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[Jabroniville]

 

#22: HARE RAZING RABBIT

Japanese Name: Rabbit Kid 

Animal Basis:

 

 

-Hare-Raising Rabbit could be nearly any variety of lagomorph. Likely a domestic rabbit, however.

 

-Lagomorphs are highly-similar to Rodents in numerous ways, especially the small size and their teeth (the two share common ancestors). Famous for their ability to breed with great rapidity, their speed, and their ears, this Order is common throughout most of the world. Rabbits & Hares are still hunted heavily for their meat, but their ability to procreate is so staggering that many of the species are still at the level of "Urban Pests"- here in Edmonton, you'll see a rabbit just about every day. The Order isn't very diverse, and most of the animals look the same.

 

-The differences between Rabbits & Hares are pretty minor- Rabbit bunnies are born blind and hairless, whereas Hares give birth to sighted, furred children. Hares are generally larger, thinner and more athletic. Hares have not been domesticated, nor do they gather in groups and burrow underground. There's also the Pika family, with their much shorter ears, and tinier size (none weigh more than a pound).

 

-Rabbits are popular animals, owing to cuteness and the ears and junk- easily-recognizable, they make an ideal animal for cartoons- Walt Disney's first creation, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, was a huge hit (when he was fired from the animation company that produced the cartoons, he simply swapped the rabbit ears with mouse ones to make Mickey Mouse), and Bugs Bunny took inspiration from him. We would also see Roger Rabbit, The March Hare, and of course Watership Down, a very dark, bloody picture that features the kind of stuff that you'd only show to children if you wanted to SCARE THEM OUT OF THEIR FREAKING MINDS, FOREVER.

 

Toy Description: The earliest of the Battle Beasts that I myself did not own, and was thus fascinated by. Hare-Raising Rabbit (dig that punny name) has a lot of "typical" traits of the line, but also shares some unique bits here and there. He's got the same kind of armor most characters do, but a MUCH larger helmet, projecting ears, he's got four colors (instead of the typical- especially at that point- three), and his armor is just a slightly darker color than his skin. And he's even got a TAIL! All in all, he's a quality toy, though as he's an early one, looks somewhat "plain" at points. The aforementioned thing with his skin & armor being so similar doesn't help.

 

There's a "22" on the back of his helmet, and the copywrite info is printed on a large rectangle on his back, like most "early" Beasts. 

 

The Rabbit is quite tall and thin for a Battle Beast, and has very rounded armor- almost nothing has a sharp angle on his design. His rabbit-like face is recognizable, and the ears are a dead giveaway- there's no mistaking his species. He even has a little tail- one of the only ones in the line! It's actually rather mechanical-looking, however- short and blunt, like a little sparkplug. Even his feet are mechanical, being very flat and having sharp angles.

 

Colors: Four- his skin is a light turqouise, and his armor is a darker shade of the same color. His eyes are bright yellow, and his Secondary Color is very bright pink.

Armor: A standard one-piece, built quite typically, albeit much more-rounded than normal. The smooth lines result in wrist-guards and boots that "bulge" in the middle and thin out at the joints- his shoulder-pads are basically cup-shaped, and hang so low as to almost meet the wrist-guards. His Chest Symbol is rather low (not quite on the belly), with two pink, crooked lines beside it. Another pink object- a box that projects out a bit, sits above the Symbol, astride some organic-looking line details in the armor. He's also packing a lot of circles, rectangles & triangles etched into his armor. He's one of the only Beasts to wear a complete helmet- with chin straps going all the way to his muzzle, and covering the entire back of his head- it actually looks a lot like Mega Man's helmet, right down to the projected forehead bit. It simply has holes for his giant ears to poke through.

Weapon: A very long, dark-grey polearm- a double-ended staff with large "wedge" shapes of trapezoidal make. There's a relief on one end, with three little lines etched in on each side, while the other end is slightly smaller.

Hands & Feet: Mitten-like hands, with toeless, mechanical-looking feet.

Easily-Broken Bits: His giant ears are just asking to be damaged, though they're thick enough that you're unlikely to see one with the whole thing torn completely off. Just a lot of surface damage, especially at the edges.

 

Had it as a Kid: Nope, though I was quite familiar with him, as my friend Paul had one, and I'm sure I saw others. Oddly, I was never jealous of him like I was of the Flamingo- even back then, I think I could tell that he was pretty "generic".

Variants: I was gonna say none, but there is actually a very rare (to me, anyways) "short-eared rabbit" that is apparently a whole different kind of mold, as he's shrimpier than the regular Rabbit. This is usually only noticeable when the two are next to each other- I certainly can't tell just from looking at a figure.

Overall Rating: 7/10 (decent-looking, but a bit plain)

Edited by Jabroniville, 17 January 2018 - 12:27 AM.

[Exactobeast]

Oh Boy! I can think of at least one person who might disagree with that rabbit rating!

 

Also, I, as the remover and replacer of hundreds of battle beast heads, hereby declare that the Pangolin's is the most adaptable as it fits comfortable on nearly all beasts.

[Jabroniville]

LOL- I was a bit worried, but I find him a bit on the "plain" side- to the point where I passed him by at the local Antique Mall, thinking I already had him! Though in retrospect, a "6" is too low- I'll upgrade him to a "7". I can imagine someone liking him the best if they had him as a kid and he was special in some way.

[Jabroniville]

 

#50: SABRE-SWORD TIGER

Japanese Name: Platinum Tiger 

Animal Basis:

 

 

-This guy is obviously a "Sabre-Toothed Tiger", more properly known as a Smilodon. They are among the largest cats of all time, and have freakish oversized canine teeth (giving them their old name, "Sabre-Toothed Tiger", though they are quite distantly related to actual Tigers), mainly used to sever the throat of their prey after a long struggle has left them exhausted. See, teeth of THAT size are incredibly fragile compared to standard bone, so they could potentially cripple themselves if they bit too hard. Smilodon populator, the largest subspecies, could weigh up to 1,000 lbs. by many estimates, though its front legs are longer than the back, making them poorly-built for speed.

 

Toy Description: Sabre-Sword Tiger is completely unique in that he is the only one of the original 76 Battle Beasts who is based off of an extinct creature- the Smilodon of course was extinct for millennia by 1987. He's a very solid figure as well, carrying a lot of unique details that make him stand out. Though his color scheme is a bit forgettable, he's one of the few Beasts with distinctive teeth, as well as spikes on his armor. His face projects outwards much more than most cat-figures (who are typically round-faced), and there's a lot of detail.

 

His weapon is one of the best, too- an actual rapier, not some weird science fiction-y oddly-shaped thing. Unusually, his armor doesn't have a Secondary Color, per se- it's just got a pair of shoulder spikes that mimic his own white fangs. His armor has a ton of intricate details, and he's also sporting skin-colored teeth behind his main two. He's just a neat figure. Like most later figures, he has a peg-hole on his left foot. Unusual for his line, he's got a "50" on the back of his neck, and a "2" on the back of his right boot.

 

Colors: Four- his skin is a light, tawny yellow (much like an actual Smilodon's was imagined to be at the time), and his armor is a light, pastel green. His two large fangs and the spikes on his shoulders are bright white, and his eyes are a blazing red.

Armor: A standard two-piece, typical in many senses except that there aren't any multi-colored lights or any of that stuff- it's just plain green except for the shoulder spikes- a pair of hooked white spires coming off of his rounded shoulder-pads. The armor has a TON of intricate details, however- shapes etched all over, with lines surrounding them to make them stand out. The two shapes beside his Chest Symbol are surrounded by lines that point towards them- there are even lined portions beside the centre of his boots. Despite all of the lines, his armor still looks rather organic. The shoulder-pads are round and stick out slightly, with light details- little rectangles with circles etched into them. These were placed near the shoulder, and out at the edges.

Weapon: A very long, real-looking dark bronze rapier, ending in a ball-tip. It even has a classic hilt that covers the back of the hand!

Hands & Feet: Three-fingered hands and four-toed feet, all with nails designed on.

Easily-Broken Bits: Though you're as likely to lose the whole arm, the shoulder-spikes are probably easy to break off. And easily-weathered, too.

 

Had it as a Kid: Yep- though sadly, he was armless, which probably resulted in me being less of a fan than I should have- I only really cared for my Lion out of my three Cat figures (the Jaguar was the other one).

Variants: None.

Overall Score: 8/10 (very unique and cool. Great weapon!)

[Jabroniville]

 

#19: PRICKLY PORCUPINE

Japanese Name: Hedgehog 

Animal Basis:

 

 

-This guy is probably based off of the North American Porcupine, famous for being a roden covered with quills (something rather unusual to the type). The Quills are quite notorious, though not really that damage-y- their main advantage is that they hurt like a bastard, and can eventually become infected. Humans can simply remove the quills, but as most animals do not have opposable thumbs, they can be in VERY serious trouble if struck by too many quills in important places. Similarly, animals have no choice BUT to use unarmed attacks instead of using weapons, meaning quills are quite effective against them- many animals will simply avoid Porcupines for this reason. They can live from ten to twenty years.

 

-He is differentiated from the Cape Porcupine of Africa, which is quite a bit larger and has a very long set of "tail quills" (I figure him for the smaller North American variety because his quills are all the same length, and that one is much more famous). In Japan he is called "Hedgehog", but that might be a generic term for quilled animals. He has a bit of an elongated face, and no "rodent teeth", so theoretically he MIGHT be an actual hedgehog, but I'd think he would have a much pointier nose if that was the case.

 

Toy Description: One of the earliest and most-distinctive Battle Beasts, the Porcupine has a ton of recognizable details, largely in the spikes of his armor. He takes the three-color set-up and makes the most of it, giving us a ton. His armor would be pretty plain if not for the spikes over almost every part (there are an astonishing sixty-nine in total! His head adds twelve points), and even his Secondary Color isn't relegated to tiny lights- it's placed right around his Symbol. His face is rather indistinct- it could be almost any animal (he has little sharp teeth, making him look more like a mustelid than a rodent...), but then the back makes it a bit more clear- those giant spikes could only be the quills of a porcupine. His elongated head actually has twelve spikes (three rows of four) as "hair", which probably gives him the most-detailed head in the entire line!

 

The copywrite info is on his back, with the "19" written right below it (making him one of the few to have the number not be placed on their skin)- there's also a little "B" written on the back of his right thigh. I most-remember the Porcupine for his variations- as a kid, I had a light yellow one, and a glossy, dark-yellow Variant.

 

Colors: Three- his skin is a very, very dark grey. His armor is a very dark yellow (note, though, that numerous Variants exist), and his eyes and Secondary Color are a dark red.

Armor: His armor is pretty genetic- bulgy and a two-piece set-up... but of course then there's all the spikes. Numerous yellow spikes pop up all over the suit. There's one on each end of his square wrist-guards. One is on each end of his shoulder-pads, with three coming on the ridges. His kneepads have three in a row, with a fourth below them on the boot. Each side of his boots also has four in a long line, and there are two in a row on the backs of them. His codpiece has two on each side of the front, one on each of his sides, and two on each end of the back side. His copywrite info on the back is surrounded- four below, and one at each upper corner. There are two beside each end of his Symbol's upper corners, as well. And finally, we come to his helmet- a small one that only covers the top and sides of his head (to reveal his quills), but with three spikes on the very top. The helmet is very angular, with points jutting towards his mouth. His Secondary Color is a red square around his Symbol (which is located on his belly), with lines projecting to the sides, and a smaller trapezoid below it. 

Weapon: One of the most well-detailed weapons- a long, dark-grey polearm, with a central cog with two spikes on each side. The upper end ends in a three-pronged "pitchfork".

Hands & Feet: Mitten-like hands, and three-toed feet.

Easily-Broken Bits: None, but you're going to almost always see a LOT of weathering on all those points- the toy itself is made of dark grey plastic, so that yellow armor is NOT going to cover it up all the time, and those SIXTY-NINE points are not going to improve that.

 

Had it as a Kid: Yep- I had three. Notably, two were the plain yellow, but one was the much darker, very glossy yellow, which I thought was REALLY cool and fascinating when I was younger. I wish I had a fully-armed version, but alas- all of mine suffered battle amputations.

Variants: A notable one- the "typical" version is a dull yellow. The Variant is a much darker, glossy yellow, as mentioned before. There seem to be some variations of the shade of yellow in any case, with the main Battle Beasts resource listing a more "lime"-colored one that looks a tiny bit different from the "standard". I think this is just a factory variation.

Overall Score: 8/10 (very distinctive and cool- takes the "standard set-up" and stands out because of all the spikes)

Edited by Jabroniville, 30 January 2018 - 05:36 AM.

[Jabroniville]

 

#76: OSSIFIED ORANGUTAN

Japanese Name: Udan 

Animal Basis: Sumatran Orangutan

 

 

-Osified Orangutan is clearly a Sumatran Orangutan, as evidenced by his muzzled face and shaggier hair. The larger Bornean Orangutans featured giant puffed-out cheeks at the sides of their head, and much rounder faces. This guy in particular looks like Dr. Zaius from The Planet of the Apes.

 

-The Orangutan is a step above Chimps in size, and is more distantly related to us. And like Chimps, they're freakishly-strong, and ultra-endangered, thanks to some VERY tiny territories (some small Pacific Islands and that's it). The Sumatran variety is smaller, but both generally look alike. There's a shocking amount of sexual dimorphism involved compared to almost any other mammal (only the Elephant Seal and Cervids & Bovids come to mind as also sharing differences on this scale- and mostly it's just a matter of horns/antlers), as the males are HUGE compared to the females, and have giant exaggerated cheek pouches. Males still dominate their territories, and are known for "forcible copulation" with females generally any time they feel threatened- essentially, they use rape as a dominance excercise.

 

Toy Description: And so we come to the final-numbered Battle Beast in the line- #76 Ossified (??- he's made up of hardened cartilage?) Orangutan suffers from "Unique Beast Syndrome"- he's totally unique and stands out like crazy, breaking a ton of the rules... but kind of sucks. See, those rules are often there for a REASON, and so breaking them leaves him looking like a mish-mash of odd parts. His forgettable coloration doesn't help matters. I think it's that skinny left arm of his- while standing out, it looks very unimpressive. His bare right arm causes the same issue as well.

 

The Orangutan is also very hunchbacked and short- noticeably tiny compared to say, the Gorilla. So despite a lot of detail on his body (long fur is etched onto his entire frame), he's unimpressive-looking. He looks humorously like Dr. Zaius from The Planet of the Apes, being a red orangutan with a pronounced head. His armor is more like a big "vest", bare all the way to the codpiece, and unusually, features an entirely-covered limb, ending in a Weird Hand- a claw. Another very unusual feature is the fact that his face is actually a different color than the rest of his body- but only SLIGHTLY. It's actually a slightly darker purplish-red color.

 

All in all, he would probably look better if he was more "typical"- give him shoulder and wrist guards on the right arm, and break up the armor on the left a little bit, and you'd have a more-quality Beast. The way he is now, he looks all off-kilter and weird. Like most later ones, you can see information and peg-holes on the soles of his feet- a "76C" is next to the peg-hole on the left foot.

 

Colors: Four- his body is a red/brown color, and his armor a pastel green. His eyes and Secondary Color are yellow. And, very difficult to see, is a fourth color- his muzzle and face is a slightly darker red than his body!

Armor: One of the most unusual (but monochromatic) sets in the line. It's a two-piece, standard below the ribcage, but the upper portion is actually split, leaving his chest bare. It's very square, but you can only see a little bit of armor on the right breast, featuring a little yellow circle with a raised "dial" on it. The left breast features his Chest Symbol. There's a bit of line detail around various parts, and the codpiece is raised by quite a ways. Most-unusual is the fact that his right arm is completely bare, while his left is completely covered- it looks like a completely-cybernetic limb.

Weapon: A very long purple spear. The bottom features a spearhead, while the top looks like a giant, pointy oar. It's basically two spearheads attached at their bases, with four lines etched into the top one.

Hands & Feet: A two-fingered hand, and splayed-out five-toed feet. His entire left arm is a cybernetic appendage, made up of a blocky shoulder pad, bulbous bicep, then a mechanical contraption that ends in a straight, three-fingered claw of sorts.

Easily-Broken Bits: None.

 

Had it as a Kid: Nope- as a result, he looks very odd to me.

Variants: None.

 

Overall Score: 4/10 (meh- very disappointing for a Late Series Beast)

Edited by Jabroniville, 07 February 2018 - 03:10 AM.

[Exactobeast]

Nope. Gotta disagree. Love him.  He's just one weird and wonderful cartilage stuffed beast

[Jabroniville]

 

#26: BIGHORN SHEEP

Japanese Name: Bomb Sheep 

Animal Basis: 

 

 

-Well, this one's pretty obvious. I mean, it's not only in his English name, but he's also got the distinctive curving horns. Sheep are pretty funny, and another really common domesticated animal, being handy both for food and for their wool, a great product in clothing. Mostly, they're unimpressive physical specimens, until you get to the mountain-dwelling Bighorn Sheep. These guys are rather large, and common in certain mountainous regions of North America. They're primarily known for their famous headbutting contests- hitting each other full-blast while fighting over females.

 

Toy Description: Bighorn Sheep is one of the cooler "early" Beasts, packing a distinctive appearance. He's also one of the first Beasts to REALLY alter the imagined color of his animal basis- he's a BRIGHT BLUE Ram! He's pretty simple in many ways, but mixes a good deal of uniqueness in others- his coloration, horns on his shoulder-pads, and a cool mask. His horns aren't overly-detailed, but still look okay- they're rounded, but don't project out that much. They also have simple lines etched into them, so the horns don't "bulge" properly. He has a tiny little bump of a tail. A "26" is on the back of his head- oddly, his copywrite information is found on the back of his left leg on a large block. This makes him one of few Beasts with assymetrical boots. But his color scheme is the most eye-popping thing here- dark (almost black) grey armor combined with light blue skin. His evil mask and shoulder pads combine to make him look like one of the more EVIL Beasts, as well.

 

Colors: Three- his body is light blue, and his armor a very dark grey. His eyes and Secondary Colors are a dull yellow.

Armor: A typical one-piece, with pretty simple line details, and few projecting parts. His shoulder pads are rounded and very long, ending close to his wrist-guards. His boots and knee-pads are very rounded as well, with light details. His shoulder pads have small blue horns, mimicking those of his head. His symbol is closer to his belly, with large yellow "headlights" slightly above them, while another is on his crotch. Most-notable, however, is his mask- looking a bit like a gas-mask, it covers his entire muzzle and goes up to his forehead. There are some quality details on it, especially a vicious-looking sharp-toothed grimace.

Weapon: Like most of the "Dark Grey Weapon" guys, his is a bit abstract. It looks like a large, pointed-angled "claw", with a short handle. Slightly above the handle are two crooked-angled bars that reconnect at the base of the claw.

Hands & Feet: Four-fingered hands with fingernails etched in, and two-toed cloven hooves.

Easily-Broken Bits: None, though there's a lot of weathering to be found on his headlights (yellow over dark grey) and his mask, which projects out a fair bit.

 

Had it as a Kid: Yep- armless, as per usual.

Variants: A version is found with a slightly lighter blue. I think I actually own two of this version, so I'm not sure how rare it is. It's a bit tough to tell from photographs, though.

Overall Score: 8/10 (really a great one. The only thing "holding him back" is the fact that he's fairly common)

 

 

[Exactobeast]

Also, he just looks so...... EVIL

[Jabroniville]

 

#40: ANTIC ANTEATER

Japanese Name: Power Nozzle 

Animal Basis: Giant Anteater

 

 

-This guy is pretty clearly a Giant Anteater, unless they got weird and decided to make him the arboreal Silky Anteater.

 

-One of the few mammals to have evolved without teeth, Anteaters have REALLY bizarre skulls, consisting of a staggeringly-long snout and an elongated tongue that zips out and takes in dozens of termites at a time. They're also IMPRESSIVELY-large, as you spot them in a zoo are are like "WTF?!"- they're almost man-sized, and VERY long. Actually quite an impressive figure, especially for a bug-eater. Anteaters have in fact killed people, but only after being cornered and injured by hunters. Their claws can also make them deadly opponents for the Jaguars & Mountain Lions that hunt them.

 

Toy Description: The Anteater is one of my favorite Battle Beasts, especially now that I have a "whole" version. He's overall VERY neat and unique, breaking only minor "rules" and fitting in with the rest of the line in spite of his bizarre color scheme. But really, that is VERY eye-popping- both his body and armor are unlike anything else in the line, with a pinkish red body and very light, pastel blue armor. And unusually, his anteater face, instantly-recognizable, goes all the way to his crotch, rather than sticking straight out. This leaves him oddly expressionless, as his eyes are standard-issue (albeit very slanted), and with no visible mouth (unless you count the line running alongside his nose). His body is also quite broad, making up for his short, elongated head.

 

You can find a "40" on the back of his head, and a large "C" on the right of his codpiece's rear end. But all in all, like the rest of the "Gold Weapon Guys", is great-looking. His weapon is one of the best overall, as well.

 

Colors: Three- his body is an odd, slightly-pinkish red. His armor is a very light, pastel blue. His eyes and Secondary Colors are dark yellow.

Armor: A typical two-piece, very boxy in appearance. It's fairly light on details, but stands out because of not only the color, but because it's broken up by his elongated face, which goes right down the middle. His Chest Symbol is on the right breast, while the left has a pair of yellow lights- a larger one more central, and a smaller one up and to the left. His boots are quite organic-looking, with lines swooping downwards. His shoulder-pads are rounded (with further rounded designs on them), but with points at the corners, going up. Finally, he has a tiny little sliver of a "helmet", with a longer central portion, and one smaller portion to the left (oddly, it is assymetrical- there's no right portion). His "backpack" is very elaborate, with a large rounded "ball" in the middle.

Weapon: One of the best gold weapons in the series- a polearm with a short handle, and a jagged "lightning bolt" shape going up. At two corners, and the tip, there are mechanical-looking "claw" shapes, very open, with large raised circles in the centres. All in all, it's probably the most-detailed weapon in the line.

Hands & Feet: One mitten hand, and odd, three-toed feet, with a central toe overlapping the two bottom ones- all pointed. His left hand is a very strange three-fingered thing, with almost mechanical-looking separations in the digits.

Easily-Broken Bits: The very bright coloring of his armor is prone to rubbing off.

 

Had it as a Kid: Yep- armless, making him a lot less impressive. His width is largely a function of his arms and broad shoulder-pads- with his long, skinny head, he looks VERY narrow without his arms.

Variants: None.

Overall Score: 9.5/10 (fantastic guy- looks really cool)

 

 

[Jabroniville]

 

#45: SLASHER SEAHORSE

Japanese Name: Juniordragon 

Animal Basis: 

 

 

Well, obviously it's a seahorse, somewhat resembling the Great Seahorse. Seahorses are a bit weird, in that they are fish that swim in a straight-up pattern, and have males that store and hatch the eggs. They are found in shallow temperate and tropical waters, as high as Nova Scotia in Canada. They resemble horses so much it gives them both of their names (Hippocampus as a species name, and "Seahorse" as a colloquialism). The most impressive specimens are the camouflaged Leafy Sea Dragons, but all of them are poor swimmers- the slowest fish in the world is the Dwarf Seahorse, which clears at 5 feet PER HOUR. Being slow movers who eat only tiny stuff like plankton, they are highly-vulnerable to environmental changes.

 

Toy Description: A great example of the skill of the designers for this line- a completely inhuman animal (with little anatomy we'd recognize), and known for being pretty tiny and wimpy, and they managed to make a cool, fascinating and bad-ass miniature toy out of it. Slasher Seahorse has a striking color scheme (bright pastel blue & rich caramel brown), a ton of details, and interesting bits all over. To start, there's his skin- it's entirely "scaled" in a honeycomb formation, with little "squares" etched in up and down his body. There's large squares on his legs and back, smaller rectangles on his arms, and super-tiny ones going all the way down his hands. Even his head and neck are designed this way, giving what could have been a very plain toy a great look and feel. His neck rectangles are quite large, and there are three pronounced "scutes" on the back of his head, which ends in an elongated "crest" like most seahorses have. There are even little fins sticking out of his shoulder-pads, and he has a very long, squared "beak".

 

This was one of my favorites as a kid, and still completely holds up- one of the neatest overall figures in the line, with some of the most-detailed skin. His left boot has a peg-hole on the bottom, and his right has a little "3" near the bottom. There's a "45" on his rear end.

 

Colors: Four- his skin is a rich, caramel brown color. His armor is a bright, pastel-ish blue, and his eyes are red. There are four yellow lights on his chest as well.

Armor: Standard two-piece with a lot of detail. His shoulder-pads mimic his skin's "scales", but in a less-pronounced way- they're more trapezoidal in shape, with multiple corners. They also stick out sideways a bit, and with organic "fins" sticking out the tops. His kneepads are pointy, and his boots are quite square, with plenty of little lines detailed going across (and even some tiny triangles etched in). His codpiece almost has a "tail" at the end (more of a little scute sticking out a bit), and his back has a large mechanical contraption of some sort on it (like a big vent or something)- sticking out in a pyramid shape. His Chest Symbol sticks out a bit, and has four round yellow lights at the corners.

Weapon: A dark bronze, blunted trident, with a very mechanical design (the two side prongs have spikes going all the way back, and point towards the central spire), two rivets included on each side, and a pole that ends in a crooked edge, swerving one way and then swerving back.

Hands & Feet: "Mitten" hands, albeit very detailed with tiny scales. His feet are like short, flat flippers.

Easily-Broken Bits: I actually had a broken one for YEARS and didn't even notice- his long head-crest had fallen off at some point. So I'm going to go with that. Those tiny fins on his shoulder-pads, and long-ish snout couldn't be that durable, either.

 

Had it as a Kid: Yep- almost entirely intact- it wasn't until I got a second one that I realized the poor guy was missing part of the back of his head! He was one of my favorites, though.

Variants: None known.

Overall Score: 10/10 (love this dude. Just looks cool)

 

 

[Jabroniville]

 

#15: GRUESOME GATOR

Japanese Name: Alligatron 

Animal Basis: 

 

 

-Gruesome Gator seems to be named for the American Alligator- the Chinese Alligator is only 5 feet long and is much less impressive.

 

-Crocodiles & Alligators, like Sharks, are proof positive of success: they've existed in virtually-unchanged state for millions and millions of years. Even 70 million years ago, you'll find pretty much this exact same shape, style and skin pattern. They are among the VERY select few survivors from the time of the Dinosaurs- some of them even PREYED upon such beasts!

 

-The Order consists of the Crocodiles, Alligators & Caimans, along with one species of Gharial. They all pretty much look and act alike- short, squat but incredibly wide and strong ambush predators with eyes and nostrils on the top portion of their long skulls. They hunt by sinking below the surface with minimal body parts showing, slowly drifting to prey as it sits at or near the water's surface. Using stealth, they get as close as possible, before striking out of the water with blinding speed, taking down any manner of prey, they generally drag it into the water, where it either drowns or they dismember it (usually a bit of both). Lacking a chewing reflex, being reptiles, they tear limbs and chunks of flesh off, and swallow them whole. This process is often referred to as the "Death Roll", and pretty much looks like it sounds. They spin rapidly while holding a piece of the victim. It's pretty violent.

 

-The species only differ a bit: Alligators & Caimans have wider snouts, with only the top teeth sticking out from a closed mouth. Crocodiles, by contrast, have all their teeth sticking out, interlocking in a freaky-ass mass. The Gharial has an extremely long, narrow snout perfect for catching fish, but less so for eating large mammals. Every member of the Order is an Apex Predator in their locale, and go from 8 to 23 feet long. Despite this, they can prove to be caring parents, taking their young offspring newly-hatched from eggs and gently placing them into the water, and they will protect their nests viciously.

 

-20 feet long, Alligators inhabit the Southern United States. It's a notably-solitary pain in the ass, often invading people's yards and pools, and getting fed by well-meaning humans, quickly turning it into an animal that LIKES being around humans (like most large predators, this is a bad idea). 

 

Toy Description: Among the more obvious animals to come up with if doing an army of "bad-ass" looking animals, Crocodilians are represented in the Battle Beast line only by this guy- a very solid, if unremarkable, character. They use the interesting color choice of making him white instead of a standard "reptile color", which makes him stand out a bit more than if he was just another brown guy. He's got a simple three-color scheme but uses it fairly well considering they're all pretty plain colors. There's also some detailing on his skin- a simple "rectangle" grid going on his neck, sides, tail and limbs. It's much more plain than what we'd see later (take the Pangolin or Seahorse, for example), but alright for the first run of figures. Notably, the scales end on his back (allowing for "circle" indents, like in a lot of Beasts), and on his throat.

 

His head is full of details, like his long, broad snout (much like a real 'gator). He also has dozens of visible teeth and a nasty grimace. And, quite unusal for the line, he has a tail- a short, pointed one with small scales on it. Like most "early number" Beasts, he's got the copywrite info on his back. There's a "15" written on the back of his right boot, in a weird manner that sees part of it only on the upper rim around his boot, and the rest below it. There's a tiny "B" on the side of the same boot.

 

Colors: Three- his skin is a plain, dark beige version of white. His armor is a dull, dark brown, and his eyes and secondary color are bright red.

Armor: A standard one-piece, plain in most ways, and with only a few details (usually in the form of simple shapes placed around). His knee pads are rounded, and his shoulder pads are spiked and flare out. His head has a very long band running from the back to the start of his nose- this is banded. Two red "vents" are next to his Chest Symbol.

Weapon: A large bronze abstract shape- sort of a polearm that ends in an axe head connected to a spearhead behind it. There are three lines indented onto each side.

Hands & Feet: "Mitten" hands, and four-toed feet.

Easily-Broken Bits: None, really. Even his skin doesn't miscolor like other whites do, because it's fairly dark already.

 

Had it as a Kid: Yep- lacking arms, as per the norm.

Variants: The extremely-rare, expensive "Ghost Alligatron" from Japan, which was cast in clear plastic.

 

Overall Score: 7/10 (not bad)

[Exactobeast]

No extra points for the cutest tail ever?

[Jabroniville]

No extra points for the cutest tail ever?

Heh- looks like a pinecone on his butt .

[Jabroniville]

 

#17: HARDTOP TORTOISE

Japanese Name: Black Turtle 

Animal Basis:

 

 

Hardtop Tortoise's exact species is impossible to determine, particularly because his original name is "Black Turtle". The Order Chelonia are famous for their shells. These animals are the oldest of all living reptiles, and have evolved very little over 200 million years. Terrestrial species were typically called Tortoises, freshwater ones Terrapins, and seaborne ones Turtles, but now zoologists tend to just use "Turtles" as an over-arching term. Most are too slow to hunt prey, those a few predatory species use ambush tactics & stealth.

 

Toy Description: Another cool, but somewhat forgettable Beast. I think it's the color scheme- black & orange is a bit unusual, but kind of "blends in" without popping the visuals. The rather plain set of armor doesn't help, either. The Tortoise is a fairly squat, rounded figure, sporting lumpy black skin- the "scales" are depicted as oval shapes. His head is broad and sports a muzzle, making his species a bit identifiable even without the shell. Speaking of, the SHELL is probably the most-disappointing part. Despite being the most-iconic part of a terrapin's anatomy, the shell is really only present for about half the model- the thing appears as part of the armor, with rounded "nodes" that pyramid up with rounded portions stacked on top of each other. It NEARLY becomes a full shell... except that it has the stupid "Copywrite Info" part PLACED ON A FLAT PART OF THE BACK, complete with the "17" for his Beast # as well! This completely blocks off what would have been a pretty cool deal, and all for nothing- it's for stuff like this that the later Beasts are often better than the early series- the Copywrite Info is on the FOOT, out of sight. So the Tortoise gets a cool shell, but the entire lower half is pretty much a flat piece with writing on it.

 

Apparently some versions of the Tortoise lack the Copywrite Info, however. 

 

Colors: Three- his skin is dark black, and his armor a solid orange. His eyes and secondary color is a bright, neon green.

Armor: A fairly-unusual one-piece. There's no skin visible on the entire torso- it's all covered. The Symbol is located nearly to the stomach thanks to a plunging neckline. His boots are pretty generic, with rounded kneepads, and his shoulder-pads are just blocky and rectangular, with neon blocks stuck at the ends. His back is the aforementioned "Half-Shell" blocked off by Copywrite Info (you can see a few shell bits hanging off the bottom and sides of it as well). He also has a large "helmet" of sorts- a strip of orange on the top of his head, bulging out at the front, and sporting a little green light on top.

Weapon: A bronze abstracted trident- it's assymetrical, with one curved spike, a long and straight one in the middle, and a standard swooping one on the other side. Little "Play Button" symbols are on each side, pointing in opposite directions- the rightmost one is abstracted because it follows the curved shape of its nearby spike.

Hands & Feet: "Mitten" hands, and four-toed feet. His left hand ends in a pair of neon green pincers- it features a ball joint, blunt mechanical instrumentation, and little "nodes" on the end for no apparent reason.

Easily-Broken Bits: None, though as it has black skin, expect a LOT of color bleed-through for his guy.

 

Had it as a Kid: I thought I did, but apparently not. His "plain" appearance must have convinced me I once owned him.

Variants: Yes- a rather distinctive one. While the "standard" model is black with orange paint on top, there exists a variant who is made of ORANGE plastic, and has BLACK painted on top! This unusual difference makes them very noticeably different- the orange on the latter model is MUCH brighter and of course has no bleed-through (a problem when black is your base color is that it stands out so much). This also makes the neon green appear brighter. I actually ended up with both variants by accident- I didn't realize which version I had until I double-checked and found the original model (which makes it more clear which is the base color).

 

There also exists a pair of variants that are the same, but lack the Copywrite Info on the back. I've yet to see either in person.

 

Overall Score: 7.5/10 (looks really good when intact)

[Jabroniville]

 

#36: OCTILLON OCTOPUS

Japanese Name: Red Octo 

Animal Basis:

 

 

-Octillon Octopus could be almost ANY species of Octopus, but it's pretty clear he's supposed to be the iconic, reddish Giant Octopus- he has the ventricles, eyebrow ridges and the right head shape.

 

-Octopi are pretty sweet, and this is the largest of the species, a powerhouse roughly as strong as a human, with an incredible grip, eight limbs, a sharp beak, undersea adaptations, and several other odd effects. It's quite weird how many authentic super-powers these guys have: Extra Limbs, partial Insubstantial (they can get through tiny areas, but not like an actual liquid), Colour Change and an Ink Jet (both concealment, but one allowing a Cloud Area Attack, going by D&D rules), taste via tentacles, a Direction Sense (they always know which way is up), etc. There's even their ability to separate a limb and have it kinda move around as a distraction, AND they can regrow lost limbs.

 

Toy Description: Octillon Octopus is one of the all-stars of the line- perhaps the only real flaw in this amazing toy is the fact that they also IMPROVED upon the design within the same series!

 

Octillon Octopus stands out so much because he completely alters a lot of the common concepts of the line- he's not just some simple humanoid animal. His face and head are utterly-inhuman, sporting what appears to be an Octopus's head with zero expression thanks to big, spherical, blank eyes. His mouth is just a rounded "sucker", too. And he's not a simple four-limbed creature, either- his arms (separate pieces, like all Beasts) end in TWO limbs each rather than ONE! This features a pair of large tentacles coming out from the standard portion of the shoulder-pad, and a smaller, thinner tentacle behind them, coming out of a different hole. Even his legs and feet are a bit different, owing to his bow-legs and large, flat feet.

 

There is a lot of extra detail on this figure as well. His huge, black eyes are actually bisected. Large, ribbed lines border a wide strip on his forehead all the way down to the back of his neck. Beside his sucker-mouth is a pair of tiny tentacles with the same ribbing (meaning he actually has six arms to go along with his two legs- a true octopus). His tentacles also have two rows of suckers each, as WELL as the "ribbed lines" going down the backs of the tentacles, in pairs. His thighs have a ribbed line on each front, and four large suckers on the underside of each one. And there are two large tubes on the sides of his head, pointing down near each eye. The copywrite info and a peg-hook are on the bottoms of his feet. Overall, he is one of the most-detailed creatures in the line, and the stark blue & red color scheme makes it "pop" all the more.

 

Colors: Four- his skin is a solid red, and his armor solid blue. His Secondary Color is bright yellow, and his eyes are black.

Armor: A very unusual-looking one-piece that acts as one solid bit. His giant head and tentacles means that his Symbol is at his belly, and bordered by his face-tentacles. The whole armor piece itself has a "swimsuit line", with no codpiece- just huge cut-outs for his legs. A large vented "backpack" takes up most of his back (and features a "B" on it). Two large mechanical structures stride his face-tentacles, going from the top of his armor to the bottom. His boots are unique to the line- rather than act as giant blocky leg-coverings, they are very organic-looking, bulging out at the top, sucking in with a curved shape, and then splaying out over the feet. His shoulder-pads are probably the most stand-outish in the entire series as well- large spheres with two large "spires" sticking out at the ends, and TWO holes for the limbs to poke through- these are each bordered with lines.

Weapon: A large golden polearm- a double-ended spear, more or less. One end features a large triangular spearhead sticking out of a "spade" shape, while the other end is a smaller spearhead mimicking the larger one. A line goes up in the middle of the larger spearhead, and also follows the contures of the head itself.

Hands & Feet: Both of his arms are actually pairs of tentacles, the larger pair of which can actually be used to hold things- the smaller pair are just ornamental.

Easily-Broken Bits: The shoulder-spires appear to be quite fragile, but otherwise not much.

 

Had it as a Kid: Yep- sadly, I often thought less of him merely because he looks like an obviously-worse version of the Cuttlefish.

Variants: One has been seen with his eyes unpainted, though this may be a one-off factory mistake.

Overall Score: 9/10 (Honestly, the only thing keeping them from a "10" is probably that Combat Cuttlefish looks EVEN COOLER)

Edited by Jabroniville, 09 April 2018 - 09:47 PM.

[Jabroniville]

 

#9: ROCKY RHINO

Japanese Name: Gray Sharp 

Animal Basis:

 

 

 

 

-The double-horns on this figure could make him be one of only two different species, but his pronounced, pointed lip makes it very clear that he is a Black Rhinoceros. The "folds" over his arms give him a Greater One-Horned Rhino-like attribute, but the lip is very distinctive.

 

-Most Rhinos are pretty much the same-looking creature, just with small variations in size. They're descended from ancient megafauna that extended as far as North America, but now exist in super-tiny pockets in Africa & Asia. Sadly, their famous horn has led to them being over-hunted to near-extinction, and various subspecies are as near-death as you can possibly get in this world. I love these things, though- much more epic and noble than the fearsome (and similarly-sized) Hippo, the Rhinoceros is a powerful symbol, and the Family includes what is the second-largest land animal in the world. And they are FURIOUSLY bad-ass- I've watched clips of Rhinos effortlessly beating the bejeezus out of a Cape Buffalo, to the point of TEARING OUT ITS EYE, and leaving it to eventually succumb to its injuries. These things EASILY fend off what is essentially a more bad-ass version of a full-sized Bull.

 

-The entire Family present an enormous danger to humans- rhinos are FAMOUSLY-grouchy (though actually less-so than Hippos), and their terrible eyesight means they tend to just charge things that they can detect via hearing and scent... JUST in case it's something negative. I mean, it's a Rhino, what's he got to fear? The only things that can kill them physically are Elephants (and this does in fact happen), and their only other enemy is us. Unfortunately, they are REALLY easy to hunt and kill, as they mostly just stand there, and rarely run away. Some Rhinos can weigh more than 8,000 lbs., and can run at 45 mph (that's faster than you). Their infamous horns can basically kill anything walking the Earth in one shot if they're accurate, and they'll just stomp all over anything that survives.

 

-Black Rhinos are a notch up the size scale to the Indian Rhino, but is smaller than the Javan. These are still Critically Endangered (three subspecies were declared extinct in 2011), and are extremely large, heavy-duty animals- many of them are kept under 24/7 armed protection. Not really Black, they are differentiated from the White Rhino by having a pointed, prehensile lip. Black Rhinos are INCREDIBLY-violent animals, with specimens being known to charge termite mounds or even TREES! They also have the highest combat-related mortality rates of any mammal- 50% of all males, and 30% of females, are killed in scraps with their own species! Now THAT is hardcore!

 

Toy Description: One of the early, most-basis Battle Beasts was still one of my favorites as a kid. I actually made the Rhino the LEADER of my heroic Beasts- he and his good army opposed the evil Lion's forces. This guy exemplifies so much of what made the line cool- an impressive figure. A distinctive head that easily tells you what kind of animal he is. His color scheme is plain, but still "pops". His armor is boxy, but still exceptionally complex, with tons of little details added. He's got a Weird Hand- a great "Spiked Ball" thing that just LOOKS like a painful weapon.

 

His face is very dramatic, with a pronounced frown (ending in a pointed lip, denoting his species), downward-sloping eyes, and two horns- one tiny one, and one very large, swooping horn. Because of the slant of his large head, both horns point straight forward, looking quite menacing. He has large, prominent ears on the top of his head, and "banded" arms and legs, though this is quite subtle. They appear more "rippled" than truly banded, save for his shoulders, which come down in a large, armor-like "flap" that covers the entire arm till the halfway point to the wristband. One of the more complicated early figures. And so, despite being only three colors (grey/yellow/red), he has one of the coolest designs of the early Beasts.

 

Colors: Three- his skin is a very plain grey. His armor is a dull, sorta-mustard yellow. His eyes and the lights on his armor are all dark red.

Armor: A pretty simple two-piece set-up, in typical "square-ish" shapes. The chest has a central Symbol, with a pair of red lights on each side. The back has a big vent thing, and there are rectangular boxes & indents all over the thing as well. There's even a little '86 written to the right of the vent, while "Hasbro" is written right below the armor, but grey like the skin it sits on. The codpiece has a lot of extra details, too- lots of reliefs and shapes. There's also a prominent "9" on his butt. His shoulder pads are among the most distinctive- very simple trapezoidal shapes, but with three prominent "spikes", reflecting his horns a bit. His right wristband is a very plain rectangle with a lot of details on it, and the left one mimics it, but ALSO has a huge sharkfin-like spike sticking out the side. His boots are quite bulky, with large portions sticking out everywhere (including the kneepads, which have red trapezoids on them). A little "C" is on the back of the right boot, while the Takara trademark info is on the left.

Weapon: Like a lot of the ealry guys, it's kind of a... big, silver, abstract... thing. It's a polearm thing, but ends in a little ballpoint, and has two crooked spires that point downards, the front one bigger than that in the rear. It's very peculiar.

Hands & Feet: His right hand is mitten-like (but has a single fingernail on the pointer), while his left is a large, grey sphere with a spike on the five cardinal directions- front, back, left, right & bottom. He has pretty narrow feet, with three toes (complete with nails) on the front, and one nailed-toe on the back.

Easily-Broken Bits: Expect some paint-wear on his armor. I would imagine the ears are easy to damage, but all three of mine look fine.

 

Had it as a Kid: Yep, but unlike MOST of my childhood favorites and "important" Beasts, he has a TON of playwear- rubbed-off red lights, no Chest Symbol, bad paintwear on all of the "points", and two missing arms! I was actually a bit shocked by this, as my faves were usually in good shape. My eBay buying spree eventually consisted of me getting a two-armed, "brown-Symbol" version with a missing rub-piece, and later, a much better version in good shape. That one I actually paid specifically for from one of the "good, non-lot-based sellers", as he was a childhood favorite I wanted intact.

Variants: There are dull yellow and bright yellow versions, and right after I typed "but all of mine look the same", I checked, and sure enough, the one in the best condition is a clearly darker yellow than the other two. So there you go.

 

Overall Score: 8/10 (one of the best of the early ones, and one of my faves overall)

Edited by Jabroniville, 03 May 2018 - 10:22 PM.

[Jabroniville]

 

#61: PIXILATED POINTER

Japanese Name: Dog Hunter

Animal Basis:

 

Obviously, he's a Pointer. The breed is known as a good sight & scent-hound, trained to "point" its master towards fallen birds.

 

Toy Description: -The most-distinctive and best-made of the three Dog Breeds found in the Battle Beast line, Pixilated Pointer was one I was aware of as a child, but like the Flamingo, was owned by my friend, and thus I was kind of in awe of him. He's not THAT complex compared to other Beasts, but he's one of very, very few figures to have two different paint-jobs done on his head. As a later-series Beast, he's got a bit more streamlining than most, and that makes for a different profile, as well.

 

-Quite clearly, he's a lop-eared "Pointer" breed, with big ears hanging down the entirety of his head, and a pointed nose, ending in almost a smiling mouth. Unusually, his muzzle is a different color than the rest of his head, and even gets an indent to outline it! Similar lines are found on his thighs in large circles, but these are not painted separately. What look like "mould" connectors appear as circles on the back of his head and back. Overall, he's a pretty good, detailed figure. Honestly though, the most interesting part is his muzzle and that weapon.

 

-On his feet, there is the trademark info, a peg-hole, and a "61 B".

 

Colors: Five, the most in the line (along with a handful of other figures). His skin is a dark red/brown mix. His muzzle is a mustardy-yellow. His armor is a very dark blue, while the details contain two large, dark pink structures. His eyes and nose are a lighter pink.

Armor: A standard two-piece, with a bulkier top, but thing boots. The upper piece is very square, with a very prominent set of gear on the back, consisting of a big piece, a vent coming from that, and a large spherical thing next to a set of pipes. There are two QUITE large things next to his central Chest Symbol, both larger taller but thinner than the Symbol itself. They are mirrors of each other, with two "rows" of techno-stuff, like a pair of rectangles and then an "indent", with a cut-out circle-thingie under that. His crotch has a big bit of detailing sticking out, and there's a smaller one on the back- overall, though, it's quite thin. His shoulder pads consist of two sets of pads, one on top of the other, with a small "overhang" sticking out. His wrist-bands are blocky rectangles with some linear detailing. His boots are the biggest contrast, as they're quite thin and well-fitted, with organic-looking kneepads and a lot of small linework. Overall, it's one of the most complex sets of armor out there- though the very dark coloring makes this less easy to pick out.

Weapon: Like most of the late guys, he's got a well-detailed, more realistic-looking weapon. In his case, it's a long spear, topped by a bayonet-like structure that appears to be a large knife held on by another piece. Below the ribbed handhold, there's a big, abstract bit of business acting like a counterweight.

Hands & Feet: Mitten-like hands and four-toed feet.

Easily-Broken Bits: None, though expect a LOT of play-wear on the nose, which is that unique combination of pointy AND colored separately from the rest. I had to repaint mine, even though he was pretty well mint elsewhere.

Had it as a Kid: Nope- my friend Paul had it, though.

Variants: One is known to have light-purple chest highlights, while the other has darker ones. Likely a difference between factories. There's also been one with an unpainted crotch, revealing the same brown rubber as the rest of the figure.

 

Overall Score: 7.5/10 (quite good, but not outstanding)

[Jabroniville]

 

#57: BLACK PANTHER

Japanese Name: Black Jaguar

Animal Basis:

 

 

Animal Care: YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG

 

Obviously a black panther, which means he's either a jaguar or a leopard. Process of elimination means he's probably a Leopard, because we already have Jaded Jag in the line... except the Japanese name makes it clear he's supposed to be a Jaguar also (Jaded Jag is called "Power Jaguar"). Leopards are the most-lethal African spotted animal, differentiated from Jaguars by their size (they're much less heavily-built) and their spots (Leopards have smaller spots, forming smaller rosette patterns of 2-3 spots touching, versus Jaguars' large empty circular rosettes of multiple splotches). They're amazing athletes, able to grab prey three times their size and then JUMP UP A TREE with it. Leopards have one terrifying trait, though- the often live inside city limits in places like India, where there are tons of poor people with homes that don't have any glass in their windows. I've seen more than one documentary detailing how some Leopards will just casually traipse about at night inside these towns/cities, pop in through the window (basically just an opening in the wall), grab a 13-year old kid, and pop back out. They are positively DANGEROUS to be around in some places.

 

-In fact, dozens of people per-year are killed by Leopards, with numbers difficult to find, as India, Nepal and other countries keep poor records of such things. The records that do exist generally show individual Provinces reporting hundreds of deaths in 12-year periods. Leopards' reputations as killers of livestock is legendary as well- as Surplus Killers, they will kill far beyond what they could eat, just to ensure possible food for later. Leopards actually kill so often and so frequently, that one of the best-guesses as to why is that they just plain ENJOY KILLING. There are reports of Man-Eating Specialists with over a HUNDRED kills to their name.

 

Toy Description: Black Panther is a very sleek, simple Battle Beast design, but the whole thing largely "works" on account of his wicked color scheme- a rich black body, with deep blue/green armor. It's actually very impressive. His face is quite plain, appearing as a featureless, generic "Cat" face, with little ears and some lines denoting cheek fuzz. His nose and teeth are well-detailed, with all the teeth detailed (but unpainted). Overall, he was an incredible rarity for me, as I'd never seen one as a kid, and he was very hard to find even as an adult. Between is sleek appearance, cool colors and hyper-detailed armor (typified by a set of dots that runs along most of the "seams"), he is one of the most eye-catching and cool-looking ones in the line. eBay never, ever had more than 1-2 at a time, and the weapon was almost ALWAYS absent- he's a later series Beast who is also quite popular, and usually goes for the highest prices out of the entire line of 76. 

 

"57 B" and a peg-hook are on his left foot.

 

Colors: Four. His skin is pitch black, while his armor is blue/green. His eyes and some lights on his armor are bright yellow (though the eyes are quite dark, as a single layer won't completely cover up the black), and a design on his chest is bright green.

Armor: Black Panther's armor is quite sleek and thin compared to many of the blocky Beasts, giving him a more slender appearane. His armor is a two-piece set, with a lot of complex details- swooping, organic lines trail along the suit, with dots pointed into them in relief form. The chest features four of these lines, pointing towards the central Chest Symbol, which has an odd object above it, resembling a bull's horns, pointing downwards. These "horns" are a bright, neon green, and are connected by a ridged set of holders. His back is pretty plain, with two circles and a "backpack" thing with some lines around them. His codpiece has a lot of bits swooping down, including ones at the thighs and some very large ones on the back end, all featuring the "relief dots" going the full length. The center of the codpiece has a large pair of rectangular lights, colored bright yellow.

 

His shoulder pads are rounded, with the dots just above the raised rim, and each is topped with a pair of curved spikes (the uppermost spike topped by ANOTHER rimmed, dotted circle). His wristguards are quite long, with dots around the wrist, and around a guard that covers the outer forearm. His boots are very cylindrical, with large kneepads (with dots through the center), and pairs of circles near the base, by the feet. Three bands cross the back of the boots.

Weapon: Another "late guy" gets a very realistic-looking weapon. In this case, a light gray spear, with a weird "handle" on the side that kind of projects out like a tool designed to help you draw circles. Lines encircle the spear at the base and just before the spearhead.

Hands & Feet: Mitten-like hands and five-toed feet, both of which have pronounced hind-claws on the back end.

Easily-Broken Bits: None.

Had it as a Kid: Nope- this is one of the most incredible-looking Beasts to me, as I'd never even seen one in person until this past year.

Variants: One is known to have light-purple chest highlights, while the other has darker ones. Likely a difference between factories. There's also been one with an unpainted crotch, revealing the same brown rubber as the rest of the figure.

 

Overall Score: 10/10 (fantastic- one of my Top Five)

 

 

[Jabroniville]

 

#28: CRUSTY CRAB

Japanese Name: Crab Hit

Animal Basis:

 

 

-A crab of some kind, though determining species is fairly difficult, given how heavily the creature is anthropomorphized. The most likely comparison comes from the Fiddler Crab, a species where the male possesses a giant "dueling claw" that far outstrips the size of the other one. This guy's "Weird Hand" is so massive that he appears to be an obvious link, though the claw looks nothing like a Fiddlers', which is very smooth and assymetrical- Crusty Crab's is rather huge and both parts of the claw are the same size.

 

-Crabs and lobsters are both aquatic Arthropods, closely related to spiders and insects. Despite that, they are TOTES delicious and appear on menus all over the world as an expensive delicacy, as they are both rad to eat, and hard to catch.

 

Toy Description: Crusty Crab is absolutely one of the most defining, interesting Beasts of the line- there is truly no other Beast quite like him. First off, he has no HEAD- his face merely appears on his chest, with buggy, inhuman eyes at the shoulders, and a yellow, toothy maw between his pectorals. This gives him the most unique outline there is, next to perhaps Combat Cuttlefish or Octillon Octopus. He is thus rendered incredibly stocky, and also quite broad, as his "Claw Hand" is fairly large. Honestly, though, there is just a LOT of detail on this guy, giving him an incredibly cool look- one of the most outstanding out there.

 

His eyes are pupil-less and huge, bigger than anyone else's actually, and bulging out of these strange, extended "sockets". And between them there's this strange "headlight" thing in two colors. His shoulders are topped with pairs of spikes (one big and one small), while his arms are heavily carapaced. His back has ten pronounced "bumps" on it, surrounding his "backpack" thing. Both his hands are Claws, with the weapon-holding hand being bumpy, and the off-hand being a huge, symmetrical crab's claw with both bumps and "teeth", making it quite serrated. His legs have several rows of bumps on the outer carapace, while the backs of his legs are ribbed. His feet are just pointy and have two segments.

 

His mouth is very bizarre- it's a wide open maw with four sharp teeth etched in "relief", because the mouth itself is just a flat design, with some "ribs" on the inside to reflect his inner maw. All in all, one of the best, most unique Beasts in the line. The only thing I think that holds him back is the somewhat-dull color scheme (orange/red and brown- very "earthy" and normal for the species)- some of the Painted Crabs I've seen online make him look absolutely incredible, and nearly any other color scheme would look better. He also seems quite common.

 

His feet are entirely flat, but a tiny "28" is visible on the back of his left boot. His trademark info is written sideways on his "backpack", making it look kind of like armor details, actually.

 

Colors: Three- his skin is an orangey-red color, and his armor a dark brown. Facial features and Secondary bits are a dull yellow.

Armor: Among the most unique in the line, his armor is essentially an extended codpiece, with the crotch area extended to just under his shoulders and mouth. As his mouth is in his chest, the Chest Symbol is on the upper part of the stomach. The codpiece itself is bumpy, reflecting Crab's body. On the rear, it's quite mechanical-looking, with a pair of tubes going into a rectangular "backpack". His boots are segmented on the front, reflecting his "carapace", but have extended bits above the knees. The rear parts are quite square and mechanical, contrasting the rounded, more organic frontage. His wristguards are very boxy and mechanical looking.

Weapon: A middle-numbered Beast with one of the most obvious and distinctive weapons around- a dark grey "Crab's Claw" looking an awful look like a nutcracker or something. It has an extended "upper half", while the lower bit is smaller. The whole thing is serrated with "teeth", and there's even cracks etched into it, so that it looks ultra-organic.

Hands & Feet: Among the most distinctive in the line, actually. His right arm ends in a carapaced claw with three components, and a very sharp, circular foreclaw & "thumb", which can hold his weapon. The whole thing is covered in tiny, circular bumps. His left hand is actually a giant, symmetrical claw, with both bumps and "teeth" on it. Even this is somewhat segmented. His feet are two-segmented on the front and back, with large pointing single-toes on the front, and smaller ones on the back.

Easily-Broken Bits: None. I mean, almost nothing sticks OFF of him. Though expect a ton of wear on those eyes, as you usually grab these guys around the chest.

Had it as a Kid: Yep- actually two of them. Both missing arms, because his are rather thin and easy to grab.

Variants: There is a "Pink Crab" variation out there, but I can barely see a difference- he's just slightly lighter-colored, with a the "orange" part of his coloring fading away and it being closer to "light red".

 

Overall Score: 9/10 (one of the absolute best ones)

Edited by Jabroniville, 23 June 2018 - 09:53 PM.

[Jabroniville]

Just curious if anyone's still reading these. The BB section of this forum is rather quiet these days, lol . I still have a few more to post, and a handful more to write up. I'll probably eventually finish the main 76.

[scythemantis]

Well, I just enjoyed reading through these!

It's worth noting that the "extra arms" near Spider's head would actually be the pedipalps, a smaller pair of limbs spiders have near their jaws and use as a set of "hands" when feeding!

As a kid I latched on to both arthropods and both cephalopods as my favorites, and was disappointed there weren't more invertebrate beasts, given how creative they got with them. I know the laser beasts added a dragonfly, grasshopper, prawn and centipede at least, which is cool, but we didn't get laser beasts here.

I actually like Tarsier Tyrant because it's such an odd and exotic choice of creature, but otherwise he's not especially cool looking. Bludgeonly Bulldog just gets high comedy points; I feel like he probably speaks with a cockney accent and should have also had a bowler hat.

A kid I knew once totally lied to me that he found a big box of battle beasts that, according to him, included a termite, hornet, scorpion, venus fly trap, jellyfish, leech, snail and assorted dinosaurs....then he told me they all got stolen just before I could see them, and I still believed him for weeks. I can just imagine in my head what those all might have looked like as actual figures.

Edited by scythemantis, 05 July 2018 - 01:00 AM.

[ZebraLegion]

I'm still reading these and very much enjoying them!  

 

I just joined and it does seem pretty quiet.  I've gone through most of this entire forum and thoroughly enjoyed learning way more about my favorite toy as a kid (and as an adult). 

 

I think it's quiet because most of the people on here have probably collected most everything they want and there's nothing "new" going on?

[Jabroniville]

Oh cool! Glad people are still enjoying these! I was typically only getting one person responding to anything .

Good call on the Spider- they look so similar to his arms that I completely didn't think about the anatomy of what "limbs near the head" really are for the species. I should've recognized them.

I agree that they should've added more arthropods especially- a lack of bugs is REALLY strange given that there's only one arthropod in the entire Original 76. I mean, they CLEARLY had an idea for at least one. There's three domestic dogs, a half-dozen cats, and only a single Spider to represent thousands of species?

It's funny how kids make up lies like that- I had a friend INSIST that there were cool black "Army Ants" figures, instead of the orange & blue ones we were all familiar with. Another kid told me about a hidden black oreo in the "Neon Oreos" Mr. Christie made in the 1980s, too. He, of course, insisted that he ate it IMMEDIATELY and that it tasted great. I'm not sure what the purpose is of making up stories like that, but a lot of kids seemed to do it. Very much a "I want people to envy me, but I can't think of a real reason for them to". I dunno.

 

 

I'm still reading these and very much enjoying them!  

 

I just joined and it does seem pretty quiet.  I've gone through most of this entire forum and thoroughly enjoyed learning way more about my favorite toy as a kid (and as an adult). 

 

I think it's quiet because most of the people on here have probably collected most everything they want and there's nothing "new" going on?

Yeah, that makes sense. I joined this forum a couple of years ago, and even THEN it seemed like all the biggest conversations had already been had. The "forum drama" mostly peaked years ago, and it's only been a handful of arguments since then. It doesn't help that the line is so mysterious, and that Japanese companies are never quite as "retrospective"-oriented as we are, and tend to hide all the good info. So there's really not a lot to go on as far as who did what.

Edited by Jabroniville, 06 July 2018 - 02:49 AM.

[Jabroniville]

 

#52: PEW-TRID SKUNK

Japanese Name: Ultragas

Animal Basis:

 

 

Obviously a skunk, likely the common American variety, the Striped Skunk. Skunks are iconic for obvious reasons- many things are smelly, and most Mustelids have musk capabilities, but none come even remotely close to the Skunk for using it as an offensive weapon. When cornered, they'll rear up, lift their butt into the air, and let loose a short-range spray of noxious chemicals, burning a disgusting odour into your brain for at least a couple days, until you wash it out. It only has enough shots for five to six uses, and it's usually a last resort once something just WILL NOT leave it alone, but man, it sucks. Pretty much smells like weed from what I've been told, but since I live close to a University that's also next to a forest with skunks in it (I see them fairly often), I couldn't differentiate between the two to save my life, being exposed to both odours regularly. It's one of the few animals given a wide berth by just about EVERYTHING, because the last thing any predator wants is to smell like a Frat Party for a week.

 

-There's some rather cool Skunk-types out there, but this is definitely the biggest. Many, like the Polecats, are of similar apperance but smaller, but the Spotted Skunk looks REALLY cool, with it's blotchy white back on a standard black skunk body.

 

Toy Description: Pew-Trid Skunk is the punny-named, evil-looking Skunk of the Battle Beast family, coming fairly late in the line, and having a very distinctive appearance- though many Beasts have masks, most are typically in "muzzle" format, and do not obscure the entire face. Not the Skunk- his covers eyes, nose and mouth. Despite this (and his PURPLE skin, not black), he is immediately recognizable as a Skunk, in part due to his white hair, and the fact that it kinda looks like a gas-mask. I mean, what OTHER kind of animal would wear one of those? His skin is very smooth and featureless, and he's not terribly interesting color-wise... but he still stands out due to distinctive armor and that mask. His "hair" is the most human-like of the line- he just looks like a dude with a white crew-cut or "Caesar" 'do. You can also see some small Mustelid-type pointed ears on his head.

 

-A tiny "52" is visible on the back of his neck, close to his armor (the "2" is lower than the "5"), while he has the peg-hook on his left foot, and the trademark info on the other. I found an "A" on the right boot of mine- pretty obvious, as it's a letter on a smooth surface.

 

Colors: Four- his skin is a very light lavender, and his armor is a solid, glossy black. His Secondary Color is red, while he also has completely white hair.

Armor: A very detailed, Blade Runner-looking design. It's a typical one-piece set conceptually, with a central Chest Symbol and stuff, but there's a LOT of "kibble" on him. There are two pairs of "vents" beside his Symbol, two little nubs above those, and then two long, red, curved flashlight-things on his shoulders. The codpiece has a line of lines & boxy details on it, and this is reflected on his back. His "backpack" is a mix of mechanical components (one with an "X" on it) and... turbines? Maybe to generate his odorific powers?

-His shoulder-armor stands out, as he has no shoulder pads- just solid pylons that appear to jut right out of his shoulders! These symmetrical features consist of giant black pylons that stick straight out of the top (ending with a segmented bit), and two smaller "nubs" on the front and back. His wrist-guards are quite small and under-detailed, but have segments on the outer portion. His boots are a bit plain aside from two large swooping raised bits on the front, and beside those are small rows of vent on each side.

-There's also his mask- it is quite small and exposes most of his head, but all of his facial features are obscured. It sticks out from the mouth, packing a large red "nose" at the muzzle. His eyes are also rendered red. There are some tiny details on the mask, which has a small "vent" behindt he muzzle-nose, and a little "helmet" nub between the eyes.

Weapon: A fairly late number, he's in the "Dark Bronze" weapon series, and has one of the more "real-world" weapons- a long, curving scimitar-like blade. It features an asymmetrical hilt (one end sticks out more than the other), and ends in a little rounded segment for a pommel.

Hands & Feet: Three-fingered hands with the nails segmented off. Four-toed feet, with mechanical-looking "back toes" which actually have a square-shaped component on the top part of the toe.

Easily-Broken Bits: None. Expect a LOT of paint-wear on those "shoulder pylons", though.

Had it as a Kid: Yep- only one-armed. I bought a "full" model at a Comic Expo, but in retrospect I paid WAY too much- $35 Canadian!- for a single figure. I mean, it went a ways towards completing my collection, but I soon found another complete one online as part of a "lot". Ah, the travails of a collector in a non-U.S. country...

Variants: None.

 

Overall Score: 7/10 (neat and different-looking, with good detailing. Not overly awe-inspiring, though)

Edited by Jabroniville, 09 July 2018 - 12:39 AM.