TRANSFORMERS TOYS AND MERCHANDISE SECTION

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

Warcry's review of: Longhorn

Name: Longhorn
Allegiance: Maximal
Function: Warrior
Sub-Group: NA
"If you're strong enough, there are no precedents."

Highly intelligent, Longhorn is a warrior philosopher. One of the most powerful Maximals, believes that war is trying but necessary. A talented strategist as well as front-line warrior. Well liked by his comrades for circumspect attitude and admired for tenacity in battle. Often shouts his slogan, "When I see Vehicons, I see red...and when I see red, things get ugly!" before charging fearlessly into battle. Generates paralyzing thunderclaps by stomping on the ground. Reinforced skull and horns release concentrated lightning bolts. Despite serious demeanor, Longhorn takes great joy in battle, especially when goring Vehicons. Considers himself a vegetarian.

Beast Machines Maximals have never been something that interested me. In fact, with the exception of Night Slash Cheetor and Black Arachnia, I've never seen a BM Maximal that I haven't disliked. But then, I hadn't run into Longhorn before I bought him, either.

That's not to say that he's managed to convert me into a BM Maximal fan. He hasn't; even if he was a great toy, he wouldn't have. He has, however, given me a bit of an appreciation for the design philosophy that created these guys.

Alternate Mode:
Though the name seems more applicable to a bighorn sheep or something, Longhorn is, in fact, a very pissed-off looking bull. He's not a life-like bull, though. He is, in fact, some sort of deadly bull from hell with insanely huge, swordlike horns. Oh, and a ring in his nose, too.

Longhorn's main colour is a really nice shade of maroonish red (back before the days of political correctness, it would have been called Indian Red). Rich gold highlights are present on his legs, head and back, while is tail is totally gold. His underbelly is an unfortunate translucent aqua, but thankfully it's barely noticeable in this form. His horns are red at the base, and transition to silver at the tips.

Flipping open his left rear hip will reveal his Maximal Spark Crystal.

Longhorn has a fair amount of articulation in this mode, too. He's ball-jointed at all four hips as well as his rear knees, and has swivel-joints at his foreward knees. As well, his head can look side to side, and pressing down on his 'mane' will activate his remarkably silly headbutting ability. He can't really pose much, but a real-life bull can't either.

The bottom line: Longhorn's bull mode is badass.

Robot Mode:
Unfortunately, the same can't be said about his robot mode. Well, not unless you're in the mood for lies. That's not to say that Longhorn's robot mode is terribly bad. It's just...comical, for lack of a better word.

In this mode, the red and gold are distributed about evenly [the former on his head, lower legs and forearms (forehooves?), and the latter on his upper arms and legs. However, this mode is dominated by his chestplate, which is a hideous aqua green that clashes insanely with the other colours in his palette. For this alone, Longhorn loses two points off his final score.

Now, aside from that he's still a funny looking guy. Longhorn has big, strong-looking legs, but his arms are rather thin, and end in hooves rather than hands. His head is oversized, as that is where he carries his horns in this mode. This configuration makes him look somewhat like a pagan god, but like everything about this mode, that effect is ruined by the ugly chestplate.

As far as articulation goes, it's nearly identical to beast mode. His legs have hip and knee articulation, while his arms are articulated at the shoulders (doubly, this time around) and elbows. His head can turn a few degrees in any direction. As with many BM figures, he has no weapons and probably couldn't use any if he did.

Transformation: 2 - Typical BM Maximal. 'Stand beast up, then fiddle around a little'.
Durability: 9 - Ball-joints can be popped back together, and none of his other parts look fragile.
Fun: 7 - The beast mode is amusing, but there's not much to do with the robot.
Price: 10 - I got him at a clearance outlet, marked down from the already-fair basic price point. He's hardly a big-ticket item.
Summary: 6 - Even taking the silly robot mode into consideration, I like the guy. He'll never rank among my favourites, but he was worth the price. He's pretty much an average figure, good in some ways, bad in others, and rather unremarkable overall. Recommended if you find him in the bargain bin like I did, but don't bother to go looking for him.