Like many a Transfan, I was sceptical when I first heard that Hasbro was going to produce a Savage/Noble toy (and let's face it, the first wave of BM toys weren't exactly show-accurate). But wouldn't you know it, they not only pulled it off, but did a darn fine job of it too.
Noble Mode
Noble stands around 13 cm (5") tall, 15.5 cm (6") with the
Savage head on his back. Red is the predominant colour on this toy; however he does have dark blue patches on his thighs, upper arms, head, and torso.
Purple is used on his muzzle and lower torso region, and he has translucent blue on his chest and head. His claws are metallic gold. A dark blue Spark crystal is on his right arm, with a merged Maximal-Vehicon symbol.
Aside from the colours, leg spurs, and the Savage kibble on his back, Noble looks dead-accurate, from the coloured patches on his face to the spikes on his arms. His limbs and torso have fur patterns on them, and his upper arms appear to be undergoing some kind of shedding process (there's patches of fur torn away to reveal new fur underneath). Despite the extreme topheaviness of the toy, it stands very well thanks to stiff leg and ankle joints. The ears move, the mouth opens, the waist turns, the stumpy spiked tail wags, and the arms can spread wide apart to embrace victims in a death hug. His large hands enable Noble to stand on his head for the twisted amusement of his cruel and sadistic master, Blightscream.
Noble's gimmick is quite intricate. Raise up the large hump on his back, lift up the smaller panel underneath, and release it to make his right forearm spin around in a circular motion, as if slicing off Nightsqueak's hair (and then the rest of his head). You can see the white gears moving about inside his translucent chest. Pushing up the Spark crystal locks the arm in place, allowing it to be posed. It can also be popped off completely, for a maimed look. Shouldn't have gotten so close to Obsidian there, Noble.
Transformation
Fairly complex, involving more than simply flopping Noble down on his belly. The hips and Savage head piece rotate around and Noble's legs fold up to become the beast's tails. The wings snap into holes on Savage's back. Contrary to other reviews that I've read, the wings on mine attach rather firmly.
Savage Mode
From nose to tail tips, Savage measures almost 18 cm (7") and has a wingspan of 20 cm (8"). His translucent blue wings are painted red on top with metallic gold trim. His teeth and back are also gold. Except for patches of blue fur, not a trace of Noble can be found in this mode.
Savage's head looks about a size too small, but other than that, he's identical to the show version. His head and back have thick scales moulded into them and his wings are ragged, giving him a battle-hardened look.
Pressing a button on the left side of his neck causes his mouth to open. Savage can squat low or stand tall thanks to his thick legs and long feet, and you can even mimic his waddling gait from the TV show. His two tails can thrash around to whack unsuspecting Vehicons (or Guanoboy for that matter).
Overall
Overall, Suspsy Sez: Although I kinda would've preferred a Mega-sized version myself, this is one fine toy. Fantastic detailing, good articulation, neat gimmick, and show-accurate in both modes. Whoever designed this toy deserves a promotion.
Suspy
Reviewer | Suspsy |
Date | November 9th 2001 |
Score | (10 out of 10) |
Reads | 7793 |
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