They're here, they're clear, and people didn't get used to it. Aljaylo Burst
is part of the third and final series of blind-boxed figures from this
line, and he came at three per shipping case of 24 figures. He's a lot
like regular Aljaylo, minus paint and opacity. The weapons and plastic
form are virtually identical.
The
1980s and 1990s were packed with toys remembered fondly by today's
adults thanks to a large amount of marketing and a ton of print. Things
like Bunikis and Beast Saga are probably going to be
remembered by a few Japanese kids and American toy bloggers - nobody
else seems to have much memory of this line already. I was hoping for a
huge line that eclipsed the original Battle Beasts. While we got a few awesome figures, it fizzled out quickly - but hey, we got a rabbit!
I can't believe it, but Buffam has been sitting on the edge of my photo studio waiting for me to review him for over two years. I bought the entire figure line - blind boxes and all - because man, was I excited about Battle Beasts.
Diamond Select's new line petered out after a wave, the Armorvor has
had only one beast head added since its introduction, and Beast Saga
died in about a year. It didn't get ported to the USA, and it didn't
really achieve much of an impact - it's doomed to obscurity, so it's
time to write about this bull.
Have a cow, man! The Bodacious Bovine came out as part of an eight-pack. It's a cow, but udder-ly devoid of feminine characteristics. You're going to love this.
Most of the figures I tracked down as a kid were aquatic in nature - so Eager Beaver
was another no-brainer. The figure shows that whole quasi futuristic
vibe you've come to love from Takara and Hasbro, with big armor and not
much in the way of pants. This unique style was largely cribbed in Beast Saga, and it's not too dissimilar from Masters of the Universe.
The outfit is unique in that it doesn't feel slavish to the
creature's habitat, and also shows off some of the more distinctive
features of the anatomy.[ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]
Since American toymakers tended to have (and still have) an allergy to really cheap toys, Tanglin Pangolin
came out as part of an eight-pack. In the USA, series 3 was sold only
in boxes of eight while the other series were two-packs or packaged
with vehicles. This is one I didn't have as a kid and tracked down a
few years ago. I didn't even really know what a pangolin was, but I dug
armadillos and penguins and other creatures so why the heck not? These
are tree-dwelling insect-eating armored mammals, and they're endangered
which means kids of the 1980s probably were super into them. (I was a
manatee fanatic myself.)
Marty delivers his figures fast. I placed an order on April 25 for Kabuto Mushi Hunter Mushi
- it was in my hands April 30. He is amazing. His figures are
really good too - since most are new colorways of a pretty good mold,
and I've been trying to cut back on armies, I only get these very
rarely... this Boba Fett-inspired figure came out in a batch resembling
Skeletor and other familiar faces. How could I refuse?
Clear with more paint! The Neo Granthan Pyrotellica
is an orange release that looks like it probably owes a little bit -
OK, a lot - to Micronauts. The previous Armorvor toys have rarely been
clear, and those that have only had a tiny bit of paint. This is the
first one to have painted faces on clear plastic, making it unique for a
variety of reasons beyond merely being a new color with a newish head
sculpt. Seemingly fans didn't jump on this one, because it didn't sell
out quickly and actually stuck around along with his brothers beyond the
point that the orders actually began to show up. It's still available
as of my writing this, which is odd for a generally popular mold.
He's green! The Glyos-powered Rise of the Beasts
line is pretty fantastic, although it's hard to view them purely as
wholly their own thing. I keep expecting to see squat little guys, but
Cerula - Green Scorpion with Grey Paint is more of what a small
figure of the 1990s might look like, rather than the 1980s. The
overly-muscular creature is fundamentally the same as Cahriv except for the coloration.
The name is evocative! The Neo Granthan Cliffstalker is a brown, chocolate-flavored take on the Battle Beasts-inspired
Glyos figure. With an orange skin and a red Black Core, this feels
like many of the popular 1980s robotic toys out of Tomy. While not a
perfect match, it immediately reminded me of Robostrux mixed with a little bit of the ever-lovin' blue-eyed Thing. He is orange with blue eyes, after all.
While
the name (and an unhelmeted hand-molded head) existed for a while, the
mass-produced mold is new here! One of three releases, the Neo Granthan Vrylless
marks the replacement of the wolf headed Armorvor in favor of a
dinosaur-headed Granthan. Two other figures hit at the same time, each
of which use the classic Armorvor body with a new head. The wolf helmet
head is still here, and you get 18 total parts as always.
He's different! Or at least, mine is. I was lucky to get an early sample of Rise of the Beasts Bal Kharn - Green Rhino with Grey Paint
is pretty fantastic. If you bought the first version, this is
basically an improvement in terms of color - the quality of that painted
black plastic release is impossible to match, but this one is still
quite good.
It's live! The Little Rubber Guys store has a new drop of 4 Rise of the Beasts figures!
O nameless beast, from you we can know the great secret of the universe! Maybe not - but I will say that the Rhinoceros - Silver Mail-Away Redemption
is a low-run mail-in freebie cast in metallic black PVC and painted
exceptionally well. He has no name of his own, and the figure itself is
basically the grey painted one with silver swapped out - and man, is it
pretty. I work mostly in a basement so it's darker down here and the
silver positively glows. The reflective paint looks sharp.
