KR Review #38: CoBoN

In April the KR universe is going to get really big. Not only because the Therioms get their second vehicle (lucky them, what about the others?), but also because the very first giant figure in the line is getting a prototype. I mean... a vehicle and a large scale figure together!

This seventh multi-pack on steroids from PoliganToys takes the form of CoBoN, an all-terrain fighting vehicle that can fictionally transform into a big guy with whom you don’t wanna mess.

Details
Name: CoBoN

Subtitle: robotic fighting vehicle

Classification: amphibious vehicle

Home: Tahron

Affiliation: Theriom

Rank: transport.

Background

CoBoN's appearances go back to the very first KR comic issue The hidden halberd, where it is presented essentially as an advanced supercomputer on wheels with the ability to think, learn, communicate and interact with the other characters. It was created by Xonedar and eventually improved by Sei-Lha with several innovations, including an autopilot system. Besides its high-level computational capacity and fighting features, it shows a kind, humorous and occasionally sarcastic personality. In a comic issue that I had the chance to preview, it even transforms into an enormous robot.

The items in the multi-pack are CoBoN's two different configurations, which I'm going to describe separately.

Vehicle mode

Description

CoBoN's armoured bodywork is painted in a silver colour and its four wheels sport nicely sculpted all-terrain tires. It displays a front mounted scanner bar, represented by a black lenticular sticker on the nose, with red and yellow patterns, i.e., two lines that sweep horizontally and a central pulsing "eye" that allows CoBoN to "see".

The canopy is the only transparent part of the vehicle and is hinged at the front; in this way it can open by folding up and forward, in order to reveal the cockpit/cabin. In the comics CoBoN actually has two Lambo-like scissor doors, which make it way cooler, but I understand that the proposed solution was much easier to engineer and I appreciate the fact that the hinge at the front reflects the scissor doors rotation in a way. Also, in the comics CoBoN is proportionally bigger and can carry up to six characters, including beasts, while this toy version only fits one figure.

Inside, the high-tech dashboard/handlebar shows tons of sculpted controls and resembles the instrument panel of an aircraft, rather than a road vehicle. Two features well recreated from the comics are worth being mentioned: the voice display, which fictionally shows coloured lights that diverge horizontally when CoBoN's AI module speaks, and the all-purpose physico-chemical analyser.

Action feature

CoBoN's cockpit seat has a 4-point safety belt and is detachable, so that it works both as an ejection seat for its pilot and an engine cover; once exposed, its amazingly sculpted turbine engine can be admired, although there is no way to figure out its classified fuel requirements.

Additionally, the drive shaft can partially swing, pivoting on a transverse axis, and allows the front wheels to mimic a sort of wheelie action, although only the bodywork is raised off the ground, not the wheels. This is a reference to CoBoN's fictional ability to jump into the air and pass over obstacles.

CoBoN is also equipped with two side hideaway missile launchers (each can swing down and spread out, and has two detachable missiles) towards the front and two side rotating (around a transverse axis) laser guns towards the back.

Last but not least, CoBoN is capable of a hyper-speed transformation, which provides an extra-boost in velocity beyond the vehicle's original top speed. This consists of retractable wheels for hover conversion, rotating front/rear spoilers and side wings for aerodynamic stability, and powerful rocket boosters (revealed by the rear spoiler) for enhanced acceleration. It also has an emergency braking system consisting of a front braking booster (revealed by the front spoiler) and adjustable air panels to create air friction (two on the wings and one on the rear spoiler).

Weapons and accessories

CoBoN comes with a small set of accessories. First are three plug-in components for the front part of the vehicle: a central device, which collectively reproduces several pieces of equipment seen in the comics, such as a multi-spectral detector and a holographic projector, and two side Gatling guns.

Additionally, to facilitate movement over particularly rough ground, each wheel can be equipped with a snap-on clawed continuous track, which flip-flops end-over-end forward. Damn, this makes the whole thing really look cool!

Robot mode

Description

This figure is 30 cm tall (around 12'') and, taking into account the toy vehicle size (and not the supposed true relative size), I think it came in at the right height. It’s tall enough to be a gigantic robot, without being so tall that he stands out too much in a crowd of regular figures.

Due to cost saving purposes, it is rotocast, which means it's essentially hollow. What really surprises me is that cost restriction didn't affect the articulation count. Yes, CoBoN has as much articulation as the standard KR figure! Now, since the points-of-articulation factor is going to have a substantial weight on the final price, I don't know if this POA scheme will be kept in the release version. If it isn't, it will be a pity, since this prototype moves extremely well and it's possible to pose it in lots of dynamic action scenes.

CoBoN also has all of the attention to detail in sculpt and paint that one should be expecting from such a figure. Its "body" has tons of little details, while staying very accurate to the vehicle configuration. The paint job is also great, with silver colour on its bodywork components and black (plus some blue here and there) on the parts that become exposed after the transformation. Basically, the lower body derives from the rear of the vehicle, the arms from the sides, the back from the canopy and the chest from the front. Alright, but wait... what about the head? That's a slightly different story, since the head is not generated by CoBoN itself. In the comic issue that I previewed, Xonedar is actually shown to be capable of transforming into the head of the giant robot, virtually taking control of it. In fact, the ball jointed head is a bigger, more robotic version of Xonedar's mouth-shielded head.

Action feature, weapons and accessories

CoBoN's robot form can launch both its hands, which are in a closed fist pose, via spring loaded mechanisms.

Additionally, it can make use of all the vehicle's accessories, which can be plugged into a number of sockets: the two Gatling guns near the shoulders, the techno-device at the top of the head and the four continuous tracks in the wheels near the feet and the shoulders.

Overall, I am absolutely thrilled with this multi-pack, it really helps flesh out the variety of my shelf. The vehicle is an amazingly fun toy and I love that I can finally hold a large scale figure after several months of reviews. I think CoBoN represents a pretty strong message from PoliganToys - there are a lot of exciting things coming in all sorts of shapes and sizes to the KR line. We are just getting started here!

Special thanks to Michael F. Nelson of Cobon Plastics Corp for allowing us to use the name CoBoN.