KRE-O TF Kreon Micro-Changers Spotlight!

10.22.2012 – American brand Hasbro and Korean toy manufacturer Oxford are the two toy companies behind the successful KRE-O building sets has jump on the mini figure blind packs that LEGO and Mega Bloks have enjoyed a big market of interest for this particular theme. Some collectors are mostly interested in the mini figures minus the building sets that came with them, and as you all know, LEGO has been at the forefront with this theme.

The other brands, like Mega Bloks and now KRE-O, have followed suit in having their own blind packs dedicated to their themed products.

For KRE-O who which doesn’t know or hear about their product, that Hasbro introduced sometime in mid-2010 is their current building toy brand that has the interlocking bricks similar to other leading brands like LEGO and Mega Bloks.

The product is primarily focused on Hasbro’s main brands, including Transformers, Battleship, G.I. Joe, and the upcoming Star Trek sets for the 2013 release. Originally, KRE-O was the Korean toy brand name Oxford Blocks, which Hasbro is using for its in-house IP brands. The Korean company has been known for producing its own products exclusively for its country and other regions nearby since the 1990s.

They have their own range of themed sets. If you have been buying the KRE-O sets, most of the mini-figures used are the same ones from their own products. But under the KRE-O brand for Hasbro, they have produced new molds for their Transformers brand.

The collaboration with Hasbro and Oxford in bringing Kre-O has produced a mini figure blind pack series in the Transformers Kreons Micro-Changers that are All-Decepticon in their roster for the first series, and to complete in this wave you get all of the six characters.

From the six characters we have on-hand featuring three Kreons in Galvatron, Spinister, and Waspinator that we take a closer look on each of these characters based from the Transformers Generation One and Best Wars Series. They are Galvatron and Spinister from the G1 series, while Waspinator represent the Beast Wars series. What’s interesting about these new mini-packs is they have incorporated the 2 in 1 build concept based from turning into vehicles, weapons, and animals from the Transformers brand.

With each mini figure character, they have their own alternate mode that they can transform into. But the truth is, just like the bigger sets that you have to rebuild and rebuild them into robot or their alternate mode.







Sometimes, that idea doesn’t get translated easily to younger audience, since some expected they "transform" without the need to dismantle and rebuild them in another form. But sometimes, this will depend on the character's alternate form that doesn't relate to the actual toy that is based from.

For these three characters, the best figure in robot mode by terms of design, and based from its original counterpart is Galvatron. But if you notice his helmet which was a straight repaint from the Sentinel Prime mini figure that came with the set. While the arm cannon is from Megatron, which also from the first wave of Kre-O sets that was released during the promotion of the relase of the Transformers Dark of the Moon.







The next figure is not largely popular like any Decepticon that had a Kre-O mini figure, but for any hardcore Transformers Fan, they know this character named Spinister is based on the Target Master toy that came with two weapons that turn into two Nebulan humanoid.

In fact, even though Spinister is not as popular as the other mainstream characters like Starcream, this Decepticon has appeared in comics playing a larger role in the Armada series published by Dreamwave Comics. But for those who hasn’t been introduced to Spinister, the original toy was a Decepticon Target Master with his own minions, which is a deep cuot character to be included in this first series of the blind packs.







The mini figure version recycles Mirage helmet with a new face made exclusive for this figure. The simplest mini figure that transforms in his helicopter mode doesn’t leave any parts unlike Galvatron which doesn’t look exactly as what he looks like in packaging or even in the actual toy.

The only character from the Beast Wars series is none other than Waspinator, the Predacon which transforms into an insect. The mini figure version uses Jazz helmet to hide his bug-eyed face, which doesn’t really show that he’s a Beast Wars character. But rather more like the famed Autobot in green with all the parts attachments to make him this buzzy Predacon.







In all the three mini figures, the best having its parts intact is Spinister. Unlike Galvatron, in his laser cannon mode he leaves parts of his helmet while Waspinator leaves his legs. In robot mode, Waspinator leaves some parts out from his beast mode.

But whenn you look at Spinister, he has his parts turn into a huge weapon or part of his body in helicopter mode. Spinister is not entirely looking like the actual character, since we mentioned that he's just recycling some parts from previous Kreon figures like his helmet from Mirage.



The Kreon Micro-Changers pack is an interesting set, which is now sold in the Philippines for PhP 150.00 pesos.

But at Great Toys Online, a specialty shop, they are selling all six as a set for PhP 1,500.00 pesos. They are also selling this as an individual pack, but if you looking for this to complete the set they have it too.





The KRE-O Transformers: Kreon Micro-Changers blind pack series is available in retail, and it’s on random blind packs. But if you know the red serial numbers to pick your favourite character without buying the entire set in the front of the packaging, you won’t have any problems sorting out which one you’d like to get.





Overall if you want to get one, Galvatron maybe the best out of the three, which is the most familiar Decepticon. You should start getting him first, as it might be the most wanted mini figure among the the six characters for this first series.