General Information
Release Date: June 2026
Price Point: $299.99 (Part of the Liokaiser HasLab)
Retailer: Hasbro Pulse Exclusive (US)
Accessories: "Bat Chest Animal" Partner (aka Kōmoribreast)
Official images and text in italics are from Amazon.com:
From the abyssal darkness of the Death Zone, the elite combat team known as the Chest-force emerged. Consisting of six powerful Decepticon bots—Leozak, Gaihawk, Ellbat, Jaruga, Killbison, and Drillhorn—the Chest-force is determined to aid Deathsaurus in his bid to defeat Star Saber and the Autobots. The Chest-force comes together to form the gestalt Liokaiser, a vicious combiner bot with the power of invisibility.
Devoted fans banded together to fund Victory Saber and Deathsaurus figures* through previous HasLab projects; now, the saga of Transformers: Victory, the Japanese anime G1 spinoff, continues: Powerful, merciless, and near-unstoppable, the Liokaiser Combiner is the next HasLab project.
- Premium 12-inch Liokaiser combiner figure inspired by the Japanese anime, Transformers: Victory.
- Separates into 6 Voyager-scale, 5.5-inch (14 cm) converting Chest-force figures, each with a removable Chest Animal that converts into a weapon accessory
- Initial offering includes six 5.5-inch figures and 6 accessories.
Background:
In 1989 the Transformers Victory series introduced the world to the Breastforce (yes, you read that right). This team of Destron (aka Decepticon) warriors each had a feature where their chests could detach and transform into an animal-based partner or a weapon. When this team really needed some serious power, they could combine into the powerful Liokaiser! As a follow up to Victory Saber and Deathsaurus, Hasbro chose these characters for 2025's HasLab. The team was given a slightly less awkward name: Chest-force (still a bit awkward, but hey). This set and all the stretch goals were fully funded and in June 2026 fans began to receive their sets.
One of the members of the Chestforce team is Hellbat who transforms into a jet fighter. In a move likely intended to prevent any potential controversy, the original name of the character was changed to "Ellbat". This would be the second time Hasbro has renamed the character. Back in 2016 the Combiner Wars version of the character was renamed to "Fellbat". Ellbat is partnered with the Bat Chest Animal (originally named "Kōmoribreast" in Japan), a bat themed partner who can transform into chest armor or a weapon.
Packaging:
Liokaiser is packaged in a giant box with some gorgeous artwork, but rather than me writing a ton about it check out my unboxing video below!
Accessories:
Ellbat's accessory is the Bat Chest Animal. This little guy features some nicely sculpted bat-inspired details including wings with points at the bottom, clawed feet and a head that has large bat-ears and a face with one heck of an underbite with fangs sticking out. The design reminds me a bit of the design of the creature in the classic film "Nosferatu" which would be more than appropriate.
This figure is made of light grey plastic. Paint applications are done in blue, red and purple. Blue is used for hinges on the wings and the area above he legs. Red is used to paint the eyes and a purple Decepticon symbol is on the back of the left wing.
There are three points of articulation on this figure: the wings and the head. I was very happy to see the head is able to move up and down instead of just being molded into the main body. Swing the wings in, push the head against the body and you can use the 5mm port on the back of the head to attach him to Ellbat as chest armor. If you want to make him a weapon, extend his barrel out (behind the legs) and he can be held in one of Ellbat's hands.
There is one additional weapon he can use, but it is not specific to Ellbat. The set comes with several spears that you assemble using the staff, a pointed end and a spiked, round piece for the middle. These are 5mm so they can fit in the fists of each team member. You need to remove the spiked, round piece if you want to fit the spear handle into both hands but just put it back on before you connect the second hand.
Vehicle Mode:
Like his G1 counterpart, Ellbat's vehicle mode is based on the Dassault Rafale fighter jet. This sculpt features many design elements that come from the Dassault Rafale including:
- The cockpit section features a horizontal fin on either side of the cockpit area.
- The rear section features a single vertical stabilizer fin complete with a horizontal section towards the top which is actually the antenna on the real life vehicle.
- The wings start right behind the cockpit section and angle out until they reach the back section. On the side of each wing is a missile.
- The rear features a single afterburner nozzle.
For licensing purposes this is not an exact reproduction of the real life jet. The bottom section contains most of the vehicle mode bits including the air intakes on his shoulders. The real life vehicle does not feature any of these parts (of course).
Ellbat is made of blue, light grey and black plastic. The blue makes up most of the body with light grey forming the wings and some of the joints (like the hinge behind the cockpit section). Paint colors include red, yellow and light grey. There is a lot of paint in this mode. The cockpit windows are painted red and the wings have a lot of yellow paint on them (emulating the character's G1 stickers). On top of the yellow are two large Decepticon symbols in purple with silver outlines. The sides of the vertical fin are painted light grey. I love how dramatic the wings look and I appreciate them paying homage to the original figure.
Ellbat has two 5mm ports in this mode on the arms. These are under the wings and allow you to attach extra weapons.
Transformation to Robot Mode:
- Split the vertical stabilizer fin in half and swing the halves down.
- Swing the cockpit section back.
- Swing the wings up.
- Turn the robot head around.
- Swing the arms out.
- Swing the fists out from the forearms.
- Swing the robot feet up.
- Swing the upper body back a bit, detaching the panel with the wings on it from the waist/leg area.
- Split the rear section to separate the two lower legs from one another.
- Swing the left leg down over the Liokaiser fist.
- On the right leg, open up the panel on the inside, pull the lower leg down and then push the panel back in place.
Robot Mode:
Ellbat's design is based on his G1 appearance leaning towards his animation model from Victory. His silhouette is very similar to the animation model featuring a body largely made up of rectangles and squares but the angled air intakes on top of his shoulders and the wings on his back add a dramatic flourish to his appearance. My favorite sculpted detail is his head which features a round "helmet" section that has small "bat wings" sticking out on the sides and a mouthplate that makes him look a extra mysterious. When his Bat Animal is attached to his chest it really adds another "bat themed" detail that enhances his appearance.
The colors from the vehicle mode carry over to this form. The light grey parts help break up the blue color on parts like the thighs and chest. The yellow and light grey paint colors are used on parts like the knees and elbow areas respectively. Red is used for the eyes and details on the "helmet". I do prefer having his Chest Animal attached as it adds some color and a Decepticon symbol on his chest.
There are twenty two points of articulation in this mode including five on each arm and leg. If you want to be generous you can count the ability of the figure to seemingly "bend" to the left side. Really this is Liokaiser's elbow joint when Ellbat is in arm mode. Ellbat features seven 5mm ports in this mode. Two are in the fists, two are on the sides of the forearms and three are on the chest. The center port on the chest is for the Bat Chest Animal to connect to while the other two are used for the weapon mode (more on that below).
Transformation to Arm Mode (from Vehicle Mode):
- Swing the top of the vehicle mode/robot mode upper body section forward, separating it from the legs.
- Swing the cockpit section back.
- Swing the wings up.
- Swing the robot head back into the cockpit section. This will raise up the shoulder connection piece.
- Split the vertical fin and flatten them out.
- Split the legs from each other, swing out Liokaiser's fist and then push them back together.
- Swing the air vents on the shoulders back.
- Rotate the lower body and fist as needed depending on which arm you want Ellbat to form.
Arm Mode:
Ellbat's arm mode design is largely based on the design of the G1 Hellbat's arm mode. Like that version the wings from the vehicle mode stick up and the rear of the vehicle mode forms the forearm with the vertical fin on the side. I love how the triangular shape of the wings adds a level of sleekness to Liokaiser's otherwise bulky form.
This mode has seven points of articulation including the elbow and the ability fore the forearm to swivel in and out. The fist has wrist rotation and four hinges for the fingers. Of course, it also has a 5mm port.
Transformation to Weapon Mode (from Vehicle Mode):
- Swing the cockpit section back.
- Swing the wings up.
- Attach Ellbat as a shoulder cannon using the 5mm ports on the robot mode chest.
Weapon Mode:
This is an undocumented mode that is not mentioned in the instructions, however it makes a lot of sense thematically. Ellbat is considered one of the "main" Liokaiser team members, but at one time he had a rival: Deathcobra. Deathcobra can form a shoulder cannon for Liokaiser, so it makes sense that his rival can do the same! Unlike Deathcobra, Ellbat does not have enough ports to attach all the Chest Animals but you can attach a couple to the robot arms while the rest are distributed on Liokaiser himself.
Final Thoughts:
Ellbat is a fantastic update of the character. Both modes look cool, his deco looks good and his articulation is great. I also appreciate the addition of the (undocumented) weapon mode for Liokaiser.
Pros:
- Excellent sculpt that nods to the G1 Hellbat and Combiner Wars Fellbat.
- Good deco.
- Good articulation.
- The Bat partner is nicely done with more colors and articulation than the original.
- The Weapon Mode is a fun bonus.
Cons:
- It would have been cool if the Weapon Mode could have held all the Chest Animals but given it was an undocumented mode I won't hold it against the figure too much.
