Beast Machines Dinobots Rapticon

Rapticon was a late addition to the Dinobots sub-line of Beast Machines (their packages never actually say Beast Machines on them, but they are of the same style, so I count them as Beast Machines) along with the TM Terrorsaur recolor (his name escapes me at the moment). This is a repaint of TM2 Dinobot (and a slight remold I believe).

I opted to get this version of TM2 Dinobot (or Dinobot 2 as he's often called) because I liked the color scheme better than the original. Where Dinobot 2 is white, Rapticon is a dark bluish gray, and where Dinobot is purple, Rapticon is a nifty shade of green. Also, I only paid $9 for a MOC Rapticon, rather than paying probably around $15 for a MOC Dinobot. It's not much, but, like I said, I like the color scheme more, so this was a steal.

Anyways, Rapticon comes packaged in dino mode, though it's a bit folded up in order to make it fit on a deluxe card. Because of this his tail had to be bent, and, since it's made almost completely of rubber, it's forever bent to one side (similar to how TM2 Megatron's neck is). Speaking of TM2 Megs, Rapticon's tail uses the same mechanism which gives the tail a cool, uh, tail moving...action...yeah.

This mode is quite articulated, but there is one major complaint I have, and that is (drum roll please), yes, his claws. You see, for some reason the designers stuck an annoying tab on each of his feet and hands (which will switch roles in robot mode) so the movement of his claws is very limited. His front claws, for instance, are forever stuck in the 'hands palm out in surprise' position (if you can't figure that out, think of what Megatron did in beast mode in 'Code of Hero' when he confronted Dinobot after he'd taken out the rest of the Preds). His feet aren't as limited, it's just that his giant claw can't be positioned very much.

However, this problem is easily remedied by taking a nail clipper to those tabs. Of course, now that his movement isn't limited, you come to realize those tubes attached to his hands and feet are not as flexible as one might hope. I've been playing with Rapticon for about a half hour now (since I got it) and the tubes connected to his robot hands are almost not attached anymore. They're hanging on by a flap of plastic. I may just remove them altogether. Ah well.

Beast mode is also surprisingly large. I was actually quite amazed at how big Rapticon is. I guess maybe I just feel I'm getting more toy for my money or something, but still, it's always neat to have big Transformers.

Tube and notches aside, Dinobot, erm, I mean Rapticon, has one cool looking beast mode. Also, if you're feeling ambitious (and particularly imaginative) you can flip out his thigh panels to make a flying dino mode similar to TM Megatrons, but only if you're feeling imaginative.

Transformation is kind of complex, but if you look at the picture on the box you'll be able to figure it out easily, and in the end everything pretty much falls into place. Like I said, his arms and legs switch roles, and his head becomes his chest ala the original Dinobot (and the large majority of early Beast Wars toys). His dino back also opens up in two spots, and he does a lot of folding. You'll figure it out. Crap, one of the tubes just popped off. Ah well.

What you get is a weird looking robot. First off, if you hang them at his sides, his robot arms are so long they nearly touch the ground. Second he lacks hands of any sort, though they do pass for hands better than Megatron's first form (well, the tail hand at least). There's a peg on one of them as well which allows him to hold his tail. I wouldn't recommend that. At best it looks stupid. It really looks like he's just holding his tail, and the thing is so heavy that he can't even hold it up in too many positions, disappointing.

Another problem are his shoulder pads, which are massive. With the way the directions want them positioned they are the highest point on his body and take up a lot of space while taking up none at all. Last time I checked shoulder pads were supposed to be on your shoulders, not hovering above them. However, you can fold them down, which looks a lot better.

Aside from those problems, this robot mode otherwise looks cool. His backpack is very minimal, his robot head looks cool, and you can flip open his chest plate to reveal his spark crystal. Interesting is that the crystal is actually in the top of his head which allows for a comical 'garbage can head' look.

Dinobot has also lost his bigness in this mode. The reason is because all the pieces are more compact. In beast mode his body is mostly hollow, which adds a lot of volume to him. However, here all those panels are compacted, so he loses a few pounds. Ah, and for what it's worth, the picture on the card shows him mistransformed a bit. His beast head can slide up and down, and in the picture it isn't pushed up enough.

Anyways, all in all, Dinobot (heh, I mean Rapticon again) is quite the cool toy. His beast mode kicks some major booty, and his robot mode, while it has some flaws, is also quite cool looking, so this toy (repaint or original) is well worth the $10 - $15 you'll have to spend on it. I wouldn't go any higher than $15, unless you're a diehard Dinobot fan, but if you are you probably already have this. Right?!