Post by Philip Ayres on Jul 29, 2010 10:06:46 GMT
Every so often you see something and wonder why nobody has done it before. Here's a case in point: All six exclusive Japanese headmaster heads plus the heads for Fortress Maximus & Scorponok PLUS their recoloured versions for Grand Maximus & Black Zarak. OK it's not a Takara produced set but considering the originals would set you back £1000+ you'd be stupid not to think about buying this if you have *any* interest in Headmasters.
The packaging is superb. All the box panels - bar the back - are red, similar to the original Autobot boxes with a familiar grid pattern printed on it. The front has a lovely illustration of all ten warriors on the front, a lift up flap showing an illustration of Cerebros on the bottom which covers a ten compartment window box showcasing each of the robot modes. The underside features a mock G1 battle scene featuring the heads with Grand Maximus and Black Zarak with the robot modes along the top edge of the box and the head modes along the bottom.
Spike - Fortress Maximus
On the box Spike is numbered 2 and called Fortress Maximus Spike. This indicates to me that this set is meant more for English speaking fans because that's not what this Headmaster was known as in Japan:
Spike = Cerebros
Cerebros = Fortress
Fortress Maximus = Fortress Maximus
The Japanese Fortress Maximus set was sold as toy numbered C-114.
Spike's robot mode has a grey chest & head with dark blue arms and legs. He's got the same articulation as most Micromasters: turning shoulder and bending but linked hips & knees: This is the standard Headmaster articulation.
Transformation: Spike has the traditional humanoid robot Headmster transformation: fold the hips forward 90 degrees then fold the knees up 90 degrees. Turn the result upside down with the back pointing forward. Lift up the back panel to reveal the face.
Spike's head mode is different to what you might be expecting: it's not the rounded head with visor & face plate seen in the comic (which actually looks like Cog's head), it's actually a small version of Fortress Maximus' head. Grey from the front with yellow eye the version I have in the Headmasters set appears *slightly* darker than the original - see 2005 Boards for comparison shots.
Spike - Grand Maximus
Grand Maximus Spike - labelled 1 in this set - is a straight repaint of the Fortress Maximus Spike. Grey becomes a very dark grey, almost very dark green in some light and blue becomes red.
For the Grand Maximus toy - numbered C-311 - had the following names swaps applied:
Spike = Gran
Cerebros = Grand
Fortress Maximus = Grand Maximus
There's a third version of the Spike mould not included in this set: Plasma the small Headmaster included with Car Robot's Brave Maximus.
Lord Zarak - Scorponok
Lord Zarak was the Headmaster robot originally supplied with Scorponok in 1987. Scorponok was sold in Japan (rather confusingly) as Mega Zarak which was Japanese toy number D-93 where the Headmaster (even more confusingly) was called Scorponok ! Zarak has a creamy white body with purple limbs and a silver painted face. He's got standard Headmaster articulation & transformation which turns him into a creamy white head with a silver face and orange eyes. It's not really what you think of as Scorponok's head though because this then gets surrounded by a massive helmet on the Scorponok toy!
Black Zarak
Scorponok is recoloured and retooled for the Japanese market in 1988 becoming known as Black Zarak (can you guess what the largest colour used on the repaint was?) with the Headmaster retaining the Scorponok name. In this set he's called Black Zarak and is numbered 4. The headmaster swaps white for gold plastic and purple for black. The gold plastic was known to be very susceptible to Gold Plastic Syndrome on the original of both the larger robot and the smaller Headmaster. This doesn't usually set in for a few years so it'll be interesting to see what happens to these toys in a little way down the line. My suspicion is that a slightly different grade of plastic has been used.
I've just spotted that Grand Maximus is Japanese toy C-311 while Black Zarak is D-311. I'd love to have seen a VS-311 set like they produced for many Beast Wars toys.
These first four Headmasters are some of the most commonly lost pieces of the largest Headmaster toys so it's nice to see them re-released separately in some manner.
Loafer
Now onto the rarer items reproduced in this box. In 1987 Takara produced a set of six new Headmaster heads for the Headmaster robots.
Loafer, numbered 5 in this set, is a Headmaster with very dark blue, bordering on purple, limbs and a cherry red body, Both arms end in dual spikes projecting from the back of the hand and there's a similar motif pointing over the top of the head. The legs are a lot thinner than those on other Headmasters.
Standard articulation and transformation, but what you get out the end is a cherry red head that's a bit taller than the Headmaster cubes we're used even before the dual spiked crest sticking up. The face is painted silver with a prominent chin.
You know I really should hacve started this review with a Headmaster to hand to give you the stats for these heads. D'oh! Loafer might work well as a replacement head for Mindwipe.
Kirk
Kirk, who is Headmaster number 6 in this set, is a grey Headmaster with cherry red limbs and an orange face. At a glance he doesn't look too different to Stylor, the Headmaster for Chromedome. Transformation reveals a grey head with an orange face and a winged crest - honestly, it looks like he's got Bruticus Chest Plate on his forehead!
The least interesting of the Japanese Headmaster heads I think.
Lodoni
The toy that's labeled Lodoni and is numbered 7 in this set seems to have several names. TFU and TF Wiki (who have pictures) both think he's called Rodney but I suspect they're victims of some bad star dubbing here. One of my books, Transformers in Japanese Missions, calls it Lodony but for the purposes of this review we'll stick with what's on the box. He's a purple Headmaster with yellow limbs, very thin arms in fact. His appearance is a little odd but it's hard to put you fingers on what's wrong in robot mode.
Transformation: well start off as normal by folding the legs up at the hips and then again at the knees. This reveals that there's a Headmaster connection between his legs - so his head isn't the means by which he connects to the larger robots. Turn him round to look at his back, but in this case keep him the same way up, and fold up the back panel.
The end result is a little similar to Loafer with a smaller two pronged crest on yop of the purple face with gold eyes. Colourwise Wierdwolf might be his best partner.
Something a little different. Bears more in common with Snapdragon's Krunk than any of the other small robot to head Headmasters.
Trizer
To me the real attraction of the Japanese heads has always been these last three toys. We had plenty of small robot to large robot's head Headmasters in the west and the two Horrorcons (I love that name) Apeface and Snapdragon have got tripplechanging Headmasters: small robot to beast mode head to robot mode head. But these are something different: Transformer heads that become beasts. No humanoid robots in sight. The closest analogy I can think of is some of the tapes: Laserbeak & Buzzsaw, Ravage, Ratbat, Slugfest & Overkill for the Decepticons and Ramhorn & Steeljaw the Autobots.
Trizer, or Torizer as TFWiki have it, is numbered 8 in the Headmasters set. His beast mode has a purple body with blue limbs & head and a red tail. I think he's meant to be a tiger of some description and given the colours used I'd reckon he's probably a panther like Ravage. His limbs all turn at their joints with the body, his head looks up and his tail moves up and down. I own Beast Wars beast modes that have worse articulation than this!
Transformation: fodl the head back and the tail down. Fold the body in two with the back half coming up 90 degrees. Fold the tail up so it's tip touched the beast's nose. Fold the front legs down so they form the side of the face and fold the back legs up behind this.
This purple large robot head feels tall and thin due to the dark blue frame provided by the beast fore legs, but size wise he's the same size as Spike's head mode and if anything a tinsy bit wider. He's got a plain looking face with just a straight mouth, giving little expression and a silver visor over his eyes.
Different from the other Headmaster heads but in a good way. Well worth a look.
Lione
At first glance Lione, numbered 9 in this set, seems quite similar to Trizer. He's another big cat, this time a Lion (the clue is in the name) with a darker orange body, lighter orange limbs & head and another red tail. The head has a prominent mane piece projecting back from it. Articulation is similar with limbs that turn at the body and a tail that moves up & down but this time the head looks down rather than up.
Transformation: Fold the head down 90 degrees, then the back legs up 180 degrees so they point into the air. Fold the back of the body up 90 degrees with the tail folding forward at the end. Fold the front legs back 90 degrees to frame the face which is found on the underbelly of the front of the beast.
The head is a more balanced two tone than many of the headmasters: the thin face and the sides of the top are the darker orange, but the sides of the head and the crest on top formed from the lion's head are the lighter orange.
Decent design with the beast head forming part of the larger robot's head a nice little design touch.
Shuffler
And finally toy number 10: Shuffler. TFU have no pictures so have a look at some at TF Wiki and The 2005 boards instead.
Shuffler is an Elephant, a beast mode not seen before in Transformers. His body is a dark purple with his legs and ears a sort of grey/pink/purple colour. His legs all move, but the back legs on mine are very stiff while the front one are moulded attached to the ears. In addition his trunk & tusks, moulded in the same purple as the body, move up and down a small amount.
Transformation: Fold the back of the body up 90 degrees. Swing the back legs forward 90 degrees so they point down again. Fold the front legs back 90 degree - you may need to wiggle the back piece out of the way. Fold the back piece another 90 degrees forward fold the elephant head back 90 degrees: it's very stiff on mine and doesn't want to start moving because the fit between the connector for the large robot hidden in the body and the sides of the body is quite tight.
The resulting head is mainly the sort of grey colour with a face plate, but the crest at the top, a large central point and two smaller outer points formed from the underside of the trunk and tusks. The toy goes back further than most of the Headmaster but when you look at the top you see there's an open panel showing the inside of the back of the body.
Top toy with a lovely beast mode.
This is a top, top set made with great quality.
I bought mine off of iOffer.com where it cost me around £50.
If you're a Headmaster fan then you need to buy this set because there's no way you'll ever see official Takara versions of these toys this cheap.
The packaging is superb. All the box panels - bar the back - are red, similar to the original Autobot boxes with a familiar grid pattern printed on it. The front has a lovely illustration of all ten warriors on the front, a lift up flap showing an illustration of Cerebros on the bottom which covers a ten compartment window box showcasing each of the robot modes. The underside features a mock G1 battle scene featuring the heads with Grand Maximus and Black Zarak with the robot modes along the top edge of the box and the head modes along the bottom.
Spike - Fortress Maximus
On the box Spike is numbered 2 and called Fortress Maximus Spike. This indicates to me that this set is meant more for English speaking fans because that's not what this Headmaster was known as in Japan:
Spike = Cerebros
Cerebros = Fortress
Fortress Maximus = Fortress Maximus
The Japanese Fortress Maximus set was sold as toy numbered C-114.
Spike's robot mode has a grey chest & head with dark blue arms and legs. He's got the same articulation as most Micromasters: turning shoulder and bending but linked hips & knees: This is the standard Headmaster articulation.
Transformation: Spike has the traditional humanoid robot Headmster transformation: fold the hips forward 90 degrees then fold the knees up 90 degrees. Turn the result upside down with the back pointing forward. Lift up the back panel to reveal the face.
Spike's head mode is different to what you might be expecting: it's not the rounded head with visor & face plate seen in the comic (which actually looks like Cog's head), it's actually a small version of Fortress Maximus' head. Grey from the front with yellow eye the version I have in the Headmasters set appears *slightly* darker than the original - see 2005 Boards for comparison shots.
Spike - Grand Maximus
Grand Maximus Spike - labelled 1 in this set - is a straight repaint of the Fortress Maximus Spike. Grey becomes a very dark grey, almost very dark green in some light and blue becomes red.
For the Grand Maximus toy - numbered C-311 - had the following names swaps applied:
Spike = Gran
Cerebros = Grand
Fortress Maximus = Grand Maximus
There's a third version of the Spike mould not included in this set: Plasma the small Headmaster included with Car Robot's Brave Maximus.
Lord Zarak - Scorponok
Lord Zarak was the Headmaster robot originally supplied with Scorponok in 1987. Scorponok was sold in Japan (rather confusingly) as Mega Zarak which was Japanese toy number D-93 where the Headmaster (even more confusingly) was called Scorponok ! Zarak has a creamy white body with purple limbs and a silver painted face. He's got standard Headmaster articulation & transformation which turns him into a creamy white head with a silver face and orange eyes. It's not really what you think of as Scorponok's head though because this then gets surrounded by a massive helmet on the Scorponok toy!
Black Zarak
Scorponok is recoloured and retooled for the Japanese market in 1988 becoming known as Black Zarak (can you guess what the largest colour used on the repaint was?) with the Headmaster retaining the Scorponok name. In this set he's called Black Zarak and is numbered 4. The headmaster swaps white for gold plastic and purple for black. The gold plastic was known to be very susceptible to Gold Plastic Syndrome on the original of both the larger robot and the smaller Headmaster. This doesn't usually set in for a few years so it'll be interesting to see what happens to these toys in a little way down the line. My suspicion is that a slightly different grade of plastic has been used.
I've just spotted that Grand Maximus is Japanese toy C-311 while Black Zarak is D-311. I'd love to have seen a VS-311 set like they produced for many Beast Wars toys.
These first four Headmasters are some of the most commonly lost pieces of the largest Headmaster toys so it's nice to see them re-released separately in some manner.
Loafer
Now onto the rarer items reproduced in this box. In 1987 Takara produced a set of six new Headmaster heads for the Headmaster robots.
Loafer, numbered 5 in this set, is a Headmaster with very dark blue, bordering on purple, limbs and a cherry red body, Both arms end in dual spikes projecting from the back of the hand and there's a similar motif pointing over the top of the head. The legs are a lot thinner than those on other Headmasters.
Standard articulation and transformation, but what you get out the end is a cherry red head that's a bit taller than the Headmaster cubes we're used even before the dual spiked crest sticking up. The face is painted silver with a prominent chin.
You know I really should hacve started this review with a Headmaster to hand to give you the stats for these heads. D'oh! Loafer might work well as a replacement head for Mindwipe.
Kirk
Kirk, who is Headmaster number 6 in this set, is a grey Headmaster with cherry red limbs and an orange face. At a glance he doesn't look too different to Stylor, the Headmaster for Chromedome. Transformation reveals a grey head with an orange face and a winged crest - honestly, it looks like he's got Bruticus Chest Plate on his forehead!
The least interesting of the Japanese Headmaster heads I think.
Lodoni
The toy that's labeled Lodoni and is numbered 7 in this set seems to have several names. TFU and TF Wiki (who have pictures) both think he's called Rodney but I suspect they're victims of some bad star dubbing here. One of my books, Transformers in Japanese Missions, calls it Lodony but for the purposes of this review we'll stick with what's on the box. He's a purple Headmaster with yellow limbs, very thin arms in fact. His appearance is a little odd but it's hard to put you fingers on what's wrong in robot mode.
Transformation: well start off as normal by folding the legs up at the hips and then again at the knees. This reveals that there's a Headmaster connection between his legs - so his head isn't the means by which he connects to the larger robots. Turn him round to look at his back, but in this case keep him the same way up, and fold up the back panel.
The end result is a little similar to Loafer with a smaller two pronged crest on yop of the purple face with gold eyes. Colourwise Wierdwolf might be his best partner.
Something a little different. Bears more in common with Snapdragon's Krunk than any of the other small robot to head Headmasters.
Trizer
To me the real attraction of the Japanese heads has always been these last three toys. We had plenty of small robot to large robot's head Headmasters in the west and the two Horrorcons (I love that name) Apeface and Snapdragon have got tripplechanging Headmasters: small robot to beast mode head to robot mode head. But these are something different: Transformer heads that become beasts. No humanoid robots in sight. The closest analogy I can think of is some of the tapes: Laserbeak & Buzzsaw, Ravage, Ratbat, Slugfest & Overkill for the Decepticons and Ramhorn & Steeljaw the Autobots.
Trizer, or Torizer as TFWiki have it, is numbered 8 in the Headmasters set. His beast mode has a purple body with blue limbs & head and a red tail. I think he's meant to be a tiger of some description and given the colours used I'd reckon he's probably a panther like Ravage. His limbs all turn at their joints with the body, his head looks up and his tail moves up and down. I own Beast Wars beast modes that have worse articulation than this!
Transformation: fodl the head back and the tail down. Fold the body in two with the back half coming up 90 degrees. Fold the tail up so it's tip touched the beast's nose. Fold the front legs down so they form the side of the face and fold the back legs up behind this.
This purple large robot head feels tall and thin due to the dark blue frame provided by the beast fore legs, but size wise he's the same size as Spike's head mode and if anything a tinsy bit wider. He's got a plain looking face with just a straight mouth, giving little expression and a silver visor over his eyes.
Different from the other Headmaster heads but in a good way. Well worth a look.
Lione
At first glance Lione, numbered 9 in this set, seems quite similar to Trizer. He's another big cat, this time a Lion (the clue is in the name) with a darker orange body, lighter orange limbs & head and another red tail. The head has a prominent mane piece projecting back from it. Articulation is similar with limbs that turn at the body and a tail that moves up & down but this time the head looks down rather than up.
Transformation: Fold the head down 90 degrees, then the back legs up 180 degrees so they point into the air. Fold the back of the body up 90 degrees with the tail folding forward at the end. Fold the front legs back 90 degrees to frame the face which is found on the underbelly of the front of the beast.
The head is a more balanced two tone than many of the headmasters: the thin face and the sides of the top are the darker orange, but the sides of the head and the crest on top formed from the lion's head are the lighter orange.
Decent design with the beast head forming part of the larger robot's head a nice little design touch.
Shuffler
And finally toy number 10: Shuffler. TFU have no pictures so have a look at some at TF Wiki and The 2005 boards instead.
Shuffler is an Elephant, a beast mode not seen before in Transformers. His body is a dark purple with his legs and ears a sort of grey/pink/purple colour. His legs all move, but the back legs on mine are very stiff while the front one are moulded attached to the ears. In addition his trunk & tusks, moulded in the same purple as the body, move up and down a small amount.
Transformation: Fold the back of the body up 90 degrees. Swing the back legs forward 90 degrees so they point down again. Fold the front legs back 90 degree - you may need to wiggle the back piece out of the way. Fold the back piece another 90 degrees forward fold the elephant head back 90 degrees: it's very stiff on mine and doesn't want to start moving because the fit between the connector for the large robot hidden in the body and the sides of the body is quite tight.
The resulting head is mainly the sort of grey colour with a face plate, but the crest at the top, a large central point and two smaller outer points formed from the underside of the trunk and tusks. The toy goes back further than most of the Headmaster but when you look at the top you see there's an open panel showing the inside of the back of the body.
Top toy with a lovely beast mode.
This is a top, top set made with great quality.
I bought mine off of iOffer.com where it cost me around £50.
If you're a Headmaster fan then you need to buy this set because there's no way you'll ever see official Takara versions of these toys this cheap.
