Despite everything RaiderCosm has brought to the Key Raiders line this year, I will personally remember 2022 as the year that I wrote my 100th KR|Foundation review. While PoliganToys is still actively producing KR prototypes and they may revisit the style of Foundation characters in the coming months, this review is truly a milestone in my long running blogging streak stretching back to the first prototype of Masq-Lor in 2015. Since then, PoliganToys has produced prototypes of well over 200 regular figures, multiple oversized figures, creatures and vehicles, and even three massive playsets (with a further one in the pipeline), a feat that's quite impressive in this modern age, especially when you realise that 99% of the product never appeared on a retail shelf and only a handful of pieces were sold at conventions.
Now, it's time for my review. This final Foundation item, CoBoN Mark II, is an interesting piece and a reasonable choice, since this vehicle appears towards the end of the Foundation saga finale. While there are certainly still toys I want for the line should it ever continue (or at least be revisited via the upcoming new wave), this new version of CoBoN does feel like the cherry on top of what has been a delicious cake. So, let's take a look at it.
Toy prototype details
Name: CoBoN Mark II
Subtitle: hyper-technological war machine
Line: KR|Foundation
Item type: vehicle - Nº 7 in the line (technically Nº 12, since several vehicles were included in multi-packs).
Character details
Name: CoBoN Mark II
Classification: fighting vehicle
Home: Tahron
Era: Foundation
Affiliation: Theriom
Rank: transport.
Background
First appearance: KR|Foundation #13 - The ultimate curse
Concept
Let me immediately make this clear: the name is absolutely misleading! This prototype only represents a part of the amazing machine that is CoBoN Mark II. That being said, it is worth spending a few words about its overall look in the comics, because I really wouldn't mind to see the rest in toy form at some point.
Like the previous model, this version of CoBoN is an all-terrain fighting vehicle that is characterised by a revolutionary design, powered by a classified energy source and controlled by an advanced AI. However, this model is composed of a number of modules and, when needed, it can separate into four individual vehicles, each of which is thrusted by formidable jet engines and possesses the ability to transform into a specific attack vehicle. In all this, I can see a lot of inspiration from some Japanese toys and TV programs from the late 70s / early 80s, namely Machine Hayabusa, Cho Supercar Gattiger, Dinosaur War Izenborg, and Diaclone Change Attackers or Attacars.
CoBoN Mark II is initially painted in silver like its predecessor, but it's subsequently airbrushed with black radar-absorbent paint for stealth purposes. It is also equipped with various vertical and/or horizontal air-deflecting, stabilising surfaces on the front, side and rear parts.
The individual modules have partially transparent canopies or pairs of scissor doors that are hinged either at the back or at the front; in this way they can open by folding up and backward or forward, in order to allow access into the respective cockpits/cabins. Each cockpit is outfitted with one or two seats (all provided with 4-point safety belts), and a high-tech dashboard/handlebar that shows tons of controls and resembles the instrument panel of an aircraft rather than a road vehicle; the instrumentation includes a voice display, which shows coloured lights that diverge horizontally when CoBoN's AI module speaks.
In its fully assembled form, 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 the production of structures on the vehicle's body intended to enhance acceleration and improve road-holding when travelling at those extremely high speeds.
Side modules
Apart from two badass Lambo-like doors, each side vehicle is equipped with two sets of tank treads (covered by fender skirts in the upper portions) and a pair of powerful glass-covered headlamps at the front, as well as two ordinary-sized wheels with all-terrain tires and a single huge booster rocket at the back (this is connected to the rear module in the fully assembled mode).
During hyper-speed transformation, each vehicle's front bumper (on its external side) deploys an additional side wing for aerodynamic stability, while the fender skirt expands to bring an array of small auxiliary thrusters into action.
After separating from the rest of the machine, each side module transforms into a tunnelling vehicle. The front caterpillar tracks swing back sideways against the rear wheels during a brief wheelie action, while the front part of the bodywork swings up and back to reveal a large conical steel drill bit (with a blade-like tapered screw thread) at the front as well as a pair of missile launchers on the top (which was previously part of the undercarriage).
Rear module
The rear vehicle is equipped with a pair of humungous off-the-road flotation tires, a display of weapons (including pairs of Gatling guns and clusters of missile launchers) at the front, and two large rectangular air intakes/outlets on the top-sides; each air intake/outlet is fitted with a V-/Pelikan tail, in which the external control surface has a gun on the tip that emits a laser-rope capable of wrapping around objects. The back features a bunch of horizontal tail lights, a boarding ladder to aid entry into the two-seater cockpit (which is covered by a canopy hinged at the front top) and four exhausts (two of which are particularly large) embedded in the rear bumper.
During hyper-speed transformation, the fenders expand to reveal supplementary air inlets for increased cooling, while the top part (including the canopy) rises substantially forming an aircraft-shaped structure (characterised by a pair of wings that connect the cockpit to the two rectangular air intakes/outlets, a T-/cruciform tail with large horizontal stabilisers, and a pair of small rocket boosters on the nose) and revealing a powerful, enormous 5-piece (one large, two medium-sized, and two small) jet engine underneath. The emergency braking system works by activating the two front boosters, tilting forward the two horizontal stabilisers to create air friction, and deploying a large braking parachute.
After separating from the central module, the rear module transforms into a submersible watercraft. The sides swing down revealing a pair of large impellers in the inner surfaces of the wheels (which make the vehicle hover on dry land), the front panel swings down allowing a secondary cockpit (equipped with canopy, twin headlamps on the nose and hinged torpedo launchers on the sides) to slide forward, while the roof and the rear panel fold like a "map", exposing the huge propeller (which is the upside-down jet engine) to view.
Central module
The central vehicle is equipped with four nicely sculpted all-terrain tires. The front part shows a louvered vent on the top as well as the signature nose-mounted scanner bar with red and yellow patterns, i.e., two lines that sweep horizontally and a central pulsing "eye" that allows CoBoN to "see". The cockpit is furnished with three round windows on each side below the canopy hinged at the back, while the side skirts project outwards to connect to the fender skirts of the side modules (in the fully combined configuration, the central vehicle is not attached to the rear vehicle; this connection is only established once the two side modules detach). The back part is wide and includes the hood (which can slide backward to reveal the amazing turbine engine) topped by two large exhausts and flanked by two massive air intakes/outlets.
During hyper-speed transformation, the louvered vent moves up becoming a shaker scoop, while the front bumper slides forward and partially rises to form a spoiler and to produce extra downforce.
After separating from the rear module, the central module transforms into a combat aerial vehicle. The wheels retract for hover conversion, the front bumper rotates to reveal a nose cone vaguely resembling a bird's head, the sides swing down to deploy a pair of variable-sweep wings with circular saw blades at their tips, and the bodywork (including the canopy/roof, replaced by a secondary transparent canopy that slides forward to cover the cockpit) swings up and back and converts to a H-/twin tail equipped with a pair of rotating laser guns on the sides, and a powerful jet engine fitted with four additional control surfaces arranged in an X-shape.
Description
As I mentioned at the beginning of this review, although the prototype is named CoBoN Mark II like the entirety of the machine, the transformed form of the central module is the only part that comes in toy form. The cool bird-themed silver nose at the front includes the distinctive scanner bar, represented well by a black lenticular sticker, while at the tip of each swivelling wing is a spinning saw blade. There's also a piece at the back that features two pivoting (around a transverse axis) cannons. The hinged canopy (with some sculpted circuitry patterns on the clear portion) opens up and there is room inside the cockpit for one regular figure as well as the sphere-shaped AI module that came with CoBoN 2.0. No real unique features inside, but there are some handles for a figure to hold onto in order to safely control the vehicle.
Accessories
Apart from an articulated flight stand, CoBoN Mark II comes with two cybernetic processor units (basically two small tech-looking, card-shaped devices) that can be slid into apt sockets placed in CoBoN (Mark I, since Mark II's AI module is separate) and LoGoN vehicle forms' dashboards. I had never even noticed the presence of those slots in the two vehicles and I'm very happy we get these pieces of Theriom-tech that we fleetingly saw in a couple of comic book issues, namely The ultimate curse and Terror from the clouds.
Also included is an new version of Masq-Lor that features a wax sculpture-inspired look. This is basically a repaint of Apprentice Minister Masq-Lor with his Horizon Edition unhelmeted head and cuirass, which resembles the hero's waxy depiction made by Psadimyr as seen in the comics of the Horizon series. The figure is cast in an off-white/light yellow plastic and shows a shiny surface. Masq-Lor's wax sculpture comes with no weapon, but is (paradoxically) fully articulated and actually looks cool controlling CoBoN in the vehicle's flight deck.
Final thoughts
Overall: the transformed central module of CoBoN Mark II gets a solid thumbs-up from me. I like the design, I like the quality, but there's not much more to it than what I described. The spinning blades are fun, but another more imaginative feature or two would have been welcome. It is a rather decent sized vehicle, though, and I'm still trying to decide how to display it, since I'm not planning to make it a centrepiece item, but it does need an adequate amount of space. Of course, including a (sort of) variant of Masq-Lor, the figure that started it all, was a clever decision that really brought a smile to my face
Rating: ☺☺☺☺☺ / 5
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