Beachcomber
(Universe 2.0)
Just like his original
G1 form, Beachcomber here is a dune buggy, though he has a gun mounted
on the rear tire, so it's ever-so-slightly military (which may run counter
to G1 Beachcomber's "hippie" personality). Due to the proportions, it's
a tad "kiddy" looking for a Universe 2.0 toy, but I'll cut it some slack
in this respect because of the small size class. His mold detailing is
very simplistic in vehicle mode, though, to the point where combined with
the proportions he could pass as an Animated toy if you didn't look at
the robot mode. There are two molded-in seats inside the "rails" of the
buggy, however, and the silver and white paint really help add contrast
to the otherwise predominantly dark black and dark blue color scheme--
it's quite a good mix of colors. I am a little annoyed that the gun can't
rotate or move at all unless you detach it and then re-attach it facing
backwards due to the toy's structure, though.
Beachcomber's robot
mode transformation is fairly by-the-books for a Legends toy for the most
part, but it's effective and gives him quite a good robot mode for this
size class. (Plus there's only so many ways you can transform a car-shaped
vehicle at this size anyways.) His hands are merely molded onto the inside
of the pieces that form most of the front half of the vehicle mode, but
this is pretty much standard for the size, and other than that he really
doesn't have any kibble-- everything either forms his chest and legs or
just goes on his back and out of the way. Even though it's been done before,
I love his the seats from vehicle mode form Beachcomber's feet-- that's
a really creative usage of vehicle parts, there. The G1-esque detailing
on his chest and head are also very well-done and capture his original
look and mood quite well. I especially like how they kept the "engine"
mold/paint detailing on the chest even though that part doesn't form the
engine in vehicle mode, it's just on the underside. Beachcomber also has
fairly good articulation for a Legends toy too-- he can move at the shoulders
(at two points), hips, and knees, and the shoulders and hips are on ball
joints so you can get a good range of movement out of them.
Universe 2.0 Beachcomber
is the best original Legends toy from the line, in my opinion, and even
though his transformation is fairly by-the-books he looks great in both
modes and has a great color scheme and proportions, particularly in robot
mode. Recommended, even for those who normally aren't fans of this size
class.
Review by Beastbot