Dave's Ultra Beast Rant: Tripredacus Since each combiner is effectively four toys, I'm reviewing the two separately. CAPSULE Complex transformations and pretty good component toys, but the combined form is floppy (especially at the hips and knees), has less poseability in the arms than I'd like and generally is less impressive than Magnaboss. Still, just three toys for the price is pretty good, and they happen to merge as well. Recommended. $19.99 at Toys R Us. New Packaging Note: The "true" Fourth Wave toys (Grimlock and Lazorbeak are Wave 3.5, really) have added a feature to the package which isn't part of the techspecs proper, although I'll be listing them in the techspecs in the future. It's a "Challenge level of robot conversion" graph, which is a four point scale: Basic, Intermediate, Advanced and Expert. It can also be interpreted as a ten point scale, since there's ten boxes under the four words. The final box has an arrowpoint, which points to the line representing the difficulty level. So, for example, reports of B'Boom having a rating of 5.5 really translate to a 6, between Intermediate and Advanced. TECH SPECS PREDACON: Tripredacus Function: Battle Master Challenge Level: Expert (9) Quote: None The ultra beast Tripredacus mounts its attack on the Maximal fortress in the dead of the night, calling upon and combining Cicadon's plague-like destruction, Ram Horn's tenacity and Sea Clamp's crushing power. Emerging from the bowels of the earth, Tripredacus summons its forces to form an incredible weapon of destruction. Sea Clamp's concealed linkage system connects Cicadon's chopping rotor blades to Ram Horn's powerful driving motor, creating a mega-missile launcher the Predacon team uses to slash its slimy way into battle. With power and lethality multiplied three times over, Tripredacus prepares to overtake and rule the robotic jungle. STR 10 INT 10 SPD 9 END 10 RNK 10 COUR 10 FRP 10 SKL 10 Avg 9.875 No individual stats are given for the components, nor a story on how they came to be a combiner team (I favor the idea that both sides independently hit upon the idea of stabilizing the damaged sparks of several of the new arrivals by linking them together in a symbiosis of sorts). And given that Rank of 10, I'd guess they're being groomed to take over, eh? TRIPREDACUS The merged form of Tripredacus stands about nine inches tall, comparable in height to the other Ultras, but is rather spindly. To make a comic book reference, he looks liek he was designed by Humberto Ramos...big feet, thin limbs, etc. Sea Clamp forms the legs, hips and backbone, Cicadon the chest and head, Ram Horn unravels to form both arms without splitting into two pieces (which is rather clever). Unfortunately, while it all holds together pretty well, the arms have less poseability than I'd like, the hands are tangled messes of Ram Horn's limbs, and the knees are as gimpy as Scorponok's, but trying to hold up much more mass. Additionally, the nice balance between components works against Tripredacus when it comes to colors, he's an unpleassant mishmash (unlike Magnaboss, which is dominated by Ironhide's colors). All in all, he looks better split apart. The actual merging is quite challenging, and if you have nothing better to do for the next few hours, you might try doing it without looking at the instructions first. Placing Ram Horn's linkage across the shoulders of Cicadon is simple once you get the trick behind it, but there *is* a trick to it. They aren't kidding when they rate this a 9/10 for transformation difficulty. The combined weapon is a clawlike missile launcher with so-so range. SEA CLAMP While the instructions show how to turn him from robot mode to component form, it's actually a lot easier to transform from beast mode to component mode. Proposed Techspec: PREDACON: Sea Clamp Function: Sea Warrior Challenge Level: Intermediate (5) Quote: "Nothing leaves my grasp in one piece." Where the jungle meets the shore, a trio of stasis pods landed, all in a damaged state. After the desperate gambit which linked the sparks of the three into one succeeded, Sea Clamp's form was chosen based on the nearby sea life, and it has fallen to him to hold the line underwater against the Maximals' powerful ally, Orcanoch. Possessing no ranged attack, Sea Clamp prefers to use the murky water and sand to sneak up on an opponent before crushing the unlucky Maximal in his powerful claws. STR 9 INT 6 SPD 5 END 7 RNK 7 COUR 7 FRP 4 SKL 7 Avg 6.5 Beast Mode: A 9 inch (23cm) long lobster or crayfish. Looks very much like the real thing, aside from the purple parts. Like all of the gestalt components, it can deploy a weapon in beast mode, slashing blades from its claws in this case. Looks a little better if you leave the secret weapon piece out of its shell, though. Transformation: Pretty simple, but has a few twists and hidden compartments to add spice. Robot Mode: 5 inches (13cm) tall and nearly that wide, this baby has big shoulders and long arms...not surprising when you consider that its arms form Tripredacus's legs. Nicely poseable, even has a hip swivel (part of its transformation) and foot articulation. The only real problem with this is that there's no way for it to hold its part of Tripredacus's weapon on its own, and no point of it doing so anyway...it's just a launcher block with little adornment and no missiles of its own. It has the claws to compensate, though. There's a slight tendency towards floppy legs, but as it's lighter than Tripredacus this isn't as much of a problem. Overall: If this were sold separately as a Deluxe, it would be worth the money. RAM HORN This one is actually easier to transform between robot and component forms. Proposed Techspec: PREDACON: Ram Horn Function: Spearhead Attack Challenge Level: Advanced (7) Quote: "Ain't nothin' gonna break my stride!" Scanned from a lowly beetle wandering near the shore, Ram Horn is always fighting to prove he's more than just the bug he's based on. Not the strongest, or the fastest, or the brightest of warriors, he is nonetheless perhaps the most stubborn. While capable to generating electrical discharges from his beetle-mode's horn, he prefers to charge right in, ignoring enemy fire and goring the first target that presents itself. STR 7 INT 4 SPD 5 END 9 RNK 5 COUR 10 FRP 6 SKL 6 Avg 6.5 Beast Mode: A 5 inch (13 cm) long rhinocerous beetle, very solid if a bit on the unposeable side (as beetles are wont to be). From above there's hardly any bits showing which are un-beetle-like, although there's a lot of purple underneath. Capable of popping up its bladed weapon in beetle mode, but it doesn't really look like it'd do a lot of good there. Transformation: Ye gods, this one is almost as tough as Tripredacus, what with all the little bits that have to be put into place. Going into robot mode isn't so hard, but getting back into beast mode, even with the help of the instructins I eventually resorted to, is quite tough. Everything has to be in just the right places. I'd almost give it an 8 on challenge level. Excessive force IS required in some parts, and the ball joints have a tendency to pop off easily (the hips are weaker than the knees, which makes fitting the legs into place annoying). Robot Mode: Between the huge shell and the spindly legs, this 6 inch (15 cm) tall robot has trouble standing unless you squat him down and use the shell as a tripod leg. The "horn" of the beetle makes for a bizarre headdress, and because of the transformation mechanism, you actually get a working jaw which can chomp up and down. As someone remarked on alt.toys.transformers, the overall effect is that of an evil Guy Smiley muppet. The head also doesn't snap firmly into place, which is a bit of a problem. Overall, if this were sold as a Deluxe I'd pan it, but it's far more than a Regular. If nothing else, it's worthwhile for the puzzle of getting everything back together in beast mode. CICADON Component mode is about halfway between beast and robot modes. Proposed Techspec: PREDACON: Cicadon Function: Aerial Attack Challenge Level: Intermediate (6) Quote: "Slice or fry? Decisions, decisions...." Cicadon proudly wears a form similar to that of the Decepticon war hero Venom, albeit more organic in nature. His entire existence revolves around two things: living up to Venom's example, and destroying anything in his path. When merged into Tripredacus, the other two members are always having to fight Cicadon's destructive urges when the mission calls for stealth, but in a combat situation this drive for destruction serves Tripredacus well. Prefers to remain in insect mode, where both his wing blades and his nose-mounted proton cannon can be brought ot bear. STR 4 INT 6 SPD 9 END 5 RNK 5 COUR 7 FRP 8 SKL 8 Avg 6.5 Beast Mode: Considerably more undercarriage garbage than the other two, Cicadon relies heavily on its wings to cover this. The smallest of the beasts, its body is a mere 3.5 inches (9 cm) long, but it has a wingspan of 8.5 inches (23 cm). Tripredacus's head is quite visible from underneath, with no panels or compartments to hide it from view. Keeping the weapons hidden within the front wings makes them harder to fold nicely. Transformation: From beast to robot is pretty easy, you just have to remember to pull out the legs before anything else. The reverse process, though, is considerably harder if you didn't pay good attention when turning it into robot mode. }-> Again, there's a problem with loose ball joints popping rather than turning when transforming. Robot Mode: 4.5 inches (12 cm) tall, it's the smallest of the components, being just a little more hefty than a Regular Beast. Full arm and leg poseability, but the barrel chest makes it rather topheavy. The milky white plastic bits don't look quite right, but they're not irredeemably hideous, either. Overall: If sold as a Regular, I'd say snap him up. Nowhere near Deluxe level, though. TRIPREDACUS OVERALL: While the combined form has serious problems, the individual robots are well worth the money on their own.