Power of the Primes Predaking

Prelude: First of, many thanks to Reyjin, who loaned me his Predaking for this review. Predaking is widely regarded as the biggest and baddest G1 combiner of them all, and Hasbro took that into account by making him only the second-ever combiner to be released in the Titan-Class (Devastator having been the first). So let’s see whether the King can live up to the hype! Let’s say go!

Individual Figures: Usually when reviewing a combiner I review each individual figure first before tackling the combiner as a whole. Not this time, though. Much like with the combiner teams of Generation 1, it doesn’t really make sense to review them separately. Not just because they come as a set and aren’t available individually, but also because, well, you’ll see.

Let’s start with Razorclaw, the team leader who transforms from lion to robot. He is basically a spitting image of his G1 predecessor, but not just in a good way. Much like G1 Razorclaw, he is a box on legs in beast mode and while the robot is a good deal better articulated than it was 32 years earlier, it’s still a box on legs, just with arms. Not that surprising, given that you need a big box to contain that big combiner head Razorclaw carries inside him, but still somewhat disappointing. Flipping open the lion’s head reveals a Matrix, which contains the Prime Master Onyx Prime.

The robot mode is the better mode here, no doubt, but taken by itself this figure would be more at home in a kid-oriented toy line rather than a collector’s line, simply because it’s rather simple in both looks and design. Razorclaw carries half of Predaking’s big arm cannon as his only weapon. No sword, which will become something of a trend in this review. So bottom line: it’s clearly meant to be a new version of G1 Razorclaw, but it’s hard to see where 32 years of advancement in engineering have gone. I’d like to write more here, but can’t really think of anything.

Divebomb is the Predacon most famous for supplying his wings to the combiner. He is also, in my opinion, the best-looking of the team in robot mode. Nicely articulated, the big wings, the eagle mask, all looking very good. He, too, is rather boxy, of course, but it doesn’t look quite as square as with Razorclaw. When he fully spreads his wings they do look a bit oversized on him, but that’s really a minor thing. He carries a big rucksack altogether, but thanks to the wings you don’t really notice it all that much.

Divebomb transforms into an eagle, of course, and much like with G1 the eagle is really the robot, just with the arms tugged tight against his sides and the legs folded in. The robot face disappears into the eagle’s beak and that’s pretty much it. In both modes Divebomb wields twin laser rifles that become the shoulder guns of the combiner. No sword, sadly. So bottom line here: a good robot mode, but sadly the beast mode isn’t much better than it was all the way back in 1986.

Much like Divebomb, Rampage also comes with something of a rucksack in robot mode, somewhat more noticeable because there aren’t any wings on it. Rampage is the least-boxy looking of the Predacons in robot mode and almost manages decent proportions. He is nicely articulated, the only things that could have been solved better are those big tiger legs hanging of his lower arms. Rampage carries the front portion of Predaking’s arm cannon as a rifle. No sword, again.

Sadly a decent-looking robot mode does not transform into a good beast mode. Rampage’s tiger mode is very limited in both looks and articulation. There is some leg movement, but not much. The rifle serves as possibly the least realistic-looking tiger tail ever made and overall the beast mode just doesn’t look all that good. Best to move on here.

Finally there are Tantrum & Headstrong, whom I’ll just put together since they are basically the same figure with only minor differences. They are the tallest of the Predacons and look pretty good, as long as you look at them from the front. Looking at them from the back, though, reveals a truly humongous rucksack, the thigh of Predaking to be exact. It reaches down to their knees and while it doesn’t really hinder their posing ability, it’s still huge. Additionally, the two of them also have to carry Predaking’s feet around. They’re supposed to be weapons, huge gun pods they can attach to their shoulders, but really: it’s feet. Big feet. And no swords.

Their beast modes, a buffalo and a rhinoceros respectively (neither of whom are predators, just saying), also struggle with hiding Predaking’s thigh. It hangs under their bellies, almost touching the ground, only partially hidden by their beast mode legs. Which is sad, because apart from that the beast modes are pretty good. The upside is that the big feet weapons look better here, mounted on their backs, than they do in robot mode, but still. Nothing much you can here.

Overall I can say about the individual figures: they are there. You have five robots that become beasts. And you can combine them into a big robot, which is really the only reason to get them, so let’s move on to that.

Combined Figure: The emphasis of this toy is clearly the combiner. While the individual figures are all a bit hampered by the amount of combiner kibble they carry with them, the combiner that results from them is lean, very solid, holding together well, and nicely articulated, too. Predaking is also quite tall, easily twice the height of your average CW Combiner. He is a lot leaner than his G1 predecessor. This is mostly due to the figures combining slightly differently than they did in days of yore.

Tantrum and Headstrong still become the legs, but this time they not only supply the lower legs, but also the thighs and half a hip each. Razorclaw is merely the chest and head this time, not the entire torso, as both Rampage and Divebomb become both arm and shoulder each. Finally the belly of Predaking is formed by Divebomb’s wing rucksack, which (naturally) also supplies the wings on the combiner’s back.

Predaking is probably the most stable combiner I’ve ever had in hand. You can put him in all sorts of poses without any danger of him going to pieces on you. He is only the second combiner I have ever managed to get into a stable Kung-Fu kick pose (G1 Abominus was the first). The shoulder guns are posable, the head can turn, he can even pull off a “punch the ground” pose. Very nice. The wings on his back might be a tad too small for this giant figure, but they still look very cool. The arm cannon also works very nicely, which leaves just one question: where is the sword?

Anyway, Predaking is a superb combiner with only very few minor complaints against him. The first one would be the open back, only superficially hidden by Razorclaw’s legs. The absence of the sword, of course. And finally, this is more of an aesthetics thing than a real complaint, he’s got a very, very narrow hip. Overall, though, I really like Titan-Class Predaking in combined mode. He’s a bit out of scale with most other combiners, of course, but that doesn’t take anything away from him. He’s big, he’s fun, and he’s Predaking. ‘Nuff said!

Partner: I briefly mentioned that above, but Predaking also comes with his own Prime Master, Onyx Prime, who transforms into a Matrix core for Predaking (or Razorclaw) to wear in his chest. Onyx is your standard Prime Master, nothing unusual here, but it is noteworthy that he is ONLY available together with Predaking. So if you want to gather all 13 Prime Masters, well, then you need to buy this set.

Remarks: For all that G1 Predaking is often regarded as the most powerful of all combiners, the facts don’t really support that. In the G1 cartoon he was basically Sky Lynx’ punching ball. In the Marvel Comics he showed a bit more promise, but was still soundly defeated by Megatron and on a separate occasion by the Dinobots. He did get some revenge in Machinima’s Power of the Primes series by defeating the Dinobot combiner Volcanicus, but ended up having his head torn off by Megatronus. So... yeah, Predaking really needs to back up his hype more, I’d say.

As for the toy, well it really depends. As a combiner Predaking is really good. He holds together well, very posable, looking great, the whole package. Some minor issues exist, yes, but they can easily be lived with (or fixed via an upgrade set). Once you disassemble Predaking, though, well... you shouldn’t. Because the individual figures comprising him were a secondary consideration at best. I could not, in good conscience, recommend any of the five if not for the fact that they are a set and combine into a really cool giant figure. So bottom line: Predaking is well worth getting if you are satisfied with leaving him in combined mode forever. If you are looking for a combiner team with great individual figures, too, though, then this is not the king you are looking for.

Rating: B