Yolopark AMK Pro Transformers Rise of the Beasts Scourge review

Can you believe it's been 3 years since Rise of the Beasts came out??? While there are people who still whine about it not being a proper Bumblebee sequel, and those more reasonable with their opinions find it to be diet-Michael Bay, I still enjoy the film in general, flaws and all. If there was something I would agree in, it would be that the film should have more Predacons, maybe an extended cut would have helped, and more focus on the Maximals would be great to see before we go to the present day. I also love laughing at the fools who were WISHING Scourge was going to be an undead Bayverse Prime, only for the same Optimus in the BBM to turn out and be the same Optimus we saw in the prior movies. To celebrate that, let's review a pretty belated AMK PRO release from Yolopark!

Here we have Scourge in-hand, and we get a humanoid yet monstrous design done right when it comes to screen accuracy. The Studio Series version was fine if a bit inaccurate due to the concept art used for the toys ahead of time, but the proportions are accurate to the CG model. The details most figures wouldn't do as accurately, such as the videos embedded within the torso, or the smokestacks not being covered by the back kibble, are recreated here thanks to this figure not needing to use an alt mode. We also get more of the faction logos that Scourge collected over the years of being Scourge's minion, and those along with the sculpt are complimented with a rusty deco that matches the screen model and completes his design than had he lacked it. Scourge's proportions are a bit unnatural compared to most other characters who turn into trucks, but that makes sense for a character as twisted as he is. Not to mention the die-cast adding some proper weight to a figure that was previously made of plastic.

His head sculpt is accentuated with not just the paint we've seen throughout the figure, but also a mask made out of die-cast. The cracks on it are a bit thicker than normal,  it it's easy to understand that that is as thin as they can be for the scale. I do wish the mouth could be closed more. Still, the light up eyes are cool. Articulation consists of the a double ball neck system (one for the head and another within the torso), shoulder rotation, outward arm movement, bicep rotation, double jointed elbows, slight wiggle for the wrists as well as the rotary cuffs within the shoulders, wrist rotation, individual finger and thumb articulation (which means you can pose him flipping the bird to the clowns who thought he was Bayverse Prime), slight movement at the upper body only hindered due to the design, ratchets that can move at two points (normal and drop down range), outward leg movement, thigh rotation at the pegs each leg attaches to, double jointed knees when you move the back panel out, ankles that swivel, hinge, and pivot, and toe-ticulation to boot.

His weapons include the underslung blade with a dull orange fade at the bottom, which honestly makes me wish Optimus's blades got that treatment. In addition, he has his arm clawed left hand that is able to spin freely, with a magnet at the "palm" being the icing on the Terrorcon cake.

In addition, he also has his arm cannon, which lights up after you unscrew the weapon to access the battery compartment. Yes, it's the first instance of a figure requiring screws rather than simply taking the accessory apart. My theory is that's from the way the accessory is shaped, and to prevent the item from coming apart when you detaching it off the forearm. Also, he has the option to be displayed without the mask to reveal not a Bayverse Prime face but just the ugly mug of a fool who simped for Unicron and was killed by a younger Bayverse Prime! An alternate face piece can be swapped with the one used to attach the mask so as not to leave a small gap.

The original version was fine for the most part, but like with Optimus, the LEDs, extensive deco, bonus proper left arm, and addition of die-cast is why I held off on the regular AMK. After all, when it comes to the live-action Transformers, I would want to have as much of a screen-accurate figure as Yolopark possibly can recreate. This Scourge was a little too pristine for someone who looked corroded and rusty in the movie.

For a size comparison, here he is with fellow AMK PRO Optimus Prime, the ROTB design specifically, and the scale between these two is accurate as one should expect. Thankfully, we don't have a huge discrepancy in price between these two given they're both close in height, yet one doesn't cost more than the other like a Leader Class would to a Voyager. Sure, I may be paying $60 for an enhanced AMK, but that is worth more than what most Leaders offer.

Overall, the only issue I have with with Scourge is the lack of any Sweeps, either Novakane or Freezer would have been cool to accompany this guy. And maybe he is the most samey of the AMK-to-PROs we have seen. Still, I love this kit like I have all of the other AMK PROs, and I hope we can continue getting the other villains as we get closer to completing the Autobots. Shouldn't be hard to do Nightbird and Battletrap, right? Until then, here is proof that ROTB Scourge is TFOne Optimus Prime.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐