General Information:
Release Date: March 2021
Price Point: $19.99 (depending on retailer)
Retailer: General Release (Amazon, BigBadToyStore, Entertainment Earth, Target, Walmart etc.)
Accessories: N/A (Figure separates into several pieces)
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 the ancient and highly advanced F.O.S.S.I.L. technology. Sentient Fossilizer bots, infused with primordial energy, break apart and weaponize their allies
- BEASTIFY OTHER FIGURES: Use this Deluxe Predacon Fossilizer figure to beastify other figures with epic bone weapons and armor! (Each sold separately, subject to availability)
- EPIC FOSSILIZED BEAST MODE: Ractonite toy converts into a Styracosaurus fossil mode in 16 steps. Features lower jaw articulation optimal for roaring poses
- 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. With the ancient and highly advanced F.O.S.S.I.L. (Fossilized Osteo-Skeletal Shield Integration Loadout) technology, Fossilizer bots, infused with primordial energy, break apart to weaponize their allies. The bone pieces of this Paleotrex figure break apart and attach to other figures. Use this Deluxe Predacon Fossilizer figure to beastify other figures with epic bone weapons and armor! (Sold separately, subject to availability.) Ractonite toy converts into a Styracosaurus fossil mode in 16 steps. Features lower jaw articulation optimal for roaring poses. 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.)
Following the release of Paleotrex and Vertebreak the second wave of Kingdom Deluxe Class figures brought a new Fossilizer into the mix: Ractonite! This Predacon is an all new character whose name is a fun play on the word "Styracosaurus", the type of dinosaur skeleton he transforms into.
Packaging:
A new style of packaging has been introduced with Kingdom. The shape is very similar to what has been seen with Siege and Earthrise, with a rectangular box that has an angled panel on the left. This time however the box does not have a window in front that shows off the entire figure. Instead, the window is much smaller and basically shows the figure from the mid-body up. This small window has plastic over it, but what this allows for is artwork featuring the character in both modes, something that is extremely uncommon for the Transformers line. Like previous Generations packaging the Transformers logo is set vertically on the right side with the Generations and Takara Tomy logos above it. On the lower part (under the window) is the Kingdom logo. On this box, Ractonite is shown running in both modes. Behind him is a mountain with the Nemesis on (or possibly in) it. The artwork is absolutely gorgeous!
The back of the box shows Ractonite in both modes calling out a sixteen step transformation. Above him is a modified Predacon symbol with some extra details added in compared to the traditional symbol. In the corner is a nice, classic callback featuring the Transformers logo with the "More than Meets the Eye" tag line under it. Overall this packaging is beautiful and I think it is really contrasts well with other toys on shelves.
Ractonite himself is attached to a cardboard insert inside the box. The insert itself is covered in patterns based on the Golden Disk, which played a large part in the cartoon. On the back is a small slot where the accessory is stowed away, so always be sure to check the entire insert before tossing it out! Also included is a collector card/sticker. Peel away the sticker and three possible "fates" for the character on the card are revealed. There is no card assigned to specific characters. They are randomly packed.
Robot Mode:
Most Transformers figures are designed based on very traditional robot aesthetics that started in the 70's and continued on into the 80's when Transformers first debuted on toy store shelves. Many Transformers characters wound up being mostly made up of angled shapes including rectangles, squares and trapezoids. The Fossilizers defy this design aesthetic thanks to their alt modes being dinosaur skeletons. The result are very creepy and organic forms in both robot and beast modes. Ractonite is no different. One arm is a dinosaur skull, the other is the tail section. Meanwhile the rib bones make up most of his torso while the rear dinosaur feet serve as the robot feet here. All the details on the bones are very intricate down to the individual digits. I absolutely love this bizarre sculpt.
Ractonite is cast mostly in a bone white and grey plastic. There is a lot of grey wash applied to the bone colored parts, giving him a gritty and worn look, as if he just rose up from being buried in the ground for years! The robot eyes are painted red which contrasts nicely with the bone color and grey. The deco looks fantastic and very different than the typical Transformers figure.
There are twenty one points of articulation on this figure. Some of these are fairly standard like head, waist and knee articulation. Others are a bit more unusual. For instance, the left arm is made up of of the rear section of the beast mode, so the connection point angles up, then hinges at the top back down leading to the tail (which is effectively the arm). As I mentioned above, this is a very unusual design!
Unlike most Transformers figures, Ractonite does not have the traditional fists in this mode. Instead, his "hands" are the front beast mode feet. Instead of ports, they have 5mm pegs that swing out. On the box illustration the peg is drawn as a blaster barrel, so let your imagination roam. The end of his tail is designed like a small blade weapon, so you can attach that to the pegs as a melee weapon. If you want to attach even more weapons or parts to this figure you can. The two most prominent connection points are the bottom of the feet where there are 5mm ports and the back of the legs where there are 5mm pegs. There are also pegs towards the front, but their position makes it difficult to attach anything. One more feature on this figure is a fun callback to the early days of Beast Wars. The top part of the head can swing down like a "battle helmet" over the eyes. Many of the early Beast Wars figures had "Mutant Heads" which were alternate hads or helmets meant to be protection in battle. This is a wonderful homage.
Transformation to Beast Mode:
- Detach the tail/blade weapon.
- Detach the left arm.
- Detach the right arm from the dinosaur skull.
- Detach the skull.
- Detach the tail section/left arm.
- Separate the torso from the lower body.
- Attach the skull to the end of the torso section opposite from the robot head.
- Attach the left arm/rear section to the other side of the torso section.
- Attach the robot arms to the front pegs.
- Attach the robot mode's lower body to the left arm/tail section.
- Attach the blade weapon to the end of the tail.
Beast Mode:
Ractonite's beast mode is a Styracosaurus skeleton and it looks fantastic. His skull has points around the edges of the frill section and a sharp looking horn on the nose. All the bones on the main body and back are really nicely sculpted. The colors from the robot mode all carry over here and look fantastic. I absolutely love the aesthetics of this mode.
This mode has nineteen points of articulation, which is pretty darn extraordinary for a beast mode. Most of these points are of course in the legs, but the mouth can open and the tail can move in two different places. He also has a 5mm port on either side, allowing you to attach additional weaponry. You can of course still use the ports on the bottom of his rear legs for some really weird combinations!
Weapon Mode(s):
The official instructions provide three different combinations for weaponry formed from Ractonite. The best way to start is by separating all the various parts first. The instructions did not give any formal name for any of the combinations, so I will just go by the order they were presented in the instruction booklet. Note: There is a flaw in some copies of this figure. The horn attached to the "nose" of the skull section should be removable, but instead some copies have this piece glued in place. I ordered three copies of this figure in one order from the same retailer and one had a glued horn, but the other two did not so I am unclear on the rhyme or reason behind this issue. Buyer beware.
Combination 1:
This combination of parts forms a giant (and kind of crazy looking) hammer. Attach the rear body piece (with the tail) to the torso section. Swing out the neck/robot head. Attach one of the rear beast mode legs to the peg on the inside of the torso section. Swing out the thigh pieces on the hip section and attach that to the beast mode legs as a handle.
This weapon is really creative and I love how giant and brutal it looks. Given that Ractonite is a Predacon it really suits the character to have such a brutal looking weapon formed from his body.
Combination 2:
Detach the two horns from the top of the skull and attach them to the bottom of the rear beast mode legs. Attach the hip/thigh piece to the legs. Attach one of the robot arms to the top of the hip piece. You can then use the arm as an attachment piece to any section with a 5mm port. This is best suited as a weapon attached to the back with the spiked legs swinging over shoulders similar to the cannons formed by some of the Weaponizers from Siege.
Take the torso piece and swing the robot head/neck piece out. Swing the peg on the top of the robot head out and attach the blade weapon/tail piece. Attach one of the robot arms to the inside of the torso section and swing it down. Extend the peg out from the arm piece to act as a handle. The rear section of the beast mode can be folded up and attached to the torso piece. The instructions are a bit ambiguous about just how to do so but I wound up attaching it to the port on the side of the torso piece. The result looks like a giant sword with one heck of a guard piece.
The other part of this combination is simply using the skull as a shield. It has a 5mm peg which swings out and can be attached to a 5mm port.
Combination 3:
Take the torso piece and swing in the neck/head piece. Detach the horns from the skull piece. Attach the two top horns to the sides and the nose horn to the top. Swing out the peg on the top of the robot head. This forms a spiked weapon.
For the other weapon, open up the mouth on the skull and attach one of the robot arms to the peg inside. Then attach the tail/sword end to the arm.
This is a fun combination of parts and I really like the way the weapons complement each other. One is a long sword that looks almost elegant (in a bony, savage way) and the other just looks like a brutal blunt instrument. I find these weapons are best sized to a Voyager Class figure. They look a bit too large on Deluxes.
The above weapon forms are just the ones mentioned in the instructions. Thanks to the 5mm peg/port system you are mostly limited by how certain parts move and your imagination. Fans have come up with all sorts of creative forms using multiple Fossilizers and even combinations with Weaponizers and more. The "Dino Tank" form in my gallery below is one such example I came up with fiddling around with parts one afternoon.
Final Thoughts: I absolutely love this figure. The Fossilizers are weird, and not all Transformers fans are going to be into them. I think they are very distinctive as standalone figures and fun accessories for others. The issue with the "glued horn" is a significant one however and puts a bit of a dampener on my level of enthusiasm, but this figure is still recommended in my book. Just inspect that horn piece after you get it!
Pros:
- Excellent sculpt in both modes.
- Beautiful deco.
- Fun weapon/accessory possibilities.
- Excellent articulation.
Cons:
- The horn being glued in on some copies is a very unfortunate issue.
- The non-traditional aesthetics are not for everyone.
