Tigerhawk

 Tigerhawk (Transmetal 2)  Function: Vok Emissary   Allegiance: Maximal 
 "Violence will not be tolerated - surrender or be destroyed."
   | Stren. | Intel. | Speed | Endur. | Rank | Cour. | Firep. | Skill |
      8.2      10.0     8.1     7.3      7.0    8.4     9.7      8.8

    A puzzling new cybernetic entity, Tigerhawk is the result of an
    advanced alien species' apprehension of the former Tigatron and
    Airazor. Mysteriously combined and reconfigured, Tigerhawk was sent
    back as a prophet of peace to end the long war between Maximal and
    Predacon. Possesses elemental powers to summon earthquakes,
    electrical storms and tsunamis. Has Vok alien-enhanced intelligence
    and an incredible arsenal of weaponry including an ion diminisher
    that paralyzes enemies. Totally fearless, noble and ferocious in
    battle, he is an inspiration to his fellow Maximals.

Color Scheme:

The tiger bits are a very light gray with black stripe accents (mostly on the face). He has blue metal parts as well as blue wings with green feather tips. Last but not least he has transparent green covers on the wing hinges and the "cockpit" bubble. You'd think the green and blue would clash, but they don't. It's one of the best late-run BW toy color schemes.

Robot Mode:

Righteous! well proportioned, very poseable, including his wings which is a big plus!! Although his wings are rather large, the fact that they fold in many ways allows him to be very stable. They can even fold along his sides like a cape! :) All around great robot mode!

Beast Mode:

Pretty cool, although the front legs are a bit large relative to the rear legs, but that can be overlooked. :) His wings can fold down and hang at his sides, or be straight out, or even up as if he's ready to take flight. His attack mode "helmet" kind of sits lamely behind the beast head, though. This mold would make a pretty keen tiger toy if they retooled it without the wings.

Vehicle Mode:

Also called the "Arial Attack" mode, this one is pretty much a winged tiger in flight. In this mode, his beast "helmet" comes into play, and rather reminds people of "Battlecat" from "He-Man." His wings flip forward and he's ready for a fight. Not a bad mode, but it's almost not really another mode.... which leads us to the next one...

Alternate Mode:

This mode was discovered by the fans. There is no indication of this mode on the box, or in the instructions, but the small wheels on the top of the wings imply another mode. Dubbed the "Ground Assault" mode, this one IS truly another mode. I give credit to the person who first told me how to do this mode, Benjamin A. Jones. Ben says you ...retract his hind legs similar to the way they are in his robot mode and flip the front legs back and over them, extend his wings out straight, flip him onto his back, bring up his cannon arm and then flip up just the tips of his wings you have a pretty impressive ground assault mode with the spark holder/cockpit right on top.

Transformation:

It's rated as difficult, and that's not inaccurate. Probably the hardest part is keeping the wings from flipping down and firing off the missiles, so it's advised to not install the missiles until you're ready to fire them, or leave him alone. ;-) Basically, though, his rear beast legs fold into their respective thighs, the front legs pop off and fold down while the tiger's butt folds up while the front legs fold down, the tiger head comes up and.... slag it, it's complicated! And that's also what makes this a GREAT toy!

Gimmicks:

He's almost as loaded as Dragon Megatron! 1) cockpit with self-leveling seat (no pilot, though) 2) wings fold, and wingtips flip forward 3) wingtips fire "feather" missile 4) wings hold flip-up cannons that fire when flipped 5) rear tiger feet/claws have buttons and springs and "grab" whatever presses the release button

Pros/Cons:

Tons of pros, as above. The only cons I can think of are the goofy tiger helmet and the hair-trigger on the missile launchers. Other than those, this toy KICKS SLAG! ;-)