Review: #151
Name: Rippersnapper
Brand: Transformers
Allegiance: Predacon
Line: Prime - Beast Hunters
Year of Release: 2013
Size Class: Legion (Wave 3)
Variations: there is a clear version sold in a Target exclusive giftset
BEAST MODE:
Once again, Rippersnapper transforms into a dragon, at least, that's the official term. It doesn't fit into the traditional use of the term, looking like a reptilian monster dinosaur thing.
Out of the all the Terrorcons, Rippersnapper has the worst beast mode. Why? There's this huge gap at the back. It looks really odd as his neck and top half of his back is really nice, then it looks as if something took a bite out of him and he has this disjointed tail in the end. It just looks unnatural and unfinished, when I first transformed him, I thought, did I miss something?
That's not the only thing, the legs jut out to the side far too much to look good. He's decently sized and feels substantial enough.
There are some really nice sculpting at work here and there are a lot of paint applications.
He has a bit of a thin head, thanks to the transformation, but it packs a lot of details.
As you might have noticed, Rippersnapper has a peg hole in his mouth to hold his weapon.
The other places for it would be on the outside of each leg, which works equally well.
Poseability is quite limited, his arms hinge up and down (actually reminds me of a T-Rex's arms) and his hips are on balljoints. Too bad the head is completely fixed in place. This is still a fun beast mode.
TRANSFORMATION:
The designer has once again gone above and beyond expectations. Rippersnapper has a complex transformation (for a Legion). The beast legs forming the robot arms do remind me of Blight though. Anyway, the twist here is that the head splits open to form the robot legs (although it can be a little bit fiddly). What's interesting is that his robot torso moves up against the tail, and then the back piece of the beast clips on top of that, which feels quite neat and compact. That said, there are some odd joints here that doesn't feel completely natural.
ROBOT MODE:
Rippersnapper's robot mode is quite nice, but not as great as some of the other Terrorcons. This is mainly due to the huge arms but relatively skinny and insubstantial legs.
He carries a bit of a backpack but it sits really close to his body that it's not a problem. Plus, it kinda makes him look quite cool with the slight hunchback and bulky look.
The head is small, which causes the detailing to be hard to make out. There are some good visible sculpted details though, with painted red eyes and a yellow face.
He features the Predacon symbol on his chest, visible for all to see.
He's a bit shorter than some Legions, but he makes up for that in the bulk.
His legs can look like a mess at times with the arms and face folded up like that. I also wish that the beast feet can fold up to stick out less, but this is a Legion class toy after all, and we can't expect something like that to happen.
Poseability is once again limited to the shoulders and hips. He has pseudo knee joints thanks to transformation but they're situated a bit too low to be too useful.
Rippersnapper shares his weapon with fellow Terrorcon Windrazor (and a few other Legions), this time, it's called the "Electrocharge Bow", it's a decent looking weapon.
He can hold it in either hand, in a number of configurations thanks to the multiple pegs on the weapon itself.
This is a neat robot mode that looks great on his own, although I kinda wish he was taller.
OVERALL:
Another amazing Legion toy. Although not up to the standard set by the other Terrorcons, this is still one of the best figures we have had for a while. It blends in a lot of complexity for it's size with the unique aesthetics of the Terrorcons to create an iconic little figure. Definitely recommended, even if you don't intend to form Abominus.
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