Dave's BWII Rant:
Autojetter
Autolauncher
I just got these in lightly-used condition from VicegripX. A little history on these guys before the review: At the tail end of G2, just before Beast Wars came out, there were plans for another two Autorollers, plus more Cyberjets, vehicles on the Cyberjet scale, etc. Most of the unused molds came out in Machine Wars, but the two new Autorollers held back until BWII, coming out as Autojetter and Autolauncher.
CAPSULES
Autojetter: Given the Autoroller concept, this makes for a surprisingly good F/A-18 in vehicle mode. A little unstable in that mode, however, as the wings don't lock down. Typical Autoroller robot mode, but well-proportioned for an Autoroller. Missiles interesting, but not terribly effective. Mildly recommended (Autorollers are inherently kinda weak).
Autolauncher: Nice vehicle mode with a rolling fire gimmick. Robot mode makes the original Autorollers look lithe, but has the advantage of hands and a separate gun. Not much to look at, but fun to play with. Mildly recommended.
RANTS
DESTRON: Autojetter STR 7 INT 7 SKL 9 END 8 RNK 6 COUR 8 SPD 9 FRP 8 Avg 7.75
Vehicle Mode: 7" (17cm) long, 5" (13cm) wingspan, this grey and blue F/A-18 Hornet has very good detailing to make it look like the real thing. It has a lot of undercarriage junk due to the autotransforming gimmick, but it's fairly unobtrusive and cleverly camoflaged by being mostly dark blue while most of the jet parts are gunmetal grey. The missile launchers can be fired in this mode, and it can roll along freely. However, because several parts (notably the wings) have to be free to move for the autotransformation gimmick, this mode is very floppy.
Transformation: The whole gimmick behind the autorollers is that you can flip a switch, then roll the toy forward and see it transform before your eyes. They went one better with the second batch, making the switch 3-way, so you can transform forwards or backwards. In other words, you can choose to transform to robot mode while rolling forward, or while rolling backwards. Unfortunately, because of the way the wings become the arms, the toy doesn't really look like a robot until you do some manual transformation of the arms. And if you don't put the arms back in position before returning to jet mode, they can get in the way.
Robot Mode: Standing 4.5" (11cm) tall, Autolauncher looks pretty good, easily the best-looking of the four Autorollers. Sure, he has no real hands, instead having triple missile launchers at the ends of his arms, but his proportions are very nice. Like all Autorollers, he's only poseable at the head and arms. The arms have lots of joints, but the shoulders aren't firmly attached to the body, so they tend to move as well when you don't want them to. His head turns and has the nifty light up effect for the eyes.
The missile launchers use the same basic principle as the Cyberjet missiles, in that they snap into place and then are launched when the force against them exceeds the holder's strength. But rather than firing them one at a time manually, you move a slider on each wing back and forth, triggering the launches. They don't fly very far, and sometimes you get misfires, but with practice you can get a neat ripple-fire effect.
Overall: If you like the Autoroller concept, this is definitely worth getting. Otherwise, it's a fairly good toy with some serious limitations imposed by its gimmicks. If you can get it for $15 or less, it's worth it.
DESTRON: Autolauncher (aka Autoranger) STR 8 INT 8 SKL 7 END 9 RNK 6 COUR 8 SPD 7 FRP 9 Avg 7.75
Because the transliteration is so vague on this one, it's not totally incorrect to call the toy Autoranger as some have. However, considering how much plastic this thing hurls, Autolauncher is more appropriate.
[Correction: Autoranger is a bad transliteration, although Autorancher would work.]
Vehicle Mode: A blocky armored personnel carrier in red and white (an improvement over the prototype blue and white). Almost no undercarriage junk, but the arms hang out to the sides as awkward cannons. A little over 5" (13cm) long, with wheels an inch (2.5cm) in diameter. The detailing is pretty good, it rolls freely when the toggle switch is in the middle position, and it can fire the main disc launcher in this mode. There's a second switch at the front which controls whether the front wheels engage with the launcher mechanism, and as you push it along it will rapid-fire all five discs in its magazine. However, because the vehicle form isn't locked into position, you have to push down on the front half when you do this, or it'll just rise up rather than fire a disc. The discs fire a respectable couple of feet.
The turret atop the vehicle can't turn, it can just elevate the guns and spin the little radar dish on top, but it's still neat. The disc magazine is held closed with a spring. Adding to the detailing is a small radio antenna at the back near the trunk. There is no place on the vehicle mode to mount the handgun, the missiles just sit there on the arms.
Transformation: Same gimmick as Autojetter, with the three-position switch. However, since the arms are much simpler, the toy rolls up fully transformed.
Robot Mode: BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Only a little over 5" (13cm) tall, but about 4" (10cm) deep in the chest...Autolauncher's entire disc launcher is ahead of his head. It's so big he can't reach past his chest, falling short by almost a whole inch. Photos of the toy were careful to take advantage of foreshortening, but if you look at the toy in person it's laughably squat and big-chested.
Well, enough mocking the freak of nature. The robot mode does have some good points. The launcher is, of course, still useable in this mode, although you kinda have to shove your thumb up his backside to fire it (you could also flip the switch and turn the front tires). From the trunk comes a hand launcher that fires the two spear missiles stuck to his arms...and fires them pretty far. 3-4 meters far. His head does turn and has the light up eyes effect, although it's dampened by the turret stuck to the back of his head.
Overall: Possibly the most fun to play with of the four Autorollers, it's also the dumbest looking in robot mode, which hacks off some points. Even a little fix, like making it so you could extend the legs manually after autotransformation, would have helped a lot. Worth getting if you prefer gimmicks to appearance.
Dave Van Domelen, should get to Big Convoy and Magmatron by the end of the weekend, but this review was shorter and easier to do....