Battle Beasts was a toy line consisting of small anthropomorphic animals in body armour; each toy came with its own individual weapon. Released in the mid-1980s, each Battle Beast would have a heat-sensitive sticker on its chest, which, when rubbed, would reveal the symbol of wood, fire or water. You could then play a rock, scissors, paper-type game using the toys with your friends.
Name: Horny Toad/Drillfrog
Line: Battle Beasts
Manufacturer: Hasbro/Takara
Released: 1987
Price: Then: $3.99, Now: $20-$25
Scale: About 5cm in height.
Accessories: One weapon
Continuing my reviews of Battle Beasts toys is Horny Toad. This is one of my favourite designs when it comes to Battle Beasts, even if the name is a bit unfortunate. There’s a handful of designs that really stand out to me, and this is one of them.
No interesting story on how I acquired this toy, just bought him off eBay a while ago. As mentioned before, I never had Battle Beasts when I was a kid, so unfortunately, I don’t have any memories of playing with these guys growing up.
I do, however, love the design and size of the Battle Beasts and have quite a few in my collection, but nowhere near a complete collection either. I just buy my favourites, and that’s enough for me.
SCULPTING
This is a standout category for Horny Toad; he’s excellently sculpted and has a lot of cool little details on him. The skin texture is pretty detailed, and his armour looks really cool too. It’s also pretty cool he has a weapon arm too, as opposed to an additional hand.
PAINT
Paint is mainly used for his armour colour and extra details like his weapon arm. It’s a red/brown colour that really pops in contrast to the green skin tone, and the warm yellow highlights really help bring it all together visually.
ARTICULATION
Like all other Battle Beasts, Horny Toad has a total of two points of articulation: you can swivel and rotate both his arms, and that’s it. Seeing he’s such a small figure, my expectations for a lot of articulation is pretty low. Sometimes with these older toys, it’s just cool to have any articulation at all, which is better than no articulation.
ACCESSORIES
Horny Toad comes with his silver scathe weapon, which fits nicely in his hand. It’s also a pretty big weapon and a little bit oversized in my opinion. But still looks cool nonetheless.
POTENTIAL PROBLEMS
Nothing to worry about with this toy.
PRICE
I paid roughly market price back in the day. But I’m pretty sure the price for these toys has gone up a little bit over the years. Just pay a price you are happy with, and hopefully the condition of the toy will be good too.
OVERALL
Horny Toad is another solid Battle Beast toy. He looks great and is very visually striking and interesting. They definitely catch my attention in a display of other random figures. I have a soft spot for toys that are 3.75 inches and smaller, so I think the size and the design are always going to be a home run for me. Definitely worth picking up this toy for your collection.
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