Transformer Binaltech - BT-03 Hound, Jeep Wrangler

Series	Transformer Binaltech
Title	BT-03 Hound, Jeep Wrangler
Release Date	March 2004
Manufacturer	Takara
Suggested Price (JPY)	4,980
Scale	1/24
Height (cm)	Car: 16.5 cm (L) x 7.5 cm (W) x 7.2 cm (H)Robot: 18.5 cm
No. of Parts	1 die cast jeep transformable to robot + 1 hologram gun + 1 ID card + 1 color manual (10 pages)
My Rating	Good

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Introduction
BT-04 Hound is the fourth release of Takara's Binaltech Series, a serious collectibles produced in 1:24 scale die-cast replica of actual cars that transforms into a robot. Hound stand out among other Binaltech releases as Takara choice of vehicle here is unconventional. The usual Binaltech releases are replication of glamorous sport car but Hound stays true to its Transformer Generation One original form and re-appears again here as a rugged green 'Jeep Wrangler'.

Packaging
Hound comes packaged in the usual Binaltech box design with clear plastic on all but the rear side of the box, allowing admiration of the Jeep Wrangler. The vehicle is safely resting in clear plastic tray secured with twisted wires. A colored manual is provided, with brief introduction and pictorial instruction to transform the Jeep into a robot. The manual is in Japanese only.

Vehicle Mode
As oppose to Hasbro’s version Binaltech (Transformer Alternator), Hound are made of die-cast metal, which gives a solid feel to it. Unlike the Alternator version, the metal body here provides a better metallic green paint job, complimented with a stylish flat black roll bar. It is almost painful to play with it fearing that the paint will scrapped off easily. Unlike Lambor and Smokescreen, Hound paint seems to be much durable.

The vehicle is decorated with Jeep Wrangler logo, just like the real thing, on all sides; front, both sides and on the tire compartment at the back. Instead of a real number plate at the front bumper, it is showing an Autobot logo. The rear number plate is missing. The wheels come with chrome rims with tires from some unknown manufacturer named 'Cybertronian'. Headlights and rear lights are clear colored plastic.

The vehicles come with 2 doors, open able and each has a nice side mirror with reflective surface attach to it. Hood can open revealing engine and an Autobot logo is hidden beneath it. The logo flips outside when Hound transforms, showing his allegiance to Autobot.

This is a left hand drive vehicle, with dashboard detailed with air condition outlet, radio and passenger compartment. A steering wheel, comes with side signal and wiper switch, is attached to the dashboard, which can folds downward during transformation. Other details seen are the handbrake and gear stick. All four seats are foldable.

Hound in vehicle mode comes with shock absorbers mechanism like Masterpiece Convoy, where the wheel moves downward when pressure is applied. When the pressure is lifted, the wheel sprang back to its original position. Each shock absorber mechanism is built independently on each wheel. The absorber mechanism is nice touches but comes with a price. For Hound, the wheels are rotate-able but unable to steer, a feature exists in prior Binaltech releases (Smokescreen and Lambor).

The vehicle back comes with a spare tire compartment attached, where the bottom of the compartment opens revealing a hollow slot for Hound's hologram gun.

Robot Mode
Another traits of Binaltech series is that Takara is reviving the head sculpt from Transformer Generation One and Hound is of no exception. The head is attached to the hood via a ball joint connected to the hood, allowing freedom of movement.

The shoulders are ball jointed but the articulation is somehow restrained. Elbows moves at more than 90 degrees without any rotational articulation. Both hands are rotatable with 2 point of articulations at the finger; one at fore finger and another at the last 3 fingers but the thumb is fixed. Hound waist can turn and the degree of movement is limited by the roll bars at the back.

The leg is connected to the waist via ball joints, detachable and a bit loose to hold the figure in pose. Moreover, the lower torso mainly consists of plastic causing Hound to be too heavy on top and unstable for posing. This is cleverly countered by using geared lock ankles and large feet to stabilize the figure in place. The ankles can angled sideways and lock in place by a gear mechanism. Knees are foldable forward and backward.

Overall
Takara rendition of Hound in Jeep Wrangler, diverted from the conventional glamorous car releases, is refreshing idea and faithful to the original form of Hound as appeared in Transformer Generation One.

There is a few complain though on Hound though. Firstly, its thigh, ankle, waist and gun painted in flat silver instead of chrome silver as seen in the instruction manual. Moreover, the metal composition in Hound felt lesser than the prior releases. Beside the vehicle body, almost all other hidden interior parts are made of plastic. Hound came armed only with a hologram gun. The gun is puny and felt that it does not really compliment well with the rugged jeep.

This collectible was purchased from Berjaya Time Square.



Hound Robot Mode with his puny hologram gun	Top: Articulated body w/ big feet Bottom: Head sculpt from G1	Side view where the roll bars and seats nicely folded in robot mode