Dave's Transmetal Rant:

     Optimus Primal
     Megatron

     FINALLY these guys arrived in Columbus, weeks after being spotted all
over the country.  Gotta love the distribution system.  Now to settle in to
wait for the Deluxe Transmetals and Regular Fuzors which have been spotted in
some areas.

CAPSULES

     Optimus Primal: Good transformation, good robot mode (although a bad
face), iffy beast and "vehicle" modes.  A bit cheesy-feeling, and the chrome
doesn't help.  Mildly recommended.  $15 at Toys R Us.
     Megatron: Complex transformation, all three modes are good but again the
chrome's not welcome.  Much more stable than Primal.  Recommended.  $15 at
Toys R Us.

RANTS

MAXIMAL: Optimus Primal
Function: Maximal General
Transformation Difficulty: 6 (Advanced, about right)
Quote: None

Changed into a mighty, metal gorilla by a planetary destruction device,
Optimus Primal has a built-in, rocket-powered hoverboard that lets him hang
ten on the air-waves of the Beast Wars world!  Stronger and faster than ever,
he converts to become the huge, organically-enhanced Maximal General loaded
with weaponry.  Predacons who value their health best avoid any monkey
business with metal Optimus Primal!

STR 11  INT 11  SPD 11  END 11  RNK 10  COUR 11  FRP 11  SKL 11  Avg 10.875

     Note: I use 11 rather than the "10+" on the package because you can't
really average a +, can you?  Besides, it's the Spinal Tap thing to do.

     Ack.  Pfui.  And they'd been doing so well with techspec notes before
this.  This techspec could be used to induce vomiting in a medical
emergency.  And I think the commas were inserted at random.

     Beast Mode: Stands erect at squat 5.25" (13cm), but doesn't really stand
very well that way.  The extreme top-heaviness and tiny, floppy feet mean
you're best off putting him in knuckle-dragger pose.  Unfortunately, his head
is oriented for walking upright, so he stares at the ground in the stable
pose.  Oh, and when I say squat, I mean it...he's about six inches (15cm)
wide.  The color scheme REALLY hurts this toy.  Not just the ugly blue chrome
which makes it look like a knockoff toy, but also the weird choice of where
to have light and dark colors...if this were all grey, for instance, it would
look worlds better.  And the "Optimus" tag on his chest looks kinda silly.
Yes, it's Optimus the gas station attendant!  Not very poseable (about on the
level of the Ultra Optimus in gorilla mode), and his forearms have a tendency
to pop open at the wrong times when you're trying to move his arms.
     Vehicle Mode: It's a relatively simple task to snap together his
hoverboard and position his hip-holstered gun as the thruster.  But: 1) It
looks silly, 2) It looks even sillier that his head can't turn to face the
direction he's going, 3) It's impossible to get him to stay standing on it,
too narrow.  The wheels on it are a nice thought, but if you can get him to
roll for more than a few inches on them, you've been kitbashing lead weights
into this toy.  Ironically, as I type this, "Surfin' USA" is on the radio.
     Transformation: Fairly intuitive in most places.  The forearms crack
open to allow fists to be swapped around (right and left sides change during
transformation), it's pretty easy to turn the hoverboard into shins.  The
tricky bit is cracking open the torso to change heads, and that's mainly
because it requires just enough force that I was afraid of breaking the toy.
The backpack swings around and provides shoulderpads.
     Robot Mode: Forgiving the doofy face, this is pretty cool.  Full
poseability, very good stability thanks to the hoverboard feet, and a figure
that stands a respectable 6.5 inches (16cm) tall.  The colors, while still a
bit on the bad side, work a lot better in this mode, and the backpack unit
allows for a number of alternate possibilities.  As seen in the show, it can
swivel up to form an artillery unit.  Or, after removing the missiles, it can
be moved into its ape-mode position like a flak vest for Primal.  If the
beast mode were as good as the robot mode, I'd recommend this toy pretty
highly.  But it's dragged down by the ape.
     Weapons: The missiles have big mace-like heads, and indeed are intended
for use as maces.  The gun, which looks more like a bullhorn than anything
else, is sort of spring-loaded, and kinda fires the missiles, but not very
well.  
     Overall: A little more thought, and this could have been a great toy. As
it stands, it's an okay toy.


PREDACON: Megatron
Function: Predacon Commander
Transformation Difficulty: 6 (Advanced, although I say it's more a 7 or 8)
Quote: None

A quantum surge rips across the Beast Wars world, altering Megatron, evil
genius and leader of the Predacons, int a metal-armored T-Rex.  Now turbine
powered V.T.O.L. (Vertical Take-off and Landing) engines extend from his
body, providing blazing atmospheric flight and the ability to "drop in" on
unsuspecting Maximals with his whiplash cutlass!  Fused reptilian musculature
enhances his power in an organic robot mode.  The result: creation of a
surpreme tyrant!

STR 11  INT 9  SPD 11  END 11  RNK 10  COUR 11  FRP 11  SKL 11  Avg 10.625

     He's an evil genius, and his lowest stat is intelligence.  Ooookay.

     Beast Mode: Reasonably poseable, doesn't suffer by comparison to the
Ultra version.  In fact, counting the tail joints, he's got a lot more points
of articulation now.  Stands about 5.25" (13cm) tall, but is about 10" (25cm)
long from snout to tailtip.  Suffers from a little "undercarriage garbage,"
in that his robot forearms are visible on his chest.  Color scheme almost as
bad as Optimus Primal's beast mode, with seemingly random use of grey, copper
and chrome purple.
     Vehicle Mode: Just flip up the hoverfans (which do spin, but not when
blown on) and fold out the rollerskates.  Unfortunately, the fans are not
positionable as far as the direction of thrust, but they are just behind the
center of mass, so Megatron would naturally pitch forwards and gain forward
thrust in the air.  Unlike the wheels on Op's hoverboard, the wheels on Meg's
feet do not roll.
     Transformation: Another origami task on the level of the Ultra Megatron,
I actually had to resort to the instructions to get the last details right.
The tail has to be removed pretty early on, or you'll end up with the most
impressively endowed Megatron ever, even counting the original "is that your
trigger or are you glad to see me?" version.  Once you know where
everything's supposed to go, though, it's not too hard.
     Robot Mode: The color balance is much better here, with a nice mix of
copper and dark brown with grey accents forming most of the robot.  The robot
mode comes in just shy of six inches (14cm), and is fully poseable, although
the nifty shoulderpads get in the way a bit.  Even the head is fully movable,
despite how easy it would have been to make it fixed...nice touch.  The dino
forelegs can indeed swivel forward to act as guns like in "Coming of the
Fuzors," although they don't quite look the same.  And this Megatron has
fists, yay!  There's less opportunity to "roll your own mode" here, but Megs
can gain a half inch or so of height by deploying the rollerskates as
elevator shoes.
     Weapon: The whiptail is a nifty weapon, with six points of mild
articulation, a claw at the end, and a fold-out handle.  Unfortunately, the
handle is the weapon's weak spot, flopping back and forth way too easily, and
making it hard to pose the figure with the weapon pointing anywhere but
down.  Also, the claw jaws are not linked by a gear, opening separately,
which is a bit disappointing.  There's probably a way to fix the handle
looseness, though.
     Overall: A few problems here and there, but it seems more thought was
put into this design, and the quality level is generally pretty high.

     Dave Van Domelen, sighs as he notes the hunt never ends....