General Information:
Release Date: November 2016
Price Point: $129.99 (suggested retail)
Retailer: Entertainment Earth Exclusive
Accessories: Hand/Foot/Weapons x 4; Swords x 2 (Dezarus); Drill (Drillhorn); Blasters x 2 (Fellbat); Blasters x 2 (Guyhawk) & Cannon (Ironbison)
Official photos provided by Hasbro during San Diego Comic-Con 2016. Official in box photo from Entertainment Earth.
Disclosure: Entertainment Earth was cool enough to provide Ben's World of Transformers with a sample of this boxed set for this review. BWTF thanks Entertainment Earth for their kind consideration. You can purchase your Liokaiser and support BWTF via this link. For a limited time after this review is being posted (November 2016) use coupon code SINGLES to take $20 off your purchase!
Official Text from Entertainment Earth:
Boxed set includes 6 Decepticons who merge to declare victory over the Autobots as the mighty Liokaiser! Tanks, jets, and space shuttle form robots and dinobird as the most awesome Generation One-era toys from Japan you never knew you missed! Platinum Edtion set features an awesome box, poster, and trading card. Behold the mighty Liokaiser! The Destrons are a foul group of criminals and convicts that also happens to be one of the most elite strike teams in the galaxy. Together, they become Liokaiser, a Combiner whose sheer power is rivaled only by his penchant for evil.
Transformers Generations Platinum Edition sets feature figures with a high level of detail, plus premium features and packaging. These sets highlight some of the most memorable scenes, powerful warriors, and epic storylines in the Transformers universe. This 7-in-1 Liokaiser collection pack celebrates the Combiner Wars. In the Combiner Wars, teams of Autobots and Decepticons combine to form giant super robots and battle with the fate of worlds in the balance.
Join the battle and build a Combiner super robot with this Combiner Wars Liokaiser Collection Pack! Get 6 Destron figures that combine to form a Liokaiser Combiner figure in this 1 Platinum Edition set. The Voyager Class Dezarus figure forms the torso of the Liokaiser Combiner figure; the Deluxe Class Guyhawk, Drillhorn, Ironbison, and Fellbat figures form the arms and legs; and the Legends Class Ion Scythe figure becomes a Combiner weapon.
The Combiner Wars universal connection system means these figures work with other Combiner Wars figures! Combine the Dezarus figure with other Deluxe Class Combiner Wars figures or combine the Guyhawk, Drillhorn, Ironbison, and Fellbat figures with other Combiner Wars Voyager Class figures to build more Combiner super-robot figures! (Additional figures are each sold separately.) The pack also includes 12 accessories, a Combiner Wars poster, and a collectible Liokaiser character card.
Imagine it is the latter part of the 1980's. "Transformers", once one of the hottest toy brands around has begun to fade. In North America, the toy line has become dominated by Pretenders and Micromasters but other than a comic book, there is very little media to support it. It is a particularly disconcerting part of Transformers history, especially for a fan like me who grew up with the original line.
Now, imagine you suddenly learn that there is a whole other universe of Transformers overseas you did not know about. Even more amazing? There are cartoons and characters and toys you did not know about! That was the experience of learning about the Japanese Transformers shows such as "Victory". For a long time, the pure elation and mystery behind the Japanese Transformers have helped create a mystique around Transformers toys that continue to this day. Even in an era where Japanese characters such as Sky Shadow are acknowledged in the "Generations" line, direct references to these Japanese Transformers are uncommon in the line.
Enter: Liokaiser! Originally confirmed at Botcon 2016 (somewhat by accident) this set was officially revealed at San Diego Comic-Con 2016. Who is Liokaiser you might ask? Liokaiser is a Combiner giant formed by the six members of the Destron (aka Decepticon) "Breastforce". The team was named this due to the ability of their chest panels to pop out and form small animal robots. This set only came out in Japan and was never reissued (though four of its members were reworked as Autobots in Europe). To this day the original Liokaiser remains a highly sought after figure by collectors.
For fans not looking to spend thousands of dollars on Liokaiser, Hasbro has created a Platinum Edition boxed set based on the Generation One Breastforce! Using "Combiner Wars" sculpts, this set brings these (former) Japanese exclusive characters into the modern age.
Packaging:
Liokaiser is packaged in a box that is similar in style to other boxed sets such as G2 Superion and Victorion. The box is a large rectangular box with dramatic box art in front featuring Liokaiser combined fighting smaller Transformers. If you are facing the box the right side has a vertical "Transformers" logo on it with the "Generations" logo above it. On the other side is a note about the poster included inside and photos of each team member in vehicle and weapon modes. Below that is the "Combiner Wars" logo with the name "Liokaiser" under it.
That isn't all however. Under Liokaiser's name is a silver reflective strip over a purple one indicating this is a Platinum Edition release. This is likely due to the extra weapons and retooling involved in the creation of this set. Another interesting note: above the photos of the team members is the term "Destrons", indicating the team name for this Combiner. The term "Destron" was used in Japan for many years to refer to the Decepticons and has been acknowledged a few times outside Japan, but it is still relatively uncommon.
The back of the packaging features a grey background with a grid on it. Overlapping that are photos of the individual team members on the side and the combined Liokaiser in the middle. Above that is the following text: The DESTRONS are a foul group of criminals and convincts that also happens to be one of the most elite strike teams in the galaxy. Together, they become LIOKAISER, a Combiner whose sheer power is rivaled only by his penchant for evil.
Ion Scythe is a new character included with this set as a bit of an "extra" that pays homage to the "animal partners" of the G1 version of this team. Ion Scythe is a redeco of Gul from the Arms Micron line in Japan.
Beast Mode:
Gul is a robotic bird in beast mode. He features a large, single eye in front, blade like wings and "tail feathers" in the back. He has one solid piece that forms both feet. There are some nice details sculpted into this figure but they are not overdone. Keep in mind this figure was originally released as an accessory to Starscream, not a standalone release.
Ion Scythe is cast in dark, metallic blue plastic. This is similar to his original look from the "Arms Micron" look. Even better? There are several tampographed details on the wings and head featuring silver and red colors. These tampographs are actually based on the stickers included with Gul. I much prefer the tampographs over stickers since they won't peel off. Ion Scythe features a "crystal" on the left wing with a Decepticon symbol tampographed on top of it. Overall the deco looks great, especially the way the silver on the wings contrasts against the metallic blue. I was also surprised to see just how much it matches the original Gul figure.
When this figure was originally released as part of the "Arms Micron" line it was basically a small model kit that came with Starscream. Thankfully the figure comes fully assembled. Each wing has two 5mm ports on the bottom, allowing you to attach additional weapons in this form.
Transformation to Weapon Mode:
- Swing the tail feathers forward.
- Swing the feet up.
- Swing the wings back.
- Swing the beast mode head up so the 5mm peg points down.
Weapon Mode:
Ion Scythe's weapon mode is a two pronged blade weapon. On one side of the blades are four 5mm ports that allow you to attach additional weapons. Since Dezarus' sword weapons have pegs on the sides, they are ideal for this. Attaching them to Ion Scythe extends the sword blade, and of course you can keep piling weapons on top since many have 5mm ports and pegs. This actually keeps with the spirit of the original play pattern from the "Arms Micron" series.
Final Thoughts:
Ion Scythe is basically an accessory in this set, but he's a welcome one. He helps pay homage to the small "animal partners" that came with the G1 Liokaiser team and he also gives the team another weapon to wield.
