Toy Review - BH Voyager Predaking 2.0 ("upscaled" version)
I hope I've posted this in the right place - I'm not sure if it belongs in the future review holding zone, but as it seems unlikely this toy will get an Australian release given the major stores are now discounting Beast Hunters I figured it should go here!
Anyway, I got this figure in the post today and decided it deserved a detailed review.
Off the bat, I have to clear up a misconception about the toy, and the reason why I put "upscaled" in quote marks in the title. Although most of the fandom know this version of Predaking because it's being sold alongside upscaled Cyberverse toys, it is not in any way, shape, or form, actually an upscaled version of the commander class Cyberverse Predaking release. Whilst it shares design cues from both that toy and pretty much every other version of Predaking released, it's actually a whole new toy.
This time around, Predaking's colours are slightly different. Whilst the black and orange of previous toys are still there, the primary colours are a translucent, smokey purple, and rather disappointingly the shade fans have come to know as Hasbro grey. This shade is what Hasbro thinks looks like metal, but unfortunately tends to make toys that use it prominently look plain and in my opinion, rather boring. Fortunately, it's used as a secondary colour on Predaking, giving way to the much more interesting translucent purple, and being overwhelmed by liberal applications of orange paint. Silver paint is also used for the tips of his shoulder-horns in both modes. In addition, the wings are cast in a vibrant translucent orange plastic; the fact that they're see-through makes them look a little insectoid, as opposed to the reptilian wings of the previous Voyager and the Ultimate class toy, or the feathered wings of the Commander.
The robot mode is a well-articulated, cool looking figure. He has arm, elbow, hip, and knee joints, plus a little bit of movement in the wrists as a result of the transformation scheme. Every joint is on a ratchet, so he is posable, but stable in pretty much any given pose, unlike the Ultimate class whose wrists and arms are floppy. His robot head can turn side to side. The sculpting for this form has roughly the same level of detailing as the Ultimate class, which is pleasing, but has much more paint in orange as mentioned above. Also visible in this form are Cybertronian glyphs pretty much everywhere.
However, the big difference between this Voyager and other versions in this form is the sword. Whereas the previous toys made the tail the important element with it forming a sword as a secondary concern, this version emphasises the sword aspect much more. I say emphasises because it doesn't completely neglect the tail, with a dragon tail-like bit of detailing on the back of the sword; one can imagine this Predaking transforming, then creating the sword blade from the tail somehow. The sword is painted in orange and yellow and also has Cybertronian glyphs.
There are a few spots of kibble in this mode. I have to say, I don't really deduct points for alt-mode kibble in robot form normally because they usually emphasise that this is a Transformer, not just some other mech. In this case however they do detract a very small amount from the robot form. Firstly, the dragon head hangs down on the back forming an odd looking tail. This can be hidden to an extent by the wings, which themselves could be called kibble. The wings of this version are posable, like the Ultimate version. Unlike that toy, however, in robot mode they are better positioned down and folded back, as when up they restrict the articulation in the shoulders. The final point is about the beast legs. These are actually part of the robot legs, but as much as they plug into the back and form part of the foot, it's difficult to escape from them just being dragon-legs on the back of his feet. I really feel that given the design of the legs they could have been made a bit more elegantly to fold back into the lower legs. None of these are major points, but they do detract a little from what is otherwise a great robot mode.
Transformation is intuitive and simple. The beast head folds up, the hands fold down, the arms become legs, and the legs fold over themselves, with the beast mode legs coming into position. That's really it. Given that one of the goals of the final wave of Beast Hunters toys was to provide kids with simple toys they could enjoy playing with, I have to say it's a success. Some parts do get in the way during transformation but not nearly to the extent of some pre-2011 Transformers; it's more of a matter of having to have the arms and wings out of the way before transforming the legs. The legs peg securely into the body making for a sturdy figure in beast mode.
Beast mode retains the detail of the robot mode, with the wingspan coming fully into play. The translucent orange wings look amazing and are easily the most impressive part of the toy. Whilst his wingspan is not as wide as the Ultimate class version, it's close. For the rest of the figure, the sculpted detail present in the robot mode is still there on the arms and back, with the robot chest now on his belly. The arms form odd, two-clawed feet and legs, and the heels of the robot make some solid beast legs with additional silver paint on the feet. The only obvious robot kibble is the hands forming the heels of the dragon, not a big deal but on, say, a Prime First Edition figure they would have been hidden.
The sword forms the tail. As I mentioned above, the tail is much more sword-like than on previous releases. The official instructions say to transform him with the blade up, but I actually prefer it with the blade down; it creates a smoother line along the body, and the missile launcher can therefore plug in on top of the sword. The missile launcher clashes a bit with the hilt of the sword, but can be placed backwards along the tail perfectly acceptably as a sort of rear defence mechanism; if he's breathing fire and crushing enemies with his claws facing forwards, having the missile launcher guard the rear is a great idea.
I have to compare the toy to the Ultimate class because that's the other version I have, and that's the toy it's closest to, size-wise and design-wise. The beast mode comes up very well in that comparison. It's more streamlined and organic-looking than the rather bulky Ultimate toy. I could never quite get over the enormous back legs of the ultimate version. That just isn't a problem here, with separate back legs folding out rather than using the same legs for both beast and robot.
Overall, this is a really great toy. It's articulated, it's good looking, it's big - nearly as big as the Ultimate class - and it doesn't feel cheap at all. Many of the parts are hollow, but the plastic used is really solid and he feels strong as he's transformed, posed, and played with. I love the new sword and I love the wings, but I also love the elegance of the transformation and the sheer presence of both modes. It's almost enough to drive me to get his co-sell Optimus Prime toy. This is the sort of toy Hasbro should look at when thinking about the future of the Transformers brand: something easy and fun to transform, looks good in both modes, and is highly posable.
Animated Leader Bulkhead Grade: Ownage, total ownage!
Note: Pics will be forthcoming as soon as my iPad stops messing around and uploads them!
