Review – Transformers: Power of the Primes “Beachcomber”

I reviewed the Power of the Primes Windcharger a few weeks ago (posted here) and now it’s time I turn back to the Power of the Primes (find at Amazon.com*) series and look at another one of the Autobot mini-car updates, Beachcomber*. If you’ve been waiting since 1985 for a fun, playable, and inexpensive update to the Beachcomber toy, this is exactly what you need to fill that hole in your heart. Another awesome job by Hasbro’s design team! You can basically skip everything else I’ve written here; go buy this toy!

Vehicle Mode

Not too surprisingly, Beachcomber* holds together well in vehicle mode and rolls swiftly across the floor (don’t ask how I know this, please). Better still, it’s easy to drop one of the small Titan Master or Prime Master toys into the seat in the dune buggy, letting us give Beachcomber* a little companion to make things more fun. Now we just need Hasbro to create Targetmasters that fit in the same footprint as the Titan Master small robots.

Transformation Design

Excellent! Beachcomber* is another one of the Power of the Primes (find at Amazon.com*) releases that I transformed without any instructions; I prefer my Transformers toys to be playable rather than puzzles, and the quick and easy transformation design of this little guy hits my sweet spot. The one step that may throw you at first — the way the torso compresses down to reveal the head — is quickly figured out. Seriously, this is my favorite type of Transformers toy; one I can use as a fidget toy and transform back and forth between modes when I’m on a conference call.

Robot Mode

One minor detail that needs cleared up ASAP before we continue: The Prime Master shown in these pics, Vector Prime*, is not included with Beachcomber*. The two toys are sold separately, and please don’t miss my review of Vector Prime to learn more about the toy. With that detail out of the way, let’s jump in and take a peek at the toy’s articulation:

Not surprisingly, Hasbro didn’t go overboard with the Beachcomber* articulation design, instead focusing on the right joints to make the toy playable.

• Head – Swivel neck.
  
• Torso – No articulation at all. A waist swivel would have been nice, but the transformation design doesn’t allow for that joint.
  
• Arms – Ball-jointed shoulders and elbows.
  
• Legs – Ball-jointed hips and hinged knees.

As I said, just enough articulation to make the toy fun. This is way more movement than the original Beachcomber toy had, and everything about this design strikes me as Hasbro updating the toy for today while exercising restraint and not pushing expenses too high on the design.

Closing Thoughts

As with the other Power of the Primes (find at Amazon.com*) toys that I’ve already opened and played with, I can happily report that Beachcomber* is an excellent entry in the line. If you enjoyed most of the Titans Return line of toys, you’ve gotta check out this newest series. Again, Hasbro, you killed it with this line. Awesome job!