Post by Gav on Feb 22, 2009 22:11:23 GMT
Hi everyone. Yesterday Henkei Cyclonus arrived on the doorstep courtesy of a very kind Hubber who managed to snag one for me (Thanks once again, you lovely fellow). I thought that I'd break convention and actually have a pop at this reviewing malarkey which seems to be so popular these days. Sorry for the quality of the photos - and that I've probably mis-transformed him - haha.
So here we go: Henkei Cyclonus: (Deep beath)
I won't focus on the the packaging here, I'm just going to review the toy itself. However being my first Henkei Transformer - I have to say that I love the look of the Japanese packaging. Everything from the actual box art to the addition of the wee Cyclonus-centric manga is a breath of fresh air. Lovely stuff.
Okay, onto Cyclonus himself....I'll focus on the robot mode first, shall I?
An excellent representation of one of my favourite Transformers. Absolutely lovely. The colours aren't exactly perfect, but It's as close as I'm going to get. Great articulation at the thighs, knees, elbows and shoulders. I only wish the neck was on a Ball joint for looking slightly up or down, but that's a small niggle.
The back is just as detailed. Isn't the sculpting on the back legs fantastic? I love it. Plus note the light-piping at the back for the 'glow eye' effect that I've come to love over the last few years. Nice deep purple chrome effect on the back wings too. He's a class act, isn't he?
What I really dig is the way that the nosecone from the vehicle mode is hiddel inside the body, it isn't hanging out awkwardly. See?
I won't really go into the specifics of how to transform him, but It's not particularly difficult and proved rather intuitive. I love how the shoulders seperate though.
Also, the legs are really nicely designed. The split apart when in vehicle mode like so:
My only gripe is that they don't close back up when in vehicle mode, they remain in a half-shut state which isn't ideal, but doesn't detract from the overall vehicle mode.
The vehicle mode itself is very detailed and a fair representation of his G1 design. I particularly like the little stand which comes from the underneath the nose to balance him.
I think this picture gives a good idea of how Cyclonus works, and what goes where whilst transforming.
Of course, Cyclonus is not alone. He comes with Nightstick, his chrome-legged Targetmaster partner. In his gun mode, he can perch atop Cyclonus Vehicle mode in a rather inelegant design decision- seen in this fuzzy photo:
Little Nightstick actually has a lot of personality and a rather detailed sculpt for being so small. Look how cute this little murderer is:
Again, my only gripe is the barrel is essentially just draped over his back. I have no idea how they'd combat this- but it bugs me. Nit-picking I know...
Here he is in Gun-Mode with Cyclonus - walking tall and taking not shit from Optimus in the background:
Overall, I'm extremely happy with him. The joints are tight and everything snaps together with a satisfying click - it's sturdy! Like most Transformers he has a high fiddle-factor and I've been playing with him non stop all day. A great little toy- and well worth getting this version over the Universe one - if just for that beautiful purple colour. Top marks!
So here we go: Henkei Cyclonus: (Deep beath)
I won't focus on the the packaging here, I'm just going to review the toy itself. However being my first Henkei Transformer - I have to say that I love the look of the Japanese packaging. Everything from the actual box art to the addition of the wee Cyclonus-centric manga is a breath of fresh air. Lovely stuff.
Okay, onto Cyclonus himself....I'll focus on the robot mode first, shall I?
An excellent representation of one of my favourite Transformers. Absolutely lovely. The colours aren't exactly perfect, but It's as close as I'm going to get. Great articulation at the thighs, knees, elbows and shoulders. I only wish the neck was on a Ball joint for looking slightly up or down, but that's a small niggle.
The back is just as detailed. Isn't the sculpting on the back legs fantastic? I love it. Plus note the light-piping at the back for the 'glow eye' effect that I've come to love over the last few years. Nice deep purple chrome effect on the back wings too. He's a class act, isn't he?
What I really dig is the way that the nosecone from the vehicle mode is hiddel inside the body, it isn't hanging out awkwardly. See?
I won't really go into the specifics of how to transform him, but It's not particularly difficult and proved rather intuitive. I love how the shoulders seperate though.
Also, the legs are really nicely designed. The split apart when in vehicle mode like so:
My only gripe is that they don't close back up when in vehicle mode, they remain in a half-shut state which isn't ideal, but doesn't detract from the overall vehicle mode.
The vehicle mode itself is very detailed and a fair representation of his G1 design. I particularly like the little stand which comes from the underneath the nose to balance him.
I think this picture gives a good idea of how Cyclonus works, and what goes where whilst transforming.
Of course, Cyclonus is not alone. He comes with Nightstick, his chrome-legged Targetmaster partner. In his gun mode, he can perch atop Cyclonus Vehicle mode in a rather inelegant design decision- seen in this fuzzy photo:
Little Nightstick actually has a lot of personality and a rather detailed sculpt for being so small. Look how cute this little murderer is:
Again, my only gripe is the barrel is essentially just draped over his back. I have no idea how they'd combat this- but it bugs me. Nit-picking I know...
Here he is in Gun-Mode with Cyclonus - walking tall and taking not shit from Optimus in the background:
Overall, I'm extremely happy with him. The joints are tight and everything snaps together with a satisfying click - it's sturdy! Like most Transformers he has a high fiddle-factor and I've been playing with him non stop all day. A great little toy- and well worth getting this version over the Universe one - if just for that beautiful purple colour. Top marks!
