TRANSFORMERS TOYS AND MERCHANDISE SECTION

Robot Mode:

Alternate Mode:

Additional Image:

Box Art:

Warcry's Review: Legends Ravage

Name: Ravage

Bulleting down through the atmosphere at better than 15 times the speed of sound, Ravage considers the data he has already amassed on the small, soft creatures that inhabit this planet. They seem weak and fragile, yet they are the ones that destroyed Megatron. That is a fact he will keep in mind as he penetrates their most sensitive installation. Against such an unpredictable enemy, stealth will be his watchword. -- Bio stolen from the deluxe-class Ravage, since the current wave of Legends toys have no write-ups.

Ravage was one of the few new Decepticons in Revenge of the Fallen to really make an impact. Unlike the likes of Soundwave or the individual Constructicons, Ravage was in more than a couple scenes, and was the focus of attention most of the times he was there. I scoffed at the original Deluxe-class offering because it was the same size as Soundwave and had the most laughable excuse for an alternate mode I'd ever seen. It was pretty obvious to me that he should have been a Legends-class toy from the start, so when news broke that they were actually making one I was pretty happy.

Beast Mode:
In beast mode, Ravage is very different to any of the other characters who've carried that name. This Ravage isn't the blocky G1 version or the sleek, organic Ravage we got to know during Beast Wars. The best description I can think of is "metal cat skeleton covered in spikes and guns". It's a fitting entry into the Movie universe, though -- he would look great alongside a Legends-class Scorponok from the first movie, and he's a good companion for ROTF Soundwave.

Like his on-screen counterpart, Ravage's main colour is a metallic dark grey. His teeth, his spine, the spikes on his back legs and assorted minor tech details all over his body are painted silver, a black Decepticon logo adorns his left flank and his single eye is a dark orange-red. I can't help but chuckle at the thought of the Decepticons' best spy only having one eye, constantly tripping over things and missing whatever he shoots at because he has no depth perception. Little mistakes like that are why you're losing the war, guys!

Because of the way he's sculpted, Ravage really only has one pose: leaning slightly forward, preparing to pounce. He has articulated shoulders and wrists on his front arms, but no elbows. His rear legs have poseable hips, knees and ankles. His tail can swing up and down, and it's tip is an articulated cannon. His machine guns can move up and down to track whatever he's trying to shoot, but neither his neck nor his jaws have any articulation at all. All in all he's a bit of a disappointment. Without articulated elbows Ravage can't attack with his claws (if you try to pose them at all he looks like he's either trying to shake a paw or making an incredibly homophobic gesture -- bad kitty!).

Ravage is already pretty complex for a Legends-class toy, but by the same token I paid $2 or so more for him than I would have for a toy in the same price point released three or four years ago. And to be honest, size and price are no excuse for blatant corner-cutting. Ravage doesn't have a proper alt-mode in the film, so the designers had a lot of room to maneuver when it came to getting his beast mode right. The fact that they prioritized articulated guns and a spinning cannon on his tail over elbows and a neck is just baffling, and it means that a toy that could have been absolutely awesome ended up as little more than a statue.

Alternate Mode:
Ravage transforms from a frightening metal monster of a cat into a...triangle? Maybe an airplane? A boat of some kind? Damned if I know what he's supposed to be. His packaging calls it his "reentry mode", but since it looks absolutely nothing like what we see in the film (and even less like the reentry mode his Deluxe-class counterpart has) it absolutely is not. His colours are the same as they were in robot mode, and are distributed in more-or-less the same proportions. Aside from having articulated guns he doesn't really do anything, and he looks ridiculous. The designers obviously approached this with an attitude of "well he has to transform into something, just fold the legs up and call it a day", so I'm not even going to dignify this mode with a proper review.

Sadly, this lame excuse for an alt-mode is still miles better than the one the Deluxe toy has.

Marks out of ten for the following:

Transformation Design: You actually need to transform into something to get a transformation score. 0/10

Durability: Because of his small size, Ravage has a lot of thin panels and small parts. None of them seem especially likely to explode, though, and he's built a lot better that older Legends toys. 8/10

Fun: Sadly, not nearly as fun as he looks. 4/10

Aesthetics: Ravage is amazingly detailed and intricate-looking for a Legends-class toy. He's a near-perfect representation of the character we see on-screen. 10/10

Articulation: He's got lots of joints, but he's missing two of the most important ones. The ones he does have go to waste because you really can't pose him very well without a neck or elbows. Boo hiss. 4/10

Price: As a Legends-class toy, Ravage is pretty cheap. The price point keeps getting more expensive compared to Scouts and Deluxes, though, and it makes you really question the value of what you're getting. 6/10

Overall: Some toys are bad because the whole idea was a bad one. Ravage is a good idea that was executed poorly, and the end result leaves a lot to be desired. Ravage is a beautiful representation of the character and I really want to like him more than I do, but as a toy he fails utterly. If you want an ROTF Ravage this is the one to get...but that's really not saying much. 5/10