Beast Wars Snapper

Review by Soundscream:

Robot Mode: Snapper has the distinction of being one of the first Transformers figures I bought on my own. Back then one of the main criteria for me was the art work on the package and Snapper was fortunate in that the artist had a good day when he painted his. Something I only noticed recently: Snapper does somewhat resemble Movie Megatron (if you own the Beast Omnibus, you might want to take a look).

The robot mode is decent, though not very innovative. The red nicely complements the dark green of the figure. I like the two club-like hands and the fact that part of the shell transforms into a weapon. Only the head could have done with a bit more colors. Only his eyes are colored yellow, the rest is uniform green. His posability is excellent, as it is with most Beast Wars Basic figures. Funny side note: Snapper’s turtle head becomes his ass in robot mode, not his chest like you’d expect.

Alternate Mode: Snapper transforms into a snapping turtle (yes, they do exist). He does a decent job here, but doesn’t really stand out among the Beast Wars Basic figures, either. The dominant color here is green, which is very nicely accented with some yellow. The figure’s posability in alternate mode is far from great, though. His arms and legs barely offer anything in the way of cool poses (as much as turtles can pose, that is). His only gimmick here is the snapping jaw of the turtle.

Conclusion: To me Snapper is one of the better Basic figures of the series, but I have a hard time saying why. Maybe it’s his nice proportions or his big, threatening claws. Maybe his giant gun or maybe it’s just the memories of the back yard battles I fought with him twelve or so years ago. Snapper is not a must-have for collectors, that would be a bit much, but if you’re looking for good Basic/Scout-class figures, then you can’t do wrong here.

Rating: B-