Adventure Team

Allegiance: Minicon
Size: Mini-Con (3-pack)
Team Gimmick: Parts move when rolled across a surface; also can combine with Cyclonus
Overall Rating: 5.5
 

Dune Runner
Vehicle ModeRobot Mode
Difficulty of Transformation: Very Easy
Color Scheme: Sandy tan, gray, black, and some military green, brownish tan, and sky blue
Individual Rating: 6.2

    Vehicle mode is a sand rail. This mode is pretty nice, with few extras. A little more paint detailing and mold detailing would probably be nice, but it's hardly what I'd call inadequate. What's kinda cool is that the bars over the seats can be raised and lowered- a nice touch. However, Dune Runner's robot head is somewhat visible from the rear. The robot hands are also slightly visible on the sides of the vehicle mode, but they're easily overlooked. By rolling Dune Runner over a flat surface, his guns rotate from side to side- a really cool action feature, if I do say so myself, and it moves quite smoothly. The Minicon symbol is on the top of the gun emplacement (which can rotate), and the Minicon port is on the very rear of the bottom of the vehicle.
    Robot mode is decent, although the transformation is astoundingly unoriginal and boring. (Basically, you just fold out the legs, turn the head, and pull out the hands.) It was pretty creative of them to use the seats as the feet, and it's nice to see a paint app used on the eye visor that is nowhere else on the toy. His articulation is also decent- his shoulders, hips, knees, and head can all move. However, his main body's a square, which isn't exactly the best shape, and the head is really oblong and rectangular. Ugh. Also, the "bar" piece hangs off his back, and is really floppy. This can get really annoying after a while, if you ask me.
Dune Runner is a nice toy in vehicle mode, but he has a pretty boring transformation, and his robot mode suffers from some proportion problems. Still, his gimmick is really neat, and he's my personal favorite of the Adventure Team.
 

Iceberg
Vehicle ModeRobot Mode
Difficulty of Transformation: Very Easy
Color Scheme: Black, gray, orange-red, light chalky gray, and some greenish-yellow
Individual Rating: 5.8

    Vehicle mode is an arctic tracker. This mode is pretty decent, if not spectacular (mainly because the middle of the vehicle is a bit too skinny as a side effect of the robot mode). However, the mold and paint detailing are prime, as are the proportions. When you roll Iceberg along on a flat surface, his shovels move back and forth- less than a stinkin' millimeter, that is. If they actually closed in on themselves, it might be better, but as it is, this gimmick is freakin' lame. The Minicon symbol is on top of the front of the tracker, and the Minicon port is on the underside of the mode, in the center.
    Robot mode reminds me of Dune Runner's. In other words, it's alright, but there's some proportion problems, and the transformation's dead boring. (You just pull out the head, lengthen the legs, twirl the waist around, and pull out the arms.) Iceberg's body is huge compared to his puny arms, which bugs me a bit. The articulation is acceptable, but not anything great- his shoulders, hips, and waist can move, and that's it. Which leaves him with some rather stiff poses. Oh, and his Minicon port is on his bum. Eeeewww... One positive, though, is that Iceberg is HUGE for a Minicon. He's about 175% as large as your average Minicon- wowzers!
    Iceberg is like Dune Runner, but with a lamer gimmick. Nice vehicle mode, but an unoriginal and boring robot mode with proportions a bit off.
 

Ransack
Vehicle ModeRobot Mode
Difficulty of Transformation: Very Easy
Color Scheme: Dark military green, gray, black, and some silver, bright yellow, red, and light chalky gray
Individual Rating: 4.4

    Vehicle mode is an offroad 4X4 jeep. Again, just like the other Adventure Team members, the vehicle mode is pretty nice. No extras to speak of whatsoever, and the paint and mold detailing are good. Ransack's gimmick is so-so- if you roll him along on a flat surface, he'll reel his hook-on-a-string. Nice... until it all rolls up, that is, and then you're stuck with nothing until you manually pull it out again. Rather self-defeating, that gimmick is. (And it's not like that itty bitty hook can actually hook onto anything, anyways...) The Minicon port placement also irks me- it's actually in the center of the spare tire on the back of the jeep. At first, they may seem a stroke of creative genius, as it blends right in with the tire. However, it makes Ransack look positively silly if you connect him to a larger transformer, given that he hangs off them sideways. The Minicon symbol is etched onto the middle of the hood.
    Ransack's robot mode is definitely the worst of the bunch. Basically, it's just a big body with little arms and feet. His head is basically just molded onto his body piece, which really doesn't look great. In fact, the only reason you can tell it's a head at all is because of the colored visor... Also, the articulation is rather poor: basically, only his shoulders, hips, and knees can move. And his huge, mostly-hollow lower legs really don't make for many good poses with his given articulation, either... And, as you can probably tell, we've got another very boring transformation here, since basically you just fold out the legs and the arms, and that's it. Meh.
    Ransack has a pretty nice vehicle mode, but a pretty badly done and boring robot mode, and a self-defeating gimmick. My least favorite of the Adventure Team.
 

Cyclonus w/ Dune Runner attached
    The Adventure Team can also each combine with Cyclonus via attaching to the gears under his cockpit. Then, by pulling Cyclonus' rotor trigger, not only does his rotor spin, but the particular Adventure Team member's gimmick is activated, as well! Pictured above is Dune Runner attached to Cyclonus is such a manner, and Ransack and Iceberg attach to him in a similar manner. However, Dune Runner's really the only one who looks good attached to Cyclonus. Iceberg is simply to big to effectively fit there, and Ransack just looks stupid, since a little bitty hook being reeled in by Cyclonus isn't going to do anything. Thusly, I usually leave the latter two off of Cyclonus and don't even bother with it.

    The Adventure Team have some nice vehicle modes, and Dune Runner has a cool gimmick, but other than that, they're pretty mediocre and rather boring. And Ransack's robot mode is just plain horrible. Nice for troop-builders, but there are several other Minicon Teams out there who are better.



Adventure Team Bio:
MOTTO: "No obstacle is too great!"
They are a unique team of Mini-Cons with the ability to combine forces and battle on any terrain. Sand, ice, and mud are no match for this rugged team, and not even the most dangerous weather can hold it back. They are the first line of defense in difficult battle conditions, and the Autobots will fight to the end to keep them out of the hands of Megatron.
Strength: 6.0
Intelligence: 5.0
Speed: 6.0
Endurance: 8.0
Rank: 5.0
Courage: 6.0
Fireblast: 4.0
Skill: 7.0

Review by Beastbot

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