General Information:
Release Year: November 2003
Retailer: General Release (Toys 'R' Us, Kay Bee, Wal-Mart etc.)
Price: $6.99 (Depending on Retailer)
Transformation Difficulty Level: 2
Accessories: Energon chip, Missile, Missile launcher and cannon weapon
The first basic sized Decepticon released for Transformers Energon is Battle Ravage. As the name implies, this character is a homage to the cassette-con that served Generation One Starscream, and who later appeared in the Beast Wars series. In this case however, Battle Ravage is a Transformer who can create clones of himself via "Hyper Power", allowing him to attack in hordes instead of individually. Although he is a Decepticon by affiliation, he also belongs to a sub-group known as the Terrorcons. The Terrorcons refer to the basic sized Decepticons in Energon.
Robot Mode:
Battle Ravage is packaged in robot mode, his package art features his beast mode. At first glance, Battle Ravage has some very Generation One design elements to him. Like many Generation One animal based Transformers, he is rather blocky and angled rather than rounded and sleek like many of the Beast Wars figures were. This look does not hurt the toy at all since this is meant to be an entirely mechanical animal based Transformer. As a reminder of his beast-based self, Battle Ravage's head is sculpted like a robotic feline head, coimplete with triangular ears and sharp teeth in a toothy snarl. His feet are also the same feet he has in the beast mode, adding more to his animalistic element. In a way, this is sort of an updated version of the Ravage seen in Beast Wars, who had a fully functional robot form that still evoked his feline alternate form.
Battle Ravage is mostly black, appropriate since that was G1 Ravage's primary color. His lower arms, head, chest and lower legs are light gray, with some silver thrown in for detailing. Red is also used on his upper body and legs for line detailing, breaking the monotony of the black color. At the center of Battle Ravage's chest is his Decepticon Spark Crystal. Like Sky Blast, this is the perfect place to put this, especially if you want to attach his Energon Chip. Visually it looks like we're seeing the center of his life force and power.
Included with Battle Ravage are two weapons cast in translucent green plastic. One is a missile launcher, the other a cannon. A very specific cannon! If you take a good look at the profile and design of the cannon, you'll see that it resembles the one that Generation One Megatron had mounted on his arm! While the cannon has osme added detailing that Megatron's cannon did not, it's design is unmistakeable. The front is the barrel, with a squared off section in the middle with a wider end piece. This piece has one peg which allows you to attach it to Battle Ravage's holes near his shoulders or in his hand. The other weapon, a missile launcher has three pegs, allowing it to be held/connected to Energon figures in a variety of ways. The missile that it fires is purple and shoots a good four to five inches. Battle Ravage can hold both these weapons in his hands too, which have the now standard sized holes.
Battle Ravage has ten points of articulation in this form. This includes head and waist articulation. The only points which may annoy some fans are the upper arms. They are connected to purple parts which are part of the transformation mechanism, but that means if you try to move the arms down, the entire purple mechanism moves with it, so you have to sort of grab one arm to stabilize the piece and then move the other one. This isn't a huge deal since it's not like everyone goes around moving arms up and down a hundred times in a row, but it is something to be cautious of.
Transformation to Beast Mode:
- Detach the Energon Chip and weapons if you have them attached.
- Turn the figure around and lower the purple tail (with the mace at the end)
- Turn the robot head around and flip the purple piece it rests on up.
- Rotate the lower body around so the feet point in the opposite direction.
- Swing the robot arms forward on the purple shoulder/hinge piece. This will bring the beast mode head up.
- Rotate the beast mode head so it is upright.
- Fold the paw pieces over the robot hands.
- Position the legs so Battle Ravage can stand on them.
- Attach weaponry and Energon Chip if desired.
Beast Mode:
The best term I would use for Battle Ravage in beast mode is a "mechanical feline". I can easily see redecos of this as a cheetah, leopard etc. Ravage himself was always intended to be a jaguar, so if you need to label Battle Ravage's alternate mode, that's probably the way to go. In this form, Battle Ravage shows a bit more light gray on the beast mode head. A really nice use of metallic silver on the head gives it definition. The beast mode eyes arepainted yellow. Another neat detail brought out in this mode is the tail, which has several joings sculpted into it (it's one solid piece however) ending in a spiked ball at the end. Between the weapons on his shoulders, his tail and claws, Battle Ravage is clearly meant to be a well rounded warrior who can engage in fire or melee fighting.
In this form, Battle Ravage has fifteen points of articulation. This includes his paws, head and waist. Oddly, the rear feet on my Battle Ravage have a tendency to pop off if I pose them too quickly. They snap right back in, and there are no stress marks appearing on the plastic. Weird.
Battle Ravage is a really fun homage to both G1 Ravage and Megatron. The cannon was a real kick to see, and hey, if you're feeling like kitbashing, it's about the right size to give to Action Master Megatron (who never had a G1 styled cannon)! Highly recommended.
