While there have been some neat prototypes either leaked or teased over the years, I think it's fun to examine the Beetleborgs toyline. Some Bandai Japan prototypes that didn't seem to make the cut ended up getting a second life stateside. You may remember the DX Boron from the Beetleborgs Metallix toyline. We never did get a toy of Kuwaga Titan from the B-Fighter Kabuto line...just Chogokin Kabuterios. There is also the Ladyborg figure that the US did get, but Japan did not. Don't even get started on all of the villain figures that never seem to release in Japan.
Honestly none of those really concern me all that much. There is one figure that emerged as a prototype years ago that looks great, but never made it to production anywhere...sorta...
This is a prototype of Kabuto from the initial B-Fighter series. This particular prototype did end up in a collector's hands (I should note that the image above is NOT mine, but I am posting it because it's educational for sure). The baggie has some good information on it. This was created for B-Fighter and not Beetleborgs. This likely would have ended up as number 5 or 6 (I'll get to that in a bit) in the B-Fighter Metallic Hero Series of figures.
The problem? Kabuto...
See, I do think this design is fantastic. The smooth hero juxtaposed to the armored hero wasn't done as well in Blue SWAT since Gold Platinum was...not pretty. At all. I hate that design. Kabuto on the other hand has that organic smoothness that stems from the character being just that...a character, not a suit. Kabuto was the son of series mentor Guru. The character was a bit of a boob, but he did give Blue Beet the Beet Ingram before pissing off until the finale (and then again in BF Kabuto...which is just weird when you think about it. Kabuto in BF Kabuto, but not the Kabuto the series is named after since there is also a BF Kabuto...Kabuto!).
So the character was a bit of a nothing burger in B-Fighter, hence we never got the figure. Bah.
Big Bad Beetleborgs, however, did use the suit a little more favorably despite it being Beetleborgs. The White Blaster Beetleborg did get to be a genuine hero suit very briefly. Would you look at that? We even got that figure that Plex prototyped.
Except we didn't.
This is the White Blaster Beetleborg figure that was released and the closest we came to that Kabuto prototype. The figure was part of the second-wave Beetleborg figures that included a dial-powered action feature. The others made sense considering the weapons had an action to them. This figure...ehhhh...
It's the Beet Ingram and it just folds open. No Pulsaber for Blue Beet to add to it. It just opens. Lame.
As if the permanent weapon isn't bad enough, there is more bad news. The antenna on the helmet DOES detach and very much will if you take your eye off it for a second. So we have a detachable weapon that doesn't detach and a detachable headpiece that shouldn't. Ouch.
I own four of these figures. Two are carded, the one you see pictured in this post, and a parts guy. The parts guy is basically what you can expect to find on ebay on any given day. Missing all accessories, antennae, and a ton of paint, but still pricey.
That being said, it's still a good looking figure if you can get one complete and without paint damage. It is even kinda appropriate that he is holding the Beet Ingram if you want to add him to your B-Fighter collection.
Speaking of,,,
Hey, you can even have a little family reunion if you have Metallic Hero Series 5: Super Blue Beet.
That's where I think the prototype would have fallen in if it were released. Kabuto probably would have been 5 and the series could have concluded with Super Blue Beet as 6. Guru was going to have to be included with Super Blue Beet as the Blue Beet in the the Super Blue Beet set is barely different from the Blue Beet at the beginning of the series. Bandai needed to sweeten the pot somehow.
The prototype lives on as a curiosity, The sculpt is different enough from the White Blaster Borg to keep it wholly unique (look closely...the differences are numerous). It's still fun to wonder what could have been...
See ya soon!
-CC
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