We recently had a chance to take a look at the upcoming BTS Toys Minions set Nightfang & Savage, along with the already released Tremor & Frequenzy. These four cassettes are designed to accompany the BTS Toys Sonicron, but are also compatible with the original Generation 1 Soundwave. Here for your enjoyment are galleries of these four releases:
BTS Toys NightfangBTS Toys Savage
BTS Toys Tremor
BTS Toys Frequenzy
Read on for our thoughts on all four of these releases! If you want to pick up Nightfang & Savage, they are up for preorder on our sponsors Big Bad Toy Store and TFSource. And if you missed out on Tremor & Frequenzy, you are in luck, as TFSource has a few of these still in stock!
Also for the complete set, check out our gallery of the BTS Toys Sonicron! Nightfang
We’ll kick off with the most anticipated of the four of these cassettes – Nightfang, the unofficial Classics Ratbat. Ratbat of the four is the only one to not have been officially updated. What BTS has delivered here is something particularly cool – a Ratbat which takes the core concept, a purple cassette tape that turns into a mechanical bat, and reinvents it. Nightfang as a result comes out with something that is very much Ratbat in spirit, but with some modern sensibilities like a narrower middle. One of the best features of the bat mode is the absolutely huge wingspan, which is pretty impressive for something that folds up so small.
Nightfang has an additional feature as well – if you own Tremor or Frequenzy, they can be combined with Nightfang to form a humanoid character with a bat head and bat wings – a cool bit of interaction that is possibly inspired by the Senator Ratbat seen in some of IDW’s Transformers comics, such as Megatron Origins.
Nightfang is not flawless by any means – the cassette tape mode is pretty much an arrangement of the bat mode parts, though on balance it is no worse than Hasbro’s own Classics Ravage. There are also a couple of loose joints, one of which is on the feet which frustratingly makes Nightfang a little hard to stand until you learn the trick of using his wingtips to balance him. The same balance issues also exist with the combined mode, which is a little back heavy. A lot has been made of the fact the feet are one solid piece, rather than two individual feet, but I honestly do not see this as a flaw, since the part is already pretty tiny, and individual feet would have been rather fragile.
The small flaws that do exist do not take away from what this is – a very nice update to Ratbat. He has some great details sculpted into him, a very impressive wingspan, and overall a very nice and menacing look. The combined mode is a total bonus, but a very nice addition all the same.
SavageThe other BTS Minion in the box with Nightfang is Savage, BTS’ version of Ravage. Unlike Ratbat, there have been several official updates to Ravage down the years including the one packed in with Universe Hound. What Savage manages to do is be a whole lot more poseable than previous offerings – four ball joints at his upper legs, on hinges out of the body, plus hinges on all four knees and full jointing on the neck. He’s very poseable, able to strike some full feline hunting poses and even balance on his hind legs!
In terms of looks, Savage is a bit odd looking at first, especially viewed from front-on where the arms folding the legs out of the body are most evident. There’s also the holes in the middle of the body, though I would respond to those raising this as a concern to say that Savage does not feel particularly fragile or flimsy for this. Granted, the gap in the middle of the body can be a bit jarring – it’s not something you’ve seen on other Ravages – but it is a price to pay for the little cassette turning into a comparatively larger animal. Personally after taking a step back, I realised the gap did actually work with the design, as together with the detailing that makes Savage look gaunt and bony, Savage looks like a full-on undead / skeletal creature. A different take to be sure, but all part of the charm.
Savage also interacts with Tremor or Frequenzy – he can equip their piledrivers as hip mounted cannons. This is a pretty cool feature, especially if you then have Tremor riding on his back – it’s like a Warg rider from Lord of the Rings or something. Tremor fits on there really nicely, and the interaction of the two is a definite plus point.
Overall, Savage is a great little accompaniment to Nightfang. He’s not the definitive Classics Ravage but instead does his own thing and looks good for it. Not flawless – the emaciated look is not going to work for everyone, and his tail looks a bit flat – but still is a worthy little cassettetron.
Nightfang & Savage overall thoughtsA fantastic little set. BTS has really upped their game with these two. The level of sculpted detailing is really nice, and a step up from their previous releases. The design concept is really clever, with how two cassette tapes the size of the original cassettes unfold in a very satisfying way, especially Nightfang with those wings. At under $30 for the set, the price is right and well worth the price of admission. Nightfang is fantastic and Savage just sweetens the deal.
Frequenzy & TremorThe duo of Tremor & Frequenzy are BTS’ take on Rumble & Frenzy, so are the same design, just in different colors. They are based on the animation, rather than the original toys, which is why Frequenzy looks so much like animated Rumble rather than the darker Generation 1 Frenzy toy.
The basic design on these two is a slightly new twist on the “tape to robot” design, to allow for more poseability – and wow, are these guys poseable! Neck, shoulders, two elbow joints (one of which is ball jointed), waist rotation, hips and knees – for something so small, the range of articulation is nothing short of impressive. Granted, this comes at the expense of “those hips”, but in hand they are not quite so noticeable – and almost any other solution would have resulted in a more fragile / less poseable end product.
Tremor & Frequenzy also come with a pair of “battery” accessories. These batteries transform into their piledrivers, and also have flip down posts to be wielded by Sonicron or anything with a 5mm fist hole. The piledrivers attach in an interesting way – they use a combination of friction and the upper “cap” pushing back down to lock into place, and they do lock in quite securely – that being said, I’d have preferred a peg or something else to physically attach these parts into place. As is, it is not bad – and the look with the piledrivers attached is rather nice. The spring loaded piledrivers is a nice touch.
Detail wise, the Tremor & Frequenzy duo take a lot of inspiration from the 1984 animated incarnations of Frenzy & Rumble so have a very “clean” look with only a few details sculpted on the chest area. The clean look is not terrible by any means, but it does make the robot designs look sparse by comparison to the original versions of these guys.
Overall, Tremor & Frequenzy are a very “marmite” kind of release – you’ll either love them for what they are, or you won’t. They have a lot of good points, such as their poseability and the inclusion of the piledrivers. But other points, such as the lack of locking for the piledrivers and the sparseness of the details may be a deal-breaker. Overall, I personally think they are cool, at $30 for the set of two they are priced about right. They nicely complement the Sonicron and the larger BTS cassette family. Their interaction with the other BTS cassettes noted above adds more fun to them, as does the way their piledrivers can double as guns for bigger robots.
Gundamben831
true but as I don't own a ravage he holds a decent place for the time being until I can find me a Henkei/Takara Hound then I'll be satisfied with a cartoon correct looking Ravage.
Soundwinder
Hrm, damn shame.
Still on the fence with these two… that would've been the cincher. As is, either it's a flawed Ravage, or a partsformer. Neither of which are particularly appealing.
Gundamben831
no, unfortunately you can't transform him with the arms switched around like that =( but it makes the toy look much better imo.
Soundwinder
Can he transform?
He looks a lot better.
Gundamben831
I may be interested shoot me a pm because I could always use a spare to repair mine.
barrelks
Got my Nightfang and Savage yesterday, and finally opened Savage today (was thinking of selling it, but wanted to make sure it wasn't a dud before putting it on my BST). Glad I did, I would feel bad selling this thing to anyone. The tail on mine completely falls out because the two halves of the body are not tightly held together, and two of his legs will not stay on the little balljoints. If I barely touch them, they fall off. While I purchased the set for Nightfang, I was hoping to atleast make some of my money back off the sale of Savage, but I would feel bad dumping this on anyone.
Alpha Omega Trion Supreme
My Tremor and Frequenzy arrived today and I have to agree with the above, the hips don't bother you in person. I think its because you have these small extremely articulated figures and because of the scale the off-proportions don't jump out near as much as they do when you're looking at close-up pics that amplify every little detail.
And holy crap, the piledrivers *do* lock in place if you fold the hands inwards and slide the "bars" into their grip! Knowing it does this and looking at the instructions again, step 3 of the "battery mode" is telling you to do this. So this is the correct way to put the piledrivers on. I was trying to figure out why it looked like a fist inside the piledriver in the instructions, and that's because that's what it is. This figure just went up a couple notches in my book because of this. I can articulate the arms all the way around with the piledrivers in place, and it holds any crazy pose I try.
The only negative I'm finding is that I really wish these guys had back lasers. They look a little bare without them, although having the piledrivers on do help you not notice.
Both Tremor and Frequenzy in tape mode go in and out of Sonicron without an issue. So does Nightfang. I still can't get Savage to fit, and I'm pretty sure it's because of the one loose diecast rear leg not being pinned correctly.
Torque
just ordered for Ratbat, excited! though i like my present Ravange (universe)
cylor
Still ugly as hell, but at least watchable! Thank you, you finally made me get the thing out of the box
Gundamben831
lol well if you take a lemon and squeeze it you'll get lemonade as how I like to think of it. they are a nice set and its a shame that the minions are sold out as they are a neat pair as well to go with the NF and Savage set, I haven't tried putting one of the rumble or frenzy on the back of savage yet but I'm sure that they fit fine. What I did try was the NF and Frequency combination is pretty cool.
jerminator
Gundamben831, dude, I think you just sold me on their Ravage with that little tweak. The front legs were the one thing that was bothering me the most. Now I feel compulsed to get the set…since Sonicron will be here sometime tomorrow.
Gundamben831
I have not tried to put Savage into Sonicron yet but I will post once I do attempt to do so. As you mentioned nightfang fits just fine as you can see in my last post in the image.
Alpha Omega Trion Supreme
Is anyone able to get Savage into Sonicron without issue? I can get Night Fang in and out no problem. Savage won't really go in, and when I do get him in, the chest won't close properly.
TFao
I am in complete agreement. Looks so much better like that!
Gundamben831
TFao
Could we see pics of that please?
Gundamben831
yeah the front legs on mine were really tight too and mine had two of the ball cuffs had cracks in them and made some of the joints a little loose I may email bbts and and ask for an exchange. also if you can pop the front legs off from the ball pegs you are going to have to use a pair of tweezers to pull each of the legs out. I don't know if its a defect that some of the glue leaks onto the arm joints that pull out but once you pull out the arms everything is fine. Also to make Ravage look more correct in his anatomy you just reverse the front legs by switching sides it looks much better imo.
Schide
I got my Savage and Nightfang today. Nightfang is fine but I can't get the ball joints on the front legs of Savage to swivel out. There's just nothing I can do, I've tried to get tweezers in there to pull them out, but I feel if I try to pull any harder they're just going to break.
Plus, I try to put Savage in tape mode into Sonicron, and it won't fit! I can't get it to both go into the tape holder and close the door. These are not very good products.
Alpha Omega Trion Supreme
I was already liking Night Fang and pics at the beginning of the thread pushed me into an impulse buy for the set this past weekend. They arrived yesterday, and I'm pretty happy with them.
Night Fang is pretty much what I expected. If there's one complaint, it's that turning the feet 180 degrees around during transformation so they're facing the right way puts a bit of stress on the lower torso, lightly prying it apart each time you do. I like that there's a little bit of variation allowed in the wing configuration. You can make the wings look completely stretched out for a suprisingly large wingspan, or you can keep them a bit more compressed/blocky so its more G1-ish.
I was ready to just keep Savage in tape mode inside Sonicron, but I actually like him more than I thought I would. Yeah, he looks emaciated/skeletal, but because of the size, it works for me. I don't really notice the side gaps. He looks like a cassette tape that's kind of exploded, which I like. He's suprisingly articulated and I have him in a sitting pose right now which I really like.
This is the only thing I don't like about Savage. It doesn't limit poseability as much as it just looks odd. It's like you have to imagine there's a phantom leg part in there to make it feel complete.
I'm happy with the set and curious to see what BTS's take on a Laserbeak would be. I'm actually kind of wanting the Tremor and Frequenzy set now too.
Gundamben831
I feel ya about the designs especially how they made the ravage figure it does look kinda like crap and that is being honest, but I got the set to complete my bts guys being that I own sonicron, the frequency and tremor set I would have to say the two mini tape bots (rumble and frenzy) both have their ups and downs. I like them for the easy transformations yet still giving them decent articulation at the same time. My only gripe about them is that they didn't make an option for you to attach the batteries on their backs to make them somewhat resemble their G1 counterpart and the battery smashers don't attach well to their arms they just kinda sit on there unless you can get the top to clamp down and then they will stay on.