Beast Wars Transmetals Tarantulas

I actually bought the Japanese version of this at a little booth in a mall I was doing Christmas shopping in. He cost me around $28 with tax, and I think I ended up spending three times that in Christmas shopping, so it looks like I wasted one fourth of my cash on myself. Ah well, such is life. They had a TM Megatron (Japanese as well) there for $36 as well, and I may just pick that up next time I'm there, but I'm probably better off buying the US version on eBay for way less (like $15 or $20)...hmm.

Anywho, first thing I should mention is that the Japanese versions of the US toys weren't released on cards, like they were in the US, but in boxes. And not like the mega or ultra boxes that are all the same size, but in their own individual boxes with nifty artwork and stuff. I got a Japanese Quickstrike as well at an earlier date, and both boxes are very cool.

Okay, so Tarantulas' is a Transmetal spider. I believe in the US release he was the same colors except instead of the orange on mine (his feet and abdomen) it was yellow, but the rest is the same. With the new orange, he's pretty much a dead on show accurate toy, aside from the writing on his back that says 'Destron' which is what the Preds were called in Japan.

Also cool is that the spider can actually stand on his own legs (thanks to some tight ball joints), so he doesn't suffer from having to crawl on his belly like so many other bug and spider transformers before him (Scorponok, Inferno, Blackarachnia, original Tarantulas). The only bad thing about beast mode is its mandibles, which are his slightly folded and turned around robot legs. They just look way too big. Also his bug butt is a bit too clunky for my tastes, but that's more personal preference than anything else.

Transformation to vehicle mode is fairly simple; just bend and twist his rear wheel, flip out his front wheel (which is also his weapon) and he's a motorcycle. Okay, maybe that's a bit ambitious, he more of a spider with wheels, but he rolls well, and you can manipulate his spider legs so he can stand and (on a hard floor) even roll without hand or leaning of support.

Getting him to robot mode is pretty simple, with a few exceptions. The only major problem you'll probably have is with the rear wheel which splits in half and becomes his shoulder pads. I'm not sure how well the US directions do it, but the Japanese directions are very well done, using pictures of the actual toy, and even a close up to show the pegs the wheels clip into is there.

What you get is a neat looking robot mode, if a bit back heavy (since his spider legs hang from his back). Reports that his ankle joints weren't strong enough to support his backpack were either isolated or (more likely) fixed in this version with tighter pin joints. The legs are quite poseable, which is more than the arms can say actually. See, ol' Legs' arms are limited in their movement for a few reasons. First his elbows are hinge joints for some reason (ball joints would have worked fine and been more poseable) and his shoulder pads and arm kibble (which are the sides of the spider body) get in the way a good deal.

Also, despite their looks of being fragile, his shoulder pads and arms peg into each other very well, and it holds quite nicely unless you drop him off your desk or something, heh heh. I also like his spinning blade weapon, as Tarantulas is the resident mad scientist, and the blade looks ready to slice open some Maximals (or Predacons) and perform some experimental surgery on them.

Overall, Tarantulas is a pretty cool toy, though I wouldn't say he was worth twenty-eight bucks (the prices we pay for Japanese imports), he's still worth the $10 - $15 you'll probably have to pay for him online somewhere, despite his bad arms.