Transformers: Energon Tow-Line is Something That Exists

 Hey, its TFNation weekend! Here's a Transformer.

 

While I will no-doubt be buying more this weekend, I've been considering a clear out of my Transformers collection. A modest downsize. I’m trying to be more financially responsible, and my interest is on a bit of an ebb. That said, such an exercise is always good for reminding you what you actually value in your collecting. These days I find it's not so much the characters, as the toys themselves and a sense of novelty. You have to have a very good writer and a very fresh take for me to latch onto a specific iteration of a Transformer, and that hasn't really happened since Siege started. That's probably indictment of the state of transformers media, but truthfully, some of the toys I've enjoyed the most spring from lines with terrible media. Or toys that frankly have no media presence to really speak of. Like Tow-Line. Tow-Line is a weirdo.
 

 

Tow-Line, he of the inconvenient hyphen, hails from Transformers: Energon, the 20th anniversary series. He didn't appear in the famously awful cartoon, the comic was canceled, and had only a token Japanese release, so he's largely a blank slate. Tow-Line is a homage to some 80's concepts, but like a lot of his line, it's not a direct interpretation. There was always some remixing going on, as opposed to today, where apparently everything must be screen accurate at all costs. Here we have the play pattern of the Diaclone vans that became Ironhide and Ratchet, while also taking visual elements from Skids, a less well known minvan dude. But it also has the visual stylings and line wide gimmicks of the time. Preempting the Missing Link releases by two decades, Tow-Line separates from a TV van into a robot and a battle platform, a feature so rare as to be basically unique. And obviously it led to a couple of G1-inspired Botcon releases. But he can also do the Energon Star thing, Mini-Cons and binary combination common to Autobots of his time. Including, with himself, becoming some kind of a robotic centaur. Like I said, Tow-Line is a weirdo. But this is something so often absent from more modern toys, not merely replicating, but adding.

Does this make Tow-Line a great toy, or failing that, a good one? Well, I would point to some weaknesses in the execution that suggest this may have benefited from a second pass or a larger price point. The accessory isn't great, it's a translucent block that when unfolded looks more like a metal detector than an actual weapon. It got posable sensor dishes, although the translucent material is a worry there, and this dates from a time when missile launchers were standard issue, so it's not great. Its also worth saying that you only get the one accessory, meaning one half of this affair can go looking a little plain. Granted, this is from a toyline that's big on interactivity between releases, but it would have helped if there was was two, more conventional, guns instead. The robot mode isn't bad, but has odd proportions, and omits the waist joint for combination purposes. It is otherwise a pretty decent deluxe equivalent with a lot of character, functional articulation, and memorable play features, like combining with himself. It doesn't quite match your typical Siege style deluxe when it comes to posing, but it is not as limited as some of it's kin, and has nothing to apologise for when it comes to visuals and paint.  My example is play worn, dusty, and is starting to demonstrate the downsides of translucent plastic, but has a presence. Because he’s a weirdo.

All in all, Tow-Line is an interesting deluxe, made charming in spite, and because of, it's flaws. There's clearly something in there for the Geewunners, but it's not chasing Sunbow. There's new ideas. Are all of these ideas flawlessly executed? No, but nothing that counts as a net negative. He's good on his own terms, and he gets better if you've got other Energon toys. He's a weirdo, but he's my weirdo, and you don't get many weirdos these days. I mean, the Thirteen Primes tried, but they didn't pull it off. So I'm probably not parting with this one.

 

Transformers: Legacy United Energon Universe Megatron is Something that Exists

OK, in the 40th Anniversary line, we have a tribute to a toy made during the 20th Anniversary. I am suddenly acutely aware of my own mortality. Sorry, this is gonna be both fairly brief and fairly negative.

 

The 2004 Transformers Energon Megatron toy (leader class)

Lets try to unpack this. This version of Megatron appeared, obviously, in Transformers Energon. I wrote a retrospective on that yonks ago, but it was notable for being the 20th anniversary series. It didn't do many direct tributes, more remakes and name reuses, but the influence was felt in more than a few toys, which is why this Megs looks a lot like the original Galvatron. As Energon was also a direct sequel to Armada, this makes the toy a representation of the same guy we saw as a leader class recently, which also explains his famous tank/sword accessory. That's a weapon either referencing his previous form, or made from his own corpse following his resurrection. Was it a good toy? Well, for its time it was pretty memorable, but not one that aged well. It wasn't a toy that especially prioritised articulation, it was more about gimmicks than leg joints, more so than most of its time, but it had a lot of style. I liked how it looked, but never how it moved or felt. Definitely a design that would benefit from a do-over. So, with this new Core Class toy we have a toy that's a homage to a homage. And one that you'd suspect would be at best a tenth the size of the original, but with hopefully more useful articulation by a country mile. Then again, its in the consistent disappointment that is the Core class. Is it any good? Well, not hugely.

Starting with the robot form I find myself feeling oddly nostalgic, while also debating how much I can file under "acceptable for the price". Visually, it looks like a scaled down version of the original, with a few things understandably omitted, and the materials changed, but no shortage of paint. Good, that's what basically we're here for. Its nicely presented, swapping out translucent for opaque plastic, and retaining some elements of the old gimmicks. The tank/sword is present, as are the shoulder cannons which now work on 3mm peg. Articulation is also dramatically improved; this toy features ball joints rather than a spring-loaded conversion. Where the weaknesses start to occur is in the shoulders. There's a tab there for the purposes of the altmode, which is fair enough, but this ends up limiting the range of motion. The cannons can get in the way too, bumping into the wings. Now, this isn't a problem if you position them forwards, but why wasn't this just pinned in the first place? I mean... yes. You can have megs gunfighter things up now, but this feels like a life and lemons situation. Also, while this toy really isn't lacking in plastic, this is one where they've had to make compromises and hollow things out. Like the back of the head, the tank/sword, nosecone, forearms and legs. Classy. Given the sheer mass of the altmode, I'm not surprised, but I am disappointed. All that being said, its not actually a bad robot mode, sitting on the good side of average for a core overall.

 

The same general vibe continues into gunship mode, although it is perhaps a touch worse as the robot form was given priority. On the one hand, the look is definitely there, and its doing a better job hiding the head than the much larger original. Its also pleasently chunky and big for a toy in the Core slot. On the other, the hands don't collapse and so stick out under the wings, while the hollowness and such are more obnoxious. Case in point: the tank/sword, which just ends up pointing the blade backwards. Now, given that the tank itself is hollow, could we not have it fold up? Or possibly evoke the original gimmick, and stow the blade in the big empty front end? As small altmodes go, its not bad. Its certainly not bad. But it so easily could have been better.

 

Now, I have some very mixed feelings about this toy, and I have been back and forth with my editing. Part of that's the whole "jeebus, twenty years" thing, I admit, and I’m glad it it exists. But a lot of it is the toy being frustratingly close to being good, but not. It feels like an earnest attempt to modernise an older design, but its also feels like every cost-saving trick they could have used, they did. Some designs just don't work out when scaled down, and while its not without its merits, this was too much to ask of a core class. I got this for £3, so I really shouldn't complain, but this would have felt bad value at RRP. Otherwise, there isn't a huge amount to say. It does what it needs to, it is something that exists, but it exists in a sub-average size class. In the meantime? I’m just gonna have a brief midlife crisis, see you soon.

Remembering Transformers Energon

A while back, I wrote an article about Transformers: Armada. That is to say my memories of the toys, its reception at the time, and its legacy. I like Armada a lot. It followed that I had to write about its sequel series, Energon. As you can see from the date tags, this took a while. Part of that is is the thing that biases me, I sell toys professionally these days, part of its the nature of Energon itself. Transformers Energon, known as Superlink in Japan, was following a legitimate success, granting it a big budget and a host of new fans awaiting for new toys. As it was also the 20^th Anniversary series, long term fans also saw tributes and homages. It was a fine position to start. Energon would however suffer from two problems, one stemming from the other. The first was that its play pattern wasn't as financially successful as Armada's, while the supporting media was notably bad. Or to paraphrase a mate of mine: the cartoon was pants, and half the Autobots turned into pants. Did the series deserve such a burn? Read on to find out.

The Energon Cartoon

Putting aside that Japanese exclusive series that cannot be mentioned in polite conversation, few things united the fandom in hatred like the English language version of the Energon cartoon. Every conceivable flaw was present that could be in a show broadcast on Cartoon Network. Make no mistake, the Japanese original was not good, with some major conceptual problems and wasted opportunities, but the localisation pushed it over the edge. Characters were computer animated, but had only 2 frames of facial animation. Character development was ignored. The interesting set-up Armada had provided, such as it was, was quickly dumped. Spelling errors in the titles cards, it goes on, I do recommend you watch it while drunk. The comic? Well, Dreamwave went bankrupt. The net result of this all was that the G1 collector crowd got G1 tributes, but handled badly so they weren't happy, while actual new ideas it did have suffered too.

Sourced from the wiki, the many moods of Ironhide 

Now, I'm not gonna bang on about production values, as that is self-evident. Nor will I mock Kicker Jones, his name does that for me. I will however summarise the good start Energon wasted. Armada, not a good series to be fair, ended with an Autobot/Decepticon alliance. Megatron was dead, but had left orders affirming that alliance, and none of the surviving named Decepticons were of the power hungry type, so it stuck. If you are wondering why Starscream wasn't all over that, well he'd died in a heroic manner, forcing that very alliance. The reason for this union was Unicron, whom was defeated at great cost, but a decade of peace followed. Then one of Unicron's minions, Alpha Quintesson, started taking actions to repair his master and generally started shit-stirring. He resurrected Starscream with amnesia, while Megatron basically rebuilt himself through sheer will. This resulted in conflicted loyalties all round, with some Autobot infighting too, and the potential for interesting character development.

None of this goes anywhere after the first 20 episodes. The series just devolves into repeated ploys to resurrect Unicron or find new Energon supplies. Star Trek: Voyager made a better use of its set up.

The Toyline in General

When writing about Energon toys, I realise that A) they are a minority in my collection, B) I tend towards the negative, and C) those might be connected. A big part of that's the fiction, but its also a matter of the design philosophy, and the first toys we saw. Energon shifted more towards actual articulation and the aforementioned fan-pleasing homage, which was good. It also had a lot in the way of Visible Head Syndrome, bulky electronics, and articulation was inconsistent, which was bad. It did have new ideas, which is good. Executing them? Eeeh, I don't want to say it was bad, but here's some pics of Optimus Prime.

Yeah.....So his altmode doesn't convince, he had no faceplate in early runs, and he's fatter than me on boxing day. These flaws largely arise from his pay pattern, and this sort of set the tone for early releases. Energon had a lot of scifi vehicles with exposed robot heads or other problems arising from gimmickry.

What gimmick was this? Well, it was not just one. Getting right down it, Armada had only really one gimmick, the Mini-Con. How each toy used that play pattern of course varied, and some toys suffered, but it was straightforward, and worked. Energon retained some of the Mini-Con functions, but added 5 gimmicks more, depending on how ya count, split between factions and size classes. This did mean play value was high, if a messy affair. A smaller, but perhaps more successful part of the line were the Energon Chips and Weapons, as carried by the scout-sized Omnibot and Terrorcon subgroups. These were modular translucent parts, usually offering a mix of choppy and shooty weapons which bigger toys could borrow. Said bigger toys had their own versions of this, but did something rather different as their selling point. Most Autobots got the Powerlinx gimmick where they combined as pairs, something to this day I'm not overly fond of. Combination of various forms was the biggest thing in Energon, but as Combiner Wars was a decade in the future, the execution here wasn't brilliant. The binary style was limited to the Autobots, with the combinations being under-articulated and not attractive, while leaving the Decepticons with faintly unconvincing “Hyper Modes”. This brings us back to the failings of the cartoon; it never made the 2 robot combinations look good, and it certainly didn't sell the Decepticon thing or anything else. And when you can't sell the toys, you've missed the point of the exercise.

Sourced from TFU.info, Energon Ironhide and Clifjumper combined.

Sorry, got on the cartoon again.

Meanwhile, there was a bit of a repaint thing going on. Yes kiddies, repaints in Transformers is not a new phenomenon, although with one very notable exception, Energon did simple reskins. Following a trend set by Armada, Energon was in the habit of redoing toys in different colour schemes, often intended to be new characters by Hasbro, but largely treated by Takara as upgrades. This fictional disagreement would come to a head later on, but this didn't do the perception of the line much good either, if only for the fact Armada toys were thrown in, and the showstopping Supreme class was 2/3s repaint. This probably played a big part in Energon's other big problem, shelfwarming. Stores just brought too many after Armada, so unpopular toys tended to stick around Eventually, the five bot “Maximus” combiner teams appeared, thus answering many fanboy prayers, but they suffered from the repaint thing too. Coming out at the tail end of the line, there were 3 teams, but only 9 distinct moulds, and no real hands/feet for the combined mode. These toys were sufficiently well-received that they were getting re-releases circa 2009, but some of the first unofficial add-on kits I ever saw were for these toys, addressing these issues. And yes, the cartoon was so incompetent as to ignore that these were combined teams.

The Highlights

So what did Energon do well? Actually quite a lot, its just Middle Child Syndrome given what Armada and Cybertron managed to do. The style of binary combination basically makes the Autobots exponentially fun if you can get over the look. Dozens of combinations were possible. Maybe hundreds, I can't be arsed to do the sums. Optimus even got Wingsaber to balance him out, in a notable example of 2 wrongs making a right. Deceptions were varied, and still hold up for the most part. The smaller toys of both factions featured some great pocket money transformers. So, lets pick out some interesting ones.

Energon Startscream

For the Combat class, what we would recognise as today as deluxes, an early front runner was Starscream, and probably my favourite iteration of the character. In terms of engineering, he bears a striking resemblance to G2 Smokescreen, so much so people cried retool. No, its a new mould, and while it copies a lot, its copying from a damn good source. He's also got this lovely undead/wraith/ghost/ethereal motif going on, and the option to combine his weapons into a sword as big as he. On the Autobot side there is Tow-Line, a mishmash of Autobot vanformers, whom does something unusual with the binary combination thing. He can, in a gift to adolescent sniggering, powerlinx with himself, or two other Autobots at the same time. A pretty solid toy overall, good for customising. Other noteworthy Combats include: Snowcat, a tubby robot with skis whom copied his altmode from G.I. Joe, and Roadblock, a fairly involved retool of Inferno.

 Tow-Line

The tiny wee toys of the Energon probably are the ones that hold up to the test of time. There's some duffers of course, but the partnership of balljoints and good accessories ages well, many ended up being reissued/repainted at length. The first ACTUAL GODDAMN ARCEE figure came from this price bracket, as did most of the combiner teams, and provided you don't pick one with compromised articulation like Insecticon, you are probably in for a good time. Battle Ravage and Strongarm are two of my favourites here, good allrounders.

 Battle Ravage

On the larger side of things, there's Landmine, one of the rare completely new characters. Transforming into an armoured snowplough, he is notable for his "brute mode", which, well, LOOK AT IT!

An awesome toy I which I regret not having any more. On the decepticon side, well, we got a second boatformer, Mirage. And Megatron carries a weapon seemingly made from his own corpse, which is almost as awesome as Landmine.

 Mega-Dinobot

Because Hasbro was flush with money, we got some unusual side merch. Alpha Quintession got a toy, Kicker got 2 toys, couple of roleplay toys, and we got a Dinobot combiner featuring Grimlock and Swoop. Not hugely good by reputation, that set is notable for being designed by Takara employees, which might explain things.

And finally, the toy that prompted this article, Omega Supreme. The big dude suffered in that he was following Unicron, and is quite uncomplicated,  while giving prioity to an unconvincing optimus combination. That however is not the same as saying he is boring, not by a long, long way. Omega Supreme is assemetrical, splitting into an alledged train and an awesome battleship.  Omega was also a titanmaster before it was cool, and features a tiny reserve head as an adorible back up. He is a bit more Armada than Energon, and has an immense presence. 

Wrapping Things Up

In many respects, Energon can be viewed as a reaction to criticism of Armada from the collectors side of the fanbase. This is evident from the generally improved articulation of these toys, although not quite pre-armada levels, and the sheer number of G1 homages evident. As it was the 20^th Anniversary series, some pandering was inevitable, but legitimately new characters are in the minority, and the vast majority of the returning ones were retrofitted into tributes. It wasn't entirely that way of course; the new form of combination had promise, and perhaps should have found more success with kids. The reason it didn't? I dunno, the cartoon was bad, but there's been plenty of successful Transformers toylines with objectively terrible media, i.e. most of them. But, the cartoon never really made the gimmick look cool, I suppose. And, lets be honest here, if you do a direct sequel to something and largely dump everything that made the original special, it doesn't end well. Just ask Beast Wars fans.

The toys though? Those were good, and that's what matters.

Images are largely sourced from the wiki, and remain the property of their respective holders. Let me know if you want them removed.

A Concise Review of Energon Strongarm In 500 Words Or Less

Pricepoint/Vintage: Basic, 2004.

Modes: Robot and Cybertronian Jeep.

Transformation Style: Basic carformer.
Play Patterns: Robot and car. 5mm weapons. Energon weapons and chip.
Points of Interest: Has no relationship to RID Strongarm, nor has an obvious homage. You can mount a gun on his head.

The Good
Strongarm has a solid balance between robot mode, vehicle mode, and accessories. The jeep mode looks nice, with bright colours, extensive paint, and even an interior. His robot mode is classically an Autobot, and its top heavy build makes him live up to the name. Both modes benefit from the energon weapon pieces, which variously form an articulated crane/gun, a battle axe, and some decorative bits. The engineering is also appropriate for the size, with above average articulation for the line, including “toes” and a waist swivel, which all makes for a toy with good play value.

The Bad

Strongarm's accessories are ageing badly on my example, with cracks showing around a 5mm port, in the manner common to translucent plastic. His vehicle mode suffers from Visible Head Syndrome, requiring his energon parts to obscure. 

The Mediocre
While better than some Unicron Trilogy toys, Strongarm's articulation is dictated by the transformation, and then hampered by the sculpt. The hips for example are balljointed, but as he has car seats for buttocks, there's no backwards movement. He has 12 points of articulation, but its very limited considering where its placed. The robot mode proportions are slightly off, in my eyes, the shoulders being too far back.

The Alternatives
Strongarm got reused a total of six times, depending how you count, meaning that if you don't like the colours, options are there. Most notably, it got used for a Botcon exclusive version of Outback, while the Japanese version has a slightly different head sculpt. Car-themed Autobots are also very easily found, but if all you want is a good Energon basic, look at Battle Ravage.

The Verdict

Strongarm is an unassuming but nicely functional toy. Compared to more modern transformers of similar size, and the Cybertron line that followed immediately after, he is simple and unrefined, but that's a fair distance from saying he's bad. He is something of the metaphorical rough diamond, there's legitimate flaws to take issue with, but there are also merits. That axe, for example. The toy is also quite cheap, so if you like what you see here, I doubt you'll have a bad time with the guy. Just be mindful for that translucent plastic.

A Concise Review of Energon Cruellock In 500 Words Or Less

Pricepoint/Vintage: Basic, 2004.

Modes: Robot and Dinosaur.

Transformation Style: Basic dinoformer with minor automorph.
Play Patterns: Robot and Dino. 5mm weapons. Energon weapons and chip.
Points of Interest: Seemingly inspired by the 1998 Godzilla film, with hints of Grimlock.

The Good
Cruellock has a fairly impressive sword as a weapon with a pistol, both having modular functionality. His articulation is relatively high in both modes with 11 joints, including 6 of the ball variety and the dino head can bite. There's an interesting use of translucent plastic on the hands and feet, implying he has energon weapons built in. Both actual weapons also store in the tail.

The Bad
Cruellock has an extremely simplistic, spring-loaded, transformation. Not only does this lead to minimal differences between modes, there's translucent plastic in the mechanism, which is asking for trouble. The translucent claws also cause problems when wielding his sword, as the shape of the blade and the length of its handle place it at an angle. You can compensate by combining the gun with it, however. Not all of his dino teeth are painted, and due to the transformation, he's a bit floppy in both modes.

The Mediocre
So, he looks like Zilla, A.K.A Toho's whipping boy. That might matter to people.

The Alternatives
T-Rex and 'raptor style beast modes are very common, especially since Age of Extinction, where this mould eventually ended up as Grimlock. Almost any of these would be a reasonable or superior substitute to this. This mould was also repainted with lava colours to make Doom-Lock. If you are just looking for an Energon vintage basic though, consider Battle Ravage or Strongarm.

The Verdict
Cruellock's merits begin and end with his sword, and even there, he's got issues. The transformation is both unsatisfying and a concern, and neither mode is interesting. The nicest thing you can say is that he's inoffensive, he doesn't have the articulation problems some of his kin does, and he can pass his blade onto someone whom can make better use of it. You can skip him.

Blog Watch: Month 3

Well, I hope we all enjoyed the big Unicron uber review. It took a while, and hopefully excuses a lighter article today. Plus, its the end of the month, its time for another look back at the blog. The good news is that viewing figures continue to be on the upswing, crossing that all important 1000 page views milestone, although the rate of improvement is beginning to level off. Of course, I've only had about 2 and half months of data, so its not wise to put too much stock in the numbers. On the flip side, my surplus of articles has largely dried up, so I am devoting some of my time off to rebuilding that reserve. This is at least partially due to the good time I've been having with Transformers: Devastation, which is holding my attention rather well for such a short game. I also got these.

Yes, long term readers may recognise that as a Warhammer 40,000 product, a frequent topic of my old blog, and the first I've brought in about a year and a half. For newer readers: well, I liked that miniatures game a lot, but a succession of disappointing releases and PR disaster that was Age of Sigmar put me off Games Workshop as a company. Happily though, this is a Fantasy Flight game, and one extremely well received, so I took a chance on it. An article of some description is pencilled in, to be completed once I've played a few games.

On the subject of pending articles, here's a short list of what's on the chopping block, in no particular order. All of this is subject to change, as real life and new shiny things can get in the way.

Fall Of Cybertron Ultra Magnus.

Beast Machines Mirage.

The little fellow in the above picture.

A Transformers: Devastation review.

An editorial on Combiner Wars and its reception so far.

Energon Cruellock.

ROTF Depthcharge.

Hope to see you back soon.

A Concise Review of Energon Starscream In 500 Words Or Less

Pricepoint/Vintage: Combat Class, 2005.

Modes: Robot and Jet.

Transformation Style: G2 style rotating wing assembly.
Play Patterns: Robot and Jet. 5mm modular weapons. Energon weapons and chip. Mini-Cons. Firing missiles.
Points of Interest: Mistaken at launch for a retool of G2 Smokescreen. Is also an energon ghost.

The Good
Starscream is an inevitable feature of Energon top tens, being arguably the most competent, non-combining, Decepticon deluxe equivalent. The extensive play features that characterised the line are clearly here, but pares it with nineteen points of effective articulation and a visual treat. Both modes feature sculpted damage and asymmetric translucent plastic giving him an incomplete and ethereal look. He's a wraith with a big sword and gun, which combine into a bigger sword. These can stow on his wings, which also have "concealed" missile launchers, deployable in either form. The jet mode has foldable landing gear, a translucent cockpit, and storage for both weapons. If you ever wanted an undead robot jet with a sword bigger than he is, whom can partake in fly-by stabbings, and blow people up with missiles, this is your man.

The Bad
I find the arms to be a real irritation when transforming him, being a nuisance to position for jet mode, and not locking when you get there. My example was not entirely pristine when I got it, prompting some silver paint for the face, and has some loose/detachable elbows, but nothing major.

The Mediocre
For safety reasons, the "hidden" missiles extend an inch out of the back of wings. The knees also want to lock in position, the articulation being stiff in places. While not unusual or obnoxious, the underside of the jet mode could be cleaner.

The Alternative
Starscreams are extremely common at all pricepoints, with the most obvious alternatives being the Classics version, the 2014 Armada version. The G2 Smokescreen mould is another candidate, given the engineering similarities. This mould was also given G1 style redecos, and used for Botcon toys, all somewhat self-defeating given the sculpt.

The Verdict
My all-time favourite iteration of a character, this toy is an uncommon example of the designers completely nailing it at the beginning of a line, rather than the end. Play value is as good as any deluxe you care to name, articulation is great for the time, and he has a compelling appearance. There's nearly nothing to consider a weakness, only things which could have be done a little differently. You'd have to reject the entire concept in order to dislike this toy. If you only get one Energon Decepticon, and you aren't interested in the combiner teams, make it this guy.

A Concise Review of Energon Battle Ravage In 500 Words Or Less

Pricepoint/Vintage: Basic, 2004.

Modes: Robot and Jaguar.

Transformation Style: Basic catformer with minor automorph.
Play Patterns: Robot and Jaguar. 5mm weapons. Energon weapons and chip.
Points of Interest: Obvious G1 Ravage homage, but also has an energon weapon directly based on G1 Megatron's fusion cannon/scope.

The Good
Terrorcons were intended as accessory caddies, and B. Ravage is well stocked, with a firing missile, mace tail, and the aforementioned fusion cannon. These weapons can variously combine, attach to Mini-Con posts on other toys, or be stowed in 5mm ports on either shoulder, in either form. His robot mode is well-articulated for the vintage, with twelve points, and has a notably fierce face with a powerful build. Beast mode meanwhile retains most of those, gaining a balljointed tail, and a restricted balljoint in the neck. You can even make use of a transformation joint to arc his back. Play value is great, and he's in a nice black and colour scheme with effective paint apps.

The Bad
B. Ravage has a simplistic transformation scheme, which results in Visible Head Syndrome in cat mode. This area was also the subject of a running change, with some versions, but not mine, lacking a tab to secure the robot mode neck panel. While the translucent plastic seems to be holding up well, a concern as its under stress in the missile launcher, the white hasn't in places.

The Mediocre
Energon was a lot was a lot better for posability than Armada was, but even so B. Ravage is a bit unrefined by modern standards. The limbs are ever-so-slightly limited in each joint, and a swivel in the upper arm would have made all the difference. And maybe a fold-up heel spur.

The Alternatives
Oddly, this toy was only ever repainted once, and not into a more G1 colour scheme, or a Beast Wars character. That repaint, Command Ravage, is in blue, and a bit more expensive. There's also the Japanese variations, which look a bit different, and rare in the case of the Blue version. Transformers that change into cats are however very common, with Ravage being a frequent name. If you are just looking for a good Energon era basic though, consider Strongarm.

The Verdict
Battle Ravage is a simplistic toy with an equally simplistic appeal: lots of weapons. There's undoubtedly better catformers out there, but simplicity can be a virtue, and this toy does have clear merits. If you want to dip your toe into the Energon line, or you want a toy to proxy G1 Ravage, you could do a lot worse than this. Worth a tenner.

Post-Auto Assembly Update

Well, Auto Assembly is over. Finished. I had a damn good time, as did everyone whom went. A thousand odd people. I also spent a lot of money on toys, here's an image of them. Consider it a preview of forthcoming review fodder.

As you can see, I went mainly for the small toys, filling in some gaps and omissions. There was a couple of holy grails, such as Meantime the Real Gear watch, and Death's Head, fulfilling a desire about as hold as my Transformers fixation. I don't actually collect action figures, so I probably won't review him.  And yes, that is a sushi roll.

Devastator, you say?

Well.

Yeah, he/they are on the review pile. And yes, he can hold that pose. The review is going to be longform, and probably will materialise in early September.