Hasbro Transformers Rise of the Beasts Beast Battle Masters Cheetor Figure Hasbro, 2023
Day #2,605: July 25, 2023
Beast Weaponizers Cheetor Time for this cat to slice
Transformers Rise of the Beasts Beast Weaponizers
Item No.: Asst. F3895 No. F4599 Manufacturer:Hasbro Includes:n/a Action Feature:Transforms from cyborg cheetah to sword Retail:$6.99 Availability: March 2023 Other: It's clever, I'll give it that
"But is is worth the money?" has been the recurring question for the Beast Battle Masters, and I'm always torn. Except for this one, with Cheetor the answer is "no," not because he isn't fun, though. This very same toy is being packed with what appears to be a good Arcee figure shortly, and while Cheetor lost a few spots and the silver cyborg painted bits it's still the same toy, with a nice 5-inch figure, for about $15. Just $7 for the sword kitty doesn't cut it, not because of any particular quality issues but because you just aren't getting a good deal here. Having said that, if you can get this solo Cheetor on the cheap it's pretty neat. But you'll probably prefer the 2-pack.
If it weren't for the era of plastic-free packaging, I'd have said to put these in little plastic bags with windows. Or matchboxes. Or collectible Energon Cubes?
The 3-inch long cheetah is actually not a bad toy idea. He's a cyborg, so he has silver front paws, a metal torso, and silver wiry painted bits on his legs. The eyes are red - just like the original first release of Beast Wars Cheetor back in 1996! He has a few painted spots, but is mostly molded in color. It's a pretty good cat toy with articulated legs and front paws. I assume the paws are only a result of space on the tooling, but it gives the figure a distinctive look and breaks up what may have otherwise been too dang much yellow. You can't get too many poses out of him, but I found enough to be interesting here.
I assume a lot of fans will dump on him as articulation goes, but he's still more posable than the first Cheetor toy. I don't think he's going to amaze anybody - certainly not for $7 - but I'm finding myself playing with him a lot.
Transforming the cat just means flipping out a peg, flipping out a knife, and folding back some legs. It's easy. The resulting accessory is a little silly, but what were you expecting?
The 3 1/2-inch blade mode is weird. I won't say "great" because the 5mm peg is at a strange angle that points down when a figure holds it in their fist. But don't write it off! It can fit in a figure's forearm peg, should one be available, and it looks great as a not-quite-Wolverine-claw. It's fun, and it's silly - it's not as silly as the chainsaw butt of Chainclaw [FOTD #2,565] but what is? Cheetor makes a nice blade toy, even if there's a crushed kitty at the other end of it. It's dumb, but it's fun, and I'm enjoying playing around with it. Isn't that the definition of a good toy?
There is no C.O.M.B.A.T. blast effect compatibility with this one.
I think price is going to be the bogeyman of toys until someone does some serious looking around to deliver something developed to actually look like a good deal. Back in 2002, Hasbro reinvented Transformers with Transformers Armada and found that by bundling figures together in 2-3 packs and simplifying them a bit, you could deliver some really fun toys for a price point that seemed to defy the laws of nature. $10 for a Deluxe toy and a sidekick - but you lose some articulation? It was a bargain worth making, as you saved money on packaging and freight while encouraging upsells. A toy like Cheetor belongs with another toy - as luck has it, he'll be bundled with Arcee - but I can't imagine the flimsy packaging and his zero solo play value is going to make a lot of kids happy. But me, I love it, I'm having fun with it, and in my heart of hearts I know $7 was a bad price to pay for it. But I'm playing with it, and you may too. Just check the packaging for missing paws or limbs before you leave the store.
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