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!

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.

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.

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...

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,

Battle Titans

It's funny the way things work out. I was thinking earlier that I hadn't done a Battle Beast post in a while and out of nowhere, the newest Legends Web Comic went online today. As you may know, the web manga/ comics are Battle Beast heavy. This issue was an absolute treat to skim over (it's not in English, so I have to get what I can out of it) as there was a little surprise in the panels.

That sure looks like a Kabuto Mushi in the mix, because it kinda is. The designs were in the Laser Beast Japanese book, but The Godbeast did make a set. That's super dooper cool man. I mean like, sooper dooper. I've made my love for Titans Return and Battle Beasts far known here and have really appreciated the many Battle Beasts worked into Titans Return as Titanmasters. One neat thing about Battle Beasts is the fact that there is constantly new ones coming out. Be it newer lines like Titans Returns, Beast Saga and in the Minimates assortments, or unofficial figures in other lines (Imaginext has all but out heat rub stickers on theirs), there's usually some form of Battle Beast available.

Looking back, it wasn't until I was older and had internet access until I discovered that Battle Beasts were part of Transformers. Both were toy lines I had always loved, but their association never occurred to me and then it was all so obvious. Seeing the continued use of Battle Beasts in Transformers is something I just freaking find awesome. Not just that they're constantly still used, but generally used well and in a way that I enjoy quite a lot.

Battle Beasts (Diamond Select stop motion)

I was only able to find Ruminant and Spyrnus from the Diamond Select version of Battle Beasts, which was a bummer since they were such good looking figures. Though I admit, I never felt like these were Battle Beasts, just cool fantasy figures. Guess they were too grimdark.

Battle Beast Former Saga

I don't make my fondness for Battle Beasts a mystery. Even of they weren't related to Transformers, I'd still love them dearly. What's not to love? Little animal dudes with cybernetic armor fighting it out using basic elemental powers in an eternal struggle of roshambo. It also doesn't hurt that they're great toys either. Thankfully for us Beastformer fans, Takara's latest Transformers Legends web comic includes the little fuzzy dudes beating the crap out of each other in good form.

Beyond your wildest Imaginext

Credit: Matthew Garrison of Imaginext Generation

The current 'on fiya' post in Imaginext Generation is the first sighting of the newest Imaginext blind bag series. Which is, without a doubt, all that and a bag of chips. Let me elaborate in case the amazing picture doesn't already make your mind explode. Imaginext, while being a toy line intended for small children, is very well catered to adult nerds. I've said before that Imaginext is the modern day Adventure People, but as you can see in the picture, there is an Adventure People homage in this series (not the first time either).

What's super cool is that the new X-Ray Man also pay's homage to it's Microman/Micronaught leanings with with a doggy nod to Henshin Cyborg. That's super awesome. I'm tempted to also get one for my brother. The sci fi Adventure People held a proud place on his bookshelf from childhood well into his teen years and I'd wager he still has them stowed away somewhere. Then there's Triple Threat Snake from Battle Beasts making a sneaky appearance. Readers of Zone Base already know how I feel about Battle Beasts and many have fell from me cutting them over many a heated rub sign fight. I'm willing to disagree on many things, but I might kill you over a Battle Beast.

Last and certainly not least. In fact probably the most surprising, a two pack of Muscleman/Kinnikuman and Terri-Bull/Buffaloman from M.U.S.C.L.E/Kinnikuman. That's the kind of awesome surprise you not only didn't expect, but probably embarrassed yourself when you found out. Like other folks my age, I've probably got a metric ton of the little toys and pop hard when I see anything similar. This... this right here... is amazing.

The other guys on the bag look similar too, though I outright am fuzzy on them. Fish head dude is really reminding me of something. The centaur looks a lot like a Navi from Avatar, but being a centaur makes me wonder if he's supposed to be somebody else. Radiation suit guy is a long awesome trope that doesn't need any explanation. You know, there's tons of high end toys for the adult collectors market, but the best one can be found at any Walmart in the toddler aisle for not a lot of money.

Man, your ride is FIRE

Today I was buying some blind bag Imaginext and couldn't help but to think (yet again) how they would make excellent Battle Beasts toys. Just dig those pirate sharks and their vehicles.

Beast Saga Toonami

Adding to my earlier post, there was at least this English promo for Beast Saga for Toonami produced and I believe aired in Japan. Man, I can dream of a world where Beast Saga was sitting on my DVR every Saturday night.

Beast Saga 3DS game promotional video

I've noted here before that I wish that Beast Saga would have made over to the US in some form. Admittedly because I'm a Battle Beasts fan, but I can't help to think it would have been a hit here. Not to mention, I would love to play this game. It looks pretty darn fun. I could see now a pre-order exclusive with some cool alternate colored figure.

Toylanta 2018 Report

 *Note- I will be adding to this post throughout the weekend, so please check back as I'll be adding to it periodically, also please check out my Instagram for pics from the show*

Friday- After sleeping off my work night, the wife and I headed to the con getting there around 7pm for the opening evening activities. Roaming around the dealer area as it was being set up and popping in and out of the lobby swap I spent most of the evening with my friends Shawn and Stuart as we chatted about various things. Tons of toys were out and of course I didn't stop by the ATM on the way, so mental note for the morning: bring some cash tomorrow!  So far aside from some random G1 bots (and the mandatory Firecon purchase) I've spotted some great deals on kaiju vinyls and some great custom GIJOE that at least one must come home with me. Shawn gifted me with legion Hound and Dragonstorm, which was most awesome. We came home and ordered pizza on the way home for a great supper. Time for some sleep before a busy Saturday.

Saturday- Saturday started off well enough, we got to the show around 10am and roamed the dealer areas a bit before a run to McDonald's for some lunch. I managed to snag some Beast Saga figures and some Maximal symbol pins. After a Big Mac, we headed to the panel area for the Space Toys panel and it was a treat. I initially thought it was going to be a roundabout of all space toys, but was mostly about lines from the 60's and 70's ran very well by some well spoken gentlemen. One speaker that I enjoyed talked about his time trying to get stores to carry Star Wars toys by way of letter writing campaign

After the panel I met up with Dusty and we went over notes for our Transformers panel as we found Gabe, Mike and Alan. The Transformers panel went extremely well and I'm very happy with how it went. Afterwards we made a rush back to the dealers room where I caught up with Aaron and Tony where we talked about wrestling and the ROH ppv that took place Friday night. While in there I bought the remaining Beast Saga figures from the dealer I went to earlier. That had to be my favorite dealer, just a big set of tables with baskets full of various parts, pvcs, capsule toys, and random toys for great pricing. I plan to visit him again tomorrow to raid his bin of 1$ monsters.

Parachute drop went well, though wasn't as populated as before. Papi's Toys had several paratroopers in use including a Pretender Vroom equiped with a parachute. Surprisingly made for a good drop participant. Here was where my only complaint for the weekend has been. The hotel restaurant was renovating and had a temporary set up in the lobby. Which during a regular day wouldn't have been an issue, during a con was a giant pain. Not to mention, the diners were constantly bombarded by thr parachute dropped toys, so I'm sure they didn't appreciate that. Due to the overall sea of people my wife and I was seated for a table, but never got served prompting us to leave without eating. Though that was probably for the best as word was it wasn't very good.

I spent most of the day with Shawn, whom I shared a great conversation about Battle Beasts with at one point. Really glad he came, awesome dude to hang out with. Came home and ate the rest of the pizza from Friday night. One more day of the best damn toy show going.
 
Sunday- Sunday started off kind of rough as daylight savings time hit overnight throwing me off (really can we just stop doing this) as well as a headache I developed overnight. I took some medicine and fixed a simple oatmeal breakfast before heading out (the wife felt like staying home) stopping only for a can of Monster. It was rainy making for an interesting drive, but in all nothing too bad. Got in the dealers room around 10am and spent the next few hours with my friends Shawn and Stuart whom where heading out soon.

After they left, actually I missed Stuart leaving somehow (sorry man), I poked around for a little bit. Almost bought a vintage Pirantishead before deciding the Imaginext one I'm getting soon would suffice. I did visit my favorite dealer from the weekend and grab a Zenon pvc amd stop by the pin and sticker dealer to grab something for my wife. I decided to check out the custom cars one more time and head home (Sunday everyone is wrapping up and the show wraps up earlier).

Ran into Aaron and Tony at the cars and we chatted for a bit, they were heading out too. As we were chatting Gabe was coming in to get a little extra filming done for his school project, so we came in with him. Spent a little longer farting around with the guys and got a free bottle of Billy Mitchell hot sauce from the Southern Friend Gaming Expo booth who had been selling arcade marquee art and various oddities. I was super close to grabbing the Altered Beast arcade cabinet instruction manual. We headed talked wrestling a bit before all heading out. The great toy show had come to an end for the year and time to return to normal life. The rainy weather got me stuck a little in some wreck traffic. Passing some of the cars moved off to the side of the show, I recognized a few folks I had seen at the show over the weekend. Man, that had to suck.

Overall- Wow, what a great weekend. I've been having a pretty stressful time recently so this fun weekend was exactly what I needed. As fun as the Botlanta event was last year, it was a lot of work and it was a relief to return to the normal Toylanta. The RFC crew couldn't make the show, instead opting to gather for the weekend at Kilby's house for the weekend. Kilby sent me a portable recorder to make a podcast out of the Transformers panel. Unfortunately the recorder didn't show up until Saturday afternoon, so I regret not getting that recorded, though Gabe did film the bulk of it and offered to give Kilby the audio from that.

The hotel's renovation efforts was mainly a pain for the lobby as that's a main meet up area during a con and it was reduced that area greatly, not to mention had to be unpleasant for diners while trying to eat. Outside of that I really enjoy the hotel and talks of the show eventually moving makes me hope if and when that happens they'll find as good as a space to host the show.

As usual, I pretty much hibernate all day after the show, but also enjoyed some home cooking after a weekend of fast food. Absolutely had a blast and as always makes for great memories.