Transformers Prime Beast Hunters Predaking (Voyager)

[GoktimusPrime]

Series - Transformers Prime
Sub-line - Beast Hunters
Size/class - Voyager
Wave - 1
New/remould/redeco - New
Released here - March 2013
Regular Retail Price - $50
Approximate Size - 17.5cm
Allegiance - Predacon
Alt-mode - Hydra/Dragon
Main Features/Gimmicks - outside hydra heads swing down and launch missiles
Main Colours - black and orange w/ gold and grey highlights
Main Accessories - sword, hydra heads (x2), missiles (x2)

Pics (undoctored):
Hydra/Dragon mode
Robot mode
Rear view of robot mode

Pros
* Good sculpting - figure looks suitably imposing and menacing
* Decent paint apps, although the wings are completely orange and could do with some highlights. Sword is black with a gold painted end.
* The way that the beast mode feet are incorporated into the robot mode is good, particularly with the hind legs folding in and forming heel supports. And just as well, as the wings make the toy back heavy in robot mode. The heel spurs support this toy surprisingly well.
* The 2 Hydra heads can attach to the forearms to become missile launcher weapons. They also have rows of piranha-like teeth!
* Interesting transformation scheme, particularly with the robot legs forming the rear part of the beast mode. They certainly have tried something different here.

Cons
* The way that the tail locks into the back of the robot renders the waist articulation unusable. The toy does have an articulated waist - it's required for transformation, but it cannot move once the tail is locked in. You could unlock the tail, but then the back looks unsightly (as it conceals the central Hydra head), and also the tail just sticks out with nowhere to go (it's not a good look)). Furthermore, the low hanging wings can get in the way of upper body lateral movement anyway.
* While the sword may look nice, the toy is incapable of holding it properly. The hilt has two tabs sticking out, and the heel of the palms have slots for the tabs to insert into, but the tabs are too small (or the slots are too big), making this feature pretty much useless. It's the same problem that TakaraTOMY's Masterpiece Rodimus Convoy has (and why he cannot hold his weapons either). Even if the tab were thickened, because the tabs are on both sides (which allows the sword to be held in either hand, because it's a single edged blade), when you close the hand it squeezes the sword out anyway! Now the guard has two additional slots which can fit between the 3 fingers, and when you push the two thumbs (yeah, he has marsupial hands ) together, it can now actually hold the sword! But it's not a particularly strong grip, and the sword would easily fly off it it gets so much as nudged. You could also rotate the sword 90 degrees to have Predaking hold the hilt without touching the tabs. I tried this, and it's a better grip, but still incredibly weak. So the best I've managed to do is just have him loosely hold the sword in place - which is fine for display purposes, but in terms of having a decent enough grip for play purposes, it's just rubbish. It's a lot like MP01 and his rifle grip (or lack thereof).
* The wings are sculpted in this kinda awkward shape where, if you put them down low (as you're supposed to), it gets in the way of your hands when you handle the toy. It would also take up more shelf space. But if you swing them up high, the spikey shoulders end up bumping them. There doesn't seem to be an ideal position for the wings, but I guess I'll keep them low for play, and high for display.

Overall
A satisfactory figure, but I'm mighty glad that I bought it on sale. I'm really glad that Hasbro ditched the whole LED gimmick from the TFPRiD Voyagers and put more engineering back into the toy itself, and the results are considerably more pleasing. The design of the sword is an epic fail, but the Hydra head launchers work well. Not worth paying full RRP for, so get it on sale if you really want this toy.

Hydra or Dragon?
The alt mode seems to bear qualities of both a Hydra and a Dragon, but when I Google Image search for "Hydra", I see a lot of images of dragon-like Hydra, like this. It appears that Predaking's alt mode is based on that sort of Hydra, though arguably one could say that it's a hybrid (or "Fuzor") between a Hydra and a Dragon, because a more Classical looking Hydra is essentially a multi (or should I say "Poly" since it's Greek? )-headed serpent, looking more like these:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A4wXiEEJ2B...ules-hydra.jpg
http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__...71/Hydra01.png
However, the addition of a Dragon-like body and legs may date back as far as Roman times judging from this image -- I have no idea what period that image comes from, so I'm just making a guess.
So is it a three headed dragon, or a three headed hydra??? Well, the box keeps referring to the alt mode itself as a dragon, but refers to the additional heads/missile launchers as hydra heads! So ermm... I'm just gonna take it as a dragon/hydra "Fuzor".

A new Autobot is coming?
I've been avoiding Season 3 spoilers, and we know that Optimus Prime looked to be finished at the end of Season 2... so according to Predaking's instruction booklet story, it seems that the Autobots may be due for a new leader. Arise...


when I Googled "Optiums" I got results for "optimum" and "opium"