DNA Design Predaking Upgrade Kit

 

Prelude: Roughly two years ago I reviewed the mighty Predaking from Power of the Primes, a Titan-Class combiner. While the combiner was pretty cool overall, it had several weak spots (and let us not talk of the individual members). Thankfully Reyjin, the guy who loaned me Predaking for a review, was also in possession of the DNA Upgrade Kit for the Predacon combiner. So let us see if DNA can fix the weak spots on the Titan. Let’s say go!

Upgrade Parts: The DNA Upgrade Kit for Predaking consists of the following parts. Let’s start with the most obvious one, the sword. That was usually the first thing people complained about when it came to Power of the Primes Predaking, the lack of a sword. Really, how can you release a Predaking without a sword? So we get a pretty big sword for Predaking to hold in his hands or store on his back. So mission accomplished.

Speaking of hands, Predaking had pretty big ones that served him well, but lacked one of Predaking’s well-known characteristics: the spiked brass knucks. DNA gives Predaking two new hands that not only have the spikes, but are also better articulated with individual fingers. Also, the spikes can fold forward when Predaking is making a fist, making his punches even more devastation. Here, too, mission accomplished.

Another thing many lamented about PotP Predaking was the size of the wings, so naturally we’re getting bigger wings which you can also unfold into five separate feathers / parts per wing. The wings do look better than the originals, I give you that, but they are still somewhat on the small side for a combiner the size of Predaking and if you fully unfold them it looks like he’s currently molting. TFC Ares did the wings better, in my opinion.

Finally there are some parts to make Predaking’s slim hop and open back a bit more presentable. A spine that clicks into the back and two parts that click onto the side of the lower torso. Those parts are, well, they are there. They do somewhat improve the King’s silhouette and I know some people were bothered by the open back, but really, I personally wouldn’t have needed those parts.

So as far as Predaking goes, I give props to the hands and sword, the wings are okay, and the other parts are somewhat superfluous. Much like the original figure is better left combined, though, the parts lose some of their luster when you apply them to the individual figures instead. The sword splits into seven different parts that can be used by the individual Predacons either separately or combined into larger weapons like a hammer or a kind of helicopter blade. That works out pretty well, but trying to put the spine piece on Razorclaw in either robot or beast mode does not. It looks like what it is, an extra part, not in any way an organic part of the robot.

Worst off is Divebomb, though, who has to compete with larger wings now. While they are still small on Predaking, they are HUGE on poor Divebomb, who can no longer bend his knees without the tips of the wings dragging on the ground. It doesn’t look that bad in eagle mode, mind you, but still: too large on the smaller figure.

Conclusion: While Power of the Primes Predaking is a pretty good figure overall, he really did need some help. The DNA Upgrade Kit solves most of his problems and as long as you leave him in combined mode (which you definitely should do, the individual robots are not that great), everything works out just fine. As mentioned above, the parts to broaden the belly and the spine thing I could have done without and the wings could still be improved upon, but overall the upgraded Predaking is definitely better than he was before.

So bottom line: if you have Power of the Primes Predaking, you definitely should get an upgrade for him, at the very least a sword. The DNA kit gives you the sword and quite a bit more on top, so overall I’d call it worth it for Predaking owners despite the relatively high price point (€70 at original retail, I believe). Still think TFC did the wings better, though.

Rating: B-