Hammerbyte is part of the next wave of Warrior class figures in the Transformers Bumblebee Cyberverse Adventures line. If you aren't familiar with the Warrior class of figures, these characters have some sort of attack gimmick integrated into the figure. While my experience with these figures has been limited, I haven't cared too much for the gimmicks as they have either hindered the transformation or the overall look of the robot. Thundercracker comes to mind as a Warrior class toy where the gimmick ruins the figure. Hammerbyte has a "rip thrash" attack gimmick...which isn't that bad. More on that later.
I like the new packaging for this class of figure. It retains some of the original Cyberverse packaging with the bold yellow strip down the left side of the blister card. A large colorful faction symbol still remains in the upper left corner. The back of the blister shows the figure in both modes and lets you know how many steps the transformation process is. In this case Hammerbyte goes from shark to robot (and vice versa) in just 9 steps.
Right out of the package I was knew I was going to enjoy this figure. The light and dark blues reminds me of the old G1 Autobot, Whirl. Hammerbyte also is sporting a cool yellow trident like headcreast. I like how the shark's lower jaw is integrated into the chest of the robot.
The back of the figure is a little kibblish with the shark head hanging off the upper back. The tail fin of the shark also sticks out from the left leg a bit. Neither of these were to obtrusive for my taste and thankfully don't make the figure too back heavy.
The figure sports ball joints in the shoulders, elbows and hips. The knees are hinge joints. The head sadly doesn't move at all. The left arm when raised to a certain level will active the "rip thrash" gimmick, flipping the spring loaded shark head up off the back and over his head.
After watching someone's video review of this toy I realized that the lower shark jaw is supposed to be brought up and closer to the shark head in this mode. Oops.
While this may look a little silly, it's actually a lot of fun. I found it a little annoying sometimes when the shark head would spring forward at the smallest movement of his arm, but once you figure out where that point is you can move and pose the figure with ease.
Transformation from robot to shark is rather easy and is completed in just 9 steps. I know that alone will put off some Transformer fans, but I don't mind a straight forward transformation. The hammerhead shark head has a great sculpt and the metallic dark blue paint looks fantastic. The body of the shark is a little chunky for my tastes, but I can live with it. I do wish there was another Autobot symbol on the other side. There is a slight curvature to the body of the shark that allows it to sit semi-flush on a hard, smooth surface. Part of this from what I can tell is due to the legs/feet of the robot.
Walmart stores have recently dropped the price of Cyberverse Warrior class figures to $11 and some change and I feel this is a fair price for what you get. Yes the figure has hollow inner arms and legs, limited paint apps, articulation and an easy transformation, but it's a fun toy. I don't always need my Transformers to be "adult collectibles"...sometimes I just want to fiddle with a fun toy and Hammerbyte fills that desire.
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