Review – Transformers Adventure Decepticon Runamuck (Takara)

After a look at the Transformers Adventure Runabout a few days ago, I figured we should complete the pair by taking a look at Takara’s mail-away Transformers Adventure* series Runamuck. As I mentioned in that Runabout review, Runamuck isn’t at all easy to find. I wish that Takara had packed the two into a single release instead of a standard release and a mail-away promotion, but at least I did manage to add both to my collection. Not that I advise you to do the same; the team isn’t quite cool enough to warrant the headache of tracking down both robot toys.

More of the same!

If you’ve already read my review of the Transformers Adventure Runabout toy then you know all you need to about Runamuck. Unlike the 1986 Battlechargers toys, the Transformers Adventure* series Runamuck and Runabout are identical in all but color. You see, those first generation Battlechargers had far more differences than you may expect — different heads, different vehicle shapes and details, different weapons — but in today’s weakened toy market, Takara couldn’t afford to make the two any more than simple repaints of the existing Transformers Combiner Wars Blackjack* toy. Sorry, collectors, but the loss of kids wanting toys is really having a negative impact on the designs that toymakers can afford to bring to market.

And even worse, the limited release of Runamuck and Runabout — and their nature as Takara toys instead of U.S. Hasbro releases — means that we can’t even count on a third-party maker to bring us alternate heads and weapons to make these two more like the 1986 Battlechargers. Too bad, because these two are nifty and would be way more fun if they had blasters and more 1986-like heads.

Articulation

I neglected to go into the articulation details in my Runabout review, so I thought this as good a place as any to share the specifics:

• Head – Swiverl neck.
  
• Torso – No joints at all. A swivel waist would have been cool, but no such luck.
  
• Arms – Swivel-hinge shoulders and elbows, no wrist articulation.
  
• Legs – Ball-jointed thighs and knees.

Not the most-articulated of the Transformers toys produced in the last decade, but far more articulation than Hasbro brought to the original Battlechargers (which wasn’t tough; those originals had no articulation at all).

Closing Thoughts

Runamuck, alongside Runabout (review here), make for a fun pair, but you do not need to spend any energy or cash to track down these two toys. They’re more fun oddities and updates on the classic Battlechargers than they are must-own Transformers toys, so sit back and enjoy these pics and then track down something that’s easier to find. You’ll be glad you skipped these two.