Weekly Update 9/21/26 — Still Got the Touch

It's Monday yet again Zone Base readers, thank you all for joining me again for another week of robots, monsters, and misadventure!

Like many of you, this weekend I went to see the 40th Anniversary showing of Transformers: The Movie at my local theater. It was nice to see it on the big screen again and celebrate the occasion. Of course, I'm writing this in advance, and below is the weekend update written on my phone Monday morning, hence the grammatical shift.

Because apparently this is what happens when I try to write a blog post before I've fully become a functioning human being for the day.

Despite Zone Base getting thousands of views a day, it's always been something of a ghost town on social media. I mean, I am there, and I even made a Facebook page just to share the site in groups. However, it's just never been a big social media destination.

While I'm definitely not trying to be an influencer, I'm trying to get Zone Base more established on TikTok and Instagram and use those resources as part of the site. My videos have been getting increasingly more views on TikTok, which is awesome, and I'd like to keep growing those accounts. There's a lot of stuff I post there that doesn't necessarily get covered here, so I think of them as another part of Zone Base rather than completely separate things.

If you could, please like and follow me on TikTok and Instagram for more site content that doesn't get posted here. I'd really appreciate it!

Thank you all for supporting Zone Base. Please share it with your friends, and as always, be excellent to each other.

Now, let's get to the weekend!

The Weekend (via poorly written cell phone entry)

My viewing of TFTM was a really good time. I'd been seeing where Shaw Theaters in partnership with Yolopark had been turning their showings into little events and honestly I'm jealous! My theaters didn't even have posters for their showings, talk about slack ass! Regardless, the movie was excellent as always and it was great seeing it on the big screen again. The tribute to Peter Cullen at the beginning was a nice touch and the additional short Transformers: Awakenings was fun to watch even if the plot/message felt a bit... bad fan fic? I dunno, guess I expected more than I should have on that one. Still, like the 40th Anniversary theatrical event in 2024, I really enjoyed myself. This is tge type of thing I'd love to happen more often. It's nice to have local things for fans to enjoy without having to go out of their way at great expense like conventions in more recent years. Man, if only Yolopark had set up in my theater. 

The rest of the weekend was spent helping my mom move. I swear/hope the word move leaves my vocabulary soon and I can find leasure time again. I did manage to watch the newest episodes of Ultraman Teo and Kamen Rider My-Th and get in a little more time in the game of Gargoyle's Quest I've been enjoying for the Halloween season. I'm hoping to get more time soon to organize my toy space as I've got plans for it that I'm really excited about! Didn't really get any toys this weekend. Well, the Mrs surprised me with the last 2 Godzilla x Hello Kitty toys I'd needed that she got from trading groups. The Dragonzord Kickstarter finished up, so I can look forward to that in May. My Big Figs Optimus Prime came in and I love it! Look forward to a post on that in the future. Next weekend I'll be hosting a Transformers panel at Joelanta and am really excited about it. I haven't been since Toylanta was split from Joelanta and it'll be nice to go again. Well, next weeks report will be full of talk about that. Until then, it's time to get this week started!

Bored in the Castle

Holy crap, Ghost Castle looks amazing. Why isn't this a household staple? WHY?

To be honest, a lot of board games are boring. It's in the name, but Ghost Castle looks so cool! You've got skulls falling through things, and is that treasure?

I mean, if Monopoly happened in a haunted castle, it'd be so much more fun.

I really like the ghost puppets in this commercial, too. Though I'm pretty amazed these kids gathered in a spooky mansion to play a board game together and not in the family room where Mom could make them pizza rolls.

Ratchet and Bumblebee [Cyberworld Energon Surge/Armored Cyber Changers]

@robfromzonebase Ratchet [Transformers Cyberworld Energon Surge/Armored Cyber Changers] #zonebase #transformers #cyberworld #energonsurge #cyberchangers ♬ 苦悩の聖人 (Saint of Suffering) - Akuma Dollz

Last year when I was writing about "season 1" of Cyberworld toys, I regularly took note of what felt like a missing gimmick with all the Cyber Changers having multiple ports. I was also never super fond of the Armored Cyber Changers' "armored" parts, which were essentially larger Mech Tech-style weapons. I didn't hate them, but I rarely felt like they actually fit the toys.

Now, with the new Energon Surge figures, the phantom gimmick and the Armored Cyber Changers are here, and it's awesome.

Like with the new Armored Cyber Changer Megatron we looked at a little bit back, the gimmick is built into the new Energon Surge Armored Cyber Changers Ratchet and Bumblebee, and it just makes me love Armored Cyber Changers instead of simply accepting them as a way to mark up a toy's price. Not to mention, now under the Energon Surge sub-line, the Cyber Changers have wonderful translucent plastic parts that look absolutely amazing.

The colorful clear plastic, of course, reminds me of Microman/Micronauts, and the new armored parts really make me think of 2000s Microman toys. Of course, being Cyber Changers, the articulation isn't anywhere near as extensive, but it's impossible for me not to make that comparison.

I could also make a comparison to the energy weapons from Transformers Energon, and guys... I love this type of gimmick. Translucent plastic looks amazing, even on more simple figures like these.

Bumblebee is a recolor of the first Armored Cyber Changer Bumblebee we've already talked about here. This version feels more like an upgrade, as those new translucent blue parts just pop on the mold, looking a million times better than the original.

His new Energon Surge armor parts include two blade blaster style weapons, two energy stinger style parts, and a large shield/backpack piece. These can be used in multiple ways. I've leaned into using the large piece more as a jetpack than a shield, with the stinger parts as armor and the blade blasters as guns... unless he needs to cut a fool.

The blade blasters can become wings as well, making me use the parts similarly to Macross booster parts for his car mode. It's a modular design, so you can really get creative with it.

It's worth noting that you can combine these parts with the ones from other toys.

Go nuts.

Ratchet is a new mold and a really fun one at that. Instead of changing into his traditional ambulance alt mode, Ratchet converts into a rescue helicopter. That's a neat little touch of variety that gives Ratchet a more exciting look.

The chevron on his helmet is orange, which contrasts nicely with the white and translucent blue that makes up the majority of him. It makes me think of the Powerlinks Red Alert toy from Armada, which has always been a deco I've liked.

Part of me wonders—and hopes—this toy will get more green in the future for a Cyberworld version of Medix.

Ratchet's Armored parts actually work nicely with his helicopter mode, forming jet boosters and rocket pods. Additionally, there are two large bladed bits that look cool, and now that I think of it, they probably would have made more sense if I'd plugged them into the rear section of the helicopter rather than making wings with them.

Oh well.

@robfromzonebase Bumblebee [Transformers Cyberworld Energon Surge/Armored Cyber Changers] #zonebase #transformers #cyberworld #energonsurge #cyberchangers ♬ One Shot TV size Theme Song of "KAMEN RIDER MY-TH" - THE RAMPAGE from EXILE TRIBE

This is seemingly an all-new mold and engineering, so I wonder where it'll resurface? The bits that the helicopter's blades are connected to can be detached, and part of me finds that base body similar enough to a motorcycle without wheels.

As creative as these designers have been with the shared engineering, I'm looking forward to something unexpected.

Part of me can't help but compare the Energon Surge armor parts to the upgrades your ship gets in a shooter game. Like, Ratchet is flying into action and, just because Cyberworld is a video game, he's blasting little floating capsules and adding onto his firepower.In robot mode, the armored bits can make for some nicely dramatic... armor. They can be held as well as plugged in, so get creative. Those big-ass blades, though, make for some sharp ornamentation for Ratchet, giving him some serious super robot energy.

It's really awesome for me to see the Armored Cyber Changers stepping up and bringing that gimmick that the line always felt designed for into Cyberworld. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Cyber Changers feel like the continuation of the Beast Alliance toys that I had such a good time with a few years ago, and it's good to see something like a line-wide gimmick.

I'm hopeful they continue with more fun things like this, or even expand it with even more cool stuff.

Because apparently all these ports were just waiting for someone to finally say, "You know what? Let's put some crazy shit in there."

And I'm absolutely here for it.

Goosebumps in the Graveyard

Spooky season is the perfect time for a scary board game, and *Goosebumps: Terror in the Graveyard* looks pretty great. Like, if they’d release this without the Goosebumps branding, it’d probably be a hit on its own.

This could be just the thing to enjoy with others—some pizza, kids out trick-or-treating, and this on the coffee table.

The commercial itself is maybe too scary for a children’s book series tie-in board game. Clearly, the director felt like this was his time to shine, and NOBODY was taking away his moment to go down in the horror hall of fame. He probably still tells people about it.