Wood Beetle

The Wood Beetle is a Beastformer vehicle from the Generation 1 continuity family.

The Forest Fortress Wood Beetle (森林要塞ウッドビートル shinrin yōsai Uddo Bītoru) was once one of three Beastformer heroes of ancient legend, known as "Vicky" (ビッキー Bikkī). They have since been reincarnated as a massive mechanical Fortress embodying the power of Wood, one of the three foundational elements that keep the planet Beast stable.

Like their brethren Shocking Shark and Red Phoenix, Wood Beetle had laid dormant and hidden for centuries, but rose again to combat the evils threatening the planet. But only by working with a Beastformer truly strong in spirit can their powers be brought to their full potential. Which makes it seem odd at first that the easygoing Wavemoose is the one at the controls. But that Beastformer's incredible self-control seems to be the key to unlocking Wood Beetle's might!

Fiction

Beastformers comic

Beastformers VS Laser Beasts

Toys

Beastformers

Thennnk yeewwww!

• Wood Beetle (Battle Base, 1988)
  • Accessories: Horn-blaster, double-blaster, left & right side-cannons, 2 storage panels

Released in the post-Transformers "RPG" portion of Takara's Beastformers toyline, the Wood Beetle is a large mechanical beetle with small wheels on the underside so it can roll along. The head of the beetle can "seat" a Beastformer or Laser Beast (or any small Transformer or other toy, go nuts, we're not your parents), and has a movable (non-firing) blaster, as well as a spring-loaded capture claw. It also features a posable double-blaster on its top, rotating removable side-cannons, plus the dark-brown panels over the rear "treads" can be pulled off to reveal accessory storage compartments. (The white parts also come off, but they're a bit less useful as storage.)

It opens up into a wood-themed battle station, which also allows the beetle head a lot more freedom to move. The left side has a jail cell for holding prisoners, while the right side has a large... compartment? It's pretty deep, deeper than the Beastformer/Laser Beast figures are tall.

This set came with the Wavemoose figure as its pilot; it's possible but currently unconfirmed that this was the only way Wavemoose was released in this version of Beastformers. (The Hasbro Battle Beasts release of the toy came with a randomly-packed Battle Beast figure.)

Notes

• Wood Beetle's former-name/nickname being "Vicky" opens up the possibility that the character is female. "Vicky" is most commonly a shortened version of "Victoria", but is also considered a gender-neutral name on its own (based on "victory"). What little text there is on the character doesn't explicitly say either way, so we're certainly not about to stop you from considering Wood Beetle to be a she.

Foreign names

• English: Wood Beetle