BeastBox: BB-35 Ricochet is Something that Exists

Do I have to explain BeastBox again? Righty, mechanical beasts that compress into boxes? Very collectable? 15+ age bracket? No? Oh, click here then. OK, let’s have a quick chat about a BeastBox I got very recently. Amazon had it on a coupon. They seem to do that lot.

Ricochet feels a lot like the people whom made Mega Dio went and made a Karmakuma, but this time as a kangaroo. Remember them? See that link above. It's like Mega Dio as we've got a fairly involved transformation, a lot of techno greebling, a substantial percentage of translucent plastic, with some accessories that don't integrate into the box mode. It's a fairly recent design, so it's more complicated than say regular Dio and Jojo. It's like Karmakuma in that it's what a like to call a "mum & baby set", a tiny little chap piloting a bigger mecha in a manner that is very adorable. Turns out Ricochet is the little joey that stores in the larger one's pouch, I was wondering about that. Overall, the experience is probably closest to Mega-Dio, lacking Karmakuma's simple pleasures, but my initial impression of Ricochet was very strong. The main criticism I'm inclined to make here is how the boxing gloves friction into place, these also being the translucent plastic bits that don't store in box form. It took me a few tries to remove them at first, and I have concerns in the long term. That is however the only real criticism I have, as Ricochet is otherwise a bit of a winner.

The larger kangaroo has much visual interest, and a fair whack of articulation. Obviously it's a kangaroo, but it's more specifically a boxing kangaroo, a meme that seems to go back at least as far as 1895(!), with an early black & white short. I suppose that got started because ‘roos are bipeds whom do use their front paws when scrapping, and someone saw the potential. See also: Australia. This explains the gloves obviously, but I feel it has has a subtle influence on visual choices too. The toy is mainly an orange tone, but the use of white and blue puts me in mind of a boxer's shorts. Only here, they are also the pouch and decorative missile pods. Also of note are the wraparound shades which are in fact removable, revealing translucent eyes beneath. It's a nice bit of visual flair, although as this is another translucent area under friction, I'd advise a gentle touch. Articulation and general posability is a hair below ideal, and often a happy side effect of the conversion, but it doesn't feel like they cut corners, although I suspect they skipped on waist rotation due to the pouch complicating things. Maybe they could have put a bit of side-to-side in the tail, but otherwise I don't think there's any glaring omissions. The front paws move like T-Rex arms, three points each, ball jointed at the shoulders, for that s Mr Punch action. The legs feature 4 joints, with functioning knees, a toe joint, and ball joints at both hip and ankle. The main body has an adjustable stance and a de-facto ab crunch due to the transformation, with the head being something special. You get a double-jointed neck, an opening mouth, and posable bloody ears. It's very complete.

The little Joey is much much much much simpler by comparison, frickin' tiny, and to some extent, optional. He is adorable as he is so small, but he can only really roll into a ball to fit into the pouch. He's not actually necessary for transformation either, happy to be left in or out of his compartment, which is fine, if maybe a missed opportunity when compared to what Karmakuma did. Speaking of transformation, achieving the box form is relatively straightforward but there's a few steps to it. It's a symmetrical affair that works how'd you'd think, i.e. balling up the head and tail, with the legs largely forming a side of the box by themselves. What is surprising though is how the missile pods unfold, and how the lower legs split into two to smooth things out. That's a touch unnecessary, I felt, but otherwise I find this superior to Mega-Dio's scheme. Enough to do, but not frustrating in any way.

While I have concerns about the boxing gloves, Ricochet is a good all-rounder. If you like your transformations involved but not especially fiddly, Ricochet has that. If you like your beastbox to be nicely posable, Ricochet is that. And if you like your robot animals to be characterful and cute? Well, it's a goddamn boxing kangaroo with a baby in its pouch. If the concept appeals, consider this heartily recommended.

BeastBox: BB-6CS Rhinoceros is Something That Exists

Do I have to explain BeastBox again? Righty, mechanical beasts that compress into boxes? Very collectable? 15+ age bracket? No? Oh, click here then. OK, let’s have a quick chat about a BeastBox I got last year. Amazon had it on a coupon.

As the serial number implies, Rhinoceros is one of the older BeastBoxs and therefore one of the simplest. He’s also a rhino, but I think that’s implied. He's not penguin simple, more akin to JoJo, but not Meerkat or Mega-Dio complex. This makes him nice as a fiddle toy, although there's a few things about him that didn't make for a great first impression. Rhinoceros here has accessories which store. This is good. You get a key in the manner of a wind-up toy, and a blaster sculpted in the style of a frog sticking its tongue out. Both are hugely characterful, which is good, but storing the key is inexplicably annoying. It just about fits in one compartment, but if you don't fit it in right, it's not coming out again without a tool. There is a tendency for it to catch on some tabs in there, and generally rattling. This is bad. It probably didn’t help my mood that I misplaced the key at one point, delaying this write-up, although it did eventually return from Narnia. The frog blaster meanwhile feels a little extraneous; I think its meant to go on the inside of an open side panel, but it looks a touch weedy. I feel they could easily have moved the peg along to make it a flip-out concealed weapon thingy. There's also a pair of 3mm-to-5mm port conversion pieces, which go unexplained in the instructions and presumably are there to assist with add-ons sold separately. That's not a negative as such, more that I’m missing something. 

 

Putting aside the above, what's this Rhinoceros like then? Well, he's a toy that's more about the act of transformation than necessarily having an action figure that is also a box. The conversion is based on some pleasingly intuitive and tactile actions: the head folding into the chest, the "saddle bags" moving out of the way, and the legs moving to peg together. Surprisingly, the horns cause the eyes to rotate as you fold them up, a nice touch. Like I said, this is a fiddle toy, and it's pretty good at it. The individual modes are fine, if not the most tcompelling I've written about. Box mode is OK, benefiting from the Rhino having a lot of flat panels, if producing a forgivable underside gap where the legs are. The actual rhinoceros mode is nice too. The colour scheme works, a chunky/techno vibe from the sculpt. Its face has an opening mouth, and what I can only describe as the expression of a lawful neutral herbivore. You can open his mouth though, move his ears, and adjust the horn to move his eyes, thus changing his expression. Posability meanwhile is there, with ten points, plus what you can do with the head area, if not exceptional for its bulk. Each leg is ball-jointed at the main body, but the neck is fixed, and the shoulders are jointed in an odd fashion.

 

So, how do I feel about this white & grey un-moisturised unicorn? Well, I’m kinda… he’s OK. I’m slightly meh about the accessories, but he’s a decent robo-rhino, that’s satisfying to mess with. Its just that’s he’s not as fun as JoJo. Given that I got him half price, I really can’t complain, but he’s not something that excels. More something that exists...

 

BeastBox: BB-01 Dio is Something That Exists

Do I have to explain BeastBox again? Righty, mechanical beasts that compress into boxes? Very collectable? 15+ age bracket? No? Oh, click here then. OK, let’s have a quick chat about a BeastBox I got recently. What is, technically, the first.

 

Dio, or D10, is the mascot of the BeastBox brand and 52Toys in general. His eye forms part of the company logo, and the cutesy robo-animal style a lot of the earlier box moulds had begins with him. Dio is sufficiently popular to see frequent and numerous re-releases/retools, the creation of Mega-Dio, a model kit, and today's subject. While numbered as BB-01, this is actually a revised version with 3mm port functionality for a wider play pattern. As such, Dio mrk2 (1.5?) features a twin gun turret, but to get the full use of these ports, you'd need assorted accessories sold separately. This brings me to the most significant difference Dio has from what followed: he's a 4cm cube not a 5cm one. This makes him a wee bit smaller, so he wouldn't fit in a boxcharger by himself, not that he comes with one. So, he is perhaps a less complete experience than other box toys I've written about. 

 

That having been said, actually handling Dio made its the reasons for its popularity very obvious. Part of that is visual design, backed up with effective joint design. Dio has an immense amount of character; the big head on expressive neck joints, the tiny T-Rex arms, big legs with great movement, and simple but not overdone tech details. He moves in a way largely ideal for something with this body plan; his joints are working with the box mode, not against it or sacrificing for it. Maybe there could have been more in the tail, and the arms are vestigial, but I’m very happy with the neck and opening mouth. Said box mode is not flawless, although the use of flat panels and the blaster to fill a gap counts for a lot. I do like how the lower legs extend for beast mode, that’s a welcome flare which could have easily been skipped. Dio is immensely charming as a fiddle toy, pleasing both the "serious collector" and the "awwwwwwww" bits of my brain. Elegantly designed and adorable. And given that the turret both rotates and tilts, it can blow shit up too.

 

Bringing Mega-Dio into the conversation makes for some interesting contrasts. If regular Dio is a baby, Mega-Dio is the mature animal, reflecting the growth in complexity beast box has seen. The pair seem to be in different scales, and ultimately having different design philosophies. Its a bit like comparing a Gundam with its smaller "super deformed" version, except the cute one came first. Mega-Dio is much more about the transformation, which has grown on me, but perhaps paradoxically, omits knee joints for it's otherwise adequate articulation. This means that MD is bit less nimble than what it's updating, but it is a worthy tribute. It kinda depends on where you stand on the matter of complexity versus brevity, with the pair on opposite sides of the spectrum. Of course, this is very much a "why not both?" situation; you can peg baby-Dio in box mode atop Mega-Dio. I mean, its daft, but its a thing you can do.

Maybe its because this version of Dio is a revised version, thus benefiting from experience and such, but I’m pleasantly surprised by how much I like this. I’d ordered Dio very much as complement for a Mega-Dio, and because its something you kinda well, do, if you’re collecting BeastBox. While I was initially disappointed by the lack of the storage case and such, Dio rapidly won me over. He’s great. Not a complex toy by any means, but very good at what its choosing to do. Possibly iconic, in the unironic sense of the word. And definitely something that exists.

 

MegaBox: MB-12 Landbreaker is Something That Exists

So, when I was getting into 52Toys’ BeastBox, something on my radar was the Landbreaker set, a pair of box/construction vehicles that combined. This sort of thing is very much in my area of interest, but I held off due to the price tag, which is the rough equivalent of a leader class Transformers toy. After a while, the price was right, and here we are. And its, well, something. There’s a lot to talk about here, so I’m going to do a paragraph talking about the set as whole, before addressing the vehicles separately, and then combining. If you want the short version: I was predisposed to like this, and while having some preventable flaws, I liked it rather a lot.

 

The two vehicles, Mole on left, Groundbreaker on the right

Aside from the combination thing, which was my main reason for wanting this set, there are a couple of features not found in any of the 52Toys stuff I've previously written about. First off, they have opening and detailed cockpits, reportedly capable of sitting pilots from the modern Diaclone reboot. I don't have the ability have to test this currently, but I suppose that's cool, there is some stylistic overlap there. Then there's the 5mm pegs to connect the limbs to the main body, in a weaponizer- adjacent kinda way, like modern Junkion Transformers. The instructions encourage you to mix & match in ways beyond the two stated combinations, which is fun to do in a sort of "fan mode" way. For example, I did work out that Groundhog can take Mole's limbs and still make a decent box mode, but the reverse does not seem to be the case. Maybe I'm missing something, but I should point out that the other combiner MegaBox are based on the same 5mm port system, so there's options. On the downside, the cutmark problem that Black Getter had is back and still kinda sucks. This is most obvious with the white marks on the blue/grey plastic, which is the sorta thing that should been caught during quality control procedures. Or outright prevented at the test shot stage. The set is a little rough around the edges due to that and a few other minor annoyances. Nothing a bit of touching-up couldn't resolve, and worse things happen at sea, but this ain't a model kit, is it?

Mole, AKA Code 1, is the one I like the best visually, but also the most finicky, and having the worst of the QC issues. As a construction vehicle akin to a high-tech JCB, I adore it. It's hitting all the right industrial notes in safety orange. It's something while not real, has that verisimilitude; it looks like something that could exist, and honestly could be dropped into almost any near future setting without issue. The arms each have 7 major joints, the claw obviously adding more, moving in a very industrial way. It's wheelbase is interesting too. It's the most sci-fi bit of it all, with each pair of wheels being jointed in three places. You can adjust its ground clearance, and the main body is similarly jointed, so the entire thing can rise up like a cobra. The flip-side to that is that the Mole is largely made of joints that feature that blue/grey plastic I mentioned above. Also, I easily get confused putting this into box mode as you can fold it up several ways that feel valid up until the point where it suddenly isn’t.

Groundhog, aka Code 2, isn't as visually pleasing to me, but is more even as an experience. This is because it seems to making the most compromises for the combined form, but is more foolproof and has a lot of character. This vehicle gets around with a single wheel and a set of purely decorative tracks. These tracks are on the small side I feel, fairly disproportionate compared to the arms/legs, but they have these oh-so adorable set of joints so they can be extended and posed. Meanwhile you get a set of limbs with arguably better motion than the above, but topped off with a bigger claw and a chainsaw. And the box mode does not confuse me, and also is achieved in a manner that looks like it could work in real life. As its a simpler design, the limbs just fold up onto the sides, and I can certainly imagine this being delivered on a trailer to building site. So, that's all good stuff, although after messing with for a while, it's quite easy to see that this dude becomes something else. 

 

So, onto to combination. The instructions describe two ways, a combined vehicle form, and the robot form, aka the main event, aka Landbreaker. This is facilitated by another 5mm peg, with the robot mode feeling quite intuitive to achieve. The vehicle mode is less so, it feels more like a happy by-product of the aforementioned modularity, than a distinct form. I'm put in mind of one of those big asphalt laying machines that make motorways though, so it's not without an appeal. The combined robot form is however nice. Possibly greater than the sum of its parts, even. It's not without its weaknesses, a lot ends up on the back, and the leg pilot must hate his job, but the fundamental strengths of both parts come through. I'm going to use that fancy word “verisimilitude” again. It's hard to make a combiner look technically feasible at all, it's very much a super robot genre thing. Landbreaker however looks both unified and almost as sensible as it's individual components. It's got that near-future realism to it, and it's honestly amazing that the designers pulled it off. A big part of that is the "head" which has a webcam-looking sensor on it that moves with a universal joint. It looks like something a construction robot would have, not necessarily humanising it, but thematic and expressive. It also poses like a boss, repurposing all those joints becoming the most unexpectedly agile robot I've handled of late. It's got pretty much everything you'd want or need, even working in the connector as a waist joint and ab crunch. It's still got that serious robotics feel to its movements as its entirely swivels and universal joints but I honestly don't know what more could be added. Mole is largely made of joints, so you can get a lot in the upper body, and Groundhog is far from a slouch too.  It looks great, poses well, and can kick people with a chainsaw. There’s an awful-awful lot to like.

 

In addition to being something that exists, Landbreaker is something that is quite awesome. I don’t know if its the best thing 52Toys has done, I don’t have the experience to make that judgement, and there’s some petty annoyances, but… yeah. This does a lot of stuff right, comparing favourably to Transformers toys, while having that 3^rd party flair, but also very much its own identity. I keep on finding new stuff to like about it. Consider this a recommendation, and if in doubt, there’s a purple and green version.

 

 

BeastBox: BB-48 Desert Assault Squad is Something That Exists

Do I have to explain BeastBox again? Righty, mechanical beasts that compress into boxes? Very collectable? 15+ age bracket? No? Oh, click here then. OK, let’s have a quick chat about a BeastBox I got recently.

 

 

Something which may be a surprise to any international reader is that the people of the UK have an inordinate fondness for Meercats. It's basically a meme, as these adorable creatures aren't native to my wet and foggy home. This is probably down to the "Meercats United" documentary by Sir David Attenborough, and more recently the "Compare the Meerkat" advertising campaign. Please don't ask me to explain that last one, it now includes Wombats. So, with my continuing fixation on BeastBox toys, the Desert Assault Squad was on my radar. Cute and characterful animals are very much something BeastBox does well. And one day, it was on sale.

 

When talking about this set, comparisons to those penguins from my first BeastBox article are unavoidable. The Desert Assault Squad is similarly a team of four mech-animals, differentiated mainly by decals and a single accessory. Like the penguins, they feature magnets to assist with box mode, but unlike the penguins, there's a fair bit in the way of posability and actual transformation. This means that these mecha meerkats have far more going on, but they aren't as foolproof. 

 

Let's talk the individual squad members a bit. Each is a predominantly brown and sand coloured robo-animal, with a gunmetal chestplate and forearm guns. While cute, these aren't necessarily cutesy, almost serious minded. There's little exaggeration here, but each stands on its hind legs in that way people find so charming. These are a quartet of small creatures standing on guard, watching out for trouble, and then shooting it. Posability is an interesting discussion as a result. Each has a very small footprint, so you'll likely be using the tail as a third leg, but it possible to do without it. Articulation generally is mainly a matter if balljoints and swivels, more humanoid than most of my BeastBox, although obviously not as extensive as Black Getter. It's a total of 13 points, with nothing in the waist, but you have enough for a salute. Which is adorable. Transformation into box mode meanwhile is more involved than it looks. The head stows the main body, but the shoulders shift around too, and torso splits in half. It's not strictly speaking difficult, but I will admit to overlooking a mistake, and not realising at first because the magnets held it all together. The resulting box is largely symmetrical, if not totally concealing the nature of its components. I do like the top, which makes use of the breastplates to smooth everything out, and each block has a little letter decal referring to one of the cardinal directions. So you can arrange them like a compass.

All in all? It's a fun little set, with lots of character. It is possibly a bit too finicky for my tastes, but not enough to spoil the experience. Definitely adorable. Definitely something that exists.

BeastBox: BB-03FJ Flame JoJo is Something That Exists

 

Do I have to explain BeastBox again? Righty, mechanical beasts that compress into boxes? Very collectable? 15+ age bracket? No? Oh, click here then. OK, let’s have a quick chat about my latest BeastBox.

 

My first impression, mainly because I collected this from the post office on my way to work and I couldn't really play with it there, was the packaging design. It was in many ways an inverse of the style I'd seen so far, with a smaller, portrait-oriented affair, with JoJo having pride of place in the upper half, in box mode. It's more minimalist packaging than the others I've seen up close, but still attractive in its way Speaking of boxes, JoJo's box form and general engineering is on the simpler side for a BeastBox, not surprising given its relative age. The cube is dominated by his big three-fingerer fists, with his eyes peering out of a little slot. There is in fairness more going on than you may think, and it does have an interesting conversion scheme. JoJo's transformation is aligned to one of the cube edges, a diamond shape when viewed from the front. I think there's a stand available so you can display him like that, but this chap only has the standard translucent storage case. So, fairly simple on the box front, but that’s not the same as saying its bad.

 

If the box mode seems a bit uncomplicated, JoJo's ape mode screams character by comparison. It's the face, it's grumpy and perfect. I love that head sculpt, and its on a great neck joint. The package art depicts JoJo in a roaring and chest-beating pose, but the actual face is more of a sullen glare. It's also articulated in such a way as to enable him to walk on his knuckles, so the overall vibe is of somebody who is basically not a bad guy, but is a bad day waiting to happen to somebody. I'm also very fond of the colours on this one, putting me in mind of the bayverse Optimus Prime. Is this a deliberate homage? Possibly, 52Toys has form in this area, but it's not a smoking gun. It is an attractive look, regardless, cartoony with simple but effective techno greebling. Articulation isn't bad either, if favouring monkey poses more than humanoid motion. It's possible to get him standing on two legs only, no trivial matter as he is approximately 10% legs and 40% arms by volume. You might almost say its no small feat, on those small feet. Heh. That said, he has no knees, and his arms aren't super posable or anything, the joints there being more for transformation. Nothing to apologise for, mind you, but you hit limitations. 

 

In addition to being something that exists, I really like Flame JoJo. He's about on the same tier as KarmaKuma, doing slightly less, but not using any translucent plastics in his construction. Aside from some minor sprue-marks, he's great. Simple, but great. And very characterful.

 

I wonder if there’s a version of this in Beast Wars colours...

Megabox: MB-06 Black Getter is Something That Exists

OK, Context. Remember how I did a special article on BeastBox toys? Robot animals that compress into cubes? Right, so that company does a spin-off line where the play pattern is applied to non-animals and licenced properties. OK? Good.

While existing in anime and manga form since 1974, Getter Robo has very little presence in the UK, and if anybody knows it at all, it's probably due to the part it's characters play in Super Robot Wars 30. Or they imported something. This is kinda tragic as Getter Robo is hugely influential, as it popularised the combining super robot thing. Getter Robo the machine is a trio of jets, which depending on the sequence of combination produced one of three distinct robots. That's Getter-1 for brawling, Getter-2 for speed, and Getter-3 as the infrequently seen tank. It is possible to make a toy that does that 3 mode combination, but that's asking a lot of the designers, materials technology, and often your wallet. Narratively, it's an extremely hot blooded series that took on some cosmic horror elements and multiverse stuff as it went on. It was a pretty big influence on Gurren Lagann, especially its Spiral Power concept, and how its latter half played out. See also: the show within a show Gekigangar 3. I have a bit of a mountain here with summarising Getter Robo, so I'm just gonna do a slightly whimsical blurb on today's subject matter. The thing about Black Getter isn't that it's black on purpose. It's black because it base-jumped from the Moon and got all charred up on re-entry. Yes, its that kinda franchise.

Black Getter, or BG for shorthand purposes, exists mainly these days as a repaint/retool opportunity for Getter-1 merchandise, and that's what happened with this MegaBox release, 52Toys being quite happy to rework a design with a new head or different accessories. Now, painting something black is amongst the most obvious things to do for a variant, but BG is not merely that. Black Getter largely transcended the cliché with extremely memorable and quite gory appearances in the mini-series Getter Robo: Armageddon, a highly regarded 90’s anime, which I will be doing an article on shortly. The mecha is, more or less, what would happen if you asked Wolverine to fix up a giant robot during one of his more antisocial phases. It's a Getter-1 left abandoned for years only to be hurriedly repaired by series protagonist Ryoma Nagare. He was a martial artist by trade, a sociopath by nature, and not in the best headspace at the time, so BG is something of a rejection of the teamwork theme inherent to Getter Robo, seemingly loosing the combination thing in favour of more vicious weaponry. Pretty much the first thing it does, once back on Earth, is to traumatise the people it was rescuing. It's quite an aggressive design, but is a super-deformed take, as executed by 52toys with their box animal house style. The result captures the essence of Black Getter in a vaguely adorable package, like an angry goth puppy. That can also be a cube.

BG as a collectable looks great in the package, and feels pretty good in hand, but seems to be suffering a little from 52Toys B- quality control. There's a few places where the finish on the glossy black is marred, where the parts were cut from their sprue. It's a job for a black felt-tip pen, so no biggie, but black plastics are a well-known bugger for this, so it's somewhat  disappointing. The box mode and related transformation is relatively straightforward, possibly due to limitations of the human form or licencing restrictions. The torso forms one face of the cube, with the limbs and head wrapping around the accessories. There's no significant surprises, aside from a robot mode element I'll come back to, but it does however expose a nice detail, the reactor picked out in almost luminous paint. Not something it would be especially healthy to see up close, but there we are. The robot form is of course where the action is, which is quite posable, with some details I really like. BG’s head is very characterful and the angry eyes are honestly startling. These are a layer of translucent plastic atop silver painted tech greeblies, with what seem to be tamopraphed irises. It's a fascinating three stage effect. The mecha is fecking glaring at you. The cape and scarf are also interesting, if one of the more beastboxy design elements. It reflects the machine's overall condition, and the murderhobo habits of its pilot. Yes, this mecha has a cape and scarf, just go with it. Getter-1 has simlar too, probably because it was designed in the 70’s; BG is merely exaggerating what was already there. These cloth elements are hard plastic here and have an angular, almost pixelart appearance. It's something that pleased me when I saw it in product photography, as it so easily have been dropped, but it's here with usable jointing and a red lining. It also serves as one of the major anchoring points for box form, which I will admit to double-checking the instructions about. Speaking of joints, BG is definitely on the posable side for what amounts to a super-deformed figure. It's mainly swivels and universal joints, but with rotation at the wrists, double-jointed knees and a toe joint thanks to its transformation. It's definitely enough to make good use of the two tomahawks it comes with. It also features two sets of flip-out forearm spikes, which look great, although the purist in me demands for me to say that it should really only have one. Odd choice, but not actually bad.

My point? Only that MegaBox Black Getter is something that exists. And I like it rather a lot. I continue to be entertained with these, and no doubt Black Getter is going to be one of many such additions to my collection. That having been said, I suspect the Getter-1 release have a slight edge over this toy, if only in accessories. It comes with a machine gun, and maybe that's more important to you. But if it isn't? I think this will please both box collectors and Getter fans alike. 

 

An Introduction to BeastBox

 

So, what's a BeastBox then? No, it's not got something to do with a YouTube influencer. BeastBox is a line of transforming robot toys produced by 52Toys (pronounced 5-2-toys). It exists in the Transformers-adjacent space where unlicensed third party products dwell as well diecast Japanese collectables. As the name implies, you get a beast, usually a robotic one, which via a transformation compresses down into a cube. In Transformers terms, we’re looking akin to Soundwave’s chest minions, but roughly comparable in size and complexity to a modern deluxe. Remember Siege Refraktor and his intermediary cube form for the camera mode? Pretty much the same sorta mass and footprint. BeastBox has been going on for a while now, and 52Toys has spun-off the concept into other areas, notably MegaBox, where they do licenced characters and non-beasts. 52Toys has been sufficiently successful that they have their own imitators, and have licence with Disney. And once you’ve got people copying you, while you do merch for the mouse, you’ve made it, haven’t you? After a prolonged period of these beeping on the edge of my radar, I took the plunge.

Before I talk about the initial few I got, I want to talk about the general experience. While a box is probably the least interesting thing for a robot to turn into, I'd suggest it shows a deeper understanding of the toy collector mindset than some. You see, one of the fundamental, if difficult to verbalise, joys of a transforming robot toy is the physical act of transformation. The tactile experience, if you will, the click of plastic tab into it's slot, and so on. The whole puzzle box aspect of the toy, you know? And what can happen? Once you've got it transformed, you've got a compressed shape that does less than the other mode. Almost, one might say a box. And this would likely be the mode you keep it in when storing it. BeastBox seems to be leaning into this as a stylistic choice and self-imposed challenge. It's all about slicing cubes into every more clever and involved shapes, all with highly collectable presentation. The box mode has a storage case, which is translucent, pegging together with other boxes for display. A BeastBox's packaging takes the form of an attractive and colourful window box, almost nice enough to not to open. The instructions are pictorial, with the moving part in red, and there's a little bilingual bio card. And a catalogue. And a sheet of plastic that you fold to act as a spring for the storage case, so the BB will come out of it more easily. Its hard to fault these as collectables, and as my initial experiences seem to suggest, they don’t phone in the toy either.

BB-30 MEGA DIO

 

Mega Dio was the first BeastBox I got, and it seems I skipped to the end, only to work backwards. It has a fifth anniversary logo on it, while the other two I'll talk about are somewhat  older. Mega Dio is sort of a revamped take on Dio, the original Beastbox and the company's mascot. The vibe I'm getting here is a bit Powermaster Prime, in that elements of the original are still there, but used in a more scifi and warlike manner. The original had a much larger head, and maybe looked like one of those Mousers from Ninja Turtles with smooth and simple lines. Mega Dio however tends towards more a Zoids-like aesthetic typical of more recent BBs; lots of techno-greebling, translucent plastic in abundance, less cartoon proportions, but the design lineage is clear. This connection is further reinforced by the "back frills" that can carry a regular Dio in box mode, which only adds to the Powermaster Prime feel I’m getting. I don't currently have a compatible Dio, so I can't comment on how that works, but I do intend to get one. What I can say though, In an apparent contrast to the original, Mega Dio is a rather involved design while still having a symmetrical conversion. The legs move around a fair bit, while the head folds into the body, and the tail wraps around. I will admit to a certain degree of reference to the instruction sheet, both as a beginner, but also because it uses a lot of small tabs and things get involved with the legs. It is the most finicky of the three by some significant distance. While lacking knees, the resulting dino-robot is quite posable, with significant character, and some nice "digital-look" flame effects. Two minor concerns however. First off the balljoints are rather tight, to the point of squeaking, and the flame effects don't obviously store anywhere. So, while obviously good enough to make me try another, Mega Dio suffers a bit around the edges. Perhaps more for fans of intricate transformation, five primes out of seven. 

 

BB-13KM KARMAKUMA 

Karmakuma meanwhile the toy that really sold me on the concept and the 52Toys house style of cutesy robo-animals. It's simpler than Mega Dio in terms of engineering, although the subtle tabbing thing is still evident, and there is a locking mechanism in the hips labelled in English. Notably it's designed along the edge of the cube, not a face, and is actually two figures in what seems to be a parent and child pairing. The larger one is almost cuddling the smaller in box mode. As adorable as it sounds, and trust me, it is quite adorable, there's definitely a momma bear thing going on with some sculpted angry eyes and two translucent shoulder cannons that combine. It's very large & in charge, wearing what seems to be metallic sumo gear, <internet search>, a mawashi. The cub meanwhile is obviously all about being a baby, being fairly simple due to his size. He can use the big one as a mecha though, with a spartan but elegant cockpit arrangement in the chest. Both have sufficient articulation to do quadruped poses, with the larger getting good arms, but no knees. The box mode however is the least convincing of those we're looking at here. It's not really a problem, but the translucent bits stick out a wee bit. Overall? Immensely charming, mainly just right, 3 bowls of porridge out of 3. 

 

BB-08AF EMPEROR 

The final Beastbox I picked up before writing this article, the Emperor set is the oldest we're talking about today. It's also the one most pushing the envelope as to what a Beastbox can be. There’s no translucent plastic for one thing, so think of it as early instalment weirdness, if that helps? This time we have four mechanical penguins forming the box, all identical save for a playing card symbol and a large head frill for your favourite to wear. These penguin wedges have minimal articulation except in the head, which have a little gear system to change the eyes. The options are "open", "closed", "angry" and "hey if you don't turn it all the way you get blank deadite eyes". So, you can variously have them standing, swimming or sliding about, with a mix of expressions, cute. The transformation is this interesting bit though, and what makes the set possibly child-safe. Possibly. Once you've compressed the Pingu-looking blighters down, it's just a matter of lining up right, as they are magnetised and do the rest for you. It's not deep, there’s just less going on than the toys above, but I can see an actual kid loving this. I also wish the tail feathers locked in a bit better on these. Definitely adorable, possibly too simple, eight happy feet out of a dance scene.

Overall? I find myself quite pleased with the toys above, and I see a wider appeal that could easily become a new hyperfixation. These are very collectable, definitely appealing if animal robots are your thing, and there certainly enough creativity going on to balance out the box thing. There are however a few little areas that suggest imperfect quality control, and that's where we need to have the price discussion. Assuming you aren't rolling the dice on an international order, you have to go to Amazon to get these, whom have a decent selection but a bit of a mark-up. This puts the toys in the 25-30 quid price bracket usually, roughly the same as a modern Transformers deluxe or just below a voyager at RRP. I don't quite know if that's a fair comparison to make, given that a Beastbox has stated age range of 15+ and has its origins in the collectors market, but it's a discussion you can have. I’ve nitpicked a few things above, but its exactly the sort of flaw I’d expect to see people complaining about in a Hasbro release. So, if you see one you like the look of? I'd say give it a try.