. Both nights I fell asleep long after the Mrs, my face buried in the Atari Gamestation Go. PC Engine games never get old. 

As for toys this weekend, I got a few. A stop by McDonald's for Changeables (they let me buy individuals) resulted in 2 Torrus's making my total 3 of him and a Drinkobius-999. I'm happy to finally get a new mold. It's awesome that McDonald's brought them back, but their stores are trying their best to ruin it for everyone. Target had 3 Razorclaws, meaning they had 3 Big Convoys at some point... one day I'll get one. Disappointment aside, I did pick up a SD Heroes Caesar Legend Gundam and a Zoids RZ-009 Command Wolf Realize Model kit. I also got another hobby knife that will be an extra whenever I find the missing one. Not to be left out, I also picked up a pack of coasters that have Gameboy box art on them. They'll never get used as coasters, but will be cherished. I also ordered the first wave of Yolopark Basic Transformers as I've been meaning to check that scale out. Not to be left out is the Maximal sticker for the Corolla, no car of mine is complete without proper alignment. The new Cyberworld toys are starting to show up and I'm actively salivating over getting them. Models my be taking the main focus here (it's a blog, they're more fun to write about... and I can tell you guys like reading about them more), but I'll still be talking toys and Cyberworld is something I intend to completely cover. 

Well, it's time to do some chores and site work done. Thank you all for reading Zone Base. Please remember to share the site with your friends and be excellent to each other. 

Get a Grip this Week

Oh crap, it's Monday. I could have used a little more weekend, but it's great to see all you Zone Base readers back for another week of robots, monsters, and misadventure! We've got a fun week of content coming, but let me tell you about my weekend. Saturday, the Mrs and I did some weekly shopping and enjoyed a homemade pizza. Sunday, our local Spirit Halloween had it's grand opening! We took Mom and had fun looking around before more Stranger Things and Sunday dinner! This coming weekend is Labor Day weekend and I'm looking forward to the little break. 

As for toys, I got a few this weekend. Ordered the Sabertooth Tiger Zord and Cyberworld Chop-Shop which both should arrive today. We got some fun stuff at Spirit, but most related to this is a pack of Tiny Mights GhostFace series! I've been looking forward to getting some of these as Tiny Mights have been all over my Instagram... but never at any local stores. Their horror series have been slated to appear and I was worried about finding any. The GhostFace set is keshi based on the killer from Scream in a variety of colors and poses. It's a cool idea for a keshi series and I'm glad to seen Tiny Mights keeping little rubber guys alive! I ended Sunday building Blokees and spending some quality time with the Mrs.

It looks like you all are enjoying the Pumpkin Spiced Mayhem, August may be almost over, but we've still got two months of Halloween to celebrate! Well, I've got a busy day ahead of me. There's household chores to be done and site post pictures to take. It's amazing to see the site views continue to rise even without all the seo optimization! Thank you all for reading, and don't forget to share the site with your friends! Mutal High Fives everyone!

Thundertron [Star Raiders Collection Multipack]

Rounding out the Star Raiders multipack is Thundertron, the captain of the pirate crew. This version of Thundertron is a repaint of the Legacy United Thundertron I talked about a little while back with some new molded parts. While he may not look much different initially, the colors match his original toy much more as well as his new head sculpt is also much more like the original toys. In addition, he now has a hook in place of a right hand. This makes me wonder if he has history with Skullcruncher. Understandably some fans may choose this multipack over the single release or vice versa. The main draw for me personally was the other included robots as well intention to complete the Star Raider Collection as I have with the Toxitron and Velocitron Speedia 500 Collections prior. These are super fun sets of exclusive figures that excite me as a long time fan.

Nightstrike can sit on Thundertron's shoulder, that's neat.

Despite owning the prior Thundertron figure (and the original), this is still a fun version of him. I like his new head sculpt and hook hand. Like the other Thundertron figures, you can remove his right foot and store it on his sword as a more pronounced hilt. Personally I prefer both feet shown, but displayed the peg leg this time. It's really neat that Thundertron is a pirate and his beast mode is cool. His name being a combination of Thundercats and Voltron is fun. I do wish the Star Seekers/Star Raiders were a bigger deal in the world of Transformers. Their appearance in the Aligned novels is neat, but I'd love to see them in a cartoon. The Legacy version of Thundertron's lion mode is a Zoids crossover as he crashed onto Planet Zi in search of Armorizers. Judging by Calcitron in this multipack, he found at least one. Zoids will always have a special place in my heart. I have fond memories of assembling them on the kitchen table with my brother back when they were called Robostrux and grew up with them. This is a cool toy from a great set of Transformers. Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me.

Wind-Up the Week

Monday has risen from it's grave cursing us with another work week. Hopefully Zone Base can help chase away those responsibilities with another week of robots, monsters, and misadventure! I hope everyone had a great weekend, mine was a bit of a blur. Thursday there was a hurricane that led to several trees falling in our backyard a little too close for comfort. We ended up staying at a hotel to ride out the storm. Everything was safe when we got back thankfully, but what a random mid-week adventure. I spent the weekend mostly around the house afterwards.

I stayed up all night Saturday assembling a new shoe rack for the Mrs and spent a good bit of time decorating the yard for Halloween Sunday. The inside of the house has been decorated since Labor Day, but we generally let it get closer to the holiday for the yard. A shopping trip lead to Terroar from MOTU and a Core Class Nemesis Prime. Both are figures I'd missed out on prior and happy to get. I also downloaded the Transformers DLC for Minecraft. It's pretty fun, but to be honest, I've been so focused on Astro Bot that playing anything else has taken a back seat for the time being. I'll put some time into it this week though. I really appreciate how similar it is to the G1 cartoon (within reason). It's been a long time since I've played Minecraft, so the controls are taking a little time to get familiar with again. 

We've got another month of the Halloween party to go and I hope everyone is having fun. I'm personally a little disappointed that it's almost over. I love this so much! Thank you all for celebrating Halloween with me! We're going to make this last month one for the record books and really blow the spooky season out! I have a fun week of content coming, please look forward to it. Thank you all for reading. Please share the site with your friends!

Monday is for the Birds

Monday has shown it's ugly face again signaling the end of the glorious weekend and beginning of another accused work week. Fortunately Zone Base is here to keep things fun with another week of robots, monsters, and misadventure! This was a fun weekend where I grilled out hamburgers, played Doom 1+2, and watched paranormal tv! Takara announced a new Godzilla x Transformers collaboration as part of their Synergex series! I've been bubbling over with excitement ever since reading it. There's also a Zoids x Diaclone, Monster Hunter x Diaclone, and some awesome Spider-Man Zoids! So cool!

I got some new toys as well. There was plenty of Transformers One toys finally on shelves, so I grabbed the Quintesson Judge. I also got Studio Series 86 Bumblebee, Studio Series Gamer Edition Decepticon Soldier, and Earthspark One Step Changers Elita-1 and Skullcruncher! There's toys I passed on that I'll be getting soon as I wanted to not spend a ton of money all at once. Halloween stuff is starting to appear in some Walmart and Target store meaning Code Orange is over and the full spooky season is arriving. I got some Monster Cereal Gogurt! Target has quite a bit of neon in their Halloween selections and I am extremely excited for it. You guys know how much I love vintage Halloween and being a child of the 80's, that means bright eye searing colors! It's really turning out to be a Rob flavored fall y'all! 

Well, I've got some work to do. There's household chores, daily exercises, and I've got to record this month's episode of Transform Squadron! Please look forward to it, it's August and that means ghosts! Thank you so much for reading Zone Base, the site has really been growing thanks to your support. That's lead to some fun developments that will be showing up on the site soon, I'm so excited! Please don't forget to share the site with your friends and Mutual High Fives everyone!

Thundertron [Legacy United/Voyager Class]

Shimber me timbers and do something with rum, there be pirates attacking and booty afoot. Thundertron, the leader of the Star Seekers has received a glorious update in Legacy United! Not to be outdone, his crew will be making a showing later at Walmart stores. For now, let's take a look at his newest toy. Thundertron is a space pirate who transforms into a lion. If you've noticed that the lion is specifically robotic, that's because he scanned the alt mode while on Planet Zi. You know, the home of Zoids. Thundertron's name is a combination of Thundercats and Voltron, this guy is chock full of homages. Like the original, this is one cool toy.

Thundertron comes with a cutlass and features claws on his fists. His right leg can be converted to a peg leg by removing the foot. Said foot can attach to the cutlass for a more imposing looking sword as well give you a place to store it. I left the foot on in the pics because he kept falling over. That foot is a rear foot for the lion, so try not to lose yours. Speaking of the lion, transformation is fairly easy. There is a few points you'll have to get exactly right... which is just Transformers design these days. Specifically the robot mode arms fold up into the lion's neck and the exact positioning of them isn't immediately obvious. The way the rear legs unfold isn't tricky, but it took me a minute to unfold them correctly. They don't transform from robot legs to lion legs the way my brain told me they would after millions of Cheetors. The sword can store on the lions back pretty well and doesn't stand out. Thundertron's cool pirate coat folds into cool Zoid like armor in beast mode. It's a really cool design touch that I loved. In fact, I loved this whole toy. There's nothing I can find to complain about. Considering a repaint of him will come out during the Star Raiders collection later this year, that's a good thing. Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me.

Weekly Update- 5/13/24

Welcome back to Planet Zone for another week of robots, monsters, and misadventure! My weekend went by way too fast, but it was pretty great! We celebrated Mothers Day and enjoyed some weekend shopping. I managed to find Turtles of Greyskull Krang and Ram Man! Krang is a fun large sized mashup of TMNT Krang and Megator while Ram Man has been mutated into a humanoid ram! Of course some more Star Wars Doorables were purchased, I love those things! I still couldn't find anymore new Transformers, but ordered Shard. My need for Armorizers will not be denied! My TF Blokees order should be arriving soon as well. I think another order is due soon though, my excitement is through the roof! Look forward to one Block Rocking Summer!

I hope everyone enjoyed Halfway to Halloween. It may be over until Pumpkin Spiced Mayhem runs wild starting in August, but Code Orange this summer is getting an earlier start! At Home has been advertising that they'll start stocking Halloween sooner than ever this year! Other stores such as Joanne's is getting an early start as well. Spooky Spring is turning into Spooky Summer as the Great Pumpkin rears his mighty head! Thanks for reading Zone Base. I've got a fun week in store for you all. As always, please share the site with your friends and Mutual High Fives everyone!

War of the New Week

Monday has reared it's ugly head again signaling the beginning of another new week. Fortunately you've got Zone Base to get you through it. Hope you're enjoying this year's Halloween party so far. We've got 3 months of Pumpkin Spiced Mayhem to go and we're already off to a good start. 

I spent this weekend on and off sleeping and doing odd tasks. I had intentions to start assembling furniture for home office space for the Mrs, however those plans got moved to next weekend. We did get some shopping done that unfortunately didn't bring anymore Toxitron Collection Transformers home. That's going to be a big thing for the next few months untill I complete the set. I did score Nemesis Leo Prime. So that's something. There's some new Buzzworthy Bumblebee stuff available that I held off of until going to Walmart. I think next weekend Target will have to come after Walmart for when there's no new Toxitron in stock.

I finally grabbed a new figure from the new TMNT movie, Michelangelo! I plan to get all 4 core turtles and probably Splinter. Though doing that a figure at a time each week. It's fun doing it this way, trust me. I found myself in and out of little sleep comas all weekend as I was very tired.  However while awake I found myself watching lots of the Transformers channel on Roku. It's a newer version of the Pluto TV version that seems to be the same, but shows entire seasons or series on the weekends. The Pluto TV TMNT channel has begun showing the classic show as well.

Streaming TV has slowly outdone the convention video room, but online watch parties are a lot more accessible. I did find myself looking at a lot of old Bandai Spiral Zone art. I absolutely love Bandai and wish I was more into Spiral Zone. Of course the cartoon is on YouTube incase I ever put in some watch time. However that old art from Bandai's version of it is just wonderful.

Well, I should finish my breakfast and get the day going. I'm having a bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats with some yogurt. Hoping that helps with the upset stomach I've woken up with today (ugh). I hope everyone has a great week, there's some fun stuff planned this week here on Planet Zone. Thank you all for reading and please share with your friends!

Transform Squadron 42- Con Leche

LISTEN NOW!

This month, as Rob prepares for Toylanta, he talks about various convention experiences.

Z Knights

Weekly Update 9/26/22

Thanks for coming back for another week on Planet Zone! It's the last week of September meaning we've got one more month of Halloween fun! Since it'll actually be October, it's gonna be extra spooky! I had a fun weekend that I wish wasn't over already. The Mrs picked up Legacy  Tarrantulas for me Friday night on a Target run for cat food. Saturday while picking up our grocery order I finally found Studio Series Spike. I love a good Core Class toy. We spent most of the weekend at home, but Sunday we stepped out for a Squishmallow event at Five Below and I grabbed Gorthion from the Bakugan Mystic Pack set they sell there. I neek to research some of the molds they use there as I think some of those versions need to come home with me! I've got a fun week planned for you Zone Base readers. Thanks so much for continuing to support the site. As usual, I don't ask anything from you. No ads, no begging, and no capitalizing. All I ask is that you share with your friends. It's fun that way!

Weekly Update 8/22/22

It's a little late, but it's also the start of a new week here on Planet Zone! The weekend went by faster than I'd have liked, but I still had some fun! I enjoyed some early Halloween stock at various stores and took the Mrs hunting various Krogers for Squishmallows. During the outing I picked up Scourge, Clamp Down, and Road Rocket from the Velocitron Speedia 500 collection at a Walmart. Also picked up Authentics Arcee and a Bakugan Cubbo at Five Below during their Squishmallows event this weekend. A trip to the Dollar Tree resulted in several Final Faction accessory packs I've been needing. Not a bad weekend for toys!

I intended to work on some models, but an impromptu lunch with family killed some of that time. Oh well. I was planning to record this months episode of Transform Squadron today, but things happened. Don't worry, it's still coming! Just sometime soon instead of just coming soon. I almost forgot to mention. The Mrs suprised me Friday morning with a Red Cog and some snacks. I wasn't aware they made jumbo Red Vines. They do! They're just like regular Red Vines... BUT JUMBO! I've got a fun week in store for you all. Hope you like Gameboy games! Thanks for reading Zone Base, I really appreciate it. If you life what I'm doing, please share with your friends. It's all I ask!

Weekly Update 8/15/22

You may hate Mondays, but hopefully you won't hate the start of a new week on Planet Zone! This weekend went by fast, but I managed to have a good bit of fun. Saturday shopping resulted in myself finding the new Optimus Primal from the newer Rescue Bots style Transformers toys. I've been wanting to get that guy. Super Impulse has apparently started putting the Micro Action Figures I so enjoy in blind packs with miniture comic reprints. The comics are full sized issues at a micro size, they even come with magnifying glasses to read them with. I got Snake Eyes, Bumblebee, and Starscream in the three bought. They're the same price as the normal carded versions too! I've been trying to get the new ones of these, so that was a nice surprise. 

I'd lucked up and found the new Toho series Shin Godzilla by Playmates. Been really hankering for new ones of these as well. Hopefully I can score the rest of the new figures soon. Target had Motormaster, but I held off for now. I'm trying to keep my toy budget under a certain number for now and he can be ordered later. Wonder if I can order Siege Jetfire? Missed out on that one. The Mrs wants me to make a Christmas list after all. A stop by At Home resulted in my early Halloween tradition of a $1 plastic skeleton and a skeleton dragon. Not sure how many more skeleton animals I'll get this season, but sure to get a few more. They pair so well with Battle Tribes and MOTU. 

Saturday night, the Mrs and I took a late night road trip to a Loves Truck stop. There's an exclusive Squishmallow there and it was a great night drive to find one. We didn't find the toy, but I do love a late night drive down a rural back road. We're planning to go to another next weekend, but I do see a Five Below event is next weekend. Guess we'll see. We also got new Crocs. The Mrs had been wanting a new pair and I'm not going to pretend I didn't mind a new pair either. We got some Jibbitz and ordered a few more. We plan to buy 2 each every weekend. Jibbitz are cheap, but the shipping can add up fast!

Sunday, well I slept in and laid around a lot. Obon and Hungry Ghost Festival was this weekend. I stayed up pretty late enjoying paranormal television and that late night drive (listening to ghost stories the entire time) meant for a sleepy Sunday. 60+ hour work weeks can be hard as well. I did manage to assemble 2 Zoids and get started on a Demon Slayer model by Bandai though. I'd do more today, but I got the feeling some video games and napping before work tonight is more on the schedule. The weather is starting to change and that always makes me super sleepy. Here in my homestate, it's very hot during the day and pretty cool at night in August. That makes for a sleepy Rob. 

I've got a fun week planned for you readers. I hope everyone is enjoying Halloween so far. We've got quite a bit of it left, but not quite enough for my liking. I'm looking forward to some dollar store trips this weekend to really enjoy the season. The cool decor is great, but my jam is really those plastic fangs y'all. Thanks everyone for reading Zone Base. It's super awesome of you to support the site. If you could share with your friends that'd be amazing. There's no ads or begging. I just hope others enjoy my nonsense.

Update from Planet Zone 4/4

 

Greetings citizens of Planet Zone, there's some schedule changes on the base you should know about. Weekly Halloween is not a Wednesday thing. Why? Well, I thought it'd be good to get back to doing the weekend update posts. However I thought I'd make it a general update and having the spooky stuff DEAD center of the week. Hope everyone likes the return of Transform Squadron, I've been getting a lot of positive feedback and there's a new episode coming soon. I also hope you all have been enjoying the extra BIOS posted. I've been a little busy lately and frankly those sometimes fill a gap when I'm brain dead. I enjoy posting them anyway, but there's usually a good reason why there may be more than one a week.

I mentioned spooky stuff up above. Everyday is Halloween on Zone Base, but as spring approaches, we're quickly approaching the Spooky Summer which leads into the 3 month Halloween party. I've decided to handle Spooky Summer differently this year. It'll still be spooky and scary, just different. I wanted to mix it up a bit and make it a little more different than the all out pumpkin spice assault. It's the beginning of April as a write this. You can expect something spooky towards the end of the month, a mini Halloween party to welcome in Walpurgis Night. I've been wanting to work it into the site for some time now and now is the time! 

This weekend was a mix of chilling at home and chilling at home. There was a Facts of Life marathon on GAC Family. I'm sure you can understand. Lots of Kirby was played as well. Cooked out for the first time this year. Sure was nice to get the grill going. A quick outing Saturday evening for a few things lead to finding Legacy Arcee. That was unexpected, still can't find a Studio Series Soundwave though. Also grabbed some more Million Warriors, a Dino Strike ball, a retro Dino Megazord, and finally a Batman from the new movie (I'm waiting for it to hit HBO Max). As with the never-ending quest for Soundwave, Inwas also hoping to find Buzzworthy Bumblebee Silverstreak. Oh well. I've got a fun week in mind for you all. There's a new episode of Transform Squadron in the works soon. Thanks for reading Zone Base and please share with your friends!

Flashfist Has Modern Solutions

Flashfist has always been one of the bots I think of whenever Starriors comes to mind. He's not one of the marquee characters for some reason. Flashfist comes from the last wave of toys before the line ended. Just like other toy lines, it's the later figures that come out the best. I really like his mix of yellow and brown colors.

With his bulky build and maser gun hand, you'd think Flashfist is a big tank type. Instead, the big guy is a walking rechargeable battery. When the Destructors attack, Flashfist absorbs the energy and fires it back. Considering the Starriors are fighting on a post apocalyptic wasteland... that's a pretty green solution to fighting robot war.