Generations Power of the Primes Beachcomber
The original Beachcomber was a 1985 Mini Autobot alongside Cosmos, Powerglide, Seaspray & Warpath. All 5 have a slight mystery to them they're the only 1985 toys that don't seem to be sourced from a previous toyline. Beachcomber stands apart from the rest as he's the only one that fits the Autobot car pattern established in 1984. When I first saw these I question what some of them, notably Warpath's Tank and Powerglide's plane, were doing amongst the Autobots.Beachcomber's most recent remake was as a 2008 Universe 2 Legend which was generally held to be OK, but since then all four of his colleagues have been done, to varying degrees of success Combiner Wars Warpath I'm looking at you, in the larger Legends size which has been running since 2013. So Beachcomber was very due for an update.
Robot mode looks fab, just like a chunkier version of his original toy, more in line with his comic & cartoon depiction. My only real nitpick is the hands which are inexplicably painted grey. If they'd have left them moulded in blue plastic they'd have been fine!
Articulation: ball jointed shoulders, elbows & hips, bending knees and a turning head. Top stuff.
Transformation: Slide the body up round the head. Straighten the arms and tab into the sides of the body. Fold the heel spurs down under the feet and tab them & the lower legs together. Fold the lower legs back 180° at the knee, pegging the front of the roll cage into the rear.
As a replica of the original Beachcomber's vehicle mode, job done. No complaints.
My problems come when I try to get it to interact with the Primemasters.
Most Transformers Legends cars, bar Brawn, need an element of Transformation to get the driver in. I was somewhat expecting Beachcomber to beat it, thanks to the open driver's compartment. No. If it were the Titanmaster/Primemaster by itself then you could probably get the figure in. Unfortunately his backpack, his face/Prime symbol catches on the bars of the roll cage meaning you have to open it up to get the figure in. Annoying. Then on the back of the vehicle there's a 3mm peg. Presumably this is for mounting the weapon from a Primemaster's Decoy Suit. Unfortunately it can only face backwards! Beachcomber bares a startling resemblance to GI Joe's Awe Striker and they'll be several fans who'll be wanting to properly recreate that with guns projecting forward over the roll cage. Fortunately I have the Diaclone Reboot Powered Suit Dart Loader & Gyroseptor add ons, which both contain the necessary parts to build a 3mm socket riser!
Top stuff as a stand alone toy,
Future Repaints
Beachcomber's Generation 2 repaint is an obvious choice as is the previous Legends' Sandstorm redeco and the Energon Voyager original colour scheme found on Energon Cliffjumper.I'm sure GI Joe fans won't say no to an Awe Striker repaint to go with 2015's Viper.
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