The Energon Pub

Recently I got a Henkei Starscream KO so I could mix and match with Hasbro's Dirge and the Leader-1 head to make a passable Leader-1. And I feel like posting about it.

For the first time I'm impressed with the quality. This seems to be the same mold as the Universe Starscream mold (no knee indents) and everything actually held together well! The eyes on this version of the mold were even in there and the additional booklet is indistinguishable from a legit Henkei booklet (at leats to me).

The #1 MAJOR flaw, however, is that they used the wrong screws to fasten the nosecone to the body. In vehicle mode there's no problem, but in robot mode it prevents the nosecone from sitting flush, making it very flawed. BUT this may just be my figure.

The second major flaw on my figure are the two null rays. They fit fine on the wings, are VERY snug in the hands, and just fell out of the shoulder holes. I used the superglue trick in reverse to get that to work right.

The thirdmost major flaw is that his "ears" weren't painted. I don't know if this is universal but there it is. Buy a sharpie or soemthing to fillthem in.

Also, while everything mostly fits, it's about 95%. The ares were loose and one of the wings doesn't sit flush with the back and the chest doesn't fully compress into the body ... bu tthese are very minor flaws.

The deal differences come from when I mixed it with Dirge parts! If the ball joint were thinner plastic the legs would probably break! They were a pain to put on and are very tight. The peg on the part of the nosecone that fits into his head is actually wider than the legit version's (I used Dirge's black cockpit for Leader-1). The arms don't sit fully straight either and, the biggest annoyance, the feet don't fully cover the rectangle bit on the legs; they're too thick! But it's just the feet so whatevs.

Anyhow, I hadn't seen anyone talk about this figure ... sorry for the lack of pics (he's Leade-1 cosplaying Starscream right now) but there's my take on the new KO Seeker mold. Overall it's better than the stuff I know is from CHMS, but that wrong screw flaw is a BIG one. If I didn't have Dirge to cannabalize I'd be annoyed.

Well, sometime soon I have to buy a KO Universe Starscream to revive my first attempt at a Leader-1 figure (I have two of those heads). If there's anything of signifigance to add I'll post it.

I've found that many of my KO seekers (I have a few, namely Sunstorm and 4 of the generic purple seekers like on the show), that the quality is in many ways actually better than the Hasbro and Takara versions of the mold I have, simply because many parts (particularly the fists and legs) are much less floppy.

I haven't had any of the issues you describe, but I guess it all depends on how the run at the factory went when they were made.

xyl360 wrote:I've found that many of my KO seekers (I have a few, namely Sunstorm and 4 of the generic purple seekers like on the show), that the quality is in many ways actually better than the Hasbro and Takara versions of the mold I have, simply because many parts (particularly the fists and legs) are much less floppy.

I haven't had any of the issues you describe, but I guess it all depends on how the run at the factory went when they were made.

Pretty sure this is a totally new mold that isn't the CHMS Seeker mold used in Sunstorm and the Rainmakers et. all. Which is why I wrote up my little review; it's a new thing with new issues.

Honestly, all my official Seekers are better than that mold. Maybe I got lucky there, but the CHMS Seeker mold has always just been passable to me, not good. This KO mold, however, actually impressed me. As did the package and includes (side by side in-hand I couldn't really tell then from the official stuff).

Ah, OK, I see. Well, there were 2 versions of the CHMS seeker mold, and I believe all the ones I have were version 2, which are supposed to be better than the version 1 mold.

Talking of Seeker molds, does anyone have the Robot Master mold of Skywarp and a Classics/KO version as I am wondering if there are many differences as the Robot Master seems like a cheaper option for me to complete my Seekers?

Thanks for any help you good 'bots can offer!

robotmel wrote::-?
Talking of Seeker molds, does anyone have the Robot Master mold of Skywarp and a Classics/KO version as I am wondering if there are many differences as the Robot Master seems like a cheaper option for me to complete my Seekers?

Thanks for any help you good 'bots can offer!

I have that one. The KO doesn't have deception symbols, obviously, and it's MUCH more cheaply made. It'd have to break it out again to really give you a better review of it, but it's one of those "for display purposes only" sort of things. Plus it has the inherent problems with that mold (limited arm and leg articulation, being very small, small arms in proportion to the body), and not being the classics Seeker mold (with has the most complete set of Seekers thanks to both official AND KO sources).

The new Universe Screamer KO arrived today. Here are some thoughts:

Pretty much the same quality I came to expect. Floppy arms (but fixable), but overall good joints. Weapons don't fit into the shoulder holes. Better wings though. Oddly, even though the screws were all right this time, the cockpit still didn't fit into the body so well again. Still, this time the ears were painted, so that was good.

However, even though I was impressed witht he overall build, the joints were oddly .... pinkish. And the nub at the tip was grey. Definately disappointed in that.

If you have a choice I'd go with the Henkei version. Even if you like the Universe coloration, the pink is a BIG turn off.