Beast Wars Revisited: Part 6 of 5

What was originally supposed to be just a five part series seems to have expanded somewhat since I have acquired a few more Beast Wars figures recently. Again these don't differ much from the domestic releases, but I found them interesting enough to purchase and thus add to my ever-expanding Japanese Beast Wars collection.

Part 6: Beast Wars Neo VS-33 Rockbuster vs. Hydra

Transformers in Japan have a few cool little quirks that we really don't get over here in America. One of these is that many times figures are paired up in VS sets so that if you purchase one you get one good guy and one bad guy to pit against each other. Personally I think this is a great idea and I know kids love it since they get two figures to play with. It especially helps jump-start your collection which seems to be more of a focus in Japan.

I only have a scant few of these VS sets because they can be expensive, depending on which figures are in the set. It seems that most of the Destron figures are a lot more expensive than the Cybertron figures, at least in the Neo toyline. Case in point, Rockbuster (crab) by himself is usually less than $10, but Hydra (pterodactyl) can be upwards of $40. And usually the VS set runs at least $50, but fortunately I was able to purchase it for much less. Rockbuster and Hydra are almost identical to their domestic releases with only a few subtle changes. In fact, Rockbuster is virtually identical to the domestic Razorclaw (video tape version).

The very cool VS packaging showcasing the 'battle'

Robot Modes

Beast Modes

Razorclaw on the left, Rockbuster on the right.

 The only real difference between the two is Rockbuster's orange is slightly less vibrant. And that's it. Maybe that is why he is so cheap.

And of course his rubsign is a Cybertron instead of Predacon.

Domestic Lasorbeak on the left, Hydra on the right.

 Fortunately Hydra has a few more differences from Lasorbeak. The addition of the silver paint on the wings, shins and face makes it much easier to tell them apart.