BEAST
WARS: TOY REVIEW
Name: CHEETUS (a.k.a. CHEETOR)
Allegiance: Cybertron
Function: Deep Forest Patrol
Beast Mode: Cheetah
Average Price: 1500 JPY
BEAST MODE
Height: 7 cm
A reasonably well sculpted cheetah figure. The toy is
yellow with black spots. The eyes are green with black pupils (a rarity
among Beast Warriors). The sculpting shows certain muscular features throughout
the body as well as fur grains. There are two fangs protruding from the
mouth which are coloured white. There are two major drawbacks with this
mode. Firstly, the forelegs have no real articulation. Yes, they can swing
at the shoulders, but that joint is really only there for transformation
purposes and moving either leg down exposes a whole in on the side. Also,
there is a cavity on the inner side of each foreleg. Secondly, there is
quite a bit of robot "kibble" visible in this mode. Particularly parts
of the robot legs on the back of the hind legs, parts of the robot head
on the chest and the "gut gun" has the barrel in plain view. Also, the
gut gun adds to much additional bulk to an animal which should be more
sleek and lithe (though not quite as sleek and lithe as Beast Machines
Cheetor... that's taking it to the other extreme).
TRANSFORMATION TO ROBOT MODE
Remove the tail and gut gun. Holding onto the rump, flip
the tail up and the entire section becomes a gun. Straighten out the hind
legs, flip out robot feet and rotate lower legs 180 degrees. Rotate waist
180 degrees. Lower forelegs. Tilt the head forward a bit to unlock the
back panels. Lower the mid-panel down to form the robot groin. Flip out
robot arms. Bring beast head back. Rotate beast head 180 degrees. You can
flip the robot head forward 90 degrees to form the "mutant" head, but it
looks really stupid.
ROBOT MODE
Height: 12.5cm
Points of Articulation: 16
The robot is still primarily yellow with black spots.
The head is very nicely sculpted and is yellow with blue accents. The face
is blue and the eyes are green. The shoulders are blue and the forearms
and hands are gold. The groin flap is also blue with some interesting patterns
moulded onto it. The laps have a series of vents sculpted on. The lower
legs are blue and the sculpting is quite mechalike. The feet are a bit
small for a Transformer, but it serves its purpose well, is nicely sculpted
and is coloured gold. The "arse gun" is yellow with black spots (except
for the barrel). The "gut gun" is completely yellow except for the barrel,
which is blue. The gut gun also holds and squirts water. My only complaint
about this mode is the fact that the legs are unable to swing forward very
far. This means that Cheetus is unable to execute a forward kick or even
sit down!
OVERALL
A pretty good toy. Recommended.
VARIATIONS
There are three colour variants of Cheetus (known as Cheetor
in English speaking countries). The most common one sports green eyes in both robot and
beast modes. Yep, that's the one I got. Another variation has gold eyes
in robot mode and red eyes in cheetah mode. Another variation has gold
eyes in robot mode and blue eyes in beast mode (this is the one seen on
Japanese Beast Wars TV commercials). The actual prototype's
gut gun had pink parts painted on the "intestinal" part of the gun. However,
this version of the gun was never released.
In 1999, Hasbro reissued Cheetor, except with a more metalllic
colour scheme as part of the relaunch of the Beast Wars Transformers TV
series on the American network Fox Kids!.
In this version, the yellow has taken on a darker, more
metallic shade and the spots are maroon instead of black.
Left:
The Fox Kids! version of Cheetor released only in America. (Photo
courtesy of Benson Yee)
The actual mould of this toy was reused for Tigatron
and Shadow Panther, although these
don't really count as variants, since they represent different characters.
BEAST TRIVIA
Family: Felidae
Genus: Acinonyx
Species: jubatus
Also known as the hunting leopard, the Cheetah lives on open
plains in southern, central and eastern Africa and in the Near East where
it is all but extinct. The cheetah is the fastest land animal in the world
and can attain speeds of at least 95 kilometres per hour! As its long legs
and strong hind quarters are designed for running. Its claws, which provide
traction, differ from those of other cats in being only partly retractile
and in lacking protective sheaths.
The cheetah reaches a length of around 140 centimetres, with the tail
accounting for an additional 75-80 cm; it stands on average, 80 cm at the
shoulder and weighs 50-60 kilogrammes. From birth to the age of about three
months, the cheetah has an attractive, dark spotted coat with long, blue-gray
hair on the head, neck and back. The crisp, coarse fur of the adult is
sandy yellow above, white below and covered with numerous black spots.
A black streak runs down the face from the corner of each eye. The king
cheetah, once mistakenly classified as a separate species (Acinonyx
rex) is actually a variety in which the spots partly converge to form
stripes and blotches. The cheetah hunts alone or in small groups. It usually
hunts in the morning or late afternoon, cautiously stalking its prey (usually
the smaller antelopes) and then running it down in a final rapid sprint.
The cheetah has long been trapped and tamed in Asia, where it has been
used for coursing game, but it has seldom bred in captivity. Its litter
consists of two to four kittens and the gestation period is about 95 days.
The African race of cheetah is relatively uncommon. The Asiatic cheetah
(Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) is listed as critically endangered
in the Red Data Book and is extinct in much of its former range.
Bibliography: Encylcopaedia Britannica
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