Megabloks Neo Shifters Tremor Driller

Found this lot on sale recently and I purchased a few samples. The sample shown here is named the Tremor Driller, a NEO Shifters toy vehicle that comes in 19 pieces. Instructions are included on how to assemble the vehicle but the parts can be assembled in a variety of ways. The kit also comes with a minifig called the Phantom NEO with weapons. The figure can turn into a ball!

Here's the lowdown on the toyline ( swiped from wiki):

NĒO Shifters are a line of toys designed by MEGA Brands Inc. The novelty behind these toys is their ball shape which spreads opens into a robotic action figure(the Shifter) and releases a second miniature creature(the Neo) from its belly, resulting in a two in one toy with multiple play possibilities.

NĒO Shifters are divided into two factions.

Some NĒO Shifters, like Paladins, believe in responsible consumption of resources, that survival of the Galaxy very much depends on finding alternative methods of producing and preserving energy resources. These NĒO Shifters are prepared to defend the Galaxy from the depletion of such resources. The leader of the Paladin resistance is Magna::Rex, son of Alpha::Rex. His comrades are Atlas::Raan, Cozma::Tor, Delta::Tek and Simia::Rex.

Other NĒO Shifters, like Templars, are venturing to extrapolate and take unscrupulous advantage of vital planetary resources for purely reckless and malignant advancement. They believe the Galaxy has an unlimited supply of resources and are ultimately attracted to the power derived from controlling its consumption. Their leader, Terra<>Sfear, betrayed Alpha::Rex in the time before the wars thus giving him the opportunity to take control of the hydrax energy they so desperately seek. His generals are Scar<>Dorn, Mongra<>Tek and Blaze<>Axx.

Along with the first and second wave of NEO Shifter action figures came four vehicular NEO Shifters. The Hydrowave and Turbofly shifters belong to the Paladins, while the Quad-Pod and Duneskiff are piloted by Templars. One vehicle of each affiliation shares a similar weapon and transformation technique(Quad-Pod & Hydrowave, Turbofly & Dunekiff). Interesting Note: each vehicle shares a color scheme with a second generation character and has the same face.

New sets have been released including the Split::Shifter, Hydrax Energy Base, the Web Battlers and the third wave of NEO Shifters(a series of six instead of the previous series of four).

I guess this is much like Lego's Bionicle line where you can interchange parts from various kits to come up with new vehicles. Megabloks though has a different type of plastic and some of the locator pegs broke off after continued removal and assembly. The design is quite nice and I like the individual sculpts of some of the pieces. I'm thinking of repurposing this toy though for my wargaming hobby and I'm sure the futuristic lines of the toy would go well with one of my 28mm armies.

Here's a fast comp I did of the toy in action. Enjoy!