Diaclone DA-120 Robot Base GX Royal Defender

 One of the truly luxury release for Diaclone by Takara! Gran Cross being the posterboy of Diaclone lineup is a massive behemoth which consist of DA-95 Robot Base Ground and DA-100 Flying Fortress now available once again in a complete set in the form of DA-120 Royal Defender! Scheduled for February 2026 release, Diaclone DA-120 Royal Defender will be sold for 120000 Yen SRP.

Diaclone Transformers x Zoids Synergenex Shield D Prime

 As a collector have you ever curious what happen if Takara toys lineup ever had any crossover which resulted in a High end collector item? Takara recently obliged to humor the idea by presenting Synergenex Shield D Prime! What appears as the hybrid of Transformers Optimus Prime and  Zoids Shield Liger is a High End Diaclone product that unifies Three of Takara Tomy popular mecha toy product. Scheduled for February 2026 release, Synergenex Shield D Prime will be sold for 38500 Yen Price tag.

Diaclone Agres Versaulter Daedalus Unit

 

 Diaclone returns again with a killer product yet again! Dubbed as Agres Versaulter Daedalus unit, this time Takara make a versaulter unit that will easily surpass any of its previous Versaulters unit being literally armed to the teeth. Scheduled for October 2025 release, Agres Versaulter will be sold for 16800 Yen.

From the first glance, Agres Versaulter is a powered up version of Hawk Versaulter, a Space type Versaulter unit. Having double of whatever armaments that the Hawk had, practically making Agres Versaulter essentially a Heavy weapon variant of the latter. But what makes this new fellow special among the versaulters is literally the amount of transformation forms that it had whether being a White Glint OVB version of Diaclone, Slightly monstrous version or a Space Voyager type vehicle. The amount of the gimmick almost reminded me of the recent Diabattles, making it a cheaper variant and I would be sure that there will be more of this sorts for the Diaclone Versaulters down the road.

To close off this post, I will just leave the reference picture for the transformation gimmicks that this Agres Versaulter has.

April 2025 Loot

 
 Probably the first time Realm of Darkness being active for a whole month and might as well wrap up with a loot post with another strings of Great Haul! Over past three months as my Big ticket items started to pour in during this period which started to put some serious dent on my wallet. Unlike most of my haul these days, for once this month's haul is mostly dominated by Japanese stuff with Kotobukiya's model kit begin to trickle in along with KD Collec Konosuba as well as Figma Ciel quietly joining ini. The main attraction from this lot is definitely Diaclone Diabattles X-1 and Hot Toys John Wick which seems to blend in with the crowd quite well just like the character himself. I think I might consider to let got of the Konosuba KD Colle since they just appear to be slightly improvised version of Pop Up Parade. Given the incoming batch of my preorders, next month's haul might get even more sumptuous than this one.

March 2025 Loot

 
 Another Sumptuous banquet of hauls accumulated by the end of this month. This one might come close in terms of overall value compared to the previous batch which is one of the peak. While the upper limit of the previous batch is still won by the P-Bandai Metal Build Billbine, this one got some nice Heavyweights as well such as Riobot Villkiss and Moshow Mospeada. But the best probable loot in this batch gotta be the Chinese version of Diaclone Convoy as I can't obtain the original one for reasonable price. This batch really shows that Chinese made products start to overwhelm the Japanese counterpart not only in numbers, but overall value as their Value-for-money are truly no joke. Lastly my Joytoy Blood Angels collection got some good reinforcements with the Primarch Sanguinius and his 30k sons finally joining in.

February 2025 Loot

Last post for this month! Pound by pound, this gotta be the most massive Haul that ever come in a single month and the concentration of Mecha related stuff in this batch are no slack either! When It comes to value and bulk, this one gotta be the massive one so far. While Riobot SRX still remains the most expensive single item, I think Metal Build Billbine and SOC Tryon which is the main star of this haul can easily match up to be on par. My Chinese model kit collection got some addition on Heavyweights as well with Hemoxian Lone Shadow and Star Eternal boast a massive Box Size that can give Bandai's Gunpla a run for their money. Interestingly I also got myself a Sembo Brick Model for J-20 which is probably the cheapest among the batch but can still pull its weight. At this rate I think my backlog size is getting quite out of control already despite I already finished on some Chinese Model kit. Should have picked up the slack during the CNY Holiday period. Perhaps I should start workin on the Mecha Musume model kit that I got recently.
 

Diaclone DA-109 Diabattles X-1

 Takara Tomy dropped a yet another high yield payload for their Diaclone series! Complete with Full Trailer video, This Diaclone Mecha is called Diabattles X1 is what Alpha V2 would look like if it is given Big Powered treatment. Scheduled for February 2025 release, Diabattle X-1 will be sold for 29700 Yen.

 On the first glance, Diabattles X-1 is literally what Alpha V2 would look like if it is given Rodimus Prime treatment. It is an understatement that Diabattles X-1 has so many Gimmicks to play with. Consisting of 3 Main Vehicle Units that have 2-5 transformation modes whether it is for Individual or Combined forms. To top it off, compared to the larger Diaclones, Diabattles X-1 Got many armaments to play which I recalled even Big Powered didn't have that much, giving this guy a boost in main Protagonist aura. If fortune allows it, Diabattles X-1 is most likely the larger Diaclone item that I will get first since I missed my chance for Convoy. Quite sure Takara Tomy could even throw in some add on parts for this guy if they ever like it.

Diaclone Horus Versaulter - Night Tiger Unit

 One of the cooler protagonist Diaclone versaulters, Horus Versaulter make a comeback and this time sporting cooler Jet Black color scheme! This is one of the Diaclone versaulter that I have been waiting for the rerun available which comes in alternate color scheme dubbed Night Tiger unit. Scheduled for November 2024 release, Horus Versaulter will be sold for 9000 Yen.

Horus Versaulter is one of the complete package Diaclone versaulters out there, equipped with versatile assortments of armaments for any sort of engagement. Also this is one of the versaulter that you can replicate Macross 3-Form gimmicks which makes it a great addition for collectors whether you are starting into Diaclone Lineup or avid collectors. While the original Horus Versaulter exudes protagonist mecha aura, the Night Tiger version exudes the aura of an Elite unit specializing in Night Raid attacks. I have seen some Diaclone collectors pulled off some cool customization with Horus Versaulters as the base model and I might look for suitable add-on option too.

February 2024 Loot

 Relatively Modest loot this time but a hearty one nonetheless! The Chinese made Toy products really dominate the batch this time which was something unlikely to think of years ago. The only Japanese loot in this haul are Nendoroid Melusine and Garuda versaulter which are impressive but got overshadowed by the Chinese counterpart. The MVP of this haul are easily the 52Toys Hauls collection with their sheer Bulk. I got my copy of Beastbox Chinese Dragon limited but the 7cm Beasbox Hurrican and Air Force set. Seriously the Airforce set Box just way bigger compared to the Firefighter set which I will left the pics down below. Lastly got myself some Treasure X Robot out of curiosity and my copy for Lion El Johnson has arrived as well. Will be looking forward the rest of Dark Angels escort to accompany the Primarch.

2023 Year-End Loot

  The last batch before 2023 wraps up! This year was a good run overall for myself just like this big haul as I was starting on new chapter of my career track which are overall decent aside from clownish coworkers. Another quite luxurious loots which are predominantly preorders but I did splurge abit lavishly on my Birthday. The main star of this batch is no doubt CCS Cybuster along with Ganyu 1/7 PVC Figure along with the Gattai Mightgaine. As usual Fate series still have steady influx along with 40k Joytoy which include some famous characters from Space Wolves. Also in this haul also include my first loot for Diaclone series which definitely won't be the last of it. By next month, I will probably start cracking open some of the Gattai Yuushas which is kinda long due already. Hopefully 2024 will be another smooth sailing for us so that we are able to enjoy some good things in life.

Diaclone Gale Versaulter - Ravager Unit

 

 Recently I am trying to really get back into Diaclone series once again starting with the smaller ones. In order to get Diaclone discussion running again in Realm of Darkness, lets start with this new entry which is a repaint scheme of the upcoming Gale Versaulter. Dubbed by Takaratomy as Gale Versaulter - Ravager Unit, this Desert Camo version of Gale Versaulter is scheduled for July 2024 release with 8500 Yen SRP.

 To be honest Diaclone's mecha design since its revival few years ago can be Hit or Miss but Gale Versaulter strike right at mid comfort zone even though it was rather lightly armed for its default setup for my personal taste. Just like Macross Valkyrie Fighters, Gale Versaulter comes with 3 Transformation mode at very least with the Giant missile as the main armament. In the Diaclone lore, Gale Versaulter probably served a role similar to Metal Gear, being a Mobile Platform to deliver Heavy Ordinance which is why it is rather lightly armored compared to other Versaulter brethren. 

 Over past 1-2 Years, Takara Tomy didn't really release too much of the bigger Diaclone Toys anymore and instead churn out smaller independent Mech units called Versaulters which are neat gateways for people who want to start collecting Diaclone. To me Diaclone hits very well into my strike zone as someone who grew up as a Kid in 90s playing with Toys like Multimac. Personally I am planning to get around 3 of these Versaulters to represent Air, Land and Sea Force respectively and I still hope able to get some of the bigger units eventually like Convoy and Big Powered someday

Dialone DA-65 Battle Convoy V-Max

 Another kickass entry for Diaclone series and this one is even bigger than Big Powered and even better gimmick. Back thenTakara Tomy made a Diaclone called Battle Convoy which later more become well known as Optimus Prime and this time the Modern Diaclone Redesign is on the whole another level. Diaclone Battle Convoy V-Max will be scheduled for February 2020 release with 32000 Yen Price Tag.

 G1 Optimus Prime is well known for its iconic Trailer Truck design and the new Diaclone version made the trailer container into awesome Operation Base. There are plenty of configurations to go for the trailer Container base which even capable to contain other Diaclone vehicles making it an essential playset if you are a collector for Diaclone series. If it was not due to the ongoing pandemic, this Diaclone probably gain the hype it deserve.

Diaclone DA-35 Sky Jacket Storm Savers

 It has been a while since any of the product from Diaclone lineup catches my attention since they mostly focus on the smaller units and the enemies recently. But there is actually some cool mech that catches my attention again. I just noticed that the Smaller Power armor, Powered System series got add-on called Sky Jacket which is a plane unit that can serve as additional limbs making the PS Armor look bulkier and more imposing. The Sky Jacket add on has been around for a while, but they got the new version along with the PS Armor called Storm Saver version which comes in white color scheme and look more heroic. The Diaclone Stormsavers set are sold for 6800 Yen Price tag which is not that shabby for the gimmicks but unfortunately it is quite hard to acquire Diaclone toys lineup in Indonesia so i might resort getting them from overseas if desperate.

Diaclone DA-14 Big Powered GV

 Diaclone series has escaped my Radar since it bears close resemblance with with Transformers which i stayed away from. But this toy lineup catches my attention as my company got this product arrived which i took a glimpse on it. From what i comprehend Diaclone is transformable Robot Toys with strong emphasis in playability which means it has tons of gimmicks! Takara Tomy apparently have toys in this lineup in 80s but they just did the Reboot move last year. When i was a kid, i was a big sucker for Robot Toys that you can put miniature pilot in it and Diaclone just fulfill my bill for the gimmick. One of the Diaclone toy that catch my attention is the DA-14 Big Powered GV which are Gigantic Robot combined from 5 Different vehicles which has its own transformation again and DA-14 happen to have the full package i am looking for. For now i will just wait for Takara Tomy to do a rerun so i can get this toy with Preorder Price. While Big Powered GV cost above 25000 Yen, with the quality which Rivals Bandai's Soul of Chogokin with the immense amount of Gimmicks, it is really worth it. I think what Takara Tomy needs to popularize this toy lineup is to oursource some Gaming Dev Company to make a decent Video Game out of this series to hype up the interest for the lineup and i will be keeping a close up on it too. Here is CM for the Toy by Takara which looks really awesome indeed!