Power of the Primes Battletrap

Prelude: The original G1 Battletrap was a so-called Duocon, meaning a robot that fell apart into two separate vehicles. Now technically this new incarnation of Battletrap is NOT a Duocon, he is a combiner consisting of two separate robots, each with their own vehicle mode. So we will first take a short look at those two individual robots and then see how they work combined.

Roadtrap: Roadtrap is a Legends-sized blue robot with red and yellow highlights. His proportions are pretty well done, considering that he basically transforms into a pair of legs, and it’s nice that the front of his car mode forms the feet. I always like it when vehicle parts are a big part of the robot mode. Articulation is very good thanks to ball joints and while you can see the seam where he splits into a pair of legs, he holds together very well. No weapon, sadly, but that’s the only downside.

Roadtrap transforms into a blue car. Overall the car looks pretty good, though the rear roof of it is clearly the chest of the robot mode and the rear end of the car is kind of open. Still, a nice-looking car and as much detailing as you can reasonably expect in this size class. Overall a nice car mode. Not spectacular, but good.

Battleslash: The second Legends-sized robot is Battleslash, a white robot with blue and black highlights. Battleslash isn’t quite as nicely proportioned as his partner, being almost as wide as he’s tall with rather short arms and massive hips. Still, he is nicely articulated and actually has a weapon, kind of, in that he has the rotor of his copter mode on his arm. Not as nice a robot as Roadtrap, but okay.

Battleslash transforms into a white military helicopter. It’s not the most realistic helicopter mode ever, but you can clearly recognize it for what it is. Not much more I can say here. A sufficient vehicle mode, but no more than that.

Combined Mode: The combined mode of both robots is called Battletrap. Roadtrap becomes the hip and legs, while Battleslash becomes the upper body, arms, and head. Roadtrap’s robot mode basically splits down the middle with the chest pieces sliding down to become kneepads, while Battleslash’s legs become the arms and a new, bigger head emerges from the helicopter cockpit that is the chest. The resulting robot is about Deluxe-sized or thereabouts and looks fabulous.

Battletrap couldn’t look more 1980s anime mecha if he tried. The combination of aircraft upper body with car legs looks great and the robot itself is extremely nicely articulated, too. Battletrap can bend with the best of them, no limitations I could see. Amazing for a figure put together from two other figures.

There are at least three different ways to put together Battletrap’s back, where the rotor from the helicopter ends up. The instruction sheets would have you just put Battleslash’ smaller arms straight down with the rotor between them. You can configure them differently, though, if you want the rotor to be able to spin or stand at an angle. See the pictures. Personally I prefer the third version, which is also the one I used for the bigger image map.

In total I must say that I just love Battletrap’s combined mode. I wasn’t sure I would, as I was never that big a fan of the original Duocons and didn’t expect too much from a combiner made from two Legends-sized figures, but I was proven wrong. Battletrap is fabulous, nothing else I can say here. Look, articulation, everything. The only thing missing is a weapon. The package art shows Battletrap wielding the rotor like a sword, but it’s not really meant to detach and he can’t hold it in his hand if it was. But that’s just about the only downside. Otherwise: a five-star combined mode.

Remarks: Battletrap never appeared in the original Transformers cartoon, but had minor roles in both the Marvel comics – where he was a member of the Mayhem Attack Squad – and the Japanese Headmasters cartoon. He was briefly mentioned in the Dreamwave comics, too, where the Duocons were the prototypes for Shockwave’s experiments to create a triple changer. Still, he got the most personality form his original tech spec profile, which stated that – unlike fellow Duocon Flywheels – he was sane and able to use his two separate vehicle forms in harmony.

The original G1 Duocons were little more than a gimmick, but this Power of the Primes update is a really nice all-around toy. Did we need the two vehicles to have robot modes of their own? Probably not, as I at least will display Battletrap exclusively in his combined form. But it’s nice that they have them and everything works well together. Plus I adore the look, which is pure late 80s anime mecha look. Very nicely done. Now we can but hope that we will get a Flywheels, too. (Flytrap and Tankwheel?). So to sum it up: a near-perfect execution of the underlying concept. No complaints.

Rating: A-