BEAST
WARS: TOY REVIEW
Name: APACHE
Allegiance: Cybertron
Function: Lieutenant Commander
Beast Mode: Mandrill
Average Price: 2280 JPY
Note: This toy is identical to the B'Boom figure released
in America and Canada.
BEAST MODE
Length: (nose to tail) 14cm
Primarily a blue mandrill with grey hands and feet, an
orange nose, white cheeks and gold ears.There are also some grey and gold
accents throughout different parts of the toy as well. Although the colour
scheme is a bit strange, it still looks rather nice. The moulding is quite
good, particularly the fur pattern. The toy is packaged with the hind ankles
adjusted backwards, like in the original Optimus Primal toy. Photographs
on the packaging and catalogue also show it in this position, however it
is possible to bend the knees forwards (like in a real mandrill - primates
don't have backwards knees). The instructions (which begins with an illustration
of the toy in beast mode) shows the knees adjusted forward.
This mode has a strange gimmick where the missile launcher-gun
and missiles can be placed inside the mouth. To access the launcher, just
open the jaw - then the launcher is exposed and the eyes actually open
up very widely. It gives the mandrill face a very strange look. Some fans
argue that it looks rather comical. I think it looks stupid. With the jaws
and eyes so wide open, it looks like Apache's got something shoved up his
unmentionables.
At any rate, the missile can be fired by sliding a trigger
located on the back. Closing the jaw also sets the eyes back to its original
position.
A few robot parts are visible in this mode (though not
as exposed as Lio Convoy) and the shoulders seem somewhat separated from
the rest of the body. Other than that, it's a pretty good looking and fun
mode with 16 points of articulation (including the jaw and waist).
TRANSFORMATION TO ATTACK MODE
Fold out the mandrill chest to the sides and lower the head.
Pull the back section down by 90 degrees and the torso divides in half
(forming a horizontal platform). The mandrill hands turn round 180 degrees.
Turn the feet round 180 degrees (so that they're upside down) and take
out the robot heels. The chest halves form the gun batteries with two dual
cannons that extend out.
ATTACK MODE (Known in the Beast Wars II series as the Berserker
mode)
This toy was one of the first in the Beast Wars line to use
an intermediate mode (since B'Boom was released before the Transmetals).
One interesting difference between Apache and B'Boom is that Apache's attack
mode is actually noted as a separate mode. It is shown on the top of the
packaging, the catalogue and is mentioned in his tech specs. More than
just a mandrill stuck in mid-transformation, there are some nice moulding
features available exclusively to this mode. These include the entire missile
launcher and a platform mounted on the rear (a place where a potential
gunner may sit). Apache's mutant head is located directly under the front
of the missile launcher. I like this feature because it gives the mutant
head far more purpose rather than just an alternative for the robot head
(this is rare, because I normally don't like the mutant heads).
The fact that the limbs are used to support the battle
platform gives it a somewhat strange look, but this mode deserves more
credit than most fans are willing to give. At first, I thought it was going
to be nothing more than the toy stuck in mid transformation, but it has
proven to be more than that. It beats Transmetal Rhinox's transport mode
hands down!
TRANSFORMATION TO ROBOT MODE (from Beast Mode)
The chest opens up and splits off to the sides. The mandrill
head flips down to form the robot chest and the entire front torso section
slides down (the arms slide down with it), exposing the robot head. After
some fiddling around, the mandrill chest halves form the sides of the torso.
This can be kinda confusing, because there are so many joints here, but
just keep in mind that it goes into a zig-zag formation. Overprecision
is a key feature of transforming Apache to robot mode. You need to configure
the side torso sections in exactly the right position, otherwise it's not
going to lock into place. It's a hassle. The legs then spin round
180 degrees, then the feet pivot 180 degrees, and the robot heels can pivot
180 degrees too, but then the toy can't stand, so just pivot it 90 degrees.
:-)
ROBOT MODE
Height: 17cm
Points of articulation: 18 (including the heels)
Like the original Optimus Primal toy, the beast hands
are also the robot hands, hence the thumbs are proportioned to that of
a mandrill and the hands reach all the way down to the knees. However,
due to his more slender built, it looks far less obvious than Primal. In
robot mode, quite a lot of robot parts become visible. Although the transformation
involved a number of cumbersome twists and turns, almost half the robot
body is actually robotic! It doesn't look like a beast with robot bits
attached to it like some other figures I won't mention (you all know who
you are). The missile racks on the sides of his torso are a striking feature.
They remind me of the missile pods on the Tomahawk Destroids from Macross
(known as Excalibur in Robotech). The robot head just looks plain weird.
Not really in a bad way mind you -- just strange. The teeth are gritted
in an aggressive manner (you can even see a pair of fangs) and there are
two large 'Vulcan ear' structures on the side of the head ("all the better
to hear you with, my dear") as well as a blue Mr. T style mohawk (don't
ask me why). A storage compartment behind the head holds his rifle-launcher
and a quiver of missiles... okay... two missiles.
RUB STICKER LOCATION
Inside the pelvis. You need to fold the torso back to see it.
OVERALL
A pretty neat toy. Recommended.
BEAST TRIVIA
The mandrill is a colourful is a member of the Cercopithecidae family.
The actual genus of this colourful Old World monkey is a moot issue among
scholars. Although usually grouped in the genus Mandrillus, of which
the drill is also a member, others argue that it is a member of the genus
Papio. The mandrill is primarily terrestrial and is native to the
forests of Western Africa. It has a stout body, short tail, prominent brow
ridges and a pair of small, close-set sunken eyes.
The adult male has bare coloured patches of skin on his face and buttocks:
the cheeks are ribbed and bright blue (but can also be violet) with scarlet
running along the bridge to the end of the nose. The buttocks can be either
pink or crimson, with bluish accents on the sides. The long body fur is
a combination of olive and brown (with shades inbetween) and the beard
and neck fur are yellow. The eyes are surrounded by short black fur.
The adult male is 90 centimetres long (including the tail stub) and
weighs 19.5 kilogrammes. Although the adult female also has bare face and
buttocks, she is duller in colour and is considerably smaller.
The mandrill is an omnivore, active during the day. They live in troops
guarded by the Alpha male (the most dominant male). Although old male mandrills
have 2.5cm canine teeth, they generally do not make unprovoked attacks
on humans or other large animals.
Bibliography: Encyclopaedia Brittanica
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