Menasor has arrived… in nostalgic knock off Fashion!
Manufacturer: China (Knock Off Central)
Acquiring one of my favorite G1 figures has such a nostalgic feel. G1 Menasor was actually a popular combiner and a really hard one to find during my younger (and slimmer) days. The only ones who can afford it are. 1. Parents may either be working abroad. (also if they work in Transformer populated areas like Japan). 2. If you’re born rich and finally 3. If you have generous godparents that gives you toys every Christmas day until you turn 18 (they will even ask you what you want!). Having him right now in my shelf is such a glory to me knowing that its also a K.O. (knock off, bootleg, fake, buster, or whatever you call it!). Knock Offs or Bootlegs are somewhat a menace to copyrights. Nevertheless copyrights also have an expiry date so most of these K.O.s you see around you are owning what the copyright has left behind, Popularity. Transformer toys are not only the ones being copied nowadays, almost everything you see, feel, and touch are being made with replicas by these copyright infringers. Ok, I know that I bought a knock off but this is for the sake of my collection. It is your decision if you want to purchase it for yourself and take the risk.
I will just say the build quality and the detail of this figure in one word, Almost identical (thats two words my mistake). Amazing how they pulled off such a hard piece to make or even acquire the original molds is next to impossible. First that I checked is Dragstrip and Wildrider since I have both original G1 figures and to my surprise the K.O. version has the same embossed Takara logo. Not only those two but also the rest of the team as well. Die-cast metal is where it supposed to be and amazingly accurate to the original. Transforming them into a gestalt is easy and probably after a few minutes (Ha! beat that!) your combiner is done in all of its shiny, blocky glory (Sorry for the oily hands). Amazingly the whole figure itself is a fun to look at (and funny!). But don’t laugh, during those days, figures like this are massive to my tiny little hands. There is one flaw to K.O.s though, mismatched sizing and mismatched pegholes. The quality of the plastic is almost the same as the original but you can tell the molds are either overlapping if thats what you call it. The labels are exactly the same with some overlapping when you apply on each of the limbs. Motormaster is a bit loose on the right leg due to the locking mechanism but all in all is a great buy. A great addition to your collection and even for a K.O. its worth having him. Believe me, a lot of people that is into G1 still would buy a KO just to be loosely placed on the shelf beside the original.
So, if you are into collecting G1 and want to have a loose figure then this is for you but if you hate K.O.s then turn off your browser, start working those couch potato tummies of yours and earn big dough as you know original G1’s are really expensive nowadays. For me this is just about satisfying my childish crave for decent nostalgia.
Score: 7/10
To God be the Glory!
