Review: Takara-Tomy Beast Saga Mantaray Action Figure

We toy fans are nothing if not optimistic. New announcements frequently come up promising to revitalize some long lost childhood toy memory, and in the last few years Battle Beasts were given a sudden, tremendous burst of love. LEGO had Legends of Chima, Diamond Select snapped up the Battle Beasts brand and spent more time sitting on it than making stuff so far, even indie darling Onell Design made its Armorvor. Japan's Beast Saga, now seemingly completely dead, managed to recapture the style of the original 1980s toys while skipping the spirit. Many figures look gorgeous, with the upsized 2-inch figures looking like they're cousins of the originals. Mantarey is a nice update of the original rare Grin Reefer, but with a smaller price tag.
[ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]

Three New Armorvors Live Now at Onell Design

The Ivorinium Mimic Armorvor, Ecroyex Mimic Armorvor, and Sidervor are all up now at the Onell Design store. Under 110 Sidervors and under 80 of the other two remain as I type this, so click here if you want to get one.  Or two.  As always, they are $8.00 each before shipping.

1SHOT Toys Custom Bubblegum Battle Beast War Pug

I totally missed out on this, but had to share 1SHOT Toys' custom Bubblegum Battle Beast War Pug figure.  It's basically an unpainted white Battle Beasts creature, like the old capsule styles.  A run of 8 were made for $20 per, a bargain.

Click here for more images and details - and bug him to do another run of them.

Armorvor Triple Shot - Onell Design Reveals 3 New Glyos Figures

Last year, Onell Design gave us a great wave of 3 new Armorvors (glow, grey, and purple) all at once.  It was glorious.  This year we have 3 more currently nameless figures in blue, flesh (it seems), and ivory colors!

These will be on sale at NYCC this weekend, and for sale online at some point presumably later this month. 

As always, yeah, I'll need that set.

Stealth Armor Iron Man-Influenced Armorvor En Route

The generous crew at Onell Design are teasing upcoming figures during their current trip to China.  In the post titled Big Boys you'll see an Armorvor that's no doubt inspired by the blue metallic Stealth Armor Iron Man, which has had numerous awesome action figures from Hasbro over the years.  This may also be the first metallic plastic Armorvor figure.


In the images you can also see a Crayboth figure, Power Lords parts, and other Glyos things which are hidden in plain sight that I can't quite make out.  Click here to see them.

Glyos Armorvor Preview: Blue?

In a post about Paint Masks, Onell Design gives us a sneak peek at a future Armovor head!

Of note, it looks like we'll finally be getting a Blue Plastic Armorvor if the neck peg is any indication.  And I'll be buying it, because of course I will.

Tonight: Glyos Neo Gatekeeper Reverse Armorvor

Expanding the Armorvor universe is this beauty!

Click here to preview the latest Onell Design friend of the Battle Beasts, now available in a blisteringly bright pink.  Is it awesome? Yes, yes it is.

It goes on sale at 9:30 Eastern Sunday (tonight) at the Onell Design store.  It should be sold out before midnight.  As always, please let me order mine first because we wants it. Thank you.

Review: Hasbro Battle Beasts Pillager Pig

In early 2012 it seemed as if Battle Beasts were really, actually going to make a comeback so I decided it was time to finish up my set. I hadn't picked up any new ones since 1988 or 1989, so I was off to eBay to buy a few comically oversized collections, which quickly and surprisingly cheaply finished up the collection minus a couple of weapons and Pillager Pig here, who just plain didn't show up on eBay for quite some time. Most of the figures cost me $3 or $4, this one was closer to $8. I figured, what the heck, I wanted to finish up my rubsign beast set and this was it! It was also my main motivation for buying the figure - I already had all the ones I wanted, and a few I didn't mind having, which is a weird thing that happens to me (and others) when buying some older toy lines. You got what you wanted - and then you decide to go ahead and buy the rest.
[ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]

Review: Diamond Select Battle Beasts Minimates Shadow Merk

If you were one of the first people to the Diamond Select Toys booth each day at Comic-Con this year, Shadow Merk could be yours for free. (Also, if you went to the right parties, maybe you got one there too with a side of chicken wings.) Last year we were treated to about a dozen flavors of Vorin, and this year we're getting polybagged Merks. Interestingly, the figure seems to hold together better than the painted counterpart and looks really good - I think it even made me like the previous versions more. It's a rising tide raising all the other ships.
[ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]

Review: Takara-Tomy Beast Saga Guarl Action Figure

I had a frog Battle Beasts figure as a kid, so the new Guarl was another one I was excited to see. Granted, he doesn't have a pointy arm, but the armored look to the figure is both comical and regal all at once. The grey outfit looks great against the bright green skin of the frog, and the paint job is great. Oh, and it smelled pretty funky when I opened it. This definitely has a nice huffable odor for the youngsters, so I had to leave it in another room for a few days.
[ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]

SDCC 2013: Battle Beasts Minimates

One of my first stops at Comic-Con 2013 was to see the Diamond Select Toys team and, specifically, Battle Beasts.  My pictures didn't turn out great but you can see them all here, including a Maori Shark, a cow, and the two promotional figures given away at the show.

Click here for the full story and a gallery!

Battle Beasts at SDCC: Off-Site Event, Hot Wings Merk Promo

If you liked Shadow Merk, you're going to love Hot Wings Merk!  This is Diamond's second San Diego Comic-Con 2013 exclusive Battle Beasts Minimates figure, and it looks pretty fantastic.

Taste and Thirst on Fourth (715 4th Avenue) will be converted to Minimates Headquarters starting Thursday, July 18 at 10:00 PM and the exhibit will be open until 2:00 AM.  It will also be open Friday at 11:00 AM and Saturday and Sunday at 8:00 AM.

In addition to the promotional Hot Wings Merk figure, 10 years of Minimates figures will be on display spanning numerous licenses and a very large number of releases from comics, movies, music, and television.

Coupons for food at the venue will be distributed at the Diamond booth, #2607.  Click here for additional information.

Review: Elly Font Art Elephant Magnets Overview

While not an action figure as such, I'm trying to see if I can sneak in some handmade figural stuff every 100 FOTDs and this time we're going to look at Elly Font Art. Elly Font Art is an artist currently out of Atlanta, GA and someone I met as a friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend when I lived in Los Angeles, and we hung out a bit. A few years later Elly is making these fine creations, most of which are hidden through Atlanta and announced on her Twitter account. I've hidden a few in various cities as well (New York and Phoenix so far), and will most likely be bringing some of these with me to San Diego for Comic-Con this year. (I've also kept a few samples, and as a matter of habit I photograph pretty much anything neat that passes through my home.)
[ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]

Review: Takara-Tomy Beast Saga Guarl Burst Action Figure

Who needs a clear Frog? Odds are you do! Guarl Burst has something that's rare in this line, with clear white/frosted plastic rather than the usual icy clear colorless variety. The head, fists, arms, and thighs are molded in green, and the only paint on the whole figure are his golden eyes. There's also a fully painted version of Guarl with different accessories.
[ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]

Battle Beasts Minimates at San Diego for Comic-Con International 2013

The battle isn't over!  Today we received an email from Diamond Select Toys about the return of Battle Beasts Minimates.  They say:

"Now, with Series 2 in development and a new comic in the works, Diamond Select will be giving away a new promotional Battle Beast at this year's show!

"Shadow Merk is a new figure of Merk, the deadly falcon who forms one-third of the band of Beast heroes at the forefront of IDW's comic book mini-series. Cast in translucent purple plastic, the figure will be given out each morning at the Diamond Select Toys booth, #2607, in a sealed plastic bag. A limited number will be available each day (but not on Preview Night), so make the DST booth your first stop!

"Also, be sure to pick up Series 1 in the store at the DST booth, check out a few Series 2 prototypes in the DST display cases, and come learn more about what's next at the Minimates panel on Saturday at 1:30 in Room 8!"

Thanks for the heads-up, Diamond!  Naturally, we'll be there with a camera and many annoying questions.

New Armorvor Available Now - Engineer Mimic

The Armorvor Engineer Mimic is up for sale at Onell Design right now for the low-low price of $8.00.  If you order it, and love Battle Beasts, I'd suggest ordering one or more Crayboth figures as well - they're sized similarly and lots of fun.

This fine furry fellow is limited to one (1) per customer.  Which stinks as I wanted two, I need new bodies for my The Godbeast heads!

New: Engineer Mimic Armorvor

In this evening's Glyos drop was a new Armorvor, the Engineer Mimic Armorvor.  It's effectively a reversed Venjorun Armorvor figure, which is pretty awesome!  Unlike previous releases it did not immediately sell out, but the Onell Design store is down for maintenance so you may want to keep checking back to see if it comes back online.

The figure is grey and red, and cost $8.00.  Click here to read this fellow's story.

Review: Takara-Tomy Beast Saga Swordbill Action Figure

I'm a sucker for aquatic creatures, so the Swordbill figure was right up my alley. The fact that he wears crazypants, "I'm Griff's henchman buddy in 2015" glasses is a nice bonus. The goggles are huge and goofy, I suppose their inclusion was to give this creature the kind of stereoscopic vision that we humans enjoy. You know, by not having eyes on the sides of our head. For all I know they're really x-ray spex, but only Polly knows for sure and she's dead.
[ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]

Review: Hasbro Battle Beasts Hare Razing Rabbit

Another one of my very first Battle Beasts was Hare Razing Rabbit, a simple figure with two arm joints, a spear, and a second figure in every pack. For about four bucks you could get two cheap (but fun) figures in the 1980s. Heck, for $1 you could get a pack of four random M.U.S.C.L.E. guys. Today, astonishingly, you can still get a Hot Wheels car for a dollar but not a heck of a lot else. The reasons for this are many: increasing labor costs, higher materials prices, and a constant ascent in fan demands for figures that have more parts and more deco. I was pretty amazed that Diamond got its new Minimates Battle Beasts to Toys R Us for $7.49 per pair in early 2013.
[ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]

Review: Takara-Tomy Beast Saga Ogre Burst Action Figure

As part of the third (of seemingly at least 5) series of clear figures, Ogre Burst brings us another bright orange burning lion. So you can get the male, or the female. Interestingly, the colors and armor styles are similar so it's obvious one is related in some way to the other.
Rendered in a clear, rubber plastic Ogre Burst has 4 joints. You can move her shoulders and hips, plus there's a dice launcher. Mine is fairly good, but other figures in this assortment are starting to feel a little looser, and the die may slide out a little on its own.
[ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]

Review: Onell Design Glyos Sonesidar Mimic Armorvor Action Figure

Armorvors sell out fast, always. At 2 per customer, the Sonesidar Mimic Armorvor sold out rather quickly - I waited a while to write this review so I forget exactly how long, but I know it was under 20 minutes. It was part of the "Operation Sonesidar" series, which was the first series of 2013 which was inspired by the classic Fisher-Price Adventure People action figure line. The bright colors are evocative of the 1970s-1980s line, and this guy matches the driver of the Alpha Star vehicle which I had as a kid. As such, I'm biased - and I like this a lot.
[ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]

Review: Takara-Tomy Beast Saga Janjan GachaGacha Action Figure

I dig pandas and a twist of fate brought me Janjan as a capsule figure before his standard release. The capsule figure has no fist holes and no articulation, and is a smidgen smaller. The strange thing is that the capsule panda is pretty good, and it has a few points of deco I like better than the standard release. For starters, his eyes look less drugged-out with smaller black dots. Also, the arms have no black paint on the armor - the 3-pack panda has black on part of the armor, making it look like it's his fur or skin. Of course, the capsule toy lacks painted fists and that's a real bummer.
[ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]

The GodBeast Customs Glyos Grey CyberRhino Head Glyos Accessory

I don't know the exact name of the cybernetic Battle Beasts-esque Rhinoceros head as the package didn't have one, so I'm calling it a CyberRhino head here. As with other releases in this hand-made series, the head was sculpted by Jason Frailey (the guy who sculpted the Armorvor) and was molded by the GodBeast, debuting at C2E2 last month. Most of his heads debut online and are ordered through the October Toys forums, cast in resin so you'll need to be careful with them. Sadly these heads have yet to be cast in PVC, the kind of plastic used for most Glyos figures. If I could, I'd love to invest in getting these cranked out on a larger scale just so I could have more of them.
[ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]

Review: Onell Design Glyos Armorvor Infection Action Figure

There's a prolific sculptor, molder, and maker of toys known as "TheGodBeast" who is best known for making very small runs of very impressive things. He's prototyped numerous designer toys, created fully-realized figures based on sketches from years earlier, and lately he's become particularly well-known in Glyos circles with custom heads and other parts. The Armorvor Infection has some nifty history behind it. Mr. Beast (also known as Marty Hansen) worked on the creation of this mold as the molder, with Jason Frailey having sculpted it and Matt Doughty having designed it. The "Infection" color has been used for numerous special-edition figures in the past as well as hand-cast resin pieces, plus the red just happens to match clear red Outer Space Men figures and a pair of recently released figures at Onell Design: a Crayboth, and an Exellis. Wow, that's a lot of exposition.
[ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]

New Glyos Armorvor Head: Rhino!

The Godbeast and Jason Frailey collaborated on another awesome custom head for the Armorvor! Debuting at C2E2 this weekend, this Rhino looks, well, awesome.  Our pal Shaun was at the show and picked one up for $15, letting us know it was the last one there.  TGB tends to make more units available in the future, so keep an eye on the October Toys Forums for his waitlists if you're in to such things, which you probably should be.

Review: Takara-Tomy Beast Saga Aldyle Burst Action Figure

After a few gators in the Minimates range I didn't expect to have much interest in the regular version, let alone the clear Aldyle Burst which showed up at my house in January. Packed 3 to a case of 24 random blind clear figures, this figure is cast in both green and blue plastic with golden eyes as his only painted detail. Well, not counting his dice anyway.
As always this croc figure has 4 points of articulation and is made of a soft, rubbery plastic. The arms and legs rotate freely, and his fists are designed to hold 3mm weapons. This figure is interesting in that his weapons (and the entire series') do not match his fully-painted counterpart. Painted Aldyle came with the same weapons as Swordbill and Swordbill Burst. Clear Aldyle comes with the same weapons as Garrison G, Long Giraf, and Long Giraf Burst. I suspect this will cause mucho confusion down the road when people start dumping their collections on eBay, as it seems the only new shields and weapons are now coming in the multi-packs. (For those keeping track, Garrison G Burst comes with the painted Aldyle weapons. Swap-tastic!)
[ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]

Two New Armorvors Incoming from Onell Design

Not one, but two new Glyos Armorvor action figures are coming this month! One will be released on Friday, the other is exclusive to C2E2.

Soon to be sold online at Onell Design, the black and red Reydurran Mimic Armorvor will be black with red highlights.  It will be $8, and sold out before you remembered you forgot to buy one.  Limit 2.

It will be joined by TheGodBeast Exclusive C2E2 clear red full-production not-a-custom Infection Armorvor, which will be a mere $10 and come in absolutely beautiful packaging with great art and a swell card inside a plastic baggie.  It's limited to 3 per person.  If you're in Chicago, go to C2E2 and grab one.  (Get two, I'll want one too and as far as I know there won't be a mail order option for certain just yet.)

TheGodBeast himself will be on hand selling matching custom hand-cast heads you can swap out for this one, so bring some extra coin to buy a few of those.  They're awesome!

Review: Vintage Hasbro Battle Beasts Triple Threat Snake

The Battle Beasts Triple Threat Snake came from a collection I bought in either late 2011 or early 2012. He didn't have his weapon, so I had to trade around for that. It was surprisingly cheap and didn't take long to assemble, and it was fun to actually get a figure I've had on my mind for a couple of decades. Along with King Cobra, he's one of two snakes in the original line of roughly 2-inch tall figures. I swore off collecting "vintage" (read: defunct) action figure lines in the early 1990s, with a couple of lapses here and there. I made an exception for this line, and one other, solely because (at press time) nobody has yet decided to bootleg them. Knock-offs ruin toy collecting for me, I want originals, 100%-new remakes, or nothing.
[ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]

Rise of the Beasts Update - Scorpion Picture, Updates

If you are very old, you may remember a recent Kickstarter project for Rise of the Beasts. This was to be a 2-inch-ish line of figures which has yet to make it out as a production item, but preproduction continues and an update was just posted to the original Kickstarter listing.

The good news? Here's a look at a Scorpion figure sample!
The bad news? The Gold Lion freebie has yet to be finished, and the factory doesn't look like it's going to deliver the goods.

All  I can say is thanks to Mr. Jon Karis for giving us updates on the line, and I know I wouldn't fault him if the gold lions ended up not making it out or were a thing I'd have to pay for.  (Free is nice, but you know, I think most of us who supported the line can afford a few bucks for a figure when it's ready.)

Enough of my blabbing - click here to see the update.

Review: Takara-Tomy Beast Saga Killer Shark Action Figure

So it's come to this. Killer Shark #3 is a new sculpt, simplified and improved from the Kingdom of Sea Death 3-Pack last year. As a toy, it's way worse. As a sculpt, or raw materials for a custom? Way cooler.
The capsule toys come to you in pieces. Killer Shark's legs are separate, so you plug those on and then you realize none of his four limbs are articulated. This isn't a big problem for me as the figure, oddly, is improved over the 3-pack release in the head. The rest of the figure, not so much, but the pose is solid and you can tell that the separate pieces used to assemble the head are now a single part. So there's no unslightly line where the pieces are fused together on his head now.
[ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]

Review: Takara-Tomy Beast Saga Long Giraf Burst Action Figure

Because I'm a chump, I have Long Giraf Burst. Well, that's not entirely true - the boxed assortment of figures was originally shown with illustrations of unique molds like the walrus, so it was sort of not entirely known what I was ordering when I put in the pre-order. It gives new meaning to blind-boxed, no?
The figure has 4 points of articulation, just like the painted counterpart, except this one is largely devoid of deco. Molded in clear yellow and blue plastics, he has gold eyes and little else.
[ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]

Toy Fair 2013: LEGO Legends of Chima Gallery

I'm guessing this is going to get the most traffic! LEGO Legends of Chima is already in stores, but the gallery showcases larger buildable action figures in addition to dozens of new minifigure-scaled kits of varying price points.

The main takeaway from here? Apes. And the bigger Chima guys remind me of Xevoz, so I might have to grab a couple of those.  Click here to view over 90 images of these new toys at 16bit.com.

Review: Takara-Tomy Beast Saga Bamet Burst Action Figure

I don't know what Bamet Burst is. I'm no ornithologist, and since he doesn't even have wings I might be missing some larger point. This clear version (as well as the painted version) are awesome-looking figures but as to authenticity, I'm too bird-ignorant to know what it is I'm looking at here.
The figure has 4 points of articulation and is is pretty clear. The jewel-like look is really nicely done here, as the clear, sort of colorless plastic is set of by a rich, deep clear blue. Devoid of paint save for his gold eyes, the figure looks really weird. And great. The sculpt is wonderful, but the color combination feels like a product which fell out of a time warp. This is like the negative-universe version of another real toy.
[ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]

Toys R Us Battle Beasts 2-Packs In Stores Now

As part of a mid-February reset, Toys R Us stores near you most likely have their Diamond Select Toys Battle Beasts Minimates in stores now, marking the first time in roughly 25 years that those two words appeared on figure 2-packs in the USA.  Each set is $7.49, and they are decorated differently than those sold to the comic book shops.  Toys R Us also has an exclusive pair of beasts, pictured here.

We've all waited a long time for this day, so good hunting this weekend Beast fans!

Toy Fair 2013 Beast Round-Up

As we've said in the past, there's an update: and that's that there is no update.

As far as I could tell, Beast Saga was not on display in any form at New York Toy Fair.  Hasbro didn't show it and nobody else seems to be importing it.

Diamond Select Toys' Battle Beasts line was nowhere to be seen inside Diamond's booth.  I was told the line was not dead... just that there was nothing to show right now.

Naturally there was no Armorvor presence, and I didn't see any sign of Rise of the Beasts or other similar toys

There was an awful lot of Legends of Chima in standard LEGO minifigure scale plus larger, Bionicle-sized "constraction" kits.  We'll be posting a gallery of a few dozen images over the next day or two.  I just got home from New York as I type this and need to finish things up and go to bed after being up for almost a solid day.

Review: Takara-Tomy Beast Saga Seylas Action Figure

When I had initially pre-ordered Beast Saga figures in 2012, Seylas the walrus was pictured as a "blind box" figure. He didn't come in the blind boxes... clear guys did. I wasn't too thrilled about that. The original Wolfgang Walrus is one of my favorite toys and the new Gruntos toy (review to come) is a delight. As creatures go they're big, tubby, cold-loving, and mean. What's not to love?
[ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]

Review: Takara-Tomy Beast Saga Rynas Action Figure

When seeing Rynas, it was pretty obvious he was going to be great. He is! He has big bulky armor, a huge head with a chunk of Rhino body sitting on his neck, and repurposed Bamet (the series 1 bird) weapons. He's hard not to like. The blood-red horn is an interesting touch, a rare whimsical coloration in an otherwise fairly realistic series of creature heads... which happen to be planted on anthropomorphic cyborg bodies. 
[ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]

Review: Takara-Tomy Beast Saga Killer Shark Burst Action Figure

I don't see Killer Shark Burst as an essential figure, but it's neat. Oh, and there's a chase version too! The trading card comes with either an etched foil border, or a standard border. The foil version ships 1 per case, and each BS-03 case has 3 sharks in it.
[ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]

Review: BS-28 Takara-Tomy Beast Saga Beast Machines Sky Darling Vehicle

Let me start with a little secret: I don't know what this Beast Machines Sky Darling is supposed to be called but that's what I translated it as from Amazon. I pre-ordering it not knowing what it was (because that works out so well for me), and let me tell you that it's small. It's a cube which unfolds exactly like Starcom toys, and the motors have the same satisfying sound. In cube mode, it's shorter than a Beast Saga figure at 2-inches tall. Let me reiterate: it's small.

While disappointing from the perspective of a) bang for the buck and b) a vehicle for the 40some figures I already own, it's a fascinating toy in its own right. Like an idiot I sold off my Starcom stuff in the 1990s to raise funds for Star Wars vintage toys, but I can tell you that this one is such a trip in terms of mimicking that old style. You push a little grey circle on the top, and the dang thing spins around to become a vehicle! It's a crying shame this wasn't used as a mechanism for toys for the larger figures. It's quite clever.
[ READ THE FULL REVIEW WITH VIDEO HERE ]

Review: Takara-Tomy Beast Saga General Hawk Knight Action Figure

I found one name translation of this figure as General Hawk Knight. He's from Beast Saga GachaBooster Volume 1, a series of capsule figures which, according to some reports, was produced in a very low quantity so far. I have no idea if there will be subsequent runs, or if it's true, but I shelled out about $30 for the set of 6 (4 figures + 2 dice packs) on eBay.
[ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]

Review: Takara-Tomy Beast Saga Garrison G Action Figure

I wasn't too excited about Garrison G, and while I can say I honestly like it, it does fall short on a few accounts. Like height. He seems shorter than his brothers and (so far) sister, although he has massive arms with big, silver shoulder pads. The sculpt is great, and he looks a lot like a gorilla. He doesn't really look like the original Battle Beasts Gargantuan Gorilla, and from the earlier pictures I thought he had purple armor like in the old Planet of the Apes movies. Nope! It's a light brown, which isn't bad but it in no way amuses or delights me.
[ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]

Battle Beasts Minimates Video - New!

This is a new stop-motion from Diamond for their new Minimates Battle Beasts line.  It’s rather well done!  I like it.  Now all I have to do is find the figures.

You can (and should) order/pre-order wave 1 at Entertainment Earth right now.

Mechawhales Vinyl Figure - Deep Fried Figures

 

I saw the Mechawhales Vinyl Figure at SDCC last year, and while not HUGE it's certainly more substantial than your average Beast figure.  At 5 1/2-inches long, it's significantly larger than the guys we usually showcase here.  It's 3 1/2-inches tall, so it's a smidgen shorter than your average Clone Trooper action figure, too.  The whole idea is that man has drafted Earth's whales in a fight against aliens, as they're tougher and can more easily withstand extra-terrestrial arms.  This is both adorable and a handy metaphor about how man uses the Earth's seas, but mostly it's an awesome figure that looks like an ALIENS Power Loader with a sperm whale in it.

You can click this sponsored link to order one at Entertainment Earth.

Review: Hasbro Battle Beasts Slasher Seahorse

Another Battle Beasts I've had since it was first in stores, Slasher Seahorse is my buddy. It looks like we'll get at least one semi-updated version of this sea creature in Beast Saga eventually, but he ain't out yet. Let's look at an original! 

Like most of the vintage Battle Beasts, Slasher Seahorse manages to combine Takara's robotic eyes with an adorable house style, resulting in a collectible figure that appeals to children and adult man-children alike. His glowing red eyes don't really shine in his brown plastic head, but they contrast nicely with his blue armor complete with silver lights. Much like the fire-spitting dragons in Metroid, his snout and crest come off as cute and you're probably also just so gosh darned happy to have one that it may not bother you that his paint spray isn't terribly even, and when you have dark plastic it can show through any light paint errors much more easily.
[ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]

Review: Takara-Tomy Beast Saga Long Giraf Action Figure

Depending on which Beast Saga translation you go with, Long Giraf is about a good of a name as any. It's pretty similar to "Longrack" which was a Transformers character from the late 1990s and was also a giraffe. This figure is a more realistic take on an armored giraffe figure, and the funny thing is that the name from the manga makes me think it might be the original Battle Beasts Rubberneck Giraffe character. It's tough to say, but he does have a new swell helmet this time around. If Toys R Us doesn't get this as some sort of US exclusive, then they have failed.
[ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]

Review: Takara-Tomy Beast Saga BS-20 DX Starter Set Action Figure Set

I wanted to get the DX Starter Set up immediately, but these damn things take forever to shoot, plus I had a bunch of completed reviews in the queue already. (Due to the awkward way I design sites, it's a lot of work to bump stuff.) So hey, it's a few weeks "late" but at least that gives me time to shoot the six buggers for one of many too-many-image reviews you'll see here. This batch of Beast Saga figures is an incredible variety pack which dumps 6 all-new figures with 6 all-new weapons in your lap.
[ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]