Super Link Chromhorn Review
Transformers is no stranger to characters with animal alternate modes, whether they be mammal, reptile, insect, etc. Some of the earliest of these were the Insecticons, a Decepticon subgroup aptly named for their… you know, insect modes. Introduced in the second year of The Transformers, this group included Bombshell and Barrage, both of whom transformed into robotic rhinoceros beetles, and are therefore automatically the coolest Insecticons.
(Sorry, I don't make the rules).
Decades later, on the franchise's 20th anniversary, store shelves would be graced with another rhinoceros beetle Transformer (possibly homaging Barrage directly), who in Hasbro's Energon toyline was named Insecticon after the iconic group. A few months later across the ocean, Insecticon was made available with little alteration under the name Chromhorn, as a part of the ninth wave of Takara's version of the line, Super Link. No matter which version you get, he's an amazing little toy, and I want to tell you why I adore him.
The first thing I love about Chromhorn is his immense brawler energy, being almost as wide as he is tall and having fists larger than his head. In fact, he's a quite cute brawler owing to his size. As a member of the smallest class in the range (the Energon Class in Hasbro markets, although Super Link and other Takara lines did not adhere to a specific pricing structure), he clocks in at approximately 4 inches from his feet to the top of his head. I have a particular soft spot for these sorts of characters in Transformers, particularly green ones (hi Bulkhead), and Chromhorn fits that archetype to a tee while also being pocket-sized.
His palette of dark green, yellow, and brown fit an insect robot very well, and provide great contrast for Chromhorn's standout visual element: a vibrant pinkish-purple face nestled inside a bold yellow head crest. Silver and purple highlights on his arms, and some green and bronze-y highlights on his yellow legs, do a good job of breaking up the plastic and providing additional visual interest, and the whole toy is covered in the mechanical detail and sharp angles typical of this era of Transformers.
Owing to his simple and clever transformation (more on that later), Chromhorn has very little extranous kibble, especially for an insect Transformer. It's not uncommon for characters with insect alternate modes to have insect limbs splayed out in various locations in robot mode; Chromhorn has a beetle horn poking above his head and 2 insect legs mounted on his back. The other insect legs fold neatly away into his robot legs, the set that is obvious is also designed to look like shoulder mounted weapons, and you might not even know he has a beetle shell at first glance.
In terms of articulation, he is limited in several ways. His hips are restricted to only slight outward movement in addition to full forward and backward motion. His arms fare slightly better, with a standard range of motion in the shoulders and a bicep swivel; however, he lacks any form of elbow, just as he lacks any sort of knee. His head and waist can swivel, but only through an auto-transforming mechanism which causes his head to rotate simultaneously with his waist. Of course this is a net loss compared to an independent neck and waist, but it's an improvement over some of his Energon Class contemporaries, and means he can get slightly more dynamic, especially when posing with his weapons.
Articulation isn't the full story of play of course, and in keeping with the toys of his era, his hand feel is excellent. The plastic feels smooth and chunky, and the few pegs/tabs on the toy hold together well, ensuring he feels solid in both modes. The joints feel good to move within the range they've been given; not to say they never need tightening, but nothing is floppy or super loose.
Speaking of play: as an Energon Class toy, and more specifically a Terrorcon, Chromhorn comes with a set of combining Energon weapons and a decorative Energon Star, both of which can be mixed and matched between Super Link toys. The first is the Horn Shot, a gatling cannon with a rotating barrel, and the second is the Horn Spear, a multi-edged drill sword. Both them and the Energon star are a lovely shade of light green in contrast to the Hasbro release's yellowish-green. These weapons complement his bruiser design very well, and despite his limited articulation, he can look cool holding either of them.
Chromhorn's transformation is simple and elegant, befitting his size. After a torso rotation employing the mechanism mentioned above to rotate the head as well, his arms collapse together to form his beetle shell, and his lower legs splay out into his back insect legs, after which his front legs and horn can be adjusted however you see fit.
The end result is a fantastic robotic beetle mode. He maintains a similar color configuration to the robot mode, with a dark green shell and a yellow underbelly, and some of the sharper angles from his robot mode disappear for a more streamlined, slightly rounder look, while still maintaining the toy's general boxiness. The painted details on his arms come together very nicely for the shell, breaking up the back and helping expose details that might otherwise be harder to see amidst the dark green. It's a great little thing, and my only real complaint is that his head is a bit indistinct; I will admit it took me a bit to even notice his insect eyes were painted blue. Otherwise though, amazing.
Articulation in this mode is limited to the horn and the legs, which I suppose is all the articulation you would expect from an insect like this. The horn can move up and down just shy of 90°, although that is mostly used for the armored up mode, more on that later. I tend to leave his horn in its topmost position (which is ironically not pictured above). His front legs are on ball joints allowing for a full range of movement, while his back legs are limited to only horizontal movement between the middle and the back of his body.
You may recall that Chromhorn's weapons can combine, and the beetle mode is where that comes in to play. The Horn Spear pegs into the rotating barrel of the Horn Shot to form the 'Energy Tornado', a spinning drill weapon that Chromhorn can mount to the top of his head. It's pretty cool weapon integration, even if I kinda prefer how he looks without it. (In robot mode, the Energy Tornado can be stored in the same location, where it would be behind his head, or he can hold it in one of his hands).
Overall, Chromhorn is an stellar little dude. He's a part of an archetype I'm a massive fan of, executed with clever engineering in a solid color scheme. His limited articulation doesn't detract from the fun I have playing with him thanks to his striking design and very versatile combining weapons, and I give credit to him and his fellow Terror-Cons (and their opposite Omni-Cons) for really opening me up more to enjoying figures that don't stack up to modern (or even 2010s) articulation, which are now the kinds of toys I'm all about. I would absolutely recommend picking up a Chromhorn/Insecticon yourself; He's one of my favorite small Transformers toys ever.
AND he's got a bangin' repaint.
