General Information:
Release Date: July 2021
Price Point: $22.99 (depending on retailer)
Retailer: General Release (Amazon, Entertainment Earth, Target, Walmart etc.)
Accessories: Missiles, Cyberbee
Official images and text below in italics are from Amazon.com:
- DISCOVER KINGDOM: Worlds collide when the Maximals and Predacons join the fight, coming together with the Autobots and Decepticons in an epic battle that will alter their destiny forever
- BEASTIFY THE BATTLEFIELD: Unleash the primal power of the beasts with this Predacon Scorponok collectible figure, featuring a detailed beast mode with intricate scorpion-inspired molded texture
- EPIC BEAST MODE: Predacon Scorponok toy converts into a Beast Wars-inspired scorpion mode in 25 steps, featuring claw and tail articulation that allows for more realistic scorpion poses
- BEAST WARS-INSPIRED PHOTON BLASTERS: Comes with Mega Missile and Cyberbee drone accessories that can be inserted into figure’s claw
- GOLDEN DISK CARDS REVEAL POSSIBLE DESTINIES: Includes a Golden Disk card that reveals a possible destiny of a key character. Collect other Kingdom figures to reveal all 3 alternate destiny variants for each character! (Each sold separately. Subject to availability)
Beastify the battlefield! Worlds collide when the Maximals and Predacons join the fight, coming together with the Autobots and Decepticons in an epic battle that will alter their destiny forever. Primal power floods the battlefield as the fierce beast modes of the Maximals and Predacons are unleashed! Unleash the primal power of the beasts with this Predacon Scorponok collectible figure, featuring a detailed beast mode with intricate scorpion-inspired molded texture. Toy converts to Beast Wars-inspired scorpion mode in 25 steps, featuring claw and tail articulation that allows for more realistic scorpion poses. Comes with his classic Mega Missile and Cyberbee drone accessories that can be inserted into his claw. Includes a Golden Disk card that reveals a possible destiny of a key character. Collect other Kingdom figures to reveal all 3 alternate destiny variants for each character! (Each sold separately. Subject to availability.) Transformers and all related characters are trademarks of Hasbro.
Scorponok was one of Megatron's original crew members in the first season of the Beast Wars cartoon. The character saw quite a bit of action in that season, but by season two he was rather unceremoniously disposed of when he fell into lava. In the continuity of Kingdom however, the character had a much different role. Instead of being an individual, Scorponok appears to refer to a class of troops working for Megatron. That (surprisingly) makes this figure a potential troop builder for those who want to give the Predacons a numbers advantage over the Maximals!
Packaging:
Scorponok is packaged in a standard Deluxe Class Kingdom box with one side flat while the other is at an angle. The figure is inside in robot mode which you can see through a plastic window. In a choice likely made to distinguish him from the Headmaster Scorponok, he is named "Predacon Scorponok" across the top edge. The box features gorgeous artwork showing Scorponok in both modes. His robot mode looks very much like the CG model seen in the television show while the beast mode looks more like a more realistic and creepy scorpion.
When you open up the figure, be careful to not throw out the collector card/sticker included and the accessories. Both are located in the back of the cardboard insert. Open it up too fast and you'll easily miss them so be careful.
Accessories:
Scorponok includes two accessories. The first are the ends of missiles. In a callback to the original Beast Wars Scorponok figure the "missile ends" represent two missiles. Both are connected to one peg that connects to a port inside Scorponok's claws. The other accessory is Scorponok's famous "Cyberbee" drone. This piece is a solid sculpted piece with a peg in the back that also attaches to a port inside the claws. I am kind of sad that neither of these accessories can fire, but spring loaded missiles have not been a regular feature of Transformers toys for quite some time so it is no shock.
Robot Mode:
Scorponok's robot mode design is largely inspired by his appearance in the original Beast Wars series along with the CG model used in the recent Kingdom animated series. The result is perhaps the most "animation faithful" version of Scorponok fans have gotten in toy form. Some of the key design elements carried over from the animation model include:
- The head sculpt looks like it jumped out of the cartoon, featuring an oval shaped head, visor eyes and claw like protrusions curving upward on either side of his mouth area.
- The chest has several layers of armor sculpted into them with a distinct circle in the middle.
- The thighs each have circles on the sides.
- The lower legs feature a distinct pattern in front with pointed feet.
- The texture on much of Scorponok's body looks like an organic, mottled surface featuring an uneven "blotching" of details.
- The scorpion tail sits against his back with the stinger over his head.
Some added embelishments that have been added in specifically for the toy. These include some spikes on the shoulder armor and running along the arms. His claw halves also have "teeth" in them which gives him a much more threatening appearance!
Now, as much as I like the sculpting work on this figure (and it is significant) there is one drawback to the sculpt which fans have harped on constantly since the figure's release, and frankly I have to agree with: Scorponok looks kind of short and stumpy. While he was not the tallest 'bot around in the original Beast Wars show, he was around the same height as the other Predacons and his legs were kind of long owing to the base design that came from the original 1996 action figure. This Scorponok however has legs that feel just a tad too short. Like, if there was some type of hinge in the thigh or something that you could swing out to extend the leg a tiny bit it would be perfect (but I would guess cost savings prevented anything like that from happening). For me this is not a deal breaker with this figure, but your mileage may vary.
Scorponok is made up of grey, purple and red plastic. These are different from the colors of the original Scorponok toy from the 90's which focused on black, red and metallic blue colors. This looks much more like the animation model. Gold and silver paint are used to fill in details including some on the head, arms and legs. Scorponok as a character does not really have a ton of painted detail to begin with, so this deco works very well for the character.
There are a whopping thirty points of articulation on this figure. I grant I'm being generous by counting the parts of the scorpion tail that move in this mode and I'm counting the top and bottom segments of the claws, but either way Scorponok is very well articulated. You do have to fiddle a bit to us the waist articulation effectively, but it's there and usable.
Transformation to Beast Mode:
- Straighten out the arms and legs.
- Point the feet down.
- Swing the arms up out to the sides.
- Swing the tail down.
- Unfold the beast mode legs out from the back so the are out to the sides.
- Open up the halves of the torso. They will only open up partly, creating a small gap in the middle.
- Swing the head down into the gap. It will not go all the way in.
- Pull the lower body down. A hinge that connects the upper body to the lower body will extend.
- Swing both shoulders up.
- Swing back the top half of the back panel and swing out the beast mode head, then push that panel back down.
- Rotate the lower body so the left leg is under the tail.
- Rotate the left leg around and push it into the hollow section of the tail.
- Rotate the right leg around, fold the lower leg over the thigh, then push it into the gap in the underside of the beast mode.
- Position the beast mode arms so they are out to the side and then bend in the middle.
Beast Mode:
So far the Kingdom "beasts" have all had beast modes based more on how real life creatures look compared to the more cartoonish beast modes used in the 1996 series. Scorponok is no exception. The body, tail and legs in this mode all look more like a real life scorpion than the 1996 animation model. There are wonderful details in this mode including distinct lines showing the segments of his armor and small "hairs" on his legs. The beast mode head is perhaps the creepiest part, featuring two tiny eyes and chelicerae in front. I absolutely love the look of this beast mode.
The grey plastic makes up most of this mode from the head to the tail (except the end which is red). The legs are red and the claws are purple. This color layout roughly matches how he looked in the 90's animated series.
This mode has twenty one points of articulation, but the range varies. For instance, I'm counting the stinger, which sits on a ball joint but it really does not do much. I'm also counting each half of the claws (top and bottom). All that said, I don't really need a scorpion mode to be super posable so I'm good with it as is.
Final Thoughts:
Scorponok is a fun toy and he looks good. The "stumpy" legs do throw me off a bit and while I understand the need for cost savings nowadays, I would have really liked him more if he had been given some type of extending feature at the thighs or knee area. That said, I like everything else about the figure and I do recommend it if you are a Beast Wars fan who has been wanting a "show accurate" Scorponok since 1996! Recommended.
Pros:
- Really nice sculpt with cool details.
- He has Cyberbee!
- Unique and fun transformation.
- Creepy beast mode.
Cons:
- The legs are a bit short resulting in a "stumpy" look for the figure.
