Rise of the Beasts Optimus Primal & Arrowstripe

Prelude: Maybe you’ve noticed by now, but I’m a big fan of the Beast Battle Masters from Rise of the Beasts. Some of them you can buy individually, while others are only available together with a bigger figure that you don’t really want, but have to buy anyway. Such is the case for Tigatr… oh, sorry, Arrowstripe, the Battle Master that forces you to buy an Optimus Primal figure, too. Let’s say go!

Optimus Primal: In fact, let us begin with the aforementioned Optimus Primal figure that you don’t really want, but have to buy anyway if you want Arrowstripe. The Rise of the Beasts line isn’t hurting for Optimus Primal figures (this is my fifth, actually) and I can say with confidence that this one here is far from the best. It isn’t totally bad, mind you, but it’s a rather simplified figure with the bare minimum of a transformation and nothing that makes it stand out in any way.

It's decently poseable, sure, and while the transformation really just consists of flipping out the chest and head and turn it around 180 degrees, it still works surprisingly well. That said, it’s a very simplified figure. If you want a good Optimus Primal figure from the movie, there are many better options. If you don’t care about the character much, you don’t need this figure here, either. So let’s call it like it is, this Primal figure here is an accessory for the Battle Master and will end up in quite a few cheap eBay lots, I’m sure. Let’s move on to the real reason we’re here.

Arrowstripe - Beast Mode: Cards on the table, this little beast here is Tigatron, never mind the name. Why he isn’t called that I have no idea, but come on: it’s a white tiger in a Beast Wars themed toy line. Who else could he be but Tigatron? Okay, rant over, let’s look at the little beast itself.

Arrowstripe’s main mode is a white tiger with a techno-organic look, some black stripes on the head, and some grey details on the belly. It looks pretty nice, though the mostly-white coloring swallows quite a bit of the detail work. The stock renders had a bit more color on this figure, some blue on the tail and stripes on his shoulders, but they were removed for the final product.

Articulation isn’t great. In fact it might be the worst of the Beast Battle Masters yet. Tigatr… damn it, Arrowstripe can nod his head a bit, his tail (really his weapon barrel) can move up and down, and the forelegs can swivel about 120 degrees or so. The rest of him is immobile. I think some rear leg articulation could have been built in without too much difficulty, but nothing to it.

So bottom line: a nice-looking white tiger, but the limited articulation drags him down a bit.

Arrowstripe - Weapon Mode: Arrowstripe (got it this time) transforms into a crossbow-like weapon with a 5mm handle. The tiger splits lengthwise, the black “spine” becoming the main weapon with the tail serving as barrel, while the two body-halves become the crossbow’s arms. The tiger’s head is now upside down on the rear end of the crossbow, which weirdly reminds me of Victory Leo’s jet mode. The tiger’s rear legs frame the barrel.

The weapon looks cool in a very weird way and can, of course, be held by most Transformers figures thanks to its standardized 5mm handle. That said, it’s not my favorite of the Beast Battle Master weapons. Given how limited the articulation is in beast mode, I expected a bit more from the weapon mode than… well, this. So bottom line for the weapon mode, it works fine but isn’t particularly spectacular.

Remarks: There was no white tiger in the Rise of the Beasts movie, not under the name Tigatron, nor under the name Arrowstripe. He is purely a toy character, which makes it even weirder for me that they used a different name for him. Heck, even Skullcruncher got to keep his original name and he didn’t appear in the movie, either, never mind that he was the only Decepticon in the entire line. So why Arrowstripe instead of Tigatron? Sadly I have yet to find a satisfying answer to that question other than “it’s just a toy, dummy!”

So bottom line for this toy: it’s nice and I wanted it for completeness’ sake, but it’s far from the best of the Battle Masters. Plus it comes with that superfluous Optimus Primal figure that you’ll probably never get rid off unless you sneak it into some kind of sales lot.

Rating: C- (Optimus Primal) / C+ (Arrowstripe)