General Information
Release Date: June 2026
Price Point: $299.99 (Part of the Liokaiser HasLab)
Retailer: Hasbro Pulse Exclusive (US)
Accessories: "Hawk Chest Animal" Partner
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:
Gaihawk's partner is officially known as "Hawk Chest Animal" but in the Victory series he was known as "Hawkbreast". His design is reminiscent of G1 Laserbeak, complete with sharp angles on his wings, body and tail. Like his G1 counterpart he is basically flat which makes sense since he has to form both a chest plate and shield. He also can form a blaster if you fold his wings and head in. He has one 5mm peg under his head in beast mode. This figure has three points of articulation: the wings and head (I'm being generous by including the head). His blaster barrels both have points to fit Blast Effects.
"Hawkbreast" is made of black, grey and pink plastic which color coordinates him with Gaihawk himself. He has pink paint on his wings and a Decepticon symbol on the right wing. This does not really show in beast mode since it's on the bottom. Instead it is meant to show in his chest plate mode.
There is one additional weapon he can use, but it is not specific to Gaihawk. 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:
Gaihawk's vehicle mode is based off the real life Mikoyan MiG-29. Like the real life jet, this vehicle mode features a cockpit/nosecone section with curved sections on either side. The wings angle back and it features two vertical stabilizer fins and two horizontal stabilizer fins. The back features two afterburners. The top area features some detailing but the actual afterburners are on the back and sculpted very close to one another.
Unlike Gaihawk's G1 or Combiner Wars counterparts, this vehicle mode features two vents on either side of the cockpit section. The Combiner Wars version had some vents but they angled back in a very sleek fashion. These are a bit bulkier and stick out more, very similar to Ellbat.
This figure is made up of pink, light grey and black plastic. Paint colors include yellow, orange, black and purple. The wings are painted yellow in the middle with purple Decepticon symbols on top. The cockpit "glass" is colored orange and the top edge of the afterburners are painted black. There is not a ton of paint detail on this figure but that's actually fairly accurate to the cartoon model and G1 action figure. The pink color is very unusual for a Transformers figure so this mode really stands out.
There are two 5mm ports on the sides of the arms under the wings. Technically there are additional ports on the robot chest too but generally if you have Hawkbreast attached those will be covered up. Gaihawk also features landing gear which can be manually swung down from underneath the cockpit.
Transformation to Robot Mode:
- Swing the horizontal stabilizer fins up.
- 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 right leg down over the Liokaiser fist.
- On the left leg, open up the panel on the inside, pull the lower leg down and then push the panel back in place.
Robot Mode:
Much like Ellbat, Gaihawk's design is based on his G1 animated appearance 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. His head features a round "helmet" section that has a beak-like design on top. Like the cartoon, his eyes are rounded visors with a nose and mouth. Hawkbreast forms his chest armor. With the wings and head folded in, several angles come together to create a really sleek and cool looking pattern.
The colors from the vehicle mode carry over into this mode but we get a lot more pink distributed to parts like the arms and legs. The light grey is used to break it up on bits like the elbows and thighs. Paint colors include yellow, red, light grey and black. The yellow is used on the helmet and knees. Red is used for his eyes and light grey is found on the face. Black paints small bits of detail on the knee armor.
There are twenty two points of articulation on this figure. This includes five on each arm and leg. While the waist does not turn, the upper body does turn at the chest if you remove Hawkbreast. There are 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 Hawkbreast 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.
- Swing the horizontal stabilizer fins up.
- 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 Gaihawk to form.
Arm Mode:
Gaihawk's arm mode design is largely based on the design of the G1 Guyhawk's arm mode. Like that version the wings from the vehicle mode stick up on the shoulders, giving Liokaiser a sleek appearance despite his bulk. The rear of the vehicle mode forms the forearm with the stabilizer fins sticking up on the forearm. That said, the animation model simplified the fins into one on each side versus the two on each side on this figure.
This mode has seven points of articulation including the elbow and the ability foe 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 Gaihawk as a shoulder cannon using the 5mm ports on the robot mode chest.
Weapon Mode:
This weapon mode is pretty much the same as Ellbat's. It is an undocumented mode, but it works and adds some play value to the set. Unlike Deathcobra, there are not enough ports to attach all the Chest Animal partners but you can connect a couple of them.
Final Thoughts:
This figure is a great modern day update of Gaihawk. Both modes look great and his deco is eye catching. Having the additional undocumented weapon mode is also fun.
Pros:
- Excellent sculpt that nods to the G1 Gaihawk.
- Good deco.
- Good articulation.
- 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.
