Quickstrike is one of the regular sized Beast Wars Transformers Fuzors of 1998. This toy introduces new twists (literally and figuratively) in transformation scheme in a regular sized toy.
Beast Mode:
In beast mode, Quickstrike is a combination of a scorpion and cobra snake. The main body is that of a scorpion whereas the cobra bits come into play on his tail which has both a scaly pattern and dangerous looking cobra head at the end. The toy is mostly translucent dark yellow with lots of grooves and lines molded in. Metallic green colors accent much of this detail on the body and cobra head. His claws can both open and close for pincer action. His head may be moved up and down and his tail has eight points of articulation (including the cobra mouth being able to open and close). The scorpion legs do not hold the body up well so he winds up resting on his underside in this mode.
The cobra head itself is a bladder that one can fill up with water to squirt pretend "poison" with. This beast mode is fun to toy with. The tail's articulation and squirting ability is fun and his claw arms are very poseable (a total of three points of articulation).
Transformation to Robot Mode:
Quickstrike's scorpion legs detach from his central scorpion body. His tail folds back a bit and both are connected to a piece which twists around and also has his robot head on it. His central scorpion body folds down over the head to form his central body. His scorpion arms fold down flat and his feet split to form his legs. The scorpion legs form one hand/arm and the tail and cobra head form his other hand/arm. The scorpion head folds back to form the back of his lower body. The twisting around and bits and pieces folding into place make for a nice multi-step transformation.
Robot Mode:
In robot mode, Quickstrike is primarily translucent yellow. His right arm (the cobra head and scorpion tail) is brown with yellow edges and green accents. His other arm is brown (on the upper arm) and orange (the scorpion legs). His central body and head are translucent yellow with green painted accents. His upper legs are brown and the lower legs are translucent yellow with green paint.
Quickstrike's appearance in robot mode is odd, but definitely fun. With a total of seven ball joints making up his right arm, his presence is imposing indeed as his arm seems like it can act as a whip, gripper or attack weapon (as presented in the series). His other arm made up of the scorpion claws is nicely molded, with sharp points at the end indicating claws at the end.
In robot mode, not including the aforementioned arm, he has eleven points of articulation. His look is uneven but powerful. I strongly recommend picking up this toy. A
Updated Thoughts (January 30, 2022):
I had not looked at the Quickstrike figure in quite some time and I have to say looking at it with somewhat "fresh" eyes it was really great to see that my past impressions of this figure still hold up to this day. Quickstrike is pure awesome. From the sculpt in both mods to the choice of colors and the fact that he is one of the more "show accurate" figures of the time, this figure has it all. He also meshes two frightening creatures beautifully in beast mode. For those into Beast Wars figures at all, this is a must have.
