Scavenger
Review by quinncat
With the popularity of Beast Transformers waning after the lukewarm reception fans originally had over "Beast Machines" it was decided that a formal return to vehicle alt modes was in order.
Although this line introduced many new realistic vehicle molds to the line, it still found ways to use past vehicle molds from the beast era. Most notably of which, the Mega class 3 pack of scout class Autobots, all with vehicon molds from the very line people at the time were dissatisfied with: Beast Machines.
The third and final figure in the set, Scavenger is a repaint of the Beast Machines scout of the same name.
In vehicle mode, Scavenger is a nondescript, imaginative "tank" that has to be seen to be described. It has treads in the front and wheels in the back accompanied by two articulated chrome gold claws. Extending from this base is a mechanical arm with a sort of cockpit mounted on top with a mini gun and missiles on each side. It is also fully articulated, and features a spring loaded opening "mouth". It's nothing if not imaginative, and the color scheme really helps. The paint is relatively extensive and even employs some complex lines and angles on the treads that are really sharp. I especially like the white lining the inside of the "jaws" as they look really dynamic.
Transformation is predictable to a point, but is shaken up a bit by the crane arm compressing to fill out the body. What remains is a really great robot mode.
In this mode, Scavenger looks stocky and intimidating despite his size. Everything is in order here and looks great! If I could say something negative it would be the head sculpt leaves a little to be desired. It's so featureless and really gets lost in the design since the rest of it has such personality!
These stocky proportions don't lie either, as Scavenger is the shortest of the 3 pack and, has a rather diminutive stature when compared to figures like a recent Deluxe Transformer..
The articulation in robot mode has good intentions, but kind of lags a bit. Everything is just a little limited, and the figure as a whole has some balance issues but you can make it work if you know the limits.
All in all, I think Scavenger is something special. Sure, the articulation is a little lacking but the winning concept and execution makes it the best of the set to me. If you get the 3 pack for just him and Night Cruz alone, the price is more than justifiable (I got them all for about $10 on Transformerland.com) you can't go wrong.