Dia-Battles V2 (Alpha Plus Ver.)
Review by JoshB
The original Diaclone line from 1980 was one of the roots of the Transformers toy line. However, when transformers took over, Diaclone was no more. It wasnt until the Diaclone reboot in 2016 that we saw new toys based on the classic designs.
The first release was the Dia Battles V2 (DA-01), a re-imagining of the original Dia-Battles design. It was followed by a Moon Base Version recolor (DA-01EX). in 2017 we get a re-release with improved paint and joint work called Dia-Battles V2 Alpha Plus Ver. (DA-11). This new version has very few changes, which we will go over in this review.
Dia-Battles V2 is available at HobbyLink Japan
The box is bright and sturdy, with design cues dating back to the original diaclone packaging. Inside is a simple plastic tray that holds all the accessories.
Dia-Battles is made up of three ships that combine to form the robot, as well as its many alt modes.
Battles 01
Battles 01 is the core ship, with a cockpit that seats one pilot. The ship doesn't do much on its own, but it's sturdy.
The rear "jets" can be tilted down to act as landing pads.
On this (and other parts) areas that were once a dull grey have now been improved with a metallic silver paint.
Battles 02
This ship forms the back and arms of Dia-Battles, and has an opening cockpit for one pilot. The wings are positionable, but in this mode, again, it does not do much.
Battles 03
Battles 03 is a land-based vehicle, with tank treads and two opening cockpits. There are no actual wheels molded into the treads, which is a shame.
The door on the back opens to reveal storage for the bike
All three of these elements combine to form Dia-Battles V2.
Dia-Battles
Forming the robot is fun. Things click together in interesting ways and there's even a fun spring loaded action to reveal the head. Please watch the video for full details.
Battles 02 docks into the back of Battles 01. This connection aligns the track for the arms to slide forward, a very cool engineering touch. The capsule is removed from Battles 03 and the bottom half spits to become the legs. There's some fun design to the method in which the treads become the feet.
The combined Dia-Battles is an amazing figure. It's very well made, with great sturdy plastics, great jointwork, and fantastic playability. This is a high-end piece that actually feels like a toy. Your kids would love this, if only they could afford it.
The head is on a ball joint, but movement is limited due to the space. There's fantastic light-piping for the eyes.
You can swap attachments on the side of the head to be guns, short missiles, or long javelin type poles (shown).
You can acheive a good neutral pose reminiscent of the original Dia-Battles. But what fun is that?
(Knockoff of the original Dia Battles)
The whole re-imagining focuses on interesting transformation with great articulation.
The leftover parts combine to form a ship called Boretto Fighter. The clip between these ships is one of the improvements.
Scramble Mode
This mode includes parts of all three vehicles. It's when you start to explore these modes that you really begin to see the thought that went into engineering this toy. You begin to see tabs and slots that meet up for certain combinations and not others, making each of these modes seem deliberate and not afterthoughts.
Battle Trizer
Manual Mode
These modes consist of only two vehicles each. For Battles 01 + 03 you make:
Hopper
Crawler
The following modes consist of Battles 02 + 03:
Glide
Fortress
Road Viper
The small silver motorcycle has a pull-out front wheel. This wheel compacts for storage. Any of the three included Diaclone drivers can ride the bike.
Speaking of the drivers, each has far more articulation than one would expect of a figure less than an inch tall. They all have metal inserts in the feet, which allow them to stick to magnetic surfaces. To that effect, TakaraTomy has included a small magnetic sticker sheet with pads you can attach to select areas of the toy, This lets the drivers ride outside their cockpits.
This is an amazing toy, and it has sold me on future Diaclone reboot releases. I absolutely love it.
