Review – Transformers: Power of the Primes “Battletrap”

We’ve recently looked at both Battleslash (review here) and Roadtrap (review here), Hasbro’s modern takes on the 1987 Battletrap toy (reviewed here). I posted reviews of Battleslash* and Roadtrap* separately because Hasbro is selling the toys as singles, but now it’s time we get a look at the combined form.

Alt Modes

You need to take a look at all three of my earlier reviews (1987 Battletrap, 2018 Battleslash, and 2018 Roadtrap) for a clearer understanding of the toys, but looking at the old and new toys together in their vehicle modes, we can see that they’re pretty close to the same size.

The newer Battleslash* and Roadtrap* alt modes are more detailed and far more attractive than the originals, but at least the 1987 version doesn’t have the strange rear section of the truck or hollow nose of the chopper.

Combined Robot Mode

Transformation from two separate vehicles to the combined Battletrap is mostly easy, with some of Battleslash a tad fiddly to work with as you transform the small robot’s arms into a backpack of sorts for the combined Battletrap. The official combined robot mode has the helicopter blade mounted in more of a fixed position, but tweaking the angle of the backpack parts allows for the rotor to suspend from the rear of the robot in an orientation that’s a lot closer to the original Battletrap design.

Surprisingly, the combined Battleslash* and Roadtrap* look pretty great together and the newer Battletrap is superior to the original in almost every way imaginable. The lack of an auto-transform gimmick is a little sad, but the playability of the combined robot more the exceeds the loss of that 1987 gimmick. And once combined, the new version of Battletrap is about the same size as the new Deluxe-class toys, which makes the Duocon concept far cooler than I was expecting; two smaller robots combine into an average-sized bot? Awesome!

Closing Thoughts

You shouldn’t buy one without also buying the other, and I can honestly say that if you’re a Transformers fan then you should totally buy both Battleslash* and Roadtrap* today. This is one of the cooler and more unexpected updates I’ve seen Hasbro attempt so far, and the result is a robot that is so fabulous that I hope we’ll see a Flywheels update in an upcoming Power of the Primes wave. Fingers crossed!!!

For more Transformers: Power of the Primes toys, please see these other reviews:

• Transformers: Power of the Primes “Vector Prime”
  
• Transformers: Power of the Primes “Micronus”
  
• Transformers: Power of the Primes “Windcharger”
  
• Transformers: Power of the Primes “Beachcomber”
  
• Transformers: Power of the Primes “Battleslash”
  
• Transformers: Power of the Primes “Roadtrap”