TRANSFORMERS TOYS AND MERCHANDISE SECTION

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

Detective Barricade's review: the Beast Trio

Name: Gas Skunk
Function: N/A
Sub-Group: RiD Basic Predacon/ one of the “Beast Trio”

Part one of the three Predacon stooges is Gas Skunk. He’s the smartest of the three, but that’s not saying much. He loves to shift any blame to his commander, Sky-Byte.

Alternate Mode:

Gas Skunk turns into what else? A skunk. A monstrous, cybernetic skunk. His main pose is as if stamping the ground in front of him to warn predators of a stinky present if they don’t back off. He’s mostly a very dark purple with silver and yellow, as well as both chrome along the tail and sides, and orange chrome on the inside of the tail.

To transform Gas Skunk, basically just make the beast mode do a handstand and flip the back and head around.

Robot Mode:

In robot mode, Gas Skunk has the entire skunk tail on the back of his head, making for one killer ponytail! He also has the entire back of the beast hanging off his back, making him slightly back heavy. As an interesting bit of engineering, both arms feature a panel that can be opened, but only the left one holds the Spark Crystal and the “Left Laser” attack. He features a total of 17 points of articulation, making for some neat poses.

Name: Dark Scream
Function: N/A
Sub-Group: RiD Basic Predacon/ one of the “Beast Trio”

Part two of the three Predacon stooges is Dark Scream. He’s about as inoffensive as a Predacon can get! He will sometimes actually try to help Sky-Byte, but he, like the others, will often shift his own failures onto the poor shark.

Alternate Mode:

Dark Scream turns into a monstrous, cybernetic flying squirrel/sugar glider. The only pose he can take is of gliding, even though the forelegs can be moved. They have two ball joints each, but they don't look right when moved away from the skin membrane/wings. He's primarily medium turquoise with dull grey, and silver, with chrome along the back of the neck, the tail, and much of the mechanical details. Oddly, all the chrome parts are yellow on the cartoon character... He can hold his sword in his forelegs, but not very securely.

To transform Dark Scream, straighten the robot legs, flip up his head, and flip the entire back 360 degrees. (there's two hinges) Then you're pretty much done.

Robot Mode:

In robot mode, Dark Scream clearly shows his allegiance to anyone who has any doubts about him being a Predacon. The Spark Crystal and source of the "Central Freeze Laser" attack is right in the middle of his chest. Him and G1 Silverbolt both share having the entire alt mode on their backs, though Dark Scream makes it look more stylish. His weapon, a sword, can be sheathed in his tail for storage. Dark Scream has a total of 12 points of articulation, not counting the beast forelegs and tail.

Name: Slapper
Function: N/A
Sub-Group: RiD Basic Predacon/ one of the “Beast Trio”

The final part of the three Predacon stooges is Slapper. Easily the dumbest, he can almost be talked out of fighting by the Autobots. And, as usual, Sky-Byte ends up taking the blame over Slapper's lack of success that he's just smart enough to shift onto his commander.

Alternate Mode:

Slapper's alt mode is a monstrous, cybernetic toad. Since the toad's arms and legs are the same as the robot's arms and legs, he naturally has quite a bit of potential poses he can do. He also features an "attack claw" that pops out of his back, and a tongue that becomes the weapon in robot mode. He's mostly red and black, with touches of gold, silver, and lavender. The eyes are chrome green, the "claw" is chrome blue, and the top of the head is orange chrome. Naturally, licking this toad is not recommended.

To transform Slapper, remove the tongue, straighten and rotate the forelegs, and pull the jaw down. Pull the back away, rotate the robot head out of the toad's mouth, and rotate the entire upper body section 90 degrees. That's it!

Robot Mode:

In robot mode, Slapper reminds me of the X-Men character, Toad. His limbs are long and gangly, and his head protrudes from the middle of his chest, making him look like he has a hunchback. The Spark Crystal and source of his "Right Laser" attack is in the roof of the toad's mouth over his right shoulder. (the head can be swiveled up to reveal it) Slapper features a total of 16 points of articulation if you count the "attack claw" that's still usable.

Transformation: 3 All three are very easy. Reading the instructions is harder.
Durability: 9 The chrome may eventually wear off on these three, but they’ll survive a tumble.
Fun: 9 They’re simple, but almost addictively fun! Point taken off for the not-so-fun twist ties one has to go through.
Price: 8 Originally selling for $20-$30 for all three. (They come in a Mega/Voyager box) Wouldn’t pay much more than that.
Overall: 9 If one doesn’t already have the original versions of these three, buy this box set!