OK, does anyone know the story on this thing? I tried to search for info here but came up with nothing. I just bought one from a HK seller and recieved it in the mail yesterday. I'm a sucker for random things that turn into robots so I had to have it. It's alt mode is a full-size 'Rubik's cube', about the size of a large orange I guess (only square, der). Bot mode is remarkably big, probably taller than Animated Voyager Prime. And speaking of Prime, it's obviously meant to bear more than a passing resemblance to him. Transformation is relatively simple, fold legs down, rotate them, flip out the feet, flip out side panels (which become 'wings'), swing out the arms, fold down the chest panel to flip up the head and then the chest panel rotates to reveal a sculpted and more detailed side before folding it back up. Articulation is alright, but a little disappointing. Hips swing out (so he can sit), but there are no knees unless you turn the legs sideways. Shoulders swing out from the body sideways but not forward and back. Elbows move but remain at a slight angle so you can't make his arms straight. That's pretty much it. A rotating head would have been nice, but oh well. Quality is OK, sort of like a knock-off but a little better because it's not loose and it holds together really, really well with little tabs and locking pieces everywhere. There are a few random stickers here and there, such as the rear side of the head, that look like they came straight off of a 1980's pinball machine toy. My camera was being sassy last night so I wasn't able to snap any photos, but I did lift some directly from the auction and my sample looks exactly like the one in the photo. So yeah, WTF is this thing?
Any packaging for it that might have company info? Or even stamped on the figure itself? Any combination of searches for 'robot', 'cube', 'transforming' or 'toy' bring up either stuff about the Allspark or about a robot that can solve the Rubix Cube.
Nope. The auction said nothing but "Magic Puzzle Cube" and it came with no packaging or info sheet. There is one stamp on the inside, a square with a word or company name under it. I don't recall what the name is but I've never seen it before. I'll take a look when I get home and post it here.
For a second there, I thought its alt mode was fully functional. Were there any other characters available beside the prime lookalike?
Not that I noticed. My guess is that this is a knock-off of a toy that was originally colored like a Rubiks cube. I mean, why sculpt a Rubiks cube if it's not going to be painted or stickered like one? The bootleggers probably noticed a resemblance to Prime in the head sculpt and proportions and decided to make a KO in Prime colors to capitalize on the character's popularity. I love that it's colored like Prime but honestly I would have bought it in any color pattern.
Hey, it's even got a little matrix chest. I have to say it's piqued my curiosity. /hunts the internet.
Looks like the seller has a few more: MAGIC PUZZLE TOY Square Cube TRANSFORMER Optimus RARE F - eBay (item 170259592544 end time Sep-09-08 20:00:00 PDT)
Wow that's lame, that and the sunglasses KO Transformer are some of the worst ideas the black market has come up with.
OK, I looked at the stamp and it says "MAKEY" with a 'TM' trademark designation. I did a brief Google on it but came up with nothing. This thing remains a mystery.
Curse you, you stumbled across my secret plan! I want to get one of these... I had the plan of dyeing the red and blue parts black...and applying the proper colored vinyl stickers to have it REALLY pose as a Rubik's cube.... I just have to win one for a reasonable price first. XD
I think they typically go for pretty cheap. I won mine for $10. Good luck with the project, I'd love to see that done!
