General Information:
Release Date: September 2023
Price Point: $35 (Not MSRP but rather the price I paid plus shipping)
Retailer: Limited Release in China
Accessories: Drill
Background:
In 2017, Hasbro's Allspark Productions and China Central Television announced a partnership to develop an animated Transformers program for the Chinese market. The Transformers brand would cross over with a character from Chinese Mythology, Nezha! For those unfamiliar, Nezha is a character who appears frequently in Chinese Mythology, often as a warrior. Similar to modern day comic book characters, he has come into conflict with both good guys and bad guys, but for the most part he is on the side of good in his media portrayals. In 2019 a trailer was released which you can check out below:
Since the release of the trailer above, a fan has uploaded all the episodes of this show onto Youtube if you want to check them out.
In November 2019 Transformers, there was further word about actual toys for this line trickled online with a combination of LEGO style building sets and more traditional action figures. In December 2019 the Nezha Power-Up Pack was released. While this "Nezha Team Collection" set was advertised along with the Power Up Pack, it would not see release until 2023 when a supply wound up on Temu (which is where I ordered this set). At least one fan also reported online that they had someone in Taiwan order this set (but it was unclear which retailer it was ordered from). This fairly odd distribution has led to this being one of the rarer pieces in my collection. As I wrote this review I checked ebay and saw only one in box set going for $150 USD!
Packaging:
This set is packaged in a rectangular box with a flap at the top. Transformers do not generally use this style of box anymore so it is really kind of a bit of a nostalgia trip to look at this kind of box again. The box features artwork of the three characters on the flap with the Nezha: Transformers logo over them. The packaging is largely based off the Cyberverse boxes featuring a yellow background. The vertical Transformers logo is on the right and under each figure is their name. The figures all sit in a tray and can be seen through a plastic window. The back of the box features all three characters in both modes calling out their transformation steps (8 for Lei Zhenzi, 9 for Nezha and 9 for Tu Xingsun). Below them is a cross-sell for the Nezha Power-Up Pack. I also have to comment on the quality of the cardboard used for this set. The cardboard is thick compared to the cardboard used on Transformers nowadays. To get cardboard of this quality nowadays you have to get a Leader Class figure or above. It's nice to be reminded that once upon a time it was standard.
Lei Zhenzi (sometimes spelled as one word "Leizhenzi") is a Chinese Thunder God from the 16th Century Chinese Novel The Investiture of the Gods. He was described as a being with wings and a face of a supernatural creature.
Robot Mode:
In the Nezha Transformers cartoon Lei Zhenzi is a supernatural being but like Nezha and Tu Xingsun he has the ability to take on a Cybertronian form. This figure is about 4.25 inches tall (about 10.79 cm). If I were to designate a class to this figure I would call it almost a Legends Class circa 2018 like Tailgate. I say "almost" because it does not quite have the same level of complexity and the deco is relatively plain.
Lei Zhenzi a very standard looking Cybertronian with a car mode. His car wheels are visible on his ankles and his torso is formed from the front of his vehicle mode. The body is fairly generic and could have been used for many characters like Bumblebee or Knock Out. The most distinctive feature is the head sculpt, featuring a helmet section with spikey "hair" like details and the forehead has insect antennae sculpted into it. This comes from the design of the character in the Nezha animated series. You can see an image of the design here.
This figure is mostly made up of black and green plastic. These colors come right from the animated series where Lei Zhenzi wears black and green clothing. The top of the head is painted dark green, the face is painted white and the eyes are blue. The antennae are painted yellow. There are more colors on the arms and back, but I'll go more into them in the vehicle mode review. Thing is, the figure looks really plain. The torso, waist and legs are unpainted so he looks unfinished. The animated design had some dark green designs on his clothing that would have been nice to see here.
There are fourteen points of articulation in this mode. I am really being generous here as I'm counting a transformation hinge at the shoulders as articulation. Many of these points are ball joints, allowing a good range of motion. I'm also including panels on the back that swing out to form wings. Wings are a crucial part of Lei Zhenzi's design in both the Nezha cartoon and in The Investiture of the Gods. It was nice to see a story oriented design element worked into the figure's design. While he does not include weaponry, the fists are designed to accommodate weapons with 3mm pegs.
Transformation to Vehicle Mode:
- Straighten out the arms and legs.
- Push the wings in if deployed.
- Swing each foot up.
- Push the lower legs together.
- Push the head back.
- Swing the back up so it lines up with the torso piece.
- Swing the car's cabin section and hood piece back and connect it to the lower legs.
- Rotate the forearms around so the doors face inward.
- Raise the arms up.
- Swing the arms down to form the sides of the car.
Vehicle Mode:
Lei Zhenzi's vehicle mode is a very modern looking sports car. The front end has raised sections on the sides which curve down towards the headlights. The cabin section features a curved windshield that wraps around to the sides. This leads to a rear section with raised sections that could be interpreted as a spoiler. Overall the car looks very cool.
Most of the vehicle is the light green color seen in robot mode. The windshield is painted grey. The sides and the top of the vehicle have a shiny dark green color painted on. This color is inspired by a symbol on the animation model's clothing. I appreciate these extra colors in this mode, but again I wish there were more colors. For instance, it would have been nice to see the headlights and/or rear lights and grille painted.
The vehicle rolls on four wheels but they are rather low so I worry a bit about scraping robot mode bits on the bottom of the vehicle so be careful.
Nezha is the only figure in this set that had a previous toy. You can read my Nezha Power-Up Pack review to see my thoughts on that figure. This smaller figure is a simplified and smaller version of the Power-Up Pack figure.
Robot Mode:
Nezha measures about 4 inches tall (about 10.16 cm). Nezha carries over a lot of the details from the Power-Up Pack figure. These include:
- The head design is based on the animation model for Nezha including a distinctive "helmet" section with designs based on Nezha's hair and a very human looking face.
- The arms feature headlights on the shoulder armor.
- The Chest features car details on it including the vehicle's grille.
- The waist area features a Lotus symbol in the middle and sections that look like parts of an armor skirt.
- The legs are formed by the rear half of the vehicle mode.
Overall I really like the sculpt for this figure. The layers of armor look great and he has some great detailing.
This figure is made up of red and flesh toned plastic. These colors make it look like a flesh and blood humanoid wearing a suit of armor and I really dig that visual effect. Paint colors on the figure include yellow, black, purple, flesh tone and blue. A lot of the paint details are found on the head and torso. Yellow is used a lot to provide fine detailing such as the grille and "belt" area. The face is painted with the flesh tone and the eyes are "Autobot" blue. The thighs are painted purple, matching up with the larger "Power-Up" figure. This deco is not perfect (the lower legs are unpainted) but it is far better than Lei Zhenzi's and carries over a lot of design elements from the larger "Power-Up" figure. Nezha looks fantastic in this mode.
There are thirteen points of articulation in this mode. This includes three in each arm and leg. There is no waist articulation, but given the size of the figure and design that is not a surprise. The shoulders, elbows and hips are ball joints so there is a good range of articulation. There are no weapons included for Nezha but the fists can fit weapons with 3mm pegs.
Transformation to Vehicle Mode:
- Straighten out the arms and legs.
- Swing the shoulder armor up.
- Point the feet down.
- Push the lower legs together.
- On the back, swing up the hood panel.
- Push the arms in, tabbing the front sections (the top of the shoulder armor pieces) to the hood piece.
- Swing the section with the windshield forward a bit.
- Pull the lower body of the robot mode down a bit.
- Swing the rear half of the vehicle forward.
- Push the windshield section down over the feet.
Vehicle Mode:
Nezha's vehicle mode looks like it was inspired by a luxury car such as a Bentley, specifically the ones that came out around the 2011 era. This is the same vehicle mode the "Power-Up" version of the character had which includes some wonderful detailing like the high grille, long end and Lotus details on the sides of the wheels. He even has some vertical line details sculpted into the doors. These are painted on the larger figure but unpainted here, yet they still included them which I love.
Yellow and black are used for detailing in this mode. Yellow paint is used on the grille, a symbol on the hood and the "lightning" designs on each wheel well. Black is used for the windshield and side windows. Unfortunately the rear window and headlights are unpainted which leaves him looking slightly unfinished, sure but I still think the deco looks great especially when compared to Lei Zhenzi.
This vehicle rolls on all four wheels and they are set a bit higher than Lei Zhenzi so I have less concerns about any scraping on the ground.
Tu Xingsun is a disciple of one of the Twelve Golden Immortals in The Investiture of the Gods. He was described as being short in stature but highly skilled. He was also said to be a master of the Earth tunneling technique. All of this is factored into the design of this figure.
Robot Mode:
Tu Xingsun measures about 4 inches tall (about 10.16 cm). The design of this sculpt is heavily based on Tu Xingsun's animated appearance which you ca see here. These details include:
- The head features a distinct "helmet" section with a crest in the middle and two points sticking out at angles. The crest is a callback to his hair style in the show and the angled points on the side are references to his elf-like ears. Over his eyes are long, thin eyebrows that also come from the animation model.
- The torso design has two points at the top and lead down to sections that look like a belt holding armor pieces up on the sides. The points at the top of the chest are a direct reference to the outfit he wears in the show. The middle of the belt has a design on it that looks like a stylized Ant Eater! Why? My guess is it is because Ant Eaters are excellent diggers and that calls back to his ability to move through the Earth.
- The legs are relatively short and stocky compared to the rest of the body. This is a reference to Tu Xingsun's relatively short height in the cartoon.
Overall the sculpt on this figure is fantastic. I love the Chinese armor design and the callbacks to the animation model are fantastic.
Interestingly, unlike Lei Zhenzi and Nezha, Tu Xingsun's colors seem to have nothing to do with his animation model. While the animation model features green and brown colors (appropriate for someone known for transporting through the Earth) this figure uses yellow and grey plastic. The yellow is a really nice, deep shade and the grey is light grey. Paint colors include gold, red, white and blue. The gold and red are used for detailing the edges of the "armor" details and the sides of his arms. The face is painted white and his eyes are painted blue. His drill accessory is made of silver plastic. Overall this deco really looks nice. I would have liked some detailing on the legs and maybe on the ant eater symbol but that's about it.
There are nine points of articulation on this figure. That includes two on each arm and leg. The arms have ball joints at the shoulders and elbows while the legs have ball joints at the hips and knees. Tu Xingsun is the only figure that comes with a weapon: a drill. This piece slides over either of the fists. Each fist has 3mm ports if you have any weapons from smaller Transformers figures lying around.
Transformation to Vehicle Mode:
- Detach the drill and set it aside for now.
- Straighten out the arms and legs.
- Swing the shoulder armor pieces down.
- Rotate the forearms outward.
- Swing the arms in over the torso and connect them together.
- Rotate the lower legs around.
- Push the lower legs together.
- Swing the legs up.
- Swing the tank treads up.
- Attach the drill to the front of the vehicle.
Vehicle Mode:
Tu Xingsun's vehicle mode is a drill tank. Given his ability to travel through the Earth and the fact that do not see a lot of this alt-mode a lot in the Transformers toy line, this is a fantastic choice. The vehicle looks cool with a giant drill in front, angled treads on the sides and even a section designed to look like a cockpit on top! I also love the curved look of the middle section as it adds a layer of sleekness to the design.
This mode is mostly yellow with grey treads. The cockpit section is painted black and the drill is of course silver. I do wish there was at least one more paint detail on the top or sides of the vehicle.
The treads do not have any wheels in them so don't go trying to "roll" this guy around.
Final Thoughts:
The Nezha Transformers series and toys were among some of the most interesting blips on the Transformers radar. They came out of nowhere and disappeared very quickly. That makes this set rather rare and I am really glad it is part of my collection. That said, the figures are not exactly the most complex and the quality of their deco varies from figure to figure. I also cannot recommend fans go spending $150+ on this unless you are a serious completist. If this set was more common, I would definitely recommend it for fans who are into the more unusual corners of the Transformers toy line.
Pros:
- A very unusual crossover focusing on a popular aspect of Chinese culture.
- Each design is very unique and I love the details inspired by the cartoon.
- Nezha and Tu Xingsun both have nice deco patterns.
- I appreciate each character having designs that call back to their mythical source material.
Cons:
- I would have really liked it if each figure had an accessory/weapon.
- Lei Zhenzi really needs more deco.
- Not easy to find on the secondary market.
