Beast Wars II: Galvatron
BW2 was really more of a filler in Japan. Beast Wars season 1 had just ended, and season
2 was a good year away from being released in Japan, so along came Beast Wars the Second. The
toy line was comprised entirely of repaints and remolds from other pervious lines, with a few
exceptions. Two new previously unreleased Autorollers from G2 were put into the line, and
two entirely new molds, Leo Convoy and Galvatron, were put out. Also in the line were remolds
and repaints of many Beast Wars toys, as well as a few from G2 and Machine Wars, and even a
release from G1 (the Seacons). Only RID rivals with lines from even more lines (G1, G2, BW, BM,
and CR). Anyways, enough history, on to the review!
Okay, well, I bought this on eBay for $12.00, though the item description didn't say he
was Galvatron at all. The auction title read 'Japanese Dragon to Man', but on one of my
browsings of the Transformers directory I stumbled upon it. Nifty.
Galvatron comes packaged in an odd half transformed mode, and there's even a bit of assembly
required. Good thing for you (and me) the directions even include a bit on how to get him
from box mode to dragon mode. Very helpful when you get home late and aren't in much of a
mood to figure out a transformation that's pretty difficult. The instructions, while in
Japanese, are still very easy to follow, with some very nice and straightforward pictures
(and accurate ones too, ARE YOU LISTENING HASBRO?!).
Dragon mode is, uh, well, it leaves something to the imagination. I mean, maybe I'm
spoiled by TM2 Megatron's dragon mode (because it sure does kick ass), but this is just an
odd looking dragon. First off, his legs are rather strange looking. His upper legs are
gigantic, and contain the take treads for tank mode (sorry, not real treads, molded into the
plastic), giving him some serious thunder thighs. It doesn't help his case any either that
his lower legs are really thin and kinda skimpy looking. Especially when compared to the
massive upper legs. Also his feet seem sorta out of place, but that's really a matter of
preference I suppose.
Another problem are the funky drill bit halves acting as shoulder pads or something. Yes,
this is the first beast mode with kibble, go figure. Really though, if they had modified the
legs to be less awkward and found a way to fold up the drill bit halves, he would look a
lot cooler in this mode. Oh, and maybe some extra movement in his tail would have been nice,
as his neck is jointed very nicely (similar to TM Megatron's tail).
Randomness paragraph coming up. His mouth is a pain in the ass to open, his wings are
pitiful looking and his tail spikes fire, though it's really useless as he can only fire
behind him.
Next up, tank mode. Okay. Fold up the drill bit, then fiddle with his legs a bit. His
waist area is composed of a lot of panels on hinge joints with locking tabs (like the ones
that lock TM2 Megs' crotch together) which form two positions. Dragon, and not dragon. It's
rather complex, and seems fragile at points, but no real stress is ever put on it except when
you need to disconnect the tabs, so it should be safe I guess. If one of those tabs snaps off,
that is major suckage, since they all are necessary, though I'm sure he could get by with one
missing.
Tank mode has a serious 'this is a vehicle because it has tank treads' issue going on, but
despite what looks like a jumble of dragon parts stuck on top of some tank treads with a huge
drill bit sticking out the front, it's rather neat. Sadly, however, it's not very good at
rolling. See, Galvy is rather heavy, and the wheels on the bottom are very small, so put two
and two together and you get a tank that slides for an inch when you push it, instead of
rolling. Ah well. The drill bit (and this is the only mode where the mechanism works without
being hindered by other bits of kibble) spins on a mechanism like Inferno's butt, and is
about the only gimmick to be had in this mode. The tail missiles still fire of course, but still
only backwards, so I guess they're defense for attackers from the rear or something.
Transformation to robot mode is very complex (mainly at the waist and upper body area) but
not too much of an annoyance (something TM2 Megs can't say with his goddamn dragon head getting
in the way of his wings) and very satisfying and a lot of fun as well (as long as you do everything
in the right order).
Ah, actually, before I start on the robot review, if you only transform the legs you get a
funny looking gerwalk mode with the drill bit sticking out the front and the tail out the
back. I dunno, it just looks rather comical to me, but I'm weird. If you put the wings parallel
to the ground and hang the arms down the comedy value goes even higher, heh.
Robot mode is nifty looking, though smaller than I was expecting (always the case apparently).
Also I was expecting him to be a bit bulkier as he's kinda skimpy around the waist (I thought he
was bulkier since all pics of him have the drill bit in view, making him seem more bulky).
Speaking of the drill bit, it becomes his backpack, with the wing mechanism folded over and
sitting on top of it. Sadly he can't stand without aid of the drill bit, but it can fold up and
down allowing for a couple nifty poses, though the 'standing there ominously' one looks the best (it's
the one I have him in the picture). The firing missiles are in a better place to be fired now,
bit still in a bit of an awkward position. If you want to fire them forwards you need to either
raise his arm above his head and fold the lower arm back so the elbow points forward, or fold the
tail bit back over his fist and play with its position. I like the latter better because it
doesn't look like he's about the execute a wrestling move and the tail as an arm thing works as
a neato whip sort of thing.
Okay, we're entering the home stretch. His wing mechanism detaches in this mode and forms a
weapon very similar to Transquito's wings. Uh, the weapon is rather cumbersome, and not very
useful I'd wager, but I guess it beats having nothing. With some effort you can also detach the
drill bit (be careful though, plastic can snap, and you need some of the ol' Excessive Force' to get it loose)
and stick it in his hand and he can also hold the missiles in his hands as well. When he's not
trying to fire them forward that is.
Finally, in Galvy's chest is a glass marble that's a good representation of a spark. Very
cool looking. I even took his chest apart to take a look at it, and it's really glass and
very shiny (no gold foil anywhere either). Very nifty stuff. Oh, and Gavly has guns on his
knees (in both modes). Anyone with guns for knees is okay in my book.
Overall? Well, dragon mode is kinda sucky, though not horrible. Tank mode is obscure looking,
but still cool, and robot mode is a supreme coolness. Worth the $12 I paid ($16 after shipping)? Oh yes,
good price, without a doubt, especially for a Japanese import. If you can find one for a
nice price ($30 is about as high as I'd go, give or take), then snatch it up, despite being
purple, BW2 Galvy is quite bad ass (plus being purple never stopped any Pred leaders before him).
Yeah!
