As the days tick on, the end of Kingdom looks to be on the horizon (based on leaks); the Predacon squad is coming along, even if some crucial members are still waiting for a new release. Tarantulas, Terrorsaur, Waspinator and Inferno are still significant holes many people are waiting to fill in the season 1 roster. However, in the meantime, we can still enjoy the Fossilizer gimmick with the second Dinosaur Fossil to join the war effort, Ractonite. Is he better than his wave one companion? Well, yes and no.
Starting in fossil mode. In terms of general looks, I prefer this dinosaur mode over the Paleotrex mould from the last time I reviewed Fossilizers. The main reason for this is the extra mass in the chest; while it's an ironic complaint, it makes the dinosaur mode not feel as malnourished. While I know it's an odd complaint with a toy that's meant to look like dinosaur bones, but the skeletal aesthetic does handicap the designs overall, it's one of the reasons I'm currently (opinion may change when I get it in hand) not a fan of the wave 3 Fossilizer, Wingfinger. There are more gaps on this one than the Paleotrex mould, mainly in the legs, but the white plastic and the bone design don't make them very noticeable. The gaps blend in well and add to the aesthetic like these are a degrading pile of bones. What does suck, though, is the compromised articulation for the sake of the robot mode. I wish the front legs had ankle tilts, and the inability for the head to turn side to side is a real shame. While it's not an issue exclusive to Ractonite, most of the beasts have had stiff necks, it's hard not to be spoiled by Beast Wars Megatron, and most of the other dinosaur transformers have had enough articulation for it to not feel like a hindrance. The Styracosaurus body shape that this is based on makes it inherently stiffer when compared to someone like Paleotrex (even if Paleotrex's weight distribution is so bad, most of those dynamic poses will result in a face plant). I'm not sure how I feel about the grey paint, though. The white plastic wouldn't have worked on its own, but the grey colour doesn't compliment the plastic either, compared to something like Paleotrex, where the colours are more complimentary. It feels like Ractonite's been playing in the same Cyber Mud that the Siege Figures had on them.
While the paint doesn't work well for the beast mode, it does work a lot better in the robot mode, a robot mode that in itself is ok? It feels tamer compared to Paleotrex, more reserved, ironic considering one of the arms is coming out of the Styracosaurus' mouth. While Paleotrex is insane looking in his way, Ractonite is more the traditional Beast Era insanity, homaging how Beast Wars designs handled their Beast Mode junk. With the exception of where the front legs go, I could see this being a regular Beast Wars toy if it wasn't going for the living skeleton aesthetic. That said, though, he is a Fossilizer, and part of the gimmick is the ability to break him down and turn him into weapons for other characters. Unfortunately, on my copy, the tolerances for some of the joints and connections aren't great. As a result, many combinations, like the giant bone war hammer, aren't fun to play around with as the connections don't hold together, and the joints struggle to take the weight. It's less of an issue in the robot and beast mode; it's why I'm only covering those (the bone war hammer looks fantastic, though). Articulation is adequate, the parts used for the shoulders are cumbersome and make it impossible for him to do things like a T-Pose, but the rest of the articulation in robot mode is fine. The arms look very gangly thanks to the proportions, something that a torso extension would have helped with, but it is frustrating that he has no hands at all. Even Paleotrex tried to pull off hands.
Ractonite is both a step up and a step down when compared to Paleotrex. I enjoy the extra mass thanks to the thicker bone structure, but as a Fossilizer, he's not as versatile as Paleotrex. He's not as configurable as Paleotrex; there aren't many parts that can be other body parts. I think for that reason alone, Paleotrex is probably better just as a toy, even if visually I prefer Ractonite. While I couldn't cover it today due to COVID Lockdowns, and it currently waiting for me about 20km away, there is a repaint of this figure called Tricranius, lava themed repaint with some minor retooling. It's an interesting looking paint job at least. If you can find him on sale, he's worth a purchase. The good balances out the bad, and if nothing else, he makes for a great army builder for the Predacons. To get back onto schedule, I'll be reviewing an Autobot next Sunday (unfortunately not Rodimus, more Amazon delays). However, a G.I Joe review will be coming sometime soon on a Wednesday. At the very least, I'll see you next time for a review a long time coming. The Good, the Bad, the original and the dead, it's time to review Earthrise Optimus Prime.
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