Plastic Spark Reviews : Combiner Wars Rook

Don’t tease the rookie… he’s got cannons for hands!

Producer: Hasbro

The last of the Protectobot Deluxes, and in my opinion one of the best
Deluxe molds to come out of Combiner Wars. Let’s take a look at Combiner Wars Protectobot
Rook!

Vehicle Mode

Rooks Vehicle mode is a blocky, brick on wheels of an APC. Looking at home with a S.W.A.T. team or a
special forces unit deployed deep in enemy territory more than a team of rescue vehicles Rook is one
fierce looking Autobot. Rook is unique in that he has a 6 wheeled alt mode instead of the usual 4. The
mold would look at home with treads but I think the wheels do a good enough job for the “All Terrain
rescue vehicle” that he is disguised as. Rook looks intimidating, but without any real overwhelming
offensive qualities I feel he does a good job of representing a member of a rescue team despite the
military aspects of his alt-mode.

Robot Mode

Rook unfolds into a barrel-chested bruiser of an Autobot. He’s got cannon/tool ports sculpted into his
hands (nullifying the 5mm fist hole) that allow for some interesting interaction with 5mm accessories.
He has ankle tilts… I REPEAT HE HAS ANKLE TILTS! A COMBINER WARS DELUXE HAS ANKLE TILTS!!!
(Good news for the Swindle and Hound retools down the road… I’ve heard Brawl will have ankle tilts as
well ) Not everything is perfect in Leg Town however… he’s got some crazy hollow lower legs that
could really benefit from a flap or some other bit of plastic covering the giant holes. He’s got a backpack
but he wears it pretty well and it really doesn’t hinder too much of his posability. Other than the ankle
tilts (I did mention he had ankle tilts right? ANKLE TILTS!!!) His posability is pretty standard for a
combiner wars deluxe. His backpack can hinder his legs moving backwards the full range but it can be
adjusted out of the way if needed.

Accessories

Rook comes with a new weapon, a Taser/claw style weapon that can be plugged in to his 5mm fist ports.
The weapon can also be stored on his backpack in bot mode. One of the coolest aspects of Rook’s
unique 5mm front facing fist ports is the ability to equip the Combiner weapons as “Hulk Hands” for
Rook to lay the smack down on unsuspecting Decepticons. He can wield the one he comes with, and
with the help of one of his Protectobot friends he can equip a pair of combiner fists that are the size of
his chest! The combiner weapon can also be stored on his backpack in bot mode. In vehicle mode there
are a number of ways the weapons can be stored or used. Check out the gallery to see some of the
things I managed to think up, I’m sure there’s plenty more ideas out there!

BONUS RIDICULOUS NONSENSE!!!

Rook’s Combiner Weapon is unique in that it has a 5mm port on the palm to allow it to mount flat on
Rook’s alt mode. This means if you really wanted to get silly you could strap 2 Rooks to a combiners feet
as roller-skates!

Final Thoughts

Rook is a really fun new mold added to the Combiner Wars line up. While most of the Protectobots have
been a sort of “Best of” series of retools and remolds Rook brings some fresh fun to the lineup. He’s has
some great playability in both modes and looks great as an APC or an Autobot warrior. I’m looking
forward to seeing Hound and Swindle being made from this mold!

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