Rise of the Beasts Rhinox (Battle Master)

Prelude: Remember that one Beast Wars episode where Rhinox pooped Energon and took out the entire Predacon team that way? Well, the makers of the Rise of the Beasts toy line certainly remembered, as that is the only explanation I can think of why they made this figure here. Beast Battle Master Rhinox, he of the giant Butt Gun of Doom. Let’s say go!

Beast Mode: Like all the Beast Battle Masters, Rhinox does not have a robot mode, so his “primary” mode is his beast mode, a rhinoceros, naturally. It’s a small brown rhino, looking mostly organic, yet with grey legs and several technological “patches” on its body, displaying his techno-organic nature. 

Articulation is basically zero. While all four legs are ball-jointed, they can only fold sideways / inwards, so a walking pose isn’t really possible unless you turn the legs so that the feet are pointing sideways. So nothing much you can do here except have it stand there and look pretty. It does look pretty, mind you, but I doubt anyone will buy this toy because it’s a nice little rhino.

Weapon Mode: Rhinox transforms into a large rotary machine gun (or mini-gun) and by transform I mean that the body splits in half and the muzzle of the gun is where Rhinox’ rear end used to be. A handle flips out from underneath Rhinox’ head and the two body-halves fold together, so you end up with a pretty decent-looking gun with some mildly organic-looking kibble on each side.

The gun has the standard 5mm handle, so it can be wielded by roughly 80% of all Transformers figures ever made. Given its bulk, it looks best on a Voyager or large Deluxe, at least, but that’s up to you. So bottom line: a pretty cool-looking Butt Gun of Doom. 

Remarks: I don’t know what it is about the Beast Battle Masters, but I adore these little guys. Animals transforming into weapons for robots that transform into those same animals… brilliant. Rhinox is no exception and the fact that he references one of the more infamous Beast Wars episodes is just icing on the cake. 

So bottom line: if you can see the appeal of beasts transforming into weapons, then Rhinox is a figure you should definitely take a look at. All hail the glory of the Butt Gun of Doom!

Rating: B+