Monday, March 24, 2008

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.





1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Nice review, Dude!

I never really looked at the henkei figs before since I have the classic figs i wanted, but man.. I almost mistook the pink nerf gun to be henkei meg's "barrel frame" or watever.. lol..

I had to do a double take :)