Tag Archives: Dark Source

#3092: Iron Wrecker 08 – Heavy Airborne Mecha (Rain Forest Operations Type)

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

IRON WRECKER 08 — HEAVY AIRBORNE MECHA (RAIN FOREST OPERATIONS TYPE)

DARK SOURCE (JOYTOY)

At the beginning of this year, I took my first stab at a new corner of the toy market, for me at least.  That corner was Joytoy, a company that specializes in all sorts of cool sci-fi mecha stuff.  I’m a fan of cool sci-fi mecha stuff, so it’s an area that certainly appeals to me.  I’d only looked at the one mecha so far, and that felt a little bit lacking, so I’ve decided to loop back around and give them a little bit more coverage.  This time around, I’m looking into their ever growing Iron Wrecker set of mechas, specifically taking a look at Iron Wrecker 08.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Iron Wrecker 08 is part of Joytoy’s Dark Source toyline, the same line that produced the previously reviewed Steel Bone figure. Each of the Iron Wreckers gets a descriptive title for their intended function.  In 08’s case, that’s “Heavy Airborne Mecha,” with a sub-class of being intented for Rain Forest operations, specifically.  Thus far, 08 is the only Heavy Airborne Mecha in the line-up, but as he’s also the newest addition to the Iron Wrecker line-up, I suppose it’s always possible there are more Heavy Airborne derivations that could show down the line.  The mech stands about 8 1/2 inches tall (roughly the same height as the Steel Bone) and, as with Steel Bone, the exact articulation count is a little tricky to nail down, due to how many of the joints are somewhat reliant on each other for proper motion on each joint.  The mobility on this particular build is honestly just a little better than Steel Bone’s, especially on the limbs.  I think it’s partially due to the exact design nature of the mech, which is a little more rounded and allows more fluid motion.  I did find that, on my copy at least, the waist joint was just a touch loose.  If it’s seated right, it’s not an issue, but right out of the box he was a little floppy.  As with the Steel Bone, there’s some assembly required on this one right out of the box, though not nearly as much this time around.  Mostly, it’s just putting a few pieces on the back, and then assembling the smaller arm.  The design of this mech is a much more bubbly looking design than the boxier and more rigid design of the Steel Bone, but still has quite a bit of a utilitarian sense about it.  It shares a good number of its design elements with the Iron Wrecker 07, which was released alongside this one.  Clearly, they’re supposed to be operating from the same starting point, but with deviations for the exact needs for the deployment.  Since this one is undoubtedly meant to be trekking around jungles and such, it’s got a lot of tactical gear mounted onto it.  There’s a couple of armaments mounted on the shoulders, as well as missiles, or artillery of some sort stored on the arms.  He’s also got an extra smaller arm at the front, presumably in case something needs to be grabbed while the two main arms are pre-occupied with the weapon.  A notable departure on this design, compared to others, is a pretty distinct “head.”  It’s a very basic thing, with what I assume to be a camera and an antenna, but it changes the eye line of the design just a little bit, and makes him a little more unique.  Since he’s meant for rain forest deployment, this mech’s color scheme is appropriately dialed in on the greens, with just a bit of yellow thrown in there for good measure.  Personally, I think it really works, but I’m also rather partial to green, so there’s that.  There are lots of really great little small details, like written warnings and small insignias, which really add to the overall design, and make it really feel like a properly manufactured piece. Compared to the Steel Bone, 08 lacks some of the extra swappable pieces, so it’s not as inherently modular.  It’s not that it lacks the amount of pieces, of course; they’re all just used in the intended build directly, rather than swapping out.  The 08 still has a few extras, though, most notably, a hefty minigun, complete with removable drum.  There’s also got a removable pack for the back, as well as a shoulder mounted gun, which includes an ammo belt.  While Steel Bone’s main weapon was assembled from base modular parts, the guns here are specifically designed that way, though they still work with the modular set-up.

Like the other Mechs in the line-up, 08 includes its own pilot for its built-in cockpit.  He stands 2 3/4 inches tall and has 32 points of articulation.  Compared to Steel Bone’s pilot, this guy is definitely a little more futuristic and sci-fi-y.  By extension, he’s not quite as generic, but it really works well with the 08’s own design.  Unlike the prior pilot, this one doesn’t get the same style of removable helmet; since the helmet sits tighter, this one’s an alternate head.  In addition to the alternate head, he also three sets of hands, two different sidearms, and a removable neckerchief.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I quite liked Steel Bone, so I’ve been scoping out other Joytoy items as they’ve arrived at All Time, just trying to find that right follow up piece for me.  There have been a few that were cool, but didn’t quite grab me.  When we got in this guy and 07, I was mighty tempted by both of them, but this guy’s color scheme and armament set-up really spoke to me, as did his overall design aesthetic.  It was enough to finally get me on board with another one of these.  I’m glad I took the plunge on this one.  As much as I liked Steel Bone, I think I like this guy more.  It takes a solid starting point, and just builds an even more advanced design on it, and it’s a ton of fun.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#3001: Steel Bone HO2 Firepower Mecha

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

STEEL BONE HO2 FIREPOWER MECHA — GRAY-GREEN

DARK SOURCE (JOYTOY)

It’s a new year, and this intro serves to cover a few bases, really.  First and foremost, faithful readers will no doubt notice that there were two days between this review and #3000.  After writing a review every day of every week for over eight years, I’ve finally arrived at the conclusion that it’s maybe a little much for me.  So, I’ll be stepping back.  Not a ton, mind you, but I’ll at least be taking weekends for the foreseeable future.  But, hey, that’s still five days a week for you guys to read my crazy ramblings, right?  With that out of the way, let’s jump into the first day of my post-Christmas reviews!

More often than not, I tend to stick to more domestic offerings, as well as generally lower-price point options.  Every so often, I do like to branch out just a little bit and try something new.  This year, that’s apparently Joytoy, a company that I was honestly not really familiar with prior to 2021, but who I’ve become rather fascinated with in the last few months.  Hey, I like a cool mecha, and they certainly have a lot of those.  So, I’m looking at my first Joytoy item today, with the Steel Bone HO2 Firepower Mecha!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Steel Bone HO2 Firepower Mecha [Gray-green] is part of Joytoy’s Dark Source toyline.  Their various different lines correlate to different themes/storylines, which are really just excuses to more cool robot designs, really.  It also corresponds to a few different scales.  Dark Source is a 1/25 scale line, centered on figures that are about 2 3/4 inches for a standard sized human.  The mechs are, of course, much larger than a standard sized human.  In the case of this one, it stands just shy of 8 3/4 inches tall.  An exact articulation count is a bit tricky on this one, due to how many moving components there are, and how many pieces have to flex out of the way in order to do any real posing.  The limbs can be a bit restricted, especially at the shoulders and hips, but there’s a lot that can be done, especially given how bulky the design is overall.  I especially dig all of the movement in the hands, as the fingers not only get movement at each of the knuckles but there’s also side-to-side movement on the fingers, which adds a lot of extra gripping options, which is pretty cool.  In terms of structure, the Steel Bone design is pretty squared off and rather on the utilitarian design.  It’s certainly meant to be military in nature.  The actual construction of the mech is actually made out of quite a lot of potentially modular pieces.  It comes out of the box in effectively the load out seen in the photos, but there are lots of other possible builds, if you so choose.  It can be a little tricky swapping parts in and out, and finding just the right balance and layout, but it does add a lot more fun to the figure.  In the effort to aid in that modular nature, the mech gets a few deliberately swappable pieces, namely the chest plate and thigh covers, which have an option for slightly more rounded parts.  I myself prefer the alternate parts, so I appreciate them being there.  The mech’s armaments also tie into the modular nature.  Worked into the mech proper are two shoulder mounted mini guns.  They attach with a handful of the modular parts included, but also can be worked in a few different ways, again with the whole modular thing in mind.  Separate from the mech proper, there’s a big hammer.  What’s fun about the hammer is that it’s almost no unique parts; everything is a basic modular piece, or shared with the Mecha’s own construction.  So, again with the modular.  That’s commitment to the concept.

The Steel Bone includes its own pilot, designed to work with it’s built-in cockpit.  He’s about 2 3/4 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  He’s utilitarian and military-inspired in a fashion similar to Mecha, which is sensible.  He works in a lot of rather classic sci-fi psuedo-military type stuff, which makes him suitably generic, but also serves as a nice call back to other designs.  I quite dig the removable helmet, and how well it sits, especially given the scale and how little it impacts the underlying head’s design.  The pilot gets a fun selection of extras himself.  There’s an alternate left hand, two rifles, a pistol, and a medical kit.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve been just starting to dip my toes into the waters of Joytoy, and it’s pretty much exclusively the fault of Jason from All Time Toys.  He’s recently decided to give them a try at the store, and we’ve all pretty much been looking for that entry point.  This one’s boxy, green, and he’s got a hammer and miniguns.  He checks off a lot of my boxes.  So, it certainly made things even easier when Jason gave me this guy as my Christmas gift this year.  It’s pretty darn great, really, and a great introduction to Joytoy.  I could foresee this getting a little bit dangerous…