Imaginext Mr. Freeze 'Dive Armor' Containment Suit

Spotted this Imaginext Pirate Dive Suit repainted into a Mr. Freeze containment suit at Toys R Us today. It is part of the Toys R Us exclusive Gotham City Collection, and they wanted around $20 for it. It is certainly a brilliant re-use of the Bioshock inspired Pirate Dive Suit, and were that not such a perfect toy I'd regret having picked it up in lieu of this Mr. Freeze version. But the Imaginext Big Daddy is pretty great, so I'm okay having the other, and can't really justify having two of them even if one is a Mr. Freeze version. At least, not for $20!

Imaginext Bioshock Inspired Pirate Dive Armor

I try (and often fail) to keep my Imaginext collection limited to DC comics themed stuff, while also skewing more towards the denizens of Gotham City. But Imaginext is SO COOL that sometimes I have to step outside city limits and grab some other epic piece. Case in point, this Pirate Dive Armor, which is clearly the pre-school answer to Bioshock's Big Daddy.

Equal parts steampunk, early 20th century dive suit and direct Bioshock homage, this guy is as irresistible as he has been hard to find at retail.

I prefer to have the dive suit piloted by my Imaginext Creature from the Black Lagoon...

...but my intern thinks the diver that came with the Dive Suit is the proper choice.

Either way, one of the neatest aspects of this Pirate Dive Armor is that proportionally speaking it is basically just a giant Imaginext figure.

Besides an opening cockpit that fits most basic Imaginext figures (Batman has a hard time squeezing in because of his large gauntlets, but Killer Croc fits just fine), there's an oxygen tank on the back with a button that makes the left arm move up and down (and those gears spin too). Otherwise the articulation is almost the same as smaller Imaginext figures - legs move at the hips, shoulders rotate up and down, and wrist rotation. It also comes with a drill-gun accessory inspired by the drill arm of the Bioshock Big Daddy.

"Ahhh, that's better!"

You can even see the face of whatever figure you have piloting it through the portal!

The diver that comes with the Dive Suit is similarly clad in his steampunk inspired scuba suit. It would have been nice if he would have also come with a smaller dive helmet, but whatyagonnado?

If you want your own Imaginext Pirate Dive Armor, you'll be hard pressed to find it at retail, or at retail price anywhere online besides the Amazon link below (which is how I got mine!) So why don't you...

...wait for it...

...take the plunge!

HAW HAW HAW diver humor!

Separated at Birth :: Imaginext Pirate Dive Armor and Bioshock Big Daddy

I have never played Bioshock, but I am in tune enough with pop culture to have immediately known that this Imaginext Pirate Dive Armor is heavily inspired by the Big Daddy character from Bioshock:

Fisher-Price is just killing it with their Imaginext lines!

Not having any emotional attachment to Bioshock, I passed on this Pirate Dive Armor when I saw it at Target a few months ago. I kind of regret having done so, and will continue to look for it and probably nab it next chance I get. If nothing else, it would make a great vehicle for my Imaginext Aquaman or perhaps even Mermaid Man!

Go Daddy-O!

This new Transformer release is just about as hot as his paint job. A Wal-Mart exclusive, he's available now and I think I paid something like $7.77 for him a couple weeks ago.

"Big Daddy" is a repaint of Transformers Cybertron Downshift. Downshift was a Transformer I always regretted not getting when he was in stores, so I was pleasantly surprised to find this new release recently. The name and color scheme is borrowed from a Micro Master Transformer, and while Big Daddy isn't exactly a term used in the seventies, it still matches the Hot Rod attitude of this vehicle.

Not representing any specific vehicle, he's an obvious homage to Chrysler offerings from the early to mid seventies, like the Duster.

He's a solid, good looking vehicle and has very little "kibble" or hanging components that shout "hey, I turn into a robot!"


As a matter of fact, someone uneducated in the world of Transformers could almost completely overlook him as a Transformer toy in vehicle mode. Which is kind of the point when your catchphrase is "Robots in Disguise."
On top of the whole "turning into a robot" thing, Big Daddy also has an action feature. When you place a "key" in the back window a "catch-claw" pops out of the grill.

The key rests on the trunk,

and inserts when you flip up a little section of the rear window.

Big Daddy also comes with two rocket launchers that can be attached to the rear fenders.

He looks like something out of "Mythbusters."

The missile triggers also look a little like fins, which just add to the coolness of this design.

In robot mode Big Daddy is just as beautiful. He has the vehicle front end/chest look that a lot of the original G1 characters share.

He's also surprisingly poseable, something most G1 figures, make that all G1 figures, do not share. His missile launchers can be held like guns...

...or mounted on his shoulders. The orange/black color scheme is simple but effective. It's better to under do it than to over do it.

His head sculpt is an homage to G1 Wheeljack. He even has those clear ear-like flaps on the side of his head. I don't know why they never released this figure in the colors of G1 Wheeljack, but if they did I'd buy him again.

His catch-claw feature works in robot mode as well.

This Transformer is a beautiful design, clearly made by someone with a love for cool Hot Rods and the original G1 Transformers. He even has seats and a steering wheel visible through his windows. Now that's attention to detail!