Transformers Rise of the Beasts Core Voyager Rhinox review

Rise of the Beasts' first wave of Voyagers is not easy to obtain, as fans were REALLY interested in Voyagers that were lesser equivalents to the Studio Series after finding out they were actually much better quality than expected, in addition to the engineering of Prime and the very close accuracy for Primal. Rhinox is the third and seemingly final release for the line, but perhaps we can see him keep this brief line on a high note while we wait for the remaining basic Deluxes to pop up later. So when it comes to the third Voyager of the new movie, let's see if this Rhinox is worth getting, even if there is a Studio Series iteration on the horizon.

Here is Rhinox in his beast mode. This beast mode looks much more robotic than the final CG model we're getting, depicting the animal as more robotic and not as smooth in texturing as the design normally is. You have some of the inner workings exposed and painted in silver, and there are chains that are left hanging on the front legs. The toes on the front legs are painted, but not well. Meanwhile, the hind legs don't have paint whatsoever. The horn is more bronze than silver, but it at least adds some color. So it's not accurate to the movie but it still looks good.

The articulation isn't much, with the forelegs and maybe hind legs being able to articulate while the jaw opens. The design does look blockier than the CG design from this angle, not looking as organic as the final design.

For a beast mode size comparison, here he is in-between the mainline versions of Optimus Primal and Cheetor. He may be a Voyager, but the fact that he has a scale more or less comparable to his old Deluxe toy makes him amusingly look like a younger rhino when put next to his teammates. Oh and his cannons cam peg on the shoulders.

And here is Rhinox next to his Kingdom self. The head on the Kingdom figure does sit up slightly higher than on the movie toy. I feel that the mainline Voyager borrows an influence from the Kingdom figure, even if one of them is a more condensed-looking guy than the other.

Transformation is similar to the Kingdom toy, but amusingly easier to work with. The legs are not as annoying to transform this time around, as nothing clashes badly with smaller parts trying to get to their destinations. And good thing, too, because Kingdom Rhinox's leg transformation is legit more annoying than most movie figures. The robot mode is a little more movie-accurate, but as we now have the Studio Series toy for reference, this guy is halfway there between the proper CG mode and the concept art that inspired this toy. It is more accurate than the Battle Changer toy, which was literally the Season 1 design but with added greebling. The blockiness continues, with the lower legs being much chunkier than the rest of the body. It does work for some stylistic angle shots that work with some funky poses, but I won't lie when I say that the rest of the figure makes the lower leg look like they belong to another toy. In factz tbe back kibble sticks out as much as the backpack! Thankfully, the rest of the toy isn't too bad, with a good design that takes influence from Rhinox's traditional look while doing new things of its own. One complaint I do have has to do with the shoulders having a similar issue to the AOE Leaders, with either a straight up and down position for the arms or having them jut out at leas 45 degrees if they move outwards due to a piece of the shoulders locking them in place.

Head sculpt is very funny-looking. Rhinox normally has a stern face in the series, yet he looks gormless and missing a soul with how expressionless the face is. There is some good sculptwork, though, with the silver paint helping. The articulation is still good, giving him a neck swivel, shoulders that move front and back, in and out, swivels and bends at the elbows, a waist swivel somewhat limited by the back kibble, hips that move front and back, in and out, swivels above the knees, bends at the knees, and ankle hinges as well as pivots. He can hold his chainguns of doom, which are nicely painted and spin unlike the Kingdom version!

Here is Rhinox next to his Kingdom self, and the robot mode definitely diverges from the body up, ditching the lower jaw chest and the rhino head hood. Also new to ROTB Rhinox is the horn's ability to remove itself from the head and attach to either shoulder. Vaguely reminds me of Cybertron Backstop. And yeah, the cannons on this guy are better than om the Kingdom toy.

And here he is in-between the two mainline Maximals. He continues serving as an intermediate lind of Maximal, showing that Primal is close to the concept art while Cheetor is not. Rhinox is in-between them both, but that still doesn't stop him from being a toy I'd recommend. He's as good as the other Voyagers even in spite of his flaws, and I don't think he'll be that difficult to get compared to the Optimus Duo. I saw more of this guy at my Walmart than either leader.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐