Clawtobots...



Little orange bikers...

"Did you kiss my father?"

 

Epic shot!

 

Thanks!

OB

 

ROTF Constructicons so far. So much fun!

 

I hope you take this as a compliment - because it is certainly meant as one: you are absolutely nailing the '80's toy catalgue vibe with your photos!

 

Feed them to the Sharkticons...

 

First ramble of the year/decade, and it's a good boi!



So, I'm an old school comics head. You know that by now, right? Even as an adult it feels, to me, like the superior bit of 80's TF fiction. When it found the space to use a character, it often did far more than the cartoon would. And Ratbat is a prime example of this.

In the cartoon Ratbat was simply another voiceless, beastly subordinate to Soundwave. In the comics he served as leader of the Decepticons. And one of the bleakest (and arguably most effective) leaders at that. Conquest, sadism, and ego didn't come into it for Ratbat. Just efficiency. It's a brilliant take for a villain and rings as true now as it did in the 'greed is good' 1980's. Perhaps even better. For me, his defining scene is when he recalls Trypticon from Earth back to Cybertron because he'd exceeded his allotted energy allowance. Talk about the banality of evil.

(Others of you may remember 'Buster Witwicky and the Carwash of Doom' and use this as your rebuttal for Ratbat being cool, to which I say "like, whatever dude!")

If nothing else, it was cool that a dinky little toy that came double packed with a rereleased cassette from two years earlier could be treated with such gravitas. Leaders don't always need to be the premium point item, right? Another point to the frequently maligned Mr Budiansky.

Ratbat was one of the more minor notches on the 'we didn't get 'em in the UK' bedpost. Despite liking what Budiansky did with him, I didn't feel too aggrieved that I couldn't get the toy. I picked him up in 2013, when I was buying up those Encore four packs of cassettes. Straight out the pack I could tell I was looking at a star. I never thought the cassettes were cheap or crappy. They always seemed like smart designs that gave serious value for the price point. But man, Ratbat goes next level in the design stakes. The little ridges on his toes, the double hinge on his wings. The claws that fold out from the wings. Those adorable little ears. His fangs! all this detail adds up to give you such a well developed little toy.

That said, I am so glad that whoever was doing the cartoon design used their judgement so. Cute as his little flat head is, the design in the cartoon has so much more character and menace. When I think about Ratbat, that is what I see in my mind's eye.

So, just to dispel any feelings of suspense or suchlike I'm going to come straight out and say I love Siege Ratbat. Like Laserbeak, he's one of the few examples of the Micromaster price point that I find satisfying. And like Sideswipe, Prowl, and Soundwave, he takes some cues from his MP version. Alas, I sold my MP Ratbat KO, so I can't compare like for like, but when I got Siege Ratbat in hand I felt like I'd held this brand new toy before. Broadly, I approve of this trend. When you nailed it, you've nailed it, and there's no point of reinventing the wheel, especially when the results are so satisfying.

But I digress. Ratbat is just magic. I love this little toy so much. The tactile, fiddle pleasure of this recalls the joy that Titan Masters and Prime Masters gave me. That tiny headsculpt is so incredibly well detailed that I can't help but marvel at the wonder of it. And it absolutely looks the part, and feels like the character in the comics down to the proverbial 't'. He's not perfect. While the detail across him is mighty fine, it's striking that the engineering in his wings isn't as complex as the original G1. Just a single hinge? Are the budgets that tight?

And the alt mode is...really bothering me. I mean, yes...of course it's sort of a cassette except it's not so it was always going to be weird. But what really bothers we I that these things are meant to work as shields. But the 5mm peg is on Ratbat's back. so, uh....when you have the shield attached to a larger size class figure Ratbat's face is facing outwards, unhidden. Just waiting to receive a blows from a sword, or axe, or blaster. Was his reign really so poorly received by his fellow 'cons that they now want him to repeatedly hit in the face? It's not a big deal, really. I'm almost never going to have him in alt mode. But I'm struggling to think what Hasbro were thinking.

I'm so happy to have this figure. It really has brought me the platonic ideal of a personal favourite to the Generations line. And that fact it has been done so well speaks to the strengths of this War for Cybertron project.

I just wish Rumble didn't suck so hard. But we can revisit that if/when Frenzy gets released.

 

Lads who are likely to get replaced in 2020 #7
Replaced but not sold. I'm far too fond of this guy's IDW stylings. He's a figure dear to my heart. I'll somehow just have to reconcile doubling up like I did with Springer, Ultra Magnus, Hound, and Blackshadow.

 

Ah shucks. I will absolutely take that as a compliment  . Thank you

OB

 

"The bottom line of this enterprise is threatened!"
From "Crater Critters" The Transformers#29

 

We're a happy family.

 

Lasses who are likely to get replaced in 2020 #8

 

Are we getting a Earthrise Arcee or are you talking about the Cyberverse Deluxe?

 

i think he's talking earthrise