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Transformers: Expanded Universe
CatSCAN

By Daniel "Suspsy" Suh, Guest Reviewer

Medics tend to be few and far between in the TF Universe, but the ones that do exist are an interesting lot. There's Fixit, the diminutive but dedicated Micromaster from the Generation 1 (G1) comic. First Aid had to struggle to overcome his pacifistic nature in the G1 cartoon episode "The Ultimate Weapon." And Ratchet could be considered one of the most courageous and self-sacrificing Autobots of them all. Now let's meet the latest addition to the Autobot surgery team: CatSCAN, one of four Botcon 2002 exclusive toys.

Beast Mode: A recolor of Night Slash Cheetor, CatSCAN is a technorganic cheetah who measures 17 cm (6.7") from snout to tail, although his rather bizarre proportions make him appear more like some kind of mutant cat creature than a sleek and slender cheetah. As befits a medic, his primary colours are red and white, with assorted black and translucent red parts and metallic silver and blue highlights. Also, CatSCAN's left thigh, right shin, arm, and shoulder boast intricate patterns that actually glow in the dark, the first TF toy to have such a feature.

In this mode, CatSCAN has articulation at the limbs, head, and tail. The Maximal Spark crystal that Night Slash Cheetor possessed has been removed, leaving only a translucent red dome that appropriately resembles an ambulance siren. Pressing down on the dome activates CatSCAN's slashing claw attack. He also has a flip-up jetpack on his back.

Transformation: The simplest of any Deluxe toy, CatSCAN's legs extend, heels flip out, chest and back panels open up, and heads swap.

Robot Mode: CatSCAN stands an impressive 19 cm(7.5") tall in robot mode, rivaling some Ultras in height. The most striking thing about him is probably his translucent red chest, which features a barely visible Autobot symbol on the left pec. His face is metallic grey with a blue chin, silver teeth, and translucent red eyes. He's articulated at the head, shoulders, elbows, wrists, thumbs, hips, knees, second knees, ankles, and feet, and despite his lanky proportions, he stands nice and firm thanks to his large feet.

CatSCAN has a two-fold gimmick in this mode. First, pressing the white tabs on his arms causes a pair of curved black swords to flip out into his waiting hands. And second, pressing down repeatedly on his siren causes him to slice and dice like the world's fastest butcher. Kind of a disturbing image considering that CatSCAN's supposed to be a gentle medic. Perhaps he attended the same med school as the sadistic but loveable Herr Doktor from "ReBoot."

Overall, Susp Sez: The Night Slash Cheetor mould was a great choice for 3H to use as one of their exclusives. The cheetah mode is iffy but passable, and the robot mode is superb: fine detailing, good articulation, nice colour scheme, fun gimmick, and stable. It will be indeed be interesting to see CatSCAN's progression in the next issue of The Wreckers.

Let's just hope he doesn't end up with a heap of terminally fragged patients.

Final Grade: 9/10

Check out pictures of CatSCAN in our Gallery!

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