Zootron Review

#foldabots #TheFoldabotsBlog #Zootron

RANT BEFORE REVIEW

With only a few days from July, I finally got the last issue needed for the current gestalt to finish, which is of course, Zootron. Now, this has got to be the hardest to complete, because you'll need seven parts (including Baluti and the unnecessary gestalt parts.) Before we move on, I would really want the next sets to be less complicated, and not to mention the huge waste on later issues like now, we got into the 'Trosonator Syndrome' for the second time, only worse. Why you ask? If you already have the all the Zoobots' patterns, you'll notice tons of spaces left in some of the simpler ones like Komando, which led us to getting only the remaining parts now which I would be happier if it was added to the previous parts. And if this happens again with the future gestalts, a lot of veteran Folda-Fans will be retiring and move on with something else, especially now, we'll be looking forward to Toy Book 8 for the next 5 months.

Now on with the review...

I will not do this in chronological order, nor what I did with other gestalts I covered already. I will review each of these in my preferred order, so please read along...

BALUTI

We begin with the 'Fighting Ball' of the team, the Giant Armadillo, Baluti. Oh, how I love his special gimmick of turning into a defense ball. I would consider him being a stand alone because he doesn't form a physical part of Zootron. His leg parts come separate, as it is stored compactly in animal mode. The concept was based on Lakbay's leg gimmick, so that's why we have this guy along.

TINDIG

Up next is the West African Giraffe called Tindig. Don't let his height fool you, the way Tindig was designed is to have a body shape like Batikron (of the Likasbots) only larger. It's long neck and head is detachable, so you can store it inside when in robot mode. He also come with the first half of this massive blade which I thought it will be just this part alone, and I will be covering that later on.

LEONATOR

Our next Zoobot is the proud Asiatic Lion, Leonator. It's a first we finally got a lion in this line. The legs on this guy may be moveable, but that doesn't form arms or legs of the robot mode. One other example is Tulos which doesn't use the forelegs as the arms. This I suppose may look simple, but it had Likastron like gimmicks added which is nice.

KOMANDO

The next one is Komando, the Komodo Dragon. His simplicity stands out among the set. At first when I got this, I am confused about this black strip placed under the tail, not like with the Magmabots Apoy and Sunog, which their T-joints were meant to place onto Abominator's shoulders. What's fun is the legs are unique and a first of its kind. If we ever remake Gubatron with more modern parts, Kagat's legs would be twice better than before.

NARANJA

Coming next is the Bengal Tiger called Naranja. When 2015 began, we are all excited for this to come. There is actually a defect in the design where the right arm is the same with the left arm. So if you glued them as followed, you'll be ending up with two left arms rather than a proper robot. My suggestion is if you're gluing his right arm, glue it with design side down. It may look ridiculous, but it will make Naranja less awkward. 'Nuff Said.

GADYA

Now let's look at the true leader of the Zoobots, the 'Heavyweight Lutabot Champion', the African Elephant, Gadya. A big change over the Sungay concept with the addition of a stockier body shape, fatter legs, and a well designed head. For me, he has got to be my personal favorite of the set, while Naranja being the most hated because of the flaw. Having him pose in simple ways is no problem for this big guy.

ZOOTRON

At last, we move on to the completed and finished gestalt, the treat we've all been waiting for... Zootron! The extra pattern that we got has got to complete the set, but it leaves us with a part that is 1% useful, and 99% useless. The huge flame effect for me is probably the most useless part I've ever encountered, especially it's for the one who is the Fighting Ball. Initially it includes the gestalt head, the hands which I can dig somehow, and the other part of this blade or in my opinion, the 'butcher's knife'. Combine the five in their respective formations, leaving you with most chaotic gestalt ever seen (Not like in TFGen's: Combiner Wars). I will be forming Zootron in my personal configuration, where Tindig is formed the other way around with legs spread out, placing both hands evenly in their positions. I will also utilize Gadya's arms as shoulders for the gestalt.

CONCLUSION

I have already compiled videos from my good friend Hooded Cloak, but he seems to be inactive lately after he covered about every Summer Workshop creations, and Baluti's review in between. I will be posting the playlist somewhere soon, after I'm done with the upcoming CW Menasor review, which I'll be posting tomorrow. Until then, this has been The Foldabots Blog, we'll see you next time!