Scorponok was the first mega sized Predacon released for the Beast Wars toy line. Early prototype pictures of this toy showed him in a translucent orange and purple color scheme. Even original package art was shown in a Hasbro catalogue with these colors. However, by the final release, the toy had been changed to its red, black and metallic grey color scheme, and the package art colors were changed to reflect this.
Beast Mode:
In beast mode, Scorponok is a giant scorpion. There are many species of scorpion, but it is very difficult to pin down just which one the designers were thinking of when they made this toy. For the most part, it seems the designers thought a creepy looking thing with two claws and a tail would suffice. On that level however, the toy is enjoyable.
Scorponok's color scheme is primarily black, with red and metallic grey used for his beast mode eyes, scorpion legs, parts of the tail and claws. The detail level on Scorponok is quite creepy, with lots of bumps and ridges along his tail and claw arms. The sharp, serrated stinger at the end of his tail is a nice touch. However, it would have been nicer if the scorpion legs were bigger. Here, they do not serve much of a purpose, and are out of scale with the rest of the beast mode, giving the impression that Scorponok flops around on his belly, rather than walking on the legs. In scorpion mode, Scorponok has ten points of articulation, including his tail and beast mode head.
Scorponok has the following action features:
- Push the lever on the back of his tail and the stinger strikes at enemies.
- Push the button on his left claw and his top claw launches out and transforms into the 'Cyberbee' partner. Unfortunately, this feature was problematic in two ways. One, the Cyberbee had a tendency to launch on its own due to faulty springs and two, the wings of the Cyberbee tend to split open, even when attached to Scorponok's wrist. It is a fun accessory, and individual Scorponok toys may or may not have these problems.
- Push the back of his right claw down and he fires two missiles!
Transformation to Robot Mode:
Begin Scorponok's transformation by splitting the halves of the beast mode head, and then swinging them down. Straighten out the beast mode feet so that the front of his feet and the heels are folded out. Now fold the tail forward a bit and underneath you will find Scorponok's robot head. Swing the head/tail section up and connect the peg under the robot head to the hole on the robot chest section. Swing back the scorpion feet to get them out of the way. Now rotate the tail and fold it up. Straighten out the arms and Scorponok is in robot mode.
Robot Mode:
In robot mode, Scorponok continues to look creepy. His color scheme remains the same, although much more metallic grey appears on his lower legs. Most of the detailing in this mode is on his robot torso and robot legs. The legs are intricately designed with organic and mechanical looking bits. His torso area has some organic "chest muscle" like detail along with what appear to be mechanical tubes.
Scorponok has fourteen points of articulation in robot mode. This includes three points of articulation for each arm. An interesting feature is his "Mutant Head", which is the black, red and yellow-green eyed face. This face looks incredibly creepy and organic all at once. Slide the panels open and you will see the face most Beast Wars fans are more familiar with, the completely robotic face. It is a nice touch to see two such distinct faces on one toy. All of the previously mentioned action features work in this mode as well.
Scorponok is a cool toy. Realism aside (and we are dealing transforming robots blowing each other up here, folks), this toy comes across as both creepy looking and fun to play with. B+