Dave's Deluxe Beast Machines Rant:

     Beast Changer (Noble/Savage)
     Strika
     Night Slash Cheetor

CAPSULES

     Beast Changer: While the toy has some faults, it's amazing that they got
so close to show-accurate with this design.  Decent gimmicks, clever
transformation, good colors.  Strongly recommended.  $9.99 at Meijer.
     Strika: Good vehicle mode, clever transformation, nifty gimmick, pretty
good robot mode, nice paint job.  Strongly recommended.  $9.96 at Wal-Mart.
     Night Slash Cheetor: Big, lots of joints, good colors.  Unfortunately,
it also has a simplistic transformation and the gimmicks get in the way of
arm motion.  Still, recommended.

     What can I say?  Beast Changer and Strika really work for me.

RANTS

     As usual, I'm editing the techspecs for clarity, grammar and so forth.
If you want to see the originals, they're around (like on bwtf.com or
protoformproject.com). 

MAXIMAL: Beast Changer
Function: Warrior
Modes: Dragon/Wolfman
Motto: "Science has yet to match the force of Nature - allow me to
     demonstrate!" 

Megatron's methods for removing the tyrant's organic elements are riddled
with unknow side effects, the foremost of which is the Beast Changer.  A
completely organic warrior born of Megatron's discarded aspects, the Beast
Changer is his own breed.  He is extremely powerful and possesses acute
senses.  In wolfen mode, his claws and teeth can rip through synthetic alloys
with a vengeance.  In his more bestial mode, he is capable of flight, and his
resilient scales provide better protection than any known Vehicon armor.  He
has a genuine hatred for his "father" Megatron, but the Maximals are still
cautious and unsure of his motives due to his origin.  However, Nightscream
sympathizes with the self-proclaimed "outcast."

STR 9.9  INT 8.7  SPD 8.9  END 9  RNK 7.5  COUR 7.9  FRP 8.7  SKL 9.2
     Avg 8.725

     The new Deluxes are packaged so that you can try out their action
features, so in this case it meant packaging the toy in Noble mode.  Four
twist-ties, four rubber bands and a plastic shell around the right claw
(which is free to spin around in the package to demonstrate the gimmick)
secure this toy.  The wings are in a separate baggie in the corner of the
bubble, as the figure wouldn't fit into the bubble with the wings attached
(plus this would interfere with the try-me gimmick).  There's a hole in the
back of the card to let you try the gimmick.
     Apparently, Hasbro couldn't get the trademark on Noble/Savage, although
the package proclaims that it transforms from "SAVAGE beast to NOBLE wolf!"

     Savage Mode: 7" (18cm) long with an 8" (20cm) wingspan, about the only
way to get closer to the show model for Savage would be to remove the
joints (and mute the colors a bit, but I don't think we ever saw Savage in
good lighting).  There's a little blue here and there, but it acts as a nice
contrast to the red of the main body.  It stands stably on its two legs, the
twin tails can thrash about a bit, and there's a button you can push to make
the mouth open.  This button slides in and hides inside the neck when the
head isn't plugged down into locked position.
     There are a couple problems with this mode.  One, the wings fall off too
easily, although that can be fixed with some glue or even just some nail
polish topcoat to make the joint stiffer.  Two, the left leg is a bit floppy,
although this doesn't really hurt stability due to Savage's "lowrider"
nature.  
     Anyway, it's clear this is the "beast" mode, since there's almost no
wolf kibble visible.

     Transformation: At first gloss, it seems like another depressing
"limbs/tails become limbs, mess with the torso to swap heads"
transformation.  But it's a lot more complicated than that.  Panels slide,
waist and legs must rotate, and other stuff happens.  You can choose to take
off the wings for a more show-accurate Noble, or leave them on for a demon
wolf mode.

     Noble Mode: 5" (12cm) tall at the head, 6" (15cm) if you count the
hunchback and wings.  While still mostly red, there's a significant amount of
blue on the front, which helps a lot.  The proportions aren't quite the same
as on the show, but it's a good wolfman figure (and frankly, my memories of
Noble have gotten mixed up with Weregarurumon, so I'm not a great judge of
the show-accuracy of the wolfen mode }->).  Savage's head rests back on
Noble's hunchback as the biggest chunk of "beast kibble" aside from the
removable wings.  He also has some funky anklespurs that are Savage's tail
tips, but they look good and add to the demonwolf look.
     Despite serious topheaviness, the figure stands quite stably thanks to
heel spurs.  The waist turns, the legs have several points of articulation
including hip swivel and toes.  The head can look up and down, the ears move
independently and the jaw opens.  There's no immediately visible eyes in the
empty sockets, but under a good enough light you can see red orbs way back in
the skull.  He even sort of has a short tail.
     The main gimmick of this mode is the spinning claw.  To wind it up, you
have to lift a panel on Noble's back, which means moving the wing unit up as
well.  Noble's spark is on his right upper arm (it's blue, and looks like a
side to side merge of Maximal and Vehicon symbols).  When pushed up, the arm
is free to move and the mechanism stays wound.  When pushed down, the forearm
spins around like a big cuisinart.  It can also be popped off entirely if
that's your style.  Pretty neat, although the arm can be a bit floppy when
the spark is pushed up.

     Overall: Most Transformers that disappoint me fall into two main groups:
tried for something too complicated and failed, or didn't really try.  Beast
Changer's designers aimed high and hit.  Sure, it's not perfect, but you
don't expect perfection from a $10 toy.  Buy it once you see it.


VEHICON: Strika
Function: All-Terrain Combat
Altmode: Assault Vehicle
Motto: "No road is tougher than me!"

Strika's presence on the battlefield often turns the tide in favor of the
Vehicons, thanks to her power and savant-like tactical genius.  A former
Maximal, she holds a personal grudge against the current Maximals, especially
the "turncoat" Blackarachnia.  In combat, she will lure the enemy into rough
terrain where she holds the advantage.  Equipped with a reciprocating laser
cannon, she can shred anything caught in her field of fire, or wreak havoc
with a sustained blast.  Alloy-plate armor protects Strika from most incoming
Maximal fire.  Strika is capable of short bursts of high speed on any terrain
and has amazing endurance in close combat.

STR 8  INT 6  SPD 6.9  END 8.5  RNK 5  COUR 7.5  FRP 8  SKL 8  Avg 7.24

     Okay, the techspecs really don't match the note or the show
characterization, so I made tweaks to try and bring them together.  Okay, so
maybe Strika isn't brilliant in general, but she's a brilliant general.  An
so forth. 
     Strika's bound into the bubble in vehicle mode with three ties (which
are so long and twisted I just cut the things) and a rubber band.  The try-me
hole is in the front of the bubble, so you can activate the reciprocation
action.  Yes, the techspec writer used a big technical weapon word and got it
right...the weapons do indeed reciprocate.  Which means that one recoils
while the other slams forward, basically.  Not that lasers have recoil, but
hey. 

     Vehicle Mode: 5" (12cm) long, 2.5" (6cm) tall and 3" (8cm) wide.  Aside
from the colors, it looks almost exactly like the version in the show,
another case of things being well-coordinated for once.  And there's no
chrome, yay!  Rather, the front pieces are done with a neat purple and gold
wash.  Otherwise, the color scheme is metallic blue, gold, silvery grey and
black.
     The vehicle rolls on six plastic wheels, which mostly stay all on the
surface.  They roll much more convincingly on a rougher surface or carpeting.
The whole thing is seriously pegged together, the only part that isn't rock
solid is the head/cockpit.  It's a somewhat less bulky and rugged looking
vehicle than Blastcharge, but more science-fictiony and freer-rolling.
     And now for the gimmick.  The green Vehicon spark is mounted on a
button.  Pushing the button causes the cannons to move forward and backward
in a reciprocating manner.  One and a half cycles on pushing down, the same
when you let go.  It's possible to pump the action very rapidly, which is
very neat.  PLUS, the cannons are actually missiles of the cyberjet "marble
shooter" variety.  

     Transformation: I didn't need to read the instructions on this one, but
it was a near thing, and I did need to look at the picture of the robot
mode.  There's some deceptive joints that don't actually move in the chest
area...they're secured with pins and really look like something's supposed to
fold up, but it's a solid unit.  And everything pegs together in the end,
too.  No weak floppy bits.

     Robot Mode: 6" (15cm) tall and bulky and top-heavy just like on the
show.  The legs are a bit long and skinny, but reasonably poseable.  Standing
is a bit unstable because of the use of wheels for feet, although the heel
spurs are good help.  You can also do a "skating" mode by bending the knees,
folding the wheels to the sides and hunkering the figure down.  This skating
mode is actually more stable than regular standing.
     The head doesn't really move in a meaningful way, and the elbows are a
bit weird.  The forearms are molded into the insides of some armor pieces and
look a bit weird as well.  On the other hand, they do a good job of moving
the wheels around to various parts of the robot mode.  Unlike Blastcharge,
where the front wheels are just kibble and the others form bad legs, Strika's
wheels look good.  Two are feet, two are part of the chest (snugly inside,
not just hanging off) and two make for backpack thrusters.  The combination
of the "thrusters" and the cannons make the backpack kibble look more like an
integral part of the robot mode, an armed jetpack.

     Overall: While the robot mode has a couple of problems, they're fairly
minor.  This is another very good toy, get it if you can find it.

     Late Note: You can transform just the upper body and give Strika a good
hybrid mode.


MAXIMAL: Night Slash Cheetor
Altmode: Cheetah
Function: Nocturnal Warrior
Motto: "What can't be seen cannot be defeated!"

Night Slash Cheetor's prowess in battle grows rapidly, as rapidly as he moves
over the surfac of Cybertron.  He boasts incredible speed and
maneuverability, which combined with his highly advanced stealth armor make
him virtually undetectable.  He hits Vehicons before they even know he's
there, and can eliminate an entire battalion of drones single-handedly.
Cheetor's new armor includes vicious twin swords that make Vehicons keep
their distance in battle.  Cheetor's new abilities have had a negative
psychological effect on the Vehicon generals, who see their drones becoming
utterly useless against this new threat.

STR 9  INT 8  SPD 9.9  END 7.5  RNK 7  COUR 9  FRP 8  SKL 8  Avg 8.3

     Well, this one is packaged in robot mode (with 4 twist-ties), but does
not have a "try me" function.  However, I'm going to go my usual direction
and review beast mode first.
     It has just been pointed out to me in another session that the name
Night Slash Cheetor sounds like a bad fanfic involving Cheetor and
Nightscream.  If you don't know what Slashfic is, I'm not telling you.

     Beast Mode: 6.5" (17cm) long from snout to tail tip, a little more to
heel if you stretch out the legs a bit.  Very dark blue with black and grey
bits, translucent orange-yellow bits and yellow and metallic green accents.
The translucent bits are mainly the claws.  The head can turn side to side
and has a very iffy "fang baring" action.
     Pushing the spark on the toy's back causes the forelegs to slash up and
down in a sort of raking motion.  It's so-so.  Unfortunately, it makes it
hard to position the forelegs, and they're loose and often collapse under
Cheetor.  Ratchets would have helped a LOT here.  The gimmick also means the
front hips are just swivels, not ball joints, so poseability is limited.  The
rear legs are over-segmented and cause their own poseability problems.  Beast
mode is pretty weak.

     Transformation: Stand up, swap heads, fittle with hands and feet.
Pretty basic, and they admit it on the package.

     Robot Mode: Height varies, as with most Cheetors, depending on how
hunkered down you make him.  At maximum leg extension, he's 7.5" (19cm)
tall.  And while he's skinny and tall, he's STABLE.  In fact, thanks to the
heel spurs and ball joint ankles, he can stand stably in a wide variety of
poses, both on flat surfaces and uneven ones.  The legs alone make this a
figure worth getting.
     But there's more!
     Swords stored on the shoulders rotate down to slam into Cheetor's hands
when you press a button.  The swords do not fire off, nor do they detach
from the figure (unless you break them).  The swords will spring down to
whatever arm extension you have.  You can also pose the figure to look like
he's grabbing a stowed sword, but the springs aren't strong enough to
overcome the stiffness of the elbow joint.
     Also, when you push down on the spark on his back, the arms slash up and
down in a reasonable approximation of Cheetor's sword work on the show.  As
an extra bonus that you probably won't see because it's hard to press in the
button without covering the chest, there's a mirrored rotating dish inside
the chest that spins while the arms slash.  The trick to activating the
slashing action without covering the chest is to use the jetpack to brace
your fingers.  Thumb on spark, fingers under jetpack.
     Unfortunately, these gimmicks combine to make the arms rather hard to
pose.  The ball joint wrists and the movable thumb do make up for this a
little.  You can do "scratching post action" if you straighten the arms and
pose the hands.  }->

     Overall: Okay, the transformation is weak, the beast mode iffy and the
gimmick has some problems, but the toy is pretty keen despite all that.  If
they'd put ratchets inside the shoulders, I'd have had a clean sweep of
Strongly Recommended for this wave.  As it stands, it's still worth picking
up.  

     Dave Van Domelen, finally saw Mega Rattrap in stores locally today....