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					Roy's Toys Shelf
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Force Commander and Oberon-Micronauts, Mego Meat and Potatoes; 5.0 Perks; 5.0 Homer Factor; 5.0
				Description; One of the great '70s, sci-fi combiners come to life. Force Commander is approximately 5" tall and appears to be in white, powered armor with red hi-lights.  A number of weapons ports are on his torso.  His trusty steed Oberon is also white and looks bascially like a horse with some armor on the chest and tail.  Both pieces have solid articualtion, with an additional perk being the arms and legs of both pieces are removable and can be replaced with other items, such as weapons. Both figures come with a multitude of removable weapons and other accessories.
	SERIOUS blast from the past here.  Besides Star Wars figures, EVERYBODY had Micronauts.  You remember those; about the same 3" size, but with funky metallic paint, and almost every piece was either transformable or had removable pieces that were interchangable with pieces from other toys.  Unfortunately, Micronauts hasn't had the same staying power Transfomers and Star Wars has.  It doesn't help the US distributor, Mego, doesn't exist anymore, and the comic produced by Marvel, The Micronauts, hasn't been printed in ages.  Good news is the line is still alive and kicking in Japan under it's original moniker, Microman.  Bad news is you can get new stuff only at import prices.  Ouch.  Too bad no one has snatched the license in the US, because these toys were awesome.  I still own my Force Commander and Oberon.  Granted, not mint-in-box by any means, but still fine pieces of work.  The meat and potatoes of both pieces are very solid.  Force Commander is well-sculpted, with panel lines and gun ports, and Oberon has a great techno-organic look as FC's faithful stallion. Articulation is also excellent.  Both pieces have shoulders, hips, elbows, and knees.  Painting doesn't really come into play since both pieces are bleach white with a few red high-lights, just like the comic.  Not as colorful as a Gundam piece, but if you've read the comic, it's appropriate. The perks are also superb.  Force Commander and Oberon come with an assortment of rockets, wheels, and  connectors allowing you to transform both figures into assorted forms.  You can remove Force Commander's arms and give him a massive missile battery, you can replace Oberon's legs with wheels and turn him into a tank.  One of the big reasons this works so well is the shoulder and hip joints for Force Commander aren't screwed in as normal; they're magnets.  There is a large magnet inside the torso with sockets at each joint, and there is a corresponding ball on each arm and leg.  The ball from the limb simply slips into the proper socket and fits very well, but doesn't fall off due to the magnet.  The range of motion is very smooth, and the magnets have lasted even after 23 years of wear.  The best transformation is right out of the comic; turning both figures into a powerful centaur.  Pop off Oberons' head, remove Force Commander's legs, and just plug them in.  Ok, that's sounds real gruesome, but trust me, it looks great on the toy.  The Homer factor was high on both pieces for me.  I thought the comic from Marvel was ok, but the toys were so unique you had to get them.  Like the Transformers, each piece was more then just a robot, or plane, or tank.  They could also be changed into animals, more robots, missile launchers... you get the idea.  So there you have it, ANOTHER toy-line begging to be brought back to life.  Hey Takara, since you're in a re-release mood...