Transformers Beast Wars II: C-13 Big Horn

Looking back I loved Beast Wars. When I was just coming back to Transformers I was able to catch the tail end of Generation 2 toys on clearance at various stores. Shortly there after I was first introduced to Beast Wars on a visit to Toys R Us. I didn't have access to information like I do now so I knew nothing of the series or the toys. Fast forward a bit and Takara released their own series of Beast Wars in Japan simply called Beast Wars II. I was already enamored by the animal choices Hasbro had chosen for release here in the States and one of those was a bison called Bonecrusher. For whatever reason I never bought him and as time went on I started to regret that decision. Thankfully Takara decided to use this mold for their line - with a better color scheme.

Bio:  Big Horn always dashes forward recklessly and hates to turn his back on the enemy, and it sometimes causes him to play into their hands. He also has a gentle side which appreciate the nature. He especially favours red flowers and has painted his body red. He has Buffalo Missile with his tail as the trigger. By having his comrades adjust the trigger timing and pull his tail, he can increase the accuracy because he himself can concentrate on setting his sights on the target. He has a habit of stomping his feet.

Strength:  9  Speed:  9  Rank:  8  Firepower:  8

Intelligence:  6  Endurance:  9  Courage:  7  Skill:  8

Takara opted to go with overall darker colors. The back and silver look fantastic on the bison. The robot bits were changed from cream to red and unfortunately those red parts tend to stand out a bit more.

This picture made the tag line of "robots in disguise" pop into my head. Can you see Big Horn's eyes "peeking"?

Transformation into robot mode is fairly simple and there is a good bit of articulation for a mid 90's figure. The red is a stark contrast to the rest of the figure, but I like it. It gives me the sense of rage which just seems appropriate for him.

Take a look at the robot head. I've got a lot of Transformers and never have I seen another face like this. I love how the bison's hair gives him a brow...kinda like the rocky brow the Fantastic Four's Thing has. The horns protruding from each side of the head and the open mouth makes this a memorable face. 

The mouth is exposed as such as it doubles as his weapon. A lot of the early Beast Wars figures had self concealed weapons. His mouth doubles as a spring loaded rocket launcher.

If there is a downside to this is the fact that it gives him a backpack of sorts. The way the launcher works is you pull on the tail. See how it looks almost like a trigger? Pulling on the tail will elevate the head and launch the missile from this mouth...quite far actually. The figure has good balance so this firing mechanism doesn't hinder the robot's stability too much.

This is a fun figure and I personally like the color changes over the American version. He isn't that hard to find either as he was also packaged in one of those versus sets paired off against Starscream & BB.

I will also mention this figure was released in Japan as a Lucky Draw item. He is supposed to be blue in color, but because of it's rarity finding the toy let alone the actual toy is very hard...assuming it really exists.