Underbite's vehicle mode is... a thing. With four wheels. That's really about as descriptive as I can be about it; not only is it very abstract/futuristic, but it's not a very "solid" vehicle mode, with the four limbs from robot mode quite obvious. It looks like Underbite's robot mode lying down with a few more things collapsed together-- which is exactly what it is. I don't mind futuristic vehicle modes-- heck, I love 'em-- IF they're convincing and not just the robot mode lying in some weird position, and this vehicle mode is definitely one of the latter. However, to be honest, most of it is accurate to the show, so there's that, at least. The biggest departure from the show model-- and, indeed, the biggest issue I have with this mode-- is that the front cockpit only covers up the very front of Underbite's robot face. It's plain as day, right there on the rear section of the body, and is just a real eyesore. There seriously couldn't have been panels that slide forward from the sides of the front cockpit piece? Ugh. The highlights of this mode are the colors-- the dark purple coloration used for nearly all of Underbite's plastic is a really nice, attractive shade, with a bit of swirly glitter in it to make it semi-metallic. The silver and red bits on the front and along the sides of the main body (because of the obvious robot head) provide a bit of additional contrast, though black-- used on the wheels, as a metallic shade on the cockpit, and a few other minor areas-- is a bit too dark to really stand out against the purple. Particularly on the cockpit, it blends in too easily. As with most RID2015 toys, Underbite's mold detailing is fairly minimal, with a few polygonal "divots" on the sides and tires, and some rectangular shapes on the cockpit; otherise he's fairly smooth.
    To transform Underbite to his robot mode, simply press his rear hips together. As a result, the cockpit folds down to become the stomach while the head folds forward and up and the legs move downwards. Push in on the hips again to transform him back. An *IMPORTANT NOTE* here, however-- although it's not universal, it's quite common on this toy for small pieces in the interior to become out-of-alignment after a couple of transformations, making Underbite essentially stay in vehicle mode, with his cockpit piece rather loose. Unfortunately I haven't heard of an easy way to tell if you're getting a "good" version, or an easy fix-- if you take apart the toy to try to fix the problem there's a TON of springs and little bitty pieces of plastic inside, so that is NOT advised. The first Underbite I bought had this issue, though the second seems to be okay (though I'm not messing with him a whole lot to test this extensively). The end result is a rather unconventional robot mode, which is my favorite part about Underbite-- he's some kind of "chompazoid", in that he grows stronger by eating metal. He looks more like some kind of robot dog, honestly. Anyways, his legs are a little stubby and small proportionally compared to the show model (particularly the back legs), but otherwise this mode is by far the stronger of the two-- appropriately-sized shoulders and hips, and the cockpit makes for a pretty nice chest/stomach. The head is also sculpted very well, with a large... well... underbite, fierce-looking eyes, an odd diagonal skull, and a large red/black "pivot point" for his jaw, and sharp-looking, ferocious teeth. The silver paint on the teeth also looks great, as does the light red on the eyes and jaw. For articulation in this mode, you can move either of his front legs front-to-back at the shoulder, and unexpectedly, there's a little tab on the back of his head that allows you to move his jaw up and down (though if you let go of the tab, the jaw locks back into its default position).
    The 1-step version of Underbite has a nicely-sculpted head and fun chomping gimmick, as well as an EXCELLENT main plastic color and a very unique "robot" mode. Unfortunately, he has some big downsides, the most notable of which is a transformation that often can get stuck, ruining the toy without any easy fix. Even if you do get a "good" one, the vehicle mode is still very obviously his robot mode laying down with a cockpit in the front, not really looking like anything with an obvious head, and given his huge size in the show a regular-sized 1-step toy doesn't do him justice. Only recommended for absolute completists, which I hate to say because I love the character.
 

Review by Beastbot

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