TRANSFORMERS TOYS AND MERCHANDISE SECTION

Robot Mode:

Alternate Mode:

Box Art:

DDM's review of: Polar Claw

Name: Polar Claw
Function: Infantry Battle Commander
Sub-Group: N/A

A foot soldier with a hunter's instinct, this ballistic bear is equipped to command front-line infantry battles against the evil Predacons. Along with his savage teeth and ferocious fangs, his most devastating weapons include a quick-firing robotic bat, which features sonar sensors to detect enemies and alert Polar Claw for combat at all times--and at all costs!

I received this toy a long time ago for Christmas, and I remember even then it was one of my favorite transformers for a variety of reasons. And now, after rediscovering the bin of Beast Wars in my closet, I’ve decided to take them out and display them. And after playing with Polar Claw for a while, I realized that it was no surprise he was one of my favorites.

Alternate Mode:
Just in case it wasn’t obvious by his name, Polar Claw is a polar bear. Or, more fittingly, a white colored grizzly due to the fact that in his alternate form he is hunched over too much to look like a polar bear -- but really that doesn’t take much away from his looks. My only major complaint about this mode is that if you turn him around you can easily see his robot mode legs folded inside of his rear legs, and if you look at him from the side you can see the red of his robot chest. He also isn’t very articulated, but you can move his front legs and his hind legs do move, but they cannot hold a pose. But enough of the bad, he other wise is very detailed with his plastic “fur” having a very nice texture all over his body and the area around his snout covered with a light gray paint, to show he was recently sniffing around in some dirt. He also has a cool gimmick whereby if you push down his rear end his mouth opens to reveal some ominous looking teeth and fangs.

Robot Mode:
Now here is a really cool robot mode. After a fairly simple transformation he transforms into a very humanoid robot with the articulation that Beast Wars fans love -- 10 points of articulation (2 in each leg, 2 in each arm and one in each shoulder cannon). And to top it off, he has two hands as opposed to permanent weapons or an animal head. This mode also features the coolest gimmicks, his shoulder cannons. One shoulder cannon can launch his alternate form paw, which transforms into a bat in mid-air, while the other springs open and a robotic looking claw swings forward to scratch any Predacon that tries to get close. After a lot of play his bat will sometimes fly off unexpectedly, that being one of the only problems with an otherwise perfect robot mode. Luckily, he can also hold the bat in his hand as a sort of pistol type weapon.

Transformation: 3 - fairly simple folding and unfolding of parts
Durability: 8 - It lasted about 4 years of vigorous play, however it loses points for the bat issue.
Fun: 9 - I loved playing with him as a child, and I still find him fun to transform/play with.
Price: N/A - He was given to me as a gift, but he shouldn’t be that expensive.
Overall: One of my favorite first wave beast wars, and even though he had no role in the television show, Polar Claw is still a blast to display or play with.