Name: Fractyl
Series: Convention Exclusives
Allegiance: Predacon
Function: Geochemist
Alternate Mode: Pteranadon
(Recolour of Terrorsaur)
PTERANADON MODE
Height: 6cm Length: 12.5cm Width: 14cm
A metallic olive green reptile with shiny gold spots on his back and a few light grey bits showing. While it's not that likely Pteranadons came in metallic green with shiny gold spots, it's impossible to rule it out, so we'll assume the colours work. From a visual appeal point of view, they _do_ work, and that's enough for me. The green is a nice shade and the grey is light enough to not get in the way at all. He has red eyes and white teeth, and a few folds and stuff visible. Basically, it's a very nice recolouring of Terrorsaur - better than Lazorbeak, and certainly easier on the eye.
Well, as far as I can assume, it's a pretty realistic pteranadon. He's got outspread wings, a jaw that opens and closes and a neck that lets him look down - although the robot mode feet get in the way of this, since they hang (noticeably) under his neck. He has ankles that move but they only fold forward so he can fall forward and not look up. Being from the first series of Beast Wars (well, a recolour from that era), he's got lots of skin detailing - with scaley skin and smooth outstretched membranes for wings - which is a nice touch. He even gets the fingers on the outside of his wings.
Fractyl has limited play value in this mode, but looks nice. It's not like too many people out there would play with it much - with 570 produced he's not a toy you'd want to risk breaking - especially if you _didn't_ get it at the time of BotCon '97. He's not exactly cheap nowadays, with Packrat he cost me $US40 but the last set I saw on eBay went for almost $US400. Play with Packrat instead, they made a whopping 600 of him (c8
TRANSFORMATION TO ROBOT MODE
Well, being an original Beast Wars basic, he's got an auto-transform. Lift the head and a spring, a couple of gears and some hinges do most of the work. Position his hands & ankles and give him gun.
ROBOT MODE
Height: 13cm Width: 14cm
Thanks to his wingspan, Fractyl is wider than he is tall. He's a green robot with grey and gold bits. And silver eyebrows for some reason. Green wings, chest, forearms, knees and feet are offset by grey upper arms, thighs, face and groin. Fists, head & shins are gold. There's also a gold spattering on his chest. As in his animal mode, Fractyl's colours definitely work in his favour in this mode. The Pteranadon tail section becomes his chestplate, and looks pretty good there. The wings are pointing down, meaning that in this mode the tips point up, and he looks rather impressive like this.
While his dinosaur mode pretty much sits there and be's a dinosaur, Fractyl's robot mode is very poseable. He's got ball joints in his neck, elbows, shoulders, hips & knees, with hinges on his ankles & wrists. All are tight enough to allow a lot of posing, although the mass of the backpack - with wings - mean you've got to get the ankles right or he'll overbalance.
VARIATIONS
I've heard of none. They'd be priceless, no doubt. He shares the mould with Terrorsaur, Lazorbeak and TFU Swoop.
OVERALL
I've liked Terrorsaur since the day I got him, and so it's not surprise that I also like Fractyl. His colours are a definite improvement, the mould identical to the second variation of Terrorsaur. Play value is definitely there, though I'll leave the decision on whether or not you want to wear out a toy that's pretty much irreplaceable up to you. I'll hesitate recommending him, since getting one is not really a simple matter - you've either got him or you haven't, I suppose. I will say this though - if you're thinking of getting your hands on a BotCon exclusive on the secondary market, Packrat & Fractyl are a very nicely done set, with an included comic and a G1-style box. Looks good and is a nice piece to actually have in your collection, if you're lucky enough to have one. 8/10 - since the mould carries the same baggage as Terrorsaur, but with much cooler colours. Lastly, the simple fact that he's one of only 570 in existence really adds to the coolness of having this toy in your possession
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