Phase 3 - Transmetal II

    One of the big changes made for TMII was the addition of spark crystals, no doubt inspired by the glass marble in BWII Galvatron over in Japan. The sparks were plastic beads with metal backing cut out in the pattern of the faction symbol.

• Basics - Scarem, Sonar and Optimus Minor: Well, no more third modes, and designs that inspired greater initial enthusiasm than later on (I went through a phase of really disliking Op Minor).
• Deluxes - Cheetor II, Dinobot II and Ramulus: While possessing some charm, these guys did somewhat justify the usual hue and cry that goes up whenever the line changes.
      Tripredacus Agent: A Wal-Mart exclusive recolor of TMII Cheetor, released in mid-2001.
      Toy Tips:
  • Cheetor - The pegs holding his shoulders in robot mode need to be rotated up to complete his transformation, this step is not mentioned in the instructions and helps a LOT with his hunchback appearance.
  • Dinobot - The tabs on the sides of his robot chest are meant to be folded in, a point not really made clear in the instructions. Excessive force is required. Also, if you want to modify his dino legs, a nail clipper works well for removing cables and pesky stop-pegs.
• No Megas or larger in this wave.

• Basics - Spittor II, Stinkbomb and Nightglider: While not great, these had a much less significant "die off" of interest for me than the first wave Basics. Note: Spittor's tongue weapon can be stored on a peg hole on the underside of his beast jaw.
• Deluxes - Scourge, Prowl, Jawbreaker and Iguanus II: Released in two sub-waves.
      Toy Tips:
  • Prowl - Excessive force may be required to get his blue "rocket engines" to stay in place. There was a later recolor that looks even better than the original.
  • Scourge - This guy's got a lot of tips:
    1. Thanks to James Prentice for this one. When in robot mode, don't close the abdomen back up. Instead, leave it open flat and swing it up against Scourge's back. Then fold the wings down over this and flatten them out like a cape. This gives Scourge more of a backbone, stabilizing his torso. The wing movement lever ends up looking like someone shoved a shotgun into his back, though.
    2. I got a defective Scourge, there's some pieces installed upside down in mine that render some of the locking tabs useless.
    3. You can fit both missiles into one hand to create a staff, like with Cybershark I.
    4. The mandibles on Scourge's insect head can be swiveled out of the way.
  • Jawbreaker - The lower jaw of the beast head is meant to move, but it takes a lot of force to get it to do this, and you may want to take the head apart to free bits up first.
  • Iguanas II - You need to be sure the beast head clicks firmly into place in the robot back when transforming the toy, or you won't be able to get the robot hips to stay shut.
• Megas - Cybershark II and Blackarachnia II: While Cybershark's still on some shelves, production problems including a loose "bra" piece delayed Blackarachnia and ended up seriously restricting the total number to hit shelves. Plus, the slow release played right into the hands of scalpers, who nabbed a goodly percentage of the run.
      Toy Tips:
  • Cybershark - There are two versions, the initial batch had very loose joints, while the second version (identifiable by a .0100 in its code number) was a bit tighter. Also, the reference to the Japanese BWII Seacons in his techspec was a deliberate nod to fans.
  • Blackarachnia - If you get this and really want to remove the top, you'll need to carefully carve away the pegs from the back of the chest piece. It's not really worth the hoo-ha, tho.
• Ultras - Megatron and Tigerhawk: Among the last of the pre-Beast Machines toys, both continue to show how well the Ultra size works.
      Toy Tips:
  • Megatron - Several people reported this simultaneously: there's a place to store two missiles inside the wings. Basically, the missile goes in tail first to a slot between the red chrome and purple parts of the wing, and ends up parallel to the wing "flapping" joint (not the direction of wing spreading), about a centimeter from the metal rod that holds the red "cog." In robot mode, the missiles will be tail up.
  • Tigerhawk - You can, in fact, put a feather missile in the right hand, so long as you have the thumb over the notch in the missile. I am informed that some Tigerhawks have non-rolling wheels on the wings, further messing up the potential tank mode.