• On Card
• Beast Mode
• Crossbow Mode
• Both versions in Beast Mode
• Both versions in Weapon Mode

In the deepest recessess of Cybertron, Nightscream discovers a band of automated mechanical beasts. Forged from ancient Transformer technology, these former task drones were protected from the ravages of time. Though small in stature and lacking sparks of their own, the Deployers use their firepower and rapid transformation abilities to combat the despotic rule of Megatron.

The struggle for the salvation of Cybertron continues...

Name: Rav
Function: Aerial Recon

A crafty and agile winged warrior who usually keeps to himself. When in battle, the small airborne spy packs a big time punch! He converts into an energon crossblow, whose power was given to him by an ancient female Autobot resistance leader for courage in battle. Rav can “fry” the main circuitry of an enemy’s data bank with a blast of arrows while in energon crowssbow mode. When he’s not scouring Cybertron for Vehicons, Rav enjoys “talking” with Nightscream via a complex series of musical tones.

Rav is a member of the Deployers, one of several sub-lines that supplement the Beast Machines Transformers toy line. Each Deployer transforms from a beast to a weapon. The first set of Deployers, Rav, Dillo and Mol are all Maximals.

Beast Mode:
In beast mode, Rav is a raven. His color schme is mostly translucent red with gold detailing. Translucent red plastic is also used for the arrows. His body, beak and feet are black and his legs are gold. His beast mode eyes are yellow.

Although Rav is supposed to be techno-organic, he comes off looking entirely mechanical. The detailing on Rav is all mechanical looking. In this form, Rav has two points of articulation, four if you count the wings which fold down. Unfortunately, they don't fold down to look like the bird is flying. Rather, it looks more like the mechanical halves of a robotic bird are just showing off what's underneath. This below average posability is an unfortunate bi-product of the type of transformation this toy has.

Transformation to Crossbow Mode:
Fold Rav's beak down. Now push down the gold tab on the bird tail (under the two arrows). This will automatically activate his transformation. It reveals the crossbow weapon and folds in the bird neck/head. Fold out the sides of the sides of the crossbow and Rav is now in weapon mode.

Crossbow Mode:
In crossbow mode, Rav really is not much more than a weapon emplacement. Push the gold buttons on the end of the crossbow and the arrows fire. That's about all the toy does in this mode. The colors remain the same from the beast mode, only there's more black showing.

Added 2/14/01: As part of the effort to refresh the Beast Machines product line, Rav was going to be given a new deco and released as a different character: Cro. However, because of time constraints, the redeco was done, but not the new packaging, thus Cro just became a redeco of Rav on a Rav card.

Rav's new color is blue. Almost his entire body (save his beak and legs) is now dark translucent blue. Instead of gold detailing, his detail work is now silver. The beak is black and the legs are solid dark blue. His crossbow launchers are a combination of solid dark blue and solid blue parts. The missiles themselves are translucent blue plastic. This color scheme is a nice contrast from the original. This almost looks like a "dark/evil" version of Rav.

Rav is an okay toy, but a bit underwhelming. If the toy was compatible with Beast Machines figures or had more posability in beast mode, it would have been much nicer. C+