ZombieTrack BMM-02 [BeastBox Mega MechaBeast]

ZombieTrack is another toy I had been waiting to get stocked in the Amazon 52Toys store for what seemed like forever. Thankfully he was same day delivery and was in my hands the minute I was finally able to purchase. ZombieTrack is the second Mega MechaBeast in my beloved BeastBox series of toys. ZombieTrack is something I've been really looking to get my hands on. Just look at it! With Halloween around the corner, there's nothing like some Devil Invader energy to get the spooky summer going!

ZombieTrack is a smaller BeastBox that transforms into a grasshopper whose mech suit transforms into an all terrain bike. Larger figures can drive the bike and it can carry a box mode ZombieTrack or other smaller BeastBox. The grasshopper forms the head of the larger MechaBeast mode. I love this toy.

Don't ask me how the combination of a grasshopper and all terrain vehicle creates such a creepy robot, but I'm all here for it. There's a resemblance to Vamp/Casmodon that I can't help but to love, but ZombieTrack is still his own robot. Well, I'm saying he generically. Judging by the box art, there's a horde of these. There's probably a variety of genders in that swarm. As a grasshopper, ZombieTrack is surprisingly articulated.

The legs have a wide range of movement and the head can look all around. I like the antennae. Even though I didn't do it in the picture, you can raise it's wings up as well. Those wings are laser guns in MechaBeast mode, so I like to think of them as boosters in beast mode. Transformation to box mode is easy enough, but maneuvering the legs can be tricky the first time. Box mode can easily slide into the smaller Box Charger that comes included. Head mode is a variation of box mode with a few parts flipped out.

The all terrain bike transforms pretty easily. it essentially folds into itself and the treads are the arms and legs. The head snaps in securely and those wings I mentioned earlier become back/shoulder mounted lasers. There's quite a bit of articulation and even though he doesn't come with a weapon to hold... it looks like a standard sized weapon could fit into the hands. It's nice to pose him with those claws out though. There's a little tread kibble in the arms that ends up looking like legs and I find that to be a creative way to deal with it.

MechaBeast mode looks like a giant grasshopper that's learned to stand upright. Man, could you imagine that? I live in the American south and the grasshoppers don't get that big here... but you drive a little further south and they start getting larger. Scary large, but thankfully not as big as ZombieTrack looks to be. Overall ZombieTrack is an awesome addition to the BeastBox ranks and my favorite of the two Mega MechaBeast toys available. He's super creative and wonderfully spooky. I wonder if whatever comes after him in this series can top this?

Ironhide [Galaxy Version 05-One]

I've been mentioning how much the blending of Blokees and Transformers One visual styles remind me of Megaman X, and I think Ironhide just might be my best example. Just look at him, he literally looks like Megaman X. Equipped with Rising Fire, maybe. It's a good look. To be fair, I've been comparing Ironhide to Megaman ever since his old SCF toy. I'm not saying he always looks like him, but in some instances he does. That being said, we've got another fantastic Blokees kit from this series with the new sturdier builds.

You know, I really liked Transformers One, but these have really reawakened my fandom for it. TF One was such a good movie, it's good to bask in it some more. Blokees are quickly becoming one of my current favorite TF things to do and this series has been specifically fun. Good times. This is Ironhide in his miner body without a Cog, and it looks pretty great. I appreciate how the characters are getting toys of both forms as they spend most of the movie without Cogs and it's actually a pretty big plot point.

Of course being a Galaxy Version Blokees, Ironhide has the standard open and closed hands and a display base. He's also got that generic laser pistol that looks a lot like his G1 cartoon characters laser. While I'm used to most characters having personalized weapons, I do enjoy the generic guns from TF One. They're not bad looking and represent the uprising which included taking weapons from the look-alike Trackers. See, these Blokees are more than blind boxed models. They're a fun way to enjoy the world of Transformers.

Psychotrain BMM-01 [BeastBox Mega MechaBeast]

52Toys has really came up with something special with their new Mega MechaBeast series. This new twist on BeastBox takes a smaller sized BeastBox and pairs it with a large transforming exo-suit. The BeastBox forms the mechs head and other BeastBox toys can be combined to create some crazy monstrosities. You can even use different Boxes for different heads, it's crazy!

Starting out look at these new monsters is Psychotrain, the first in the series. I got mine a few weeks ago once the Amazon store had them in stock and have been waiting patiently to talk about him. Psychotrain is an elephant, whose suit transforms into a train. The train can carry more than one box for bigger railroad nightmares! Honestly I wasn't aware of the additional combinations until I flipped through the instructions, I had saw Psychotrain and just had to have it! There's just something so cool about this big behemoth that I couldn't ignore.

Let's start off by talking about the elephant. It's downright adorable thanks to the small scale. That's pretty funny considering that's the same face as Mega MechaBeast mode. The elephant is obviously a more basic to than a larger BeastBox, but still has articulation in the trunk and ears in addition to simple leg articulation. Despite being so basic, it's still a very sharp looking elephant. He folds up into box mode easily and fits snugly in the included small Box Charger. Head mode isn't much different than box mode, just position the face outward (but leave those ears tucked in). The train is something else to transform. Somehow it goes from a serpentine shape to a big brute of a body. It's pretty impressive and kind of mind boggling. To put it in perspective, the MechaBeast's head area forms the front of the box car while the legs become the rear. Meanwhile the chest is the front of the steam engine. Honestly, I don't think I can even explain exactly how everything folds into place, but it does... and everything has to be just right.

Once transformed, Psychotrain is once big and scary bot. It's hard to believe that train formed this brute. That cute little elephant is now one scary face, and the sides of that box car have formed some new ears. They can be folded away if you use another box for the head. Psychotrain is heavily armed with dual forearm mounted chain guns and hefty morning star. The morning star can be stored on the back of his calf and in the rear of the box car in train mode. It actually holds that rear section together better thanks to the way it pegs in. He's large and imposing... but also decently articulated. Proportions can make some poses a little tricky, but I don't see a body like this doing much more than lumbering. Psychotrain is a really cool  and impressive toy. I'm generally pleased with BeastBox toys, but these new Mega MechaBeast's really blow me away.

More Violence, More Action, More Monday!

Monday again, yeah... dammit. Like you, I wish it was still the weekend. I guess we'll just have to get through the work week with more robots, monsters, and misadventure! My weekend was pretty good. Some weekly shopping and good food. The Mrs and I decided to re-watch all of Stranger Things so we'll be caught up when the new season premieres later this year. So far we're 2 episodes down and it's just as good again! 

As for toys, my stores were pretty limited. They're due for a restock. The Mrs did grab me some gacha while out at Target Friday. 4 of the new 5 Surprise Transformers balls and a Voltron bag figure. Voltron was him forming the blazing sword (woo). The TF's were 1 Megatron in robot mode, 1 Wheeljack in vehicle mode, and 2 Starscreams in vehicle mode. These new 5 Surprise Transformers are pretty neat, but they sure are stretching the '5'. You get the character and a weapon. A trading card, a sticker, and a bag of kinetic sand. I guess that's 5 things? I also ordered the Swapticons Jungle Mission 5 pack. It's never showed up at my local stores and I didn't want to miss out. With new Swapticons images getting leaked, my excitement for the little bots was revived. The line is getting even more fun toys that I'm looking forward to. There's a Clench!

I've got a fun week in store for you all. We'll be looking at the new Mega MechaBeast toys from 52toys BeastBox! Of course another Transformers Blokees will be making an appearance. Halloween is around the corner and I'm gearing up for another spooky season on Zone Base. Code Orange is starting to ring out as some stores are starting to stock their early wares. New items from Target have arrived at my house and we're keeping an eye on our local At Home. Thank you all for reading Zone Base. Don't forget to share with your friends and Mutual High Fives for all!

Transformers Cyberworld starts July 12th!

This looks fun!

G2 Universe Breakdown [Legacy United/Deluxe Class]

Generation 2 recolored versions of Generation 1 characters are always fun due to the loud neon colors. Seemingly the Legacy Stunticons are slowly getting a G2 release as a few of them have been released so far in their respective G2 colors. I'm pretty hopeful for a full team as I missed out on completing the full Legacy set and honestly would enjoy a G2 version better. With Breakdown here, I've gotten all that's been released so far. Go me. Of course the original G2 Stunticons were canceled and the few completed sets out there (from various merchandising samples) are extremely rare and expensive.

Newer Stunticon toys have gotten the G2 treatment over time, especially Breakdown. The original G2 Breakdown toy was the very first BotCon exclusive toy as the convention was given stock produced prior to the teams cancellation. Since then, there's been various G2 versions of Breakdown. Usually with some sort of exclusivity along with it. This version is a general retail toy, but released during the tail end of Legacy. So it still might be tricky for some to get. He was among my birthday presents from the Mrs., so mines extra special to me.

Variations of teal tend to be some of my favorite colors, so it's probably to no surprise that I gravitate towards G2 Breakdown over his original self. This version doesn't feature the Trapper Keeper style graphics the original and a few updates have. That's a little disappointing... but at the same time it looks so sharp that I don't really mind. The teal and purple with black and silver just looks so sharp. Outside of those truly majestic colors, is also a pretty good figure. Normally Combiner limbs are often sacrificed a little as they're a unique type of triple changer. The third mode is a body part, and that leads to robot and alt modes that have to be worked into that shape. Astrotain works because his train mode can be configured into a space shuttle, but how do you get a car into an arm? Thankfully these newer combiners side step that as the main body component member forms something of a skeleton and the limbs just sort of connect into place. This works pretty well and looks great. So we have a Breakdown who manages to be a normally functioning Transformer.

Robot mode is pretty good with plentiful articulation. His car mode kibble mostly resides on the backside of robot mode and is hidden pretty well. The hood forms a backpack that can separate enough as to not be a giant brick on his back. I normally like the backpack look, but can appreciate these improvements that don't block articulation. Breakdown has his usual laser pistol, but the car's spoiler can be held as a weapon too. Frankly it's king of a dumb weapon as he doesn't hold it like a sword... just kind of awkwardly. What the hell is he supposed to do with it? I stuck it on the back of his leg in the picture above as there wasn't much of a place to store it anywhere else. It feels like a design oversight more than an intentional choice. Maybe if it could attach to his forearm it'd be better... how do you even swing that effectively?

Transformation is pretty easy, and like many other car mode Transformers, you can pretty much figure out to do by looking at him. Despite all the folding pieces from the hood, there's not much panel forming and it all just goes into place easily. The pistol stores underneath the car and that spoiler works well as it's intended element. Honestly, it should have been a molded in part that split in half. I'm not ragging on the design, just everything about this toy is pretty great... except that. It just doesn't make sense to me. Remember how much I liked the colors? Well, they continue to look great in car mode. Just look at that damn thing! That's one cool looking car. The black hood and G2 Decepticon symbol on the hood look super sleek making what would normally be considered gaudy colors look very nice. Overall, Breakdown is a pretty solid toy that looks amazing. I'd be happy with him as a stand alone figure, let alone a member of a combiner team.