A photo of dragon mode Xenonbine, a 2004 figure released as part of Bandai’s Machine Robo Mugenbine line.
Fans of Machine Robo Rescue, Mugenbine’s predecessor, came up with all sorts of creative custom fan-modes and Plex, Bandai’s design team, must have taken note because Mugenbine was an action figure line that featured super robot construction and interchangeability as a core theme.
(Plex has ex-Takara personnel — Aoki Tetsuya worked on G1 Transformers — and it’s possible the design team was influenced by Takara’s cross-line 5mm connectivity.)
Mugenbine began in December 2003 and figures are still being released this year. This is rather unusual because Mugenbine is one of the few toy lines that isn’t being supported and promoted with an animated show.
The line has mutated and changed over the past few years but interchangeability and connectivity remain the main theme.
I fully expect Japanese toy fans will be raving about this line in a decade the way I do about Takara Blockman.
