A Concise Review of ROTF Reverb In 500 Words Or Less

Pricepoint/Vintage: Scout, 2009.

Modes: Robot and Racing Motorbike.

Transformation Style: Partial shellformer.
Play Pasterns: Robot and bike. Gunhand.
Points of Interest: A recolour of Knock Out into a toy homaging Beast Wars Inferno, the famously insane fire ant.

The Good
Reverb strikes a balance between bike and 'bot few Transformers do. The robot mode is nicely proportioned, and effectively articulated with 11 joints, almost entirely balljoints. His motor bike mode is nice looking, and does a good job of hiding robot bits. While he has no accessories or fist holes, he does have a gunhand, which lifts him above his kin. There's also some effective use of plastic colours, and the homage works very well given no actual remoulding was involved, and the altmode is a bike, rather than an insect.

The Bad
The motorbike mode is largely achieved by two leg panels which form the flanks, which sadly like to detach, while the tab meant to secure the waist is more a suggestion. Paint applications are also patchy, and regrettably absent in places. Engine bits and drive chain were crying out for gunmetal, and someone managed to spoil the homage by misspelling “colony”. My example also seems to be a bit loose in the joints, which is an occupational hazard in a redeco, but I got him cheap and he's six years old. So six of one, half a dozen of the other, I suppose.

The Mediocre
His robot form ends up with a lot of bike kibble on the back and shoulder, but its jointed so you can orientate it to your preference, and its not that obnoxious. I've seen much more kibbly bikeformers. There's no kickstand in bike mode, but it doesn't need one.

The Alternatives
This mould was recoloured 3 times, but there was also Brimstone of a year later. I don't own that, and its an odd design anyway, so I hesitate to comment. Alternatively, there's Animated Prowl, or if you just want another ROTF scout whom homages someone, look into Nightbeat and Breakdown.

The Verdict

There's a quality toy here, and unless its Bumblebee, Hasbro generally doesn't break out a mould four times without it having merit. That merit is a nicely articulated robot mode, a competent altmode, and a transformation that does harm either, which can be a big ask of a bikeformer. On the flipside, the leg panels are a sin, the deco needed a bit more work, and there's a general feeling its not as solid as it could be. Not fatal problems, but clearly deal-breakers for some. That said, if you like motorbikes and Beast Wars, or if you've not experienced this mould before, check him out.