Dave's Beast Machines Rant: Deployers

Mol

Dillo

Rav

Well, having seen no Deployers at all in my area for months, I broke down and ordered Mol and Dillo online. After another couple months, I went ahead and ordered Rav from RoboZone.

CAPSULES

Mol: Okay beast mode, simple and too-easily-triggered autotransformation okay weapon mode (it does have handles, though). Even at the low prices Deployers are sold for offline, only Mildly recommended.

Dillo: Okay beast mode, if not as solid as I'd like. Nice blossoming transformation, good weapon mode. Torpedoed by really crappy stability, though. Mildly recommended.

Rav: Good-looking but unposeable beast mode, good autotransform, kinda iffy reverse transform, decent weapon mode (but really short range). Best of the three, but still only Mildly Recommended.

RANTS

Here's the blurb from the cards about this group:

"In the deepest recesses of Cybertron, Nightscream discovers a band of automated mechanical beasts. Forged from ancient Transformer technology, these former task drones were protected from the ravages of time. Though small in stature and lacking sparks of their own, the Deployers use their firepower and rapid transformation abilities to combat the despotic rule of Megatron."

The cards are as tall as Basic cards, but narrower, only 6" (15cm) wide. I hear tell that all three will be recolored and re-released next year as Trench (Dillo), Burro (Mol) and Cro (Rav).

These toys are essentially updates of the old Actionmaster partners, which were often little beasties that turned into weapons with the push of a button (and sometimes the rearrangement of some bits).

MAXIMAL: Mol Beast Mode: Mechamole Weapon Mode: Borer Function: Demolitions Motto: None provided. I suggest, "Yes, I'm boring. What?"

Determined...deliberate...and often depressed, this subterranean demolitions expert can bore his way into areas where no other ally would dare to tread. Recently reformatted following eons of deactivation at the hands of the Decepticons, the always dutiful Mol is usually called upon to search for organic life or to plant sophisticated silicon-encased explosives near Vehicon encampments. When in bore mode, he can fire his metal-tearing, serrated circular saw blade at attacking Vehicons with circuit-slicing accuracy. He projects a negative attitude that makes his fellow Maximals a bit uneasy. Not exactly "the life of the party," but reliable to a fault.

STR 6 INT 3 SPD 2.4 END 4 RNK 2.7 COUR 8.5 FRP 5 SKL 6.4 Avg 4.75

Beast Mode: A little over 4" (11cm) long, made from yellow, tan, black and transparent red plastic. Forelegs can move around to the sides, but that's basically it for poseability. The trigger for transformation is too easy to set off, and when trying to keep it from popping off you're likely to fire off the sawblade. To the front, the nose is a drillbit that spins when you move a dial at the back of the head. To the back, a sawblade fires out the hinder when you push a button that's way too close to where the toy splits apart in transformation. As a side note, the transparent red "mask" that forms much of the face can pop off.

Transformation: Tap on the head and the body folds into the new position. Then move the forelegs around to form a tripod with the nose, and fold up the handles. Not terribly impressive.

Bore Mode: It is indeed boring. It's just a platform for firing the axeblade, and the handles are backwards. Presumably the handles are for using the Bore to drill down (the nose is against the table), but that requires getting a bit too friendly with the sawblade.

Overall: Ehhh. I am underwhelmed. It doesn't suck, and for a $4-5 price point it's a nice effort. But it just doesn't do much, and most of what it does is get in its own way. And for such a simplistic transformation, it can be really frustrating.

MAXIMAL: Dillo Beast Mode: Armadillo Weapon Mode: Bolo tank Function: Forward Observer Motto: None supplied, I suggest "You guys go ahead, I'll cover the rear."

Beneath his battle-hardened exterior resides a Maximal who's all talk and minimal do. His boastful attitude and swaggering toughguy style disguise a "hero" who, when the microchips are down, retreats in a klick. As a former apprentice to an ancient Autobot tracker, Dillo was taught how to use the mace bolo. The only drawback is that he usually uses it when he's retreating. Nightscream has every intention of changing that.

STR 4.6 INT 3.7 SPD 4.5 END 4.8 RNK 3 END 4.5 FRP 7 SKL 5.8 Avg 4.74

Note that in the original techspecs, the weapon was called a mace "bollo." Er.

Beast Mode: 5" (13cm) long, in blue, black, yellow and transparent purple. It doesn't quite stay in beast mode all the way, though, as there's no real locking position on its spring-action transformation. Also, I think it's mistransformed both in the package and on all the pictures we've seen. The paws, in my opinion, should be rotated so that the blue "claws" are forward, as they seem to have had that function built into them. The rear hips can move a bit, allowing Dillo to rear back, and the forelegs can move a bit. Otherwise, no particular poseability. The projectile cannot launch in this mode, but there's a little dual turret on the tail tip.

Transformation: In theory, just pull up on the tail and it all flips and folds out into a weapons platform. But if the bolo missile is loaded, it gets in the way of this. To complete the transformation, position the forelegs as missile launchers, rear it back one click on the hinge legs, then push it all back up again. And again. There's no locking mechanism at either end, really, and it all sort of slumps forwards if you so much as look at it funny.

Bolo tank mode: Nice and mechanical looking, but unstable as all get-out. The missile was modified from how it looks in pictures, presumably to make it less breakable. Bristling with weapons, but it just keeps falling over.

Overall: Great concept, but hosed for lack of a few tabs to lock it in place in BOTH modes.

MAXIMAL: Rav Beast Mode: Red Raven Weapon Mode: Energon Crossbow Function: Aerial Recon Motto: None given, I suggest "Nevermore!" just for the heck of it.

A crafty and agile winged warrior who usually keeps to himself. When in battle, this small airborne spy packs a big-time punch! He converts into an energon crossbow, a power given to him by an ancient female Autobot resistance leader as a reward for his courage in battle. Rav can fry the main circuitry of an enemy's data bank with a blast of arrows when in energy crossbow mode. When he's not scanning Cybertron for Vehicons, Rav enjoys "talking" with Nightscream via a complex series of musical tones.

STR 3.2 INT 5 SPD 7.4 END 2.3 RNK 2.3 COUR 8.5 FRP 6.7 SKL 7.8

Avg 5.4

The Rav I got from RoboZone was different in packaging from the Dillo and Mol I got from BigBadToyStore, and is apparently an international version. The instructions on the back of the card are covered by a sticker that lists the warning stuff in 8 languages. To get around the lack of instructions, there's a black and white insert folded up in the bubble which has the instructions in six languages.

Beast Mode: About five inches (13cm) from beak to missile tailfeathers, Rav is made from black and dark tan plastic plus clear red plastic that has gold details painted on it. It basically doesn't move. The feet move at the ankles maybe twenty degrees, and that's it. Well, the head and beak can get out of alignment (rather easily). But it looks nice, and once you get everything in place, you can handle the toy without it automatically transforming (a sharp rap will cause the body to fold up, although the launcher won't flip out). The missiles store nicely in the bird mode without getting in the way of the transformation or randomly firing.

Transformation: Push down a lever at the back, and the outer shell of the bird splits apart and then folds together underneath the crossbow, which flips forwards. Usually, anyway. Most times at least one part (usually the head) remains out. The crossbow arms need to be pulled out manually. If you tap the trigger too lightly, the body will sink without the launcher flipping out. In transforming back to bird mode, you have to get a lot of pieces in place all at once, which is tricky. Additionally, you need to leave the wing shell bits slightly separated so that the head rests in the right place.

Weapon Mode: Essentially it's a folded up bird with an arbalest (siege crossbow) mounted on top of it. The little bit of motion in the ankles lets the crossbow aim from horizontal to about 20 degrees above horizontal (at horizontal it tends to tip forward, though. At maximum elevation, the missiles fly about a foot before landing. There's no handles, although Nightscream's big hands let him get an awkward grip on the toy.

Overall: Not too bad, and if I'd ever been able to find it in the stores at the suggested retail price, I probably would have felt I got my money's worth. However, even though this is the best of the Deployers, I wouldn't recommend paying online prices (and shipping!) for these.

Dave Van Domelen, struggled through serious lag to get this typed....

Later Note: Didn't know it in time for the review, but Rav's mouth opens. Note: in transforming Rav back to raven mode, you have to push down on the crossbow part until it clicks, or the head won't be stable.