The Energon Pub

Awhile back, I broke the news that Henkei Starscream had been KO'ed and was about to hit the market. I placed an order for it, and it arrived last night.

You may remember me talking earlier about a KO Henkei Thundercracker. I praised this toy very highly, as I felt that it was a very high quality toy--perhaps even higher than the original, and certainly higher than your ordinary KO.

Sadly, I cannot praise Henkei Starscream so highly.

This release is clearly made by the same KO producer. The packaging is very similar, and the subtle "tells" that mark it as a KO are also present on this release.

(Click the links for the pic. They are large, so I didn't want your browsers to have to load them all at once. OR you can see the review and picture gallery at my blog: Knock-Off Henkei Starscream « Sizzle's Sandbox for all the pics and words together.)

http://g1sizzle.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/p1070184.jpg

As you can see from the pic, there are several things that can identify this as a KO. First, look at the head, or more specifically, look at the sides of the head. The "vents" on either side of Starscream's face are unpainted. They are white when they should be black. Also, the notches on the shoulders are too low. I circled an area of concern where the arm connects to the shoulder, because the plastic there has jagged edges and is in really sloppy condition. Also, there are no notches in the kneepads as there should be on an official release. This release also has the same issues as the other two, in which the back and the chest don't quite fit together in bot mode. Also, Starscream stands with a bit of slump, as he tends to be back-heavy. The paint apps are also a little sloppy in places.

The biggest issue in my mind is the arm blasters. To the best of my recollection, Henkei Starscream did not have loose arm blasters. The KO does. They will fall off if an amoeba farts nearby. This is the deal-breaker between choosing between the KO or the real thing.

Alright, let's take a look at the packaging. The big tell here is the placement of the collector card, which is squarely in the center, when it should be tucked under the jet. (Thundercracker's card is to the right. Skywarp's is also centered.)

http://g1sizzle.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/p1070168.jpg

Here's the card back.

http://g1sizzle.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/p1070169.jpg

Here's what you see on the side.

http://g1sizzle.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/p1070170.jpg

The worst part about this KO is the jet mode. Because the wings and arms are super floppy, it doesn't hold together well in this mode. The wings tend to slump, and as mentioned before, the body doesn't fit together very well.

http://g1sizzle.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/p1070171.jpg

So the question you're probably asking is this: should I even bother with it? To answer that, I give you the only reasons you should buy this particular KO:

1.) You already have Henkei Starscream and want to replace him in a display with something that you won't care if it breaks.
2.) You can get it in a package deal with the other KO Henkei seekers which are much better.
3.) You can't find the real deal anywhere for a reasonable price and don't really care about a dip in quality.
4.) You simply have to have every variant of every Seeker that has been, is now being, or ever will be produced.

If that's not you, then you should probably just stick to the real deal.

In any case, as far as I can tell, no online shops have stocked this KO yet. I am told that KOToys may have it in soon, so if you'd like to buy it (or see what kinds of package deals are being offered) keep checking their site.

Here's a short gallery:

http://g1sizzle.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/p1070193.jpg

http://g1sizzle.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/p1070192.jpg

http://g1sizzle.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/p1070195.jpg

http://g1sizzle.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/p1070196.jpg