COUNTDOWN: 5 gorgeous Beast Machines repaints

I may have mentioned this, but I’m a huge repaint fan.

There’s just something about seeing an already familiar toy design rehashed in a bold new colour scheme that really gets the motor running. There’s often no better way to fully appreciate a particular mould than to admire it with a different look.

Having recently showcased examples from the Unicron Trilogy, CHUG, Beast Wars, RID 2001, Animated and even Generation 1, now it’s the turn of one of the most notorious bits of Transformers history – yep, it’s Beast Machines! Simply put, here are five gorgeous repaints for your consideration!

#5: Robots in Disguise Scavenger (2002)

It’s worth mentioning as we kick off that the world of Beast Machines repaints is not as vast as seen in other areas of Transformers, purely on account of the line being so comparatively short. What exists is largely down to its direct successor, Robots in Disguise, especially because the powers that be raided the archives and brought back many existing designs (and a fair few unused ones besides) to be dusted off with a new coat of paint. Among those is the excellent 3-pack of recycled Basic Vehicon figures, including recolours of Beast Machines Mirage, Spy Streak and this mould, known in both iterations as Scavenger. Where the original was a strange (but enjoyable) mix of peach and forest green, here that’s been traded in for a cooler and crisper feel, with stark white and cool blue tones. The gold is the real crowning glory, though, with painted accents on the shins and collar and the chromed claws never failing to catch the eye, giving it a very different feel overall. A lot of these RID re-releases are largely overlooked, but this one bears examination.

#4: Beast Wars Returns Blackwidow (2004)

One of the other main hotspots of Beast Machines recolours is down to the Takara line, known as Beast Wars Returns, which rather randomly picked up the baton some three years after the Hasbro equivalent was already done and dusted to coincide with a Japanese dub of the cartoon. Now largely reimagined in more show-accurate colour schemes, the toys were also extremely limited, with Blackwidow (or Blackarachnia, if you prefer) capped at a relatively minute 3,000 pieces only. It means these alternate releases can be hard to find for a decent price nowadays, but they’re certainly worth a look if you come across them! In Blackarachnia’s case, the original release’s purple has been swapped out for a more animation-styled dark pink, which, it has to be said, is an odd mix against the murky green-brown sections (as well as more neon green highlights), but one thing’s for sure – it commands your attention!

#3: Robots in Disguise Megabolt (2003)

OK, technically – technically – this isn’t a Beast Machines recolour at all, I admit it. The original ‘Megatron Megabolt’ release was actually realised under the Robots in Disguise banner, the same as this figure, but given it’s so obviously and inherently a design from the predecessor series, I’m throwing it in here! Now known simply as ‘Megabolt’, this is a take on the ‘Grand Mal’ form of Megatron as seen in the Beast Machines cartoon’s second season, here given a rather inexplicable – and quite unique – new look with a palette of army green, baby blue and gold (wait for it). It was popped out as a KB Toys exclusive in October 2003, making it one of the final few RID releases of all, although that’s just one of the reasons this version has largely flown under the collecting radar for a lot of people. Yes, it’s a notorious GPS victim (there we go), meaning that although it’s a nice curio to own, it’s a definite ‘handle with care’ situation, as there’s a strong likelihood of breakage on this one. Colourful, though!

#2: Robots in Disguise Obsidian (2002)

Our final RID entry for today is a distinctly different spin (eh?) on an already popular Vehicon design, taking the 2000 Obsidian toy and giving it a more military-themed camo and tan vibe instead. It makes this recolour really stand out versus the bright green of the original, almost feeling more ‘real world’ in a sense, despite the outlandish and quite alien appearance of the robot mode. I’m a major fan of the translucent orange plastic in use here, and the yellow highlights further help to save it from being potentially a bit drab otherwise. This design’s most sizeable crime has always been its smaller stature, as one cannot help but imagine what could have been achieved with such an inherently cool concept beyond the Basic price point. That aside, this is an intriguing alternate take on an absolute classic from the era.

#1: Beast Wars Returns Silverbolt (2005)

Our last repaint may not be a Botcon exclusive this time, but it’s still likely to cause a fair bit of comment! Yes, it’s an update of the universally panned Basic class Silverbolt from 2000, except now with the overt Ronald McDonald-style colour scheme. True, the design itself isn’t anything to write home about, but at least the hues offered here unleash the potential within (by taming the beast without…). I’m happy to acknowledge that the potent mix of pinks, purples, and blues possibly isn’t to everyone’s taste, but perhaps we can all at least acknowledge it’s an improvement, no? For my part, I’ll go one step further and say I actually adore how this version looks despite the all-too-evident drawbacks of the mould. It’s as close to a screen-accurate representation of Beast Machines Silverbolt as we’ve seen and never fails to draw the eye, that’s for sure!

So that’s our list! What are some of your favourite Beast Machines repaints?

TTFN