Beast Wars Neo Cohrada

Robot Mode: Cohrada's robot mode looks pretty decent. Most of his torso is made from the hood of the cobra, covering it in scales. His legs are also part of the hood in beast mode, giving it the same look. His right arm is the cobra's tail, making for a long, whip-like appendage. His left arm features a robotic claw and something his profile describes as a machine gun, but it's really a water squirt gun. Posability is quite decent, the only real problem here is that the whip-arm doesn't really stay posed past the third joint, it just hangs there. Still, you can manage some dynamic poses.

The entire package should make Cohrada look rather scary and Predacon-like, especially given the cobra head on his chest and the fact that reptiles and insects are usually the bad guys. But his head features an easy, disarming smile (which is not very consistent whith his profile, but whatever), which gives him a good-guy-feel. So all in all, a good, if unspectacular robot mode.

Alternate Mode: Whereas Cohrada's robot mode is okay, but nothing special, his beast mode is really spectacular. He transforms into a cobra and does so very well. Okay, one might argue that the head and hood are a bit out of proportion compared to the rest of the body, but that is pretty much this mode's only flaw. The cobra is really nicely done. Scales cover its body, its tail is very posable, the drawings on the back of the hood look pretty cool and it even comes with an attack mode of sorts, seeing as Cohrada's squirt gun can peek out between the cobra's jaws. The beast mode is somewhat limited in posability, though. You can stand it up just fine, but that's the only pose where it's stable. The cobra can't slither along the floor either, as the head can't turn upward from the hood. Still, as beast modes go, this is one is pretty damn good.

Cohrada has a hybrid third mode called a weapons plattform which can be manned by other Transformers. The platform is basically the cobra with the robot legs extended sideways and Cohrada's squirt gun pointed forward. The 'gunner' of this platform can stand behind it and look forward through the open panel where Cohrada's robot mode head goes through during transformation. The idea of this kind of hybrid third mode is recycled from B'Boom, but doesn't really look any better here than it did there. Of Cohrada's three modes, this is by far the worst.

Remarks: Cohrada is part of the Japanese-exclusive Beast Wars Neo series and was, to my knowledge, never sold outside Japan. I think he is actually the first snake transformer ever (predating Night Viper by a year) and his being a Cybertron/Maximal is unusual given his beast mode. Still, he makes for a nice figure, especially in beast mode. I wouldn't call him a must-have, but if you're into beast Transformers and get an opportunity to buy this one for a decent price, I'd recommend doing so.

Rating: B