Transformers Micron Densetsu: Zephyr Blade Micron X-Dimension MM-07

When Hasbro and Takara first introduced the concept of Mini-Cons and the small toys themselves, who knew they would be so popular with fans and yield so many toys and so many variations? In Japan as part of the Micron Densetsu series, the same teams of Mini-Cons released by Hasbro in the Armada series saw release. These Microns teams in Japan also had smaller production runs of variants called X-Dimension teams, as you can see below w/ the Zephyr Blade team.

In the manga fiction, X-Dimension was a universe that was composed of extreme radiation and flames. This was also the home of these teams of X-Dimension Microns.

The Air Defense Team was one of the first Mini-Con teams that I was exposed to and I immediately loved them. 1) They are jets, 2) They have good robot forms and 3) They form the Star Saber! Once I realized that these toys had been given a new color scheme I knew I had to have them. Thankfully at the time I acquired them they weren't that hard to find. If you are looking for them now, well it may be a different story when it comes to their availability and price.

The new red and orange plastic mixed with translucent plastic and white trim makes these toys look fantastic. As you can see they still form a weapon, but instead of the Star Saber, they now form the Pyro Saber.

The molds themselves haven't been changed, so if you are familiar w/ the Armada versions then you know what you are getting here...which isn't a bad thing. Individually these are some of the best Microns in my opinion, which says something since the while combining element had to be worked in.

Mach's alternate form is that of a Concord like airplane. He forms the center of the Pyro Saber. The nice thing about the majority of the plane bits being cast in translucent plastic is it makes it hard to see the connector that hands down on his back. Normally this is easier to see hanging down between his legs and in my opinion detracts from the overlook of the robot.

Jetter's alternate form is some form of jet. It may be modeled after a real world jet, I don't know. Jetter forms the blade of the Pyro Saber. He has small feet, but you can leave the front part of the jet folded down for an extra "leg" for added stability. I like the robot form, but with the translucent chest it almost looks like his arms, legs and head are just sitting there no attached to anything!

Shuttler is perhaps my least favorite of the 3 Microns. His alternate form is a space shuttle. This form has always reminded me of the space craft from G.I. Joe. Shuttler forms the hilt of the Pyro Blade. No matter which version of this particular toy I've held in my hands, his legs always seem floppy. Perhaps this is a side effect of the transformation into the combined Saber form? It's got a great looking robot mode, just needs a little tweaking in the legs.

Collectively this is one of the best Mini-Con / Micron teams. Individually they are great toys and the combined Saber form is still pretty cool after all these years. The new orange and red color scheme looks fantastic and are probably my favorite variation of this set. Believe or it not but this set has been used several times (Armada, Armada Air Assault, Micron Densetsu, Micron Densetsu X-Dimension, Micron Densetsu Micron Booster, Micron Densetsu CD Single and Micron Densetsu Kabaya Change Micron). At one time I owned every version and they all made for quite the display in their combined Saber forms.

As you can see the Pyro Saber looks fantastic! Sadly I didn't have any of the other teams available for comparison pics. Right around the time I took these pictures I was in the process of packing up and selling 90% of my Mini-Con / Micron collection to TransformerLand. I was tempted to keep this set for my own, but then I'd want to keep the other sets and the whole purpose of selling them was to create some money and free up space. Trying to display tons of Mini-Cons and Microns isn't an easy thing to do! The unified color scheme is great and makes this version stand out over all of the other versions.

This is a fantastic set and one of the better X-Dimension sets if you can find it. I don't know how many were made, but this seems to be one of the harder sets to find. It's absolutely beautiful and sought after by many Mini-Con / Micron collectors. Pick it up if you ever have the opportunity.

Transformers Micron Densetsu: Heavy Machinery Micron X-Dimension MM-09

Transformers Armada (or Micron Densetsu in Japan) ushered in a new faction of Transformers, Mini-Cons / Microns. These became highly collectible for many collectors, such as myself. Takara really capitalized on this by releasing Microns in an assortment of colors. Some of the first repaints came in the form of X-Dimension teams. Take for example the new Heavy Machinery Micron team.

The Destruction Team was never one of my favorite teams, but at least the new color scheme Takara gave the X-Dimension team was huge upgrade over their Armada versions. The Micron teams came packaged on blister cards, however I tossed the bubble in an effort to conserve space. The entire packaging was re-used from the stand Destruction Team. I'm assuming this was a cost cutting measure used by Takara as the toy images on the back of the card are of the original team.

From Left to Right: Wheel, Duster, Crush

Of these three, I only ever cared for Crush. In vehicle form the trio isn't too bad. Each of them have gears with a rubber banded wheel that when rolled, activates an action feature of sorts. Wheel's bladed wheel spins, Duster's cannons alternate back and forth moving forward; while Crush's drill spins.

These features can also be activated when attached to certain larger Unicron Trilogy era Transformers.

Wheel leaves a lot to be desired in robot mode. I don't know if it's his big bulky arms, or his wide square shaped crotch, but I just don't care for Wheel in general.

Duster looks a bit better in robot mode than Wheel.On his chest you can see the aforementioned gear and wheel that activates his pomp pomp gun feature. Duster looks more beefy and filled out.  I would think he would be more of a formidable foe in battle.

Crush is one of my favorite Microns of all time. At one time I had all but one of this mold's variants. Personally I love the big drill on his arm.  I don't often like my Transformers to have something other than a hand attached, but in this case the drill works. My only nitpick I have with this mold is the other arm. It's tinier than a T-Rex's arm! Crush also sports a cool rounded shape head...reminds me of G1 Cosmos a bit.

If you are a Mini-Con / Micron collector then I'm sure you have these guys already in your collection. They aren't super rare or expensive, yet look great in any collection.