Airazor (Beast Battle Masters/ Beast Alliance)

Let's take a look back at the Beast Alliance toys from last summer. I was quite the fan of them and plan on covering the entire line here even if posts are sporadic. I've managed to collect all the toys from Beast Alliance (the Hasbro version), and Airazor here was the hardest to get. If this was a social media post, I'd follow that up with a 'lol' and maybe a laughing emoji. I found Airazor at Publix, of all places, while picking up the Mrs and I up lunch from their deli.

Grocery stores can be interesting places to find toys and Publix occasionally has a good selection. The only problem is... the price is more than you'd pay at a regular store. Normally Airazor would be $5, but I paid $10. Which honestly, got under my skin. I expect to pay more the the three 'Burning' Battle Masters exclusive to Japan whenever I get them. However, a $5 figure whose class normally stayed in stock... well that's a pisser. I had assumed her being in the end of the line, she'd be harder to get. So I paid the extra money to get her along with the Mrs sub sandwich and my sushi. Publix has a great. That was in December and come January... my local Walmart is all Airazors. Well, I guess I paid extra for the piece of mind. 

Airazor as a Beast Battle Master is pretty great. She's larger than the others thanks to her wingspan. According to the TF Wiki it's 4", which doesn't seem right to me. I didn't measure her though, so maybe. Airzor has quite a bit of movement due to the ball sockets her wings use. It's basic, but feels like a lot compared to some of the other Beast Battle Masters. Thanks to this extra movement, she has two weapon modes instead of the usual one. She can either transform into a crossbow blaster or a shield-blaster depending on where you fold the wings. Airazor's colors are an odd choice. I feel like they were chosen to represent the statue/artifact of her seen in the movie. Which is neat, but I feel may be lost on some people. It looks good and makes her stand out from the other Beast Battle Masters on the pegs. If she were brown (as you'd expect), she'd be too similar to Optimus Primal and Rhinox.

In either of her weapon modes, Airazor can be held by most Transformers figures compatible with the 5mm system. You could also plug a blast effect inter her or Optimus's gun barrel for extra fun.  Sadly Airazor is seemingly the last new mold Beast Battle Master of Beast Alliance. I know being a move tie in line, it would be a limited series. Part of me hopes Transformers One will have a similar partner figure line as I just love this sort of thing. There's a few more Beast Alliance figures that we'll be looking at over the coming weeks. It's a fun little tie-in line to a movie that I wish did better financially than it did (though we'll only know box office, not ongoing profits). Like I said, hopefully something like it will accompany the upcoming Transformers One as the mask figures seem to be making a return. Fingers crossed.

Optimus Primal (Beast Battle Masters)

It's not secret that I love partner figures, it's said in every post about them. These Beast Battle Masters are a fun addition to the Rise of the Beasts toy line and an easy sell for me as a fan of Battle Masters and partner figures in general. Optimus Primal is another repeating character from this series. Like I said, I'd rather them all be new characters, but it doesn't bother me too much. Optimus is pretty neat. As a Beast Battle Master, he turns from beast to gun. The gorilla form is simple, but pretty good. There's a surprising bit of articulation for such a small and simple little figure. 

Optimus transforms into a pretty large blaster. It can be held by all 5mm compatible Transformers and obviously is a part of Beast Alliance. There's not really any information about the toy, but I like to think it shoots large electrical blasts. Primal's ape mode was inspired by King Kong, so it's only natural that Kong's lightening abilities be reflected in this gun mode. I'm obviously thinking too much about a silly little toy of a gorilla that turns into a gun... but that's fun to do. I really like how these are making me think alot about other things. Rise of the Beasts has some great toys, and this is another one.

Cheetor (Beast Battle Masters)

Like the prior Beast Battle Masters I've talked about here, Cheetor has a beast main form and a weapon alt mode. I really do love a good partner figure, so I'm enjoying the crap out of these. Like prior uses, I do wish these were new characters... but whatever. I like to think Cheetor here is an updated Catgut, even if his weapon mode is different. Speaking of that, Cheetor's weapon mode is some sort of large claw weapon. I'm not sure of it's a melee weapon, or perhaps some sort of electric trident type gun.

He's fairly articulated in cheetah mode, not super articulated, but the basic parts move. If there's anything to point out, it's that his main body is gray as opposed to a matching yellow. I understand he's likely group molded with another toy to save production costs, but the consumer doesn't save anything when they do that, so it just looks cheap. Cheetor is pretty great, just a bit weird.

Skullcruncher (Beast Battle Masters)

Adding some variety to the Rise of the Beasts toys in the aisle is Skullcruncher. This particular toy of Skullcruncher is a Beast Battle Master and turns into a cannon looking gun. If you take issue with the name reuses of Skullcruncher in this toy, the designed has said it was inspired by Gatoraider. I like to think that's who he's supposed to be.

However, as a fan of partner figures like this... I'm not really nit picking the name. I'm really enamored by the idea of an crocodile that turns into a gun. That's all sorts of neat. I like to think of a cartoon episode where Skullcruncher is used and shoots some swamp gas powered attack. If you have one of those blast effect thingies around, it can plug into the barrel of the cannon looking gun. Like other toys in this line, the gun can be held by most other figures or plugged into the ports present on some.

Neatly enough, the handle is also compatible with Armada style power link ports... which I noticed some on my Voyager Rhinox figure (more on him later). Skullcruncher is absolutely charming. His little gator mouth can open to bite your ass before turning into a gun and shooting it.

Rhinox (Beast Battle Masters)

Beast Summer is beginning with an analogy for life. You need thick skin and to charge forward, you need to be a rhino. A rhino also makes for a good beast mode in battle. Thick skin, heavy hitter, charge forward. That's why Rhinox as a Beast Battle Master just works. Admittedly I'm a big fan of both beast warriors and Battle Masters... but it's hard to not enjoy the idea of an animal based partner figure that changes into a weapon. In this case Rhinox changes into a chain gun. This is super appropriate as something like a rhino needs to be a BFG and well... it's Rhinox, those signature chain guns of doom are a necessity.

As a Beast Battle Master, Rhinox's main form is his rhino beast mode. It makes for a great partner figure, though I do wish they would have made it a different character in this form as there is a plethora of other Rhinox toys in the line. However they probably want to get some name recognition going as well as there's only so many trademarks in the budget. It also makes me think of the Arms Microns from Go! that were main characters as smaller weapons based partners. Like Bulkhead Knuckle. That being said, I'd love a boxing glove alt mode in Beast Alliance.

Transformation into gun mode is pretty easy as it should be for something this small. To transform into gun form, you essentially split the rhino in half and the chain gun barrel comes out the rear Ace Ventura style. The sides and extra parts fold away and you've got a BFG for whatever figure you wish to use it. I paired it with Battle Charges Rhinox. Because yo dawg, I heard you like rhinos. Also that toy was handy.

You Can't Walk All Over Doublecrosser

While out doing some Christmas shopping, the wife picked me up Doublecrosser from Earthrise at Target. Doublecrosser is a Battle Master and seemingly the last new mold Battle Master (as of now anyway). It was pretty surprising that she found him as the only Battle Master I've seen has been Soundbarrier after finding exactly one Slitherfang. 

The quest for Shawn's tiny snake Transformer continues. I know he already has one, but I'm still getting him one. I was about to say my word is my bond, but I hated that line. Good movie though... where was I? 

Doublecrosser is a double headed robot like Doubleheader, but since he's a Decepticon... get it? I really appreciate the variety and the symmetry on the helmets is a nice touch. He looks great. Or they look great. Whatever.

I love the way Doublecrosser looks in robot mode. The purple against the gunmetal with that red face has that classic late G1 Decepticon look. Add in the red kibble and it almost looks like a red cape. He almost looks like a Pretender inner robot, so I'm hoping for a Doubleheader repaint that will likely never happen. 

Like other Earthrise Battle Masters, Doublecrosser turns into a shield and a dock plate/connector piece for Micromaster bases. It's done pretty basically by arranging his robot parts under the shield/plate parts which swivel in place. 

Thanks to the color and shape, he almost looks energy generated in in these modes. That's pretty neat. He comes with that gun shot thingy that the others came with and can connect in both modes. This shows him being shot at. Probably because all that double crossing.

That'll get you shot.

Fictionally, Doublecrosser's a Decepticon... and that's about it. On the Hasbro end anyway. He could pop up in later fiction maybe. On the Takara side of things though, like other Battle Masters he's a Selector in the Generations web comics. These take place in Japanese cartoon continuity.

Selectors are a race/faction of Transformers created on Earth who serve menial tasks who ultimately rebel against their human creators. As a Selector, a Doublecrosser units were used as walls and ceilings. Which is absolutely ridiculous. Do you really need a robot to turn into a wall?

No wonder they rebelled.

Cold Slitherfang

One of the neat things about the smaller 'master' figures in recent Generations lines is their revisiting older Transformers ideas. Slitherfang his an unused concept for the Autobot Master Warriors from Headmasters. Like Titanmaster Sawback and Ramhorn, Slitherfang here found himself reborn. 

The Titanmasters were based on released toys though. This is Slitherfang's first time being an official Transformer toy after being conceived over 30 years ago. Better late than never huh?

Despite being originally designed as a Headmaster, Slitherfang now is a Battle Master. As an Earthrise Battle Master he can turn into a shield or a connector piece/dock plate for Micromaster bases.  His robot mode as you can tell is a snake. There's bound to be some generic 'beast crap' complaints about this, but animals was a somewhat regular design choice for bot mode back in G1.

I always liked it for the variety and thought it went well with the monster themed Decepticons post movie. Add in the purples and teals of that time and you've got some sharp looking robots.

Slitherfang is mostly translucent purple with a gray tail. There's some black and red detail paint in there that really makes the simple colors look great. Small touches can make a big difference. 

Speaking of little touches, the tank treads on his tail. I love those little old school robot toy details. He almost looks like a little Starriors toy and that's a good thing. Tomy and Takara merged in 2005. Even if coincidental, it seems intended. Did that make sense? 

His shield mode looks pretty good thanks to the cobra's hood carrying over to it's general shape. Included is one of those little blast mark things that has one place to be plugged on. If you're display minded, that's exactly where somebody should be aiming at. 

There's not much fictionally for Slitherfang as of this writing. I'm assuming he'll get worked into Takara's ongoing web manga at some point. I'd like to think it would be more related to Headmasters, but you never know. He'd make a good Selector too.

In Earthrise he's aligned with the Quintessons, which is a pretty good fit. I could see him slithering up during an attack and being used by one of the bailiffs to guard a judge when all hell eventually breaks loose. 

What if he was a Selector that aligned himself with the Quintessons? 

That'd be a neat parallel.

There's not much to say about the connector/dock plate mode. It's a ramp or connector for Micromaster bases. You can plug that blasty thing into this though for dramatic dock plate action.

In all, Slitherfang is a pretty good Battle Master. With these little guys the best part is the bot mode. The shield and dock plate are all pretty similar with small cosmetic differences. But a little purple snake sells itself.

A Barrier For Sound

I picked up Soundbarrier in June shortly after moving. Like other toys bought during that time, I've just gotten around to opening him up. Soundbarrier is a Battle Master from Earthrise which makes him a tiny bit different than the ones from Siege. Instead of a weapon, he turns into a shield and a connector for Micromaster bases. 

I had been looking forward to this guy as he just looks neat. The shield kibble on his back looks like wings giving him a much cooler look than somebody who turns into a dock plate should look.

The bright blues with the grey robot parts with accenting red makes for a sharp looking little robot. I'm sure this mold would look good in almost any color you throw on it. He looks like he turns into a jet almost.

Almost.

I mentioned he turns into a shield right? Two things, he does in fact turn into a shield and I've had to right click on shield every time I've typed it. Clearly cannot spell that right. Considering it's basically just a dock plate that doubles as a shield, it doesn't look too bad. 

He comes with one of those blast mark thingys and two places to connect it. So you can have him being a barrier for blasts as well as sound. 

There's some silver paint here that's pretty nice looking and dresses it up a bit. It mainly dresses up dock plate mode and adds to the appearance when connected to Micromaster bases. 

Not to mention is helps hide the robot hanging off the other side in clear view. You think Micromasters flip him the bird when they drive over? You know they do. 

Jerks.

In dock plate mode, he can connect to any Earthrise Micromaster base or so they say. He can serve as a connector to provide a road from one to another or a ramp for driving up or off. You can still plug the little blast effect thingy on here to make it look like somebody is shooting at Big Daddy. 

He's Autobot in Hasbro releases or on the Japanese side a Selector like Smashdown. Considering his alt mode, it's a good fit for the new group. I could imagine a dock plate having enough of others bull crap and revolting.

He's pretty great. I'd love to see recolors in blind packaging. 

I say that about everything.

Smashdown Is An Allstar

I picked Smashdown up in June shortly after moving, but just got around to opening him up. Life found a way. I was happy to get him as the Siege version never shown up in my area, so when he was re-released in Earthrise. I uh, got him. I really like Battle Masters. A nice evolution of the Targetmaster idea, where not everyone has to be a gun.

Speaking of variety, I really like it when there's variety in robot modes. Keeps things fresh. Smashdown has a bulls head instead of a standard robot one. No real reason either and I'm not complaining. He looks like a Battle Beast and I freaking love Battle Beasts.

Smashdown turns into a hammer. Which seems pretty pointless in a gun fight, but so does a sword and we're all ok with those. The idea here is that he's an ideal weapon for one of The Wreckers. On the Japanese side of things, Smashdown is a type of Selector, another faction of Transformers. 

Selectors are a race of Transformers created by humans using Angolmois Energy as a working class for construction needs. Smashdown is a type of Selector that turns into a hammer. Get it?

Whichever fiction you prefer, Smashdown is a great little toy.  The handle from hammer mode can be used as a gun for bot mode. In hammer mode that handle can be held by most Transformers toys in case they see some watermelons nearby. 

Like most (all?) Battle Masters, Smashdown comes with a little energy special effect piece. This is to emphasize the force from a good whack from that hammer. Considering his body is that hammer, I wonder if that hurts? It's a neat little extra that I'd like to think is appreciated more by those who like to display their toys in action poses or in dioramas. Smashdown is a neat little Minotaur robot that turns into a hammer. I don't think I can find enough words to explain how great that is, it's pretty a pretty universal idea. Go buy one.