Dave's BWII Rant:

     "Beast Collection" BWII clear plastic decoys

     A few weeks ago, I went to check out the selection and prices at
gamecave.com.  The website is incredibly slow-loading, but after about half
an hour I'd found something of interest and managed to buy it.  Shipping was
$8 for two-day UPS.  Which now strikes me as stupid, since the box didn't
even get mailed until two weeks after I ordered.  My purchase was in a
cardboard box with a few wadded up sheets of bubble wrap, fortunately I
didn't buy anything too fragile.  As far as gamecave.com goes, I'd say not to
bother with them for toys, there's better sources (like astrotoys.com).

CAPSULE

     Beast Collection (that's what gamecave.com has it listed as): A set of
ten clear blue plastic statues of BWII characters.  8 robots and 2 beasts.
Most of them are single-piece, and the few multi-piece ones aren't glued
together.  Likenesses inconsistent, overall probably not worth the $32 after
shipping that gamecave.com wants, unless you're desperate for something to
paint.  The painted variety was not available.

RANT

     These ten figurines come in a plastic tray in a cardboard box.  The box
is decorated with the techspec card art from the 8 different characters in
the set: Lioconvoy (robot and beast), Galvatron (robot and dragon), Tasmanian
Kid, Scuba, Bighorn, Apache, Megastorm and Starscream.  A picture on the back
implies that these should go with the Cybertron Transport microbase set.
     The figures are all made from a slightly rubbery clear blue plastic,
which seems to be popular with kids in Japan right now.  They're all
"superdeformed" to some extent, not always successfully.  Most are single
piece molds, but a few have multiple parts due to the impossibility of
casting the figure in a single piece.  These parts are not glued together,
and don't hold together very well in general.
     Here's a run-down by figure:

     Tasmania Kid: 2" (5cm) tall, this sculpt emphasizes his beast kibble a
little too much.  Decent sculpt, but he looks too hulking and hunchbacked
compared to the fairly graceful figure from the anime.  Has the number 1 on
his back, possibly a batch number for the individually-sold version.
     Apache: 2.25" (5.5cm) tall, he looks pretty good as a slightly
superdeformed version of his show portrayal.  Also has a 1 on the back of his
head.
     Scuba: 2" (5cm) tall and almost as wide, this is a very good likeness.
A little too squat, but not as bad as Kid's case.  1 is on the back of one
shoulderpad.
     Lioconvoy: 2" (5cm) tall as well, which makes him look kinda puny next
to the others, especially Apache.  Otherwise, good likeness and proportions.
Has a 1 on his skidplate.
     Lioconvoy beast mode: A little less than 2" (5cm) long, this one was
molded in two pieces.  The head and most of the mane form one piece, which
tends to fall off.  I'd have preferred having Diver over this beast mode.
Has a 2 on his rear left leg.
     Bighorn: 1.75" (4.5cm) tall, this largest of the characters in the anime
is the smallest of the figures, oops.  Other than the height issue, it's a
good mold.  Has a 2 on his back.
     Galvatron: 2" (5cm) tall, this one's made from two pieces.  His backpack
is held on by two skinny long pegs, and stays on pretty well (unlike the
tab-and-slot Lioconvoy lion head).  Has a bit of a conehead thing going, but
is otherwise a good likeness.  2 on his back.
     Starscream: 2" (5cm) tall, another figure that suffers a bit from the
bulkiness of the SD process.  However, all the flat surfaces on his body make
the blue plastic work really well, he looks like he's made of crystal.  2 on
his left heel.
     Megastorm: 2" (5cm) tall, definitely the best of the batch.  Megastorm's
design superdeforms well, he has a good pose, and his shoulder cannon can be
removed and mounted on a peg on his left forearm.  This may just be mine, but
he has a problem with clarity...his surface is scuffed in many places, so you
lose the effect of clear plastic.  1 on his thigh.
     Galvatron dragon mode: 2" (5cm) tall, and just as long and wide.  This
one's made from three pieces that slot together and don't really hold in
place.  The wingpack and the head fall off pretty easily, and will definitely
require gluing.  Because of the way it's packaged, one of the shoulderpads
got warped out of position and looks bad.  The head and wingpack pieces seem
to be made of a slightly lighter batch of plastic, and the contrast makes the
figure look bad.  Has a 2 on the back of one leg.

     Overall: The set's a bit expensive for what you get, and while the blue
plastic has its nifty factor, a painted set would be much better unless you
want to paint them yourself.  If, by some chance, you should be able to get
them separately, avoid the beast forms.

     Dave Van Domelen, maybe these are all ghosts....