Originally written October 2019
It’s rare for a Transformer to exist that feels like it was created specifically to appeal to your exact set of interests, but that’s what we have here, with Takara’s e-hobby exclusive Legends Convobat.
Like a lot of kids who were the right age to get into Beast Wars when it was new, I’d stare at the list of figures on the cardbacks, and during that first year, there was one set that I coveted above all others: The basic Optimus Primal versus Megatron 2-pack. Before they released the large Gorilla and T-Rex versions that would appear on the show, there were these two smaller figures, who changed into a bat and crocodile instead. Despite asking for it in my childhood, it wouldn’t be mine (later, I’d realize it was because, by the time I asked, they were long gone from the shelves.) A few years ago, I finally got my hands on the pair at TFCon, and as I revealed last week, they still hold up today as an example of small, simple figures done well.
Cut to 2016, the 20th anniversary of Beast Wars, when Takara released this updated version of the original bat Optimus Primal (called Convobat in Japan) as part of their Legends line, the Japanese release of the Titans Return figures. It was so specific to my interests, I had to get one for myself, despite it being an E-Hobby exclusive, and therefore hard to get (and expensive). Luckily, I got a deal when I picked it up, again, at TFCon.
Convobat Beast Mode
This entire set is a crazy mishmash of redecoed parts from a few different sources, which I’ll note as I go. The core figure, a redeco of Titans Return Mindwipe, starts out as a bat. Whereas the original was effectively stuck in a flight pose, this version is perched at rest.
Primarily blue and light grey, with a few yellow bits, it’s amazing how precisely the specific shades imitate the colors of the original, when compared side by side, (which makes up for it being mechanical in design, instead of organic.)
Aside from a moving jaw (which even has a painted tongue, like the original!), the wings are the main bit of poseability, able to spread wide, or close into a sleeping pose. They can also store his robot mode weapons, a pair of swords redecoed from Transformers Prime Deluxe Wheeljack, of all places. In another bit of clever coincidence, this is the exact same place the swords on the original Bat Optimus Primal stow. Sadly, he’s not posable enough to imitate the flying pose of the original, though he does stand solidly on two stumpy bat-legs.
Convobat’s chest is dominated by a transparent cockpit, thanks to the Titans Return play pattern. It can pop open, and a Titan Master can sit inside, piloting the bat like a mech.
It’s a really tight fit, though, and if you’re not careful, the window piece can pop off entirely, or the Titan Master’s legs can come off and get left behind in the cockpit. Both can easily pop back on, though.
Convobat Titan Master
Speaking of Titan Masters, Convobat’s one is a redeco of Infinitus, originally Sentinel Prime’s Titan Master, used due to his Prime-ish face. The advantage of this release being both Takara AND an exclusive (and the reason for the high price) is the extra budget for paint, and it’s most obvious on this minifigure. A frequent criticism of the western Titans Return releases was the lack of color on the Titan Masters, and that isn’t an issue on this one, which features a painted torso, arms, mouthplate, and even tiny painted eyes.
As for the larger face, its yellow eyes and light grey mouthplate imitate the original pretty closely.
Transformation to Robot Mode
Titans Return Deluxes hit that sweet spot for me transformation-wise, where it’s involved enough to be satisfying, but simple enough to not be a whole event. Convobat basically does a handstand to transform, and in the most clever bit, his wings collapse and fold into his legs, (with the ones on his back in robot mode being fake kibble, though). It’s more challenging changing him back into a bat, due to a whole whack of tabs on his wings needing to be lined up properly.
(2021 update: There’s been reports that the original Mindwipe iteration of this figure is suffering from brittle plastic on his wings/robot legs, leading to breakage issues. I re-transformed my Convobat, and it looks like I’m in the clear. This version may not have this issue, or I may have gotten lucky.)
Convobat Robot Mode
Convobat’s robot mode is where he really shines as an update to the original. That over-the-top exclusive paintwork goes out of its way to imitate the original’s color layout as precisely as possible, from the red stripes on his arms and legs, to the imitation of his beast-mode head on his chest (the real one ends up on his back).
All the standard deluxe robot bits of articulation are present (though, this being pre-Siege, ankle tilts are not present), and his swords fit snugly in his hands, despite being from an entirely different source, so he looks properly dynamic when posed with them.
He has no wrist articulation, sadly, which would go great with swords, though the mold wasn’t designed with swords in mind, so it can be forgiven.
Thanks to his unique leg transformation, his knees are unusually high, and his feet can be a bit unstable, though the bell-bottom like flare on his legs compensates to make the figure itself plenty stable, and he can hold a lot of dynamic, swordfighting poses.
Both these swords, and his smaller, new wings are rubbery safe-for-kids plastic, and can deform if you’re not careful.
Megaligator Titan Master
This would already be a great figure on its own, but it’s the extras that take it to the next level. First, there’s a second Titan Master figure, in the form of alligator Megatron (called Megaligator here), a redeco of Nucleon, the Titan Master that came with Galvatron. Once again, that exclusive level of paint is on display, with the minifigure having a painted face, torso and eyes. It’s eerie how well the face on the larger mode is a fit for the Beast Wars original.
While there’s no body for the figure, the Legends manga, and Takara itself recommend repurposing Legends Skullcruncher’s body with him, and the colors on the Titan Master have been matched to it. Luckily, it turns out that it also matches with the western Titans Return Skullsmasher release, which is what I use. (2021 update: Skullsmasher/cruncher is getting reissued again as a Wal-Mart exclusive, but most of the world doesn’t have it yet, so I’m not sure if the green on it still matches).
It turns out that the Skullsmasher sculpt is actually a good match for this Megatron’s transformation and general silhouette, but the colors aren’t quite there, featuring a ton of pink.
Of course, it would have been nice to see him done as a full figure, particularly when a body that fits really well is right there, but when viewed as an extra bonus, it’s neat for what it is. Besides, a full second Deluxe would have added a ton to the price of this set.
Ape-X-Arms
The second bonus is, to me, even more inventive: A Titan Master vehicle for either minifigure, called Ape-X-Arms. It’s a redeco of Titan Master Apeface’s vehicle, a gorilla that changes into a jet. Here, it’s been recolored to resemble Optimal Optimus, Primal’s final, gigantic Beast Wars form, which could also become an ape and a jet (and a car and a robot). Like everything else in this set, it fits eerily well. There’s something endearingly cute about the face, and the general concept of taking what was once a large figure and micro-sizing it.
Either minifigure can ride on his back in ape mode, or in the cockpit of his jet form. You can also “combine” them with the jet, though it’s mostly just them lying down backwards in the jet cockpit.
Finally, the vehicle has a “weapon mode,” created simply by spinning its jets around to face forwards, which can be tabbed into holes on Convobat’s arms.
Overall
It’s difficult to state the appeal of Convobat to someone that wasn’t an excited kid during the early days of Beast Wars, which it explicitly pays tribute to. The figure’s limited, exclusive status, of course, comes with a high price tag, well above your usual imported Takara Deluxe, which may give you pause. For me, it was worth it simply because Convobat pays tribute to its source material extremely well, Frankensteining a set together from multiple sources to lovingly craft a meticulous update of a particular figure that represents a particular slice of time in the franchise and fandom:
Outside of that, it’s simply another satisfying, solid modern Deluxe figure, given extra bells and whistles thanks to its exclusive status. If that appeals to you, then this is definitely something you want.
