Transformers New Legends NL-04 Gigastorm

Trypticon has long been one of the most popular giant-scale Decepticons in the Transformers franchise, making him a recurring choice for premium releases from both Hasbro and Takara Tomy. This time, the massive city-sized Transformer returns under the Transformers New Legends lineup in the form of Gigastorm, a character based on the Beast Wars II incarnation of Trypticon. Scheduled for release in November 2026, Transformers NL-04 Gigastorm will be sold for 38,000 yen.

As one of the franchise's iconic titan-class characters, Trypticon remains a favorite even among casual Transformers fans like myself. Part of his appeal comes from his imposing design—a giant mechanical dinosaur that feels like a Transformer counterpart to Mechagodzilla. Beyond his appearance, Trypticon also offers three distinct forms: dinosaur, spacecraft, and fortress mode. Of those, the fortress configuration is by far my favorite, as I have always been a fan of toy products that double as playsets.

Ever since adding Scorponok to my collection, I have been keeping an eye out for another large-scale Transformer to accompany him, with Trypticon being one of the most desirable candidates. The combination of size, presence, and play value makes him difficult to ignore. While Gigastorm is certainly tempting, I would ideally like to find a suitable Trypticon release closer to the 20,000-yen range before taking the plunge.

For now, this is a figure I will continue to admire from afar, though it remains one of the most appealing giant Transformers currently on my bucket list.

Transformers Overgear-03 Optimus Prime

 

Takara Tomy is back with yet another new take on Optimus Prime. Following crossover projects with Zoids, Monster Hunter, Evangelion, and Macross 7, the latest release is something entirely original for the iconic Transformers leader. Dubbed the Overgear Series, this new interpretation reimagines Optimus Prime with a more grounded military aesthetic. Scheduled for release in February 2027, Overgear-03 Optimus Prime will be sold for 17,000 yen.

While Optimus Prime is naturally the release that caught my attention, the Overgear lineup is not entirely new. Two products have already been released under the lineup, featuring Ironhide and Blackout. The concept behind Overgear appears to be transforming familiar Transformers characters into heavily armed military operatives, emphasizing realistic combat equipment and special forces-inspired designs.

In Optimus Prime's case, the makeover is particularly striking. Rather than the traditional red-and-blue semi-truck, he transforms into a sort of desert-camouflage military Humvee IFV truck and comes equipped with an array of weaponry, including a heavy machine gun, missile pods, and a battle axe. The result is a version of Optimus Prime that feels less like a heroic truck and more like the commander of an elite mechanized unit.

As a collector, this will ultimately be a pass for me. As I already have the Macross 7 and Evangelion collaboration versions of Optimus Prime on the way, along with several other renditions of Optimus Prime within my collection. That said, if I did not already own multiple crossover variants, I would be seriously tempted by this release. The military-inspired direction gives the character a distinct identity without relying on an external franchise, and it will be interesting to see what Takara Tomy has planned for future entries in the Overgear series.

Zoids x Monster Hunter Wild Liger Zinogre

Monster Hunter is back with another collaboration project with Takara Tomy. Following the Rathalos-themed Optimus Prime from the Transformers lineup, the latest crossover brings the franchise into the world of Zoids. This time, the recipient is none other than Zinogre, the fan-favorite thunder wolf wyvern, reimagined using the iconic Wild Liger body frame. Scheduled for release in February 2027, the Zoids Wild Liger Zinogre will be sold for for 7,000 yen.

Wild Liger Zinogre offers exactly what one would expect from a pre-assembled Zoids release: a mechanical interpretation of one of Monster Hunter’s most recognizable monsters. To help justify its price point, the model includes pilot-related gimmicks as well as LED lighting effects. The design itself appears to be a faithful fusion of Zinogre’s signature silhouette with the mechanical aesthetics of the Zoids franchise.

The recent surge of Monster Hunter crossover merchandise is interesting to observe. My impression is that Capcom recognizes the franchise is no longer enjoying the explosive momentum it had at its peak. While Monster Hunter remains a successful and highly recognizable series, it does not seem to command the same level of excitement and cultural presence that it once did. Expanding into collaborations and collector-oriented merchandise may be one way to maintain visibility and engagement beyond the games themselves.

As someone who once followed Monster Hunter passionately for a decade, I feel the series has gradually drifted away from many of the qualities that originally made it special. The modern entries have found a much larger audience, but they often pursue a different design philosophy from the one that drew me into the franchise in the first place. Unless Capcom ever decides to revisit that era through something like a proper remake of Monster Hunter Freedom Unite, I will probably remain on the sidelines as a player while continuing to watch the series from afar.

Zoids Genesis Spark Fig Grande Kotona Elegance

 

Takara Tomy is not exactly known for its PVC figure lineup, but out of nowhere the company has delivered a tantalizing scale figure of Zoids Genesis heroine Kotona Elegance. Dressed in a ravishing swimsuit outfit, this entry in the Spark Fig Grande series fully embraces the appeal of one of the Zoids franchise’s most beloved heroines. Scheduled for release in February 2027, the figure carries a price tag of 22,000 yen.

Among the many heroines across the Zoids franchise, Kotona Elegance has always stood out as something of an anomaly in the decades-long mecha series. She is the kind of “perfect waifu” character design that feels as though it belonged in a major shonen or seinen fantasy title rather than a children-focused anime, which arguably left her underrated despite her popularity. Even so, Kotona gained a strong following during the mid-2000s thanks to her top-tier eye-catching design, often comparable to modern fan favorites like Reisalin Stout from Atelier Ryza.

In Zoids Genesis, Kotona is introduced as a member of a mysterious assassin clan sent to target the main protagonist, only to eventually join his group instead. While she never truly stood out as a frontline Zoid pilot as her Rainbow Jerk lacking the overwhelming combat prowess of machines like the Murasame Liger, she excelled in stealth and subterfuge. Without a doubt, this new scale figure from Takara Tomy is a prime example of a swimsuit waifu figure done right, featuring an attractive and well-balanced physique without going excessively over the top.

I still own her classic Max Factory figure, which remains one of Kotona’s best renditions to this day and has been sitting in my collection for years. It is definitely a figure I look forward to reviewing someday.

Transformers Wild King - Energy Master Rex Blade

 

Seeing how SAMG has been making a killing with their Dinoid Warrior and Miniforce lines for quite some time, Takara Tomy was bound to make a move of its own. Leveraging the strength of the Transformers brand, the company has unveiled a new series called Transformers Wild King, seemingly positioned to go head-to-head with SAMG’s Dinoid Warrior lineup. One of the main releases is a blue dinosaur mecha named Energy Master Rex Blade, scheduled for release in June 2026 at a price of 6,700 Yen.

Takara Tomy’s newest product clearly feels aimed directly at SAMG, starting with the noticeably similar packaging design. Rex Blade comes across as Takara Tomy’s answer to Rex Kaiser, though the overall design philosophy is quite different. While Dinoid Warrior leans heavily into flashy, ultra-cool aesthetics, Rex Blade retains the unmistakable feel of a toy designed primarily for younger audiences. At the same time, Takara Tomy’s long experience in the mecha genre shines through, as Rex Blade carries strong vibes of both Zoids and Super Sentai mecha despite being part of the Transformers franchise.

Where Rex Blade attempts to outdo Rex Kaiser is in its versatility. The figure features three transformation modes: humanoid, dinosaur, and vehicle. Since the product is clearly built to compete directly with SAMG’s offerings, Rex Blade also comes with supporting units capable of combining into a larger combiner mecha called Energy Beast Wild King, which I’ll leave below for you to judge yourself.

Mospeada Toyrise Legioss Alpha

 

Takara Tomy is definitely giving Mospeada some special treatment. Within the span of a single year, they’ve released three Toyrise Legioss models in a row, and the latest entry is the commander-type variant dubbed Legioss Alpha. Scheduled for release in September 2026, the Toyrise Legioss Alpha will retail for 14,000 yen.

At a glance, the upgraded weapon loadout already makes the Legioss Alpha stand out from the previous Toyrise Legioss releases. Clad in an imposing black color scheme and equipped with an extra pair of shoulder cannons, the Legioss Alpha clearly presents itself as a leader-type variant of the Legioss. Its design also reminds me of the elite Legioss squad that appeared near the end of the original Mospeada TV anime series.

Considering that Takara Tomy seems quite comfortable reusing the Toyrise Mospeada mold across from the past iterations, it wouldn’t be surprising if we see even more entries from the Mospeada series in the future.

Transformers x Evangelion - Evangelion Prime 01

Transformers and Evangelion are two pop-culture franchises that often show up in crossover collaborations, so it was only a matter of time before they met and the result is definitely worth the wait. Takara Tomy has announced an exciting new release: Evangelion Prime, an Optimus Prime figure themed after Evangelion Unit-01. It’s scheduled for release in August 2026, priced at ¥11,000. 

Genesis Climber Mospeada T-Spark Toyrise Legioss Delta

I thought Toyrise’s Mospeada line had already delivered with Legioss Omega, but it turns out there’s more to come. Following Omega, we now have Toyrise Legioss Delta, and its design takes a rather intriguing turn. Scheduled for release in Q4 2026 and priced at 12,000 Yen, this new entry promises some interesting surprises.

Like Legioss Omega, Legioss Delta features full three-form transformation, reminiscent of Macross’ Variable Fighters. Sporting a green color scheme and coming with radome parts, it immediately brings Luca’s VF-25 Messiah from Macross Fronter to mind.

What sets Legioss Delta apart, however, is its lance-like rifle, a feature that’s unusual for a Real Robot series like Mospeada. If this line continues, I’d expect future Legioss incarnations to sport even more unique and inventive armaments.

B-Daman Bakugaiden Toyrise Black Devaster

I didn’t expect Takara Tomy would complete their B-Daman project within a year, but lo and behold their revival product of Saint Dragon has already completed! It has been around 8 months since White Bros become the first one to be released under toyrise and fast forward to the present, Black Devaster finally made it as well under same lineup. Scheduled for June 2026, Toyrise Black Devaster will be sold for 16000 Yen Price Tag.

I have been expecting Toyrise Black Devaster would be more expensive due to being larger mecha compared to Saint Blaster Trio but the price gap might still fall in reasonable boundary even if it is rather expensive product in the first place. Black Devaster really sport the antihero rival vibe with its imposing larger frame and to cement its status, it also capable of shooting two marbles at once.

I never manage to have Black Devaster back then so I will really look forward to obtain one now even if the hurdle seems to be slightly more difficult now. With the main character of Bakugaiden IV has assembled, I am curious which Bakugaiden series that Takara Tomy would work next? Bakugaiden V is the likeliest but they will certainly catch my attention with anything on Bakugaiden III

Genesis Climber Mospeada T-Spark Toyrise Legioss Omega

 

 Takara Tomy is truly on a roll this year! Not sure how they could pull it off but they have been re-releasing old mecha designs and add new layer on it. After Transformers crossover with Macross, now we got ourself new design for Mospeada. Nothing fancy compared to Basara Prime, but still a new design for Legioss that Mospeada deserved. Dubbed as Legioss Omega and released as Toyrise, this one will be sold for 12000 Yen and scheduled for March 2026.

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.

Transformers x Macross 7 Takara Tomy Basara Prime

 Not stopping after Diaclone x Zoids collab, Takara make another kickass Transformers crossover product and it is collaboration product with Macross 7! Out of this collaboration we got ourselves Optimus Prime hybrid with VF-19 Kai Fire Bomber dubbed Basara Prime. Scheduled for March 2026 release, Takara's Basara Prime will be sold for 20000 Yen.

Takara Tomy T-Spark Altered Nano 1/18 AN-EX Alt Frigate & AA-Cavall Set

 
 Out of Takara Tomy factory, a truly rare collaboration between Yoji Shinkawa of Kojima Production and Shinji Aramaki bore a very interesting 1/18 Scale Sci-Fi Toy product. Both designers are well known veterans in Mecha design and Altered Nano is the result of the synthesis of these Two mecha veterans mastercraft! Scheduled for November 2025 release, the first of Altered Nano lineup called Alt Frigate and AA-Cavall will be sold for 13000 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.

B-Daman Bakugaiden Toyrise Yellow Crasher

 After being revealed as teaser around the end of last month, Yellow Crasher is now officially available for Preorder as Toyrise! This makes all of the Saint Blaster set completed by Takara Tomy. Scheduled for November 2025 release, Toyrise Yellow Crasher will be sold for 12000 Yen just like the rest of its team member.

Yellow Crasher is equipped with some sort of Stabilizer part to aids its flight capability and also equipped with some sort of sonar weapon on its chest apart from the standard belly cannon. For the Saint Blaster combiner, Yellow Crasher form the Left Leg though the original model kit do allow position swap with the Blue Braver. With this only Black Bomb's dragon called Black Devaster left which we could expect coming within 2-3 months. But hopefully the price tag won't exceed 15000 Yen.

B-Daman Bakugaiden Toyrise Blue Braver

 Just merely a month after White Bros Toyrise announcement, The second Mecha from Saint Blaster Team; Blue Braver joins in the entry. Nothing much new revealed yet so far apart from the confirmed Saint Blaster Gattai gimmick. Scheduled for October 2025 release, Toyrise Blue Braver will be sold for 12000 Yen just like White Bros.

Being the Mecha of the Blue Bomber who served as supporting character, Blue Braver have nothing much going for it. The distinct feature of Blue Braver is the Wing Part on the Shoulder and the Sniping scope unit on the chest for extra precision. At this rate, I think we could expect Yellow Crusher will soon join the Toyrise lineup by next month so the collectors could have their Saint Blaster by the end of 2025.

Mechatalk: B-Daman Bakugaiden III Bomber Fighter Armor Model Kit List

 
 With Takara Tomy re-releasing their Bakugaiden IV Mecha products starting with White Bros, I got myself motivated and dig further their past B-Daman Toy lineup once again. What captivated me the most from B-Daman lineup was the Bomber Mecha like Saint Blaster which made me a big sucker for Mecha Toys with Pilot Gimmick. But back then I did have a particular B-Daman Model Kit that had slightly different aesthetics with the former and features a B-Daman Mecha Design with Semi-transparent Head cockpit that comes with Mini B-Daman as Icing on top. 

 Upon further digging, my search lead to B-Daman Bakugaiden III which is the previous B-Daman Generations that came before Bakugaiden IV which Saint Blaster belongs to. Released around 1997-1998, those B-Daman Mechas with Semi Transparent Cockpit is called Bomber Fighter Armor. As expected, these are some Pretty good stuffs which lead to products that lead me being a fan of Cockpit gimmick for Mecha toys. While my search doesn't lead me to the exact Model that I had which was probably bootleg version of Type-90 Bomber Fighter, this particular endeavor lead me to quite a Vintage treasure trove! And I would to use an opportunity in my blog to make people have easier time to reconnect with their Childhood nostalgia involving B-Daman.

This article will serve as a repository list for Bomber Fighter Armor products that I come across. Due to the archive nature of this Article, it will be relegated to Mechatalk category. On average these Bomber Armor Model fetched around 500-1300 Yen Price tag back in 97-98 save for the extra large one which costed 4000 Yen. Nevertheless those very cheap B-Daman Mecha toys that still comes with good quality. Perhaps Takara could consider re-release some of the Bakugaiden III Products should the Toysrise Saint Blaster being well received. You can check this Japanese Website for the Cross reference used for this article.

B-Daman Bakugaiden Toyrise White Bros

 After 30 long years, we finally get a revival for B-Daman Bakugaiden mechas by Takara Tomy! The prototype for Saint Blaster have been revealed for quite some time but Takara feels that they are now ready to open the curtain for Bakugaiden Revival toys. At first I thought the Iconic Combiner Saint Blaster will be released in one go but Takara prefers to release it piecemeal starting with the White Bros! Released under Toyrise lineup, White Bros will be sold for 12000 Yen with September 2025 release schedule.

B-Daman Bakugaiden Saint Blaster always had a special place in my heart because I did have a full set of this fellow when I was a Kid and this is one of the first fews that kickstart my passion toward Mechas. For over 10k Yen Price tag, I wouldn't expect this guy will come with any Diecast parts considering Diaclone didn't have any for this price range but for a reunion that took 20 years, the price is the least concern. I expect Blue Braver and Yellow Crusher will be sold within similar price range which make the complete set for Saint Blaster fetch for 36k Yen. I hope Takara Tomy will be interested to make the Black Dragon as well. To wrap up this post I will leave the reference pics for the Saint Blaster which will consist of the current rendition of White Bros.

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.