The Energon Pub

[megatronus]

Thanks for the awesome comparison!

Where did you order these guys from?

[Autobot Roadburn]

Probably going to snag a Waspinator at some point. I have one Cheetimus painted, but I'd like a screen-accurate one to mess around with without having to worry about paint coming off too.

[Wolfman Jake]

Thanks for the awesome comparison!

Where did you order these guys from?

I found these on eBay. $40 a piece for Rattrap and Waspinator. $60 for Rhinox. Not bad at all for exclusives, honestly. Far better prices than you would find for equivalent figures at the TFCC, that's for sure. Robot Kingdom has these in stock now too, I believe. Their prices are about $5 cheaper, but you might pay a bit more in shipping.

[shajaki]

Welcome folks, today we have quite a treat from Seibertronian native Wolfman Jake. He has poignantly put together his thoughts and pictures for an awesome review of TakaraTomy Transformers Legends LG-EX Rhinox, Rattrap, & Waspinator! Comparisons and insights galore featured below, so take it away Jake!

My LG-EX Beast Wars figures arrived this morning!

As promised, I've got some comparison pics with the previous Takara Tomy releases of these molds. Unfortunately, I sold off my Hasbro versions a while back, so I don't have any in-hand comparison pictures with those versions. Note that for all comparison pictures below, the figure on the left is the original Takara Tomy release, while the figure on the right is the LG-EX release. Without further ado, though, here they are, starting with...

Rattrap (Beast Mode)

Rattrap (Robot Mode)

Rattrap is definitely the least changed of the three. The most obvious difference is that the rat's eyes are now black, to better match Rattrap's on-screen beast mode. There are a few other subtle differences, though. The plastic color for the "fleshy" parts of rattrap, like his paws, is slightly more saturated with pink in the LG-EX version. Likewise, the tan painted parts are every so slightly more saturated with orange. This is easiest to see on Rattrap's robot face and thighs. Finally, the red paint used for Rattrap's robot mouth and eyes is exactly the same shade on the LG-EX version, whereas the previous Transformers Legends release used a darker red for the eyes than the mouth. The matching reds, unsurprisingly, are more screen accurate. There doesn't seem to be much of a difference with the gray plastic used for the rat body of each figure, nor the brown fur highlights on their rumps. For me, the LG-EX version's colors just pop that much better. I switched the rat heads on my two figures to give the LG-EX version screen accurate red rat eyes for robot mode, which is the more important mode to me in terms of accuracy.

Waspinator (Beast Mode)

Waspinator (Robot Mode)

Waspinator has really stepped it up quite a bit with the LG-EX release. The "paint mask" (e.g., the paint operations layout) between both versions is basically identical. The only difference are with the plastic and paint colors, each being lighter, more saturated, and more accurate to Waspinator's screen appearance. The LG-EX release is missing most of the shiny metallic plastic and paint apps, going for a more glossy look instead. The light green, yellow, and medium browns match up extremely well with the original cartoon. The wings are exactly the same, giving a wonderful iridescent effect, like actual insect wings. There is ONE change to the paint mask between the two. The LG-EX version, like the show counterpart, has yellow and black striping on his robot mode head antennae. They are simply left plain gold on the earlier release.

Rhinox (Beast Mode)

Rhinox (Robot Mode)

Last, but certainly not least, we have Rhinox! I think Waspinator gets the "most improved" award, but Rhinox is certainly a contender for that accolade. The LG-EX beast skin is no longer metallic and shiny, going instead for a glossy look that's a bit more natural for an organic rhinoceros. The beast mode eyes are white with black pupils now, instead of just black, again matching the show character model that much better. The rubbery "rump" part on the back matches the harder plastic parts of the body much better now with the LG-EX release. The rhino horn and toe nails are also a slightly lighter shade or bronze now. For the robot mode, there are a few subtle differences that look fantastic, like painting the rhino gums pink. It really is a spectacular little detail to include this time around. Gone are the dark green paint apps on the robot mode forearms. Those were, I believe, a detail of the original toy, but doing without them is more show accurate. The coloring on the robot mode chest bits that flank the lower rhino jaw are also different. The original release paints those robot bits in gold with black trim, while the LG-EX version paints them the same green to match his other robot mode parts. Since these parts are an embellishment on the original show character model, the green technically is more "accurate" simply because it better blends in with the rest of the robot bits and can be overlooked.

Here's a look at the boxes these guys came in:





These boxes are no-frills. Obviously, they are in black in white, which is a common trope for Takara Tomy exclusive figures. Inside, each figure is wrapped in a plastic baggy and secured in the box with a simple cardboard framework. It's basically a folded sheet or cardboard with holes in a few places where each figure is just kinda "crammed" in. Waspinator and Rhinox are boxed in robot mode, for the most part, while Rattrap is boxed in beast mode. Also, of note, apparently Rattrap, according to the box, is an Autobot! Rhinox is properly identified as a Maximal and Waspinator as a Predacon, however. Check the second pic with the "LG-EX" labels. Rattrap is also the victim of some bad Romanization, being named "Rattorp" on the front of his box. Oops! He's correctly named "Rattrap" in the instructions, however.

Thanks for taking a look. If anyone interested in these LG-EX Beast Wars figures has any questions for me, I'll be happy to answer them!

[shajaki]

Awesome review and pics WolfyJay!

There's so little changed with Rattrap that I can skip him completely, but the other two warrant purchase (I can replace Bronzenox). When I'll divert funds in this direction, who knows

[StellaMiniCon]

Good pictures!

Any chance you could take some quick snaps of the comic?

[Sabrblade]

Good pictures!

Any chance you could take some quick snaps of the comic?

Oh, snap, yes please! Full pics of each's comic would be very much appreciated.

[Wolfman Jake]

Good pictures!

Any chance you could take some quick snaps of the comic?

Oh, snap, yes please! Full pics of each's comic would be very much appreciated.

I'll try. I might not be able to get to that until tomorrow evening, though. My work schedule is weird this week. I'll be getting off at 12:30 AM and coming back in at 11:00 AM. That leaves little time for much else than sleep.

[D-Maximal_Primal]

Thank you so much for the pictures! Very nice!

[Sabrblade]

Good pictures!

Any chance you could take some quick snaps of the comic?

Oh, snap, yes please! Full pics of each's comic would be very much appreciated.

I'll try. I might not be able to get to that until tomorrow evening, though. My work schedule is weird this week. I'll be getting off at 12:30 AM and coming back in at 11:00 AM. That leaves little time for much else than sleep.

You'd be doing a great service to the fandom, but let your body have its rest.

[Wolfman Jake]

I've got one small point or errata to address from my initial review. It turns out that Rattrap's name is correctly Romanized on the front of the box. The actual problem is with the "Beast to Robot" call out. Rhinox and Waspinator correctly describe their transformation/conversion in the aforementioned terms. However, for Rattrap, his "Beast" mode is instead referred to as "Rat," which isn't wrong, but it doesn't match with his bestial wave mates. More problematic is Rattraps apparent conversion from an animal into a "Rattorp" instead of a robot. Yeah...some copywriter for Takara Tomy was having a bad day, I think. It's worth noting that on the back of all three boxes, the beast modes are referred to as "Vehicle Mode." Along with Rattrap's new Autobot affiliation, I think these boxes were just a bit of a rush job.

[Decepticon Stryker]

Missed out on these guys while they were still available in stores ... Looks like Takara is going to be the cheapest option.

[Wolfman Jake]

Missed out on these guys while they were still available in stores ... Looks like Takara is going to be the cheapest option.

I'd pounce on them sooner rather than later. LG-EX Rhinox and Waspinator are the best versions of those molds you can get, IMO. If you can find Transformers Legends LG-01 Rattrap for less than his LG-EX version, you could go that route, especially if you want the robot mode accurate red rat eyes.

[Wolfman Jake]

All right, everyone! I've got an extra special treat! Here are the Transformers Legends Mini-Manga for each of the LG-EX Beasts! Enjoy! (I'm using a lot of exclamation points!) Oh, here's one suggestion I'd like to share. Save each of these pictures to your device of choice so that you can zoom in for the finer details (like the actual text). The resolution on these pictures is much higher than the thumbnails you're likely seeing on this post, large as they seem to be already.

LG-EX Rattrap/Rattle


LG-EX Waspinator/Waspeeter


LG-EX Rhinox/...Rhinox!

Thanks are due to Sabrblade for suggesting I take some pics of these comic pages.

Would some kind soul be willing to translate these, or at least give us a synopsis of the goings on?

[dragons]

Nice Figures like colors on hasbro figures more looks less shiny more animal realistic colors

[william-james88]

Yeah, is it just me, or these LGEX redecos are closer to the Hasbro decos?

[megatronus]

Yeah, is it just me, or these LGEX redecos are closer to the Hasbro decos?

They're closer to Hasbro just by virtue of being matte, but beyond that?

[Sabrblade]

Would some kind soul be willing to translate these, or at least give us a synopsis of the goings on?

You, sir, are a gentleman and a scholar. The Wiki will return your kindness with synopses in due time.

[Mr Skram]

I got the 10 day notice from BBTS for Legends Skids! So pumped I'll get to ship out my pile of loot!

[william-james88]

Yeah, is it just me, or these LGEX redecos are closer to the Hasbro decos?

They're closer to Hasbro just by virtue of being matte, but beyond that?

Well it is more. Because the whole deal with Rattrap was that the Takara version had red eyes. The rest was similar aside from the head (right?) so having the eyes be black makes it far closer to the Hasbro version.

[Sabrblade]

Yeah, is it just me, or these LGEX redecos are closer to the Hasbro decos?

They're closer to Hasbro just by virtue of being matte, but beyond that?

Well it is more. Because the whole deal with Rattrap was that the Takara version had red eyes. The rest was similar aside from the head (right?) so having the eyes be black makes it far closer to the Hasbro version.

Hasbro Rattrap and Takara Rattrap have a number of differences between the two besides the rat eye color - http://higekumatoytoy.blog60.fc2.com/blog-entry-2356.html

[william-james88]

Ah, and so they do, thanks

[Hero Alpha]

I got the 10 day notice from BBTS for Legends Skids! So pumped I'll get to ship out my pile of loot!

Same here, I'm pretty pumped to finally get the Legends Skids. Got my Hasbro one with Reprolabels on ebay.

[D-Maximal_Primal]

You may remember that time a few days ago when we showed off the new Legends Waspinator, Rattrap and Rhinox courtesy of our very own Wolfman Jake. Well, after showing off the new figures, the Wolfman was kind enough to even take pictures of the comics that came with said figures and present them to us. So, without further ado, here are the comics that came with Legends Rattrap, Waspinator and Rhinox! Check them out below, and let us know what you think of them in the comments section. And expect some translations to come along here very shortly as well.

Legends Rattrap


Legends Waspinator


Legends Rhinox

[djross2000]

Ai-chan in a bikini. Goddamnit, Japan!