Torque [Zybots]

Zybots (or Bibots depending on your geographical location) is a fun oddball robot line by Remco that was on shelves for a brief time in the 80's. They were mocked up using Gobots parts during their design phase leading to some very similar looking toys. They're rather neat little robots for the most part and as my desire to cover more vintage toys here on the site, Torque seemed like a good choice. I picked up Torque at ToyLanta last year from a booth I look forward to, but don't always see.

A nice hipster couple who doesn't have a table every year, but I'm always to happy to see when they do. Not only are they nice folks, but they have great stuff at great prices. Torque was just $4, but discounted as I bought a bunch of stuff. Not bad! He's in great condition too with tight joints and everything in pretty good shape. Just a little knick on one of the stickers and rust on the wheel pins. Which is an acceptable bit of wear and tear for a 40 year old figure.

Torque turns into an approximation of an 80's era Porsche, but looks like a Mazda RX-7 to me. It's a nice little car mode and looks pretty sharp. I like the blue. Transformation isn't difficult and about what you'd expect for a toy from his era. Fold up the knees and push those arms in. Both modes are pleasant with decent articulation in robot. Shoulders and knees move thanks to transformation. He looks tall thanks to those long thighs, but is about the same height as a regular Gobot. I actually thought he was a Gobot when first picking him up and later was pleasantly surprised when trying to figure out who I got.

I'd been meaning to get more Zybots and did completely so by accident! Like I said earlier, Zybots used Gobot parts during mock-up and it's very obvious here. It's super cool regardless and Torque looks great. Zybots are fun little line of robots that look like a certain group of toys and Torque is a great example of the bunch.

Aliens (M.A.R.S. Heroes)

 

I'd been sitting on the fence over these weird little figures for several years now. Not sure exactly how long, but a quick Google search tells me they were first released in 2006. It was probably around 2016 when I first took note of them, about 10 years after they were first released. I'm familiar with the M.A.R.S. Converters line of inexpensive robot toys and occasionally see this 'Heroes' sub line at odd discount stores. There's Troopers, Megabots, some odd vehicles, and what we're looking at today, the Aliens. Mainly sold at discount stores in multi packs or the odd single figure, I always see them at Ross around Christmas. Which is where I finally pulled the trigger on this set. Stopping by our local store with the Mrs a few weeks ago led me to look for Zoids (they randomly show up there) and didn't want to leave empty handed. 

I've been seeing others in Microman groups talk pretty big about these little weirdos and have been pretty tempted to grab a set. I'm so glad I did as these are some great little Microman/Micronaut -esque figures. Considering I paid about 5$ (after Christmas clearance) for the multi pack of three, they were a steal. I'm often blown away by the quality of some discount toy lines (Final Faction, The Corps) and despite the age of the molds, they were pretty decent quality. The packaging encourages mixing the various parts to come up with your own custom figures. Obviously I didn't do that in the picture aside from the shoulder mounted weapons. 

While they look to be the same toy mold castes in different colors, the blue arms have big claws, while the green body has a different head dome. In some great bright translucent colors with ample metallic paint and different weapons. Two green pistols, a slightly larger orange gun, and a blue melee weapon that's not showing up well in the picture. Also the before mentioned shoulder weapons. Thanks to all the various connection points being ball joints, there is quite a bit of articulation. I haven't gotten the other M.A.R.S. Heroes, but am pretty tempted now. It was a fun Saturday night spent eating sushi and playing with my new off brand Alien Invaders. If you happen upon a set, they're well worth picking up. I strongly recommend some spicy tuna rolls and paranormal TV to go along with them. 

Barricade (Authentics)

 

I've always been a fan of the lower end basic figures. There's a charm to the simplicity and sometimes the low price is just the right thing. Less can be more. As such, I was a fast fan of Authentics. I've always had a love for discount store toys and a version of Transformers intended for that market was a happy combination. Not every figure has been a Masterpiece, but there's a few stand outs in the little line. Barricade is one. The Mrs put it in my stocking Christmas morning and he's a fun little toy. Barricade is one of the smaller Authentics figures. I've been calling them the smaller ones this whole time, though I've seen web sites refer to them as either Alpha or Bravo. 

Barricade follows the precedent set by the Michael Bay movies of him being a Decepticon Police car. Originally the character was a Micromaster F-1 race car and then later the name was often reused sporadically. This version seems to be based on his TF5 and Earth Wars depictions. Not bad, I'm really fond of that look and it comes off well here. I also like Police car deco Transformers. You've probably noticed he's pretty basic in the paint department, but that's going to happen with a discount figure. It's mostly noticeable in car mode, the robot mode came out better in that aspect. 

For an inexpensive figure, Barricade has more articulation than I expected. Head, shoulders, elbows,legs, knees, and even feet move satisfyingly. A little less hollow and he could pass for a core class. The toy almost feels like it was designed for another line or project. More recent Authentics have been pretty good, but there's definitely a different vibe going on here. Being a discount figure I don't foresee more information into his development coming. I'll just be content to theorize he started out in a different direction. Barricade is a great little figure and pretty surprising considering everything. I really like him and am still surprised just how well he came out. I know Authentics aren't everyone's cup of tea, but I drink from my own cup. No backwash.

Night Strike Sideswipe Cosplays Baron Karza

Earlier this week I talked about Armored Up Sideswipe from the Custom Kreon selection at Dollar General. Today I'm going to be talking about the Night Strike version of the toy. Which as you can see here, almost looks like a completely different figure. Something as simple as different colors can go a long way, even more so if you add a new part here or there. In this case, it's a straight repaint that just looks amazing.

As a Transformers fan, the first thought that'll pop into my mind would be G2 Sideswipe when the subject of black repaints comes up. If you mixed parts from the standard red Sideswipe kit you'd probably get a good little version of that idea. Even the facial expression screams G2 comics. However, you guys know that uncanny Microman/Micronaut resemblance I've been talking about with these guys?

In this color set, in this armor, he looks so much like Baron Karza that it's almost impossible to ignore. Like, maybe a few different parts and it would be a Baron Karza figure. As Sideswipe however, he's a straight repaint of the one I talked about earlier. So it's a good toy in another good color set. A very Baron Karza color set.

Grimlock Is Armored Up And Ready

Continuing on my exploration of the Custom Kreons from Dollar General is Armored Up Grimlock! Like Sideswipe yesterday, Grimlock is from his 2015 Robots In Disguise appearance (incase you thought he looked funny). I won't mix words here, aside from the colors, I don't think he looks anything like Grimlock here. G1 or RID 15. 

That being said, I do think he looks cool. The claw shaped spike armor combined with claw shaped spiked club is thematically awesome. Like most Kreons, this Grimlock doesn't transform, but still looks primitive despite being an alien robot from outer space.

I dig it.

The extra parts look pretty great here. Adding extra height , body mass, and articulation. It's really neat how you can take the basic Kreon figure and make a much nicer toy by snapping on parts. Like the others, Grimlock makes me think of a Microman. Cosmo Spark to be specific. As a basic Kreon, a Spy Magician MX14.

Armored Up Sideswipe And Nowhere To Go

Not long ago the wife picked me up some more of those Kre-O kits that make me think of Microman. So it's going to be a accidental Microman Kreon week here on Zone Base! These fancy Kreon kits are seemingly exclusive to discount chains here in the US and so far I've only seen them at Dollar General. After taking a bit of a Kre-O break for awhile I'm admittedly a bit out of the loop on these guys. I couldn't find much info about them other than they fall under the custom Kreon class. Which I guess is as good as any for classification. If that's your sort of thing.

The line up is Optimus Prime, Sideswipe, Bumblebee, and Grimlock from the 2015 Robots in Disguise Transformers series. each figure has three different color variations. Armored up, or traditional colors. Blizzard Strike, is arctic themed. Night Strike, in black/stealth colors. You can mix and match parts for some cool color combos. Or leave them stock for a pretty good looking toy. 

Like I said, I get strong Microman vibes from these guys. Armored Up Sideswipe makes me think of Flame Micro Knight and a Spy Magician. Though the toy has some character of his own as well.

Robots in Disguise's incarnation of Sideswipe had a great martial arts flair that carries over here with katana and shuriken star armor. Not to mention the sai he carries and the kanji on his chest. The katana and sai's can be swapped out if you choose. As you can see in the pics, the base Kreon can be built up with the additional parts. This makes for a fancier robot action figure. It not only looks great, but now features additional articulation.

Kre-O was pretty addicting for me during it's time. Only when it became a discount line did my interest start to decline. The initial batches of discount toys were mostly repacks of sets I had already gotten. Add that with the spotty distribution of discount chain toys and it was pretty hard to keep up with leading to my mental disconnect. I gotten some since then, but these are the first Kre-O product I'm actively seeking out in some time. 

The Microman similarities are fun, but I'm digging these on their own as well. They're just fun toys to play around with. The build is simple, really just adding a few parts onto a figure. Like most Kreons they don't Transform... but that's never been an issue for me.

He Ratchet

While running a few errands this weekend I stopped by Walgreen's hoping to find the exclusive Bluestreak. While they still didn't have him, I didn't walk out empty handed either. Walgreen's had begun their Christmas set up and as usual the Authentics Bravo figures were with the extra stock. I quick look through them and I found the newer Ratchet figure. 

I'd been looking for this guy for a little while now, so it was good to finally find him. That's the thing with these discount store figures, they're made for stores that don't heavily restock their toy sections throughout the year. Unless you hit up a random Walgreen's or Five Below, the discount stores might not get any for a while. 

Ratchet is a Bravo class in the Authentics discount line. That means he's the smaller 3" toy as opposed to the 7" Alpha class. These run around 5-6 dollars. I got Ratchet for $6.50, which is pretty fair for a toy bought at a drug store. I almost didn't recognize him at first. I'd gotten so used to never seeing him that upon seeing him... I just stared at it for a minute.

 

At this point I shouldn't need to point out that these little discount toys are not going to be the caliber of a Cyberverse or Generations toy. If they were a little smaller in Legion size, maybe. But they were making a larger toy toy and with a lower price so there's going to be some concessions. Ratchet is a budget toy through and through. He's pretty basic.I know what I was buying and like oddball things like this. These are a quirky side item to the normal Transformers toys I buy. A fun and weird diversion. Ratchet is hollow, flimsy, and a little funky looking and that's ok. I know a 35 cent cup of noodles isn't the same as a hibachi restaurant.

Honestly Ratchet isn't terrible looking. Maybe a little sharper head sculpt and a little more mass in those arms and he'd be a much nicer looking toy. With these proportions he reminds me a little of Armada Hot Shot. As is, he's fine. His head is made from a different material than the rest of the toy. Several of the Ratchets in the little shelf box at Walgreen's had yellowed already. I picked out one that was in better shape and I suggest you do the same. I don't know if it's a lighting thing or just discolored cheap plastic. It was pretty weird though. 

 

Ratchet folds naturally into his ambulance mode. It's a nice little ambulance that's naturally bare on details as paint tends to cost a little higher than a shoe string budget. What painted details he has though looks pretty good. Noticeably lighter in this mode, but still rolls fairly well. Or he did on the TV table I took this picture on. I had just eaten some leftover pizza. It was pretty good.

As far as these little discount Transformers go, Ratchet isn't too bad. It wasn't that long ago that a Transformer from a discount store was a bootleg that often broke in your hands upon opening it. An official toy for the same price is a good trade off. The line itself is a fun little side quest and a fun occasional diversion. Just neat enough for the price and simple to fiddle with while watching TV after eating leftover pizza. Which I did.

Soundwave Is A Discount Store Alpha

They call these larger 7 inch Authentics 'Alpha' class. I don't know why. They do the naming, I do the buying. Call it taco class for all I care. Recently my wife picked me up the Authentics Alpha Class Soundwave from the Dollar General near her work. Thankfully so as I've been looking for him. As far as the Authentics figures have gone, I've been getting the Alpha (7 inch) and Bravo (5 inch) class figures happily. For a low price they're just the thing. I haven't bothers with the Titan Changers or that big ass Bumblebee. I may later, just right now I don't feel compelled to. 

Like other Authentics, Soundwave uses the 'Evergreen' design. Evergreen is a newer Transformers design aesthetic used for oddball things like gift cards and random toys without being attached to a current cartoon. It's basically traditional Transformers, just a little modernized. Safe to throw on that party balloon or discount toy that may be on a shelf for a few years without looking dated. I think it's a pretty good idea. You've got generic Spider-Man, Generic Batman... why not generic Transformers? 

Soundwave as a robot isn't too bad. He's a discount store toy sold for a low price and there's some cost cutting measures in full view. He's $10 for a 7 inch toy, which is about the size of a Generations Voyager class Transformers. Those sell for $30 for perspective. Soundwave is pretty hollow. Like, know how the buildings in a movie studio are just a facade? The walls you see are the only ones they've built and that's the level of hollowness Soundwave has going on here. It doesn't bother me much. I know for the discount price there's going to be some cost cutting measures. I know a cup of ramen noodles isn't the same as an expensive steak dinner and I'm not going to kid myself about it. At the same time, I still love a good cup of ramen noodles. This cheap Soundwave? Yeah, I dig him. He's cool.

 

They don't make tape players anymore. I'm sorry, it's just a fact and those don't change unfortunately. Modern toys of Soundwave are generally tasked with working around that and a common alt mode for him is a communications truck of sorts. That's what they did here and it works pretty well. It's blocky and works with his role as communications officer. 

This particular communications truck is some kind of armored sports crossover SUV. Considering the low cost of the toy, it's a pretty solid alt mode with hardly any visible lines. You transform Soundwave by arranging his arms and legs much as you normally do car based Transformes and his backpack snaps over to create the hood. All you really have to do extra is arrange his gun and uh... sound receiver dish (?) into place on the roof of the truck. 

I'm kind of not sure what to make of the truck. It looks good, but could use a little extra color that the discount store toy budget isn't going to allow for. Thanks to it's angles I can't get Machine Wars Soundwave out of my head when I look at it. Stalker from Euro G1, Machine Wars or Universe Soundwave. That toy mold. The colors those toys came in are the ones I'd really like to see on this toy. It'll never happen, but it'd be neat. I see this truck and think there's another toy coming that'll use the mold tooling. Blaster or Sounblaster probably.

 

I mentioned his gun and communications thingy right? They can be used in a variety of ways. Either held in hands, on shoulder mounted pegs, or the roof of the truck. The communications dish thingy has a flat peg with specific flat peg holes for it's placement... but still fits just fine in round holes. The gun has a standard round peg and won't fit in the square holes. I shouldn't have to explain that, but there's always that one dude.

If you put the gun in Soundwave's shoulders like I have in the picture up top, you'll get a more classic Soundwave look. It looks right in hand ready to blast somebody too. The plastic used on the toy is different than what's used on normal retail Transformers. It's pretty hard and despite the hollowness of the toy gives it a feeling of solidness. You can probably see the stress lines on the gun in the picture. They were like that right out of the package without any visible reason why. It's not broke and there's no white in the plastic that would lead me to believe the plastic is weakened. I have no clue.

I'm pretty happy with Soundwave overall. He might be hollow, but he's a big chunky robot toy and I do love those. Without any doubt he's Soundwave and he nails the classic look. Like I said, for the low price these Authentics are just the thing and fun to buy. He's got a fair amount of articulation and I had fun playing around with him in my living room. You really can't ask for more than that. Unless you're an asshole.

Switch On Charger Tron

Buddy L was formed by a pressed steel company after the owner started making toy cars for his son from the steel scraps. I'm not making that up. I felt like pointing that out as the company is mostly known for toy cars like Tonka. Also like Tonka, Buddy L dipped their toes into the robot toy scene of the 80's. Though unlike others during the time, from what I can tell, Buddy L made their own robot toys instead of licensing molds.

Their transforming robots ran the gamut from vehicles to dinosaurs and insects. The most well known would be Robo Tron with it's pull back engines. The toys have been knocked off to hell and back, so chances are you've seen some incarnation of them at some point. They're the robot worlds version of that redneck family member that just shows up at funerals. Who's kid is that?

Charger Tron is amazing though. Combining the toy car launcher gimmick with robot toy, Charger Tron manages to be the cool guy at the gas station you wished you were friends with. The base would be your standard fair launching station complete with spring loaded winding mechanism. However, it's also a robot! The launching car is a sci fi coupe that looks pretty dang cool. Straight out of post movie Cybertron even. As the car rolls from it's launching base, it flips open into it's robot mode.

It's a simple gimmick based toy enhanced with transforming robot parts. The robots are pretty basic, and that's where the charm lies. I could easily see these guys grace the cabinet art in an arcade. The commercial, while basically selling the toys gimmick, does so with the most amazing music to grace a robot toy commercial. It's a shame that it's not more well known. A damn shame.

I'll Buy That Transformer For A Dollar

The news of the Transformers mini figures arriving at Dollar Tree stores had me instantly on the hunt. After the neat bag clip mini figures, I wasn't expecting another great surprise like these. Admittedly the store is a guilty pleasure of mine, so I'm usually finding one reason or another to stop by.

For a dollar each, you get a well sculpted little figure with a pretty good paint job. They're pretty nice little keshi style figures and are surprisingly not blind bagged. Each character gets his own bag adorned with original box art with red/purple colors for the Autobot/Decepticon characters. Included with each figure is a tiny card.

I was hoping for individual art and character bio. Though it's really here that the discount budget hits and each card is a standard characters available pack in. The Optimus Prime art is a nice extra touch. Really make me wish for tiny Action Cards as unrealistic as that is.

The little figures are a great find for a dollar each and I really hope additional series are made. That would be amazing even if they'd be just recolors without new sculpts. Something like this is just fun to look for and load up that Dollar Tree basket up with.

New Authentics!

It feels good to be a dollar store gangster. News recently broke of more Authentics coming to stores soon! While I haven't gotten any of the Titan Changers recently sold at the stores, I've made no secret of my love for these not very expensive figures. Soundwave looks to be taking a cue from his Cyberverse incarnation... and not a bad step to follow. Ratchet looks pretty good, he'll probably be an Easter Egg shell like the Optimus, but I don't care! It's $5! Like I said, I haven't gotten any of the Titan Changers... but that Grimlock might be the gateway to those. These look like just the thing to hunt in discount stores very soon!

Cheap Super Heroes

I've mentioned before my love for capsule toy machines. Probably one of the reasons I love blind bag toys so much and wish I had access to the gashapon haven that exists in Asian countries. As a kid and even now I can't pass one by without checking out what they have inside. Sometimes it's just those crappy rings (pass) and sometimes it's gold (dammit, I need quarters!). Before I go any further, this is one of those posts where all the images came from screen shooting Google image search results from shady auction sites. Bootleg Voltron figures sold in gumball machines don't exactly always pop up on Amazon, gnaw meen brah?

I didn't know what a keshi or a bootleg was when I was 8. But I did know these neat little rubber monsters and super heroes I'd get from the machines at the grocery store looked like Godzilla and guys from video games. Later in life when learning more about such things... turns out they were from Godzilla type productions and video games originally. Or hey, when my childhood arcade got prize redemption counters. That little bucket of colorful dudes have tiny Masters of the Universe mixed in with the dinosaurs. Luckily those always were the cheapest options, so a few dollars worth of skeeball really paid off. Or man, these little robot model kits in the Kroger machines look like the guys from Robotech. Some reason that one Kroger had those model kits on lock down.

One of the more odd outlets for these toys was party supplies. Thanks to curiosity getting the best of me on a faithful trip to the store, I noticed the party supply section had more than just balloons and birthday candles. Baggies of cheap toys intended for goodie bags usually contain those crappy race cars and planes with the wheels that fall off. Or those stupid little games where you have to make the ball bearings fit into the clowns eyes by rolling them around. But sometimes... dude are those Madballs?

Next thing I knew I had a bag full of tiny rubber Madball rip offs for a dollar. This is still a common occurrence. Next time your around a party supply section or store (the more ratchet the store, the better) check those out. Usually it's just crappy kazoos, but on occasion you'll find M.U.S.C.L.E rip offs or whatever. One time I saw some Street Fighter figures. They were from a gashapon series originally, bootlegged in weird plastic that kinda smelled like fish. That's the gambit you run with el cheapo bootleg toys. They're usually pretty sketchy and might be made in a facility next to bathtub meth. So uh... be careful mang.

The Iron Superman/Roboter Der Sterne/Mazinger Z - El robot de las estrellas

Yes, it's Super Robot Mach Baron.

One thing charmingly weird thing about oddball robot/monster shows is that they can surface in the strangest ways. Take Mach Baron, the follow up to Red Baron. He had his tv series, toys, and assorted fame that comes with such a character. Though oddly enough, he also had a movie in Hong Kong named 'The Iron Superman' made from assorted episodes of the show with new actors filmed for scenes (like Power Rangers). This movie found it's way to German and Mexican audiences under different titles (Mazinger Z?) and I'm sure there's probably fans of these movies that have no clue of it's heritage (like Power Rangers). Aside from odd clips, I've never seen Mach Baron. Just been aware of him, appreciated his look, that sort of thing (I can't watch and know everything ya'll).

So as I'm adding fun stuff to my watch que, I run across 'The Iron Superman' and say to myself 'That's Mach Baron, I'll watch this'. And after starting the weird movie, decide to look into the bizarre production and that's when I learned about it. Like other oddball robot movies you'll find in discount bins, it's another cobbled together production obviously meant to entertain children without much regard to it's manic pacing. Being made from random episodes of a tv show, the movie has a bunch of episodic adventures for our heroes at a crazy pace. 

Aside from the weirdness of the movies production, the show's pretty weird too in an awesome way. Like other older tokusatsu productions, Mach Baron has some crazy bad guys straight out of a haunted house (which I love) and the generic foot soldiers... are football players for some reason. I love the villains. There isn't a clear reason as to what they're trying to do, other than cause destruction and kill everything (they're from Deathstar, not the Deathstar... just Deathstar) and the head honcho looks like a demonic wizard with crazy hair that changes colors at random intervals (I don't know what's going on either). What's awesome is the outright violence. For a children's show, there's a complete disregard for the intended audience. It's somewhat jarring at times (I've said 'damn' so many times) and also completely amazing. I know I call things a fever dream often, but this might just be the epitome of the term.

ROBOT Jet

I've made my fondness for the Dollar Tree 'ROBOT' toy line known before. It's a pretty easy to buy line of robot toys of dubious legality available for the whopping price of 1$ each. One figure from the line managed to escape my grasp until this weekend when a quick stop found it in my hands. Seeing as the figures don't have names... it's a jet.