Scorponok (1996)

Height: 14.5cm to top of head, 23cm to tip of stinger (robot mode); 24 cm (length from head to tip of outstretched tail), 14cm (height of tail curled over body)

Articulation: 16 points total - restricted ball joint neck; 5 points each arm: double jointed shoulder, pre-elbow swivel, elbow hinge, forearm swivel, plus hinged claw on left arm only; 2 points each leg: ball joint hip, hinge knee.

Colors: Molded black, red, translucent blue; Painted red, yellow, white, gold.

Accessories: Missiles x2, Cyber Bee

Gallery: 24 images.

Author: ExVee



Scorponok isn't the brightest spark around. Serving as Megatron's loyal second in command, Scorponok seems to have no ambition for himself. All of his efforts are focused toward supporting his commander. While Scorponok seems to view Megatron with great respect, this only goes in one direction Aside from being able to count on Scorponok to uphold his interests, Megatron finds no greater value in him than any of his other subordinates.

Scorponok occasionally dabbles in scientific areas, including viral and mechanical engineering. How he performs delicate manual work with only a pair of giant claws is anyone's guess. Scorponok's apparent capability in these areas is belied by his tendency to fall into fairly simplistic speech patterns in anxious moments, and among the other Predacons his intelligence is often called to question simply for his blind faith in Megatron. His position as second in command is practically meaningless, as none of the other Predacons have any shred of respect for Scorponok.

That's what you get for being teacher's pet...

"What does he mean, 'you command'? I'M second in command!"


Beast Mode

Okay, this is about as much a real scorpion as Cheetor was really a cheetah. Given some of the proportions, this would be an easier sell as a lobster with a stinger. It does get mostly right that the body is very thin from top to bottom, and the black color is generally right. It's kind of just all the details that are wrong. Oh well, I don't think anybody ever claimed Beast Wars toys were ever great anatomical models.

Being an early beast toy, Scorponok's bug legs are basically just for decoration (and a real scorpion probably wouldn't be able to hold up its body, let alone these giant claws on such tiny legs) and are solid blocks, attaching on hinges at the base on either side. The actual weight of the toy rests fully on the underbody. Any attempt to make the legs hold the toy will fail, they're simply not remotely meant to do that job.

The claws are fully articulated, though were that not needed for robot mode, I'd just as soon assume they'd be about as static here as the legs. Though usable in this mode, the gimmicks contained within the claws are really intended for robot mode, and so will get their attention there.

One hallmark of the first Megas was somewhat involved geared action features. For Scorponok, it's a pretty impressive stinger gimmick. Holding the base of the tail, and then pushing up on a lever on the back of the tail causes the whole tail and stinger to dart forward in a really elegant stinging action. This is slightly offset by the fact that the tail is not quite long enough and so Scorponok can basically only stab himself in the head with his own stinger. The only way to try to get around this is to lower the tail back into what will be the robot mode position, and then hinge the tail up on the base hinge. This will get the tail about a centimeter past the front of the head, but it's still pretty short range to be really useful. I have to give them credit for inventive design, though.


Transformation

Pretty simple. One thing to look out for, though, is the pegs on the robot legs which hold them into the body in beast mode. They're the same translucent blue as the claws, and they appear to be metal-flaked as well. This can lead to structural weakness, and if you apply pressure the wrong way, snapping a peg is certainly possible. Otherwise, just be sure you get the neck pegged into the torso properly at the end of the transformation, or Scorponok's gonna start falling apart.


Robot Mode

One thing to be said about the Mega pricepoint is that from wave to wave, it was rarely the same experience twice. More than any other pricepoint in the modern history of Transformers, designers seemed to struggle with exactly what to do with the old $15 price point. The first pair, Polar Claw and Scorponok were very little like what would follow down the line, aside from beginning the pattern of aimless wandering in design principles.

Scorponok features a version of the mask style of Mutant Head. In this case, it's one of the better executions of the idea. The mask is not readily removable (and even if you did remove it, you'd have a very hollow back of the head left behind), and swivels around just above the neck post. Splitting in half down the middle, when opened to reveal the robot face, the mutant mask becomes armor on the back of the head. It can be a little hard to get the mask to open fully, as the tail will sometimes block the way, but a little fiddling should get it in place. At least in Scorponok's case, the Mutant Mask is a little cooler looking than the actual robot head.

The neck is a ball joint, though really only for the purpose of being able to rock the head back or forward slightly to open or close the mask. When trying to turn the head, you're much more likely to slide the mask around instead, and even when the head does move, the range is very limited because the mask shell occupies most of the open "collar" space. The articulation works a good bit better with the Mutant Head on.

The torso is pretty unremarkable. The method of transformation even precludes a waist joint. Scorponok is given a pretty beefy torso, though. While the toy is sculpted to appear to have pecs, in place of obvious abdominal muscles, cables are molded into the surface to help maintain the idea that this is still a robot and uses mechanical elements to move rather than familiar biology. he only interesting part of the torso is that with the tail now extending straight over the head, the clever geared stinging gimmick can now actually reach out past Scorpy instead of just stabbing himself in the head. The stinger even adds almost eight centimeters of height to the robot mode. He better watch out for low doorways. The tail can be lowered into beast mode position, but all it does is switch the several centimeters of extra height into a giant tail mast. Being that Scorponok is not a helicopter, I think it's all better off with the tail staying upright.

The arms ...are nuts. Each arm is roughly the equal in length to Scorponok's head height. The arms are articulated fairly well, with multiple swivels allowing you to pose the claws in basically any orientation you'd like. Yes, like probably every Transformer called Scorponok, this toy's arms end in the beast mode's claws. Huge, giant claws. He looks like a scorpionized ape with the massive, low-hanging claw-arms. Large as they are, the claws are pretty light, and don't trouble the strength of the shoulder swivels at all. Each claw has its own gimmick. The right claw has the Cyber Bee, which I'll go over a bit more in the Accessories section. The left claw is a double missile launcher. The trigger is hidden, and activated when you open the upper half of the claw. Given that misplaces missiles are extremely common on Scorponok these days, I'd be really careful with the whole thing if you find yourself in possession of a fully complete Scorponok. The left claw is the only one freely poseable, as the gimmick in the right claw makes it static.

The legs are fairly typical, not far behind today's standards except for lack of some swivel joints. A problem even when Scorponok was brand new was that the large hip ball joints weren't always strong enough to hold everything up. With age this could get worse, though the usual methods for joint strengthening can be applied. Other problems with age include the knee hinges loosening. These joints are held together with screws, so it may be possible to non-chemically correct this problem. Scorponok was wisely made with oversized heels to account for the mass of tail hanging off the back. The toe ends are comparatively tiny, though the total footprint is quite adequate to support the toy. This time you just need to worry about whether the hip and knee joints are going to hold out. The legs in general have sparse surface detailing, but there are a few bits of superfluous mechanical details, as the legs are what you see the least of in beast mode. Among this count is more of the cable detailing in the thighs, as well as some venting and unidentifiable elements up and down the sides of the legs.



Accessories

-Missiles

Scorponok came with two missiles. As is the case with pretty much all Beast Wars toys and their extra bits, the missiles can store in beast mode. Of course, keeping a missile loaded in its launcher long term will lead to the spring weakening, so be careful about that. These could also be an accidental launch hazard, given the launcher is triggered by opening the claw.

-Cyber Bee

Perhaps the most prominent aspect of the first Megas was the inclusion of robot animal partners. In a way, these were the Mini-Cons of their day, except that instead of activating a gimmick, they were the gimmick. In fact, they were just the first in a series of attempted standard gimmick options...

The Cyber Bee cleverly folds up to form the upper half of Scorponok's right claw in robot mode. Pulling back on a trigger behind the claw is meant to release the catch on the bee and send it tumbling through the air, unfolding into its bee form. A number of coil springs drive the conversion in a really interestingly designed feature. Sadly, the reality of the toy is not quite as awesome. A few factors are at work to sabotage this, including the way the bee flips while transforming. The energy from the drive spring simply runs out before the bee gets more than a few inches away.

A stronger spring isn't advisable either. As the toy ages, it's common for the bee mechanism to get volatile. It will get more and more difficult as time passes to keep the bee folded and stored in the claw. many examples of the toy require a rubber band or other device to secure the bee down. A stronger propulsion spring would only aggravate the issue further.

This aside, it's a pretty impressive effort at making a little bee robot. While the wings are a writeoff, being made of the upper half of the claw, the rest of the bee turns out quite nicely. They even manage to give it six individual legs correctly projecting out of the thorax, and overall the general shapes are pretty good. The only downside is that once launched, Scorponok is left with most of his hand missing. No wonder the show reimagined the Cyber Bee as being a fully separate, non-transforming object simply housed within the claw.

The execution might not have turned out ideally, but points for the effort for sure.


Things to Look For When Buying Loose

If stored in the claw launcher, the missiles will be hard to see in photography. If you don't see them for sure, make certain to ask. The bee is much easier to tell if it's there, but be sure you know for sure if it can stay stored by itself. Scorponok doesn't have a great deal of bits that can be easily lost, and the bee is the only accessory that's crippling if absent.

This mold was only recolored twice - once as a Botcon Japan exclusive, and then again as an American Botcon exclusive the following year. Since the only retail use of Scorponok was the original release, the toy tends to command a pretty steep price nowadays, even loose and incomplete. If you put down for this toy, be absolutely sure you know what your money is getting you.


Closing Remarks

As an early Beast Wars toy, Scorponok is pretty strong design-wise. Sadly though, with age finds his perhaps defining gimmick prone to eventual failure. The somewhat lacking beast mode can take a toll as well. You could credit Scorponok as contributing to the geared action features that would find their way into the first Ultras later in 1996, but otherwise Scorponok doesn't leave any significant mark on the line.

Indeed, I don't think the toy is nearly as responsible for people remembering Scorponok today as it was Don Brown's wonderful delivery in the show. Among the other first year Beast Wars toys, Scorponok is without a doubt Very Good at the least. But the toy just doesn't age well - literally or figuratively speaking. Scorponok goes for quite a bit these days, and unless you're getting a pristine example, it's really over-inflated.

-ExVee