Transformers Prime Beast Hunters: Ripclaw

If I'm being honest I wasn't sure what to think about Beast Hunters when I first heard about it.  I kinda laughed when I saw the images of the spiked up Autobots.  I guess one of the problems I have with Beast Hunters are the names.  When I hear the term Predacon or the name Predaking, my mind instantly conjures up images of the G1 Predacons/Predaking.  I mean no disrespect to the Beast Hunters Predacons, but that's just the way it is for this long time Transformers fan.

I will say however that after I got over the abomination that is the voyager Beast Hunters Predaking toy, I was excited to see the deluxe sized Predacons like Ripclaw for instance.

I hadn't planned on reviewing Ripclaw when I bought her, otherwise I would've snapped a few in package pics first.  Right out of the package though I knew I had a pretty cool toy in hand.  One of the first things I noticed was the swirled plastic.  I hadn't seen this used in quite some time.  My only concern with the swirl is will it compromise the strength of the plastic as the toy ages.  It seems that swirled plastic on older toys has issues so I was a little concerned here.  I actually like the look of the swirls though.

Ripclaw is a decent sized toy.  The large wings and long tail give the figure some extra heft that you don't normally see in this size class.  She has large enough feet to support the size of the figure, but it's also nice that you can position the tail to give the figure some extra stability.

I love the overall look of the figure, but the head sculpt is the real winner.  When I look at the face it immediately get a Ultron (Marvel Comics) vibe.  Perhaps Hank Pym should've made Ripclaw here for Ultron instead of Jocasta!

Ripclaw features a very large tail which at first glimpse doesn't look that special.  That makes the tail so interesting is the fact that it features an elastic band inside that gives the tail articulation, but only when you want it to!  What I mean by that is you can re-position the teal links slightly spread apart to allow the articulation.

You can also remove the large claw off the tip of the tail to use as a hand held weapon.  Push in the gold button in the center of the claw and all three prongs snap close.

Ripclaw has a beautiful dragon beast mode.  I wouldn't expect such a large alternate mode from the robot mode or even the way she was crammed into the blister bubble packaging.  There is plenty of articulation in the legs and feet, the wings are on hinge joints as well is the jaw.  The rich teal, red and gold colors all mesh together well, but the yellow paint apps are an eye sore.  I had rather those yellow areas be filled in with a darker color like gray or even black.

Is is an awesome figure and I can't wait to see how Takara Tomy handles this figure for their Transformers Go! series in Japan.  I will mention that I recently finished reading the IDW mini series, Rage of the Dinobots, and this mold was used for a character called Ser-ket.  She featured a more muted color pallet, but was equally nice looking.  As much as Hasbro likes to re-use molds I can see Ripclaw being repainted at some point down the road, especially w/ their recent collaborating with IDW.