Beast Wars Tarantulas (Transmetal)

Series: Beast Wars
Allegiance: Predacon
Categories: Deluxe Transmetal
Function: Ninja Warrior
Year: 1998

There are few Predacons spinning webs of violence and deceit as skillfully as the eight-legged ninja warrior Tarantulas. After the quantum surge, Tarantulas was delighted to discover himself as a meched-out arachnid with motor-cross vehicle-like capabilities. Instead of constantly relying on stealth and surprise, Tarantulas now races into battle on his wicked new wheels, converting into a new animalized robot mode that makes him virtually unstoppable in battle!

Robot Mode: In the Beast Wars tradition Tarantulas has a robot mode that is a near exact likeness of the character seen on TV. I can't quite remember whether he ever used that saw-like weapon of his in the series, but it's a detail at best. Tarantulas looks like the sneaky, devious bastard he is, slender and creepy, but at the same time strong and dangerous thanks to his broad shoulders and the spider legs on his back. His posability is excellent (as is the standard for most Beast Wars toys) and there really isn't anything to complain about here. An excellent robot.

Alternate Modes: Like all Transmetals Tarantulas has a beast mode that can be slightly modified into a vehicle mode. His beast mode is a spider (hard to guess from his name, eh?) and he gives a pretty creepy showing as one. His long behind makes him a bit back-heavy, but if you pose the many legs correctly it's not a problem. His saw weapon is positioned beneath his pincers, who are sadly nearly immobile in this mode. Otherwise no complaints, though.

For a vehicle mode, the spider folds out two wheels, a large on in the back, a smaller one (the saw weapon) in front. The legs are tucked upwards so as not to interfere with the wheels. The resulting toy can't really stand on the two wheels, but if you roll it right it can travel quite a distance before falling over. As Transmetal vehicle modes go it isn't the best, but decent.

Remarks: Tarantulas was a character one loved to hate. Sneaky and devious enough to rival Megatron, he was an undercover agent for the Predacon Secret Police and worked for the Tripredacus Council, who fully intended to wipe out both Maximals and those Predacons descendant from the Decepticons. Tarantulas always played his own game, using whoever was available as pawns, until his own machinations resulted in his demise. A brilliant bad guy character.

The toy gives a very good showing depicting this fun villain. The vehicle mode is nothing too special, but both the robot and the beast mode are quite good and an excellent likeness to the TV incarnations. So if you're a fan of Beast Wars, especially the villains, this is a must-have for you. And even if you're not, Tarantulas is an excellent toy.

Rating: B+