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.

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.

Transformers Blokees Galaxy Version Defender Vol.4 Review

 

 Slowly making my way through my Blokees collection again, I’m closing in on finishing my review of the current Blokees Defenders lineup. Blokees Defender 04 features Rodimus Prime as the poster figure, but, as usual, the roster is largely dominated by the Decepticons.

The main points of interest in Defender 04 are Rodimus Prime’s vehicle mode and the alternate version of Megatron, which almost looks like a protagonist mecha thanks to its unusual color scheme. For the starter Blokees that kicked off the Bruticus combiner components, Defender 04 feels a bit slow, though I expect the momentum to pick up in Defender 05 and 06. I’m looking forward to eventually completing the full Bruticus set in the Blokees Defender series just like what I did with Devastator.

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. 

Transformers Blokees Defender Devastator Review

It’s time to review one of the most elusive products from Blokees Transformers until recently: Blokees Defender Devastator! Early in the release, the add-on parts necessary to form the Devastator combiner experienced supply issues with local distributors. For a time, the official Blokees store in the region even enforced a minimum purchase of $50 to obtain the combiner parts. Naturally, this caused some frustration among the local fanbase. Though, in my opinion, some of them did take things too far.

As a collector with some industry experience, personally I don’t think Blokees Devastator really worth the drama. The item was still obtainable within a reasonable term, as long as you avoided FOMO-driven impulse buying and recognized that the consumer market in a developing country is not directly comparable to the U.S. market. It was, however, amusing to see the first-batch units resold for over $20 when supplies were scarce.

From a design perspective, Blokees Defender Devastator is a smart, minimalistic engineering feat. It transforms a set of Devastator vehicles with minimal gimmicks into a 17 cm combiner robot, offering respectable playability for its size. The price point is modest, but the product punches well above its weight.

And Blokees seems to have learned from the initial supply issues, so I expect future releases for Bruticus to be smoother and less dramatic. One thing I just noticed from review Blokees Devastator, Defender lineup doesn’t yet include the complete Devastator team in mecha form. So I’ll be waiting for them to finish the full lineup, just as they did with the Galaxy series.

February 2026 Loot

Another sumptuous haul this month and I have to admit, some of it was pure impulse buying. A portion of this haul came from the Jakarta Toys Event, and without it, the collection wouldn’t have been nearly as large.

As expected, Chinese hobby products dominate in quantity, while the Japanese items take the lead in overall value. Highlights from this haul include finally completing the Yilichuangwan Fruity Robo set, now just missing Pino-Flight to complete the full collection. The REA-Lynx packaging is as massive as expected, and I managed to snag my copy of Blokees Tarn Action Edition at a great price. On top of that, I finally completed the 52Toys Racing Car AMTS set, which I thought I would not made it.

Looks can be deceiving, though: the most expensive items aren’t necessarily the biggest. In terms of value, the top four are: B-Daman Toyrise Blue Braver, Joytoy Perturabo, Figma Chilchuck, and Sentinel’s Yoroiden Suiko Shin. Together, these four items account for roughly 70% of the haul’s total value. I was lucky enough to get Suiko Shin at a very good price, leaving only the Earth Yoroiden remaining.

Since I’m leaving my current job, I might have more free time soon perhaps enough to finally start reviewing my backlog and move fast enough to make touch some items from this haul.

Transformers Blokees Galaxy Version Defender Vol.3 Review

Continuing from my previous review of the Blokees Defenders series, it’s now time to look at Blokees Defenders 03. This release marks the final piece collectors need to complete the Devastator vehicle forms, providing the remaining combiner parts required to fully assemble Devastator.

One thing that immediately stood out in Defenders 03 is how lopsided the faction representation is. This set includes only three Autobots, compared to nine Decepticons. Interestingly, this imbalance continues into Defenders 04, which almost makes it feel like Blokees might be a secret Decepticon fanboy at heart.

Going forward, I plan to review the Blokees Defenders series on a monthly basis. At that pace, I should be able to fully cover my collection sometime before mid-2026.

January 2026 Loot

A very sumptuous banquet of hauls to kick off the year. While it’s not quite as extravagant as my end-of-2025 loot, it’s still massive in its own right. As usual, Chinese model kits make up the bulk of the haul, with Eddas Asgard and Hemoxian Baffarion anchoring the lineup. I also picked up Frame Arms Girl Kongou, mainly for her ship-themed power armor gimmick. That said, with my pile of shame continuing to grow, I’ll probably need to cut back on model kit purchases for a while.

Outside of model kits, I finally completed my Blokees Devastator combiner with the remaining parts, along with a newer batch of Blokees releases. I think Bruticus will have less drama in the availability department though I can still obtain one anyway, whether I have to pay for it or obtain complete Blokees Defender set 04-06.

I also finally got the 1/7 scale King Halo figure shortly after quitting Uma Musume Global. Had I quit the game earlier, I might have skipped her entirely, but she’s one of my favorite characters, so she’s likely staying in the collection.

Lastly, appearances can be deceiving: the most expensive item in this haul is actually one of the smallest; the 25th Anniversary D-3 Digimon Digivice (Digimon 02). With how little free time I have these days, I’m not sure I’ll get around to actually playing with it, but as a collectible, it’s still an absolute gem.

Transformers Blokees Galaxy Version Defender Vol.2 Review

Another short review, and we’re heading back to the Blokees Defender Series! With a sizeable Blokees backlog waiting to be covered, I may start accelerating the review pace for this Chinese premier Blindbox lineup, starting with Defenders Vol. 02.

Blokees has truly struck the sweet spot with the Defender Series, giving Japanese manufacturers a genuine run for their money in terms of quantity and affordability. While I’ve been hesitant to spend on the Galaxy versions mainly because I’m not the biggest Transformers fan, I’m more than happy to gobble up the Blokees Defenders line.

Much like Vol. 01, Blokees Defender Transformers Vol. 02 maintains a fairly balanced lineup between Autobots and Decepticons. It also adds more members to the Devastator team, moving us closer to completing the Combiner Robot when paired with Vol. 03. So far, I’ve cracked open three boxes from the Defenders series, and I have to admit that the Super Rare editions are genuinely elusive.

Transformers Blokees Tarn Action Edition

Just as Yolopark released their Tarn action figure, Blokees quickly followed up last month with their premium edition for Tarn in Action edition! This no ordinary privilege given by Blokees considering as Tarn become the 5^th entry of the exclusive Blokees Transformers lineup. Scheduled for Q1 2026 Blokees Tarn Action Edition will be sold for 40 USD Price Tag.

Nowhere as elaborate compared to AMK Pro, but Action Edition Tarn will not disappoint casual or dedicated Blokees Transformers collectors. Blokees rendition manage to capture the imposing  juggernaut figure of upper torso heavy Tarn. Blokees might still have distribution issues for certain products like combiner parts but The Action Edition certainly worth the attention.

Transformers Yolopark AMK PRO IDW Tarn

Transformers series has been one of Yolopark’s signature IP for majority of their products. Up until now this particular lineup has escaped my radar until I got into Transformers last year and thus their recent product AMK Pro Tarn caught my attention. AMK Pro Tarn is scheduled for Q1 2026 release with 60 USD Price tag.

Amongst Yolopark lineups for Transformer series, AMK Pro is one of the more luxurious treatment. AMK Pro comes with LED Gimmick, partial Diecast Frame along with Nickel as companion figure. While listed as plastic model, Yolopark is actually preassembled already so falls on action figure category.

Given my recent entry into Transformers series, I don’t know much about Tarn but he is certainly an imposing new lieutenant of Megatron’s Decepticon faction. He did caught my attention since his rendition of Blokees and Yolopark AMK Pro is certainly a tempting proposition. In near future I might be considering to read IDW Transformers comic which seems to be a major series.