Transformers Henkei! Starscream

Starscream and Megatron's reviews were originally going to be one entry, but I decided to make it a two-part deal. As I mentioned in the previous post, I recieved Takara's Transformers Henkei! Starscream and Megatron in the mail today, and I couldn't be happier with them. Starscream's mold has been around for awhile now and has seen several redecos and retools throughout the Classics and Botcon '07 lines, so there's not a great deal to say that hasn't already been said.

Unlike Henkei! Megatron, Takara's Starscream isn't drastically different than its Hasbro counterpart. Henkei! Starscream lost the blue nosecone and gained a richer red color, some white detailing, a painted face, and chromed missile launchers/null rays, akin to the chromed weapons found on many G1 transformers. Once again, I don't own the Hasbro release of this mold, but from the images I've seen online, I prefer the Takara release's more g1-accurate colors. Henkei! Starscream fits right in with fellow Classic Seekers Skywarp and Ramjet as their nefarious leader. He's just about the same size as his G1 incarnation, and is scaled nicely with Henkei! Megatron.

Again, I'll say that Henkei! Starscream is a must own, especially if you don't already own the Hasbro version of the mold.

There's much more on the horizon now that Iacon In Ruin has come out of stasis, so check back for more reviews, features about older figures, and plenty of pictures of that plastic goodness.

Transformers Henkei! Megatron

So this blog's been idle for awhile, but something arrived today that was worthy of breaking the lull. My Henkei! Megatron and Starscream arrived from Fan2Fan, including a bonus Superlink Convoy mini figure and a poster ad for the upcoming Takara Transscanning Optimus Prime.

Takara's Henkei! line is their answer to Hasbro's Classics line from last year. The molds are all the same, but each toy has new paint applications and chrome detailing. Megatron is the most extreme repaint, as he's now sporting a gray, red, black G1-homage scheme. His paint apps are all flawless, and I love the direction Takara took with the design. Some criticize the amount of red used on the mold, but I think it all highlights the figure quite well, and I especially like the red used on the inside of the legs. Another issue that some fans have with the Henkei release is the chrome-plated chest panel. While I agree that it doesn't serve much of a purpose since it's the only chrome on the figure, it looks nice, and it breaks up the gray plastic quite well. If nothing else, it recalls the use of diecast parts in G1 toys, and it looks nice to boot.

Megs' gun mode is solid as well. Again, this color scheme looks much better than the Hasbro release, which some complained looked too much like a Nerf gun. Megs still looks like a Nerf gun, but that's because Hasbro modeled his alt mode after the Nerf Maverick Revolver - a fitting choice since the Maverick is quite possibly the most bad ass Nerf gun to date. I don't own the original Hasbro release, so this was my first time trying to transform the figure. I usually skip the directions, but after a solid 15 minutes of trying to get the last few pieces to line up, I played it safe. I have to say, this incarnation of Megatron has the most complicated transformation I've seen in a transformer since the ridiculous Masterpiece Megatron.

I'd recommend Takara's Henkei! Megatron to anyone who doesn't already own the Hasbro release, but I the new paint apps are different enough that I wouldn't mind owning both versions myself. Personally, I prefer this figure over MP Megatron if I had to pick a favorite G1-styled Megatron figure. Henkei! Megs is a must-own.