TRANSFORMERS TOYS AND MERCHANDISE SECTION

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

Zisteau's review of: Scourge

Name: Scourge
Allegiance: Decepticon
Function: Jungle Despot
Sub-Group: Jungle Planet

SCOURGE is the brutal and awesomely powerful ruler of the Jungle Planet. He views any display of kindness, compassion or generosity as weakness, and he hates weakness. Cold, distant and prone to violent rage against those he views as lesser creatures, he holds most of the Jungle Planet firmly in his transmetal claw. Those defying him are likely to experience the searing heat of his stellar plasma breath, or the bite of his axe as their final sensation before their spark is extinguished. OVERHAUL, SNARL, and the Jungle Planet rebels will find him to be the most powerful foe they have ever faced.

After buying very little from Armada and Energon, I made a decision to be more or less a completist for Cybertron. This wasn’t just a random decision, it had a lot to do with the fact that I didn’t like Armada or Energon, and I quite liked the Cybertron pictures I was seeing online. Anyway, suffice it to say, just because I have a Cybertron figure, doesn’t mean I’m wild for it. Despite that, of all the first wave Cybertron toys, Scourge was one of the ones I was most looking forward to.

Alternate Mode:
This thing has a fantastic sculpt. The heads, the shoulder spikes, and the legs are all great, and the colors make it look like it’s on fire. The flaming yellows and oranges stand out nicely against the char-like blacks. Actually, now that I think about it, this figure kind of looks like that dog demon that attacked Rick Moranis in Ghostbusters, only with two extra heads. I guess that makes it more of a Cerberus than a dragon, but whatever it is it looks great. All over the figure are tiny mechanical details, which I can only assume relate to his having a transmetal body, and they are a nice addition. The only downsides are the robot head clearly visible in the back of its neck, and I would have liked to seen more articulation in the necks for display reasons, but these are small complaints.

Gimmicks Inserting the force chip makes the two extra dragon heads flip forward from out of the back with a “transforming” noise. A button makes a “roaring” sound, which also makes the head and eyes light up. If the force chip is in its slot, the button makes “laser” sounds. The jaws on all three dragon heads open and close.

Robot Mode:
The robot mode is basically the beast mode stood on its hind legs. Yep, it’s that old trick again, seen way back in G1 Weirdwolf, and reused regularly in the Beast Wars era. But that is okay, because the simple transformation doesn’t get in the way of a really dynamic robot mode. The same vivid colors are in evidence as in the beast mode, and the beast head makes a great chest plate, complemented by the spikes flying off the shoulders. The axe is a bit difficult to get to look right with the way it fits in Scourge’s hand at the very base. The poseability is above average with the neck, shoulders, elbows, and ankles having two points of articulation apiece. I said flexible ankles! Flexible ankles, for me, are a very good feature to have, as they open up all kinds of posing possibilities for display.

Gimmicks The tail becomes a huge axe! The rest is the same as the beast mode, however.

Transformation: 4 – Bonehead simple.
Durability: 9 – Thick and solid, I can’t foresee any problems arising with this figure.
Fun: 9 – Great personality and design.
Price: 8 – He is worth the money on looks alone.
Summary: 9 – A terrific sculpt with attitude, a huge axe, three cool sounds, and flexible ankles. Could you ask for anything more?