Prelude: Legal stuff first as always. Conabus here is not a figure released by Hasbro or Takara-Tomy and thus not officially a Transformer. He hails from TFC Toys and is clearly meant to be G1 Headstrong, but for legal reasons he can’t be called by that name.

Robot Mode: Let us start by comparing Conabus to his G1 predecessor Headstrong. The two figures have the same color scheme (yellow, red, and black), though Conabus has less yellow and more red. Mostly the colors and general design match between the figures, the biggest difference being that Headstrong has his beast mode head pointing up behind his robot head, while Conabus incorporates it into his chest with just the tip of the horn sticking out, making for a more generic, streamlined look. All in all, though, one can tell they are supposed to be the same character.

Conabus possesses the full range of motion one expects from a current-day Transformers (or third party) figure. The legs are a little wobbly on mine, not sure if that’s a general thing or not, but he can still stand and pose without problems, so no point deduction for that. Detail work also looks pretty cool.

In terms of weapons Conabus has a sword (really a fifth of the bigger sword Ares uses) and the twin-barreled foot of Ares, which can split into two big cannons. Conabus can either store these on his back, hold them in hand, or clip them to the undersides of his forearms. Now here is the part that is a bit confusing: The package shows Conabus wielding an additional gun, which doubles as the heel spur of the Ares foot. This weapon is not included here, though, but rather came with Phlogeus (where it did not appear on the packaging). So make up your own mind which of the two it really belongs with, but the important part is: all parts of Ares’ foot are there.

The bottom line here: a good-looking robot with no flaws. He looks a bit overloaded when carrying his full arsenal, but apart from that: nice job.

Alternate Mode: Just like his G1 predecessor Conabus transforms into a Rhinoceros (lat. Rhinocerotidae). Whereas Conabus appears just a tad bigger than Headstrong in robot mode, though, he is a good deal bigger in rhino mode. Mostly because he has actual legs here. Colors are the same as in robot mode, naturally, though there is even less yellow here now. All four beast mode legs are articulated and the head can move as well. The mouth opens and Conabus can even waggle his ears a bit, if you want. The big foot cannons can be mounted on his back in this mode, too, of course, giving the rhino quite a bit of firepower. So to sum it up: a pretty good beast mode. No complaints here, either.

Combiner Mode: Conabus transforms into one leg (left or right, your pick) of the Ares combiner. I will do a separate review of Ares once I’ve reviewed all the individual team members.

Remarks: Much like the rest of the Predacons (except Divebomb) Headstrong never got much in the way of characterization except being part of the team and turning into one leg of Predaking. Neither comics nor cartoons have really done more with him than that.

Much like Phlogeus, Conabus is also named after one of the fire-breathing horses of Ares in Greek mythology (there are not many Rhinos in Greek mythology, I believe). Conabus (σάλος) is Greek for tumult.

As a toy Conabus is a good figure, no doubt, and does offer quite a bit of play value, but let’s face it: at the price he is at, you’ll get him because you want to assemble Ares / Predaking, or you won’t get him at all. I want a complete Ares, so I’m fine with that.

Rating: B

Source: Transformers Universe