Beat Monday

Hey Zone Base readers! Thank you all for coming back for another week of robots, monsters, and misadventure! I hope everyone had a great weekend, I sure did! The Mrs and I went to Daiso for Halloween goods and other fun stuff. We enjoyed pizza Saturday night and I awoke to a wonderful breakfast the Mrs cooked. Aside from household chores, video games were played and I grilled out hamburger sliders and hot dogs! The Mrs made some  fries, baked beans, potatoe salad, and banana pudding to complete the meal. Mom came over and we had a great Sunday evening. 

I got some fun stuff as well. My local Walmart hasn't seemed to stock toys in a while sadly, but another BeastBox order was made getting me mostly caught up with the boxes I'm wanting. Just waiting for some more to show in the US Amazon shop. Who'd I get? I got Fire Power Robo to go along with the Sacred Power Robo bought last week! I was happily able to buy the bonus versions that came with keshi pilots and in a fancy box! Please look forward to posts about them in the coming days. While Walmart was pretty barren on toys, they did have a Beast Wars Megatron Funko Pop figure I'd been wanting. I've had the Optimus Primal for a little bit and plan on eventually completing the range. 

I'm taking a little break from Donkey Kong Bananza and decided to buy a spooky game from the e-shop for Halloween. Fortunately they had Pumpkin Jack on sale for a little over $6. It's just the thing for the spooky season and pretty fun too! A little reminiscent of Midi-Evil for PS1 and maybe a little like Maximo for PS2. For a few dollars it's just right and pretty fun! At Daiso the Mrs and I bought a lot of fun stuff for the house. We got a good bit of Halloween figurines and I got their fun range of Halloween wind up toys. They're cute and full of character. I also got some Display Bases for models as well as some more tools to go in my modeling tool box. Sometimes you need more than nippers and a hobby knife. Daiso tends to have some pretty great items for the task. 

Well, it's time to get my day started. I'm enjoying a cup of coffee while watching G1 on the Transformers Channel. I'm endlessly entertained by the fact that the version on Pluto TV has a completely different schedule than the version on other fast channel apps. That's weird, but beneficial at times. As usual I've got some chores to do and pictures for upcoming posts to take. I hope everyone is enjoying the Halloween party. We're halfway through the season and it's been a really fun one. Normally I try to outdo myself each year. This year has been a little difficult and I've found myself extra busy at times. So instead my goal was just to have a fun Halloween and it's been the most successful yet. Thanks to all the additional people coming to check out the site in the recent weeks. I really appreciate your support! If any of you could or would like to, please like and follow the sites Facebook page. I had made it a while back to share posts to groups. I love the followers it has, but would love for more. All I ask is for readers to share the site with their friends and that's an easy way to do so! Let's get this week started Zone Base readers, Mutual High Fives everyone!

Fire beats wood, Monday beats everything

It's Monday yet again... bleah. However It's the Monday before a holiday weekend. That's right, next weekend is a 3 day holiday weekend. Meaning this will be a pretty hard week, but don't worry, Zone Base will be here to help you navigate your way through the next few days. I hope everyone is enjoying the Halloween posts. It's a lot of fun to post them and this year looks like it'll be quite the spooky season. I was happy to see my local Target, Walmart, and Dollar Tree stores starting to stock for the season. 

Speaking of the season, I can't wait for the weather to cool down. It's been a very hot summer and these 100 degree days are the worst! I picked up a new light hoodie to wear when the weather cools down in anticipation of the joyous event. My light hoodie is something I'll wear almost all year, even in the summer on a rainy day, so getting a new one every so often is a big deal to me. As far as toys go I got a few cool ones.

There was still no new Toxitron collection Transformers to be found this week. I found ones I already have, but not the ones needed. Ggrrr. I did manage to find new Beast Alliance! Beast Combiner Scourge with Scorponok! Hooray! I'm honestly sad to see Beast Alliance wind down, hopefully the rest of the figures will be easy to find. I also completed my Mutant Mayhem TMNT figures with Leonardo. Super cool. I got some great blind bag figures. A Sonic Prime Knuckles and Demon Slayer Hashira whose name I've currently forgotten. I got a Bakugan 3.0 Dragonoid in a wonderful translucent white. 

Target had some great Halloween wind up figures that I was excited to find as well as a cool vampire skeleton purchased at Kroger. That Demon Slayer gatcha I talked about earlier was bought at Party City. We were checking out the incoming Halloween stock and picked up some spooky paper plates. They had a specifically awesome set of Disney Villains paperware in black light colors. Guys, it has the Horned King on them. This is truly going to be an epic Halloween. 

A lot of time at home was spent playing old video games while watching Transformers and Super Sentai. I almost forgot to mention the Star Wars Micro Galaxy Squadron Razorcrest I picked up for $15. I hadn't gotten one yet and there it was on clearance. Awesome. There's new multi packs coming in Micro Galaxy Squadron for your Inchman needs and mine. Oh hey... it's Monday. Thanks for reading Zone Base. I've got a fun week planned full of robots and spooky stuff. Did everyone like the new episode of Transform Squadron? Speaking of liking what I'm doing, if you do, please share with your friends!

Fire beats Wood, Weekend beats Monday

It's one of those Mondays that I feel hung over. However that still means it's a new week on Planet Zone! Thanks to everyone for coming back. I've got some great content planned for all you readers. But before that, let's talk about what I did this weekend. Well, let me talk... hey weekend! Saturday the Mrs and I did quite a bit of Code Orange Halloween shopping. Home Goods, Joanne Fabrics, Michael's, and At Home all have a lot of Halloween merchandise available and dang we bought a lot.

That's not counting the Bath and Bodyworks pre spooky season sale on their site. They have launch day next Monday that we'll be attending. The early online event was fun, but nothing beats the in person experience. Speaking of the podcast, I didn't find any of the new Toxitron Transformers series. Hopefully soon. I was a big fan of the Velocitron Speedia collection last year, and this is a great follow up. I hope Walmart does something like this every year. 

Speaking of Transformers, I did find some new bots while out. Legacy Animated Universe Prowl as well as Core Class Skar and Swoop. That makes my collection of Core Class Dinobots a total of 3. Hopefully I won't have any problems getting the others. I really want to complete the new Volcanicus and love Dinobots. I ate more grocery store sushi and watched more spooky TV. It was a good weekend. 

Sunday started with a movie. The Mrs had gotten free tickets to The Sound of Freedom. We partially was curious if anything crazy would happen thanks to all the urban legends going on around the movie would happen. Allegedly showings get mysteriously shut down by various groups not wanting its message spread. No craziness, but it was a pretty good movie on its own. I love going to the theater, so no problem with a free one.

We spent the rest of the day doing household chores and watching other Code Orange shopping trips on YouTube. Mom came over for dinner Sunday evening and ordered us ice cream for dessert. Winner, winner... it was a chicken dinner! The Mrs is a good cook and made some good food. Currently I'm going back and forth from the Godzilla channel and watching videos on old Japanese computer games. I've actually got to be at work early today for a department meeting, so my mind is in preparation mode. I suppose it's time to get the week started, let's make this a good one! If you could, please share posts with your friends. It's all I ask!

Toylanta is nearing

Toylanta is coming up and it's weighing pretty heavily on my mind. I'm really looking forward to going... and also having a little break. Work has been hard lately so some fun is more than welcome. I am a little antsy about the new venue. The show just keeps growing, which is awesome, but that necessitates the need for bigger locations. I was just getting used to the former "new" location the show has been at since 2020 (obviously that year got canceled), though I still vastly prefer the old location. Even though it was getting really cramped, I liked that place. Not to mention the new new location is much further away, meaning a longer trip to and from each day. Regardless, I'm really looking forward to the show.

Each year as the convention gets closer I make up a mental list of things to look for... and don't follow it well at the show. Partially because things change when you get there and see what's available. Honestly, sometimes you just change your mind. One thing I'm definitely looking for is Gobots and Rock Lords. You guys know I love them and for some reason... I just like buying them specifically at Toylanta. I don't know why, but there is something REALLY satisfying about buying them there. It's super proper, it has to be done. I'll throw other robot toys into that idea as well, because I'll likely get some... but it's really about the Gobots and Rock Lords at Toylanta.

I'll be hosting the Transformers panel, but I don't buy a whole lot of them there. Often dealers will have ones I already have or plan on buying soon. When they have something I don't... it's for a price I don't want to pay. Speaking of prices I don't want to pay, Battle Beasts. They're few and far between these days and generally cost more than I'd want to pay. I straight up walked away from a dealer when he quoted me twenty bucks a piece for some a few years ago. For the record they were very beaten and and one was missing an arm. There's some scummy dealers out there and I just don't tolerate their antics. One guy a few years ago wanted $200 for a ReAction Merman, I passed, and got the same one (with weapon... unlike the other) for $5 last year. It pays to be smart.... and with the cost of everything else these days... you need to be.

Another toy I'd like to find is of Demolition Man. I've forgotten the characters actual name... but the Sylvester Stallone guy. Some of (if not all) of that movies toys were made of New Adventures of He-Man figure molds. The main character is a repaint of He-Man... and I'd like to get one within reason. There's also those Micro TMNT play sets that use old Diaclone molds. Those would be great. That's the cool thing about a con like this, there's a little bit of everything and a lot of surprises. Not much drama either... thank god. I generally have a great time and each year is it's own story. Each year is a different experience, and that's awesome.

Dolphin Burst

 

Today we're ending our weekly look at the Burst series from Beast Saga with Dolphin Burst. I've also seen him called Dorufan and Dorfan. Dolphin is one of those Beast Saga characters who doesn't seemingly have a Battle Beasts/Beastformers predecessor. New characters are always good! Dolphin's colors aren't very different from his standard figure, but I do prefer the translucent plastic. The blue armor looks like water and the simple colors look more dynamic. Dolphin is carrying a sword and shield combo like most Beast Saga toys do. Being a nautical based character, he of course has a pirate style scimitar. His shield though is a unique combination of geometrical shapes that looks pretty neat. I can see him using them on an Atlantis inspired city.

Eledram Burst

 

This week in our ongoing exploration into Burst Beast Saga figures is Eledram (I have seen him also called Eledrum) Burst. Who as you can see is an elephant. Eledram is the Beast Saga update of Sledgehammer Elephant/Elephan and he came out pretty great. No doubt about it, he's a tank. Broad shoulders and big frame with cannons on his shoulders. I like the little goggles pulled up on his forehead. You can tell Eledram pulls them down when charging into battle. For a change, the update's weapon is an update of the originals lance. All of the elephants in this family tree carry a version of that, though Eldram also has a shield like most Beast Saga figures. His dark green armor really stands out against the white elephant parts and just looks great in that translucent plastic. This is a really good figure.

Killer Shark Burst

 

This week in our ongoing look at some 'Burst' versions of Beast Saga toys is Killer Shark. I probably don't have to explain why he'd be named that combined with the photo. Killer Shark is one excellent looking figure. He's the update to Sawtooth Shark/Badshark for the the Beast Saga era. It'd be great if there was an update of the Shocking Shark Transport Station to go along with him. Just look at that thing, it's awesome.

In this Burst version, Killer Shark could be an entirely different character. The black shark with dark blue armor is so vastly different from his normal deco. I almost expect this to be a 'nemesis' version. Regardless, he looks cool. The shark head with the fin armor is just too well executed. Speaking of his burst colors, the translucent plastic works really well here. The shield and lance weapon are a natural fit, though I'd love to have seen a trident or spear. What about a harpoon gun?

Morick Bat Burst

 

One of my favorite Battle Beasts/Beastformers is Blitzkrieg Bat/Devil Bat. Our weekly look at Beast Saga is Morick Bat Burst, the modern day update of that very bat. Admittedly the reason I picked him was because he fit the early year spooky vibe I always fall into and I'm not one bit ashamed of that. In his Burst colors, Morick Bat is translucent orange with dark red armor. These fiery colors make me think of Red Arremer or Satan from Ghouls 'N Ghosts. He's packing a sword and shield, by now you're probably recognizing these. The same handful of weapons molds are heavily used in the line. I don't mind it at all, though the original's axe would have been nice. Instead of Devil Bat's cybernetic eye patch, Morick Bat is sporting some cool goggles. The goggles are a lot cooler even though the eye patch is certainly part of that look. He's an update of sorts, but not the same character. Though in these colors, I can see him flying around breathing fire.

Meiji Beastformers Snacks

 

This is the kind of thing I absolutely go crazy over. I love blind bag/box toys as is, but you put something I like already in one and I'll go nuts! Beastformers/Battle Beasts are one of the coolest parts of Transformers that will never fully go away. From official to unofficial, they're evergreen. These little keshi style mini figures sold blind with a card. There's a snack of some sort in there but I can't tell what it is and honestly I wouldn't be buying it for that anyway. I think that's one of the plus's of the Hershey's Treasure boxes, I like the candy already. I still have a bunch of those weird lemon flavored candies that came with Armada/Micron Legend blind boxes some where. Regardless, this is the kind of series I'd go hunting store to store getting as many as I could. I'm pretty jealous of those who got to enjoy this series.

Raioga Burst

 

This week in our look at Beast Saga figures from the Random Booster v1 series is Raioga Burst. As the name implies, this is the Burst version of Raioga who is basically the main character of Beast Saga. Think of him as the replacement for White Leo/Pirate Lion for a new era. That's how I think of him anyway. Like other Beast Saga figures, Raioga comes with a few dice to use with his chest launcher in the battle game. He's carrying a sword and shield with the usual amount of Beast Saga articulation. I particularly like the orange and red colors of this Burst variation. It makes him look like some sort of fire version, not to mention it just looks in translucent plastics. I particularly like the claw themed armor Raioga is wearing as well. This is an all around great looking figure.

Bamed Burst

I don't claim to know everything. Bamed is a good example of that, I was fairly ignorant of the character. Upon getting this burst version of him, I assumed it was an update of Pugnacious Penguin. Probably because of the translucent colors look icy on a slightly pudgy bird. However it's a different character whose normal deco looks a lot like the little birds I take so much joy in watching eat from the bird feeders on my front porch. In the end, it's not a bad trade off. 

Bamed as we've spoken is a bird based beast whom battles and looks wonderful. Especially in these burst colors which look so good! The cool lance style weapon and shield have a pleasant speckled look that go along well with the icy translucent colors. I felt it was a natural fit for Christmas week. Beast Saga figures are larger than older Beastformers/Battle Beasts and offer a little more articulation. Instead of just arms, the legs and sometimes heads also move. Not a lot, I know, but it's just enough for a toy of it's size.

They have a dice based game instead of the heat rub symbol play of the older toys. Each comes with various dice that are launched out via chest gimmick. I don't know how to play the game, but find the characters symbol side charming enough for display purposes. Bamed doesn't have a name that naturally rolls off my tongue. Sometimes I see it translated as Bamet. Which may or may not be the correct name, but I see Bamed more often. The other day some of those little birds were fighting over one of my feeders. I can see Bamed on a Sunday morning running off a red bird for some choice sunflower seeds.

New Week Loading...

It sure is Monday and that sure does mean the start of another new week here on Planet Zone! It's also the last few days before Christmas and that means a few hectic days. That being said, aside from this weeks Beast Saga post, there won't be any toy posts. I just don't forsee and spare time to dive into the backlog for a bit. However, I do have some other fun in mind, so stay tuned!

It was a good, but busy weekend. Saturday was spent doing the last of the Christmas shopping before the big day. There was a lot of running around and big crowds. I do enjoy shopping, but doing so much in a day can feel like a second job! Not to mention the strange events that took place in the parking lot of one shopping center. The entire area was covered in hundreds of turkey vultures. There was a very bad smell that coated the entire area. Clearly something was dead in the area and judging by the large amount of birds, a lot of it. Christmas is also a time for scary ghost stories and that certainly was one. Fortunately we got everything we needed unscathed before retiring for the evening with dinner from Longhorn Steakhouse (one of our favorites).

Sunday the wife's brother, father, her father's wife and grand daughter came over for our Christmas with them. The Mrs had prepared a bunch of snacks while they brought a sandwich tray. It was a fun dinner that included some sushi from the local Publix for me. I'm still on a low sodium diet while recovering, so I wanted to offset some of the food. I really love sushi from Publix, so no complaints from me. Gifts were exchanged and a good time was had. Afterwards, my mother came by for dinner and holiday special viewings. Actually, we've been watching Christmas specials all weekend.

It's Sunday night as I'm writing this and that means a few episodes of Beyond Belief before sleep. I've got a busy day tomorrow before work. Christmas can be hectic, but nothing beats how nice it is on Christmas Eve. All the stress is over and you can just bask in the joy. It's going to be a fun week here on the site. I hope you all enjoy it. Thanks for your continued support and please share with your friends!

Long Giraffe Burst

Every once and awhile you have to assure somebody that is indeed it's name. Long Giraffe Burst is one such toy. Continuing our weekly look at some Beast Saga figures is a fellow who happens to be a giraffe with a long neck as his name would suggest. The Burst is because this is a Burst version like the others we'll be taking a look at. Like other Burst versions, Long Giraffe is in translucent colors which I just love. They just look so great. Back in the day translucent variations of toys were often called 'crystal' versions.

That's always stuck with me and I mentally default to calling them such still to this day. I recall opening some Gundam blind boxes that the wife had given me and was happy to get a 'crystal' version in the one I opened. Come to think about it, I've got quite a few of those still unopened. Dang. Back to our friend here. Weird name aside, he looks awesome. The giraffe doesn't look out of place in that distinct Beasftformer style. In fact it makes him more neat as opposed to the standard 'vicious' animals used in action toys. He's packing a long sword and shield to battle other beasts in addition to the various dice play the figures game. Long Giraffe Burst is a really neat little guy, different, but we like that sort of thing around here.

Bill Sword Burst

Back in 2018 at Toylanta, I was fortunate enough to stumble across a dealer selling Beast Saga figures at a really good price. He had several figures from the Random Booster vol. 1 Burst Collection set and I bought one of each. I think Shawn and myself revisited his booth a million times hoping he'd add more to the box. While we didn't have any luck with that, we did manage to each complete a set. They've been in a plastic storage container on top of a drawer I use for mini-figures and off keshi storage ever since. 

Something inspired me to take a look at each one here. 

Bill Sword is a sword fish. That's the kind of animal that seems like an odd choice at first, but then makes plenty of sense. I mean, it's a BATTLE Beast right? A weapon is implied in it's name. There was even a few in Beast Wars, it makes sense. Here though, he seems a little silly. Probably because a slight resemblance to Gonzo The Great a little. Still this is a great little figure. Beast Saga figures are a little bigger than a normal Beastformer/Battle Beast. They also have articulated legs in addition to the dice launcher. It's a more complex figure with a more complex game. The Burst versions came in very nice looking translucent colors. I really like translucent plastic, but it does get fragile over time. Beast Saga figures are made from a more rubbery grade, so that won't be an issue. Bill Sword is a weird little guy, but still a pretty cool dude.

ToyLanta 2021

After last years covid-19 induced cancellation, ToyLanta returns for 2021 in a new location! I'm really looking forward to the great toy show and have been preparing myself for it for awhile now. I've got my backpack ready with an ample supply of sanitizer and face masks. This year will be a different kind of con for me. Instead of staying all weekend like normally, I'll be going for just a few hours each day. Not that I don't want to do the whole weekend. Even with the covid numbers dropping as much as they have, we're not out of the woods yet. I'm just trying to be as safe as I can. Hopefully next year I'll be able to do the whole weekend, I'm just thankful to have this experience this year even as limited as it'll be for my own safety.

If you're coming to the show, the annual Transformers panel hosted by Dusty and myself is on Sunday at 2PM. Normally we do this on Saturday, but I don't make the schedule. If any of you are there, feel free to say hi! I'll be periodically updating my Instagram from the con over the weekend. Keep checking for new pictures from the show. Or hey, maybe give me a follow so it'll be on your feed. I tend to post multiple pictures in a post, so be prepared to swipe through a lot.

FRIDAY: After an interesting backroads ride to the new location that included crossing the local haunted bridge, I arrived at the con around 7pm.  While getting my badge Buddy walked up to say hi. He then took myself and another dude (sorry I forgot your name dude) down to the Goo-Con showcase room. The room will be having all sorts of demonstrations on customizing and other toy related creations. I really liked the custom molded figure heads that go with a dying resin demonstration. It was neat.

Buddy went to find some food and I explored a little. One thing I learned fast was to switch from a cloth mask to a paper mask. I get hot fast and thought I was going to pass out for a second. Toylanta's new home features a much larger con space. So I didn't have time to check out the entirety of the dealers room preview before it closed for the Lobby Swap Party. I did price a few Rocklords though as that's my focal point this year. I've been kicking myself for not picking them up at the last show and don't plan on making that mistake again. Tomorrow I'm bringing plenty cash and buying some rock robits dammit. There was a surprising amount of M.A.S.K and Dino Riders. Good prices too.

One dealer did have some hand knitted Star Wars characters and I grabbed the last Grogu for the Mrs. The Lobby Swap Party was as usual a hodgepodge of folks with random stuff for sale/trade. I was very surprised to see a good amount of Starcom stuff. I ran into a guy with a boxed Mighty Max Skull Mountain. We chatted for awhile and admired the art on said box. Good times.

Another guy had a decent amount of Transformers and Super Sentai. I was interested in a Cohrada vs Saberback set. He wanted 30 for it, not bad, but passed. I already have them. *shrug* With Kingdom making beast modes cool again, I hope someone younger gets to have the same fun I did all those years ago with them. That's the best kind of joy, a mixture of discovery and amazement.

There was a good number of Shogun Warriors around, leading to a lot of accidental fist misfires. Just awesome anarchy of the most random kind. I ran into Jimmy and his wife. Talked with them a bit before heading home. For some reason the drive took FOREVER, but thankfully the Mrs had pizza and buffalo wings waiting. I was starving.

SATURDAY: The Mrs came with me today to the show. We got there just before 1pm and man there was a lot more people there today than Friday. After looking around I soon discovered most of the Rock Lords I had priced were already gone.

Dammit.

One guy did have 2 Granites though, so at least I got one Rock Lord this time. If I see anymore tomorrow they're coming home with me. Dammit. I was seeing a good bit of Gobots in questionable shape. Sunday's bringing of 'everything must go' may have them priced well enough to buy. There was a fairly priced Diaclone Multiforce that just may find itself my property as well. Almost bought a Creepy for $20 before I noticed the one missing claw. There was a random Deathsaurus missing partners and weapons on a booth that I was happy to see there.

There was a Lego guy with tons of custom mini figures in one dealers room. Got the Mrs some Mandolorian and some great Master of the Universe figures. He had a movie He-Man left that I may end up getting as well.  It had an extra big sword as it should.

The Kaiju Attack table had a good selection as usual and I got some vintage sofubi Ultraman monsters. Probably getting more tomorrow. Ended up in some conversation with him as well. That guy has been at the show the past few years and I'm glad to see him each time. There was a good bit of tokusatsu toys around the tables this year. Not just stuff that's popular in America either.

I almost bought a Cassetteman before realizing it was a bootleg and the dealer was non-the wiser. Shame, but I felt it best not to inform the guy. Didn't want to risk the potential argument. One guy tried to sell me some rather poor shape Battle Beasts for $20 each. I guess he liked extra nope on his hell no burger. I visited the creators room and watched Buddy give a lesson on air brushing. Considering he's been a successful artist for a really long time, that's something special. Hopefully those hoping to learn took notes.

We left close to 5 and headed home. The drive home was much better than last night even with a stop at Circle K. Taco Mac was Doordashed soon after getting home.  It was really good. I've never had a taco from there.

SUNDAY: I got to the con around 12PM for the last day of the show. My panel was at 2, so I had a little time to look around. Ran into Marten and chatted with him for a few minutes before heading into the con area. After a quick stop in the restroom to put some eye drops in (allergy season) I ventured into the dealers room and laid eyes on a glass box I didn't see before.

Inside it was various robot figures and a very familiar blue and gray bot. The robots tag said 'unknown Japanese Transformer $5'. I realized it was a Convertors SDF-1 and bought it. A tour around the room led me to the booth that had the Granite I bought Saturday.

It was Sunday, so folks were making deals. I eyed the robots and just couldn't pull the trigger on any. They had a Scorp in great shape for $20. I decided to think on it and soon found myself at a booth looking at bagged figures pinned to a corkboard. I picked out a Loco for pretty cheap in seemingly great condition and then noticed a Scorp in another bag also looking pretty good for $8. I took them over to the dealer and they cut me a deal without even asking. $15 total mofo.

I headed downstairs as it was closer to 2PM at this point and that's where the panel room was. Looking around the downstairs dealers rooms landed me back at the Lego table where I found another Grogu mini figure for the Mrs. She stayed home today and I wanted to get her something.

The same guy also was selling emulation portable systems and I got a Gameboy looking device prelaoded with a lot of NES games. Mixed in with the selection was a bunch of unlicensed games. Hello bootleg Mario games! I then ventured over to the retro gaming room and played some Collecovision before chatting it up with the guy who ran the room.  A quick run to the restroom and I went to the panel room to get ready.

I figured the panel would be a ghost town since it was on Sunday and with the pandemic attendance was weird this year. Good number of people, not many as usual, and not as many guests either. Totally understandable. Generally my panel is on Saturday when the bulk of the folks are there, Sunday is a short day with most people heading out.

I was surprised to see a small group of people come in, including some teens who happily had just bought some Cybertron toys. We had a great conversation and the time just flew by.  Before I knew it the panel was over and I decided to take one more walk around before heading home.

Everything was closing and I took a minute to watch the dealers pack up. It's a nice way to mentally end the convention I guess.  Headed home to a home cooked pot roast dinner. It had been a chilly weekend, so that was the perfect meal.

Beast Mode Saga

It's been a while since I've talked Battle Beasts, so why not look at this cool Beast Saga promo video from 2012... which is a lot longer ago than I normally realize! I really wish the little critter offshoot of Transformers would make another resurgence. Beast Saga was so dang neat, I'm really surprised it didn't last much longer. Though, there is plenty of unofficial Battle Beasts out there, but man wouldn't it be great to see these guys just hanging off the pegs at Target? Wait... work with me... Beast Sega. If anyone can take a good concept and make it great it's Sega. Guys... whoa. Beast Sega Mini...

Kabuto Mushi Halloween wave is up!

Order Here!

The Godbeast has updated his store with the new Reverse Hallow Wave! This new batch of his awesome Kabuto Mushi line has a great deco based on vintage Halloween blow molds!  I ordered the compete set and suggest you not to sit around if you want them as they're going fast!

Fire, wood, lame dealer

I've had Battle Beast Chariots on my mind today. Instead of asking myself why, instead I chose to bask in the glory of little cat head cars. I could say here again that I wished the line would return again, but you know I do and I'm sure you do as well. Fortunately there's plenty of homages and similar toys to help fill that void. I am instantly reminded of Shawn and I's little Battle Beast adventure at Toylanta this past spring though.

Last year, we both racked up on Beast Saga figures via the awesome dealer who sets up a giant display of baskets with grouped together toys. This past year, they were a little harder to find. As Saturday marched on, Shawn got in a conversation with a dealer who had promised to bring a bunch of Battle Beasts Sunday. He told me that evening and we made plans to hit that table first off and clear that mofo out. Battle Beasts are like the N.W.O, they're for life. Unlike the N.W.O, we don't have to figure out what Stings up to. Sting wasn't being very clear. Wolfpac or not dude. Wolfpac or not.

Sunday morning came and I was running a little late getting to the con thanks to traffic, but Shawn had stayed at the hotel and got to the guy first thing. As I was walking in he found me with the look of cold blooded murder in his eyes. The dealer lied. Not a one. Not a single fire, wood, nor water. It was then and there we shot the guy and fed his asshole to his children. I'm lying, we just sulked a bit and his asshole eating children went hungry,

Godbeast Wave 32 Saturnia Cerulestar Metamorphosis

The Godbeast has his newest batch of figures up for sale starting June 28th at 8PM CST.

Cerulestar Nemesis and Cerulestar Mushi in glow in the dark blue!

Saturnia Mushi and Saturnia Nemisis with wings!

Blanks of the colorways are available in limited numbers for you customizers!  

Toylanta 2019

It's time again for the greatest toy show in the world, Toylanta! I'll be attending all weekend and will be updating this post each night, so be sure to check back throughout the weekend! Also, be sure to check out my Instagram as I'll be updating it more frequently throughout the weekend from the show!

Friday Report

After the wife got home from work, we ate Publix subs and went to the show.  Traffic was pretty bad and we got there a little later than wanted. Early dealer room sales was wrapping up as we got in and got badges. Met up with Shawn in the lobby whom giffted me a New Age Toys Bugbite! We looked around some of the dioramas  and the lobby swap before the State of the Hobby panel. During so I grabbed a Gobots Tanks figure for $5.

The dioramas included an epic World War Z scene, an SS Flagg decked out with Night Force vehicles, and a large recreation of the Death Star trench run. The Death Star was seemingly made with all sorts of containers and random things like WD-40 lids and egg cartons. Really neat.

After the panel more talking was had in the lobby before the wife and I departed for the night. We stopped by Walmart for a few things and I grabbed a Gears for Shawn who hasn't been able to find one. Friday night at the shown is mainly a social night and it sure is fun to take it in.

Saturday Report

After a good nights sleep and a great breakfast, we got to the show around 10am. The line was still insane even by 10. Fortunately, I already had my badge and we went in. Man, the dealer selection this year is great. A giant variety of different things. Lots of indie toy guys, which I love. I buy toys all year long, so when I go to a con I prefer to find the more oddball stuff that won't be at Walmart. Nothing like a glow in the dark Storm Trooper with a cat head to sell that point!

One of the indie toy groups had a vending machine full of their own merchandise. I sunk about 2$ into it and got one of his Chewie Rolos (a plastic Rolo with a Kenner Chewbacca face) and a bunch of his pins. Another dealer has a free bin and I walked away with a Whispering Willie and a 2$ Ultraman figure. One guy who always has a good booth had a Waduros. I'm still debating on pulling the trigger on it. It's not complete, but so hard to ignore.

A dealer who had some Battle Beasts informed Shawn that he'd be setting up more for Sunday. So needless to say the heat is on! Fun was had and the wife and I got lunch at the hotel restaurant. Holy crap they had amazing food. The absolute best salmon burger I've ever had.

Afterwards we went to the panel room for the Kenner Designer panel. That was amazing. Apparently the Kenner designer created the Jurassic Park logo while coming up with stickers for the lines vehicles. During the product pitch Spielberg loved the sticker so much he made it the logo for the movie. Not long after that wrapped up was Dusty and me for the Transformers panel. We had a good crowd that made for a fun panel.

As our panel ended, the dealers room was closing. We found our way to the lobby for the parachute drop, which was as crazy as ever. Someone had begun throwing a toy plane from the balconies which became a slighty dangerous situation every so often. We talked ghosts a little before checking out a few room sales parties. Pretty fun, but the last one we went to had the best selection of stuff and stunk heavily of poots.

The wife and I headed after a fun day of the show for some rest. Toylanta is a great con and this year is going down in the top years.

Sunday Report

Aftet hibernating all night and a great breakfast, I got to the show around 10:30am (the wife stayed home) after a stop for a can of Java Monster (was momentarily confused that I gave the casheir too much money, fortunately was wrong ). I lucked up and got a front row parking spot (a first) and went right on in and right to the guy who was bringing more Battle Beasts and he didn't. Dammit. Spent some quarters in another indie toy guys vending machine and came out great! Got a tiny Gameboy cartridge, a tiny NES controller, amd a glow in the dark little bear. I bought a great Necronomicon as well. Found Shawn and we worked our way through dealers.

Sunday is the day for deals as everyone is packing up. Scored a non-transforming Galaxy Megazord I'd been eyeing all weekend for 7$. I don't have any real attachment to that Megazord, but it was such a nice looking robot that there was no resistance. One dealer that always has stickers and  buttons at the shows booth is a tradition of mine and I made a point to stop by.

Shawn and I sat down and chatted for a while before deciding to take one more walk around the dealers room. I hoped to get a better price on that Wauduros, but no luck. It was just too incomplete for the price sadly. Battle Beast selection was slim with most dealers having a handful a little over priced, which was a shame, but there's always later opportunities for better luck.

Didn't buy any Transformers, which was ok as I buy them all year long. Fortunately there was ample amounts of them there for those who were looking for a particular toy. One dealer had a great display of a few prototypes though. A Fall of Cybertron Kickback and Starscream was in that case for viewing.  I had a hard time pulling the trigger on some Rocklords. They were in great condition, I just think I'll be able to find some later cheaper. Problem with so many dealers is you have so many options that it can be overwhelming. No the worst problem to have at a con ;)

We struck up a Zoids conversation with some dealers that went longer than I realized (and somebody didn't adjust his watch for DST) and before long it was time to go (we had our grocery pickup scheduled for 4pm). Said my goodbyes to Shawn and said goodbye to Toylanta for another year. Next year will be at a different location, so it's kinda a bittersweet ending to a great con this year (I like the location). Though a roomier dealer space would be nice.

This years show was a great time and just what I've been needing after a few hard weeks at work (even had an earache all weekend, thank God for ear drops). While some of the things I hoped to find didn't happen (my favorite dealer didn't have  anything I wanted in his infinite baskets of neatness... a first), I still got some great things and just had a great time. Which is exactly what I wanted.

Haul:
New Age Toys Critter gifted by Shawn
Tank Gobot
Whispering Willie Corps! figure (free!)
Large Ultraman sofubi
Stool Sample (3D printed stools in a biohazard baggie give  to me by an indie toy guy)
1 'Chewie' Rolo and assorted  buttons from one indie toy guys capsule machine
Gameboy cartridge, NES controller, and glow in the dark bear from another indie toy guys capsule machine.
'Summer reading club' Necronomicon from same indie toy guy as the video game toys and stool sample
Galaxy Megazord figure
Two translucent Godzilla minifigures in red and blue
A Soundwave holding Blaster ala 'Say Anything' sticker
Sheet of Toyhax symbol stickers gifted by Dusty,