Besides Bandai Spirits, Kotobukiya, and more recently Good Smile Company, another company that’s becoming more and more active in the hobby market is Takara Tomy, and their T-Spark label of collector-oriented products. While I’m a more casual Transformers and Zoids collector, a good number of items from their display already has my attention.
Synergenex Shield-D-Prime
It’s almost a year since they first revealed Synergenex Shield-D-Prime so for those who forgot, this figure represents the collaboration of Takara Tomy’s flagship franchises: Transformers, Zoids, and Diaclone. It’s essentially a Shield Liger that transforms into Optimus Prime and can be piloted by a Dianaut.
I really like the design of this machine, and how it’s implemented makes perfect sense. The only thing I have against it, at least personally, is the potential size since this is supposed to be 1/60 scale to match the Dianaut. At the moment, we’ll have to see until more details are fleshed out but just from the samples on display, they look really good.
It’s main gimmick is the transformation from Shield Liger to Optimus Prime-ish mode, which is just the figure standing up. I believe it also has to be compatible with Diaclone sets so I assume there’s some modularity involved here. That said, no other information is currently available, but not for long as solicitations for this guy are scheduled to open around June.
Synergenex Basara Prime
Still on Synergenex, we also have a gray prototype display for Synergenex Basara Prime, the Macross 7 and Transformers collaboration item. Earlier this year, they had a lone sample shown during T-Spark Zone 2025. Now they have two, and this provides some interesting ideas on what they’re trying to do here.
So here’s Basara Prime, and we now see its transformation to the Fire Valkyrie-inspired fighter mode. Scrutinizing the fighter mode for a bit, you could see what appears to be some significant under carriage and for a tried and tested transforming design, this is something I don’t expect, unless there’s some other feature they’re hiding.
And that’s where the new item we’re seeing comes into play. Basara Prime apparently comes with a “live stage” where he can play the Matrix of Leadership-infused guitar, complete with speakers and all. And if it’s not yet obvious, this “live stage” clearly looks like a trailer folded open, you can even see the wheels and what appears to be space for attaching a cab section. Thus, I’m inclined to believe that Basara Prime is going to be a triple-changer: a robot, fighter, and an Optimus Prime-inspired truck to haul the live stage trailer.
We’ll have to wait for official solicitations to confirm this speculation, but what’s confirmed are the additional face parts. One masked, one unmasked, and another unmasked face with an open/singing mouth. Solicitations are yet to open, though some mention a Spring 2026 release.
Realize Model 1/100 Shield Liger [Bang Freiheit Custom]
Last on this list is what will be my second Realize Model purchase, the Realize Model 1/100 Shield Liger [Bang Freiheit Custom] the predecessor to the Blade Liger released earlier.
Since I’m not as verse with Realize Model engineering when compared to Gunpla, I can’t say how much of the Blade Liger kit is going to be reused for the Shield Liger. Not to mention the Shield Liger should actually be a little smaller, so this might be an entirely new mold. Regardless, I do want to close out Zoids: Chaotic Century with the purchase of this kit. Maybe I can even do a dual build, but that will have to wait as no release dates are currently provided.
Takara Tomy is quite aggessive with their T-Spark label and the numerous brands it has announced. Fortunately for me, I have a more casual approach in getting their releases, though that can easily change once they suddenly announce a whole slew of items within my interests.
