Top 5 Best Beast Wars Toys of Non Show Characters
Posted: Sat Nov 02, 2019 10:06 am
Every two weeks, Seibertron.com brings you a Top 5 list related to all things Transformers written by me, your fellow editor. These are our opinions so what matters most is what you guys think of the topic or list, and I hope to see your own lists or comments on omissions and ranking. Let's have fun! All previous lists can be found here.
Top 5 Beast Wars Toys of Non Show Characters
We don't see it as much these days, but in the 80s and 90s, the characters you saw on a Transformers show were just a subset of all the toys available. Business-wise, the shows served to advertise the toyline that you would then discover and the toys would have their own appeal based on how they looked. Growing up with Beast Wars, I remember pouring over the back of the cards and boxes of the few I got to see all the other wonderful toys of characters I did not know. And that's what we are looking back on today, the toys from the Beast era of characters that never appeared on the North American CG Beast Wars (Beasties) show.
5. B'Boom (Apache)
Apes are a perfect alt mode if you want a sleek robot mode with little kibble since both the primates and robots are humanoid. But the trick is that you still need to have enough variation between modes for it being worthwhile to play with it and Transform (something the designer of Optimus Minor did not know). B'Boom masters that concept. The Mandrill alt mode is very recognizable and he turns into one cool looking bad ass bot. He stands tall in robot mode, and reminds me of old G1 Joes especially with the heavy artillery theme he has going on and the buzz cut they give him. And that works so well with his puntastic name.
4. Transformers Beast Wars Bonecrusher (Bighorn)
Now this is a robot in disguise. The idea of the first year toys was to have toys that were disguised as real animals and this list highlights some of the best ones, like Bonecrusher. I just love how perfect he looks in alt mode, he looks just like that well known iconic american image of a buffalo that was even on the nickel at some point. He was very unique in his transformation and design where his missile firing weapon was his head, which could pop out of the buffalo body when you pulled it's tail.
3. Power Pinch
What is amazing with insects is that their anatomy doesn't give the toy designer such an easy way out, compared to mammals who have four limbs. The limbs must come from somewhere else. Limbs not serving double duty means there is no robot design or kibble found anywhere in Power Pinch's earwig mode. The great weapon (a giant pair of shears) integrates perfectly into the tail. The transformation is as complex as we will ever get for a basic class transformer thanks to a nice amount of parts count. The robot mode offers lots of new robot detail. Basically, the bottom half of his body and the head are pieces not seen in insect mode and yet there is minimal alt mode kibble to hide due to how the toy is engineered. It's a little marvel really and due to it being a toy from this era you have all the ball jointed articulation you would need along with a generous amount of painted details we could only dream of getting today.
2. Transformers Beast Wars Metals Scavenger (Transmetal Inferno)
As stated above, it's always impressive when a beast former doesn't reuse animal limbs for his robot limbs. Also, Scavenger wasn't a shell former, he had many new details for the robot mode and yet remained sleek. Not only is he sleek, he is downright unsettling in his ultimate maniac design. This guy reeks of villainy and not the fun kind, the scary kind. The kind you can have nightmares about. So not only is it a great Transformers toy objectively, when you take a look at the design it just takes it over the top. There are very little toys out there with as much personality as this one. I also love those drill hands that turn when you activate them through his shoulder.
1. Transformers Beast Wars Cybershark
An extremely efficient transformer whose body length shell serves as a great disguise to a very poseable robot. The shark mode has beautiful deco which looks as good as any plastic shark toy found in toy stores in the 90s. What is amazing is that, despite it being a shellformer, it has great alt mode integration that is very reminiscent of traditional transformers with having the head of the alt mode as the chest. A main aspect of the original toys that make up what we call G1 was the disguise component and how they could infiltrate other toylines which didn’t transform. With its phenomenal alt mode, this shark-former is a perfect example of this legacy. The deco on this toy is as masterful as that headsculpt and he comes armed to the teeth with extra shark themed projectiles (that can be stored within his back) and his pincertail. Of course, that is aside from his hammerhead shark head which he can shoot from his body!
Honourable Mentions: ALL the Transmetal II deluxe toys are great. They have super cool designs that scream the extreme of the 90s but done right. While they all look different, it is still hard to set them apart when considering which is better. Jawbreaker is cool but is he better than Iguanus? Is Prowl better than Ramulus? They are all as good (and as likely to chip) so I am mentioning them here since they stand out most as a group of awesome toys.
Transformers Beast Wars Scourge Gallery
Top 5 Beast Wars Toys of Non Show Characters
We don't see it as much these days, but in the 80s and 90s, the characters you saw on a Transformers show were just a subset of all the toys available. Business-wise, the shows served to advertise the toyline that you would then discover and the toys would have their own appeal based on how they looked. Growing up with Beast Wars, I remember pouring over the back of the cards and boxes of the few I got to see all the other wonderful toys of characters I did not know. And that's what we are looking back on today, the toys from the Beast era of characters that never appeared on the North American CG Beast Wars (Beasties) show.
5. B'Boom (Apache)
Apes are a perfect alt mode if you want a sleek robot mode with little kibble since both the primates and robots are humanoid. But the trick is that you still need to have enough variation between modes for it being worthwhile to play with it and Transform (something the designer of Optimus Minor did not know). B'Boom masters that concept. The Mandrill alt mode is very recognizable and he turns into one cool looking bad ass bot. He stands tall in robot mode, and reminds me of old G1 Joes especially with the heavy artillery theme he has going on and the buzz cut they give him. And that works so well with his puntastic name.
4. Transformers Beast Wars Bonecrusher (Bighorn)
Now this is a robot in disguise. The idea of the first year toys was to have toys that were disguised as real animals and this list highlights some of the best ones, like Bonecrusher. I just love how perfect he looks in alt mode, he looks just like that well known iconic american image of a buffalo that was even on the nickel at some point. He was very unique in his transformation and design where his missile firing weapon was his head, which could pop out of the buffalo body when you pulled it's tail.
3. Power Pinch
What is amazing with insects is that their anatomy doesn't give the toy designer such an easy way out, compared to mammals who have four limbs. The limbs must come from somewhere else. Limbs not serving double duty means there is no robot design or kibble found anywhere in Power Pinch's earwig mode. The great weapon (a giant pair of shears) integrates perfectly into the tail. The transformation is as complex as we will ever get for a basic class transformer thanks to a nice amount of parts count. The robot mode offers lots of new robot detail. Basically, the bottom half of his body and the head are pieces not seen in insect mode and yet there is minimal alt mode kibble to hide due to how the toy is engineered. It's a little marvel really and due to it being a toy from this era you have all the ball jointed articulation you would need along with a generous amount of painted details we could only dream of getting today.
2. Transformers Beast Wars Metals Scavenger (Transmetal Inferno)
As stated above, it's always impressive when a beast former doesn't reuse animal limbs for his robot limbs. Also, Scavenger wasn't a shell former, he had many new details for the robot mode and yet remained sleek. Not only is he sleek, he is downright unsettling in his ultimate maniac design. This guy reeks of villainy and not the fun kind, the scary kind. The kind you can have nightmares about. So not only is it a great Transformers toy objectively, when you take a look at the design it just takes it over the top. There are very little toys out there with as much personality as this one. I also love those drill hands that turn when you activate them through his shoulder.
1. Transformers Beast Wars Cybershark
An extremely efficient transformer whose body length shell serves as a great disguise to a very poseable robot. The shark mode has beautiful deco which looks as good as any plastic shark toy found in toy stores in the 90s. What is amazing is that, despite it being a shellformer, it has great alt mode integration that is very reminiscent of traditional transformers with having the head of the alt mode as the chest. A main aspect of the original toys that make up what we call G1 was the disguise component and how they could infiltrate other toylines which didn’t transform. With its phenomenal alt mode, this shark-former is a perfect example of this legacy. The deco on this toy is as masterful as that headsculpt and he comes armed to the teeth with extra shark themed projectiles (that can be stored within his back) and his pincertail. Of course, that is aside from his hammerhead shark head which he can shoot from his body!
Honourable Mentions: ALL the Transmetal II deluxe toys are great. They have super cool designs that scream the extreme of the 90s but done right. While they all look different, it is still hard to set them apart when considering which is better. Jawbreaker is cool but is he better than Iguanus? Is Prowl better than Ramulus? They are all as good (and as likely to chip) so I am mentioning them here since they stand out most as a group of awesome toys.
Transformers Beast Wars Scourge Gallery