BEAST
WARS: TOY REVIEW
Name: CHEETOR
Allegiance: Maximal
Function: Robotic Jungle Patrol
Beast Mode: Cybernetic Cheetah
Average Price: 25 AUD
Note: Known in Japan as "Metals 2 Cheetas".
BEAST MODE
Length: 11 cm (snout to arse)
Articulation: 17 points
This toy looks very peculiar indeed. The moulding resembles
a mutated cheetah with robotic parts exposed throughout. The organic parts
are sculpted with a long, fine fur grain and are painted yellow. The robotic
parts feature a variety of mechanical features such as wires, grooves,
bolts, bulbs etc. These are painted dark gray. The rocket launcher on the
back is mostly chrome-purple with dark gray accents and four yellow spines
protruding from underneath. Press the trigger on top of the launcher and
the missile flies out. Parts of the right legs are also covered with chrome-purple
parts and have orange accents. The eyes are also bright orange and actually
have eyeballs moulded onto them (although the eyeballs are not individually
painted). The toy is sculpted in a hunched/semi-crouched position, which
looks good for a while, but soon gets rather boring during play. There
are two gray blade protruding from behind each fore-knee. The robot thumbs
sticking out from the outer sides of each fore-paw somewhat lame.
TRANSFORMATION TO ROBOT MODE
Remove the missile launcher. This may require excessive force
at first. Straighten out the hind legs as best as you can, and turn the
forelegs around at the knees 180 degrees. Open the two halves of the chest.
Turn the robot head round 180 degrees and push it through the cavity in
the back. Fold down the beast head and bring the entire back section down,
forming the back of the robot torso. Close the chest, aligning the two
slots on the inner sides of the panels with the grooves just below the
robot neck. Turn waist around 180 degrees. Turn left hand outwards 90 degrees
and place launcher into hand.
ROBOT MODE
Height: 12.5cm
Points of Articulation: 16
The transformation wasn't dramatic enough for my tastes.
This robot mode is too much like the beast mode... it really just looks
like the beast standing on its hind legs but with the torso turned around
and a different head mounted (and well... that's fundamentally all it is).
The arms are way too big and out of proportion with the rest of the body.
Yes, I know he's not human, but I prefer my robots to be anthropomorphic,
thank you very much. The head looks downright weird. It's dark gray and
mechanical but with the sides are yellow and organic. So it looks like
a robot head with over-grown feral sideburns. The face also has the misfortune
of having a very stupid looking expression sculpted on. The left optic
is larger than the right... as if Cheetor were squinting on one side. And
the mouth has gritted a-la Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle style, with one
side of the mouth open and the other closed. Oh, the closed side also happes
to have a huge fang sticking out. The back is still rather hunched over.
The legs are also in a semi-squatting position, unable to fully extend.
That's really annoying. The overall arm shapes look like pathetic
Evangelion wannabes (except for the elbow blades, more on that in a moment).
The colour scheme in this mode is fundamentally the same as beast mode.
Also, the right hand is stuck on a swivel joint, so it's permanently stuck
in a limp-like position. Furthermore, the left hand can't even hold the
missile launcher very well and the gun just has the tendency to fall of
at the slightest movement. What was the designer expecting consumers to
do? Play with the toy without actually moving it?! I don't think so! A
few more ball joints would've made this toy a lot more fun to play with.
Also, the elbow blades may look impressive, but they're highly impractical
and would be a severe liability in hand-to-hand combat unless they were
retractile. Why? Think about what you would do if you were fighting
this guy. Grab the toy by the wrist and swing the forearm outward.
Look at where the blade goes. Yep... he's slashing himself.
Also, the chrome-purple panel on his right forearm swings open... for apparently
no reason whatsoever!
SPARK CRYSTAL LOCATION
Open the chrome-purple panel on the left thigh.
OVERALL
I'm sorry to say that this is the worst incarnation of Cheetor
I've seen to date.
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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