TRANSFORMERS TOYS AND MERCHANDISE SECTION

Robot Mode:
Alternate Mode:
Box Art:
Technical Specifications:
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INT
SPD
END
RNK
CRG
FPR
SKL

Knightdramon's review of: Tigerhawk

Name: Tigerhawk
Allegiance: Maximal
Function: Vok Emissary
Sub-Group: Transmetal 2
"Violence will not be tolerated - surrender or be destroyed."

A puzzling new cybernetic entity, Tigerhawk is the result of an advanced alien species' apprehension of the former Tigatron and Airazor. Mysteriously combined and reconfigured, Tigerhawk was sent back as a prophet of peace to end the long war between Maximal and Predacon. Possesses elemental powers to summon earthquakes, electrical storms and tsunamis. Has Vok alien-enhanced intelligence and an incredible arsenal of weaponry including an ion diminisher that paralyzes enemies. Totally fearless, noble and ferocious in battle, he is an inspiration to his fellow Maximals.

One of the most impressive and powerful transformers in the Beast Wars series, Tigerhawk strikes an awing appearance as an Ultra sized toy. By fusing the sparks of Tigatron and Air Razor, the Vok created a perfect body for their emissary. Tigerhawk single-handedly obliterated the Predacon forces and Megatron. Later on he regained his Tigatron persona and helped the Maximals out. Unfortunately, due to the series finale, he was featured only in three episodes. He was last seen battling against the Nemesis, and dying against impossible odds. His extra-ordinary abilities included weather manipulation, unmatched strength, and awesome firepower.

Vehicle Mode:
One of the finest and last pieces in the original BW series, Tigerhawk is an amalgam of a tiger\hawk, coupled with Transmetals 2 technology. His primary colours are white and blue, with some green on the wings. The main gimmick of fuzors (he is one, partly) was that they combined two beast forms into one. Tigerhawk is reminiscent to Silverbolt, an earlier release in the series. His front legs, head and main body are all his tiger parts, while his tail, wings and rear legs are the remains of Air Razor. The detailing of this toy is obscured by the creamy white colouring. Tigerhawk sports organic fur as well as high-tech machine parts. I've got to say that his head suffers greatly from this problem. Upon close observation, half his forehead is a metallic plate, and there are vents all over his snout. Why these parts were left unpainted is beyond me. One of the prettiest features of this toy has to be his wings. The wings have three points of articulation, but that's more than enough. You can spot mechanic detailing on both wings, as well as the gattling guns (actual weapons of the toy) underneath. The wing's ends (the feathers) can rotate by the press of the switch on the green translucent surface. He also has a feather missile, just like Silverbolt, which can be fired by a switch just above it. Another action feature (although, in my opinion, useless) is that the rear claws can grab any item placed between them by pressing the switch in-between the sets of claws. Lastly, his magnificent tail can actually split. The middle part resembles a tiger's tail (although not hinted).

Tigerhawk (just like Megatron) has an alternative, useless mode. Firstly, remove the blue part beneath the head from its position and attach it on the tiger's head. Notice how the head can take further advantage of its articulation point this way. Once you are done with that, swing the wings all the way up. By moving the green switch on his back, the wings unravel themselves to the sides and the gattling guns swivel, in order for two launchers to make their appearance. However, no toy is perfect. The missiles in the launchers, while spring loaded, will be launched immediately. That's the aerial battle mode. The hawk mask COULD be sacrificed for a better articulation point on the head, and the missile launchers could not auto launch. Other than the mask, there aren't any other differences from the beast mode.

Overall, Tigerhawk has 19 points of articulation in beast (aerial mode), including the tiger's mouth AND tongue! The use of creamy white and metallic blue on the wings and hips really make this a fantastic figure to behold.

Robot Mode:
The transformation for this guy isn't too difficult, but not too easy either. His chest area and his legs split and go backwards (like Silverbolt's arms are formed, only in reverse) his visible arm on his back must be released from its secure joint. The entire belly area of the tiger is his right hand, and has to be moved as well. A green translucent piece is now visible. Release the tiger head from its restraining joint (not easy and will make you think you'll break it). Swivel the green piece around until the tiger head\arm ends up to the left and the other arm (with the green transparent ball) is on the right. Carefully move the rear part of the beast mode up to the arms area. Before the part ends there entirely, swivel the robot head and manipulate the tailpiece so that it looks down. Snap the front tiger legs together (they now form the robot legs) and secure the connection by joining them with the former tailpiece. Pull out the blue ankles and fold the tiger feet in there. The robot feet are now formed. The rear tiger legs can be folded into the hips, and the shoulder pieces can be attached onto them. I hope it made sense…

Tigerhawk has an amazing robot mode. The golden maximal crest on his chest stands greatly next to the blue colouring used there. His right arm hasn't got a shoulder joint (unfortunately) but that cannons more than make up for it. Due to the dull white paintjob, you can't see the details there. The cannons become one with the fur on his arm, merging circuits with organic parts. His left arm has very little articulation due to the entire tiger head resting on the shoulder. His feet can take a variety of poses, hindered only by the tailpiece. His head is a beautiful piece of art (lol). The blue helmet isn't symmetrical, but ends up looking like Air Razor's head. There is a green visor covering two red eyes. What's noteworthy is that the visor isn't moulded onto the face; it's a separate piece. His face…it suffers from the overall whiteness of the figure. The only details you can make out are the greeting teeth. His wings can be put in any position, much like his beast mode. The gattling guns can come out and held on his left hand. What's wrong with this is that the hole isn't symmetrical, and the cannon that gets to rest upwards isn't secure. It will always fall…

Tigerhawk has twelve points of articulation (not counting the wings). That's just enough for him to be put in all sorts of poses, or fight the preds with his entire arsenal.

Transformation: 7 - His transformation scheme is not too puzzling, but not too easy. Will take some time to get used to it.
Durability: 5 - His blue parts can fade away if brushed on another surface, and his wings are prone to breaking if the figure is dropped from a table or something. The rubbery feathers don't help much, either.
Fun: 9 - This guy has all the things a kid needs. He has got an impressive beast mode, four missiles, and a big and powerful robot mode.
Price: 6 - For a toy released in 1999, he isn't that expensive. I paid 30 dollars for mine, MISB. Anything higher than that wouldn't be too fair. I've seen TM2 Megatron go for 50 dollars.
Summary: 8 - A pretty decent piece for collectors. He's got plenty of meaningful articulation joints, he is one of the most beautiful BW toys, and he has two cool modes. Worth his money.