Year-End Blog 2014

#foldabots #Trosonator #SIKLO4TB7 #WhoLetBangisOut #PesteRangers #RevengeOfKontrolion #NuShoArrives #ToyBook7 #TheFoldabotsFinalBlog

After getting both the Toy Book and the K-Zone December issue recently, it's good we got the remaining parts for Trosonator, which of course completes the gestalt. The pattern not only has the gestalt head I've been waiting for, but also it had some of the (un)necessary parts you need to add onto the individual Trosobots. Not to mention the logs included for added playability. You can even place these logs onto Trosotron (which can be found on Toy Book 6) in place of real twigs or Pocky. Now, the feet and hands are glued on the respective limbs, just refer to the instructions found on that issue. So in summary, it's your choice if you want to place the extra parts like in the illustration, or alter it a bit, or even leaving them out. I prefer the gestalt hands can be interchanged with the pincers and rake from Salanta and Panganib, while you can either have the large feet or just the short tabs from Pinsala and Gambala. It's also seen on the art, Trosonator's back has the two hydraulic arms joined together, you can do that or keep them in the legs like Fourze's Hand module on his leg which is sometimes hard especially on Gambala.

I think Toy Book 7 is the best volume yet, for veteran fans and me. MP Bangis and Nu-Sho are the main highlight of this year and I realized that Bangis has a page more than Astig from TB4. Nu-Sho in the other hand, is a redesign of Nuno from TB2 like Ultimate Buhawi from TB6. (Spoiler: Tikbalang joins him and becomes a Lutabot, possibly the first Lutabot of 2015.) Reissuing Siklo is another one of the must haves since it took years of waiting before we finally got him again in card, aside from using Kislap or Rampa's base pattern and adding his sidecar slash platform which is not the Hooded Cloak design, neither mine. Lastly, you get the full Supremobot and Pestebot set which I also love. And to newbies out there, if you built your Komyutatron from Toy Book 6 and Kontrolion from Toy Book 7, you are now able to recreate Komyutatrolion, the super gestalt I came up. And if you have Toy Book 4's Mikrokosmos still 100% complete and the pens from Toy Book 6, you can relive the story arc of the tiny rivalry between Guhitron and his Mikrobots and Sulatron and his Pestebots.

This is just about everything Folda-Fans, I'm so sad that this will be my final blog, aside from it's my birthday today. Don't know why, but it's my decision to stop. Well, the blog will still be here if you want some free patterns, but I won't make new ones in the months to come. I've been a Folda-Fan for over 5 years, and it's enough for me. Well, before I finish, let's look back at the Foldabots of 2014, which started with Elisiyo, the bomber plane made by Jhine Clarenz Manapiis. However the main highlight of the year was this bitter rivalry made by two fan creations, which was Lester Bernaldez' Likastron and Malvin Roix Orense's Trosonator, which covered the rest of this year. And as a bonus, Toy Book 7 fulfilled wishes of Folda-Fans to get Siklo finally reissued, aside from two gestalts, and more.

Oh, why no patterns? Well, I'll be throwing in one last time a set of patterns since it is the final blog.

 

That's all, I will not give you extra info about these...

And this has been THE FOLDABOTS BLOG, serving Folda-Fans for 2 years...

NOW SIGNING OFF.

Goodbye, you guys...

Halloween/Pre-Toy Book Launch Special 2014: Trosonator by Malvin Roix Orense

#foldabots #Trosonator #SIKLO4TB7 #WhoLetBangisOut #PesteRangers #RevengeOfKontrolion #NuShoArrives #ToyBook7 #TheFoldabotsBlog



Foreword

Before we begin, I'll just inform everyone that as of the latest K-Zone issue, We finally got Panganib which fills the left arm slot. More on the Trosobots on this review.

Like I said, I will review them in reverse chronological order starting with the most recent member to the first member which is of course, the leader.

Also, if you want to get some more info, please refer to my good friend the Hooded Cloak for the bios, specs and extra info.





PANGANIB

Let's begin with the simplest of the Trosobots, Panganib. Panganib is a farm tractor with 'a big rake'. Unlike the original Malvin Orense design, this seemed to be have less pieces, and like I expected, very easy to build this guy. Panganib forms Trosonator's left arm. My theory on the finished gestalt, Panganib's rake part make a nice claws like Magmatron (which was also made by Malvin), except it's on the left.

SALANTA

Next is Salanta, a lumber carrier built with a massive pincer like Dakotron's only it's joined in the middle. Like Panganib, Salanta has fewer pieces than the original, making it less complicated. Salanta forms the right arm of the gestalt, in which i would think the huge pincers would make the other hand instead of human-like hands that we could have expected before. Yes, it seemed that this newer version had a lot of changes and parts dropped due to the fact, that it could be useless later on.

GAMBALA

Moving on, we have Gambala. He turns into this tree cutter which at first I have no such idea what it is. Of course, he also forms the left leg. The one great thing about this Lutabot, is he do lack the annoying foot piece, and it makes sense that on my idea, the little front tab makes up the new foot, for at least it's now built in. In addition, the orientation is also changed due to our new idea. Lastly, the claw piece can be removed for a reason, and one possible theory, it can replace Trosonator's old hands, but in my opinion, it could fail.

PINSALA

Coming up, is Pinsala. Unlike his comrades, he has treads instead of wheels. leaving the odd one behind when it comes to this. And like Gambala, he also has a crane arm also built with the same claw. The one impressive gimmick with Pinsala, is the whole crane arm part split into three which two would fit onto his arms and the 'Magic Hand' is left out. According to his bio, Pinsala forms the right leg and claw of Trosonator, which I would think it is fitted somewhere, especially the arms.

GAHAMAN

We come to the head honcho and the first Trosobot in the lineup, Gahaman. Similarly to the last two, Gahaman is a tree cutter with Ukay-esque crane arm, and the cockpit is different than the rest. And yes, Gahaman is the torso of the mighty gestalt Trosonator. When we last looked at Likastron, Batikron formed just the half of that body, leaving Kagwang in the end to fill up the remaining half thanks to those winged limbs which formed the waist.

TROSONATOR

Finally let's look at the combined (and incomplete) gestalt. In order to make the legs, you must fold Gahaman's rear wheels a bit before inserting them onto Gambala and Pinsala. In my opinion it makes Trosonator's legs less loose that way. Next, we need two paperclips to mount the other two onto Gahaman's arms. Originally, you need to clip Salanta and Panganib's heads in order to make the arms. But since the pincers and rake are better as hands, there's possibly no need for hands. Now, since I mentioned this as an incomplete set, it's because the gestalt head is missing after we got a glimpse at Panganib's pattern, and there's no picture and assembly instructions of Trosonator present. But don't lose hope, Folda-Fans, maybe just maybe, the head of Trosonator could be included with next month's Foldabot.

My First Reactions on Toy Book 7

"Wishes Fulfilled", this surprised me after seeing the double cover of the newest Foldabots Toy Book in the latest issue. Of course the hash tag campaign worked (somehow) and finally, just as I expected... SIKLO, AT LAST. But that's not only the reason why I wanted this, the next two gestalts after Komyutatron which is Kontrolion and Pestetron are also in this book, which is great for those who want to get them complete. Now, the biggest highlight of the volume is two new characters, one is actually the second Masterpiece Foldabot ever released, and that's Bangis. The other one is the new villain Nu-Sho, I know it's odd but if you followed the comic story lately, you'll see what we mean.

Well, since Trosonator is somewhat incomplete, I will be covering that on my birthday, which I will also get some more reactions on Toy Book 7. But for now, have a safe and happy halloween to all Folda-Fans, and as always, see you next time!

2nd Anniversary Special!

Last week, I already showed you two new combiners in which one of them is a part of my childhood and another is an inspiration of it.

On The Foldabots Blog's 2nd Anniversary, I will show you the color alts of Super Deltron and Mighty Orbots.

In this recolor, Skydragoon is cyan as opposed to his original red scheme.

Seaduke and Landessa in their green and magenta versions.

Tor and the rest of the Orbots, I mean Broots, have color schemes following their pilot selves, but retaining the Mighty Orbots designs.

Bort is lime green, while Bo is pink. Pink? Yes, that was Bo's original color, compare to her newer orange and Bort's blue schemes.

Since, Boo was still yellow in Broots, I decided to lighten up her scheme on this. Crunch in the other hand, is blue with a hint of other colors. And of course, Tor looks a littler darker than the other version.

Lately I am running out of ideas to make new Foldabots, Lutabots, and neutral characters, and possibly new X-Overs I am planning to release somewhere in the near future. And also next month, I will work on making the Trosonator Review in which I will do the same rule as with Likastron earlier this year. And be sure to use these tags in your conversations online...

#foldabots #Likastron #Trosonator #SIKLO4TB7 #ToyBook7

Pre-Anniversary Special: SUPER DELTRON & MIGHTY ORBOTS

With just a week away from The Foldabots Blog turns 2, I will show you some of the stuff I also made alongside the Foldabots Mini Remake.

SUPER DELTRON

Now, these are neither Foldabots nor Lutabots, so don't consider them as one. As a matter of fact, the first set are original characters done by myself, but based on another series due to their concept. The other set are based on a short-lived 80's cartoon series. But first, let's look at SUPER DELTRON.

Now, SUPER DELTRON is a 3-unit gestalt. Some people would think "Is it enough to make a combiner out of less than 4 or 5 members?" It is possible. In fact, there are also combiners that only needs 2 units to form such output. In Foldabots, there are a few gestalts made with 2 or 3 units, and these examples include the 4 Diadrones, and Bakunawa Dragon. Though Bakunawa is the only official gestalt with 3 units, it's not even humanoid like most combiners, and the Diadrones Tu-Lock and Tinidrone form into a blaster cannon, but you can use your imagination to make them humanoid as well.

Like I said, it only had three, I mean three member which I called them DELTABOTS and since there are only two pattern sheets to complete them since two of them are not that really big and they are both identical in output. Well, let's look at the patterns right now.

Like the other recent patterns, Bios, Specs, and Instructions are on the sides for your convenience. The only part I never included on the layout, is the special stuff in either modes like seen on K-Zone.

MIGHTY ORBOTS

Wikipedia Entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mighty_Orbots

Though having a short run, it somehow gave inspiration to a lot of fans including me. Though never had a nice toy line, I myself decided to use what I learned from being a fan of Foldabots and make myself a paper version of this long forgotten legend.

About the design, they are simply redone of their character designs. I also changed their usual eye designs and make them look unique. The one reason why I didn't include Ohno in the set is she is in the Beam Car with Rob the Orbots Commander, and the surprising part is, the Beam Car doesn't go inside Tor, but it has Mighty Orbots' head underneath! Talk about gimmick. And of course, like you see here, only 3 sheets to complete.

Aside from this, I also have another version of them which I used their original color schemes from the pilot presentation called "BROOTS".

Conclusion

Aside from knowing the last Trosobot is Panganib, which will form the left arm and will have the head of Trosonator, which means I'll review these guys once their complete. Aside from these, I will upload the video toy demos you've requested back at YouTube, once I have them all. Until then, see you next week!

FOLDABOTS MINI: 5th Anniversary

Hashtags: #foldabots #FoldabotsMini

Last time, we looked at the remade BAHAGHARI in which I shrunk them to the size like the ones originally released 5 years ago. As a matter of fact, after I searched high and low, I finally found the pot of gold in the end of the rainbow--In short, the lost pattern cards I needed.

Like the ones I made already, these are replicated and roughly the same designs and sizes, and yes, you will get all 15 plus bonus parts which I made in just 7 patterns. In total, there are 9 patterns consisting of all 20 original parts and 4 new ones.

MY EXPERIENCE STORY

Now, some of the veteran fans like I do, know this, and some consider this as their first Foldabots. Though buying K-Zone is a little costly at that time, this acted as an alternate source for avid collectors, because they are cheaper. They first came in biscuit boxes, and the patterns can be easily found on the back, the only hastle I had with these is you need scissors to carefully cut the back panel out. The goodness of each pattern is it had easy instructions and diagrams included, and an indication mark to know what part it forms. And just like I said before, there were no helmets on this line, why? First, the material used in making the box is very different from the ones in the magazines, not so flexible, the designs tend to wear off, but holds its shape very well. Second, there are no sub-groups, basically you can make up various combinations with the full set, downside is two of the legs will not combine well with others, that's also the reason why. And lastly, they come in two sizes, the first wave had 8 Foldabots to start with which the first 4 were on the small boxes and the other 4 are on the big boxes, the second and final wave completes the full lineup of 20, in which 8 were on the small and the last 4 are on the big. In which you have a choice.

After the promo ended, I never got the chance to find the remaining parts, until a good friend of mine posted on his Multiply(R.I.P. Multiply's Social Service), pictures of the full set which includes the ones I missed. I was inspired to make my own extended lineup after that. Eventually, I decided to lay it off after most of the files were gone, and that's where Series 2 came in a year later.

Series 2 was released this time, in packs of bandages, which I myself was surprised. The set is much smaller than last time, but the good thing about it, I finally completed this set. The lineup consists of 10 unique characters, and the good thing about this it had Lutabots this time, and you are bound to make two gestalts without any leftovers. The other difference of this series, is that most of the designs are retools of the previous set, but with a lot of new parts including tires, extra tabs, but still no helmets.

THE REMAKE ITSELF

Now, like I said on the last blog, all 15 will each share patterns because I don't want a lot of excess space gets left behind. And of course, name changes which I mentioned as well.

QUESTIONS

1) Why is there only 7 patterns?
While standard Foldabots usually take one or more pattern sheets, Mini ones take up a third to a half of the pattern area, which also gives room for other characters. In the case of Batak and Buhat which came in two parts, I combined both halves into one pattern.

2) Why there is a combiner head on Ikotron's pattern?
This is to fill the space which was also present on his original pattern card where a picture of an example gestalt fills it.

3) Why are some of the heads and other parts are now fixed on the main body?
To save up on cutting and gluing steps to make it easier to build.

4) What's the white and green sub-cars for?
They're both support vehicles which don't turn into individual Foldabots like Batak and Buhat's trailers, and extra parts to add height to Lunas and Tigas, giving added option and new combinations for any gestalts.

5) Are they compatible with the official ones?
No. Their measurements are a little different from the ones already released.

WRAPPING UP


Well, since it's The Foldabots Blog's second anniversary month this October, I'm also happy to say we are getting close to the completion of Trosonator after we got Salanta, and sadly, no teasers for TB7 yet. Well let's just hope to see this next month along with the last member on that issue. Well, see you on the next blog!

BAHAGHARI REMAKE

Hashtags: #foldabots #FoldabotsMini #BahaghariFBMM #KZPHat12 #trosonator #SIKLO4TB7

Before we wrap up September, I just recently worked on this remake of an existing combiner I made--BAHAGHARI in which this time, I used the new layout, and downsized them roughly to their Foldabots Mini scales and designs. The good thing about this is that you only need the two patterns to complete the set.

I was going to remake the rest of the 15 other Mini Foldabots as well, but I seemed to lost the pattern cards for this. In which of the similar designed units will share a pattern to save a lot of space (which I was disappointed on Sulatron on Toy Book 6). Instead, I just focused on the five. In addition, a special piece is added to replicate Bahaghari's Rainbow Flash attack. I also changed the name 'Violeta' to 'Violetica', in which the name was already used for one of the Sporticons. Aside from this, the planned lineup will have some name changes as well.

Riles - Rilesor
Karga - Kargadrone
Sagip - Lunas
Bilis - Liksi
Barena - Barenator
The rest keeps the original names.

The other reason why I did this, is because this year marks the 5th anniversary of the Foldabots Mini series. Though short-lived, they were considered as a collectible set and it's now really hard to find them, unless you still find the series 2 ones which I completed.

And now, the patterns, if you remember my blog about TERRACROSS, I used the new layout on this as well. Also, if you look at the specs on the top right, you'll see it's different from the one I used for Terracross, it's color-coded for your convenience. And if you still don't have a clue, I'll give you the exact specs of each and the gestalt itself.

Azul: INT:3 END:2 STR:4 SSK:3 SPD:3; Violetica: INT:4 END:1 STR:2 SSK:3 SPD:3; Verde: INT:1 END:3 STR:3 SSK:2 SPD:4

Rojo: INT:3 END:4 STR:3 SSK:3 SPD:2; Marila: INT:3 END:2 STR:1 SSK:4 SPD:2; Bahaghari: INT:4 END:5 STR:5 SSK:4 SPD:5

In addition, like some of my older patterns, the combiner instructions are divided into parts depending on the character.

Before we wrap this up, I would like to greet K-Zone Philippines a Happy 12th Birthday next month, and of course, Trosonator gets an arm on that issue. Not to mention Toy Book 7 bound for November, in which I decided to not go to that launch event anymore. Sorry about that notice, but let's face it, I'm too old to go there. And of course, let's all hope Siklo finally gets his reissue we've been begging for the longest time. Until then, we'll see you on next blog!

The Foldabots Blog's 40th Post: PATTERNS FOR TERRACROSS

Since it's going to be my 40th post and it's indeed very special...

If you have no idea yet on this one, please do check one of my older blogs
http://ejsotto.blogspot.com/2014/08/another-impromptu-blog.html

TERRACROSS, like I mentioned before, is loosely based from Transformers Victory's MULTIFORCE or LANDCROSS, and has the color scheme of GAIACROSS (from Kabaya's Transformers Gum Toy Series). Each of them has almost the same parts especially the Main Body Parts which I used on all six. The only difference is there are three unique sets of parts included, you'll see what I mean. And of course, I used a different layout for these pattern sheets this time, aside from using Verdana to the Foldabot's name, Specs, Bio, the Instructions, and on the patterns itself.

Conclusion

Now, like I said back in the last blog, I made hand-made prototypes of TERRACROSS and it worked out fine. Hope to expect a lot of new patterns I will upload in the near future or not. To those who want to test these guys out, always give credits to me, please.

Another Impromptu Blog

Just recently, after getting the latest K-Zone issue with Pinsala, something inspired me and gave me a new idea to finally make a new Foldabot after ages of having no ideas at all. The nice thing about it is that the new ones I am currently working on is actually based on a Transformers combiner which gave me the idea, also, I made a combiner with three units and doesn't have individual robot forms, there were also other ideas I came up but for now I am not going to test or make their patterns.

TERRACROSS

As the name implies, this is loosely named after LANDCROSS from Transformers Victory. The set is composed of SIX, yes, six individual Foldabots combining to either as Diadrone combiners or as one Super combiner. The color scheme however will be based on its model kit counterpart GAIACROSS which bears a simple white and red or blue on each of the units, with the addition of black parts in which forms the feet, hands, and the head of Terracross.
The patterns have common parts for each of the six components. First, all of them have the same body base in which the Main Body will have a hidden sleeve under the individual head, the legs form as arms when combined with another unit in Diadrone form, and there are sleeves inside the legs in which it will be used for another purpose later on as we read this blog. Second, is there three sets of parts for every pair. And lastly, though they have similar pattern pieces, but the interesting part is these are placed differently on each of the units.
I already made the illustration of Terracross but not the individual units and the three main Diadrone combinations.

Now, there are six Multibots(subgroup name based on Multiforce) which I will name them on this blog and their bios as well:

The MULTIBOTS - are Foldabots capable of working individually or as Diadrones. Though at first glance you would think they don't look like Foldabots or Lutabots because they don't have a crest or a splat on their chests, but the truth is they are indeed Foldabots but with Agimats stored inside and protected by their external armor casing.

SKY - is a red fighter jet and the leader of the Multibots. Daring, ambitious, and courageous, SKY is not afraid of anything goes in his way. SKY combines with SPLASH to form the Diadrone SKYSPLASH.

SPLASH - is a blue speedboat and the only Multibot meant for sea combat. Considering him as the odd one, but he seems to be close to either SKY or BURNER which he considers them best partners. He also combines with SKY to form SPLASHSKY to take down enemies both on air and at sea.

BURNER - is a red racing car with an alert mind. Whenever the Multibots needed something to be done fast, they all put their trust onto him. SPLASH and BUILD think he always hogs all the glory because of his capabilities which they don't have. BURNER and BUILD combines into BURNERBUILD.

BUILD - is a red dump truck made for heavy duty purposes including fighting alongside the other Multibots. He is also capable of carrying a lot in his dump carriage. And of course, he too can combine with BURNER to form BUILDBURNER.

ROCKET - is a blue space shuttle and a little afraid of heights especially when they ask him to go to space with KALAWAKRON. However, he can still fight in the air with SKY, and help RAGE on the ground. Both ROCKET and RAGE can also combine into ROCKETRAGE for extra firepower.

RAGE - is a blue delivery van who is most of the time angry and doesn't care about his fellow Multibots if he's doing it wrong. He is somewhat the opposite of BUILD when it comes to power because when BUILD is in a pinch, he gets very weak. RAGE in the other hand, gets very powerful when he's totally ravaged. RAGE can also combine with ROCKET which he calls him coward, into RAGEROCKET.

TERRACROSS - is formed when SKYSPLASH, BURNERBUILD, and ROCKETRAGE combines into this super combiner. Their Agimats are channeled into the chestplate formed by SKY and ROCKET's rudders, while wields a weapon almost similar to LIKASTRON's tail staff which is formed from SPLASH and BURNER's parts. TERRACROSS is somewhat powerful and packs up a massive punch. Some of his parts can also be used as add-ons to each of the vehicle modes. Aside from the rudders, SKY and ROCKET can also store the two halves of the head and use them as guns. The fists also fit onto SPLASH and BURNER as STS/STA blasters. And the feet also form as turrets for BUILD and RAGE.

Now, I also made a six piece combiner before Terracross, and it's Dobletron Extreme. I tested the patterns I made a while back and I noticed when I make the normal Dobletron, it turned to be a little stout than expected. The surprising thing about Dobletron Extreme is the super form uses all six including their Agimat Sticks which forms the heads. The Multibots are capable of forming Diadrones in 30 unique combinations compare to Dobletron's nine combinations.

GREAT X/WING ADDER/SKY BATTLER

The next one is Great X, a combiner based on Big Dai X from the 'not so obscure' show called "Star Fleet" in the UK or in Japan it is titled "X-Bomber". The idea of this is it has three separate mecha combining into one humanoid robot. Each of the three doesn't have an alternate mode except for the one that forms the legs in which it is attached with a pair of crawlers on the bottom so that it can fight on ground. In addition, they all share the same color scheme which is red.
Now, Great X is also composed of three units naming Head Jet, Trunk Cannon, and Leg Tank. Head Jet is the smallest of the three and as the name implies, it forms the head of Great X. Trunk Cannon is the widest and forms the torso and arms of Great X. And Leg Tank being capable of forming the legs. While Big Dai X is red, Great X is blue, which is also the color of Tetsujin 28. Why did I mention T28? It's because of Wing Adder which forms a wing pack for Great X. Wing Adder is red just like the backpack on T28. I also made a carrier mecha for Head Jet, Trunk Cannon, Leg Tank, and Wing Adder. This is my version of X-Bomber which served as the main ship for the Star Fleet.

CONCLUSION

Though these ideas don't have computer-made patterns yet, I would be really glad to show you these prototypes this November in the Toy Book 7 launch. The prototypes will be made by hand and the color apps will be done in colored markers which I will also use gold and silver as well. And to those who are still looking for me on Facebook, I am sorry that I am no longer going back there.

As always, keep yourselves posted for new blogs real soon!

History of Foldabots Toy Book

Foreword

Recently my old computer got broken and here I am waiting patiently for a miracle to come. While most of my blogs are already typed on a Word Document, it's a little hard to retrieve them unless I test that hard drive to another unit. But for now, I am making an impromptu blog after I came across a video on YouTube.

And that's about the very first Foldabots Toy Book.

If you have any idea what I'm talking about, here's a link to one of my older blogs.
http://ejsotto.blogspot.com/2012/12/2012-year-ender-project-foldabots.html

Now onto what I knew about it...

THE ORIGIN

Foldabots was first released in the May 2006 issue of K-Zone Philippines. Created by Jomike Tejido and it's been in run for 8 years now. With countless original characters made by Tejido from 2006 to 2012 including sets which can combine into a 'gestalt' (which is a Transformers review term for 'combiners' which we also use to describe these big guys.) There are six Toy Books already released and the seventh one expected to be published this November, in which most of these books usually is launched at that time.

November 15, 2008, the first Foldabots Toy Book was launched on that day. It includes 13 characters plus a set of game cards which corresponds to each of them. In addition, one card has been added for the combiner Elementron which was the only combiner in the book.

Trivia: There are four Toy Books which had game cards and Buhatron is the only one with a card from the fourth volume. In fact, there were 14 in the first one, 11 in Toy Book 2, and 6 in 3. All in all, there are 32 cards released and no new cards were added in the next two volumes.

Even before Toy Book 1 was released, there was this blind box set where it contains pre-made toys and it had metallic print which it was very hard to get one until to this day. The collection was separated into two different sets, one is the Elementron set where you have to get the four to get the combined Foldabot. To those who got TB1 like me (who got it after TB2) you'll notice some of the parts were dropped and changed to make them close to the original toys released in 2007. The other set composed of five various characters ranging from Patrol, Astig, Kislap, Liyab, and Karera. At first you think this set sucks? Think again. Because in each of the five Foldabots, they also include a piece of another Foldabot to put together, which is Metrotren.

Trivia: The first five Toy Books were launched at Powerbooks at Greenbelt in Makati, which at that time I never came because none of my family knows this place. Toy Book 6 however, was launched in a new location which of course was very familiar because the mall used to be this ice cream house and a plant. The place was Robinsons Magnolia in Quezon City, just across Aurora Boulevard.

CONCLUSION

While to those who had completed Likastron last June, Congratulations to all of us! Hope we can complete Trosonator as well before TB7. And furthermore, to those who are a little curious about when the first Toy Book was launched and some facts to feed your knowledge on Jomike Tejido's Foldabots, this blog will be a good example to you all.

LIKASTRON by Lester Bernaldez

Foreword

We’ve been excited for this guy since Christmas last year… I mean, it was already announced even before Toy Book 6 was released. And on this blog, I’ll be covering the first combiner of 2014—Likastron.

Likastron is basically like Gubatron, only made of different animals that can be found on our Philippine forests. It also has five members made up of a flying lemur, a porcupine, a bearcat, a pangolin, and a mouse deer as its leader. I won’t be posting the official patterns here because some of us fans are begging for some of the missing pieces. However, I’ll give you a link to the patterns of the original Likastron made by Lester Bernaldez (the same guy who made Gunawtron).

Note: I decided to not give you the link because I decided to remove my Facebook account for the sake of my safety.

Now, to get things straight, I will review them one by one starting with the most recent member all the way up to the first one. In other words, reverse chronological order.

In addition, here’s a nice video review of the Likasbots both versions by John Dave Salazar. You may also refer on these videos for the bios, specs, and other details. I also added some design alterations to the combined form.

Update as of 19 April 2015: I edited some of the stuff in this blog, so you don't get confused.

KAGWANG

Kagwang is basically what we call to a flying lemur or more specifically a Colugo, and it’s the name of the first Likasbot in my list. Alterations from the original, is that he doesn’t form a leg anymore. Instead he forms the upper torso. How is that possible? First, his wings are now detachable unlike the original. Second, the wings form the waist due to the slits on both the tabs and the wings itself, as a part of the gimmick. And lastly, there is a hole on the back of Kagwang. Why? That’s where the waist pieces go in.

The lemur’s head and tail now also has a new purpose, and that’s where you attach the arms in by using two paperclips to hold them into place. The wings by the way are attached by inserting the tabs onto the sleeves which also have a purpose later on. Changing him into his Foldabot mode is a breeze, but putting him into Likastron is very tricky at first.

TALAS

Known as Tulis originally, this Palawan Porcupine Foldabot packs up a splinter. Now, a lot of us have intrigued of a possible sixth member but what I realized is that this lady will split in two parts and not two different characters, but not in the way other combiners had like Riles splits vertically and Manananggal splits horizontally in the waist. It’s also the first to do so. Originally, this Likasbot only forms the left arm, and its spikes are not the same as the ones on the official version. What also impresses me is that you only have enough spikes to glue onto the back piece unlike Higadrone which has a lot of blade hairs but less glue spots, what I did on that is I glued two pieces to make it stronger and yet it almost uses all the pieces up. Now, Talas also has a slit on her legs, and I know where to use this, which I’ll cover later.

MUSANG

Originally named Kapit, this Palawan Bearcat or Binturong is very unique. The one thing that makes him stand out is his blue fur. While other Likasbots are morely of brown, Musang is the only one that differs. His arms are now slotted in just like any of the Sporticons or the two Stormicons who forms the arms which were ships. He is originally the right leg and he also has the same mouth gimmick as Kagwang who forms the left leg in this version. Now, he forms either of the legs because the pattern and design of Musang is almost the same as the next Foldabot in our list. And technically, Musang forms the left leg this time. The new gimmick applied on this guy has got to involve detaching both the head and tail, the head is reattached on the other end of the sleeve where it will act as the foot, while the other sleeve serves as the connector for the leg. The output of its limb form adds a lot of stability due to this new gimmick.

GASPANG

Kaliskis is the original name of this Foldabot based on the Philippine Pangolin or Malintong. Now, he almost has the same pattern as Musang, but with the presence of a slit on his left hand where you can place the tail as his weapon. The pangolin head also has a longer neck than Musang’s. Also, Gaspang forms the right leg and the bonus tail staff when you put both Musang and Gaspang’s tails together. Where do you put this? If you look at the official illustration of Likastron, the staff is held on the left hand, I mean the porcupine’s mouth, also noticed that they also made a hand which can be found with Talas. I will cover that part later as we get to that. In the original however, he forms the right arm.

BATIKRON

He is the leader and the first of the Likasbots published. Based on the Visayan Spotted Deer (not mouse deer), this Foldabot also has the biggest alteration so far. First, the size, he is a lot smaller than most of the team and he’s barely the same height as Kagwang. In fact, Talas is the tallest of the five, but having the same height as Elisiyo(the bomber plane made by Jhine Clarenz Manapiis and the first Foldabot of the year). The great about this is that it’s the first to have legs which are different from its original version, where it was based on both Tamarax(for the deer legs) and Alakdan(for the overall body. Another design failure is that the shoulders are very wide and it’s not meant for Gaspang and Talas’ tails which should act as connectors. Instead, Paperclips were used to attach the arms. In this version in the other hand, aside from a simplified design, he also showed us something very different, the back has an opening where most of us were puzzled at that time. The deer legs fold out and serve as connectors for Gaspang and Musang to form the legs which was later revealed. Originally, Batikron forms the whole body, but now he forms just the lower waist part. In addition, he also comes with Likastron’s head which will be saved for the rest of this set. And then there’s this, how and where will you put the deer head in Likastron? That will be answered as we move on to the last part.

LIKASTRON

There is one thing I have to say about this gestalt…TERRIFIC! Now, this version is almost similar to Komyutatron and that’s two members forming the torso and it’s the first to use this design where one forms the upper torso and the other forms the lower. The other nice thing about Likastron is that he has one hand like Magmatron while the other arm doesn’t. I also noticed that you need to put the staff onto the right hand but be careful about the slit that runs through the part when cut, it tends to be a thin delicate part which I don’t like at all. To resolve this, you must cut the slit starting from between the middle and ring fingers. That way, you’ll never have to worry about it. Another question comes in mind, where to store the arm pieces from Gaspang and Musang? Simple, after placing the waist piece onto Batikron, you can drop the arms inside it. That way, no piece gets left out when in combined mode. However, the head also has its downside to it, which is the neck that is a bit long which can be fixed by folding inward between the head and the black part then fold outward between the black part and the Agimat crest. Usually, most combiners don’t have noticeable necks except for Kontrolion since it was designed to be like a western dragon or a ‘Kaijuu’ like Godzilla. Now about that deer head and where to put it, some would usually put it on the right shoulder which also puts the lemur head inside the arm, and some don’t even utilize this piece. What I like to do is to put the deer head onto the left instead on the right. Another thing is the arms can be clipped onto both heads, feet, and tail of Kagwang, which can help if you want the lemur head exposed.

Summary

As we end the first half of 2014, I would like to say it’s a great pleasure to have something new especially now we got Likastron complete and ready to face his greatest foe yet to come in the next five months which is indeed the Trosobots. It may have ups and downs about this combiner, but take it from me, I may have done Lester’s Gunawtron way back, and I am glad his other combiner became official. Thankfully, I decided to post this just a day before June ends, and that to keep my promise.

Well, I guess that ends this post and I will be back soon with yet another surprise!

Foldabots Remix

Introduction

You already heard of Foldabots MegaMix, my Fan Fiction, then here on this blog, I’ll cover the Foldabots of my upcoming new sequel called “Foldabots Remix”.

Technically, it takes place in early 2055, where Sergio Iyoso was still a bad guy, and just as Vanessa Flordeluna mentioned in Episode 44, there were three mercenaries of Lu-Sho, the two mentioned and an old friend named Jack Spam Tandang.

The Foldabots I made for the story are very unique to each other. As a matter of fact these Foldabots are also homage to some characters.

DOBLETRON

At first glance, you would’ve thought this is a certain robot from Brave King GaoGaiGar, and second is why there are flash drives like in Masked Rider W (Double) which actually is a part of the Foldabots.

This is where I got the idea for this combiner, which is like my other works Kaliwa and Kanan who would combine side by side.

There are six characters under this series, take note their designs are almost similar to those from GaoGaiGar, but with a bit of alterations.

Below are the patterns for the Agimat Sticks. The Agimat Sticks are flash drives which reminds you of that Rider with his Gaia Memories. The Agimat Sticks form the heads of each unit, and the combined forms as well. I also added in an additional part for its super combiner form Dobletron Extreme.

Here are the patterns for the bodies of each.

With these, you can make three full combiners and nine different combinations for each.

EXCELDRONE, EXCELTOR, and EXCELVER

Originally, he was going to be just Exceldrone with the concept of Masked Rider OOO (Pronounced “O’s”) where he is formed from three different animals which became a faded memory to me because I kept away the patterns for the original Exceldrone. There were a lot of animals I came up for each of the combinations; I came up with 15 animals split into 5 categories, and 3 more which I never made in the end.

The new idea I came up is a more simplified one. It all started when I saw this video review on YouTube about Transformers Generations Minicon Assault Team, and then I saw this classic Super Robot called Saikyo Robo Daioja where I was inspired and came up with this particular combination concept for a Foldabot.

Although the designs are like Daioja, the concept is like the Minicons from that review, where I put the first one as the head and chest of the combiner, the second forms the waist and the arms, and the last one forms the hips and the legs just like the Minicons. Also, the wings and noses form as individual weapons for the three and it can be combined into a shield. I also included a sword which is very simple, anyway, on with the pattern.

SANDIGAN

No one has ever thought of making this kind of Foldabot that has two separate alt modes rather than one. In fact, this is also considered a combiner in a way, but since the two alt modes each don’t have its own Foldabot forms, they combine as one Foldabot and turn back as two, vise versa.

Sandigan is almost like Overlord from Transformers G1 which has two vehicle forms and one robot form. In this case, the two forms are a jet which forms the top half, and a car forming the bottom half.

Here are the patterns for the Foldabot.

BARKOTRON

Barkotron is a ship very similar to Alon and Agos, and two of the Stormicons. There are similar gimmicks to some known Foldabots, like his feet is very Elementron-like, and the head attached like in Komyutatron.

Here are the patterns.

HAKOTAR

Originally, he was named ‘Hakotron’, but since Lester made one before I made this pattern, I decided to change the name to ‘Hakotar’. The idea is a Game Boy with a cartridge; the cart forms the head and chest while the console forms the rest of the body. Below is the pattern.

PIYESANATOR

As the name implies, he breaks down into several parts which can also attach onto Hakotar as different accessories. Its alt form is a weird looking bird, if you ask me. I already made some designs back then, but the worst is I totally forgot how I came up with these old patterns. Another thing why I decided to make these patterns is that I don’t have anymore ideas for new characters. I also remade some of my older works and gave them some new gimmicks, which most of them are my old X-Overs. Now, below are the patterns for Piyesanator.

Conclusion

Foldabots Remix has a lot of fresh, unique, and new characters which are all made by yours truly. I basically improved the concept of Kanan and Kaliwa by making Dobletron, re-imagined the way Sandigan and Hakotar use their gimmicks, revamped Exceldrone, and added a new character called Barkotron. And of course, I’ll be doing a fresh new script which will be new project from then on.

Well, I’ll be seeing you on the next blog which I could show you some of my old and new Foldabots X-Overs. And of course, I’ll still be covering some of my other  Likastron real soon.

Bonus!

This is just one of the another mischievous artworks of mine done on the computer. Lacks extra details though, so if you tried adding some more details on this and the other one, this picture is free to use, and don't forget to give credits to Erwin Imagin Fourze (That's me).

Here's the same picture but with the colors altered. Note I copied this color scheme from another picture to resemble her.

Free to edit this picture, but give credit to the creator Erwin Imagin Fourze.

Here's the person...

You know who she is right? She's the girl I based Cynthia Tetico off. Edited for some copyright purposes.

Anyway, what am I doing? See you then...