BW 10th Anniversary TM Rattap, Dinobot, Tarantulus, & Transmutate

Just found these guys last night

Tarantulas: I never owned this mold before, so this was new to me. The spider mode is pretty cool, but as with most of the other first wave beast toys, the beast mode is a brick with the robot mode being pretty decent, although the claws pointing outward in robot mode bug the hell out of me. Since I'll just be displaying them in a pose I'm not too concerned about it though.

Rattrap: I had the original, and I'm really diappointed they used the vac metal on this one. My original is flaking like crazy ( such is true for a few of my original Transmetals). Other than the Maximal insignia on it's chest there's really nothing different, it's a pretty fun mold overall. The rat with wheels mode is much better than the plain rat mode, due to the typical brick beast mode, but that's my only major "complaint" (which isn't really much of one at all). I do have to say the leg joints are REALLY loose on the reissue, so I'll probably have to put some nail polish on all the joints.

Dinobot: I couldn't wait to pick it up...Dinobot was my first and only original BW toy. I really like the new paint job on the reissue, though i wish they'd have left off the Maximal insignia...he never really was a full Maximal on the show...Only thing I;d change about this reissue is the different paint used for the raptor forearms and the unpainted mouth...otherwise I love the paint scheme. I was really surprised at how the robot arms/ dino legs felt like they were ratchet-jointed...I have the original Dinobot as well as the 'Dinobots' series grimlock and neither of them had the joints so tight it felt like there was resistance underneath. Overall Dinobot is one of my all-time fav TFs...fun in both modes, great articulation in robot mode and decent (better than most) articulation in beast mode...

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Thanks to Hasbro Toy Shop, I just got these, along with a nifty big catalog and a B-Daman promo DVD (?!?)

Tarantulus - generally improved over the original version in most ways. Joints seem a bit firmer, but that may just be that the original is getting old. Much more show accurate paint scheme, though the pale green is a little overused, and I think a brighter metallic purple would've looked better than the semi-translucent this (and the original) uses. The "Waspinator" of the second wave.

TM Rattrap - Good, but not very different from the original version at all, probably because the original was pretty close to show-accurate already. The colors are (I think) a lot like the Japanese "Metals" release. The Maximal logo on the vhest is a nice touch, but the texture it's stamped over almost totally obscures it. Great if you don't already have the original, kinda indifferent if you do. The "Cheetor" of wave two.

Dinobot - After the talk here, I was worried about loose joints, but it's as good as any previous versions of this mold. The shoulder swivels appear to have stiff ratchets added, which make it a little too easy to turn the whole side around instead. The colors are pretty nice, but some rather odd, show-innacurate choices were made, like the blue inner tail. I'll be doing a little painting on this one. The "Rhinox" of wave two

Best of this wave is Tarantulus, then Dinobot and Rattrap. (Rattrap scorres lowest only because it offers so little over the original.

Full Transmutate: If not for the one frozen leg, this wouldn't be a half-bad action figure. It's more like a semi-articulated figurine now. Looks very accurate to the source material, and the dark wash really brings out the details in the sculpting. I wouldn't say it's worth buying two or more figures you don't want just to collect the parts, but if you're going for it anyway, it's an excellent bonus for BW show fans.

Visit the Happy Robot Funtime shop!

Picked up Tarantulus, and love him. I had a Blackarachnia, and traded my orginal Tarantulus away. I've been wondering though, how is his claw/hands suppose to be in robot mode. From the boxes, they seem to be switched around, but then the beast mode won't look right...

I got all of them thanks to hasbro toy shop, and their sale. I've never owned any of the molds before.

I really like Dinobot, but I'm really irked at his shoulders, a locking mechanism of some kind would've made this one of my favorite figures.

I'm more pleased with Rattrap.

I'm a bit disapointed with Tarantulas. Too simple really, and the arms could've been better. I really would've prefered the Transmetal I think.

As for Transmutate, mine won't stay together at the mid-torso, where the chest and the spine pieces slot together. I'm going to have to glue it.

Quick review of the others:

Cheetor, very nice, but the beast head in robot mode/chest area seems weird, like I'm not transforming him right.

Waspy, I'm rather neutral.

Rhinox. Complete surprise, I really like the figure.

I picked up Predacon Tarantulas yesterday, and he rocks! Loving the colors, and the grappaling blade. The string does look awkward when not in use though. If you switch the hands around where they look good in robot mode, they still look fine in beast mode, just ignore the elbow rotation when transforming him. A+