Transformers Energon: Insecticon

The best part of Transformers Armada (in my opinion) was the introduction of Mini-Cons.  While I was excited about the entire line in general, I eventually felt a sense of disappointment with the non-Mini-Cons.  When I heard of the toy line's sequel, Energon, I wasn't sure what to expect.  Then pictures started to hit the internet and I started to get excited.  While I like bigger Transformers, I've always preferred the smaller "basic" scale.  Blame that on G1 and most of the toys I had were small to medium sized.

While the name Insecticon may not win any awards for originality and might bug (no pun intended) some long term Transformers fans, the toy I find fascinating.  I guess you would call Insecticon here a stag beetle.  He's kind of like an updated G1 Bombshell.

The front legs are on ball joints, however the back legs are connected together as part of the transformation.  The "horn" section on the front can be lifted up and down.  That is about all articulation wise you'll get in insect mode.

All of the basic sized Energon figures came with translucent weapons.  The Omnibots were able to generate weapons for the Autobots forged from Energon.  I assume these weapons would be made of Energon as well.  Insecticon comes packaged with two weapons that can be merged to form a large drill.  This can be clipped onto the front.  He also comes with a yellow Energon chip.

Things really get interesting in robot mode.  Transformation is very simple and only involves a few steps.  In this form he is very short and stout (hm, wonder where is his handle & spout?).  He sports a very odd looking robotic face and has very large fists.  I myself always liked this toy for this reason, he looked different and stood out amongst some of the other smaller Energon figures.

It's not documented in the instructions, but you can take the front insect legs and fold them up and over his shoulders.  If you look carefully at the feet of the insect legs, they look a lot like guns.

He doesn't have to rely on these pseudo shoulder guns however as his Energon weapons are that of a sword a gatling gun.  You can merge them together to form the large drill weapon, but honestly he looks better wielding two separate weapons.

Now in the Energon cartoon and comic, Insecticon here was a mindless drone and did not feature his own personality.  Like Battle Ravage and Divebomb, Insecticon was a Terrorcon and Megatron used them to do his bidding.  They basically were cannon fodder.  In Japan, this toy was also repainted in a bright shade of green, Chromhorn Forest Type, and featured translucent green weapons.  I used to own that one as well, but he ended up being a casualty when I sold off the majority of my Unicron Trilogy collection.

These days it's hard for me to suggest anyone buying toys from the Armada / Energon / Cybertron era.  There are a few decent toys to be found, but if you do decide to buy this one just don't spend more than $5.  If you really want this mold, then track down the Superlink version.