Galaxy Force Terrashaver

Prelude: Hailing from the Jungle Planet of Animatros, here is everyone’s favorite Pteranodon-Transformer, the mighty Swoo… wait, what? He’s not called Swoop? But… look at him! He becomes a Pteranodon! A flying dinosaur, for crying out loud! How can he not be called Swoop? Oh, he’s a bad guy? Okay, then, here comes the mighty Terrorsau... what? He’s not called Terrorsaur, either? Now you’re having me on! So what’s his name then? Uh… okay… Terrashaver. Because… I guess he can fly really close to the ground then? Anyway, here is Galaxy Force Terrashaver aka Cybertron Brimstone. Let’s say go!

Robot Mode: Terrashaver is a Deluxe-class figure that really doesn’t even attempt to hide what it transforms into. It’s basically a huge pair of wings with a head on top and a spindly lower body tacked into its underside. I’d estimate the wings and shoulder/neck area make up about two thirds of the body mass. He does manage to make it look good, though, at least in my opinion. Thankfully there are not that many doors on Animatros, because Terrashaver would have a lot of trouble then.

The figure features a nice micture of organic lines and technological detailing, as well as excellent articulation. Being quite top-heavy does impede his posing ability a bit here and there, but overall he can move really well. The big wings on his shoulders can be positioned up or sideways, whichever look you personally prefer. I also like that he has claws for hands instead of the usual fists-with-holes. Articulated claws, by the way. Not something you see very often in this size class.

Terrashaver does not have a gun or anything, but he does have a Cyberkey gimmick. Insert a Cyberkey into the slot on his back and two blades flip out of his wings. The gimmick makes a bit more sense in beast mode than it does for the robot, but it still makes him look quite dangerous. So bottom line for the robot mode: nothing too special, but a nice robot mode with no obvious flaws.

Alternate Mode: Big surprise, Terrashaver transforms into something with wings. A Pteranodon, to be precise. The head slides down into the body, the torso flattens against the underside, the arms become the legs, one legs becomes the had, while the other folds up underneath. Not the most complex transformation ever, but surprisingly it works quite well and the resulting flying creature has less of an underbelly than quite a few others I remember.

Terrashaver makes for a pretty nice Pteranodon. His legs (really the robot arms) are nicely articulated and support both a standing and a flying pose. The wings can flap up and down, the head can nod and open its beak. Thanks to his articulated feet in this mode, Terrashaver can easily perch atop my monitor, too. The Cyberkey gimmick is, as mentioned above, really made for this mode here and you can easily picture Terrashaver slashing through the air, using his blades to cleave enemies in two. Very nice.

So bottom line: a pretty decent Pteranodon mode, definitely one of the better avian modes I can remember.

Remarks: Terrashaver, called Brimstone in the Cybertron dub, was one of the henchmen of Flame Convoy / Scourge on the planet Animatros. He… yeah, he really didn’t do much except lurk in the background while things happened. He did end up joining the fight against the giant Galvatron during the series’ climax and later on joined the Space Bridge expansion project on the starship Lemuria under the command of Metroplex. He might be stupid, but he was smart enough to be on the winning side in the end.

Cybertron / Galaxy Force had tons of impressive figures and the Jungle Planet ones found a great style that married the somewhat-organic look of a beast with the technological detailings of machines (making them… BEAST MACHINES! He, he, sorry). Terrashaver is a nice example of this. He has no real flaws and works well in both modes. Of course his lack of on-screen characterization hasn’t exactly cemented him in anyone’s memory and while the figure is good, it’s not so good that it will be in anyone’s top 10 list, either. So bottom line, an good Cybertron / Galaxy Force figure, recommended to fans of techno-organic beasts and dinosaur Transformers.

Rating: B-