Despite what these may look like, these are definitely not Beast Wars toys. Definitely. I know I bought very, very similar looking things from Toys R Us a good few years ago with a big 'BEAST WARS' logo at the top, but these are COMPLETELY different. I know it has something which looks like a picture from the TV show at the top of the packaging, but these are...
Yeah, okay - they're Beast Wars knock-offs. Cheap reproductions of a line of Transformers Hasbro made in the late 90s.
But 'knock-off' doesn't necessarily mean 'bad'...does it?
According to the back of the GIANT packaging (really, why does it come on such a large backing card?) there are 6 not-Beast Wars toys available - not-Cheetor, not-Megatron, not-Waspinator, not-Dinobot, not-Tigertron, and not-Wolfang.
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| What's with all the packaging? |
As you'll see from the photos, I picked up Tigertron (white tiger), Wolfang (wolf), and Rhinox (rhino) - who isn't on the packaging. None of the others were in the shop, and I have no idea if they're actually available to buy.
Let's get the bad stuff out of the way first. Not surprisingly, these are very cheaply made. The limbs are so unbelievably tight on some sections that it's actually impossible to transform them from robot to animal. The plastic is cheap and the finish poor, with excess bits of plastic hanging off. The paint application is adequate at best, with Tigertron now cross-eyed.
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| Wolfang. Not the best looking robot, but then the original wasn't great either. Maybe this was why he was never in the show. |
However...
Tigertron is white. The original Hasbro release was a creamy colour so if you want a 'properly' coloured one, this is your chance (a quick blob of paint would probably sort out the eyes). The colour of Rhinox is also an improvement over the Hasbro release, now looking a lot more 'realistic'. Wolfang...well, I don't have the original Wolfang so I can't really compare.
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| White(!) Tigertron |
'Robot Animal Changers' also has a kick-ass theme tune, created by me on the walk home from the shop.
Robot Animal Chang-errrrrrrrs! They're Animals...and they change!
A big future awaits me in theme tune composition.
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| This actually looks pretty good in wolf-mode |
The biggest problem with these is that they're so delicate, and far more likely to break in the hands of children than if you gave them the originals. If you're a Big Person after a white Tigertron then I'd say it's worth a purchase. If you're a child who wants something to play with for more than 2 minutes then...
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| Rhinox - can't twist legs and therefore can't transform |
At some point in the near-ish future I'm going to get a screwdriver, take these apart, clean up the excess plastic, and then reassemble. Maybe then these will transform properly and at that point be suitable for children.
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| The plastic on Tigertron's right arm is starting to tear already |
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