Battletrap (Studio Series/Voyager Class)

Rise of the Beasts is certainly a bright spot in recent Transformers for me. One unexpected stand out was Battletrap, the orange Terrorcon who didn't get much focus in media leading into the films release. However, once the movie got rolling, there was this badass villain that I found myself wanting more of. He's a little slim on toy releases for some reason, but today we're looking at the Studio Series toy of him in all it's glory. Battletrap is a Voyager Class figure that turns from spike covered robot bruiser to a somewhat rustic looking tow truck. There's some great character design going on, it's a shame he was just in the background for the most part. 

Battletrap's tow hook can be used as a melee weapon as it's kibble is a part of his arms. This can also be done with his wrecking ball. I do wish he had more in the line of weapons. You could really see him carrying a battle axe, hammer, or some crude rifle. In fact one of my only complaints about this toy is those arms. They just don't look right to me and that kibble doesn't help. The other complaint is transformation was rather difficult for me. Admittedly, I could have been just having a bad day or clumsy hands... but he just didn't want to go together right. Those arms I spoke of earlier were part of that. That's really a shame because he's such a cool looking character and this is a really nice looking toy outside of those issues. 

I REALLY like the way Battletrap looks. There's some visual cues reminiscent of Kamen Rider Zero-One that goes well with the more brutal looks of live action Transformers villain designs. Orange is one of my favorite colors and it plays so well with black. Of course he works just right for a Halloween time post here on the site. I also like the older GMC pickup truck used. The movie takes place in 1994, but the truck looks to be a late 70's model. Being a work truck, it would normally be an older model and seeing one of it's year wasn't out of the norm around that time. I feel that's more realistic than the out of touch decisions you normally see in movies. In vehicle mode, Battletrap looks all too familiar thanks to the vehicles I was accustomed to seeing my family members from my fathers more rural side of the family drive.

In all Battletrap is pretty great despite a few problems I had. It's hard for me not to like him thanks to all the things mentioned above. Just a great looking robot and a cool character. I really wish he got more character time and the character was a little more fleshed out. That's one thing I liked about the 2007 robots, they got another life in assorted media. I could see Battletrap in some anime really causing a problem. Though with his name being reused from a classic character, he'd probably be called something else. Honestly I wish he would have been Big Hoss. Unfortunately, Battletrap so far only has two toys, and the other is an Ironhide repaint. I'd love to have seen him in Beast Alliance.