Rhinox WFC-K27 Transformers Generations War for Cybertron Kingdom Voyager Item No.: Asst. F0365 No. F0695 Manufacturer: Hasbro Includes: Twin chain guns of doom Action Feature: Transforms from robot to rhinoceros Retail: $31.99 Availability: June 2021 Other: Revision of Revised Toy
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As time goes on, we're going to see more and more toys updated for the adults who want a better version of a classic. This 2021 Rhinox toy is an update of a design in 1996 - and if we didn't get Thrilling 30 Rhinox [FOTD #880] in 2013, that would be very exciting. The 2013 version was cheaper and had a better sculpt, plus it had action-packed spinning chain guns. It may not have been perfect, but it did the trick and I didn't really hear anybody asking for a replacement. The new version does some neat things, but if you have the 2013 release, you don't need this one. It's good - but you don't need to upgrade if you're happy with what you have.

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The big bot has a lot of large armor chunks making up his body because they're needed to make that rhino mode. I mostly like the robot in its own right, with a head that departs a bit from previous interpretations but largely keeps all the major landmarks. The chest has a fake rhino jaw that folds up and tucks in for transformation. The robot arms aren't bad, and hte legs are a bit chunkier than I'd like. It's basically a ton of rhino skin with some robot connective tissue and a fair amount of joints. I don't know if it will amaze anyone, but it does the job of giving you a physical specimen of a character whose toys are in somewhat short supply. You can get loose ones on eBay for a reasonable price (given inflation and all), and I found that older toy to be a more entertaining robot. The new one also has some green elements that poke out of the rhino skin, which doesn't look great. It's OK. Also OK - the chain guns have some places to connect laser blasts.

Transforming the toy is not a lot of fun, and I found the instructions to be unhelpful about halfway through. Once you get the arms tucked in, the amount of panel-shifting needed for the feet and legs to get in there just-so is clever, but not fun. You have to do things precisely right so you can also squish together the guns to hide in his backside - I always appreciate on-board storage. I just really hated massaging his haunches in place, because it felt like something might grind against another piece or break off.

The rhino mode isn't bad but I don't love it. The horns are separately molded pieces, which is great because that means there's no paint to scrape off. They're also a slightly softer plastic and seem to be bending together, and aren't separate elements that don't come close to touching like older toys. There is a little movement in the legs, but you can shift them a bit below the knees and the head can move a tiny bit. The jaw can open too, and it's just for fun (and making room for the robot head. His skin is splattered with mud, and Hasbro (and Takara-Tomy) did a good job hiding almost all of the robot bits. You can see some green on the front shoulders and around the ankles. It's a pretty good rhino mode, but the red eyes on a very realistic rhinoceros is sort of ghoulish - it's charming on more chunky, deformed toys - you know, old Tomy or Takara Spinjas or Battle Beasts. Here, he just looks possessed. Also his backside is much flatter without a nicely defined tail, like the previous release.

I much prefer the previous Rhinox to this one - not only was it cheaper, it was more charming and slightly more action-packed. Unfortunately a mint-in-box one is going to cost you these days, so you may just want to get this one to fill out your beast shelf unless you absolutely need to have the very best. This isn't to say Rhinox 2021 is bad - it's just that he's not nearly as charming or grumpy as his ancestor. Also he's not big enough for Optimus Primal to look cool riding him, and isn't that the point of this?

I also need to give Hasbro a tremendous amount of praise for doing what they rarely do - putting out almost an entire line's main TV show cast within a roughly one-year period. Usually cast members of Transformers (or Star Wars, or G.I. Joe) nostalgia lines are spread across a couple of years - if not more. This time, Hasbro offered up almost all of the season one Maximals within a year, while most of the Predacons (Terrorsaur is on the way, Inferno and Tarantulas missed the window) made it to stores. This is a very satisfying line. The Transformers (G1) has never had all of its season one toys in a nostalgia line at the same time, and hasn't since the 1980s.

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