BEAST WARS: TOY
REVIEW
Name: WASPEETAR
Allegiance: Destron
Function: Aerial Assault
Beast Mode: Wasp
Average Price: 1500 JPY
Note: Known in the West as Waspinator.
Robot mode with robot head---> 
<---Beast
mode
BEAST MODE
Length: Just under 23 cm
Wingspan: 20.5 cm
Waspinator's beast mode is reasonably well crafted. The
overall moulding is very rounded and features numerous pock marks on the
head and thorax as well as bands on the abdomen. This gives the toy a very
insectoid look. Very organic indeed. In fact, the only robot 'kibble' visible
in this mode are the robot arms, which rest beneath the thorax. The robot
face can also be seen if you peek between the hands, but other than that,
it's fairly well tucked away. The head is painted green with two big blue
segmented eyes. There is a pair of black antennae as well as a pair of
black mandibles. The upper part of the thorax is also green with a black
sqaure in the middle. A pair of translucent-pearl wings protrude from each
side. I was quite impressed with the wing structure as it adds an air of
realism to the toy (to a certain extent). As hinted before, the underside
of the thorax betrays some robot parts. Primarily the arms/hands. This
also introduces some grass-green and light grays. The abdomen is yellow
with black stripes painted on the sculpted bands. The two shades of green
accent the underside. A large green knob protrudes from the top of the
abdomen - this is the handle of the robot gun. It's reasonably inconspicuous.
The two rear legs are green (both shades) with light black accents on the
darker green. All other legs are black. Although the rear legs do look
insect-like, they don't look terribly wasp-like in my opinion. They're
the wrong colour and are a bit too long and chunky. However, they do provide
better support than the other four legs, which are terribly weak and allows
the front-mid section of the toy to flop down. This mode features 8 to
10 points of articulation (depending on whether or not you want to count
the hinges between the robot forearms and insect legs or not).
TRANSFORMATION TO ROBOT MODE
Remove robot gun from abdomen. Fold rear insect legs in half,
forming robot legs. Swing robot hips up. Fold out robot arms. Fold down
insect head and split in half. Attach each half to the side of the gray
chest plate Insert gun into either fist. Missiles for the gun are located
underneath each wing. By opening up the black back panel and chest plate
(which has a tendency to just fall off on my toy), you can switch between
the regular robot head and the mutant head.
ROBOT MODE
<---
Robot mode with mutant head.
Height: 13cm
The only realy robotic parts are the arms and robot head
(if you choose to use it). Otherwise the toy does look quite organic. In
spite of this, it is still a reasonably nice looking robot mode and fun
toy to play with. The mutant head is light gray with translucent pearl
eyes. It is sculpted to resemble a wasp's face. The robot head is gray
with a black face and translucent pearl visor. The sculpting here is undeniably
humanoid, giving the toy a more orthodox Transformer look. Because of this,
I think the robot head looks better. In spite of this, I actually
prefer the mutant head for no other reason than the fact
that the mutant was used by Mainframe Entertainment in the TV show. Both
heads have a translucent panel on the back of the head, which suggests
that at some stage the toy designers had considered giving the eyes a light-piping
gimmick (which was rampantly used in the later Beast Machines line). However,
for reasons best known to Takara/Hasbro, this gimmick never came to fruitation,
so it back panels remain vestigal. This toy features thirteen points of
articulation.
RUB STICKER LOCATION
None. Being one of the very first Beast Wars Transformers
released nearly half a decade ago, there were no rub signs or any other
marks of allegiance.
OVERALL
Almost a compulsory piece in any fan's collection. :-)
VARIANTS
In the United States, Hasbro released a "Fox! Kids" version
of Waspinator in 1999. It was essentially a repaint sold on a new card.
I don't have the toy so click
here to read Benson Yee's review. :)
BEAST TRIVIA
Click here to learn
about the wonderful world of bees and wasps!
Back
Home