KRE-O GI Joe: Cobra Terror Drome

The GI Joe line of KRE-O figures may have started slow, but it didn't take long for some great sets to be released, such as the Cobra Terror Drome. Sadly this was released pretty much as the line was simultaneous ending. Retailing for $99.99 and exclusive to Toys 'R Us stores in the US, this set, while awesome, didn't get the proper release it deserved.

Coming in at 855 pieces, I believe this was the single largest GI Joe KRE-O set released. Not only did the set come with the Terror Drome, but also with a GI Joe Skyhawk vehicle and even Serpentor's chariot. Also included where 6 Kreon figures: Mainframe, Gung-Ho, General Hawk, Serpentor, Xamot and a generic Cobra Trooper.

Noticeably missing from this massive set however is the awesome Cobra Firebat. Instead, this integral Terror Drome vehicle was included in another set aptly titled "Firebat Attack" with the GI Joe Wolverine. I can understand Hasbro wanting to try and capitalize off of these toys as much as possible, but not including the Firebat w/ the Terror Drome is like have a KRE-O Joe HQ and not including the MOBAT tank.

The included Joe Kreons are excellent figures and their likeness to the original ARAH figures/animation models are spot on. My only gripe is that some of the guns included are just too big (see Mainframe), however Hasbro did get it right with a grenade launcher for Gung-Ho and a pistol for General Hawk.

On the Cobra front the set includes Serpentor, half of the Crimson Twins, Xamot and finally a nameless Cobra Trooper. The ridiculously large guns show up again with two of the three Cobra characters unfortunately. Serpentor comes with a cloth cobra hood and cape.

Serpentor's trusty air chariot is included as well. While small, they did a good job at re-creating and capturing the look and feel of the ARAH toy. The instructions shows you being able to "dock" the chariot inside the launch bay of the Terror Drome, but come on...who are we kidding?

Several other Joe KRE-O playsets released before the Terror Drome had smaller vehicles included, like the Cobra FANG or "Trouble Bubble" so it was nice to see the Joe's Skyhawk included in this set. This is one awesome little vehicle, even if the back proportions may be a little off. Somehow they were able to integrate all of the key features of this aircraft into this little toy, from the VTOL engines to the side wing panels, to the rockets on the landing skids to the gun mounted underneath the nose. Even the figure fits perfecting inside the opening cockpit for added play value.

Once assembled, I was blown away by how awesome the building block version of the Terror Drome was. It looks the part. It has several different play features that are modeled after the vintage ARAH playset. Better yet, it was just as much fun to build as it was to set up different display scenarios.

On the backside of the Terror Drome is this long rectangular red brick. While it looks a little obtrusive sticking out the back of the playset, it does serve a purpose. When you press it in it slowly starts to raise the dock inside the center of the Terror Drome. If you have the Firebat on the dock it will slowly push open the blue dome panels in the center of the top floor...just like the vintage playset.

I absolutely love this feature and it works pretty well. It was one of the highlights of the original ARAH Terror Drome and its faithly recreated here.

All around the top level are these little computer screens. Each screen has a different view of around the Terror Drome. It's the little touches like this that really brings it together.

The construction of the set is pretty ingenious as the top of the Terror Drome can be lifted off in one piece. The long flat gray pieces, along with the beveled red pieces allow the top half to gently sit on the base. This allows you easy access to the elevator shaft from the top, or any of the aforementioned sections around the base.

Folding down the side panels of the Terror Drome reveals all sorts of fun and interactive spots, starting off with a cool throne for Serpentor.

To the left of Serpentor's throne is a prison. This can be locked with the little key you see in the door Because this is such a small piece I decided to leave it in the door so I wouldn't lose it. On each side of the prison are two gun batteries that can accomodate one figure.

To the right of Serpentor's throne is this cool screen with a translucent Cobra Commander decal. Had I had a Tele-Viper I would have sat him at this chair.

To the right of the Cobra Commander screen you can see the inner workings of the elevator that lifts the Firebat.

The construction of the set is pretty ingenious as the top of the Terror Drome can be lifted off in one piece. The long flat gray pieces, along with the beveled red pieces allow the top half to gently sit on the base. This allows you easy access to the elevator shaft from the top, or any of the aforementioned sections around the base.

This was a fun build and well done. The knock on early KRE-O sets were they left like a cheap LEGO knock off. This set and many of the other later GI Joe sets I've built have been excellent. As of this post I've disassembled this set because I simply had nowhere to display it. I'm on the fence of whether or I should hold on to it or sell it because I don't have many other Joe KRE-Os anymore. Nonetheless, this is a fantastic set and I can't recommend it enough.

Amazon Toy Store

Happy New Year everyone! I'm looking forward to sharing more Transformers and other toy/video game related content with everyone in 2015. While I'm working on my next review, I thought I'd point out that I've created a little "toy store" powered by Amazon.com. If you look over on the right hand side of the site, you'll see a few links. Clicking any of these links will take you to the actual store I've set up.

I've created my own categories of toys that I think will appeal to readers of this blog. I'll be adding new items from time to time. Right now you can find Transformers (including all the new Combiner Wars toys!), G.I. Joe, Marvel items and a small selection of KRE-O.


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Now you may be wondering why I bothered with this when there are so many other options out there, including some great retailers I've already linked to. Well my response is why not? Amazon offers a lot of good stuff, but sometimes now you don't have to navigate the whole site as you can go right to the category of Transformers you're looking for.

I've also added a few new links to some other great sites I visit time to time, such as Botch the Crab, BWTF and TFU.info.

Alright, back to work. My first Combiner Wars post is coming real soon...so stop "bugging" me. (was that a hint?)

KRE-O Transformers: Mirage

Just like Nintendo has dominated the handheld video game market LEGO has dominated the building block toy market. That doesn't mean though other companies haven't tried to duplicate LEGO's success and try to get their share. Hasbro tried getting into the building block market years ago with horrible results. Some of you may remember their Built To Rule (BTR) toys. Hasbro used both their Transformers and G.I. Joe properties, but it didn't matter as the quality was inferior to the competition. A lot of people were surprised to hear that Hasbro was taking another stab at building blocks when they announced a new line called Kre-O. I believe that is a take on the Latin word Creo which means create. Most of the sets come with small figures called Kreons and resemble LEGO mini-figures. I'm not a huge LEGO fan, but I was intrigued enough to pick up one set last weekend when I saw them at the local Toys R Us. Join me as we look at one half of the Mirage set.

First off let me say the packaging is really nice. Yeah, I know most could care less about that. The building sets come packaged in small cardboard boxes called a Kre-O Container. Once you cut the seal on the box the top lifts up to reveal the parts inside. I like how you don't have to rip open the box to get inside. There is also a little handle on the top of the box for easy transport. That shiny sticker you see in the upper right corner says the blocks are compatible with leading brands. I haven't tried Mega Blocks since I don't own any, but these blocks do work with LEGO quite well.

Some people were turned off from these when they found out you couldn't actually transform these. To get from one form to another you have to disassemble and then build the other form. To me it's not a big deal as part of the fun and charm of these sets is the actual construction. They do take a little bit of time to build so I don't see myself going back and forth a lot.

Once you open up the box and lift the lid you'll find a few things. First off there are 3 bags of building blocks, 2 bags for the Kreon figures and a sticker sheet. Yes, just like with the recent trend with LEGO there are small stickers to apply to certain blocks. Blah.

 

I am happy to report that the instruction booklet is in full color and is easy to decipher once you start to build whatever form you choose. The booklet is rather thick as well.

With my busy schedule I've only had the time to build Mirage's vehicle mode...which I might add is quite impressive. If I had a G1 Mirage toy I'd provide some comparison pictures...but that is one G1 toy that I've (sadly) never owned. All of the pieces hold together really well and the vehicle has a very solid feel. The tires are a nice smooth rubber and once assembled roll freely on a smooth surface. They also appear to stick to the surface ever so slightly like real racing tires. My only gripe here are the stickers. Some of them look down right cheesy. The font is also really lame. At least you don't have to apply the stickers. The "26" sticker on the sides and nose of the vehicle look good, but the rest I could've down without. The large Autobot symbol sticker is applied to a curved piece which is never a good idea. It is hard to get the sticker on the block without it starting to wrinkle. If any block were to have the design stamped/painted on it should've been this piece.

Now let's take a look at the reason a lot of people are buying these sets...the Kreon figures.

It seems that most of the sets come with at least one generic human figure. In this case you get a race car driver. OK. Not the best looking mini-figure, but I guess it'll work for the vehicle mode. My complaint about this figure is the helmet doesn't fit the head/face very well. There are shades of some sort painted onto the face and as you can see in the picture the bottom of the helmet does come down quite far enough.

And finally we have the awesome little Mirage Kreon figure. What can I say about this little guy other than he is awesome?! Look at the awesome sculpt of Mirage's helmet. These figures surprisingly have a good amount of articulation. The arms/shoulders have a good range of motion as do the legs. The construction of the figures are nearly identical to that of the LEGO mini-figures.

I had more pictures to share, but for whatever reason Photobucket wouldn't let me upload the edited photos I have so I omitted several. I'll also apologize for the crappy quality of some of the pictures as I was having trouble with settings on the camera. That said I think Hasbro has finally figured out the whole building block thing. Rumor has it that Hasbro paid a good amount of money to a LEGO employee(s) to oversee their Kre-O line to make sure it wasn't a second coming of Built to Rule. I do plan on building the robot mode at some point in the near future. I tried to get a good close up of the robot head, but I wasn't able to. I wanted to show off how awesome the head sculpt was. I compared it to my Classics Mirage action figure and the sculpts are very close to one another.

If you are a fan of building block kits and like Transformers in any form then I think you may enjoy these. At this point I only have this set and one other (Jazz), but I plan on picking up a few of the others. I won't lie when I say that I wish Hasbro would take a cue from LEGO and Mega Blocks and blind package the awesome Kreon figures since that seems to be the main draw for a lot of people. Perhaps one day we'll see that happen, but for now I'll enjoy building the various Transformer sets.