@robfromzonebase Squakbox (Squaktalk and Beastbox) [The Transformers/Mini Cassette] #zonebase #transformers #decepticons #toys #g1 ♬ Maniac - Carpenter Brut
Which made me wonder...
Why don't I talk about those more here?
When it comes to the G1 Mini Cassettes, everyone (myself included) thinks about Ravage, Laserbeak, Rumble, and Frenzy first, with the rest following behind. As neat as the original batch are, the later ones tend to be really interesting.
That brings us to two of my favorites of the cassettes, Squawktalk and Beastbox!
Squawktalk's robot mode is allegedly a parrot, from what I've always heard, and he's also a completely new design rather than a repaint of Buzzsaw or Laserbeak.
It's actually a really sharp-looking design.
To be honest, you could have told me he was supposed to be any other bird than a parrot and I'd believe you. I'm inclined to believe they assigned him to be a parrot based on the name rather than the design.
The design itself?
A pretty threatening-looking bird robot with big-ass wings.
Takara designated him an eagle, which is a lot more fitting. He's cast in an awesome aqua-blue-ish color, and the whole thing just works. It's a cool-looking robot toy that somehow manages to make a cassette-sized bird look pretty damn imposing.
For a change, I'm about to talk about a Beastbox toy that wasn't made by 52TOYS.
The name Beastbox originally hails from Transformers, specifically this guy, Beastbox, whose robot mode is a gorilla!
I've always specifically loved his look. There's just something about the way the gorilla design comes from a flat cassette while still fitting perfectly with the aesthetics of the era. He's cast in that wonderful purple that several post-movie Decepticons came in, which just tops off the entire thing.
I remember being a kid and seeing him in the pack-in toy booklets and just thinking he looked awesome.
I got the toys we're looking at today while I was in college and was so happy to finally have this awesome purple gorilla guy.
"Hey Rob, I thought you said you were pretty broke in college."
I was.
Before the live-action movies, you could get older Transformers toys for pretty cheap, usually cheaper than the new ones at stores. Back then, they were pretty dismissed by most of the "serious" fan outlets like comic shops.
Another thing that makes these two special is that they combine to form Squawkbox, a pretty neat-looking robot that, despite being formed from two completely different animal-based robots, doesn't really show it.
The Autobots also had a cassette combiner, Slamdance, whose combined robot is pretty nice as well, but the individual modes don't impress me as much as these two do.
I guess it's just more impressive when a freaking gorilla and a bird with big-ass wings make a robot that doesn't look like it's made from either.
Another thing I enjoy is how Beastbox's Compression Cannons combine with Squawktalk's High Decibel Sonic Boomers to form big guns that mount on his arms in a very aesthetically pleasing way.
Thanks to their design, there's no specific order for this, so you can just stick whichever gun with whatever other gun and it'll work.
There's also a pleasant amount of articulation for the team, more than you'd realistically expect from a toy of this era.
Considering how little I harp on articulation, the fact that I bring it up should say something.
Overall, this is a fantastic toy all together.
The Transformers Mini Cassettes have always been beloved for good reason. It's a genius toy gimmick that never gets old. Even now, you can explain Soundwave (or Blaster) and the cassettes to someone, and they'll make that undeniable "whoah" face, even if they don't actually say it.
It's just neat!
Not to mention, these two just look great, even compared to modern toys and engineering.
I do wish they got more attention, because they really are on the higher level of the original Generation One Transformers toys.