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Series: Beast Machines
Allegiance: Maximal
Categories: Basic
Year: 2001
The ocean depths conceal all intentions.
Not known for his intelligence or cunning, Hammerstrike is the best there is at what he does-destroy Vehicons. Of all the Maximals, Hammerstrike is the most battle hungry. Insatiable appetite for combat; devastating "frenzy" assault leaves few Vehicon survivors. Knows no fear, feels no pain and has an endurance second only to Cheetor. Calculating and fearless, Hammerhead gives the Vehicons a good reason to stay out of the water.
Robot Mode: Hammerstrike is a very thin, almost gangly robot. One thing that might turn some people off is his chest design, as there is a big hole in it through which you can see his spine. Yes, he has an actual spine. His arms are rather short and the combination of shoulder and elbow joints takes a bit of getting used to, but once you figure it out he’s quite posable.
Same goes for the lower body. His legs are very long and thin and have double-jointed knees with an additional ball joint thrown in, though only one of those joints is actually for posing in robot mode. His feet are formed from the rear fin of his shark mode and give him a surprisingly stable stance. Balancing him on just one foot is pretty much impossible, though, as the feet have almost no width.
Hammerstrike carries the head of his beast mode as a weapon, which can plug into either hand. You can imagine it as either a big blaster or a missile launcher. The orange projectile in it can snap forward, but not actually launch. Still looks pretty cool and Hammerstrike can pull off some very nice poses with it, too. So all in all the robot mode looks unusual and might turn some people off, but to me it looks good and both the design and detailing is very solid. No complaints.
Beast Mode: As the name (somewhat) suggests, Hammerstrike transforms into a techno-organic hammerhead shark. The largest part of the shark’s front is actually formed from Hammerstrike’s weapon, while his hands become the lower jaw and his legs unite to form the tail. Thanks to the double-jointed knees the shark actually has posability, he can flip his tail from side to side. The fins on the side are on ball joints, so they’re posable, too. Also, it can open and close its jaw, more or less.
Of the various fish Transformers I know (and there aren’t that many, really) Hammerstrike might just be the leanest and most posable, too. The techno-organic look doesn’t really lend itself to camouflage, of course, but that wasn’t the point for any of the Beast Machines Transformers anyway. The bottom line is, it’s a cool-looking, nicely proportioned and posable beast mode. No complaints.
Remarks: Seeing as the Beast Machines TV series had a very small cast (14 in all if I counted correctly), the accompanying toyline was, of course, full of figures that never appeared on screen or in any accompanying media. Hammerstrike is one such no-show. Still, many of the no-show Beast Machines figures were pretty good toys, so unless you’re holding his lack of in-media appearances against him or don’t like beast mode Transformers in general, there is very little to complain about when it comes to Hammerstrike. Two good modes, a non-standard look, great detailing. He’s certainly not a must-have, but as a big fan of the Beast Era Transformers, I’m glad to have him.
Rating: B+
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