Most of the figures I tracked down as a kid were aquatic in nature - so Eager Beaver was another no-brainer. The figure shows that whole quasi futuristic vibe you've come to love from Takara and Hasbro, with big armor and not much in the way of pants. This unique style was largely cribbed in Beast Saga, and it's not too dissimilar from Masters of the Universe. The outfit is unique in that it doesn't feel slavish to the creature's habitat, and also shows off some of the more distinctive features of the anatomy.
Molded in an off-white, creamy color this little fellow has a generous application of dark brown paint to bring his armor to life. Some aqua highlights and red painted eyes bring this figure to life, as does a color-change sticker and buck teeth painted white. In short, it looks a lot like a hairless beaver. There's a joke there, and I'm not going to make it for you. Our not-so-fuzzy friend here is the same size as all his siblings, roughly 50mm or 2-inches. With no hair detailing and minimal sculpted detail, it's remarkable how nicely this figure evokes its natural namesake.
A little nose and whiskers bring his face to life, with a strangely squirrel-like tail and webbed feet to round things off. His fingers are barely detailed, but you do see lines separating each digit rather than the "mitten" used for most series 1 releases. He's cute, and I appreciate how his armor evokes more than "swamp rodent" or "lumberjack rat."
When buying Battle Beasts, it's important to remember they tend to be more expensive as single figures than as a lot or a group - so try to buy a collection if you can, and sell off the extras. Alone, Eager Beaver will cost you $10-$15, but in a lot he can be as cheap as $3. Buying in bulk works nicely when collecting old action figures, the trick is you'll have to be patient and sometimes be willing to do some reselling or trading of your own. I like this one a bunch, the sample you see here I've had since its release nearly 30 years ago and I love how Takara and Hasbro worked out the design to limit wear and tear on the paint - molded feet and hands helps reduce visible aging on the plastic. Get one if you can, and then buy some more, and then join me in writing letters to Hasbro to make new ones as some sort of Transformers adjunct because it'd be awesome.
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