Revenge of the Fallen Ransack

Series: Revenge of the Fallen
Allegiance: Decepticon
Categories: Scout
Year: 2009

Back in the distant past of Cybertron, when flight was a new technology, Ransack was first of the flying aces. He was a ruthless combatant, blasting his opponents out of the sky, and then strafing the helpless troops stuck on the ground without cover. He may be past his prime and equipped with outdated weapons now, but there was a time when Ransack was the most feared name on Cybertron.

Robot Mode: Ransack's robot mode looks kind of awkward, almost skeletal. You get the feeling he isn't built to walk on two legs. His actual body is rake-thin, while the wings from his vehicle mode give the impression of a long cape or coat he carries around his shoulders. I especially like his head, which just looks cool somehow. Ransack carries off the look of a World War I warrior in robot mode almost as well as he does in vehicle mode.

Looks aside, Ransack is pretty posable, though some parts of his construction do get in the way at times. He carries an old-style machine gun on one arm as a weapon, two bombs on the other. Ransack can also assume a kind of 'battle mode'. His wings unfold and form a single surface behind his neck. Additionally he can swing the propeller on his chest forward to shred opponents at close quarter.

All in all I like Ransack's robot mode. It isn't the best, but it looks exactly as it should: Old, slightly awkward, outdated. So mission accomplished. A well-made robot mode.

Alternate Mode: This is where Ransack truly shines, assuming an alternate mode we have never seen in Transformers history before: A World War I biplane. It's quite an amazing bit of engineering how all the various robot pieces fit together The result is a very authentic looking biplane (see the picture where Ransack stands together with some model biplanes, provided by Desastron).

The only thing that is slightly off about the biplane is that, to my knowledge, there was no such plane that had the machine guns under the wings. But whatever, it's Ransack's only fault in this mode. Apart from that, a very nice, good-looking biplane. And as I said, so far the only biplane in Transformer history. So thumbs up for the vehicle mode.

Remarks: ROTF Ransack continues the trend of using classic plane designs begun by Generation 2 Ransack (who was a World War II fighter). And while Ransack did not appear in the Revenge of the Fallen movie, he was more or less given a possible backstory by it as one of the Seekers, who have hidden on Earth throughout its history. An old warrior and looking the part, Ransack is very good Scout-class figure despite his slightly awkward robot mode. Easily recommended to all fans of classic vehicle modes.

Rating: A-