 |
 |
 |
 |
|
By Daniel Suh
The Autobots in Energon may well rule the roads, but between Tidal Wave, Mirage, and Sharkticon, it's the Decepticons who rule the waters.
Submarine
Mode: At first glance, Sharkticon might indeed appear to
be a robotic shark. Upon second glance, however, you realise that he's
actually an attack submarine styled to resemble a shark. He's got a wide,
wedge-shaped prow, two turrets mounted on his back, two larger turrets
on his flanks, a ship's bridge in place of a dorsal fin, bladelike fins
jutting out to the sides, and four smaller stabiliser fins mounted on
his twin engines. His spark crystal is mounted behind his bridge and he
has two PX pegs on his engines. The overall result is one fearsome-looking
vessel indeed! Interestingly enough, at OTFCC 2004, lead TF designer Aaron
Archer explained that Sharkticon's alt mode was inspired by the gargantuan
G1 Decepticon spacecruiser, Nemesis.
From bow to stern, Sharkticon measures 18 cm (7") long. His primary colours are blue-black, lavender, and dark yellow. His gun barrels, bridge, and side panels are a very faint greenish-white and his fins are blue-green. He has metallic silver detailing along his sides and various red and gold accents. The windows in his bridge and his two torpedoes are translucent blue-green. And finally, there's the large white and purple tampographed Decepticon symbol on his prow.
Sharkticon's
top-mounted turrets rotate 90 degrees in either direction and his side-mounted
ones rotate a full 360 degrees. Moreover, the gun barrels themselves can
elevate, allowing Sharkticon to fire upon enemy Autobots approaching from
above as well as to either side. And if that's not enough firepower, his
sides swing wide open to reveal twin torpedo launchers with a range of
over a metre! All things considered, you'd probably have a better chance
of survival with a real shark than with Sharkticon!
Transformation: Pretty simple. Arms unfold, legs and waist swing out from beneath and snap into place, and front section of the sub folds down.
Robot
Mode: Sharkticon stands 14 cm (5.5") tall. With his
pointed feet and bladed forearms and knees, this is one guy you don't
want to be in a mosh pit with. He's mainly lavender and dark yellow with
a metallic silver chest, blue-black forearms, blue-green feet, and red
and gold accents. His streamlined head is lavender and red with a blue-black
face and translucent blue-green eyes that glow ominously when you place
him before a light.
Sharkticon is articulated at the head, shoulders, upper arms, elbows, waist, hips, thighs, knees, and ankles. His fistholes are big enough to accommodate all manner of Energon weapons. His torpedo launchers can be rotated to face forwards, and can even swing out to the sides a little. Although early shots of the toy suggested that Sharky's forearm gauntlets could be removed and held in his fists, it appears that someone at Hasbro decided they were a safety hazard and had them glued firmly in place.
Overall, Susp Sez: Sharkticon kicks ass. Awesome submarine mode, nifty weaponry, effective transformation, good robot mode. Buy it when you see it.
"Who's the shark NOW, baby?" - Sky-Byte
