Beast Machines Rav

Dedication: This review is dedicated to our little canary bird Sunny, who passed away on Friday, June 19, 2020. Sunny was with us for eight years and enchanted anyone who knew her or heard her sing. We’ll miss you, little tweety bird.

Prelude: When one hears the name Rav in relation to Transformers, one either thinks that someone has shortened the name Ravage or has no idea whatsoever what it means. Few remember Rav, the Deployer from Beast Machines. Few would even be able to say what exactly a Deployer is. Well, today we’re going to find out. Let’s say go!

Robot Mode: Rav doesn’t have a robot mode as such, his primary mode is that of a bird. Not sure what kind of bird he is supposed be, I assume some kind of eagle of falcon, but he is unmistakably a bird. He is mostly transparent red plastic with golden highlights and looks pretty cool that way. Sadly the bird is almost completely immobile, only the feet can move. Rav can’t even spread his wings, unfortunately. He looks good sitting there, can pose on the arm of a bigger figure like Optimus Primal, but that’s pretty much it for this mode. Looking good, but little else.

Alternate Mode: Rav is a Deployer, which means he not only transforms into a weapon (a Battle Master by current terminology), but he also does so more or less automatically by releasing the spring on the back of his tail. The wings open up to release the crossbow stored inside his body, the head and beak fold in, and the only thing you have to do manually is to flip out the bow parts of the crossbow.

The resulting weapon is a bit of a strange thing. It’s clearly meant to be a crossbow, but not one that can be held in hand by anyone. It’s more like an artillery crossbow, like those big things on wheels you see in old medieval movies. It looks good as such, but can do little more than stand there and fire its two arrows / missiles. So bottom line: a fully functional alternate mode, looking good, but kind of weird.

Remarks: Rav was among the many Beast Machines toys that never scored an appearance in the TV show, but he did at least have short stint in the comic books from 3H Production, specifically Transformers Universe: The Wreckers. It wasn’t much of an appearance, granted, but he was there, which is more than quite a few other Beast Machines toys can say. He was also among the Maximals serving Onyx Prime in the final arc of the IDW Transformers continuity.

I bought Rav during a trip to San Diego with my dad, so he holds some sentimental value for me. I mostly got him because I got it in my head to have at least one Transformer from every gimmick group ever and Rav is my representative of Beast Machines’ Deployers. Much like Beast Machines as a whole, he looks pretty good, but has quite a few shortcomings. So to sum it up: recommended only to people who love Beast Machines, weird gimmicks, or obscure characters.

Rating: C+

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