BeastBox: BB-35 Ricochet is Something that Exists

Do I have to explain BeastBox again? Righty, mechanical beasts that compress into boxes? Very collectable? 15+ age bracket? No? Oh, click here then. OK, let’s have a quick chat about a BeastBox I got very recently. Amazon had it on a coupon. They seem to do that lot.

Ricochet feels a lot like the people whom made Mega Dio went and made a Karmakuma, but this time as a kangaroo. Remember them? See that link above. It's like Mega Dio as we've got a fairly involved transformation, a lot of techno greebling, a substantial percentage of translucent plastic, with some accessories that don't integrate into the box mode. It's a fairly recent design, so it's more complicated than say regular Dio and Jojo. It's like Karmakuma in that it's what a like to call a "mum & baby set", a tiny little chap piloting a bigger mecha in a manner that is very adorable. Turns out Ricochet is the little joey that stores in the larger one's pouch, I was wondering about that. Overall, the experience is probably closest to Mega-Dio, lacking Karmakuma's simple pleasures, but my initial impression of Ricochet was very strong. The main criticism I'm inclined to make here is how the boxing gloves friction into place, these also being the translucent plastic bits that don't store in box form. It took me a few tries to remove them at first, and I have concerns in the long term. That is however the only real criticism I have, as Ricochet is otherwise a bit of a winner.

The larger kangaroo has much visual interest, and a fair whack of articulation. Obviously it's a kangaroo, but it's more specifically a boxing kangaroo, a meme that seems to go back at least as far as 1895(!), with an early black & white short. I suppose that got started because ‘roos are bipeds whom do use their front paws when scrapping, and someone saw the potential. See also: Australia. This explains the gloves obviously, but I feel it has has a subtle influence on visual choices too. The toy is mainly an orange tone, but the use of white and blue puts me in mind of a boxer's shorts. Only here, they are also the pouch and decorative missile pods. Also of note are the wraparound shades which are in fact removable, revealing translucent eyes beneath. It's a nice bit of visual flair, although as this is another translucent area under friction, I'd advise a gentle touch. Articulation and general posability is a hair below ideal, and often a happy side effect of the conversion, but it doesn't feel like they cut corners, although I suspect they skipped on waist rotation due to the pouch complicating things. Maybe they could have put a bit of side-to-side in the tail, but otherwise I don't think there's any glaring omissions. The front paws move like T-Rex arms, three points each, ball jointed at the shoulders, for that s Mr Punch action. The legs feature 4 joints, with functioning knees, a toe joint, and ball joints at both hip and ankle. The main body has an adjustable stance and a de-facto ab crunch due to the transformation, with the head being something special. You get a double-jointed neck, an opening mouth, and posable bloody ears. It's very complete.

The little Joey is much much much much simpler by comparison, frickin' tiny, and to some extent, optional. He is adorable as he is so small, but he can only really roll into a ball to fit into the pouch. He's not actually necessary for transformation either, happy to be left in or out of his compartment, which is fine, if maybe a missed opportunity when compared to what Karmakuma did. Speaking of transformation, achieving the box form is relatively straightforward but there's a few steps to it. It's a symmetrical affair that works how'd you'd think, i.e. balling up the head and tail, with the legs largely forming a side of the box by themselves. What is surprising though is how the missile pods unfold, and how the lower legs split into two to smooth things out. That's a touch unnecessary, I felt, but otherwise I find this superior to Mega-Dio's scheme. Enough to do, but not frustrating in any way.

While I have concerns about the boxing gloves, Ricochet is a good all-rounder. If you like your transformations involved but not especially fiddly, Ricochet has that. If you like your beastbox to be nicely posable, Ricochet is that. And if you like your robot animals to be characterful and cute? Well, it's a goddamn boxing kangaroo with a baby in its pouch. If the concept appeals, consider this heartily recommended.