Predacon Scorponok & Sandspear Double Punch Transformers Buzzworthy Bumblebee Rise of the Beasts Beast Alliance Target Exclusive Item No.: No. F4120 Manufacturer: Hasbro Includes: n/a Action Feature: Transforms from Scorpion to Robot, also Scorpion to Sword/spear Retail: $15.99 Availability: May 2023 Other: A neat toy, but inspired by a specific source
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I saw Predacon Scorponok & Sandspear and said "That looks fun, I want one." Other people saw it and said "hey, that looks like a custom using movie 1 Scorponok and a head that looks like Revenge of the Fallen Dead End. It's not exactly the same, but inspiration comes from all places. It's a much simpler toy, and the little buddy is a bit goofy, but it's fun. For a 5-inch robot, in today's toy market, I'd say it's an incredible good value proposition.

The little guy Sandspear is supposedly a spear. It looks a little bit like an Alien Facehugger, complete with hollowed-out backside and creepy legs. It more or less works - you can flip out a handle so another figure can wave him around like a sword, but you can still see the arms and legs. It's very clearly a scorpion being conscripted into battle. I don't really have a big problem with this, because there was a time we got three jets, smashed them into a sword, and said "this is good." It's a fun bonus accessory.

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Scorponok seems to invoke a little bit of the movieverse, but also some of the 1990s. He's got a nice green Predacon symbol on his chest that matches his shoulders and shins, a swell orange eyes, and a silver chin on what is not quite a face. Articulation is good by 1990s standards, not as fancy as a modern Deluxe. 9 joints gets you a fair amount of movement, and while it's a much simpler toy than what collectors tend to get, it's still plenty sturdy and the ball joints on his limbs have a good range of movement. The rocky textures on his limbs also look vaguely organic. It's a nice change of pace from what we usually get as a scorpion toy, despite name reuse and the aforementioned inspiration. The worst thing I can say about it is that it's neat. Comparing him to a $10 deluxe Beast Wars toy, he may not have quite as much paint or articulation. Adjusted for inflation, those would be $20 in 2023, and this is only $15.99, with a second toy replacing the gimmicks of old.

Transforming the figure is a breeze. Scorponok's robot legs fold over, and his arms become arms. Sandspear just sort of stretches out. These are easy, and fun - but there is a big of fidgeting to get the double-jointed knees on Scorponok in place.

Both scorpion modes are pretty great. Little Sandspear has pincers with 5mm holes in them, so he can hold other weapons and blasters if you have any handy. The arms and tail have some joints, but that's it - otherwise he's just going to stand there. I can see why they didn't opt to sell this one by himself in the mainline. He's by no means terrible, but comparing him to the other blaster buddies he's not as fully realized. He's got nice paint - some silver on his head and back not only look good, but hide the fact that's all the paint he's got. Texture does a lot of the heavy lifting here.

The bigger Scorponok robot looks like a throwback to the 1990s, minus the gimmicks of Beast Wars. I really like it, even if it's not quite as amazing as the best that line had to offer. His robot arms become the scorpion pincers, the spear becomes his tail, and he has six legs that, for all intents and purposes, don't move. What I love about him are the colors. The green spray makes it feel like an older toy - emphasis on toy - with bright orange little eyes. It's like a non-metalized Transmetals critter, although those tended to have more nifty gimimcks. I admire the simplicity, and the articulated tail and arms give him something to do. If you want to give him a gun you can do that, you just need to source it elsewhere.

I like this set because it's simple and as simple, it works. Nothing popped apart that shouldn't when I was playing with it, it looks good, and I certainly hope it holds up. When combined with some decidedly old-school (or sofubi-esque) paint it feels a little more legit as a plaything and while I would love it to be a smidgen bigger, it offers a decent bang for the buck compared to a Core-class toy at $12 or a typical $25 deluxe. I'd like to see a few more toys move in this direction, if for no reason other than I hate paying quite so much to not get a lot. It's not as tricked out as an Armada toy, but that was 20 years ago. For 2023, this is pretty great. Give it a look if you see these in a store.

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