The Beast Wars Appreciation Thread

[GoktimusPrime]

In celebration of the 20th Anniversary of Beast Wars (and OzFormers! :eek:), I've made this thread for anyone to come and share your fond memories and/or thoughts about this wonderful series. :) Everyone knows the story of how Beast Wars saved the Transformers franchise, so rather than ranting on about it again, allow me to simply illustrate it with this graphic.


http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/bw_infographic_zpsb5bqbil7.jpg

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Beast Wars Transformer of the Week

Something else that this thread will feature is a BW TF of the Week. Each week I will nominate a BW TF and everyone else can chime and talk about your thoughts or feelings about this character and/or toy. :)

This week's BWTFOTW is: RHINOX


http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/rhinox_phm_zpsqlq82ejs.jpg

Toy

The original 1996 toy is just a magnificent piece which typifies why Beast Wars was so successful and managed to revitalise the Transformers franchise. While it's a standard feature today, at the time, I was amazed by the articulated robot mode, and self-contained weaponry. Rhinox has a sword and a buzzsaw that actually spins! And if that's not bad-donkey enough for you, the buzzsaw also has a pair of spiked balls on chains attached to it! :eek: You did not want to get into a fight with this guy. Phwoar! The beast mode was also among the first to implement gradual spray-painted colours, with a darker shade of beige blending into the lighter shade. Exquisite! I personally bought my Rhinox in a versus set with Shadow Panther in a department store in Ikebukuro, Tokyo. :)

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Japan/th_ikebukuro_makku.jpg (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Japan/ikebukuro_makku.jpg)In the toy-continuity, Rhinox did become a Transmetal. The vehicle mode reminds me of G.I. Joe's Snowcat (bear in mind that this toy came out 6 years before Energon Snowcat ;)). In robot mode, Rhinox poaches his own horn as a blade weapon.

Character

Beast Wars was the first TV series to give us highly toy-accurate models on the show. This was achieved by using a 3D scanner to scan the toys and then the CG models were based on those scans. This was pretty cutting-edge stuff for 20 years ago! As a result, what we saw on TV was pretty close to what we saw in the toy, and Rhinox is a pretty good example of this. And unlike the other Maximals, he's the only Maximal from the first season to keep his original form right up until the very end. He never upgraded to becoming a Transmetal on the show. The most drastic change that the animators made to the toy in the eyes of fans was to the buzzsaw weapon, which they modified into becoming a chain gun, then a pair of chain guns. It's become such an iconic part of the character that Hasbro saw fit to give the more recent Generations Rhinox a pair of Chain Guns.

As for Rhinox himself, he was to the Maximals what Beast is to the X-Men. A softly spoken intellectual who's more than capable of savagely beating down his opponents. Things got really weird for Rhinox in Beast Machines, as he suddenly - out of nowhere - developed a deep xenophobia towards organic life. Even after his Vehicon programming shell was lifted, Rhinox chose to remain a Vehicon and fought against his former-allies, and even attempted to usurp Megatron. :rolleyes: Tankor now appears in the IDW comics, although it's not really known if "Fat Tankor" is Rhinox in this universe.

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So please share with us your thoughts, feelings and memories of Beast Wars, and if you like, Rhinox too. :)

[Polursine]

He was actually my first Transformer. Along with Armadillo and Snapper Snap. In 1998 I think? From my best friend back in Adelaide. And I remember the party too haha. Was outside at a nearby park with loads of school friends coming. I've still got him, however a few years back I modded him a bit and removed that monster face and the two posts on his head, for a more accurate look.

When I was hospitalized last June, one of the members here (Ploughmans Lunch I think) sent me Generations Rhinox and PE hands/feet. So I had Rhinox again by my side for my time in need.

[MayzaPrime]

My first Beast Wars figure was also the very first transformer that I bought with my own money that I saved, and that was the original Dinobot figure which I bought from Toys R Us in Miranda Fair. I also got Optimus Primal and Scorponok for my birthday a few weeks later. I also remember hunting for Megatron and I called Kmart in Warrawong, they had 1 left and I asked them to hold it for me, I then begged my Mum and Dad to drive me down and pick it up for me. After promising to wash the cars, clean the house and vacuum the floor I was driven down and was able to pick it up, I was also very lucky because as it turned out as the shop assistant grabbed the figure another customer asked for it, but she had already reserved it for me... I have lots of other Beast Wars story as I was a teenager with 3 jobs to pay for my plastic crack addiction. :D

[TAAUBlaster]

I missed most the first season of BW toys. I hadn't seen the show yet (were the toys released a bit earlier than the show?) and I wrote them off as being a cheap knock off - and not official Transformers. I bought Dinobot and Snapper and kind of forgot about the line. It wasn't until I saw the show one afternoon much later that I of course started getting interested in them! But by that time, a lot of the show characters had already gone from the shelves, and the Transmetals had started appearing. I remember picking up TM Cheetor, TM Op and TM Megs.

The show jumped around on the TV stations a bit if I remember. Some were during the morning, and other eps were shown during the afternoon. I missed out on a lot of eps originally because I could never find them in the schedule! Then one day I found the TM2 Primal figure sitting on the shelf at KMart. Stupidly (in hindsight) I passed it up because I didn't know who it was (I hadn't seen those eps yet.) But I do remember buying the TM2 Megatron.

I also remember Depthcharge an Megs being heavily discounted towards the end - like $20 each! I had thought about getting a couple (they would have been my first sealed figures to keep) but I thought "Nah, I'll get them later. I don't want to carry them around all day. But that later never came...:o I still kick myself when I see how much they are going to cost me to buy now :(

[GoktimusPrime]

The toys were definitely out before the show, and the showed aired on Australian TV much later than in the U.S. I used to get a friend to tape episodes off American TV and send them to me on NTSC VHS so I could watch them shortly after the series had finished airing in the U.S., which would months before it started airing in Australia. I remember having small private meets at my place where other fans and I would sit together and watch the series. :) There's something special about watching a show in the same room as other fans as you get to feed off each other's enthusiasm and reactions. Especially during the innuendos. ;)

Mind you, I only did this from Season 2 onwards. I was living in Japan when Season 1 came out, so my first exposure to the show was the Japanese dub. It wasn't until I moved back to Australia that I saw it in English for the first time. It was weird, because I had to get used to hearing the original Canadian voices, but by that time, I'd become accustomed to playing with my BW toys imitating all the Japanese voices too. So it took me a while to acclimatise to mimicking the Canadian voices. :p

When I first got the toys, the show hadn't come out yet. So I sorta played along to the early toy continuity, which established BW as being a direct continuation of G1/G2 (i.e. the Maximals and Predacons were simply the Autobots and Decepticons 'bioengineered' with beast modes). However, in my version, the Maximals and Predacons had no idea who bioengineered them, how or why. They would wake up one by one as beasts. The beasts were actually animals who were modified with components of their Cybertronian host inside, but of course, were unaware of this. When the Cybertronians started awakening, they found themselves trapped inside their bestial hosts. It took them a while to figure out how to transform, but the beasts remained conscious during the transformation, so it would be utterly agonising for them. The Predacons didn't care about this and would happily remain in robot mode, while the Maximals only transformed when they had to, and otherwise remained in beast mode for the sake of their unwitting hosts. Both sides wanted to find out what happened and discover a way to undo the process, but of course, fought with each other on contact. The Maximals also had to control their hosts from attacking each other (e.g. cheetah wanting to pounce on a rhino or rat etc.)... which wasn't easy. So this was fun until the show came out and of course gave us whole new canon. After that my toy play fell in line with the show, although I occasionally revisit my old "pre-show" toy plays (but usually not). ;) I find it interesting to see how I imagine a toy-character to be before and after their canonical appearance. :o


I also remember Depthcharge an Megs being heavily discounted towards the end - like $20 each! I had thought about getting a couple (they would have been my first sealed figures to keep) but I thought "Nah, I'll get them later. I don't want to carry them around all day.
Nothing wrong with carrying Transformers around all day! The Transmetal period was actually when I started doing that. Soon I was bringing a different Transformer to campus every day. :D I met other toy collectors on campus and we'd sometimes go toy hunting together. Depth Charge was one of my acquisitions on one of these communal toy hunts. I remember bringing this toy back to campus and ripping it open while standing in line at the cafeteria. ;)

[TAAUBlaster]

The toys were definitely out before the show, and the showed aired on Australian TV much later than in the U.S. I used to get a friend to tape episodes off American TV and send them to me on NTSC VHS so I could watch them shortly after the series had finished airing in the U.S., which would months before it started airing in Australia. I remember having small private meets at my place where other fans and I would sit together and watch the series. :) There's something special about watching a show in the same room as other fans as you get to feed off each other's enthusiasm and reactions. Especially during the innuendos. ;)

Mind you, I only did this from Season 2 onwards. I was living in Japan when Season 1 came out, so my first exposure to the show was the Japanese dub. It wasn't until I moved back to Australia that I saw it in English for the first time. It was weird, because I had to get used to hearing the original Canadian voices, but by that time, I'd become accustomed to playing with my BW toys imitating all the Japanese voices too. So it took me a while to acclimatise to mimicking the Canadian voices. :p

When I first got the toys, the show hadn't come out yet. So I sorta played along to the early toy continuity, which established BW as being a direct continuation of G1/G2 (i.e. the Maximals and Predacons were simply the Autobots and Decepticons 'bioengineered' with beast modes). However, in my version, the Maximals and Predacons had no idea who bioengineered them, how or why. They would wake up one by one as beasts. The beasts were actually animals who were modified with components of their Cybertronian host inside, but of course, were unaware of this. When the Cybertronians started awakening, they found themselves trapped inside their bestial hosts. It took them a while to figure out how to transform, but the beasts remained conscious during the transformation, so it would be utterly agonising for them. The Predacons didn't care about this and would happily remain in robot mode, while the Maximals only transformed when they had to, and otherwise remained in beast mode for the sake of their unwitting hosts. Both sides wanted to find out what happened and discover a way to undo the process, but of course, fought with each other on contact. The Maximals also had to control their hosts from attacking each other (e.g. cheetah wanting to pounce on a rhino or rat etc.)... which wasn't easy. So this was fun until the show came out and of course gave us whole new canon. After that my toy play fell in line with the show, although I occasionally revisit my old "pre-show" toy plays (but usually not). ;) I find it interesting to see how I imagine a toy-character to be before and after their canonical appearance. :o


Nothing wrong with carrying Transformers around all day! The Transmetal period was actually when I started doing that. Soon I was bringing a different Transformer to campus every day. :D I met other toy collectors on campus and we'd sometimes go toy hunting together. Depth Charge was one of my acquisitions on one of these communal toy hunts. I remember bringing this toy back to campus and ripping it open while standing in line at the cafeteria. ;)

Sounds like a pretty cool storyline. :) Before I saw the show, I saw them as being direct descendants for the Autobots and Decepticons too. They fought alongside/against my G2 figures :p

I was still in high school at the time the TM's were getting discounted. So I was a lazy teenager, and carrying around toys all day wasn't "cool" or helpful for meeting the ladies haha:p
Believe me if it was today, I would have bought the whole stack of discounted figures and happily carried them around all day. Ladies be damned!:p

[CHILENO20]

I was never a huge fan of the show (in comparison to G1) but I did watch it and enjoy it. The innuendo was funny as and off the top of my head, I'm pretty sure they were the first official transformers that I bought with my own money as opposed to being given one. I still have some of them but none are complete (missing bits & weapons). That being said, I've gotten an itch to start collecting the ones that were in the show again (updated CHUG versions where possible). My Optimus Primal should be in shortly. Just need a Tigatron to complete the Maximals for S1 :D . Anyone willing to help out with Predacons I'm happy to listen :)

[BigTransformerTrev]

I didn't like Beast Wars in the 90's. I was a 'Trukk not Munkey' dude and was too busy between uni and partying anyway to watch what I felt was a pretty crappy turn of events for the TF franchise. I only ever bought Depthcharge and that was mainly to scratch the 'I need a new TF' itch.

Now I'm older I kinda like Beast Wars. I have the box sets of the DVDs, the IDW comics & poster and as for toys:

*BW & TFCC Depthcharge
*10th Anniversary, Animated, Generations, KreO & Robot Heroes Waspinator
*Animated, Legends & Robot Heroes Black Arachnia
*TFCC Rampage
*Assorted Robot Hero BW characters
*Assorted 3-inch Titanium BW characters

So I've warmed to Beast Wars. However I don't think you can say Beast Wars 'saved' the TF franchise. Who knows if the TF franchise would have actually died if BW hadn't come along - it's pure conjecture. It may have been rejuvenated by a different TF cartoon and toyline if the powers that be had decided to go in a different creative direction. It may have lain dormant until RID cane along (which was the toyline that brought me back into the fold). I think the whole 'giant transforming robots' concept just has too much appeal to ever really die. So you can't say that if 'A' hadn't happened then 'B' definitely would have.

What Beast Wars did do was rejuvenate the franchise, bring in a new generation of fans and generally give the TF universe a much needed shot in the arm. And for that yes, the series should indeed be appreciated :)

[CHILENO20]

Primal has arrived, just need Tigatron to complete Season 1 :D
http://i1382.photobucket.com/albums/ah260/chileno18_2000/b3ce02d5-1b78-4587-ac67-ba1a67ad32f4_zps1fex2xgl.jpg (http://s1382.photobucket.com/user/chileno18_2000/media/b3ce02d5-1b78-4587-ac67-ba1a67ad32f4_zps1fex2xgl.jpg.html)

[GoktimusPrime]

I think that there are some really awesome toys outside of the show cast (e.g. Wolfang, Insecticon, B'Boom etc.). The show cast was always limited due to the expensive cost of CG animation. Hasbro always gave Mainframe a select number of characters to appear in the show at any one time, and often they'd tell Mainframe to remove a character before introducing a new one, thus maintaining a limited core number of characters at any one time. e.g. Terrorsaur and Scorponok were unceremoniously thrown into lava before the show introduced the two Fuzors, Silverbolt and Quickstrike. This is also why the show did have a pretty high body count.

Transformers Prime followed a similar formula too, by maintaining a fairly limited number of "Unique" Transformer characters. I think that having an army of Vehicon clone was relatively inexpensive, as it's just the same CG model modified and repeated. Cliffjumper's the main exception considering that he only had a relatively short amount of screen time given the level of detail that they put into that model. But that was pretty cool in that it made his death all the more unexpected.

[BigTransformerTrev]

I'm really surprised they haven't redone the Generations Rhinox and Rattrap toys in their Transmetal modes, especially considering the toy companies proclivities for reusing molds.

One of my biggest beefs - check that, prob the biggest (after I finally learned that BW Op and Megs were not meant to be new versions of G1 Op & Megs - just new characters honouring the names) beef - with Beast Wars is that I personally don't like organic looking alt-modes. It's why these are pretty much the only Generations figures I don't own. However I'd snap up the Transmetal versions in a second if they made them :D

[kup]

Beast Wars is awesome so more new toys representing characters of that era are more than welcome. A lot of the toys despite being 20 years old have superior design and build quality than a lot of modern toys.

EG: Combiner Wars toys robot modes may look nice due to G1esque aesthetics but their design and build quality is super cheap.




One of my biggest beefs - check that, prob the biggest (after I finally learned that BW Op and Megs were not meant to be new versions of G1 Op & Megs - just new characters honouring the names) beef - with Beast Wars is that I personally don't like organic looking alt-modes. It's why these are pretty much the only Generations figures I don't own. However I'd snap up the Transmetal versions in a second if they made them :D

I do understand your perspective as when I first found out about BW, I felt exactly the same way about organic modes. However the cartoon itself convinced me to see passed it and on top of that, as I watched the show I begun to realize that the BW organic modes were more like G1 Pretender shells that break up as panels around the robot mode during transformation than truly organic. When characters took damage in the show, a metal surface was exposed and showed through the faux 'skin'. Basically, if you take a flame thrower to Optimus Primal in Gorilla mode, you will get a metallic gorilla.

So there isn't much difference in concept between G1 transformer Beast modes and BW

[GoktimusPrime]

So there isn't much difference in concept between G1 transformer Beast modes and BW
Agreed.

Also, organic looking beast modes are better in terms of being robots in disguise. A metallic gorilla ain't foolin' anyone. ;) Alice from Revenge of the Fallen was pretty much a beast-moded Transformer, with her animal mode being a human. ROTF Alice is classified as a Pretender in the Movieverse, which goes back to what you were saying about Beast Modes having come from the G1 Pretender concept. :) In fact, the Pretender concept came about because Hasbro wanted Takara to make a line of Transformers that transformed into humans. Ono Koujin realised that this wasn't possible at the time, so he submitted a counter-suggestion to have vehicular moded Transformers inside human shells. Somewhere along the line it was decided that the Decepticons would have monster-shells (I don't know which side came up with this idea, I suspect Takara). Hasbro of course expanded this idea with animals with the Pretender Beasts (which were never released in Japan (or Australia :rolleyes:)).

IDW Comics Spoilers Ahead

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/avatars/spoileralert.jpg

IDW Comics Spoilers Ahead

In the recent IDW comics we see Stampy swipe the Autobot's data stick. I honestly didn't initially think that it was Stampy or even an alien robot. I actually though that this was a stupid part of a story... why the hell would a random rabbit just conveniently steal this thing and somehow elude capture from the Autobots? I thought that the writers had put it in there as a plot complication (which it is), but never suspected that the rabbit was also a Cybertronian. The reveal completely too me off guard as I was like...

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/avatars/th_omg_zps183477eb.jpg
...and then of course the other BW TFs revealed themselves and battled the Autobots! Very, very cool! :D IMO this is what being robots in disguise is about. Theeeeey've got the power to surprise! :cool:

[BigTransformerTrev]

I do understand your perspective as when I first found out about BW, I felt exactly the same way about organic modes. However the cartoon itself convinced me to see passed it and on top of that, as I watched the show I begun to realize that the BW organic modes were more like G1 Pretender shells that break up as panels around the robot mode during transformation than truly organic. When characters took damage in the show, a metal surface was exposed and showed through the faux 'skin'. Basically, if you take a flame thrower to Optimus Primal in Gorilla mode, you will get a metallic gorilla.

So there isn't much difference in concept between G1 transformer Beast modes and BW

My dislike of organic looking alt-modes has nothing to do with storyline. I just think they look boring on screen and total crap as toys. It's purely aesthetic. That's why I only ever bought Roadgrabber from the Pretender line (I did get Grimlock too but that's because I'm a Big Grim collector). Others really like them and not arguing that they shouldn't, I just don't personally.

[GoktimusPrime]

Which Beast Wars Transformer are you? (http://otca.com.au/boards/showpost.php?p=508486&postcount=11) ;)

[CHILENO20]

Cheetor

[UltimateGalvatron]

Cheetor

Same.

[doublespy]

I'm not quite into Transformers comic so BW is the best TF fiction for me to date. You don't see cartoons with this kind of quality a lot. IMHO Beast Machines (and probably TFP much later) may beat BW in the visuals department, but as a show overall, BW is hands down the best.

I still remember the day when I saw Ravage transform into his classic cassette tape form with the G1 transformation sound effect. I had tears in my eyes.:p

As a toy line, it ranks high in my book too. Transmetals and Transmetals 2 produced some of the all time great TF toys. I also like the fact that from BW Transformers started to become challenging to transform (later the Japanese designers would deliver some of the most mind blowing shell-formers)

[GoktimusPrime]

The time span between the original G1 Optimus Prime (1984) and MP1 Convoy (2004) is the same as that between the original Ultra Optimus Primal (1996) and MP32 Convoy (2016); 20 years apart. And yet I cannot help but notice that - as amazingly awesome as Optimus Prime was by 1980s standards, the toy has been completely outclassed 20 years later by MP1. And while MP32 certainly does eclipse the original Primal toy, the original Primal toy does still hold up reasonably well against its Masterpiece counterpart. The fact that the original is even comparable with the MP toy speaks volumes about just how amazing the design and engineering behind that toy was. Just how ahead of its time it really was. It may be somewhat dated by today's standards - that's to be expected - but it still impresses me to no end how the standards in design and engineering established in Beast Wars continues to influence TF toy designs today, even at the MP level!

When I try to do direct side by side comparisons between G1 and MP Optimus Prime, attempting to strike the same poses, here's what happens...

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/masterpiece%20optimus%20prime/bw_apprec_prime00_zpsweq7o6ni.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/masterpiece%20optimus%20prime/bw_apprec_prime02_zpshmttpvqq.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/masterpiece%20optimus%20prime/bw_apprec_prime03_zps5xcwpwrc.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/masterpiece%20optimus%20prime/bw_apprec_prime01_zpstkdzmbgr.jpg

How many of us tried to pose our G1 toys as close as we could to the cartoon as we played along with the TV adventures every Saturday morning? But our approximations pretty much just looked like this. :o Fun times for sure, but yeah... :p Now look at what happens when I try the same thing with Optimus Primal...

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/Masterpiece%20Optimus%20Primal/bw_apprec_primal03_zps0g1zlssz.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/Masterpiece%20Optimus%20Primal/mp_beastconvoy08_zpsr4kyjsuw.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/Masterpiece%20Optimus%20Primal/bw_apprec_primal01_zpsufudroxg.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/Masterpiece%20Optimus%20Primal/bw_apprec_primal02_zpsetba74cb.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/Masterpiece%20Optimus%20Primal/mp_beastconvoy07_zpsxotq2pqb.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/Masterpiece%20Optimus%20Primal/mp_beastconvoy06_zps6xzjzl3l.jpg

Both sets of toys are separated by a 20 year gap, yet we can see that the Beast Wars toy hasn't dated nearly as much as the G1 toy. This shows how BW really did set the standard for all Transformers lines ever since and continues to influence the way that Transformers are designed today. Sure, we need to respect G1 for starting the whole thing - and those toys were really great for its time. But BW redefined what a Transformer toy was. In G1 Transformers were basically alt modes that became a robot. BW standardised the idea of Transformers as action figures. Every time you enjoy a Transformer toy from CHUGUR, Movieverse, Masterpiece etc., thank Beast Wars. :)

[Verno]

Hasbro is putting the power back in the hands of the people, letting us decide (out of a choice of 9 characters) who deserves a new Generations figure in the upcoming sequel to Titans Return -- Power of the Primes.

The other 8 names are immaterial. There is only one option:

http://orig05.deviantart.net/5c67/f/2016/336/9/b/imjustprime1_by_rh1n0x-daqcii2.jpg

Make your vote count!

http://orig07.deviantart.net/8773/f/2016/336/d/b/imjustprime_by_rh1n0x-daqccw2.jpg

#I'MJUSTPRIME

[Verno]

Here's a little teaser to whet the appetite. Page 7 from Transformers: X (http://rh1n0x.deviantart.com/gallery/44152078/X)...

http://pre00.deviantart.net/0bdb/th/pre/f/2016/339/7/9/transformers__x___issue__1___page_7_by_rh1n0x-daqot1f.png (http://rh1n0x.deviantart.com/art/Transformers-X-Issue-1-Page-7-649489155)

[Verno]

http://pre04.deviantart.net/a5b7/th/pre/i/2016/021/d/0/csirac___issue__4___page_12_by_tf_tvc-d9otnfw.png (http://tf-tvc.deviantart.com/art/Csirac-Issue-4-Page-12-585889772)

Magmatron, two-thirds of Magnaboss and Rhinox. Despite the Cybertronian bodies, it doesn't come much more Beast Wars than that.

[Verno]

The lines for Page 2 (of 4) of Gathering Darkness (http://rh1n0x.deviantart.com/art/GATHERING-DARKNESS-616211942) -- the untold story of the Tripredacus Council:

http://img06.deviantart.net/2912/i/2016/346/6/c/gathering_darkness_p2__with_added_darkness__by_mis terjazzz-dareq3w.jpg (http://misterjazzz.deviantart.com/art/Gathering-Darkness-p2-with-added-darkness-650698412)

[GoktimusPrime]

Verno, with all due respect, I created this thread so that people can express and discuss their appreciation for the Beast Wars brand, as in the official toys, cartoon and so on. May I request that you post your fan fics in the Grapple's Creative Stuff (http://otca.com.au/boards/forumdisplay.php?f=15) section of the board.

Thank you for your consideration.

[Verno]

I was just trying to generate some discussion mate. Didn't mean to step one anyone's toes.

[Polursine]

Hasbro is putting the power back in the hands of the people, letting us decide (out of a choice of 9 characters) who deserves a new Generations figure in the upcoming sequel to Titans Return -- Power of the Primes.

The other 8 names are immaterial. There is only one option:

http://orig05.deviantart.net/5c67/f/2016/336/9/b/imjustprime1_by_rh1n0x-daqcii2.jpg

Make your vote count!

http://orig07.deviantart.net/8773/f/2016/336/d/b/imjustprime_by_rh1n0x-daqccw2.jpg

#I'MJUSTPRIME

Omg.
Literally "Primal Prime". I like it.

[GoktimusPrime]

Was playing the Beast Wars Mutating Card Game with my daughter this afternoon. She drew a Mutate card early on in the piece and transformed Optimus Primal into robot mode where he remained for a good chunk of the game and took out most of my Preds, and Megatron was his first casualty (so there went my heavy hitter). :( Even after she drew another Mutate card which forced Primal back into Beast Mode, he still managed to take out several more Predacons in gorilla mode! :eek: I finally managed to take Primal down with Tarantulas in robot mode, and Tarantulas did manage to take out a couple more Maximals before he was the last Predacon standing and was finally taken down.

[Mr_K]

Was playing the Beast Wars Mutating Card Game with my daughter this afternoon. She drew a Mutate card early on in the piece and transformed Optimus Primal into robot mode where he remained for a good chunk of the game and took out most of my Preds, and Megatron was his first casualty (so there went my heavy hitter). :( Even after she drew another Mutate card which forced Primal back into Beast Mode, he still managed to take out several more Predacons in gorilla mode! :eek: I finally managed to take Primal down with Tarantulas in robot mode, and Tarantulas did manage to take out a couple more Maximals before he was the last Predacon standing and was finally taken down.
I have never heard of this game before and now I really want it lol

[GoktimusPrime]

http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Beast_Wars_Transformers_Mutating_Card_Game

It's a really fun game. :) The game mechanics are quite simple as it's meant to be easy for kids to learn and play. I quite like how it heavily draws from the Beast Wars toy line, with each of the character cards carrying stats from their Tech Specs in robot mode, although the game assigns them different stats in beast mode which is weaker. While it's frustrating that you can't transform to robot mode at will because all abilities are a result of a card draw, being "forced" to involuntarily convert back to beast mode is reminiscent of Season 1 of the cartoon where characters would begin shorting out from exposure to raw Energon.

The artwork on this game is beautiful and toy accurate. The robot mode art is directly taken from their box and card art, which is a bonus for me because I missed out on most of the early Hasbro BW stuff since I was in Japan when BW came out. So getting this game allowed me to get a good look at the Hasbro art for the early characters. :) But the original art on the box and for all of their beast modes are also done in the same style as the box/card art. It just looks gorgeous. The board itself looks wicked as a plateau that's bursting with Energon seam lines. The TFwiki page doesn't show it, but it comes with two plastic parts which, in storage, hold the cards, but during game set up form the base of the plateau and elevates the board like this (http://www.battlegrip.com/images/reviews/01-11/beastwars/b06_l.jpg). Here (https://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic66861_md.jpg) is what the game looks like during play. I picked my game up from TRU in the late 90s... no idea where you might find one now. :o But if you happen to find one, I'd highly recommend it. :) There are some technical drawbacks to the game, but bear in mind that it was made for 5 year olds! :D

[GoktimusPrime]

Scans from p.90-91 of the Beast Wars II Encyclopaedia, 1998.

A photo of a younger Yuki Hisashi (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Hisashi_Yuki)
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/bwII_encyc_yukihashi_pic_zps1toanv0j.jpg

Yuki's design sketches for Lio Convoy (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Lio_Convoy)
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/bwII_encyc_yukihashi_lioconvoy_zpsv5zgjnbk.jpg