Beast Wars Transmetals Airazor

Beast Wars is one of my favorite series of all time. Last time we got new figures representing characters from that show, we got one decent figure who sported very strange choice of colors for the Hasbro release, Dinobot, and...Cheetor, who looked as though they took all the worst bits of his previous toys and threw 'em in a blender...Supreme Cheetor aside. (probably wouldn't fit) This time we've got Rhinox as a Voyager with twin 'chainguns of doom' and a Deluxe Waspinator. Given his appearance in the current RID ongoing comic, it's a possibility that we may get another Scott McNeil character, Rattrap later down the 30th anniversary line. Then there's Beast Wars Megatron winning the Hall of Fame nomination this year and the test shot of FoC Grimlock with that Megatron's noggin that seems to have vanished...perhaps in favor of an all new mold for the Predacon tyrant? Who knows. At any rate, I figured why not do a few reviews of some actual Beast Wars toys?

With the destruction of the Planet Buster, a quantum surge hits prehistoric Earth, knocking the remaining orbiting stasis pods launched by the Axalon prior to crash landing out of orbit and frying several of them, causing at least two's DNA scanners to malfunction and scan and duplicate two animals' DNA into a single beast form. (the Fuzors) The original combatants of the Beast Wars that weren't shielded at the time the surge hit got turned into Transmetals, plus Rampage and Depth Charge. Obviously, Airazor didn't get to benefit from this in the show, but Hasbro made a toy of her anyway. Which is precisely what I'm reviewing today, if the title didn't make that obvious.



Airazor is a mechanical/robotic falcon in beast mode. White, light blue, and yellow comprise most of all of her modes, with red leading to orange, dark grey, bright orange, and brown for much of the painted details on this version. The chrome on her back (which also has her name stamped on it in case you forget her name. All Transmetals did this) and beak can be either lavender or pale light blue. I forget which one was the running change variant, but mine seems to be the lavender version. A note of caution regarding the chrome...Beast era chrome is notorious for being a little...flaky. Now, my Airazor has taken more than her fair share of light tumbles and her chrome hasn't started cracking or flaking yet, (the worst is a tiny bit on her beak has scratched off due to me being an idiot with her transformation...) but I've had figures where their chrome practically molts off in huge ugly chunks. (namely Transmetal 2 Scourge) It's mostly entirely random how well the chrome holds up on these figures and for how long, but touching it and/or bashing the parts on things doesn't help matters.As far as disguise is concerned...she's not doing that great a job. Her robot lower legs stick out the back, her chest makes for a rather questionably large breasted bird. (and the top of her head is visible) and her arms comprise the falcon's legs without really hiding the hands much at all. Her wings can swing forward if you want, though. I still think she's beautiful despite those nitpicks. But as a Transmetal, we're not done! You've probably wondered by now what those turbines in her wings are for. Well Transmetals figures (not Transmetals 2 figures) have a third 'transportation mode'!



In Airazor's case, she gains a pontoon plane substructure coupled with twin jets that provide the added advantage of sea reconnaissance! ...Okay, it's not that exciting, but it makes her a bit more interesting as a toy at least. These modes can't all be as awesome as a crab tank... (Rampage) Or as useful yet completely and easily forgettable as Cheetor's flying kitty mode. And no, she can't actually stay above the water's surface in this mode. The pontoons are too far forward and not long enough to support her even on a solid surface, (the talons are propping her up in the back) what hope does she have of not sinking like a stone in water? Honestly, it's like expecting a giant, converting boat with countless seams on the bottom of its hull to float...



Transformation to robot mode is rather simple, yet pretty clever. Like how the falcon's head tucks into the bottom of her chest to make her abdomen and still seem a bit feminine. Just remember to push the beak down before bringing the head up in there...don't be an idiot like me... Transmetal Airazor here holds the honor of being the first Transformers toy designed to represent a female character from the very start. The original Airazor toy wasn't designed with a specific 'gender' in mind, and Blackarachnia was just a repaint of Tarantulas using the actual robot face. ('Chuckles' always used the mutant face like Waspinator) And it shows in her robot mode. She's a little slimmer and slightly less muscular than some of the others, a limited impression of an hourglass figure, and...yes, the impression of boobs. Though with that head sculpt and the talons mounted on her forearms, she could hold her own in a fight with a Pred just as she has on several occasions in the show. Her robot mode also features feathery details as well as scaleson her forearms befitting a bird's legs. However, with those massive wings folded behind her, she does get a bit back heavy. Despite this, she's capable of holding a few poses with a bit of patience. And she's got about 12 points of articulation to do it, including a waist swivel though her waist has to be bent forward to clear the bar holding it and the falcon head to the rest of the body. Thigh swivels would have been great, but I guess even in 1998 they were still getting used to all this 'articulation is a standard feature' thing. As an added gimmick, she has an energon chip (rub symbol) on her back hidden behind her beast mode tail which reveals her as a Maximal. (unless you got one with a Predacon chip stuck in that spot instead...that would be awkward) She also has one more little trick up her sleeve, if she had any.



Her back panels from beast mode can close over her chest, with her arms going inside of the jet engines for a defense/shielding mode. Obviously, she's a brick like this, but it's a neat little trick that they didn't have to put in.

So is Transmetal Airazor worth it? Well if you can score her for about $20, sure. More than that...she's not the greatest toy in the line. Really think about it, and consider the likes of Cheetor, Tarantulas, Depth Charge, and Rampage first before her. There is the Fox Kids version released a bit later, which switched the light blue for brown and more subtle colors than this version, and the Armada one which features a much darker color scheme and retooled wings to plug a Mini-Con onto. (Nightscream I think hers was called, a very dark purple repaint of Oval from the Street Speed Mini-Con team) She's a nice addition to a Beast Wars collection, or an Airazor collection, but not an absolutely necessary one. Still pretty though.

  ....I don't know how I missed this thread. Great review!   The pontoon feature is a bit crazy, but whatevs. I like chrome for some reason and that last mode rocks if you ask me! I wouldn't imagine anything being able to penetrate *giggity* that defense mode of hers. Realistic looking beak to in alt. mode.

Figures I'd get a response like that... Why, I wonder what the response will be once I review PEDX-02 Aranea? (once I get her, that is)  As for the pontoons, all the Transmetals did this. Rampage the giant CRAB TANK is another example.