259 replies to this topic

[Jabroniville]

 

#97: SEA PANIC

 

Animal Basis:

 

-The barnacles on his "flippers", the shape of his head, and more mark this guy as what's likely a Humpback Whale. Bowheads and Right Whales have taller, narrower heads, the larger baleen whales aren't as barnacle-y, and he doesn't look right for a Grey Whale either.

 

-These famous jumpers are pretty sweet, and the iconic "breaching" whale of the world. Their titanic leaps allow them to go clear of the water (no small feat when you weight thirty frickin' tons), and some have even jumped constantly for over an hour! As a Baleen Whale, it's no butt-kicker despite it's size, but they have some brilliant hunting mehtods- forming "Bubble Nets" or other shapes from blown air bubbles, trapping terrified fish in these circles while their allies scoop up the helpless tiny animals. Yes, a thirty-ton animal that uses teamwork and tools to kill. It's all for the best that they only eat small things, using their baleen tooth-plates to filter in small curstaceans, fish, and other life.

 

Toy Description: With a narwhal being used for #95, it's fitting that we actually get an authentic baleen whale in the Beasts line, and all the better that they did a heck of a job with it. Making a bipedal WHALE is no easy task, given now non-ambulatory these things are on land- you have to get the head shape right or it looks REALLY weird- too big and its silly and immobile, and too small and it looks like he's got a weird tiny, long head. This is kind of a happy medium. A very long, broad head fits that of most of the filter-feeders, with notches in the lips and ridges under the mouth marking the expandable filtration system in the creature's mouth. Tiny eyes sit at each side of the mouth, which has tiny lines indicating baleen plates in it. There's even a tiny little "hump" fin on top of its head. Also sporting fin-mimicking "shoulder blades" atop the shoulder-pads, he's both immediately obvious as a whale and very distinctive in the line. I like the color scheme- yellow is an odd look on some Beasts, but with such a large base creature, even this mustard yellow works- too flashy a color and you distract from the "money", which is that giant head. All in all, he just stands out so much that I can't help but give him a great rating.

 

Colors: Five. His skin is dark grey, and his eyes are red. The armor is mustard-yellow, while the secondary color is a bright green. Oddly, the vents on his knees are ANOTHER different color- a bright, shiny yellow.

Armor: Sea Panic has an odd Chest Marble rim, in that it's itself rimmed by two large, rounded tubes connected underneath the center. Beside these are two long, diagonal green lines with notches in them, travelling towards the hips. Above those are round bits with notches in them. His shoulder pads are sort of small, but feature very tall "plugs" on top, with tubes connecting them to the armpits- on the back or "inserted" into these are two "flukes"- whale flippers that are pointed like shark's fin, and sport organic-looking "barnacles" on them in various rounded shapes. The wrist-guards are rounded and have raised rounded things on the outside front, and notches and boxes scattered around. His kneepads are very distinctive, in that they are cylindrical, but end in large, bright yellow vents, making them really "pop". The boots are fairly standard-shaped, with notches on the sides, plain fronts, round circles surrounding the "toes", and a front part that's extended forwards a bit.

 

Weapon: A silver gun shaped like a giant whale, with the gun tip sticking out of the mouth. You can see baleen plates and folds in the mouth beneath that. The gun tip comes out of a part that's cross-hatched like a pineapple.

Hands & Feet: Plain "mitten" hands.

Easily-Broken Bits: None, but paintwear is pretty easy to get on yellow paint over a dark color.

 

Do I Have One?: Nope. 

 

Overall Score: 9.5/10 (one of the best in the line)

 

 

[Jabroniville]

Hoo boy, this is weird. I’m almost entirely done. Only five Beasts left- the goat, deer, dinosaurs and Grin Reefer. I guess 2+ years is enough time to finally hammer this one out, though it’s a bit sad so many posters kind of faded out during it.

Edited by Jabroniville, 03 January 2020 - 07:14 AM.

[Rubberhammer]

Hoo boy, this is weird. I’m almost entirely done. Only five Beasts left- the goat, deer, dinosaurs and Grin Reefer. I guess 2+ years is enough time to finally hammer this one out, though it’s a bit sad so many posters kind of faded out during it.

I have been quietly enjoying the thread this whole time.
I find it very fun, and enjoy the way you have gone about describing each beast.

[fisheye]

I'v been reading these from when you first started. It's awesome how much time and effort you put into this. 

[Jabroniville]

That's great- glad you guys are still into it . I'd have been done ages ago if I didn't forget to do these every once in a while, lol. I always intended to do one a week, but then I'll randomly go a month or two because I forgot!

[Jabroniville]

 

#105: HORNHEAD

 

Animal Basis:

 

-The curved horns, long muzzle, and brown-ish color scheme indicate that this guy's a goat, to me, though exact breed and species type is impossible to tell. Goats are similar to Sheep in a lot of ways, being a small bovine breed domesticated by man in antiquity. They're a lot less fluffy, though. The best-guess for the originator of the species was the wild Bezoar Ibex in the Middle East. The various breeds all look pretty much alike, but vary greatly in size- from 60 lbs. all the way to 300! They are a good animal for domestication, especially in poorer societies or ancient times, because they are small, easy to care for, and hardy- you need fewer resources and they need less attention. Also, they have really friggin' creepy eyes (this is because their irises are pale enough to leave them visible- many other hoofed species have the same pupils, but darker irisis that hide them).

 

Toy Description: In a line full of huge deer, big cats, dinosaurs, spiders, snakes, crocodilians and more, and the Laser Beast line going through some of the bigger animals left behind (rays, dolphins, whales, etc.), it's... a bit disappointing to see a regular ol' GOAT as one of the new Beasts, especially so late in the line. But truth be told, this isn't a bad figure, despite being one of the nakedest- his armor is TINY, and he often has just little bits of stuff on his limbs- oftentimes you just see a little dot of armor here or there, and he's one of only four Laser Beasts in the line with his feet uncovered by gear! You wouldn't think a farm animal dressed for S&M would be a cool-looking two-inch toy, but there ya go. The grey/brown color scheme is unique, his horns have a lot of segments to them so they look quite detailed, and he's got a lot of character to his face- lines over his eyes, a muzzle, nostrils, and a pronounced grin.

 

Colors: SIX- another guy tied for most in the line! His base color is a darker grey/brown, with dark brown horns. His eyes are yellow, and his muzzle is that milky "tan" color. His armor is dark red and glossy, and he has red secondary bits on it.

Armor: Hornhead wears less armor than just about any other Beast- his Chest Marble is surrounded by a simple rim like all the others, but that's ALL their is, aside from a girdle that goes around his sides, and two diagonal "suspenders" that go over his shoulders. These have two red dots each on them. His shoulder pads are tiny, form-fitting cups with rims around them, and oddly, he sports two tiny bands below THOSE, each having a large, blunt, straight horn on them, sticking straight out. He has a small glove on his right hand with a little block sticking up at the wrist, and a larger, covered "Weird Hand" on the other limb, that looks like a kind of spike with a very large, pointed crossguard, and a large "circuitboard"-looking wrist-guard. His legs have tiny straps around the feet, flat boards above those, and little tiny blue dots on his kneecaps.

 

Weapon: A golden gun that has ram-like horns when seen in profile.

Hands & Feet: A plain "mitten" hand and a large spade-shaped spike on the other. His feet are cloven hooves.

Easily-Broken Bits: Likely bad paintwear on the horns and his hand-spike.

 

Do I Have One?: Nope. 

 

Overall Score: 7/10 (actually not bad)

 

 

[ZebraLegion]

Still love looking forward to these and sad it’s coming to an end.

Keep up the great work!

[Exactobeast]

I feel compelled to build a locust Beast now. Fantastic work as always bud! We’re getting close to the end!

[Jabroniville]

 

#91: FIGHT-HORN

 

Animal Basis:

 

 

-The distinctive "tiny hand" forms on Fight-Horn's antlers mark him as a reindeer (caribou in North America). Reindeer are famous for being the drivers of Santa's sleigh, and the basis for Sven in Disney's mega-hit Frozen, and they're iconic as a cervid of the North- the northernmost deer species. Fairly large, but not that close to elk or moose in size, reindeer are known to congregate in massive herds of hundreds of creatures. They are the only cervid where females grow antlers the same as males. Several subspecies exist, and they are highly-important to many northern peoples, such as the Sami of the Nordic countries, and the Inuit of North America.

 

Toy Description: Yet another deer species in the Beast line, Fight-Horn at leats stands out as having possibly the most detailed antlers around. Big, tall, and sporting a broad, wide arc of antlers that swoop in at the top, have three spikes on each, and then the two smaller sections of spikes coming from the center (five-pronged "hands", marking his species type), he looks very distinctive. His eyes are narrowed, and his muzzle very small, caught in a tight frown with a lil' nose on top. His neck is fluffy and white, and his color scheme, while somewhat "plain" (mimicking Deer Stalker quite a lot, actually- brown & green), is perfectly fine. His legs are oddly bent for a Laser Beast, projecting forward quite a ways, with bare knees.

 

Colors: Five- his base color is a dark brown, while his neck is white, and his eyes are red. His armor is a dark green, while his secondary color is yellow.

Armor: His armor is fairly rounded off in most ways, with his Chest Marble being framed by two large yellow rectangles with smaller rectangles inside. Two tiny yellow rectangles are on top of his shoulders as well. His sides appear to be cut out, revealing his brown fur, and his codpiece is incredibly plain. His shoulder pads are very detailed, with a long "rim" pointing towards the sides, with a rounded bulge covering the rest of the shoulder, spirting a flat section with four dots on it. The wrist-guards are of a similar rimmed shape, with a raised portion on the outer edges, and some kind of detailing on the inner edge- tiny little cut-outs run along the guards, rims and more. The boots are rather plain, with three rectangles on the front, but smooth shapes covering the hooves.

 

Weapon: A silver gun that looks fairly generic, but for a teeny three-pronged antler on the very tip of the thing, and a strange "valley" cut out of the side, resembling a water feature on a map.

Hands & Feet: Plain "mitten" hands.

Easily-Broken Bits: Like most cervid Beasts, the antlers are probably doomed if you play with him.

 

Do I Have One?: Nope. 

 

Overall Score: 7.5/10 (one of the better Cervid Beasts)

 

 

[Jabroniville]

 

#110: GRIN REEFER

 

Animal Basis:

 

 

-Obviously, Grin Reefer is some kind of ray, but the exact type is a little tricky to figure out. He looks more like a "Generic Ray" on his body, but his gun mighty provide the clue, as the little "side fins" on the underside of the gun match up to a stingray, though the crooked "tail" does not. The rounded body and simple shape resemble a Stingaree or a Bluespotted Stingray more than other kinds (like Eagle Rays, Round Rays, River Stingrays, etc.- most have pointier heads or rounder bodies). Certainly it's not a Manta Ray, as those 23-footers have devil-like mouthpieces.

 

The Stingrays are usually not dangerous to humans unless stepped on or harrassed- this is pretty much why one famously stabbed and killed the fabled Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin- given that his entire act was to harrass animals into defensive behaviors, it was perhaps inevitable that something in the wild was going to kill him. Death is generally unlikely unless they get you somewhere special (like, say, your Aussie heart), as the venom is low-grade and only causes pain & swelling. They can be quite large physically, but are rather lightweight.

 

Toy Description: Coming to the last fish in my list, the "Grin Reefer" has an incredible name and great appearance- a bipedal Ray is not an easy animal to create. In this case, they were very clever, making a bipedal guy who simply had an entire ray FOR A HEAD, thus getting the best of both worlds- he now has very wide "wings" alongside his head, which swoop all the way down his back. This makes him look very sinister, as he has a very wide grin- easily the most broad mouth in the Beast line. It's lined with sharp, pointy teeth, and has two large, red eyes on top. It might have gills underneath (I can spot little lines in the image I have of it), the eyes are surrounded by bulges in the anatomy, and it even has a large dorsal fin way past the eyes. It seems to swoop down all the way into a pointy tail, too.

 

With simple colors and a remarkable head (the wings extend almost all the way to the shoulders), alongside arms that stick almost straight out to the side instead of pointing downwards, this guy is really one of the most unique Beasts in the whole line.

 

Colors: Five- his base color is a dark blue-gray sea creature color, and the bottom of his fins (ie. his mouth) is a much paler, creamier version of that. His eyes are red, and his armor is dark blue and glossy. His secondary color is yellow.

Armor: Grin Reefer has very light, form-fitting armor, with unique arms. His torso is a bit triangular, narrowing as you go down. The Chest Marble is surrounded by two rectangular  yellow lights, with two circular lights beside them. The codpiece has two square lights with raised bits on them as well. His shoulder-pads are form-fitting and slender, with ridges on the top parts, and very long pads that enhance the triangular shape. His wrist-guards bubble out a bit, being lined in great detail, and are the "puffiest" part of his armor. The boots are much more square than his rounded armor usualy is, with kneepads pointing outwards, squares rimming the ankles, and boxy bits on the sides.

 

Weapon: One of the best and most distinct weapons in the line- it effectively looks like a very large ray, complete with three gill slits on each side, a broad "winged" portion to mimic the ray's silhouette, two smaller, ribbed fins beneath those, a dotted portion for the gun bit, and a small crooked tail. At the front is the main gun and two smaller guns attached to the frontal fins, too.

Hands & Feet: Plain "mitten" hands and unlike most LBs, bare feet- three-toed and webbed.

Easily-Broken Bits: The yellow on the armor probably rubs off very easily. Otherwise, he's likely fairly durable, as the head is a solid piece.

 

Do I Have One?: Nope. 

 

Overall Score: 9.5/10 (really, really hard to top- one of the coolest-looking guys in the line)

 

 

[Jabroniville]

Still love looking forward to these and sad it’s coming to an end.

Keep up the great work!

Glad you're still into it!

While I'm only two from the end, what I was thinking of doing was adding notes on the animals NOT used by the line- I've done enough past writing on "could-be" Beasts that I think it still fits the theming of this thread, and is on-topic for Battle Beasts. Maybe some notes on "how to" design such a figure?

[Exactobeast]

Grin has a hell of a smile

 

 

Also, yes, notes on could be beasts.  I've built a ton, but always hunting new ideas. 

[Jabroniville]

 

#102: KING-BUSTER

 

Animal Basis:

 

-Awwwwww yeah, it's time for the frickin' T-Rex. EASILY the most famous dinosaur ever, and just about every kid's favourite animal, and probably the most studied dinosaur ever as well. The name and head-shape of this creature pretty clearly indicate we're looking at Tyrannosaurus rex ("The Tyrant Lizard King", which, along with Boa constrictor, is the only animal colloquially known by its entire scientific name). Debates still rage over just what kind of a hunter it was- it's clear it engaged in some carrion-eating and kill-stealing, and had among the greatest senses of smell of any animal ever, but there's good evidence of actual hunting practices. It could've easily outrun a human being, and probably most other large dinosaurs as well (any physics-rules that meant T-Rex couldn't run likely also disqualify most of its prey), and its bite has among the highest G-forces in animal history. And those tiny lil' arms? Each one is apparently capable of lifting over FOUR-HUNDRED POUNDS, despite being a metre long each. T-Rex is among the largest of the theropods (a group that includes Raptors, Allosaurs and others), and was the central dinosaur to Jurassic Park for a reason. The beast is simply iconic.

 

-The past several years haven't been as kind to it's rep as the "King of Beasts", since we now know of various predators that were larger in size (including Spinosaurus, Giganotosaurus and Charcharodontosaurus), but Tyrannosaurus Rex (and seriously? Is there a cooler name in the entire history of the world?) still has the most powerful bite, and the nastiest teeth. Teeth like steak knives, able to bite off enough meat at once to feed an entire human family for a year, a skull larger than a man, and reasonable estimates imply that it could bite through solid BONE- something very few other animals are capable of. The Asian Tarbosaurus (itself VERY similar to T-Rex, so much so that they could easily be the same animal) is a near-exact replica. 

 

Toy Description: Yes, the Battle Beast line, beforehand never touching dinosaurs at all, and only have one exinct animal (the Smilodon), suddenly decides to include DINOSAURS. This is crazy- they coulda have Triceratops, Stegosaurus, Styracosaurus and others this whole time? Though they had a tough job here, and pulled it off- T-Rex is one of the animals LEAST capable of being turned into a humanoid creature- Rexes had huge heads and tiny arms; proportions that would look silly on a bipedal humanoid. Muscular guys look more dominant with tiny heads and huge arms- the opposite of what a huge carnosaur has.

 

I think they did as well as could be expected- King-Buster has a huge head, sure, but it's as much broad as it is tall, giving him a very long, wide grin, with eyes and nostrils on the sides of his head. And this width is replicated with his body, which now has shoulders extremely far apart, putting the arms way off at his sides. Taking a very plain color scheme, the grey dino probably fits better with this, green or brown, as a flashy color would probably distract from the monster's power. This also allows for a cool, dark color scheme for the armor. King-Buster is one of the few Beasts with a lot of teeth visible, as tiny little triangular spikes line his mouth. He also has a very long tail, shaped like that of a typical carnosaur.

 

Colors: Four- his base color is a plain grey, while his eyes are dark red. His armor is dark blue, with a bright yellow secondary color. This is actually about the leats coloration in the Laser Beast line.

Armor: King-Buster has dark blue armor with a very narrow waist and broad shoulders- the plain torso and Chest Marble has a little square of yellow on the crotch, and two long strips going up around the neck, with some raised squares on them. The shoulder pads are painted yellow over blue, with a line bisecting each one, and three raised lines on the bottom and at least one on the edge. These are tipped with spiked "hooks" that resemble a theropod's claws, more akin to a Deinonychus or Velociraptor. His wrist-guards are very small for his size, being little cubes with valleys etched into the fronts, and with a spike on each side of the left arm, and flat bits raised on the right. His boots are very squat and plain, with plenty of raised rectangles and other bits.

 

Weapon: A very unique weapon, resembling a T-Rex's skull in a way- the eye, ear, and nose holes are visible, with little "spikes" lining the underside to represent teeth, but then the gun barrel sticks out and is shaped like dinosaur bones, ending in an upright "spike". Little holes are cut into much of this "bone".

Hands & Feet: Plain "mitten" hands.

Easily-Broken Bits: The yellow on the armor probably rubs off very easily, being bright yellow over dark blue.

Do I Have One?: Nope. 

 

Overall Score: 8/10 (almost plain, but very impressive physically)

Edited by Jabroniville, 25 February 2020 - 12:05 AM.

[Jabroniville]

 

#103: SLAG KING

Animal Basis:
 

 

-It's no surprise sometimes what makes some dinosaur species famous, and others not. First off, it helps to be a REALLY old name that was discovered in the late 1800s, because 100 years of pop culture has helped make you famous. An easily-pronouncable name is a must- none of that "Amphicoelias" or "Therizinosaurus" crap will do. Keep it simple. Pteranodon. Tyrannosaurus. Pachycephalosaurus is an exception, the rest are mainly simple. Being the largest of an accepted species type is a BIG help, as humans have always been obsessed with size. Triceratops, Pachycephalosaurus, etc., are all good examples there. An iconic appearance is the next big thing. Pteranodon is BY FAR the most famous pterosaur thanks to its iconic name and head-crest, which helps out since it's lacking a bit in the size department (being "only" 30 feet in terms of wingspan).

-Pteranodon's fame gives it some pretty out-there depictions in the media, to the point where you have to determine some of the logistics, here. Sadly, such a creature only weighs about 40-100 lbs. or so, and could IN NO WAY keep a human being mounted on it's back. It also couldn't pick one up and carry it somewhere, and likely didn't prey on many terrestrial creatures at all- it mainly hunted fish. One of the big flaws in "Jurassic Park III", realism-wise, was these guys flying around at advanced size and tossing humans about in predatory manner. I mean, that beak's not exactly designed for tearing chunks of meat off of things.

Toy Description: And finally, we come to Slag King- another Beast based off of an extinct reptile. Slag here is likely a Pteranodon, albeit with a more upturned crest (probably due to plastic moulds being unable to have things project that far back, especially with his forward-projecting beak). His colouring is a little plain, and I never much cared for “bare arm & leg” Beasts, but the clawed wings look very cool. His beak is long, with two nostrils on the side, and his eyes are rimmed with wrinkles. His crest sticks up in an arc, and is pretty small, with his wings are plain, but have a long outer finger and three small claws at the peaks.

Colors: Four- his base color is a dark grey, and his armor olive green with orange and yellow.
Armor: his green armor has a ton of bits on it, actually- three large round yellow lights (set up in triangular formation, with two big and one little), twin projections on his shoulder pads(with red vents inside), which are plain and blocky, but with raised “circuits” on them. His codpiece has an orange thing in it, too.

Weapon: A very long pteranodon head, with both a top crest and a smaller one beneath it.
Hands & Feet: One plain “mitten” hand, and a weird right hand with three open claws. His feet are extremely long, with three detailed toes with long phalanges up front, and blunt clawed tors on the rear.
Easily-Broken Bits: probably the crest.
Do I Have One?: Nope.

Overall Score: 8/10 (I never care for bare limbs, but he cuts an impressive, detailed figure)

Edited by Jabroniville, 11 March 2020 - 02:12 AM.

[Jabroniville]

And that's it! I'm totally done the entire list!! Now THAT took a good long while- I didn't even realize I'd started it all the way back in late 2016. The forum here was SLIGHTLY busier back then, but not too much so (the Beasts were never a top-tier toyline, I suppose). I never meant this to be a 3+ year thing- like I've said before, I'd often forget to update it for a month or so, or things like that. Me getting wordier and wordier with the descriptions (just look at the first couple of pages) didn't help. But wow, it's fun to be completed after all this time .

Overall, I'd have to say I'm more a fan of the Battle Beasts than the Laser Beasts, though the LBs typically have a higher percentage of great toys. The BBs just seem to have more originality to them, with crazier shapes, interesting armor, and more. The LB "Central Marble" kind of locks them into one body type and armor plan.

I'll probably make a list of all the ratings I gave and try to put them in order. 

Thanks everyone who stuck around and kept reading, even through the delays. A lot of the animal descriptions were things I'd written ages ago for another site (one themed around statlines for RPGs), so that part was actually the easiest one to do for these!

Next up, I'll probably do what I suggested before- descriptions of animals that never received Beasts, and possible ideas for them.

[SamuraiCC]

I'm not a collector of these but I have to say your descriptions are epic & very interesting to read through.

Certainly some cool looking characters there, out of interest how tall all these figures?

Edited by SamuraiCC, 14 March 2020 - 08:58 AM.

[Jabroniville]

I believe they’re two inches tall, generally. Some are taller than others, but not by much.

I’m glad you liked my thread ! Thanks a lot for responding.

Edited by Jabroniville, 14 March 2020 - 05:24 PM.

[SamuraiCC]

Credit where credits due mate.

Very interesting & detailed figures being only about 2 inches tall, I can see why you guys collect them.

From the pics my favourite is probably the Anteater!

Edited by SamuraiCC, 15 March 2020 - 05:30 AM.

[BaltanII]

Toy Description: And finally, we come to Slag King- another Beast based off of an extinct reptile. Slag here is likely a Pteranodon, albeit with a more upturned crest (probably due to plastic moulds being unable to have things project that far back, especially with his forward-projecting beak).

Several species used to be ascribed to the genus Pteranodon, some of which have upturned crests that are less like the most well-known and most commonly depicted version, P. longiceps. Paleontologists also have recognized sexual dimorphism in crest size, where even female P. longiceps might look a little closer to this one.

Of course, these facts could also be a convenient coincidental explanation! There isn’t any good source to verify any such design intents, at least not translated.

[Exactobeast]

Fantastic work bud! Congratulations on finishing the line!

[Jabroniville]

NEW BATTLE BEASTS:

 

-So here's a way to extend this ol' thread- coming up with animals that were left out of the toy line. Maybe with ideas for what could be cool!

 

The Beast line itself has a lot of room for extra figures (there's no dolphins at all!), especially considering they have only one extinct mammal and two extinct reptiles in the entire listing. Typically I'm imagining these as Battle Beasts and not Laser Beasts- though some LBs are good, I find they have a more "standard" body plan that makes them a bit more generic than the BBs, who can move about their Chest Symbol and do interesting stuff with the front and back of the toy as a result.

 

Usually, Beasts are the same color as their baseline animal, or something like it. But then they'll randomly make the elephant purple or the horse blue, so it's hard to say. Any time I see a very generic animal, I think of making it a funny color, though. Beasts themselves rarely have too many colors- the line maxes out at six colors for a toy (a few LBs have this), and the minimum is three (many early BBs like Danger Dog or the Bear). Some can be rather colorful, like the Panda, Orangutan and others having more than one main color.

 

Feel free to share your opinions and thoughts on what could be included!

 

 

DOGS:

-The common dog is descended from the wolf, and has an unusually-mobile genetic code that means it's much easier to breed odd traits than almost any other animal (note how different dogs can look from each other, compared to cats all having the same general body plan). This means that just within domesticated dogs there is a lot of variance. The Battle Beast line seemed to realize this, with three domestic dogs in the original 76, then adding the Pharoah Hound into the Laser Beasts.

 

Prominent missing dogs? Well, a lot of them, but most don't look exactly tough enough to be Beast-ified. A Saluki is known for its looks, but wouldn't be the most impressive-looking Beast. A tiny Chihuahua would make a funny toy, though- I can imagine doing a funny-colored one, like a purple or green one. 

 

Molosser dogs are prominently missing. Though it'd remind me intensely of the "Wrinkles" toys I had in the '80s, a Neapolitan Mastiff would make a very distinctive, impressive-looking toy. Their wrinkled faces can really stop people in their tracks! The line lacking a Husky is also a missed opportunity for a cool winter-themed animal. One with a white face and grey "backing" fur and a pale blue or grey set of armor would look nice. The egg-shaped face of a Bull Terrier would be interesting, as well.

 

 

[ZebraLegion]

Sorry for the late reply but CONGRATULATIONS on this amazing achievement! It’s been fun reading someone else’s take on every single beast.

Glad to see it may yet continue!

I was always wishing for a Dolphin BB when I was a kid.

Some others off the top of my head:

Cheetah, Snow Leopard, Meerkat, Beluga Whale, Killer Whale, Dalmatian, Bee/Wasp, Ant, Hedgehog, and Sea Otter.

[Jabroniville]

 

COYOTES:

-I respect the hell out of the Coyote. While almost every other wild dog species on Earth is dying a slow, hard death due to human encroachment and hunting, these suckers are THRIVING despite 90,000 being killed annually by hunters, just because they're one of the few species that latched onto us as a constant source of food and shelter. Funny how the only ones smart enough to figure us out and match us at our own game are called "pests", huh?- Rats, mice, pigeons, coyotes, etc. have all had their populations and habitats INCREASE because they can adapt to human habitations. Their genius at such things gave them permanent respect as the Trickster God of many a Native's mythology, and gave rise to one of the greatest cartoon characters of all time. Now if only people could settle on how you pronounce it ("KYE-oat" vs. "Kye-OH-tee").

 

Coyotes are some of the most dangerous animals around for pets- small animals make easy prey. They are notorious for wiping out cats, as they're faster over open ground (cats have bad cardio, too) and are much larger- most people I know with farms talk about losing tons of farm cats to coyote predation. They're also a pretty big part of the reason why Cat Advocates recommend pet owners not let their cats roam free. Similarly, they are considered the most abundant predators of livestock in North America- causing the majority of Sheep, Goat & Cattle losses, generally taking younger animals. They killed 60.5% of predated sheep in 2004, wiping out 2.22% of the entire sheep population of the entire United States.

 

The Coyote got missed by the Beasts line, which has a good number of other dogs- I found the LB Wolf to be pretty lamesauce, but that's more through execution and coloring choices. The Fox, for instance, looks fine. A grey Coyote Beast with a blue or green suit of armor would look rather cool. 

 

 

JACKALS:

-Jackals are fairly well-known, but not very popular animals- I don't think I've ever even seen one in a zoo. Africa is filled with many species of Jackal, most around the same size. A jackal's distinctive ears might make for a fun Beast, especially if they went "off-brand" with the color, making them green or turquoise or something. 

 

 

DHOLES:

-Southeast Asia is home to the very endangered, foxlike Dhole, which hunt in small packs. Also called the Red Dog or Mountain Wolf, they split off from wolves a bit further back than jackals did (and long before the common dog). Nobody knows quite who came up with the name "Dhole". Dholes originally lived across a much wider range, including various island habitats like Sri Lanka, but have since been reduced to their original range. I'd imagine it's a tad obscure and generic looking for a Beast, but who knows?

 

 

DINGOS:

-Australia's infamous Dingos, likely the ancestors of an offshoot of the wolf that is now extinct (though this is only one of many possible origins, including being feral domesticated dogs; genetically the wolf origin seems the most likely), are famously a wild Australian canid. They interbreed with domesticated dogs so much that in some parts of the country, a third of all Dingos are hybrids. Typically weighing only 35 lbs., Dingos primarily hunt mammals, with large red kangaroos being the most common animal taken. Their methods are rather wolflike- they harry and chase the prey until exhaustion, killing via neckbite- a cornered kangaroo is typically easily beaten by so many foes.

 

The famous phrase "A dingo ate my baby!" actually comes from the real-life deal of Azaria Chamberlin, who is believed to have been taken by a dingo when she was two months old. Her mother was arrested and charged with murder, but later exonerated. One can only imagine what she thinks of that joke.

 

The issue with most of these wild dogs is that they'll probably look rather plain, like the Fox & Wolf Beasts did. Typically they require a good color scheme to stand out, but I think going a bit unnatural would be a help for all of them.

 

 

Sorry for the late reply but CONGRATULATIONS on this amazing achievement! It’s been fun reading someone else’s take on every single beast.

Glad to see it may yet continue!

I was always wishing for a Dolphin BB when I was a kid.

Some others off the top of my head:

Cheetah, Snow Leopard, Meerkat, Beluga Whale, Killer Whale, Dalmatian, Bee/Wasp, Ant, Hedgehog, and Sea Otter.

Thanks a lot ! I'll be adding those and more during the duration of this. But I agree- Dolphins of all types would have been AMAZING, as odd as bipedal cetaceans can sometimes look.

[Exactobeast]

Dolphin, Cheetah, Snow Leopard, Meerkat, Beluga Whale, Killer Whale, Dalmatian, Bee/Wasp, Ant, Hedgehog= DONE(though meerkat, whales, ant, bee, wasp just being painted now)


Sea Otter and coyote- hmmmmmmmm

[Rubberhammer]

Otter, alligator snapping turtle, ant lion.