Unicron Battles Unreleased Adventure and Space Teams

Original release date: Unreleased

In the later half of the Armada line (known as the "Unicron Battles"), a number of products were planned for release, completed, but never actually produced in any quantity, leaving only a tiny handful of samples. Two of these sets were Micron teams, recolors of the Adventure and Space teams. Rather than accompanying a larger figure like the Ultra Magnus Space team, they were slated for release carded in the same manner they had been previously. Nearly all the other teams from the line received a second redecoed release (such as the Dark Saber for the Star Saber team), but these two only were cancelled for whatever reason. Thanks to my friend the excellent photographer and artist Remy Rodis, I was able to obtain sealed production samples for each of these teams.

Among the four illusory unreleased Micron teams, there are actually two versions of the Space Team, the other being the Spacewarp set that also be seen on my site. However there isn't much contest in the carded set being the far more attractive redeco, with the purple carrier and black rocket. Peculiar indeed that Spacewarp himself is also purple and black, but the team intended for release with him was the other, more gaudy recolor. By contrast, the Adventure Team recolor is very bland looking. Ransack is just beige, and Iceberg went from his former orange to a lighter orange. For both teams the difference is in the base plastic color, with the paint applications themselves being apparently identical to their former incarnations. Unsurprisingly, the multi-lingual packages are also identical to those of the original.

Although the majority of my Microns are displayed loose lined up in a mirrored display case in the alcove over my office desk, I found myself concerned about the safety of these teams considering how nearly impossible it would be to replace them in the event of something like a violent earthquake (a very real threat here in Japan.) I ended up caving in to my worry and sealing them in a fireproof safe I installed in my office.

Judging by the fact that virtually no Micron collectors own them and that they never seem to show up for auction, only a handful of each unreleased team appear to exist. They provide a daunting challenge for Micron lovers who have already conquered the most challenging of limited release items such as the Space Galaxy team and contest edition Microns. The pictures accompanying this entry are from my personal collection.