Kre-O Reviews by Scrapper6 Redux

[Scrapper6]

Well my fellow Kre-O enthusiasts, as promised today is Thursday and that means another Kre-O Battleship review. Sadly my last one, until I pick up the USS Missouri set which will be the final Battleship set to get.

However don't despair, later on in 2013 we have G.I.Joe and Star Trek Kre-O sets to look forward to, and I intend to review all of them as enthusiastically as I have done for the Battleship line. And what a set to end off on!


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This is the largest of the Kre-O Battleship sets outside of the Battleship herself, priced at retail at 44.99$ this set is an actual set. Not simply a vehicle, but a bonafide playset, featuring four Kreons, a marine station of some sort with helipad, miniature helicopter, working crane, prison and just all around a great looking set.

The Battle Base model is being re-purposed into some sort of Cobra or Joe installation next year, I think it's a Joe base actually as the Cobra Kreons are there to bust Cobra Commander out according to the write-up online. The Joe version is in a different color and will more than likely feature different mini-vehicles and stickers.

That being said let's get on with the images and the F U N fun.


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This is what the back of a Kre-O box typically looks like, showcasing the features, the set and the Kreons all in an impressive design. At least for the 2012 sets. The older 2011 TF sets are unfortuantely a tad on the blah side, but that's ok, they were just learning.


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Instruction Manual image so you can see it. Huzzah.


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BEHOLD! It's majestic, it's stupendous, it's so dang big even for something that doesn't look it on the box you've got to be all out just to get it all in the one shot.

This is the Battle Base, for the purposes of this review we'll be doing everything in two posts as I said due to the number of images involved. I wanted to cover as much as possible and so took shots of everything. For the rest of this post we'll discuss all aspects of the base at large and walk you around it photographically speaking. And these images are just with the four Kreons that come with the set, imagine what it would look like fully populated.

Again this base was never in the movie, it's a real treat to see Hasbro actually making some effort at play value and competetion for LEGO brand products of a similar nature, with most of the Kre-O sets we've only had simple vehicles, troop building sets and of course the Transformers. This is to date the first official Kre-O playset, and it does not dissapoint.

Don't take my word alone for it though, just see for yourself, let's start the tour shall we?




We begin our tour at the modular section of the base, and I say modular because it is capable of being detached as it is connected via a small walkway/bridge that rises and lowers on a hinge joint and plugs in via two studs.

This is the Alien Prison, where the Alien Prisoner is kept, it features a fun build, a few sticker detail elements and some playability, which we'll get to when we show off more of the prison in another few photos.

Notice also the light pole off to the side, that is a welcome addition as it means that your Kreons can opperate this base during the day and night.


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Our next stop is the heli-pad station, it works as a decent enough heli-pad for the small helicopter included with this set or any other small sized aircraft, however if you tried to stick the Combat Chopper on here it wouldn't work out so well.

As you can see it rests on a blue baseplate to represent the ocean, and there are some extra diving accessories for the Kreons included here, a helmet and swimfins. It attaches to the main section via a small elevated walkway that also features our real working crane.

I am hoping to score another great deal on this set at discount prices so I can have two of them, I'm eager to build the second model in a reverse of this one to truly take advantage of the modular nature of the sections, by reversing the build I'm hoping to expand the Battle Base into a base that can service the Missouri properly.


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Here is the aforementioned walkway and crane. As you can see, much like LEGO, this set includes a string and mechanism for you to raise and lower the fuel drums in the net. Now there are two nets included, however the second net isn't for the crane.

The walkway isn't very wide, Kreons have a bit of trouble slipping past the crane to reach the heli-pad, then again I was just sticking Commando Divers up on it and they still had the flippers attached. So... Anyway, the crane doesn't have much of a length to it, however you don't really want to rope to be too long.


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And here are the fuel drums that go in the net, you build two of them and yes the little flammable symbol is a sticker, not printed.


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And here's the central hub up close from one angle, tons of sticker detailing here for the control panels and the display screens. A seat for the Kreon in charge to sit and monitor the ship from Alien Strike. And a nice big Navy Flag.


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Another shot, showing off the other display screen and its sticker, as well as weapon storage area for the Kreons' arsenal. You get all the typical guns found in Battleship sets, the gattling weapon, the semi-auto, and one or two others I believe.

Note another light on the base, it's so they can see what they're doing at night. Although there is no electonic features of this set, need I remind you KRE-O hasn't given us light-up bricks like LEGO has, and even then nothing that small.


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There's the lower section of the central platform, Kreons can stand just about anywhere you can fit them on this thing, and you can also store two of the Ocean Attack mini-subs there. Possibly even the boat from Alien Strike that Hopper and Raikes use, I haven't actually tried sticking it in there yet. Might be a bit too wide honestly.


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As promised here's more of the prison, the doors can open from either side and are designed to plug in loosely to simulate a break out by the aliens. They're still pretty solid though, not coming out/open unless you actually pull them.

Also it's a bit of a tight fit to get the Kreon in there unless his arms are at his side.


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And of interesting note, though squeezing a Kreon through there is tricky, you can open both rear barred windows to also simulate a break out. Everything about this set is just fun, fun looking, fun to fiddle around with, fun to modify if you so choose for display purposes and even fun enough to double up on and build a monster sized base that truly will stand out.


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There are even defenses to protect against alien attack, twin rockets to launch at invading enemies.

Now that we've taken this wonderful tour of the base model itself I shall end our first part of the review, mostly because I've got 11 more images to showcase for the Kreons, the Mini-Vehicles and stuff so we'll be covering all of that in the next post momentarily. As soon as this reply finishes loading and I can get to posting another.

Stay tuned for ratings, Kreons and everything else.

[Scrapper6]

Well thanks to my IE Browser having a F'ing meltdown right in the middle of my typing and forcing a shut down I just lost half of the work I was trying to accomplish.

Stupid ruddy piece of slag old and outmoded systems.

I'll just re-post the images with the cliff notes version of what I was saying.



Alien Prisoner Kreon, doesn't look like the actual character from the film who was captured. Pretty impressive none-the-less. The green color really makes him stand out.



Marine Patrol, another Kreon in Navy Blues, looks great and I consider him to be in charge of the Battle Base.


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Stealth Soldier Kreon, looks great and much more stealthy compared to the one found in Land Defence.


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This is the Alien Captain riding his one-person/being sky-sled vessel. He's heading in to retrieve the prisoner. It's just a tiny little model, nothing as impressive as what we got in other sets, but it works.


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The Alien Captain actually has rank insignia of some sort printed on his chest, he's also a unique looking color combination compared to most other Aliens. And he's using, I believe, the saw weapon attachment for his arm. He's a really nifty looking Kreon.


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And this of course is our small one-person craft, a miniature helicopter designed mostly for short range flights I'd imagine. It is fully enclosed, the panels on either side can lower and raise so you have access to the cockpit and then the Kreon will fit inside.

It also has another feature, one that is more play value for those who enjoy goofing around with their toys, or have younger children.





Yep, that second net attaches to a small peg piece on the helicopter and is used to transport the prisoner to the battle base. It works out quite nicely as a feature and can even be used to transport the cargo/fuel containers from the battle base to the deck of the Missouri if necessary.


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Our last three images are traditionally reserved for comparison shots. So here's the vehicles all together showing off the size variance between the Battle Base copter and the other Battleship vehicles.


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The reason why for the almost identical images, forgot the Mine Stryker in the first shot. Figured it couldn't hurt to have two similar pictures.


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Well there you have it folks, the Battle Base in all its glory and everything included with it.

I think this is a really great offering from Hasbro, I give it 5 out of 5, it works great as a base/playset for your Kreons, the price, while close to the same as Sentinel Prime for less pieces is still ok. And if you can score this from a liquidating Zellers as I did even at 40% off means you're getting a bargain.

I've really enjoyed the Battleship Theme/Brand of Kre-O sets. All of them are stellar looking models, some of them do have a few minor flaws. The prices however are much lower in certain instances compared to similar sets found in other competing brand names. And you usually get the same number of Mini-Fig style toys as the competitor for a fraction of the cost most LEGO sets will set you back.

The stickers of Battleship improved from the clunky first attempts of 2011 Transformers sets, and ultimately it's really up to you. Don't distance yourselves from these sets just because they're based on a mediocre film franchise. Instead try out one or two of them and see how you feel.

There is only one more set to review, and I'll be tackling that one once I pick it up, which could take a few months. (Unless Wal-Mart rollbacks it again from 40 to 20 making it within my current budgetary frame for picking up.)

One final set at mainline retail, until I can track one down you won't be hearing my thoughts on the small polybagged style Battle Boat set, which was handed out by Hasbro's Kre-O booths at numerous comic conventions this year. (Or invovled in some kind of giveaway I haven't been able to pin down exactly yet details wise.)

And don't worry, even if I do complete all of Battleship by January '13 we've still got February and a certain Elite Task Force Delta to begin reviewing. And don't forget to continue checking out our sister site Cybertron.ca for all your Transformers Kre-O reviews.

[Scrapper6]

I haven't gotten a review up since November of last year, to that I say... YO JOE!

Hasbro and Toy's-R-Us have partnered up to present the latest new addition to the Kre-O world, it's an entire line of exclusive products which, hopefully won't languish too much causing massive clearances and things. So that we can continue to get some decent sets out of the partnership with all of the main characters of the first few years at least.

First up on the review chopping block, is the smallest non-Blind Bagged item yet on offer, Hasbro calls it Checkpoint Alpha. Let's dive in shall we?


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The new G.I.Joe Kre-O boxes are the same basic designed box that has become standard for Kre-O Building Kits. Unlike Transformers which hasn't seemed to have a consistent packaging theme from year to year G.I.Joe Kre-O sets all come packaged in the same basic coloured and image styled boxes.

They also share design cues from the packaging of Retaliation, or at least the colours of the boxes are similar so you'll know these are movie tie in products. Not sure how good the sales have been honestly, not even sure how many Joe fans have begun to collect this new sub-line.

All I do know is that once again we find ourselves inundated with a product line full of Snake-Eyes and Storm Shadow on all the boxes. And that fancy little tagline, Toy's-R-Us Exclusive.


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The instructions are the same as Ocean Attack and Land Defence from Battleship, in that they are pull out pamphlet style sheets instead of actual booklets. The image from the front of the box is found on the front of the instructions and on the back is cross promotional images for other sets in the line.


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The back of the box however shows off the contents of the set, the few limited features available and that's pretty much par for the course when it comes to Hasbro's Kre-O Box Design. They're still pretty nifty looking though and a lot more dependable than LEGO boxes for storage of sets once you've finished displaying them.


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It's been a long time coming, but after years of wanting one I finally own my very own Checkpoint Alpha. Even if it isn't to scale with 3 3/4'' figures.
The contents of the set are, one fence, the checkpoint station itself, two Kreons (Law and Firefly) one dog (Order) and Firefly's Motorcycle. Oh yes and one embossed Kre-O brick for figure stand purposes... You know if there are more than One Kreon in a set Hasbro you should really consider making a brick for every figure in the set available, otherwise you're stuck with choosing who should use the stand.


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Behold Checkpoint Alpha, the basic build of which some claim is similar to the little checkpoint found in the Stealth Bumblebee set of 2012, I wouldn't know, I don't own that set, but this seems to be a much different build if sharing similar traits.

The fence is just three pieces, it isn't even a barricade attached to the checkpoint, a bit dissapointing for some, a bit mobile for others allowing for you to place it wherever you wish.

The loads of detail work on this evoke the original Checkpoint Alpha playset item, if I'm not mistaken, never owned or handled the thing personally. We've got American Flag stickers, a Cobra Logo on the computer screen which says Security Alert, a keyboard sticker for said computer's keyboard. An Authorized Personnel Only sign, a Restricted Area Present I.D. sign, a small G.I.Joe logo and the much larger G.I.Joe Checkpoint Alpha logo.

As I said, very evocative of what the playset itself looked like, there's even a search light, missile launcher and wireless communications antenna as part of the build.


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Another angle of the set, minus the little fence dealie. In order to get on top the Kreons need to climb up a small ladder on the side, unfortunately this ladder is a fairly small piece and doesn't extend all the way to the ground, the only real flaw in an otherwise decent looking model. I think Hasbro's design team might have been better served using the ladder that Starscream came with for climbing up to the defensive observation deck.

All in all though I think this little model is an ideal and fun set evocative of the classic 80's era Joes, and we haven't even touched upon the Kreons themselves yet. It isn't an overly complicated model, and the stickers aren't really too much of a hassle. Really, what more could you want in a set called Checkpoint Alpha?


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As for Law & Order, this Kreon duo is pretty much straight out of the 80's. From the detail work on the torso print evoking the sculpted detailing from the original 3 3/4'' figure, to the use of a brand new riot shield and the old pistol accessory we've seen in the past. Even his helmet says MP on it, this is Law.

Order is a bit more of a stretch, I don't own it yet, however I think the dog is built using similar pieces to the Pitbull found in Stealth Bumblebee's set. At least the back end might be the same, the front is an all new piece. He's meant to be a German Shepard and he pulls it off as well as a brick built Kre-O element can.

Much like with Transformers based sets the Kreons are the big sellers of these items, not only are they based more on the traditional A Real American Hero line, instead of more recent iterations of Joe, but they fit in scale-wise with our favorite Cybertronians. The bigger Brick Built variety at any rate, if you collect both lines you've got in your possession the first ever Official G.I.Joe vs. The Transformers toyline.


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On the Cobra side of things, we have Saboteur Firefly on his motorcylce intending to slip past Checkpoint Alpha and place a bomb at the Joe Base. (Kind of straight out of the old Comics and Cartoons I think.)

Firefly's Motorcylce is pretty much just a gray version of Barricade's Motorcylce from the Cycle Chase set of 2012, minus the side car. But it's still a nifty piece, using 5 pieces or so to make it.


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The plain colour scheme matches nicely with the gray used on Firefly's Kreon.


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Firefly himself is another great looking 1980's inspired Kreon, he's wearing his mask, he's got the camo, and his gun has a silencer on it if I'm not very much mistaken.


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He's also got a backpack, somewhat similar to his original figure's pack, with a clip for his gun (as you saw above) and a red piece that is sculpted to resemble a time bomb made out of a clock or watch and a few sticks of dynamite.

Yep, Firefly is one awesome looking Kreon, but it doesn't stop there.


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Yes friends, to my knowledge this is the first and only Kreon to introduce back printing on the torso. What a feat, I certainly hope we'll see them branch out more into this field, the plain backs are all well and good, but added detailing on the backs of the torsos is always much appreciated in Mini-Figure scaled form.

Really this set is a great little addition to the overal Joe line, you get Checkpoint Alpha, two wonderful 1980's inspired Kreons and some fun accessories.

I will note however that the clip on Firefly's backpack may snap if used too often, I only used it once to hold the gun and already I noticed a stress mark forming. I really wish Hasbro would adopt softer plastics for their clips like LEGO has.

And the lack of a properly sized ladder for access to the top of Checkpoint Alpha is also a bit of a let down, not game breaking, but seriously what are the Joes supposed to do to get up there and use that launcher? Since they haven't introduced any JUMPS yet they're kind of out of luck, or need a helping hand from their friendly neighbourhood Autobots.

I'd give this a solid 4.5 rating, there's really nothing too off about it, but at the end of the day it is a fairly small Battle Pack style set without the added benefit of having any Green Shirts to army build with. Everything about it though makes you feel like you're re-living the 80's toyline all over again, only this time you can have Cobra threten your LEGO City Mini-Figs and G.I.Joe come rushing to the rescue.

Well, there you have it folks. For my next Kre-I-Joe review we'll be visting the ancient lands of Japan... Or perhaps Tibet... Well it could be China's Mountain Range for all I know, when we meet up with Kre-O's versions of Snake-Eyes, Storm Shadow and the dreaded Ninja Vipers in Ninja Temple Battle. Be ready.