I was surprised to discover the new Transformers Prime Beast Hunters figures at my local Toys “R” Us already. After pushing aside the familiar yellow plague that is Bumblebee, my choice of which one to buy was made even easier by the horrible paint job on Soundwave’s face plate.
I just finished watching season two of TF Prime on Netflix. I enjoyed this season considerably more than the first. This probably has something to do with the show focusing more on the bots and less on the children, but it didn’t hurt that there were some really fantastic Starscream moments and an entire episode where Soundwave trounces Wheeljack and retains his scary-as-hell/badass stature.
But even though the season finale was pretty great, I was disappointed to see no mention or lead-up whatsoever to Beast Hunters. I was hoping for a bit of characterization or a taste of what’s to come. But let’s face it; a good looking figure is a good looking figure. This is why I picked up Lazerback in the first place. The beast form on this figure is great and is why I bought him. He’s supposed to be a dragon, but I really get a wingless griffin vibe from him. Either way he looks like he could tear his way through most Cybertronians.
His colors are a bit all over the place with the interesting combination of red and purple with yellow, black, and gold highlights. He doesn’t really clash like the insane Dead End paint apps, but they’re definitely bright enough to make your eyes itch. (Does this mean TF Prime is hitting its G2 phase?)
Like most Prime figures, Lazerback’s articulation is exceptional. Because of his transformation (which I’ll get into in minute), most of his beast mode joints are shared by his robot mode. His shoulders, hips and feet are on ball joints. His elbows and knees have swivels attached to hinges. Since he has chicken legs there are two more hinges in between the knees and ankles. His dragon head also has a hinged mouth.
The only big differences between his two modes are his wrists and head. His robot wrists are only swivel joints, while his beast has ball joints for the front claws. The head joints are a bit more frustrating. The robot head is on a ball joint, while the beast head is only a hinge. The only thing the dragon mode really has going against it is that the head can only look down.
Speaking of the robot head, I have to admit that I really do like its sculpt. He has a cat-like face, which is really contrary to the design of the rest of the figure, but it looks great. There’s some really neat armored accents that double as facial hair. He also has this really intense stare. I really wish his body in robot mode was as impressive to me, but due to the transformation (Almost there!) there are large gaps in the shoulders, hollow appendages, and feet kibble. Not a very intimidating look. Continue to page 2…
Great review and pics, but I think I’ll pass on the toy. As you say, just standing on your hind legs and putting your head down isn’t much of a transformation. But at least he looks nicely articulated.
Thought I heard this was a fembot?
That’s Ripclaw. She’s in Wave 2.
Ah okay man, gonna be an interesting new subline.
Psst! You guys remember they still make MOTU toys, right? DC too! 😀
Fun and informative review! I’m totally back into Transformers again (I really like some of the TF Prime transformations. Very innovative) though I do cherry pick based on the reviews I read. I think I’m going to pass on this one. I might go with the Wheeljack toy, but this one doesn’t really do it for me. Keep up the great work!
Saw these at TRU the other day and all I could think was “I’m sure Vault is going to be showing all these off soon”
I always love a TransFormers review!
I can’t say that I really like this guy, but he sure looks fun to play with!
Not to be a downer, but the Beast Hunters toys are a complete turn-off for me. They seem to be going into Beast Machines territory of spindly robots with eye-searing color schemes.
TransFormers: Chaos Effect! (Please tell me I’m not the only one that remembers that Jurassic Park subline.)
I’m only planning on getting Soundwave out of this subline because I’m a sucker for Soundwave and have been since 1984.
Neon colored dinosaurs! OUTTA SIGHT! I had several of the abominations…. ;D
I was holding out for the all-new Triceratops, but the line got cancelled before it was released. Shame, because bizarre colour scheme aside, it was an amazing sculpt.
the alt-mode looks kinda cool, and I can see the Chinese Dragon influence. I’d have to see it in person to decide if I want this character, tho. I’ve only seen 1-2 eps each of Prime and TFA, and don’t even have the game systems, so I have no clue for any current TF storylines these are coming from.
I would agree that “stand up, flip/extend 1-2 things” is NOT really a Transformer, tho. It did bug me in previous waves/figures where a cool alt mode was ruined because of this. We should call it “Go-Bot-ing” or something! LOL
btw, is that the WFC Soundwave (grey/red redeco of blue tank) in the first line-up? When did that come out?
If you’re in the US, voyager Soundblaster is indeed out as part of wave 1 of the Generations/FoC voyager wave. He and Buzzsaw are the shortpacked variant, with Soundwave and Laserbeak taking up most of the the case. I highly recommend both, especially if you never got him as a deluxe.
ok, thanks, OP!
I too chose this as my only grab of this wave. I’m a bit conflicted by him. While I do like the return of some beast modes (all respect to Marshawn Lynch), I too wish his reptilian head was more flexible. I’ll bet that movement was sacrificed since it tucks away so well into his bot chest. I love the bot visage, but wish the paint was applied more carefully. The edges of his beard are pretty rough on mine.
Actually, I wouldn’t pass on the Beast Hunters Bumblebee. He is far better than the regular prime Bumblebee. The addition of more black details and wicked new face sculpt make what I thought was another wasted space into an awesome figure. Beasthunters Wheeljack is also definitely a great figure.