Susp's Review: BOTCON 2000 APELINQ
In 1994, Botcon, a convention dedicated to Transformers, was held in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. Only about 175 people attended, but it was enough to ensure that the convention would survive another year. 15 years and a few regime changes later, Botcon is going stronger than ever, with attendance regularly surpassing the 1,000 mark. I went to my first Botcon in 2000, and boy, did it not disappoint! Toys galore, panels, a special showing of Transformers: The Movie, and hordes of like-minded people who could carry on a discussion about why Brawn isn’t dead.
Exclusive toys have been a cornerstone of Botcon since the very beginning, and so to round out my 25th anniversary reviews, we’ll be taking a look at Apelinq, a heroic Maximal whose ‘Transfer Link’ enable him to download digital objects into reality.
Beast Mode: A recolour of Transmetal Optimus Primal, Apelinq is a robotic gorilla. He stands 13 cm(5.1”) tall and has an armspan of 27 cm(10.6”). His main colours are pea green, maroon, and black, with chrome silver for his head, chest, and feet, yellow eyes, and minty green teeth. His shoulders and hips have universal joint, his upper arms and waist rotate, and his elbows are hinged. He comes with two black maces that can be gripped in his fists or pegged into his backpack. His ferocious expression, rippled chest, and bulging arms give the impression of a Maximal who is not to be crossed.
To deploy Apelinq’s digital hoverboard, fold down the backs of his legs, rotate them sideways and connect them, then flip up the maroon thruster attached to his right leg. The hoverboard includes spinning wheels, but it rolls very poorly. It also can’t stand up without help, as you can see. But it looks totally awesome and makes Apelinq immensely fun to play with. You can’t possibly go wrong with a robotic gorilla swooping along on a hoverboard. You just can’t.
Transformation: Swing up Apelinq’s backpack, open his torso, flip out his robot head, flip the gorilla one, close the torso up again and fold the backpack down against the gorilla chest. Rotate the lower torso around, fold down the shins, and flip up the feet. Rotate the arms around, open up the forearms, and switch around the fists.
Robot Mode:Apelinq stands just under 17 cm(6.7") tall. Most of his silver chrome has been concealed in this form, leaving only his kneepads. His shoulderpads and feet are black, his shins are maroon, and his robot chest, which is even more ripped than his gorilla one, is maroon with airbrushed metallic green. Like all Transmetals, Apelinq features visible organic bits in robot form: shaggy fur on his hands, torso, and head. His head, which retains the classic Prime profile, is maroon with metallic green antennae and crest, a black face, yellow eyes, and metallic silver teeth.
Apelinq’s head rotates, his arms, waist, and and hips retain their articulation, his knees are universal joints, and his ankles are hinged. His thruster detaches to become a handheld blaster that can launch his maces, but only about a foot. More impressively, Apelinq’s backpack can be swung down in front of him to function as a built-in gun station, with the maces acting as twin lasers.
Overall, Susp Sez: Apelinq remains one of the best Botcon exclusives. Great colour scheme, transformation, and articulation, and awesome play value in both modes. Good luck to anyone attempting to find him on the secondary market! 9/10
From humble beginnings as realistic vehicles that turned into largely unposeable, yet charming bricks to the highly stylised and articulated figures of Universe and Animated, the Transformers line has demonstrated a remarkable ability to change and adapt with the times. For 25 years it’s brought smiles to the face of children, former children, and children’s children. For myself, I’m genuinely proud and happy to have been part of it from the start.
Thank you for reading these special reviews, and all my other toy reviews. I hope you’re enjoying them.
“Download this!”
Exclusive toys have been a cornerstone of Botcon since the very beginning, and so to round out my 25th anniversary reviews, we’ll be taking a look at Apelinq, a heroic Maximal whose ‘Transfer Link’ enable him to download digital objects into reality.
Beast Mode: A recolour of Transmetal Optimus Primal, Apelinq is a robotic gorilla. He stands 13 cm(5.1”) tall and has an armspan of 27 cm(10.6”). His main colours are pea green, maroon, and black, with chrome silver for his head, chest, and feet, yellow eyes, and minty green teeth. His shoulders and hips have universal joint, his upper arms and waist rotate, and his elbows are hinged. He comes with two black maces that can be gripped in his fists or pegged into his backpack. His ferocious expression, rippled chest, and bulging arms give the impression of a Maximal who is not to be crossed.
To deploy Apelinq’s digital hoverboard, fold down the backs of his legs, rotate them sideways and connect them, then flip up the maroon thruster attached to his right leg. The hoverboard includes spinning wheels, but it rolls very poorly. It also can’t stand up without help, as you can see. But it looks totally awesome and makes Apelinq immensely fun to play with. You can’t possibly go wrong with a robotic gorilla swooping along on a hoverboard. You just can’t.
Transformation: Swing up Apelinq’s backpack, open his torso, flip out his robot head, flip the gorilla one, close the torso up again and fold the backpack down against the gorilla chest. Rotate the lower torso around, fold down the shins, and flip up the feet. Rotate the arms around, open up the forearms, and switch around the fists.
Robot Mode:Apelinq stands just under 17 cm(6.7") tall. Most of his silver chrome has been concealed in this form, leaving only his kneepads. His shoulderpads and feet are black, his shins are maroon, and his robot chest, which is even more ripped than his gorilla one, is maroon with airbrushed metallic green. Like all Transmetals, Apelinq features visible organic bits in robot form: shaggy fur on his hands, torso, and head. His head, which retains the classic Prime profile, is maroon with metallic green antennae and crest, a black face, yellow eyes, and metallic silver teeth.
Apelinq’s head rotates, his arms, waist, and and hips retain their articulation, his knees are universal joints, and his ankles are hinged. His thruster detaches to become a handheld blaster that can launch his maces, but only about a foot. More impressively, Apelinq’s backpack can be swung down in front of him to function as a built-in gun station, with the maces acting as twin lasers.
Overall, Susp Sez: Apelinq remains one of the best Botcon exclusives. Great colour scheme, transformation, and articulation, and awesome play value in both modes. Good luck to anyone attempting to find him on the secondary market! 9/10
From humble beginnings as realistic vehicles that turned into largely unposeable, yet charming bricks to the highly stylised and articulated figures of Universe and Animated, the Transformers line has demonstrated a remarkable ability to change and adapt with the times. For 25 years it’s brought smiles to the face of children, former children, and children’s children. For myself, I’m genuinely proud and happy to have been part of it from the start.
Thank you for reading these special reviews, and all my other toy reviews. I hope you’re enjoying them.
“Download this!”