It is tradition for me that I must buy something big & stupid in the TFNation dealers room. What's the point of being at convention if you're not gonna buy something you wouldn't on any other day? I was nominally aware of this set through video reviews and Internet chatter, but I wasn’t really drawn to it when I saw it in person. Such things generally don't make it to these shores in any number. And then had to find a place to put it. What follows is a surface level discussion of the toy, with lots of comparisons to Transformers and mecha shows.
What is Hello Carbot?
Hello Carbot is an annual Korean toy franchise produced by Sokokong. On first impression, it sits in the super robot genre, invoking comparisons to the Power Rangers and the Brave Saga, which is in no way a bad thing. Today's examples are from 2018, season 5, which has an English dub, apparently. I'm hesitant to comment with any authority on this, I'm reduced to sourcing names from a Fandom wiki page.
Jestle & Proud (Hummer & Dump Truck)
The lead robot of the combiner is an orange hummer, whom has a RID2015 warrior class feel to him. Jestle is simple as these things go, doesn't have any accessories, but has a quite effective transformation. He's quite a serious looking chap in robot with a respectable 11 points of articulation, but due to how he combines, there's nowt in the waist and some oddly positioned hips. Scale him down a bit, and he'd be a great core class, whereas an increased parts count would put him in deluxe. Proud meanwhile is an absolutely massive vehicle with a Brave meets-Armada-Overload vibe going on. The dump truck mode is big and sentai-styled, which is quite a contrast with Jestle. Perfectly fine, but its not aiming for disguise in anyway. Proud doesn't have his own robot mode, rather that Jestle provides the upper chest and head, forming Proud Jet. It's definitely got a lot of presence, wings, and some seriously hefty ratchet joints. Articulation comes in at a pragmatic fifteen points; he's mainly gonna stand there imposingly, but we're gonna be glad of that robustness later on. Think megazord, think an entire Combiner Wars team, just made from two things. That said, keep an eye on Jestle’s wing mirrors, and Proud’s shoulder wheels, I see stress and wear in those areas.
Crane & Duke (a, well, Crane and Excavator)
These two little guys are about the same size and complexity as Jestle, and are basically mirrored twins. I'm reminded of the circa 1999/2000 Landfill combiner, but that's probably a coincidence. Crane looks like Bumblebee if he worked in construction, whereas Duke could probably be in the Constructicon's second eleven. Articulation is probably the best overall in the team, as due to combination they get a waist swivel, although there are kibble issues and they aren’t exactly the same. Duke has 15 joints, with a good shovel arm, but would have benefited from a heel spur, while Crane has 17 due to a different foot design. Fun little guys, these, I like how the jibs become the robot arms, its nice asymmetry.
Starby & Blaster (Bulldozer and Drilltank)
Well, it's not proper super robot unless there's drills involved, is it? This is an interesting one, as the basic play pattern is similar to the hummer/truck combo above, but Blaster breaks into segments for the combined form Starblaster. It's got more going on, and the first instance of an actual weapon, while being pleasingly robust once you've got it together. Starby is possibly the weakest member of the team, and notable for being a rare female Carbot. She's got 11 points of articulation, a faint resemblance to Wedge, and is doing quite a lot for the combination, but has various kibble issues as a result. She's doing better than Arcee has of late, don't get me wrong, but she's more reliant on the whole combination gimmick for appeal. My example also suffers from some misapplied paint, and stress marks on the dozer blade, although fortunately this isn’t obvious when combined. As a drill tank, Blaster's appeal is very straightforward, and notable has both chromed parts and silver paint, if having that old "obviously fictional, marmite, sci-fi vehicle" issue. Starblaster is basically awesome, better than the sum of its parts with 15 joints, but a bicep swivel would have been nice.
Buildion (Proud Jet & Starblaster)
Well, we're in some
proper Brave Saga, late-G1-Victory territory now. We're talking
platform shoes, and forearm drills. It's huge, edging into titan
class in Transformers terms, and it gets bigger in a moment. The blue
components contrast nicely with the red, there's a fancy head dress,
with articulation being basically unchanged. Proud Jet wasn't a ninja
by any metric, but the build quality takes the
increased weight
without issue. Its unavoidably less clean a look than either pair
separately, although Starby does help with an otherwise ignored gap.
Hyper Buildion (Everybody)
Yes, EVEN BIGGER FUCKING PLATFORM SHOES! GIANT ROBOT STOMPY TIME!
Ahem. So, the twins spilt in half in vehicle mode, their wheelbases becoming heels, and the upper cabs bolting onto the shoulders. Its peak combiner silliness. I mean, you can technically claim the vehicle bits on the shoulders adds articulation, but its more accessorizing to an extreme. In my limited understanding, this is one of those “all your powers combined” sort of arrangements, its not really about practicality so much as being really really big. Too big for my usual (crappy) photography set-up. Mind you, there is one thing it does do. It rolls. It has construction vehicles for heelys. And, if that does not appeal to you, I don’t know what more I can say.
My point? Only the Hello Carbot Hyper Buldion is something that exists. And I now have to find a place to put it.
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