I managed to find some OLD toy reviews that I wrote between 1997 and 2001... the most recent being the toy review for Beast Machines Beast Changer, written on 19/6/2001! It's interesting to see how some of my opinions on toys have changed over time; e.g. my review for Scuba's fairly harsh, but I actually quite like this toy now. I also have some old reviews written by other members, like Jhiaxus and Sofaman. I'll post those up separately so they don't get muddled with mine. And yes, I did use the Japanese names for quite a few of the early Beast Wars figures; that's because I was living in Japan when BW came out so I had the JP versions and wrote my reviews from that perspective.

So let's take a trip down memory lane...

BEAST WARS BASICS

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Name: AIRAZOR
Allegiance: Maximal
Function: Aerial Reconnaissance
Beast Mode: Peregrine falcon
Average Price: 25 AUD (with video)

BEAST MODE

Length: 10.5cm
Wingspan: 19cm
Colour scheme: primarily brown with white accents and yellow beak and talons. The moulding is superb with various types of feathers moulded throughout the face, back, wings and tail. A lever at the rear can be pulled to make the wings move forward and back. Two blades fold out from each wing, forming an attack mode. However, this is a really impractical and stupid attack gimmick. It's primary disadvantage is it's lack of range. The blades close in a pincer formation and connect just in front of the head. Hence, she'd have to be withing pecking distance to use it. Secondly, she wouldn't be able to fly, since she can't flap her wings whilst using the weapon. It's little wonder why she never uses it in the TV show. Furthermore, after pulling the blades out, mechanical parts are exposed, revealing Airazor's true robotic nature - hence the disguise gimmick of her beast mode would be useless.. then again, even if the parts weren't exposed, you don't see too many falcons flying around with blades sticking out of their wings. But other than the silly attack mode, the beast mode looks great.

TRANSFORMATION TO ROBOT MODE

Height: 9.5cm
A very superb figures, the beast and robot parts blend with each other nicely. Although the toy is somewhat back-heavy in this mode, the figure can be easily stood by adjusting the ankles. Two features which I really like are the robot fists and a hand held gun - with guns being a rarity in the Beast Wars line, especially during the early years. Despite the fantastic look of this toy, my only minor complaint would be that it doesn't look feminine at all. One reason why Takara was able to market the toy as a male character in Japan. Other than that, a very slick looking robot with 13 points of articulation.

ROBOT MODE

Height: 9.5cm
A very superb figures, the beast and robot parts blend with each other nicely. Although the toy is somewhat back-heavy in this mode, the figure can be easily stood
by adjusting the ankles. Two features which I really like are the robot fists and a hand held gun - with guns being a rarity in the Beast Wars line, especially during the
early years. Despite the fantastic look of this toy, my only minor complaint would be that it doesn't look feminine at all. One reason why Takara was able to market
the toy as a male character in Japan. Other than that, a very slick looking robot with 13 points of articulation.

RUB STICKER LOCATION

Under the tail.

OVERALL

A fantastic looking toy with as much poseability as most other Beast Wars Transformers.

VARIATIONS

The brown was replaced with a darker brown, the white accents with silver, yellow was substituted with orange. All the new colours were also metallic. This toy was also packaged with a VHS video tape containing the episodes "Aftermath" and "Coming of the Fuzors Part I". The new colour scheme is great, as it is far closer to the colour scheme from the TV series. I recommend this version over the original.

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Name: SCUBA
Allegiance: Cybertron
Function: Marine Construction
Beast Mode: Squid
Average Price: 750 JPY

BEAST MODE

Length: 15 cm
It's bland, it's boring, it's an orange and maroon squid with light purple spots. Well... I suppose there's not much you could expect a toy squid to do. The arms and tentacles offer a total of 6 points of articulation. In the centre of the tentacles is a mouth gimmick which is activated by pressing a lever behind the head. By doing so, two radula come out from either side of the beak. Oooh, scary.

TRANSFORMATION

The top part of the head splits in two to become the legs/feet. Lift the mantle up and rotate the legs 180 degrees (this is the part that looks really cool in the show). If you haven't already done so by now, turn the toy upside down and pivot the rear arms to the sides to reveal robot head. Lift up robot head and turn it 180 degrees. Lower the two remaining tentacles.

ROBOT MODE

Height: 10cm
Points of Articulation: 12 (disincluding tentacles)
I must agree with Ben Yee on the point that this toy really does look a tad too organic in robot mode, especially the head. The only remotely mecha-looking part is the chest and thighs. After reading Ben's review and looking at several pictures of the toy, I was quite skeptic at buying this toy. In fact, I only bought it because Scuba happens to be one of my favourite characters in the Beast Wars II series. However, I must confess that I was pleasantly surprised after purchasing and opening the toy. Despite its shortcomings, it's really not that bad a toy. But the lack of hands kinda erks me. I don't like handless humanoid robots. Also, he lacks a decent weapon. The only weapon he comes with is this 32mm V-shaped object which resemble a pair of barbeque tongs. According to the instructions, it's supposed to be a claw. Whatever. The radula gimmick, located in the chest, is activated by pushing a lever on the back (note that unlike Claw Jaw's instructions, which neglects to mention this gimmick, Scuba's instruction clearly illustrates this gimmick; this is an all-too-typical case of Japanese instructions being surpassing the American ones, not to mention they're drawn much better, but I digress...).
Due to it's incredibly short range, this weapon could only be used at close distance. The rear tentacles protrude from the shoulders and they look pretty neat, sticking out like 'wings'. The two arms located beneath the breast (where the pincers come out from) interferes with the legs.

RUB STICKER LOCATION

On the right rear arms (underside).

OVERALL

If I'd never seen Beast Wars II, I don't think I would've bought this toy. Even then it was a bit of an impulse buy (I also bought this toy from a specialty store here... heaven forbid that I actually went to all the trouble of ordering and having it sent from Japan!). Oh heck, the toy sucks. Sure, it doesn't suck as bad as I thought it would suck, but it still sucks (it's a Dustbuster where I was expecting a Hoover).

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Name (Japan): CONVOBAT
Name (USA): OPTIMUS PRIMAL
Allegiance (Japan): Cybertron
Allegiance (USA): Maximal
Function (Japan): Amazon Warrior
Function (USA): Maximal General
Beast Mode: Bat
Average Price (Japan): Single; 750 JPY
Versus Set; 1480 JPY
Versus Set (with CD ROM); 2980 JPY
Average Price (US Versus Set): 13 USD


BEAST MODE

Holy Raw Energon Crystals, it's Batbot! Sorry.
Measuring about 11cm in length with an 11.5cm wingspan. The moulding is covered with a nice down of fur sculpting. From the top side, the is almost entirely gray-blue. The eyes are yellow and there are two white little fangs. The jaw opens and closes revealing a red tongue and an additional two white fangs. The major flaw with this mode is the underside. Whilst the wings have great bone and vein moulding, there's far too much robotic undercarriage.


TRANSFORMATION TO ROBOT MODE

Unlock the tail and watch everything else flick into place. That's it.

ROBOT MODE

A surprisingly good looking robot mode. Far better than I initially expected to be honest. I like the way the wings span out to the sides. The head looks rather strange and vaguely resembles the Convoy scheme. It's a combination of gray-blue and navy blue with yellow eyes. The upper arms, hips and thighs are navy blue and the forearms and lower legs are gray-blue with red accents. The moulding on the appendages are rather nice, especially the protrusions from the forearm, which would provide added advantage in hand-to-hand combat (like a spiked gauntlet). In this mode, Convobat has 11 points of articulaton and carries to groovy looking sabres.

RUB STICKER LOCATION

None.

OVERALL

A very well made basic figure. My only complaint is that the shoulders tend to pop off too easily.

EAST vs WEST : Differences between the US and Japanese releases
ROUND 1: The West
Optimus Primal and Megatron came together in a double pack on card. This set came with a small, badly drawn and poorly written comic book.
Not worth opening up, really. Although the toy retails for around 13 USD, I managed to pick mine up for 8 USD at KB Toys. I'm glad I didn't pay full price for this set.
ROUND 2: The East
At first, Convobat (C-6) and Megalligator (D-6) were released as any other Beast Wars Transformer in Japan; available either individually or together in a versus set (VS-6). Other than all the usual stuff (catalogue, instruction booklets, Tech Specs cards etc.) there wasn't much else. Still, beats the hell out of their counterparts across the Pacific.
ROUND 3: The CD ROM pack
The only Beast Wars Transformers to have ever been sold on a card (all other Transformers in Japan are boxed). Both Convobat and Megalligator were repainted for this release and came with a CD ROM.

Convobat was repainted. The bat parts were painted vermillion, the head became blue and red, the forearms and lower legs also became red with blue accents. The upper arms, hips and thighs were repainted white. On the back of the right wing, there is a silver Cybertron (Maximal) insignia painted on. Beneath the insignia is the word "C-ROM". Other than the change in colour, there's no difference. However, a change in colour can often make a significant difference to the overall look of the toy. I personally prefer this repaint (and yes, there are red bats; Lasiurus borealis).

The CD ROM itself has two main options; one is a database with Tech Specs on various Beast Wars Transformers as well as various footage from the TV show and TV commercial. The second option is a colouring in programme. It's basically like a colouring book, except you're using a mouse instead of crayons and the beauty of it is that you can recolour the same image again and again...

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Name (Japan): MEGALLIGATOR
Name (USA): MEGATRON
Allegiance (Japan): Destron
Allegiance (USA): Predacon
Function (Japan): Amazon Warrior
Function (USA): Predacon Commander
Beast Mode: Crocodile
Average Price (Japan): Single; 750 JPY
Versus Set; 1480 JPY
Versus Set (with CD ROM); 2980 JPY
Average Price (US Versus Set): 13 USD


BEAST MODE

Length: 15cm
Apparently the body is a repaint from Iguanus' body. It has fairly decent scale moulding sculpted along the toy. The head is the most striking feature of the toy and is better moulded than I thought it would be. I like the eyes -- they have reptilian eyeballs -- the first Beast Wars Transformer to sport eyeballs! The toy is primarily olive and emerald green. The head is olive green with red eyes and white teeth. The jaws open up to reveal a red tongue.
The main drawback with the toy is when you flip it over -- there's way to much robo-undercarriage.

TRANSFORMATION TO ROBOT MODE

Unlock the tail and watch everything else flick into place. Remove the tail and flip the end to form robot gun. Flip out hind legs. Flip up front feet to form robot fists. Flip down robot feet. Flip flip flip, flippity flip.

ROBOT MODE

A lot better than I expected, but still not too much to write home about. The colour scheme of the beast mode is pretty much retained in robot mode with a few gold accents on the legs and feet. The robot face is purple with orange eyes and two really stupid looking fangs sticking out of the mouth. The rest of the head looks fairly Megatronlike, which is good. Standing the toy is a bit tricky though.

RUB STICKER LOCATION

None.

OVERALL

It's just so so-so. I'd only recommend getting it in a versus set... no way I'd get this toy on its own.

EAST vs WEST : Differences between the US and Japanese releases
ROUND 1: The West
Optimus Primal and Megatron came together in a double pack on card. This set came with a small, badly drawn and poorly written comic book.
Not worth opening up, really. Although the toy retails for around 13 USD, I managed to pick mine up for 8 USD at KB Toys. I'm glad I didn't pay full price for this set.
ROUND 2: The East
At first, Convobat (C-6) and Megalligator (D-6) were released as any other Beast Wars Transformer in Japan; available either individually or together in a versus set (VS-6). Other than all the usual stuff (catalogue, instruction booklets, Tech Specs cards etc.) there wasn't much else. Still, beats the hell out of their counterparts across the Pacific.
ROUND 3: The CD ROM pack
The only Beast Wars Transformers to have ever been sold on a card in Japan. Both Convobat and Megalligator were repainted for this release and came with a CD ROM.

Megalligator was repainted. Olive green was replaced with deep purple, emerald green was swapped with black and gold was replaced by silver. The face itself was repainted silver with red eyes. On the chest of the robot (or head of the croc), there's a silver Destron (Predacon) insignia. Beneath is the inscription "D-ROM." Other than the change in colour, there's no difference. However, a change in colour can often make a significant difference to the overall look of the toy. I personally prefer this repaint.

The CD ROM itself has two main options; one is a database with Tech Specs on various Beast Wars Transformers as well as various footage from the TV show and TV commercial. The second option is a colouring in programme. It's basically like a colouring book, except you're using a mouse instead of crayons and the beauty of it is that you can recolour the same image again and again...

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Name: RATTLE (a.k.a. Rattrap)
Allegiance: Cybertron
Function: Intelligence
Beast Mode: Norway Rat
Average Price: 750 JPY

BEAST MODE
Length: 10cm (disincluding tail)
Not a terribly impressive beast mode. Don't get me wrong here, it's not too bad... but it's also not too good either. The fur moulding is reasonably good and I like the way the brown and gray blend with each other on the back. The eyes are yellow and the feet are pink. One minor drawback is that the hinges and seams are clearly visible. Also, there's a lot of, as Andew Sorohan would say, "robot kibble" visible from the underside. Mind you, a lot of the original Transformers had their robot parts painfully visible from the underside. Almost all of the original Autobots had their robot parts exposed from underneath. One interesting feature is the mouth which is moulded in a way that the "fangs" are exposed in a sort of... growling fashion. Do rodents growl? Underneath the mouth is an ominous cavity. (puts on an Arhur C. Clarke voice) "Was there supposed to be a jaw there that for reasons that we may perhaps never know, was never placed?" Who knows. Who cares. This mode has ONE point of articulation: the tail can move up and down.

TRANSFORMATION TO ROBOT MODE

Pull the tail up and the sides of the animal (including the legs) split open, the rat head swings down and everything else just fits into place. The fists are attached to two posts on either side of the hips. Simply disconnect them. Next to these posts are two pieces which assemble to form Rattle's gun. Put the gun in any fist. Très simple.

ROBOT MODE

Height: 9.5 cm
Points of Articulation: 9
One of the most starking features of this toy is the head. The top of the head is silver with "brainlike" moulding... so if he were organic, it would look like his skull was cracked opened with the brain exposed. Of course, that doesn't apply for a robot. Don't worry, it's not quite as repulsive as it may sound. The eyes are red. Both the eyes and "braincap" look like they were made from separate pieces of plastic. I suspect that this toy was once intended to have that light-optic gimmick... you know, the one that Thrust and Machine Wars Optimus Prime have where light enters from the top/back of the head and makes the eyes glow. Evidently any such plans were ultimately abandoned. There are two 'steps' moulded on the base of the head. There is no nose and the shape of the mouth is rather strange. The jaw protrudes very prominently. The mouth appears to be moulded in an open position and two fangs are visible (these fangs were modified into rodentlike incisors in the show). Other than the eyes and "braincap," the entire head is gray.

The chest is basically the rat head, which fits in quite snugly. The upper arms are brown and rounded with a few very basic mechanical details moulded on. The lower arms are more squarish and gray. The elbows and fists are silver. The hip is brown and very unimpressive in appearance. The thighs are also brown and have humanlike 'muscles' moulded on. The lower legs look a tad more mechanical and are gray with silver accents. For some strange reason, there are three toes with claws on each foot. The annoying thing about the arms is that there is a gap of about 5mm between the shoulders and the torso. Some fans don't like the way the rat halves stick out to the side, but I don't mind them so much. However, the toy is a bit back heavy which can create some problems when placing the toy in more intricate poses.

RUB STICKER LOCATION

Forget it.

OVERALL

Not too bad considering that this was one of the very first Beast Wars figures ever released. He ain't the best, but he isn't too bad either.

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Name: SNARL
Allegiance: Maximal
Function: Lieutenant Commander
Beast Mode: Supposedly a Tasmanian Devil
Average Price: 12 AUD
Note: Known in Japan as Tasmania Kid.

BEAST MODE

Length: 13.5cm
This toy looks NOTHING like a Tasmanian Devil. The colours are all wrong. The moulding is all wrong... it doesn't even have two thumbs like all marsupials do. It's just some really weird animal... but it sure ain't a Tasmanian Devil. In terms of colour, it's primarily brown with a grey stripe running down its back with a thick, bushy grey tail. Since when have Tassie Devils ever been brown? Everyone knows that they're black with a white stripe running across, not along the chest and hindquarter.

Without exception, the head also looks nothing like that of a Tasmanian Devil. It's got these two big-arse ears (WHY???) and a really wide face (whereas Tas Devils actually have a more pointed snout). It's actually a reasonably well constructed toy... and would be half decent if not for the fact that it looks absolutely nothing like what it's supposed to be!!!!! It just looks more like a mutant rat-gremlin ... thing. I'd better move on before I start swearing...

Gimmick: Press the button under the tail and the rest of the body is supposed to launch forward. However, the spring is piss-weak and it doesn't fly much farther than 10 centimetres.

TRANSFORMATION TO ROBOT MODE

Snarl was released as part of the 1997 assortment of basic figures and is one of the first basics to break away from the spring loaded one-flip transformation. Lift the sides up, separate the head into two halves. Swing legs down, flip out robot heels and flip up head halves to form robot feet. Swing the hind legs in and the lower jaw down to form robot chest. The tail fits onto the forearms... mounting on like G1 Megatron's fusion cannon... only that... it looks nothing like a cannon or any other kind of ballistic weapon! At best, it's a really weird baton.

ROBOT MODE

The most awkward looking part of this toy is the oversized back section. The colour scheme is mainly brown and grey. I like the head though. It's brown with a black face and blue eyes. Other than that, it's not terribly impressive.

RUB STICKER LOCATION

None.

OVERALL

Just what the hell is that beast mode supposed to be??

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Name: TERRORZAURER (a.k.a. Terrorsaur)
Allegiance: Destron
Function: Aerial Combatant
Beast Mode: Pteranodon
Average Price: 750 JPY

BEAST MODE

Length: 12.5 cm
The major drawback with this mode is that the robot legs are painfully visible on the underside. Other than that, it's a fairly decent figure for a basic size. The overall shape is fairly sleek with some scale and leatherlike features moulded throughout. The jaw has a hinge allowing the mouth to open and shut. The toy is almost entirely red with several green, black and greena accents throughout. The teeth inside the mouth are white.

TRANSFORMATION TO ROBOT MODE

Exceedlingly complex... grab the beak and flip it up... then watch everything else flip into place automatically. After that, flip the feet over to expose robot fists. Just behind the robot head is a small cavity which contains Terrorzaurer's pistol. Take it out, unfold it and place it inside his fist. I think it's a rather neat idea to have a compartment for the gun in beast mode.

ROBOT MODE

Height: 10 cm
A very, very nice looking robot mode. In my opinion, the best looking of the general basic figures. Coupled with 13 points of articulation, Terrorzaurer not only looks good, but is fun to play with too! The toy is red and black. The head and hands are purple. The face is white with green eyes. The lower legs also have purple accents.

RUB STICKER LOCATION

Like all of the initial Beast Wars figures, Terrorzaurer has no stickers.

OVERALL

Looks great and is fun to play with! Two thumbs up.

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Name: THRUST
Allegiance: Destron
Function: Aerial Officer
Machine Mode: F-22 Lightning
Average Price: 750 JPY

MACHINE MODE

Length: 12cm
A recoloured Machine Wars Megatron/Megaplex. Mind you, it's a really nice recolour. It's yellow and black: nature's colours of danger! Many venomous animals, including some who wish to fool others into thinking that they're venomous, sport these colours (wasps, hornets, certain snakes, etc). There's also a purple Destron insignia on the right tail. The cockpit is transparent pink.

TRANSFORMATION

Same as Machine Wars Megatron/Megaplex. Just flip down the nose and everything else automatically goes into place. The two halves of Thrustgun are stored in a cavity behind each lower leg section.

ROBOT MODE

Height: 10cm
Articulation: 9 points
A repaint of Machine Wars Megatron/Megaplex. The most noticeable difference is that the translucent "glowing" optic gimmick works!! (they were vestigial in the Machine Wars figures) As light enters through the top and back of the head, the eyes glow bright pink. Neat!

RUB STICKER LOCATION

Under the left wing. Note that this wing has been slightly remoulded with a small square indent where the sticker rests.

OVERALL

Nice looking toy with decent playability. An improvement over his Machine Wars counterpart.

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Aaah... memories. Yeah, I know I incorrectly referred to the F22 as "Lightning"; I had a computer game called YF22 Lightning II, which of course was based on the prototype for the Raptor... but I didn't know that and I must've gotten the names mixed up.

Next: Deluxe Class!