J.A.F. Team

Queen Beast uses a thumb design that I think works much better. I'm pretty sure that the only reason this set uses a different hand design is due to budget constraints — it already has more pieces than any of the other $10 sets this year (Crystal Beast doesn't necessarily have that same excuse, though).

 

With that said, I think its point is more to look menacing than to grasp anything. If you dropped the thumbs entirely it could still be just as effective in that regard.

But the problem is that they don't look good AND they don't serve a functional purpose. They mess with the organic feel of the model, and I think that is true on Crystal Beast and Queen Beast too. They should've used those claw pieces that originated with Ben 10 sets (which have been used multiple times in Hero Factory anyway.)

 

If they had served some purpose, like for grasping a fig, I could handle them, but they don't even do that very well. I suppose this design is for the models that hold staffs... but I still don't like it.

 

With that said, I think its point is more to look menacing than to grasp anything. If you dropped the thumbs entirely it could still be just as effective in that regard.

 

Actually, if you drop the thumbs then they look even more ridiculously-shaped than before because then its just this tall thin hand with two little fingers poppin out the top like if a T. rex hand had a bunch of baggy palm skin that was also solid and weird.

But the problem is that they don't look good AND they don't serve a functional purpose. They mess with the organic feel of the model, and I think that is true on Crystal Beast and Queen Beast too. They should've used those claw pieces that originated with Ben 10 sets (which have been used multiple times in Hero Factory anyway.)

 

If they had served some purpose, like for grasping a fig, I could handle them, but they don't even do that very well. I suppose this design is for the models that hold staffs... but I still don't like it.

 

I dunno, I think they look plenty menacing in the pictures from the Eurobricks review. Just as they do on the packaging. And I don't see how they mess with the organic feel too much either, since these figures are very insect-like in their design. The bony look of the claws seems to match the bony look of the legs.

 

As for the idea that they should have used the Ben 10 claws, it's entirely possible that those are discontinued, since they haven't appeared in sets for about three years. While they looked cool, their usefulness as building elements was rather limited (as was the case with most of the Ben 10 parts), so I can't say I would be too broken up if that were the case.

 

What confuses me most on this set (and Crystal Beast, for that matter) is that the color of the thumbs doesn't match the color of the other two claws. On Crystal Beast it's understandable, since there aren't any claws like this that exist in Tr. Light Blue, but on Tunneler Beast it's a bit confusing — really, it should have been cheaper and easier to use the same claw piece for all six digits rather than to use another, larger claw piece.

 

I would not mind modding this set to use claws more like Queen Beast's. No telling what I'd do for Crystal Beast, but I don't even know whether I'll be getting that set — with its fairly basic humanoid design, it may very well be the lowest on my wanted list out of all the beast sets.