Cosmos (Velocitron Speedia 500/Deluxe Class)

Like Override, Cosmos was one of the harder to find toys in the Velocitron Spedia 500 Collection. Thankfully, Shawn had sent me both when I was having problems finding them. Fortunately for others, it seems leftovers are popping up at liquidation stores. Giving fans another chance to get their hands on these really cool figures. That's one of the problems with all these recent exclusives. It's really hard to get them because the stores don't stock them well. Pre orders sell out within seconds bought by seemingly ninjas and the whole deal is incredibly frustrating for someone who works for a living. I was fortunate to complete the Velocitron and even the Toxitron sets... and now seems like a good time to start taking a look at these really cool toys. 

Cosmos is one of the bigger surprises in the Velocitron Speedia 500, because he's a flying saucer... not exactly what one would think of in a race. However thanks to the manga, we learn that he's serving an official roll. That's cool, it's fun that not every figure in the set is a participant. Who'd thought a company would consider the people who help make the event possible? Cosmos comes with a blaster (in case a fight breaks out at the race) and a little flag that can snap onto the blaster for officiating. The blaster can be held by the barrel so it can be waved in flag mode. One side of the flag is checkered, Cosmos will wave it around at the end of the race. The other side is plain white due to budget for when cars need to slow down or they've reached the final lap. Fun fact, my dad used to be a race car driver. When Days of Thunder came out, he was pissed off because Tom Cruise's car had the same number as his (46). He still bought a little toy of the car from Hardee's.

Cosmos transforms really easily. This is due to the pretty clever engineering from his design. Originally he was planned to be a retool of Origins Bumblebee. The designers were able to work out a brand new toy from three sets of new tooling (which would have been the amount needed for the retool most likely). Part of me wonders if Cosmos could have been a Core Class, but it's nice having him at a Deluxe size. The simplicity doesn't take away from the figure either, he's decently articulated and an all around pleasant version of Cosmos. You know, Cosmos should be simple to transform. Just look at him... making him complicated just wouldn't feel right. This is a great figure of Cosmos and I'm glad to see more people getting a chance to get one now that he's hitting the discount circuit. It's hard not to like Cosmos and good to see him get great toys.