For Revenge of the Fallen, we were treated to one of Soundwave's minions in the form of Ravage. Ravage had an excellent beast mode but was plagued by a horrendous alt mode. Now, the next of Soundwave's soldiers enters the scene in the form of Laserbeak.

Bio

Laserbeak grows more independent each day spent away from Cybertron. The loyal servant of Soundwave and the Decapticons has become more self-aware since arriving in the Milky Way. Laserbeak continuously monitors Autobot troop movement from afar, plotting the perfect moment to unleash his laser attack.

Strength     

Intelligence 

Speed        

Endurance    

Rank         

Courage      

Fireblast    

Skill        

Alt Mode

Supposedly, Laserbeak is a hover jet. He looks more like a heavily armored raptor. There are some hover jet elements to him, such as the VTOL turbines on the wings. However, he definitely has an other-worldly feel to him. The color scheme is mostly boring, utilizing unpainted plastic with black here and there.

Laserbeak comes with 2 gatling cannons that can peg to either VTOL. One cannon is static, while the other features a MechTech function. Pushing forward on the hammer will "720" the front barrel of the cannon and convert it to a laser cannon. Just make sure your fingers aren't in the way. Also, you can stuff the static cannon into the back of the MechTech cannon to make a monster weapon. This weapon can peg under the cockpit.

Alt Mode Summary: Not sure how convincing an alt mode this is...

Alt Mode Specs

Length:4.5in/114.3mm
Wingspan:6in/152.4mm
Height:2.13in/54.1mm
Scale Ratio:N/A
Detailed cockpit:N/A

Transformation

The transformation basically consists of pulling everything out. The cockpit folds down in two increments to extend the beast mode head.

Beast Mode

All I can think of is Inferno yelling "Turkey shoot!". Actually, he resembles a vulture that was genetically spliced with a praying mantis. The mostly unpainted body gets accented by red plumage on the wings. You can still mount the weapons on the top of the wings or, if you prefer, on the bottom.

With the multi-segmented joints on the various limbs, you can get some pretty good poses from him. The tail and neck both feature three segments using ball joints. The wings are segmented by pin rivets. The legs aren't quite sturdy enough due to their small (and thin) size, but you can balance him out if you take your time.

Articulation

Feet:Ball joint, 45 degree bend and unlimited rotation.
Knees:Rivet pin, 135 degree bend.
Hips:Rivet pin for unlimited rotation.
Tail:Tri-segmented featuring ball joints.
Shoulders:Rivet pin, 30 degree bend.
Wings:Tri-segmented featuring rivet pins.
Neck:Tri-segmented featuring ball joints.
Head:Ball joint

Most of the joints have some amazing possibilities. The legs and feet are on the smallish side, which hinders posing.

Robot Mode Summary:Beast Mode Summary

Beast Mode Specs

Length:6in/152.4mm
Wingspan:11in/279.4mm
Height:3.5in/88.9mm
Supplied accessories:(1) Cannon, (1) MechTech Cannon

Value

While the alt mode is pretty uninspiring, the beast mode is a step or two up from the effort given Ravage. However, with the way the wings fold in an out, they could be a source of premature wear.

Summary

I must admit I went into this review thinking I wasn't going to give Laserbeak a good score. While the alt mode definitely leaves much to be desired, I've grown to like the beast mode. That's saying something for me, who normally shurgs off Beastformers. If you get this one, keep him in Beast mode.

Final Verdict:

Class:Deluxe

MSRP:$12

Reviewer	Blitzwing
Date	June 25th 2011
Score	(6 out of 10)
Reads	13162

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