Toy Review - DotM Deluxe Laserbeak

[VERT]

I got him the other day and well..... I just dont like it much. I wished I had gotten Thundercracker or Nitro Bee.

Oh well I live and learn.

[GoktimusPrime]

I don't mind this toy. Of course, I got it on sale which probably helps. It's definitely a better toy than Scorponok or Ravage. I like how he has those spines sticking out along the neck, back and tail like Ravage - gives them a kind of visual commonality as Soundwave's minions. I don't dislike the head, but I can see why some people wouldn't be a big fan of it. To be fair, we can't really blame Hasbro for a head based on something designed by Paramount/Dreamworks.

Some people are already speculating that the alternate head shown in the instructions might be used by Hasbro in the future as movieverse Buzzsaw. I hope this is true. Sure would beat otherwise pointless repaints like Recon and Sea Attack Ravage. (-_-) The transformation and the tail and neck articulation is reminiscent of G1 Sky Lynx to me.

Overall, I'm a bti torn on this. It's certainly better than Ravage and upon further inspection, the alt-mode resembles the classic Laserbeak then the bot mode. In fact if you just fan out the wings in alt mode, you get a more classic looking Laserbeak than the Bayverse bird mode.

Perhaps this was intentional as a tribute to G1 Laserbeak. I like how the Mech Tech guns mount on the wings which is also reminiscent of G1 Laserbeak.

It shows that there was a lot more thought put into the alt mode compared to Scorponok's "make it stand!" robot mode or Ravage's "curl it up" re-entry mode (despite the fact that Ravage never exits or re-enters the Earth's atmosphere... so how the hell is it a re-entry mode??)

[LordCyrusOmega]

Got him yesterday and well, as much as i'm a fan of laserbeak I voted only if cheap. Looks like a robot chicken.
I agree with Gok in that the tail and head is very much like G1 Sky Lynx. By folding the legs back in alt mode hides them well enough. I think it works, but I am really hating the head.

[SMHFConvoy]

got mine last week. He's okay but I think he would be more in line with HA basic and had a "weapon mode" rather than the VTOL

[kaiden]

Kaiden's One Photo Review!

[GoktimusPrime]

Interesting fan mode there, kaiden. It's very... KISS Play.

He's okay but I think he would be more in line with HA basic and had a "weapon mode" rather than the VTOL

Well the basic HAs have both an alt mode and a weapon mode - having a weapon mode alone wouldn't make it very marketable to kiddies. Of course, the Basic HAs aren't based on Paramount/Dreamworks' designs (well, at least the robot modes aren't afaik) which gives them a lot more liberty in engineering.

I suspect that Laserbeak might be another non-transforming 'bot in DotM like Scorponok and Ravage were in the previous films (people who already know, please don't confirm or deny this for me (or if you do, please spoiler tag it) -- I'll find out for myself in 16 days ) - but of course, to sell the toy as a Transformer Hasbro needs to make it transform into something. So as far as half-bummed alt modes like these goes, I think the VTOL mode is alright. I prefer it over Scorponok's poor excuse for a robot mode or Ravage's petty excuse for a re-entry mode. I hope I'm wrong about my suspicion though... I really do wish the live action films would stop introducing Transformers-that-don't-transform!! Having said that, we had plenty of those in G1 too - but they were all non-toy characters (e.g. Hauler*, Alpha Trion, Beta, Sentinel Prime, Crosscut, Rotorbolt, Fusion**, Flattop (Autobot), Man of Iron, The Navigator, Rack 'n Ruin, Emirate Xaaron***, the Decepticon Triumverate**** etc etc.

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*we never saw Hauler's robot mode, unless you're gonna follow that TFTM argument Anyway, it's now been retconned as looking like Grapple which is what everyone assumed anyway
**likewise we never saw Fusion's robot mode - but it's probably very similar if not identical to Cybertronian Optimus Prime! err.. which is probably the same as Earth Optimus Prime (G1 never made the robot modes look different on pre-Earth Cybertron )
***Yeah, although his alt mode is known, he never transformed into it during G1 (and there was a canonical reasonexcuse provided for this)
****Octus' alt mode was meant to be a Dalek - but of course, he never transformed into it! Animated Octus has a lot of obviously Dalek alt mode kibble hanging off his robot mode!

[griffin]

Now that I know there is another version of Laserbeak coming out with HA Soundwave, I voted no on this.... otherwise, I would have voted 'only if cheap'.

This one sucks because it doesn't embrace the 'robot in disguise' concept at all. We have a robotic-bird mode turning into something that still looks like a robotic-bird thanks it having wings in both modes, and the VTOL cockpit painted with eyes and white detailing to look like a bird head. If they didn't paint the cockpit at all, or gave it paint detailing like metal plating, it'd differentiate it enough for me to see it as a human vehicle.
It's almost like Hasbro gave up trying to turn Laserbeak into something of a disguise, and then ruined their half-assed attempt by painting bird details on the vehicle mode to make it look like Laserbeak in both modes.

Folding in wings, tail and head is not "transforming" a toy. This figure would have been more worth it as a Laserbeak toy if it didn't convert. It could then have been even more movie-accurate and desirable.

Get the HA Soundwave set for Laserbeak... it might only turn into a weapon, but at least it doesn't waste more of our money on an alt-mode that wasn't in the movie, or even different to the 'robot/bird' mode. Plus it's body shape is more movie-accurate.

[snaketales]

I got it from Target for cheep (see what I did there? ) mainly for the guns and as potential custom fodder. VTOL mode is too small for my liking and the head is just silly.

Nice bird wings, though.