Beast Machines Geckobot

Robot Mode: It isn’t hard to see that Geckobot transforms into some kind of animal, as his robot mode is basically just the animal standing upright with a switched head. Even among the rather out-there designs of Beast Machines, though, Geckobot looks a bit strange. His arms are nearly the entire length of his body and adorned with colorful wings to boot. Ball-jointed throughout, he’s extremely well-articulated and can adopt all manners of strange poses.

Look-wise I’m a bit torn here. Geckobot is certainly among the stranger-looking Beast Warriors I’ve seen, which is a plus for me. At the same time, though, the only thing that makes him really stand out are those wings on his arms, and they don’t really come into play in robot mode much. Still, he is nicely detailed and while most of him is rather boring in terms of colors, the wings make up for that. So bottom line I’d call him an average Beast Machines figure in robot mode, despite his rather strange design.

Beast Mode: Despite the name, Geckobot does not transform into a gecko, but rather into a Draco, also known as a Flying Dragon. No, not the mythological fire-breathing creature, but rather the much more diminutive but actually existing gliding lizard species. This is also the mode where Geckobot really shines (at least when compared to his robot mode).

Now usually Flying Dragons have their ‘wings’ (actually glider webs) between their arms and legs, but Geckobot has them attached to a bump on his back. It works, though, and looks really cool. The wings can unfold and point forward in a kind of attack mode. All four legs retain full articulation and the beast mode head has a rather strange feature: the eyes of the dragon are actually facets of the figure’s spark crystal, which can be unveiled by flipping open his head. Given Beast Machines’ overall metaphysical slant, the fact that Geckobot sees with his spark in beast mode might carry some pretty weird philosophical connotations. Or it’s just a neat feature, your call. Anyway, a pretty good-looking beast mode. The better mode for this figure in my book.

Remarks: Seeing as Beast Machines featured only a relatively small cast, it was a given that the accompanying toy line would consist of quite a few no-show characters. Geckobot is one such character. His only in-media appearance to date is in the Transformers Collectors Club Magazine in a story set on a pre-Beast Wars Cybertron. Otherwise, though, he’s pretty much a blank slate.

When it comes to Beast Wars and Beast Machines, I’m somewhat of a completist, which is why I got Geckobot. He certainly isn’t anywhere close to the best figure from that era, but he’s a good figure for his time. Probably not everyone’s cup of tea, but a rather out-there design, which I like. So bottom line: only for fans of Beast Wars / Machines and not a must-have for those, either, but nice.

Rating: C+

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