Che is one of the Beast Riders, vehicles meant for use as accessories with the Beast Machines Transformers figures. Each vehicle is specialized towards one character. Che is specialized for Beast Machines Cheetor. This is specialization is mainly focused on the appearance of the toy.
Vehicle Mode:
In vehicle mode, Che is a stand alone vehicle designed after Cheetor's cheetah mode. The center of the vehicle is translucent yellow with bright orange eyes. Inside the mouth are teeth which are painted white. Inside the mouth is a black missile launcher which holds two black missiles. On each side are sections which contain the wheels underneath. Each side is yellow with black details reminiscent of cheetah spots. Like other Cheetor toys, this to uses translucent green plastic liberally on the sides and forward section of the vehicle.
Attached to these sections are arms with claws at the ends. The arms are primarily yellow, with translucent green plastic and black claws. There really are not any points of articulation to speak of. To activate Che's action feature, just press the top of the nose down and let go. The vehicle will then roll forward on its wheels on its own.
The vehicle is a cool representation of Cheetor. The use of both translucent yellow and translucent green on the toy really offer a consistancy between the other Cheetor toys and this one.
Transformation to Chariot Mode:
Swing both "arms" in the back forward. Lift the panel on the top of the head and flip it around so the dual cannons face forward. The claw should face back. Che is now ready for a passenger.
Chariot Mode:
In chariot mode, much of Che's appearance is the same as his vehicle mode. The rolling action works in this mode as well. However, as Che rolls forward his arms will twist around and around in the front. The claw on the back may be used to hold onto a passenger. Most basic and deluxe Beast Machines toys will work with this vehicle. Unfortunately, neither the mega or supreme Cheetor will work with this toy. The supreme Cheetor is way to large and the mega is just too tall. This is a major let down considering this vehicle is so heavily identified with Cheetor.
Che's missiles can be fired by pressing the buttons on either side of the missile holder in its mouth.
Added 2/14/01: To refresh the Beast Machines assortments for 2001, Che was repainted and re-released. The new color scheme was made to match the "Night Strike Cheetor" figure coming out the same year. Its main colors are black and translucent dark blue with silver "spots". Some translucent yellow plastic was used as well and the eyes are bright pink. It's fantastic to see that some thought went into this color scheme and for those who are into darker colored vehicles, this is a great contrast from the original.
As an accessory, Che is nice. However, as a stand-alone toy, some people may be disappointed. Even the transformation is a bit of a stretch. Add to that the fact that the mega sized Cheetor cannot work with this toy and this toy is only mildly recommended as an accessory, not as a stand alone toy. B-
Updated Thoughts (April 6, 2022):
Che was an interesting experiment in the Beast Machines line. I really like the idea of the Maximals having vehicles that helped them get around the battlefield since their enemies were themselves all vehicles. It was also a great idea to give the Maximals some extra firepower since most of their designs only featured melee weapons. I do recall that there was an online rumor at the time that Che (and the Vehicon counterpart vehicle Mechatron) were supposed to be able to connect and/or interact somehow with the Deployers figures, but that never came to be. As a standalone Transformers toy, Che will not satisfy fans looking for a vehicle to robot or beast to robot transformation. However, I appreciate how the designers tried to do something different with the line even if it was not a huge success.
