G1 Predaking

Hi guys, been a while I know, but life has had me busy. Anyway today im going to be looking at.....

G1 Predaking!!

Now the Predacons were the 4th Decepticon combiner group shown in the Transformers TV series, first featured in season 3s "The Five Faces of Darkness". They have made many apperances throughout season 3 almost always as a group so I never really got a feel for all thier individual natures. The set is is actually the biggest gestalt in the G1 toy line and still one of the largest Transformers out there. Now lets have a look at these guys.

Razorclaw, the leader of the group transforms into fearsome lion who's claws can slice through solid steel. I really like his lion mode and his overall color scheme. The articulation is a little more than what you would expect from a G1 figure. He has arm, waist, leg and knee joints. Most of these are for his transformations but they are still very nice to have. For weapons he has his sword and double barrel cannon that mounts on his arm aswell as on his back in lion mode.

Rampage forms the right arm of Predaking and transforms into a tiger capable of leaping great distances. Being a big cat fan, he and Razorclaw are easily my favorites of this set. Much like Razorclaw, he has articulation in his arms, waist, legs and knees. His weapons include a sword and 2 guns, which can be mounted on the shoulders of his tiger mode.

Divebomb forms the left arm of Predaking, as well as provides his wings. He transforms into a falcon, or maybe an eagle its kind of hard to tell, but he is a very scary looking bird of prey. Again he has articulation in his arms, waist, legs and knees and even some in his tail and wings. Divebomb also has a nice Voltron like head as the mouth opens up to reveal his face. His weapons are the standard 2 guns that mount on his wings, and a sword.

Tantrum forms the right leg of Predaking and transforms into a buffalo, although I think he looks more like a bull. Either way, I dont want to be in his path while he is stampeding. His articulation is quite different from the other Predacons. He has moving head, arm and elbow joints, but his elbows move in and out rather than up and down. He has the standard 2 guns and a swoed for weapons, but he also has a giant twin barrel canon mounted on his back in buffalo mode. He also seems to have blasters molded onto his arms for more firepower.

Last but not least we have Headstrong, the stubborn old rino who becomes the left leg of Predaking. Even his toy is stubborn in the fact that he is the most brick like of the group. He only has articulation in his arms and elbows. He has the same set of weapons as the others, and like Tantrum he has a big double barrel cannon to put on his rino mode's back.

Now the 5 Predacons look great together. I just love thier warm color scheme. They look like a blazing inferno of beastial fury. They all stand about the size of a modern deluxe, which means they can fit in nicely with the Classics figures if you wish to put them there. It's worth noting that while these guys all have the same weapon sets, each figures weapons are molded differently which helps tell the weapons apart. They also all feature some level of diecast metal in their bodies which is always a cool thing. So lets get to the big guy himself.

As i mentioned earlier, Predaking is the biggest G1 gestalt out there, and even by today's standards he is pretty big. He's roughly as tall as a modern leader class figure and due to his diecast, twice as heavy. His look is awsome, and he is definatly as mejestic as his name implies. Aside from the usual lack of articulation, he does have a couple flaws. His wings dont hold on very stable and basically rest on Razorclaws front paws while a long peg sticks into his back. Also, Razorclaws sword looks like a dinky pocket knife in Predakings mighty hand, a bigger sword made specially for combined mode would have made this set so much better. But even with these flaws, Predaking is well worth getting and is a wonderful addition to any Transformers collection.

A new reissue for Predaking will be available soon and can be preordered now at many toy sites. This set will replace the yellow plastic seen in this review with a more golden type, and will also feature new decales. Personally I'm sticking with my current set, but if you dont have Predaking yet, your chance to get him is here and it would be worth while to take it.