Rippersnapper is a shark, but a shark with Dinosaur like arms & legs making him appear almost Tyrannosaur like. Most of his body is a slightly off white with blue limbs. The limbs turn where the shoulder or hip meets the body, and the tail bends up slightly. On his back is a dual barrelled weapon with a shark's fin in the middle. Apparently this is a twin, ground-to-air, voice-guided missile launcher. Mounted on a 5mm peg it can be removed and used as an extra hand weapon for Abominus. Because Rippersnapper's robot arms are along the front of his body he can use his hands to hold & store his robot mode gun in beast mode.
Transformation: Remove the back mounted weapon. Pull on the body to extend it, fold the legs and the tail back. Fold the beast head onto it's back. Fold back the beast arms then fold up the robot arms and place his cyclone gun in his hand.
Rippersnapper's robot continues the same colour themes as the beast mode. Most of the toy is an off white, but the upper legs, arms, chest centre and head are the dark blue. The arms, like several others amongst the Terrorcons are very short and bend at the top, but because the top is so low down the joint is effectively at the elbow. He holds his grey Cyclone gun in this mode, but can't hold the twin launcher or wear it on his back. It's possible for Rippersnapper's beast head to be folded forward in this mode giving him amore bestial look in robot mode.
His tech spec describes him as a "terrorist". I don't see that designation being used now..... but then I'd have never thought Hasbro would name a Transformer Spastic in a million years!
Rippersnapper can also form a limb for Abominus.
Arm mode: From beast mode remove the gun, fold the beast head back & the tail back ,straighten the limbs, fold the robot head down as a connector and insert a fist into the 5mm peg hole in his bottom.
Leg mode: From beast mode remove the gun, fold the beast head back & the tail back ,straighten the limbs and insert a foot into the 5mm peg hole in his bottom with the front of the foot on the same side as the front of the robot mode.
The instructions show Rippersnapper acting as Abominus' left arm.
Lovely fun beast mode and a pretty standard Scramble City robot mode, albeit with short arms.
Rippersnapper was sold in the west in 1987 as Terrorcon TR-1. He was sold in Japan as Transformers toy D-84 and was also available in the D-84 Abominus giftset. The only western market to get an Abominus giftset was Italy.
Rippersnapper has never been reissued or recoloured.