Toybox REVIEW: 52TOYS Megabox MB-01 Alien

Release Date: May 2018

RRP: $29.99

52TOYS' Beast Box line has been going from strength to strength with its own fantastic cube animal designs, but now that the line has gained some traction it's also turning its attention toward some more iconic figures in popular culture. Enter Megabox – an offshoot of the Beast Box line which so far has revealed to be covering the likes of the Alien franchise, Predator and even Getter Robo. The first release in this line is known as both a Xenomorph or the Big Chap, but to most of the world is probably just best known as the Alien. Based on the design from the first Alien film, the Megabox MB-01 Alien kicks off 52TOYS foray into licensed designs in a big way.

Toybox REVIEW: Beast Box BB-05 Delta

Release Date: July 2018 (International)

RRP: 2678 yen (Japan)

Not so long ago Beast Box was simply this charming but obscure little selection of robot dinosaur figures most collectors would simply come across on Chinese social media posts, but thanks to a wider release on both Japanese and American website 52TOYS fun little range of transforming animal cubes has gathered quite the fan following. We've had a dinosaur, a gorilla and a mammoth, and now it's time to go back to the age of the dinosaurs once again with the release of BB-05 Delta. The fourth mould in the Beast Box line, Delta is initially available in his standard blue and white colourscheme, a TRON-line neon deco and an orange rescue repaint named Vanguard.

Toybox REVIEW: 52TOYS Beast Box BB-04 Moma & BB-04EL Elephinx

Release Date: January 2018

RRP: 2678 yen/$21.99

Last year a little Chinese company by the name of 52TOYS rocked the world of transforming robot toys with their Beast Box line - affordable robot animals which all share an alternate cute mode. The line kicked off with the cute but deadly BB-01 DIO (followed closely by the remoulded BB-02 Ghost Dog as well as Police and Clear repaints), with BB-02 JOJO (along with flame and clear variants) coming some months later. That might not sound like many releases, but the line certainly made up for it in charm and ingenuity. Now they're kicking 2018 off with the third mould from their mechanical menagerie - BB-04 Moma! The mighty mammoth is currently available in three different variants - standard, clear and BB-04EL Elephinx.

Favourite Toys of 2017

2017 has come to a close and since I had so much fun putting a list together last year, I thought I'd go ahead and count down my top 10 favourite toys that I've purchased and reviewed over the last year. It's been a great year for S.H. Figuarts so as expected the line pops up a fair few times, but there's also a few surprises along the way too. To keep the list as varied as possible I've tried to spread the Figuarts entries across different series (so one Kamen Rider, one Ultraman etc.) on top of an additional entry for the Shinkocchou Seihou line. 

Honourable mentions for the handful of figures I bought this year, but haven’t been included as I either haven’t reviewed them yet or they’re still in transit. Few of them would have probably made the top 10, but they deserve a mention regardless:

- Proplica Gurren Lagann Core Drill
- Figma Deadpool [DX Edition]
- Figma Red
- S.H. Figuarts -Shinkocchou Seihou- Kamen Rider 1
- S.H. Figuarts Takeshi Hongo
- Nendoroid Ash Ketchum
- NX-Edge Style Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann

Now that's out of the way, let's take a closer look at some of my favourite releases of 2017!

Toybox REVIEW: 52TOYS Beast Box BB-03 JOJO

Release Date: September 2017 (Japan)

RRP: 2678 yen

There have been a lot of great toys released in 2017, but few have won me over quite like 52TOYS’ Beast Box line has. This year saw the Chinese company’s humble little line hit worldwide, with transforming toy collectors all scrambling to pick up their charming (and affordable) transforming cubes. Only a few months after the mass release of their BB-01 DIO and BB-02 Ghost Dog dinosaur figures, they’re back with a brand new creature – Beast Box BB-03 JOJO. This ferocious gorilla is the second animal in their planned series of releases, with a triceratops also initially teased on the back of BB-01’s packaging. Like DIO JOJO also comes in a variety of different colourschemes to suit every taste – kicking things off with both the standard purple and a red/blue “flame” variant.

Toybox REVIEW: 52TOYS Beast Box BB-01 DIO (Police Colour & Neon Blue Versions)

Release Date: March 2017 (Japanese release)
RRP: 1512 yen

Although there may only be two different characters in 52TOYS Beast Box line thus far, that hasn’t stopped the Beijing-based company from maximising their product with the one thing every transforming toy embraces – repaints! In addition to their BB-01 DIO and BB-02 Ghost Dog releases, 52TOYS have also released Police Colour and Neon Blue variants of mascot character DIO – bringing this first wave of Beast Box toys up to the healthy number of four. By the looks of it a few other colourations have been released in China as well, but these were the ones deemed worthy enough to be included in line’s long-awaited wider distribution.

Toybox REVIEW: 52TOYS Beast Box BB-02 Ghost Dog

Release Date: March 2017 (Japanese release) 

RRP: 1512 yen 

Following a release through Japanese hobby stores such as Amiami in the past month, Chinese company 52TOYS’ adorable line of Beast Box transforming figures are now readily available to any collector who’s happened to come across one of the various pictures and stop-motion videos being shared of these little things. The line is still very much in its early days with only two numbered releases to its name – BB-01 DIO (who as the “mascot” figure is available in standard, police and neon variants) and BB-02 Ghost Dog, a remould of the BB-01 dino figure with a brand new head sculpt. What’s the meaning behind the name “Ghost Dog”? Who knows, but it’s pretty cool though.

Toybox REVIEW: 52TOYS Beast Box BB-01 DIO

Release Date: Available now (China), March 2017 (Japan)

RRP: 1512 yen (Japan)

Created by Chinese company 52TOYS, Beast Box is a line that’s quickly taking Asian toy collectors by storm. Currently available in four different flavours (BB-01 DIO, BB-02 Ghost Dog and then DIO B.B.P.D. and Neon Blue variants), these cube-to-dinosaur transforming figures have become the subject of many stop motion videos online – catching the eye of collectors across the world. Although the line is currently only available from China, a Japanese release is coming at the end of March 2017 (with preorders already available via Amiami) followed by a possible US release in the near future. Eager to get my hands on one as soon as possible, I scoured the internet to bring readers an English language review of the line’s mascot figure, BB-01 DIO, just ahead of Japanese release.