Toy prototype details
Name: CoBoN Mark III
Subtitle: levitating armoured battlecraft
Line: KR|Horizon
Item type: vehicle - Nº 2 in the line.
Character details
Name: CoBoN Mark III
Classification: fighting vehicle
Home: Tahron
Era: 15 years after Foundation
Affiliation: Theriom
Rank: transport.
Background
First appearance: KR|Horizon #1 - The Destructomorph legacy
Brief bio: after sustaining severe damage to its Mark II components during the final battle against Deptilion and his army, CoBoN was rebuilt into a levitating train-like vehicle. Its new form was propelled by a unique power unit, granting it enhanced mobility, access to powerful advanced weaponry, and an impressive range of defence configurations.
Concept
As explained in the CoBoN 3.0 review, this new incarnation of CoBoN is a silver-painted, levitating train-like combat vehicle with a revolutionary design, and like its previous versions, it is powered by a classified energy source and controlled by an advanced AI. Similarly to its predecessor, the Mark II, this model is composed of multiple modular units; when needed, these modules can deploy or separate as individual vehicles, each equipped with powerful jet engines and capable of transforming into other types of attack craft or even robots. There’s a clear influence here from late-70s Japanese TV shows such as Dinosaur Expedition Born Free, Dinosaur Great War Izenborg, and Dinosaur Corps Koseidon, all of which placed a strong emphasis on modular and combining vehicles.
As explained in the CoBoN 3.0 review, this new incarnation of CoBoN is a silver-painted, levitating train-like combat vehicle with a revolutionary design, and like its previous versions, it is powered by a classified energy source and controlled by an advanced AI. Similarly to its predecessor, the Mark II, this model is composed of multiple modular units; when needed, these modules can deploy or separate as individual vehicles, each equipped with powerful jet engines and capable of transforming into other types of attack craft or even robots. There’s a clear influence here from late-70s Japanese TV shows such as Dinosaur Expedition Born Free, Dinosaur Great War Izenborg, and Dinosaur Corps Koseidon, all of which placed a strong emphasis on modular and combining vehicles.
Description
This set consists of a monorail system featuring a motorised train-like vehicle inspired by CoBoN Mark III, which runs on a track surrounding up to four Tahron playset parts. Just like with earlier versions, while this comic incarnation of CoBoN is very large and can carry many characters, the toy version is much smaller and not to scale with the KR figures, being able to only fit a few.
This set consists of a monorail system featuring a motorised train-like vehicle inspired by CoBoN Mark III, which runs on a track surrounding up to four Tahron playset parts. Just like with earlier versions, while this comic incarnation of CoBoN is very large and can carry many characters, the toy version is much smaller and not to scale with the KR figures, being able to only fit a few.
The system includes 13 pieces of monorail track (made slightly translucent to mimic the appearance of an energy beam), 20 support arms, and a set of four carriages connected by universal joints and designed to run along the track. The monorail track attaches to either four or five arms of each type (i.e., industrial looking blueish-grey metal, greenish-brown wood, carved gold, and reddish-grey stone) mounted on up to four towers or extension pieces. The track can also be shortened to operate around as few as one playset piece. A power unit, shaped like a pair of long, high-tech jet engines, houses a small battery-powered motor and features pivoting side guns; it can attach to any of the four modules (by default the second, which acts as the locomotive, while the others have clear passive "hangers") and powers them along the monorail track. This of course limits operation to either a series of carriages or a single carriage at a time. I wish the set had included a second power unit to allow for more play options, even if not comic book accurate. All the modules feature blocky, sci-fi shapes, with ladders, tanks, antennas and navigation lights, as well as panel lines, vents and hatches suggesting complex internal systems.
1 – Leading module
This module has been described extensively in the CoBoN 3.0 review. The toy version fatefully reproduces its basic form, except that it can only seat one figure. It features a large (spanning nearly the entire top surface of the module’s front part), partially transparent canopy (its clear panels are tinted orange and detailed with sculpted circuitry patterns) hinged at the front so it swings forward to open, while the rear section of the cockpit cover slides backward allowing a lying figure to fit inside (the two small cockpit seats serve as footrests for it). It is also equipped with wheels that enable it to function as a ground-travelling vehicle.
Additionally, the leading module can connect to the top of the ground base station, attaching to the augmented robot’s forward-tilted head with its rear/side section deployed as a gunner drone, forming an even larger turret.
2 – Locomotive
Positioned behind the leading module, this unit includes, from top to bottom, the engine room (i.e., the above-mentioned power unit), the bridge for crew operations, and a lower cargo area. The three sections can be separated and used in different combinations; for example, the power unit can be paired with the cargo section alone or with any other module. The bridge section features a wide, partially transparent front-facing viewport that, like the canopy on the leading module, has orange-tinted clear panels detailed with sculpted circuitry. Once the power unit is detached, we get full access to the main control area: the front window panel flips up, the side panels open, and the entire roof lifts up (and, if needed, detaches). When fully opened, it reveals seven crew spinning seats: two for drivers, four for support terminals (comms and weapons) and one for the commander, all at a much smaller scale than the KR figures. Fortunately, the set includes seven mini figures modelled after some key KR characters (Masq-Lor, Fai-Rha, Herrion, Sei-Lha, Xonedar, Mor-Rak and Sajron; each figure features ball jointed hips and shoulders, an ab crunch, hinged knees and elbows, and has magnets on the bottom of the feet, allowing you to recreate a variety of action scenes), which is a very nice touch! There's a really great level of detail in this area, with control panels on the front, as well as maps and charts along the back and side walls. It's also customisable, as the seats and handrails are movable and can be arranged in various configurations. The captain’s chair, however, is locked in place because it’s tied to a fun gimmick. The chair is normally positioned to look through a clear, blue-tinted targeting screen, but if you turn a dial hidden behind two small opening hatch doors at the very front of the module, the screen lowers and the chair raises simultaneously, presumably to give the captain a better command view. Another cool gimmick is the bridge elevator on the back wall. It has a small gate that opens and closes, and when you turn a dial at the upper back-right corner of the bridge, the elevator lowers and pops out from the bridge floor, allowing a crew member to descend into the cargo area or, if that section is detached, to venture outside and explore the surroundings; turning the dial the opposite way raises the elevator again. When the bridge section is detached from the cargo and two side wings are flipped down and extended, it can function as an independent command aircraft. Its design resembles a Cereutian ship from the KR|EoF comics and even reminds me a bit of the Marvels’ Hoopty. It can also rest on sturdy little landing stands that tuck away when it’s in full flight mode.
The lower cargo section features a large wheel-like ornament on either side, which are intended to become the shoulders/helipads of the augmented robot/ground base. These are magnetically attached, allowing them to rotate, which adds another layer of playability. This section can be used independently of the upper bridge section to transport a single lying regular figure or other “cargo” by opening a barred door hinged at the front, just above the joint with the leading module. It includes a trigger mechanism (i.e., a radar dish-shaped rear tab that rotates 90 degrees upward from a horizontal rest position and can swivel in either direction) which, when engaging with an apposite hook clipped to the track, opens the bottom door to drop its contents.
Additionally, the combined upper and lower sections can connect to the front port of the ground base station by opening the two upper-torso hatch doors, lifting the chest reactor that functions as a locking tab to secure the unit in place, and lowering the lower-torso hatch door to serve as a support. Once attached, the unit transforms into the base’s bridge (although it's not comic book accurate), and opening the bow doors reveals, as before, two floors: an upper control area and a lower cargo area. The front door of the cargo room can drop and extend to form a hinged platform that lowers to the level of the base's front runways, allowing for cargo loading.
3 – Snowhawk transporter
This module is essentially a rectangular box topped with an orange-tinted dome on the upper right surface, which splits open when the side walls swing outward on long hinges. The large fold-out panels themselves house piping running along the length of the interior, ladders, fuelling and maintenance stations, control panels and consoles, as well as service platforms for the mini figures. In the centre, a launch track supporting a transport can be raised to a 45-degree angle. All of this brings back memories of imaginative concepts from my childhood, such as G.I. Joe Defiant and Faitus-1 from Dinosaur Corps Koseidon. This carriage can connect to either the toe or the heel of either foot of the ground base station.
The module contains a pearlescent white aircraft designed for operation in snowy environments. It features a retractable cockpit that telescopes forward to seat up to three minifigures beneath an orange-tinted clear canopy hinged at the rear. It also includes twin nose-mounted guns, a rear inverted T-shaped hydrofoil with deployable continuous tracks, and a front fin keel (or rather a centreboard, because it's retractable) with an added central monoski that allows the transport to slide smoothly along the launch track. Access to the three-seat cockpit is provided by a pair of boarding ladders, which fold upward to become small front wings equipped with laser guns at their tips. At the rear, a pair of folded wings expose impellers as well as racks for two bombs on their undersurfaces; when folded down, these wings reveal two side-mounted hideaway missile launchers attached to the hull, which can swing up and "fire" detachable missiles. The vehicle is intended to operate either in jet mode for high-altitude bombing, with the wings extended and bombs carried for release (either bomb can alternatively be mounted under the main body) or in snowmobile mode for streamlined reconnaissance, with the wings retracted and treads and ski deployed.
Additionally, by flipping up a second U-shaped hydrofoil-like structure from the top of the main body and attaching the power unit to it, the aircraft can "fly" along the track. Alternatively, by attaching the power unit to the lower hydrofoil and rotating the aircraft upside down, the transport can function as a jetpack fighter, allowing a regular figure to lie prone with their hips resting in the newly deployed hydrofoil structure while gripping the laser guns on the smaller wings (now folded in the opposite direction), creating the impression that the figure is flying and blasting as the vehicle moves along the track. Finally, when not motorised or suspended, the aircraft can attach to the top of any one of the carriages, transforming into a sort of gun turret.
4 – Tidebull carrier
Like the previous module, this one is essentially a rectangular box, this time with some orange-tinted windows on the two-seat rear side. The side panels swing open to reveal interior play features, including a repair bay with a robotic arm, a radar unit, fold-up cannons/missile launchers, coil-like electrical generators and a launch platform for a small land vehicle, while a rear wall folds down to form an extendable ramp. Again, these elements strongly evoke some imaginative play concepts I remember from childhood, particularly Diaclone Cosmo Roller and Diaclone Battle Convoy (later reimagined as Optimus Prime in Transformers G1). This carriage can connect to either the toe or the heel of either foot of the ground base station.
The included small, anthracite land vehicle is packed with features, starting with large exhaust pipes on the sides, opening gull-wing doors, a rear door that folds down, and an asymmetric windshield (the right side is recessed and fitted with a targeting scope, along with a swivelling gun mounted on the left side of the hood, which can also be opened to access the internal engine). Up front there’s a winch line with a hook, and headlights that—at least fictionally—are meant to conceal either a pair of laser cannons or launchable spiked balls on chains. A rotating roof turret carries twin cannons that pivot up and down, while a pair of rear-mounted guns, also able to pivot vertically, are positioned on the sides. The interior detailing is excellent, featuring seats for three mini figures (with the rear passenger even getting a small table), a futuristic looking dashboard and compartments for storing weapons and repair tools. Removing the turret allows a roof hatch to flip up, revealing a cluster of twelve missile launchers. In the comics, this vehicle is capable of separating into two parts: the bodywork, by flipping its left and right halves 180 degrees and deploying a flip-up propeller, becomes a jet-ski/hovercraft-style vehicle, while the chassis compresses side-to-side and front-to-back to form an attack bike, each being chock-full with weaponry. Unfortunately, this split-mode feature isn't actually included in the toy.
Finally, with the roof turret removed, the vehicle is designed to function as the lower half of a standard robotic-style figure, with the figure’s upper body intended to plug onto the roof to form a combined robot mode (if you remember the Beast Machines from Power Lords, you'll know what this looks like).
Final thoughts
Overall: this new incarnation of CoBoN is an outstanding set and a fitting highlight to wrap up the Horizon segment of the KR line. With its striking sculpted details, clever modular design and sheer play potential, it manages to feel both substantial and imaginative despite its intentionally (and necessarily) downsized scale. The sturdy build, excellent paintwork and overall versatility make it endlessly fun to play and display. It’s a welcome addition to any KR collection, especially for fans who value ambitious design and dynamic play. In short, this is a visually impressive and highly enjoyable set that feels like a true celebration of what the KR line has achieved over the last decade
Rating: ☺☺☺☺ / 5
