Henkei! Megatron
Ever since I got my Voyager Optimus Prime from Toy Kingdom, I’ve wanted to pick up this figure as well. Problem being that I had paid something like Php 800.00 ($16.00 US at the time) for the figure and Megatron was going for Php 2,000.00 and up at hobby shops. I just could not bring myself to put down that kind of cash, especially since I’m not big fan of Henkei! Henkei! toys. It’s that chrome that I can’t stand.
But D-01 (Megatron), like C-01 (Convoy), is an exception to that preference. The Classics version of this toy, which was the version available in most places, was limited by the strict child safety laws in the United States. All toy guns are required to be colored in day-glow hues to unmistakably mark them as playthings. I remember when I used to play with friends in the boonies of Guam dressed in fatigues with black plastic Uzis and water balloons that were shaped like hand grenades. If we did that now, we would be shot by passing policemen. Ah, progress.
So, to comply with the law, Classics Megatron is covered in vivid violets and greens and is capped with an ugly orange plug on the top of its barrel and sight.
Ugh.
The Japanese have no problems with making a toy gun that looks somewhat like a contemporary gun instead of a space blaster for a race of color-blind jeepney drivers. One point to Japan! Of course they censor their porn. Two points from Japan! But then they have Maria Ozawa. 10 points to Japan!
The box is just like the one I got with Henkei! Prime; covered in indecipherable Japanese text. Like their storytelling preferences, I never could get on board with their design aesthetics. I have a feeling that this is what Filipino design will evolve into if we take jeepney art to its logical ends. Still, you can’t ignore that Takara really does know how to take photos of their toys. Even if I don’t understand a word of the text, I can see that this here is a Transformer who changes from robot to gun and looks absolutely awesome as either.
The package has got a huge viewing window in front and one on top giving you a good view of most of it. Not that it really matters because Takara really does a better job of quality control compared to Hasbro. While messy paint applications are common for Hasbro toys, finding crap paint on a Henkei! figure is relatively harder. I would guess it’s because the Henkei! Henkei! line is really meant for collectors. Their price, paint jobs and packaging all indicate that the toys are targeted towards adult customers, rather than children. The Classics (and the current “Generations” line) are mass market toys whose largest market is kids who would tear through paint applications, chrome, and accessories like hipster vampires through pre-pubescent high school girls.
The figure is stored on a plastic tray in robot mode instead of vehicle mode (a practice which I’m glad Hasbro has finally adopted). No twist ties here; just the tray, its cover, some plastic support pieces, and a little tape (a move that I’m sad Hasbro has still not adopted). If you want, you can easily put it back and store it in the box, no harm done. Out of the box, Megatron is ready to go.
To read about what this Henkei! Megatron out of the box, click HERE.
