TRANSFORMERS TOYS AND MERCHANDISE SECTION

Robot Mode:

Alternate Mode:

Box Art:

RID Scourge's review of: Bound Rogue

Name: Bound Rogue
Allegiance: Cybertron
Function: Resource Provision
Sub-Group: NA

A Cybertron warrior with a youthful atmosphere about him. Specializes in rapid-fire attacks and has the skill to wield two guns at once. Will frequently abandon a battle to pursue his primary duty of securing energy.

Thanks to Doug Dlin of BWTF for translating Robotmasters tech specs.

My, my, my. When the Robotmasters came out a while ago, I was really stoked. There were lots of repaints of really nice molds, and new molds, featuring updated versions of old transformers. The best part was that these were all little guys (I've really developed quite the appreciation of the basics, especially the well-articulated ones that Takara decided to use in this line). I must've been drooling over these guys up until they arrived in the mail one day. In this review, we will focus on Bound Rogue.

Vehicle Mode:
Rogue's beast mode is a blue Tasmanian devil. There's not much else to say about how it looks. Functionwise, its front legs have ball joints in the shoulders, elbows and wrists, while the hind legs kind of get the shaft. They can rotate like wheels, but that's about it. The mouth can open and close, so he can bite Megatron's big, fat ass in a very comical moment, and if they do a RM cartoon, they so should have that scene at least once. However, these are only decent features.

What sets this bad boy over the top is the beast mode launcher feature that I alluded to in the "Function" category, and derived my conjecture that his function was "flying rodent." There's a button on the tail that causes his tail to disconnect. However, this tail is spring-loaded, and he launches at Destron forces. The only downer about this feature is that it doesn't have very far a range, so it just kinda plops uselessly at your feet. Nevertheless, the feature's really cool, and when you're playing, something like this is really fun, even when you're not launching him at Destrons. About the only thing cooler is Break's pooping penguin mode.

Robot Mode:
Moving on. When you transform this guy, the number of veins and bones that are sculpted into the inside of the figure will give you the impression that you're skinning a Tasmanian devil, and who doesn't enjoy gross things, like that?

Um, so anyway, we've got the figure in robot mode. He's got the same arm articulation as he had in his front legs in beast mode because, golly gee, they're the front legs from his beast mode. This creates a problem that I will get to later (so be patient, ya bastid!). His beast head gets split in half (Cool! More gore!), and becomes his feet. His ankles can straighten his foot, and bend it. He's got ball and socket joints in his hips and knees. His head turns, and that's it for articulation.

The tail becomes a gun, with the launching button becoming the handle. He also has an extra gun that Takara added to this set when they repainted him. It's an all right enough gun, but I'm a little confused, as to which end of the gun is which. The problem that I alluded to earlier is this: the hands are basically just his paws, which are molded flat, and the holes for the handles are in his wrist (ouch!). Not only is it impossible to put his guns in straight, but the hands tend to get in the way, so you have to put them in a weird position for holding a gun.

Transformation: 10, 10, 10! - It's very simple (I like them that way), and it really does look like you're skinning an animal when you transform him.
Durability: Umm . . . 8? - Hasn't broken on me, but I haven't really played much with him, and the plastic does feel a little cheap. However, he's taken a few falls from launchings, and he's still in one piece.
Fun: 9 - Who doesn't like a magical blue, flying Tasmanian devil, with sculpted gore? Loses a point because the robot mode kinda sucks when you're done transforming him.
Price: 5 - I got mine in a special set from BBTS and it was on clearance, but it came out to about $10 when I was done, which is still twice as much as a toy this size should be, but at the same time, not bad for an import, so it gains half the points back.
Summary: Hmmm . . . 10 for me, maybe 6 for you. - Unless you like flying rodents and gore, you might want to pass up on him. I know I like them, so this was a good buy for me, but "the world don't move to the beat of just one drum. What may be right for you may not be right for some." *Starts humming because he doesn't know the rest . . . *