Hot take, but when you set aside the nostalgia for the Quintessons and the cohorts associated with them, they're pretty weaksauce villains. Like oh no, look out for the thingamabob with 5 heads for Optimus Prime to pull off and tentacles that Movie and TFP Soundwave can use!!! The Allicon is at least a little more believable but it's nowhere near as cool as Gnaw. Maybe it's the lack of a distinct color scheme. Either way, let's see how cool the Allicon could actually be despite me not liking the 86-Movie-antagonists-that-aren't-Decepticons.
Here we have the Allicon in his beast mode. It's the equivalent of a mascot costume, what with the way it looks and how hunched it is. The tiny arms also don't help it, especially when they can't even reach past the big crocohead. But maybe the big head makes up for it because its bite looks quite wide! I also like the red tongue added in to complete the mouth. The teeth also look decent, though the inner side looks a little incomplete in terms of missing paint. On a side note, the arms are PVC, and the way they hold the spear will vary in terms of the tightness of the grip.
Transformation is really easy, as it's quite clear that the figure's design was less about making a complex transformation and more just modifying the arms, straightening the legs, and revealing a new head. The head reveal is kind of neat, but nothing too mindblowing. As for the robot mode, well, it's no different from what was previously show; he's got the same shoulders, but with screws facing the front, his beast arms are now facing the front with hollow gaps, and the alligator head is now covered by the back come tail. It looks like how it does in the 86 movie and cartoon, but not like I'm super thrilled about it since it's more or less the same as before.
Head sculpt is the typical 80's bad guy head, and certainly different compared to the 1984/5 Japanese retro mecha inspired looks. This is less classic Robo and more He-Man type shit. Also, why does he have two faceplates? And why do his eyes look like they light up when they don't? As for his articulation, it's more or less the same as always, which is quite nice for this chungus.
In terms of reuses, this guy received a retool in the form of the Bailiff, who has not just different colors but also new parts to make him a little more distinct from the Allicons, notably the shoulders and head. Given how he was in the Pit of Judgement set, he has a Plaintiff that doesn't transform. Get this set if you're a big fan of the 86 movie and/or want more Quintesson stuff.
But as it turns out, the Bailiff isn't cartoon accurate but the Quintesson Trooper is as part of a Buzzworthy Bumblebee 4-pack that has him with a Seeker, an animated Autotrooper, and a G2 Cybertronian. He also has a head that includes more paint to make your original Allicon even more cartoon-accurate. Oh this company, man.
Oh and he can hold not just a spear but also a part of his tail for his robot mode weapons. This guy's not shabby, to be honest. While I do feel that the lack of stuff to say about an army builder like this is a bit of a disservice to what is otherwise a decent toy. He's not the best of Earthrise, but I'd hate to make him sound like the worst of the line. If he's discounted I could easily army build and hope to do the same with the Sharkticons.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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