Transformers Beast Machines: Hammerstrike

This is probably one of the few times a Beast Machines toy will make this blog. Ever. While it took me awhile to be able to 1) watch the animated television show and 2) appreciate the show the toys were a whole other animal.

Towards the end of the line when it was branded "Battle of the Spark" we got some decent toys like the excellent Motorcycle Drone, Tank Drone or even Battle Unicorn. We also got Hammerstrike.

Faction:	Maximals
Function:	Tracker, Ocean Attack
Motto:	The ocean depths conceal all intentions.

Bio: Not known for his intelligence or cunning, Hammerstrike is the best there is at what he does - destroy Vehicons. Of all the Maximals, Hammerstrike is the most battle hungry. Insatiable appetite for combat; devastating "frenzy" assault leaves few Vehicon survivors. Knows no fear, feels no pain and has an endurance second only to Cheetor. Calculating and fearless, Hammerhead gives the Vehicons a good reason to stay out of the water.

Strength	10	Intelligence	6
Speed	8	Endurance	10
Rank	6	Courage	10
Firepower	8	Skill	5

For some reason I was so excited about getting this toy when it was released in early 2001. Now I look at the mess of a toy and wonder "what was I thinking?!" We'll start off with the bad (i.e. the robot mode) so we can get it out of the way.

Hammerstrike has to have one of the most spindly robot modes I've ever seen on a Transformer toy. The only defined limbs are the legs and the tail fins which surprisingly provide some stable feet. The upper torso including the shoulders, arms and hands are a complete mess.

The lower jaw of the shark doubles as his hands and are utterly useless. I use the word arm very loosely here. There isn't a defined elbow and the arm is hinged rather high on the shoulder. The shark fins on the arms and back of the shoulders are very annoying and just get in the way. I suppose you could pop them off if you wanted to. Didn't really try much w/ this craptacular figure.

The other low point of the robot is the head. Just look at this thing. Can you even tell you're looking at a robot's head/face? I'm guess the eyes are the two indentations on the sides. You're guess is as good as mine what that translucent orange piece is hanging down.

With the toy being a modern Transformer there is a bit of articulation to be had in robot mode. The legs attach to the hips with ball joints and there are hinged joints in the knees. The feet/fins rotate a full 360 degrees. The range of motion in the top half is very limited which really hampers this already suffering robot mode.

The one redeeming quality of this figure and the only reason worth buying it is the alt mode - a techno-organic hammer head shark.

Surprisingly the colors work well for this toy. Between the primary beige, translucent orange plastic and the metallic blue paint it all blends well. He does have a small section that has been chromed in a metallic bronze color a la the Beast Wars Transmetal 2 toys. So far mine has aged well and shows no signs of the chrome starting to peel or flake.

In shark form you can move his side fins up and down while the rear section that forms the robot's legs has a greater range of motion. Hammerstrike also features an attack mode so the speak. His spark crystal on the top (blue orb) also functions as a trigger that activates a battering ram on the crest of the head. Mine doesn't work all that well. Even if it did the orange plastic doesn't extend very far.

The head portion of the shark removes to form a weapon of sorts while in robot mode. Whether it's a gun or some sort of melee type weapon I'm not sure. Either way I'm not a fan.

Unless you are a Beast Machines completionist I really can't recommend this toy. Yes the shark mode is a fairly decent (albeit small) the rest of the toy just isn't that worthy of adding to your Transformers collection. That said I only bought this toy to review and warn others!

ToyFare: Transformers Beast Machines Preview Guide

In January 2000 in the pages of the late great magazine ToyFare was inserted this neat little supplemental Beast Machines toy preview guide. I recently came across it again while I was looking for some Beast Wars tech specs for a friend. I don't know how many people remember seeing this so I thought I'd scan the pages and share it with everyone. Click on the images for a larger view.

While Beast Machines may not hold the best memories for long time Transformer fans the series none the less was interesting. Thy toys sadly weren't so interesting...at least to me. One of the best things you'll see in this preview booklet is across the bottom of the pages. Simply titled Lost In Time you'll see some tidbits of Transformers information spanning the original G1 toy line, cartoon and the Marvel Comics issues.

I hate that Cheetor toy with a passion! Just look at those goofy chicken legs in robot mode! I know cheetas are lean animals, but this toy is garbage.

The hornet toy in the top right corner I'm guessing is the single toy that turned off all long time TF fans since it was in the first wave that hit retailers. I was in college when it came out and yes I bought it. I also had instant buyer's remorse as soon as I opened it! Notice the name however? Mudobber eventually became Buzzsaw. What's odd though is in the body of text it says the toy was originally going to be named Buzzsaw, then Sting. I guess Hasbro had a hard time deciding a name for this crappy toy.

Tankor had one of the better Beast Machines toy, but it still wasn't spectacular. At least Tankor in the television show was interesting as the character continued to develop.

Skybolt here became Jetstorm as most people know. I actually prefer the Skybolt name. This toy wasn't all that bad...it just didn't look like the show character at all.

Burnout is another toy that was renamed before the final release. Mirage was the final name, but like with Skybolt I liked the other name. When I hear the name Mirage I immediately think of the G1 character, not some Decepticon wannabe Vehicon.

Destructicon seemed to escape the planning stages unscathed. This is one weird toy, but I love it. Sure the colors are a little crazy, but there is just something about this basic sized action figure that I like.

OK, here is where this little preview guide gets better. Lars Pearson did his best at showcasing the various Transformers leaders. Notice the big glaring Optimus Prime error? Powermaster Optimus Prime is labeled as G2 Prime. How can the self professed toy geeks of ToyFare allow this error to go unchanged?!

Megatron also gets some love hear with this various forms over the years.

The next part of the guide is a interview with Beast Wars and Beast Machines writer Bob Skir. I know some fans gave him a lot of flak when the shows were still airing on television in the U.S., and granted Beast Machines was hard to swallow in the beginning I can appreciate what was trying to be done with both the overall story and characters.

The next part of this feature interviews Brian Chapman, design manager of Beast Machines for Hasbro as well as Gary Chalk, voice actor of Optimus Prime. Gary also voiced Prime in Beast Wars for those of you that didn't know.

The last 2 pages contain some various poll results from fans and ToyFare staff as well as some info on Beast Wars in Japan (Beast Wars II and Beast Wars Neo - Big Convoy from BW Neo shown).

The Little Known Facts while fun to read doesn't really reveal any new information to long time and hardcore TF fans. Needless to say it's a fun read and I'm glad it was included as not everyone knew the tidbits of info since Beast Wars and Beast Machines helped introduce the Transformers to a new generation of kids and young adults.

The back of the guide has 2 advertisements for the (at the time) current television shows. I've seen that Beast Machines promo art before, but the image of BW Cheetor flying through space is a new one to even me.

So there you have it, a short walk through of a little TF guide that may or may not have gone unnoticed by the masses.

Transformers Beast Machines Scavenger & Robots In Disguise Scavenger

Beast Machines

Faction:  Vehicon
Function:  Demolition Drone

Motto:  " The road to ruin is short when I'm driving. "

Bio:  Perhaps Megatron's most horrific invention ever is his army of programmable drones which unquestionably serve his every wish. Falling under Tankor's charge of specialized tank drones, Scavenger's application is focused on one thing: brute force. Heavy armor makes Scavenger practically unstoppable. Galva-conductors on his back channel deadly electric currents. Enjoys nothing more than getting out and wrecking something.

Strength: 8 Intelligence: 2 Speed: 4 Endurance: 6

Rank: 4 Courage: 9 Fireblast: 7 Skill: 5

Robots In Disguise

Faction:  Autobot

* no official bio was ever created by Hasbro

Today we'll take a look at a very strange vehicular toy released under Hasbro's Transformers Beast Machines banner. It is rather easy to find these days on the secondary market, but is it worth the purchase? Let's find out together.

The review features the same mold released in two different Transformer lines, but the main review will focus on the Beast Machines version of Scavenger.

At first glance you may have no clue what you are looking at! I can remember finding this toy for the first time @ Walmart in 1999 and I too was a little clueless. The best description I can give you is that he is some sort of Cybertronian construction vehicle. Perhaps a power shovel or modified back hoe? Whatever it is supposed to be its odd looking. The primary colors are a neon-ish orange, olive green with black. The rear claws are chromed. The toy features 4 free rolling wheels and rolls very well on smooth surfaces surprisingly enough. There are several points of articulation in vehicle mode and one gimmick. The arched neck you see is on a ball joint allowing the whole neck assembly to rotate forward and back and side to side. The other end of the ball joint is attached to a ratcheting joint allowing more articulation. The middle joint allows the top half of the vehicle to move forward and back giving it a taller or shorter appearance. This piece is cast in a translucent orange plastic and features a piston like mechanism that slides inside the hollowed neck. The top of the vehicle or head if you will has 2 articulated weapons that rotate a full 360 degrees. One side features 3 missiles while the other side has a mini gatling like gun.

When you pull on the spring loaded rounded tab on the back of the middle neck joint the head opens and closes like a steam shovel. There are even molded teeth that gives the appearance of a large mouth. Inside there is some neon paint applications that makes it look almost like a tongue on the bottom. There are two grooves that featured mechanical cylinders...a very nice touch for a part of the toy that is normally not visible. I also want to point out the small door like panel in the 2nd picture. This opens and closes to reveal the toy's spark crystal.

In the Beast Machines story Megatron escapes from the pre-historic Beast Wars Earth and returns to Cybertron ahead of Optimus Primal and his fellow Maximals. Upon doing so Megatron tries to shed his organic beast mode and purge all of Cybertron of organics. To help his conquest he develops mindless and sparkless drones he calls Vehicons. These are Transformers that are devoid of a spark or soul if you will. Sadly Scavenger was never featured in the awesome CGI television show. I'm guessing Hasbro just made the toy as a filler for the first wave of figures. Here you can see the green Vehicon crystal. All Beast Machine toys featured either a Maximal, Predacon or Vehicon crystal somewhere on the toy.

The later repaint of this toy that was released in Robots in Disguise (RID) as part of a 3 pack had the spark crystals painted over. Kinda ugly if you ask me so I'm there is a panel that covers this now red orb.

Here is Scavenger in his robot mode. Now this looks a lot better and resembles a Transformer. Scavenger is a basic or scout class toy meaning he isn't very big. He stands right at or a little taller than 3 inches. Don't let his diminutive stature fool you though as this is a well articulated robot. The hips and knees feature ball joints allowing moderate poses. The large tank treads that hang on the side of the legs do hinder the overall leg articulation a little bit, but nothing too bad. His feet are really tiny, but thanks to the aforementioned tank treads they give some much needed stability. The arms are attached by ball joints as well, but the plastic fully surrounds the joint limiting the range of motion. The elbow's ball joints however are not hindered at all. Those silver chrome claws that hung behind in vehicle mode now are the robots hands. Note the tips of the claws are the same shade of neon orange featured on other parts of the toy. It appears the paint was applied with a air brush. The large black wheels folded up and now give the appearance of some much needed bulk in this form.  

Now one question you may be asking yourself is "where is the robot's head?" That small black panel on top of the vehicle head lifts up ever so much to reveal a pair of eyes. These robotic eyes even featured light piping using a translucent orange plastic! The head is a little bit of a stretch, but if you can get past it I think the overall look of the robot is excellent. As as I said in the opening this is a very strange toy, but for some reason I like it a lot.

For a smaller toy there is a lot of detailing sculpted into the mold. I know this isn't really a fan favorite as even when the toy was new it warmed the pegs at a lot of retail stores. Non-show characters always get snubbed when it comes to kids and their parents, but don't let his absence in the television show deter you from looking into at least one version of this toy. I prefer the original Vehicon version, but the blue and white used on the RID version works well. It's a striking combination and the fact that he's an Autobot is also interesting. I believe he was the first Autobot to have the name Scavenger. This toy won't win any rewards and the vehicle mode is very odd, but the robot mode makes up for the rest of the short comings in my opinion. I highly recommend the Beast Machines version since it can easily be purchased individually. The RID version was sold with other repaints of Beast Machines toys so it isn't as readily available, but I was able to find one for about $5.00 recently on eBay.