It's the end of Creature Feature week of MotU May here on Toy a Day. As promised we're looking at the insect today. For those expecting Buzz-Off, well, he was toy #100, and there's only one Millennium version of him. There's no Classics Buzz-off yet, so that can't be it. So beetle it is then!
The beetle was one of the first few vehicles made for the new line, and as such is on the red box. I'm not sure I like the front of the box - it's way too messy. The back of the box is nicer, with the action features shown in boxes, and the figures of the line shown at the bottom. One thing that's missing from this vehicle, unlike the vehicles later in the line, is a nice colourful tray. The tray inside the box is boring ol' cardboard (check out the pictures on my Facebook album).
There's quite a lot of pieces of the beetle out of the box, and it does include a sheet of instructions with an illustrated 9-step assembly sequence. The assembly is not that difficult, but has to be carried out in order, which the instructions doesn't really say, but then again, the numbers are probably supposed to be taken in sequence. The completed vehicle is huge, over 18" long, and does look somewhat like a beetle. The colour scheme though is blegh and doesn't really stand out - I mean, wooden brown and blue with silver highlights? Not the best of combinations of colours.
The vehicle does come with rather nice moulded details. I do like the fact that the wheels are actually rollers with sculpted details. The business-end of the bashing mace also has great details with the myriad of spikes. Another area where the detail comes in are the head, which looks like a mechanical insectoid head, and the wings, which are moulded with stripes to look like a beetle's wings.
There are actually two action features - move a lever and the mace swings forward. The shaft that can be held in the action figure's hand from the cockpit also moves when the lever is moved. I thought that was a neat little detail. The other action feature is when the wheels are rolled (or the lever at the back of the vehicle is depressed), the claws in the front of the vehicle moves and clamps shut. I like both action features, despite their simplicity.
The action figure (Skeletor in the picture above) stands in the cockpit. There's a whole leg whole to place the right leg, and a peg for the left leg built into the cockpit, such that it's almost impossible to remove the figure once it's in place. This bodes well, as it means that a figure can stand in the cockpit rather robustly when the vehicle is played with.
It was a no brainer to realise that the Bashin' Beetle is actually an update of the Bashasaurus. Both are based on the animal kingdom, both has that huge big mace thing that swings forward, and both have wheels. The Bashin' Beetle is a lot larger than the Bashasaurus, and unlike the Bashasaurus, whose driver's seat is in the front of the vehicle, the Bashin' Beetle's cockpit is a lot more medieval looking and is to the side of the beetle, giving it a very asymetrical look. Also, the bashing mace is activated differently on the two vehicles - a lever on the beetle, a button on the vintage vehicle. The Beetle also has an extra action feature - the rolling feature, as I call it, but it lacks the bright colours that made the Bashasaurus stand out on the shelves way back when.
I do like the Beetle, but wish it had a better colour scheme, perhaps metallic blue would have gone a lot better than that dull blue, and would make it look more insect too. The vehicles of the millennium line though, generally, are quite good, and the beetle is no exception.
The beetle was one of the first few vehicles made for the new line, and as such is on the red box. I'm not sure I like the front of the box - it's way too messy. The back of the box is nicer, with the action features shown in boxes, and the figures of the line shown at the bottom. One thing that's missing from this vehicle, unlike the vehicles later in the line, is a nice colourful tray. The tray inside the box is boring ol' cardboard (check out the pictures on my Facebook album).
There's quite a lot of pieces of the beetle out of the box, and it does include a sheet of instructions with an illustrated 9-step assembly sequence. The assembly is not that difficult, but has to be carried out in order, which the instructions doesn't really say, but then again, the numbers are probably supposed to be taken in sequence. The completed vehicle is huge, over 18" long, and does look somewhat like a beetle. The colour scheme though is blegh and doesn't really stand out - I mean, wooden brown and blue with silver highlights? Not the best of combinations of colours.
The vehicle does come with rather nice moulded details. I do like the fact that the wheels are actually rollers with sculpted details. The business-end of the bashing mace also has great details with the myriad of spikes. Another area where the detail comes in are the head, which looks like a mechanical insectoid head, and the wings, which are moulded with stripes to look like a beetle's wings.
There are actually two action features - move a lever and the mace swings forward. The shaft that can be held in the action figure's hand from the cockpit also moves when the lever is moved. I thought that was a neat little detail. The other action feature is when the wheels are rolled (or the lever at the back of the vehicle is depressed), the claws in the front of the vehicle moves and clamps shut. I like both action features, despite their simplicity.
The action figure (Skeletor in the picture above) stands in the cockpit. There's a whole leg whole to place the right leg, and a peg for the left leg built into the cockpit, such that it's almost impossible to remove the figure once it's in place. This bodes well, as it means that a figure can stand in the cockpit rather robustly when the vehicle is played with.
It was a no brainer to realise that the Bashin' Beetle is actually an update of the Bashasaurus. Both are based on the animal kingdom, both has that huge big mace thing that swings forward, and both have wheels. The Bashin' Beetle is a lot larger than the Bashasaurus, and unlike the Bashasaurus, whose driver's seat is in the front of the vehicle, the Bashin' Beetle's cockpit is a lot more medieval looking and is to the side of the beetle, giving it a very asymetrical look. Also, the bashing mace is activated differently on the two vehicles - a lever on the beetle, a button on the vintage vehicle. The Beetle also has an extra action feature - the rolling feature, as I call it, but it lacks the bright colours that made the Bashasaurus stand out on the shelves way back when.
I do like the Beetle, but wish it had a better colour scheme, perhaps metallic blue would have gone a lot better than that dull blue, and would make it look more insect too. The vehicles of the millennium line though, generally, are quite good, and the beetle is no exception.
I really missed out on the MOTU vehicles when I was a kid, and I tend to prefer my figures to be on their own, but that thing looks pretty huge and I do like the cockpit of it!
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