Toy Review - VERTEBREAK (Kingdom)

[Lint]

VERTEBREAK
Series - Generations
Sub-line - War For Cybertron
Sub-sub-line - Kingdom
Size/class - Core
New/remould/redeco - New
Wave - 1
Released here - January 2021
Approximate Retail Price - $20
Approximate Size - 9 cm
Allegiance - Predacon
Alt-mode - Therapod skeleton/fossil (apparently a Dracorex)
Main Features/Gimmicks - 5mm port hands baby!
Main Colours - Brown, brown and silver accents
Main Accessories - bone-tail whip/sword


SKINNY

• This guy isn't worth $20
• But he's still a better transformer than Rattrap
• 5mm port hands makes for lots of fun

5mm ports baby!

A clean beast mode if I ever saw one

Rattrap: "Man, I wish I could do that"
Vertebreak: "I am no man"



THICK

Ah Vertebreak, the core class figure that most everyone will not buy because he's a completely novel character and yet we all harp on about industry recycling ideas and lacking originality. But hey, a good bulk of the Beast Wars toyline was novel figures with zero to no fiction behind them so perhaps this Hasbro going full nostalgia-bait. And yet, I am pleased to report, Vertebreak is not an awful transformer but rather a superior version of core-class Rattrap with which he pretty much shares the same transformation. In fact, if you take away the fun-sized novelty that is a core-class Optimus Prime Vertebreak may well be the BEST core class transformer in Wave 1 of Kingdom! Here's why:

• Superior sculpting. Despite being completely poo brown, the amount of sculpted detail here is AMAZING. Even now I find myself stroking the little bumps on his head for tactile pleasure.
• Superior balance and articulation. Made mostly out of a rubbery plastic, rather than the denser hard plastic of his wavemates Vertrebreak is actually capable of quite a bit of dynamism in both modes. While Rattrap technically has the better legs, the hard plastic backpack renders them useless and his alt mode is a mouse statue. Vertebreak has no such problems.
• 5mm port hands. Unlike his wavemates Vertebreak has 5mm port hands which allows him to hold almost all 21st century Transformer accessories, giving him that oversized weapon edge. This is really cool when paired with fossilizers like Paleotrex. Her tail whip weapon also has the 3mm port sculpted below the 5mm so that it can be held by other core class figures. (no idea why didn't do this for Rattrap's gun)

Now for the downsides:

• He ugly. Unfortunately bland colours and an uninspiring design makes this guy visually unappealing. Also I am now informed that Vertebreak is actually a SHE. I am actually glad that I couldn't tell for once. We need more androgynous robots.
• While I appreciate the artistry that's gone into the sculpt. She's not worth $20 bucks. You wouldn't trade a Kingdom Voyager or even a Deluxe for 2 or even 3 of these. But this is nothing new for the 'lowest price point' class of Transformer for a while now. Though jacking up the prices of Deluxes could change everyone's mind.

[Paulbot]

.. most everyone will not buy because he's a completely novel character and yet we all harp on about industry recycling ideas and lacking originality.

A new character is good, but what’s not: a $20 price tag for a small figure who’s beast legs become robot legs (looks like transformation is just stand up straight?), is pretty much a single colour, and is part of a subgroup of Fossilisers without any of that line’s gimmicks (is there a gun/sword mode maybe hiding in there?).

If Vertebreak wasn’t a fossil but an actual dinosaur it’d be a much more attractive purchase. Instead it looks a little like the skeleton version of Slash (a better example one of the very few actually totally new characters [albiet in a familiar team design] in the past few years).

When I saw it in shop it was intriguing enough that I’d buy if it is still in stores in 18 months being cleared out for $10 like siege Ravage/Laserbeak.

[Maruten]

I wasn't planning to pick up these fossil guys, dinosaur skeletons aren't really what I want from my TFs. But I think Vertebreak is pretty fantastic, and I love having proper Legends-size dudes again. I think there's probably a little more involved in her transformation than is obvious at first glance, though obviously parts of it do boil down to "stand up".

[Jellico]

Got to say I am really liking these bite sized theropods. Both Vertebreak and Slash have had interesting transformations for their size and good play value in both modes. My daughter likes that they are girls too.

[Seraphim Prime]

I wasn't planning to pick up these fossil guys, dinosaur skeletons aren't really what I want from my TFs. But I think Vertebreak is pretty fantastic, and I love having proper Legends-size dudes again. I think there's probably a little more involved in her transformation than is obvious at first glance, though obviously parts of it do boil down to "stand up".

The transformation of the arms and the rotation of the head are more interesting than they need to be, and help widen the profile from thin line dinosaur to a triangular upper body, but probably not enough overall to justify the $20 price point

[VERT]

Love this little bot. How could I not

[shockNwave]

A long time ago I dismissed the idea of TFs that could transform into skeletons, simply because beast needs to have meat on it's bones. There needs to be substance. I'm glad that Vertebreak has proven me wrong and furthermore I see a horror aesthetic to Transformers now that previously I hadn't seen.👹