Toy Review - Cyberverse Rack 'N' Ruin (Ultra)

[GoktimusPrime]

RACK and/or RUIN
Series - Bumblebee
Sub-line - Cyberverse Adventures
Size/class - Ultra
New/remould/redeco - New
Wave - 6
Released here - ???
Approximate Retail Price - $39
Approximate Size - 15cm
Allegiance - Autobot
Alt-mode - Armoured car
Main Features/Gimmicks - Energon Armour
Main Colours - greens
Main Accessories - cannon (x1)

https://i.ibb.co/zNfWGQF/cyberverse-ultra-racknruin01.jpg

PROS
* It's freaking Rack 'N' Ruin! The toy that we G1 fans have been waiting for since 1986! :D
* reasonably solid figure with a decent enough colour scheme - the two different shades of green complement each other fairly well
* fairly interesting transformation
* the way that the cannon is incorporated into the vehicle mode is neat
* the Energon Armour gimmick is pretty neat - I like the way that it deploys and can be neatly tucked away
* I like how the right head has a "monocle", making 'Rack' (I guess) a bit more distinctive from 'Ruin.'
* I also like the way that the sculpting for the lower bellies angle inwards towards the groin. This is actually how conjoined twinning works in nature (where two spinal cords have split from the tail). Nice touch.
* The vehicle mode is "Dorvack-esque," reminiscent of the Deluxe Autobots (which is neat as they were also members of the original Wreckers)

https://i.ibb.co/3rbrNpN/cyberverse-ultra-racknruin02.jpg

CONS
* toy bears limited resemblance to Rack 'N' Ruin (i.e. he's green and dicephalous... that's about it). I know that Cyberverse isn't G1, but other Cyberverse characters bear a definite (albeit stylised) resemblance to their G1 counterparts; Optimus Prime has the same body plan and energy axe, Bumblebee has the same chest and head shape, Megatron has faux gun kibble etc. Rack 'N' Ruin's heads look nothing like their G1 heads and he lacks his iconic warhammer.
* a really hollow and rather basic toy - I don't think it's worth paying nearly the price of a Voyager for it
* the dicephalous feature in the robot mode would be more fun with head articulation
* the upper legs don't tab in very strongly in vehicle mode which can make transformation and maintaining the vehicle form a tad tricky. Other tabs go in fine, but just the tabs for the upper legs seem lacking.
* while the vehicle mode is kinda neat in concept, in execution it's a mess with all kinds of gaps

https://i.ibb.co/6g9NK95/cyberverse-ultra-racknruin03.jpg

OVERALL
Not recommended unless, like me, you're just desperate for any representation of Rack 'N' Ruin. But this honestly feels like a "placeholder" toy for me until a proper CHUG Rack 'N' Ruin toy exists (similar to how Siege Impactor became a thing).

P.S.: Remember when Ultras looked like this? ;)
https://i.ibb.co/XW7bD7P/cyberverse-then-now-ultra.jpg

[reillyd]

RACK and/or RUIN
* I also like the way that the sculpting for the lower bellies angle inwards towards the groin.

You know taken out of context, that sounds kinda ?sus, y?know? :p

In all seriousness, thanks for posting the review and photos. I was kind of on the fence before, but he?s actually looking kinda cool in an 80?s g1 throwback kind of way. I think if I arm him with a warhammer he?ll still look good on the shelf standing next to Impactor. At least until we get a Generations style one. Just got to find him at retail now.

[shockNwave]

Oh dear, how the mighty ultra class toys have truly fallen.:(

[SMHFConvoy]

I find it amusing in Cyberverse, RacknRuin share one gigantic pair of underpants

[Seraphim Prime]

CONS
* toy bears limited resemblance to Rack 'N' Ruin (i.e. he's green and dicephalous... that's about it). I know that Cyberverse isn't G1, but other Cyberverse characters bear a definite (albeit stylised) resemblance to their G1 counterparts; Optimus Prime has the same body plan and energy axe, Bumblebee has the same chest and head shape, Megatron has faux gun kibble etc. Rack 'N' Ruin's heads look nothing like their G1 heads and he lacks his iconic warhammer.

I don't have the toy yet, so cannot confirm, but it looks like the armour has been moulded to reflect the G1 helmeted look.




P.S.: Remember when Ultras looked like this? ;)
https://i.ibb.co/XW7bD7P/cyberverse-then-now-ultra.jpg

They were also ~$60

[GoktimusPrime]

I don't have the toy yet, so cannot confirm, but it looks like the armour has been moulded to reflect the G1 helmeted look.
Hooly-dooly, you're right!

They were also ~$60
More like $70, but yes. That's why I didn't count that as a "Con" against this toy. I don't think it's worth $39 but you are correct in that previous Ultrae were nearly double the price. ;) But I'd say that they were at least worth $70. Ultra Optimus Primal was my very first Ultra Class figure and also my very first Beast Wars toy -- I was enamoured by this figure and it was this toy that convinced me that Transformers had finally gotten back on track and was rising above the slump that we'd endured during those crummy Generation 2 years. :) The original Ultrae were like beacons of hope that took us out of the darkness. Even the worst Ultrae, like Ultra Megatron (which was one of the last pre-Transmetal BW toys that I bought; even after the cartoon came out I hesitated on buying this toy until about mid-way into Season 1 when I caved (and yeah, cos I'd already bought everything else :p)) is a better toy than the best of the Cyberverse Ultrae.