TRANSFORMERS TOYS AND MERCHANDISE SECTION

Robot Mode:
Alternate Mode:
Additional Image:
Box Art:
Technical Specifications:
STR
INT
SPD
END
RNK
CRG
FPR
SKL

ravimus prime's review of: Transmetal Scavenger

Name: Scavenger
Allegiance: Predacon
Function: Infantry Commander

A quantum surge has rocked the world of the transformers and now the evil infantry commander Scavenger has become a meched out fire ant with awesome drilling power. Two spinning augers drill into the earth while bladed wheels thrust him forward, providing a perfect method of ambush attack and reconaissance. One of the Maximals most dangerous enemies, Scavenger's goal is to make every Maximal unable to set foot outside without think of what might suddenly burst from underground.

Scavenger was one of my very first transformers. I picked him up after Beast Wars Silverbolt (big disappointment) for the simple reason that he was cheap. Today, I am still fond of the mega transmetal. Hasbro originally intended to release him as Inferno, but instead called him Scavenger to keep the trademark of the name. In the Japanese Beast Wars continuity, Scavenger is the transmetal Inferno. I like to think of him as this too, and there will be many references to Inferno throughout.

Beast Mode:
Scavenger comes in beast mode. His beast mode is a transmetal ant. There is some great sculpting and nice mecha detailing here. The colour scheme is pretty simple: grey legs and antannae, purple on the underside of the central body, translucent red for the head and pinchers, metallic orange for the rear and central body, and green eyes. Nice and simple, overall.

There are twenty-four points of articulation in beast mode, most of these being in the ball-jointed legs. The ant head, thorax, and abdomen, can barely move. One other problem I had with his beast mode was the weight versus posability. His ball-jointed legs can't support him properly.

Scavenger also has variations. In early editions, "Scavenger" was written on his right leg (in robot mode), but was later moved to his abdomen (in ant mode).

Overall, he has a great look to him despite posability problems.

Vehicle Mode:
Like all other transmetals, Scavenger has a third mode. Back in the day of G1, triple changers were special. Now, they're just tacking on third modes whenever they can!

Anyway, his third mode is a drilling/mining type vehicle. The wheels are taken from under the abdomen, and the head is pushed back to reveal two drills. The legs are positioned upward, and then you have Scavenger's vehicle mode. It works quite well, as opposed to the likes of Tranmetal Terrorsaur's vehicle mode. The drills also spin as you roll him along...which is nice.

The vehicle mode does look good, but it also takes away from the robot mode. To include the drills for a third mode, they had to sacrifice Scavenger's hands and put big chunky wheels on his back. More on that later...

Robot Mode:
Scavenger looks twisted and creepy in robot mode: a nice look. Like Inferno, he has a big, evil smile showing off his huge chompers. When you look at the whole head, "Me So Horny" comes to mind...well, my mind anyway. Scavenger's horns are reminiscent of Unicrons'. The same colours carry over from the beast mode, but green can now be seen on his chest.

I love the design of his robot mode. He has a thin body, shoulder pads that actually fit in, long slim legs, thick bulky arms and a cool head... it doesn't sound like the best, but I like it. Scavenger also comes with no weapons.

But alas, a fault with the design! He has no hands, but drills instead! (bad joke ahead... "Edward Drillerhands"). There are more faults with Scavenger... He is extremely top heavy due to four wheels, six legs, two ant head halves, and bulky arms, all of which make posing him difficult. The chunky wheels on his back (for vehicle mode) also make him look awkward. Scavenger's robot mode looks great though, if you can position his ant legs properly and get him to stand up.

Transformation: 7. Works well and not too difficult at all.
Durability: 10. Really solid figure. Better than Inferno. It takes force to break this guy.
Fun: 7. No weapons, and you can't re-enact any scenes from Beast Wars, but you can still have fun with the drills.
Price: 8. I got mine at a clearence sale for really cheap. About $15-20 dollars on ebay, MISB.
Overall: 7. Really bad posability, but I like it. If you like the idea of a transmetal Inferno, or if you are a completist, maybe you would like this, but it's not for every Beast Wars fan.