Sorry... this isn't a full review. I don't have time to take pics, but I just thought some folks might like my impression of the oversized KO energon Sharkticon that's been on Ebay lately (the purple one). You can see it here. First of all, yep, it's oversize! This sucker stands about as tall as Movie Voyager Ratchet (though not as thick). The packaging is sort of nice for a blister pack... each package in this series of KO's is personalized to the character contained within, rather than having a generic box for all the figures. The plastic is hard, the kind that would be brittle, except for the fact that it's so thick in this figure. Overall, he's sturdy, and holds together in robot mode very well but I wouldn't want to drop him on the hardwood floor... I'm pretty sure that would snap off a gun or a post somewhere. It's just that kind of plastic. But all the parts fit together well... there are no gaps or deformations in the mold anywhere, and he has pretty much all the articulation of the Energon original (including the posable missile launchers on his back) and transforms the same way. The only obvious difference is that shark "fins" on his knees and forearms are actually -thinner- than the original version's (which were sort of chunky). Odd choice considering the brittle quality of the plastic. The joints are fairly tight, though they may get loose over time... there's no ratcheting and it's all hard plastic. He's great out of the package but keep that nail polish handy! Some of the parts are molded as one piece instead of separate moving parts... his gun batteries in vehicle mode rotate, but the guns can't pivot upwards like on the original version. Also the conning tower is one piece, and has no light piping. Overall though, this isn't a problem... all the important parts and joints are there. There are places where things are pegged in place rather than screwed, riveted or glued... the two shells that house his missile launchers, and the launchers themselves for example... so they can just be pulled off. Easily fixed with some glue, and personally I don't mind being able to remove those parts and reposition them. The missile launchers have no springs, though the missiles do fit in them. The paint app is decent. Nothing fancy, but no obvious errors, and certainly an improvement on the box of crayons that passed for the original's palette. For an upscaled KO, the surface detail is crisp and accurate to the original. The only molding difference I noticed was the head, which is a little bit simplified and doesn't have the fins jutting off the top and sides. Also, the head is hollow, with a large hole in the back where the light piping would normally fit. Weird that they didn't take a mold of the head with the light piping inserted to get a solid shape for the head, but it's not too much of a problem. I'd rate this as an above-average KO figure. Better than the usual Chinatown junk, but certainly not an official release. I paid nearly $20 for him after shipping... which is probably too much, but I don't regret it. The novelty of having this very cool mold in a respectable size and colour adds a lot of value for me. I like it a lot. zmog
It's nice to hear that. I was similarly surprised when I got my undersized Sixshot and a normal sized en. Bulkhead.
I would totally buy these if they were at a local store... good to hear that they are at least somewhat worthwhile. Unfortunately the shipping from overseas kind of kills it for me
Yeah, the Bulkhead/Sprang KO is from the same line as the Sharkticon. Your positive review of the Bulkhead is partially what convinced me to order the Sharkticon! I got one of those as well, which I also like fine... though I'll confess that I did actually break one of his helicopter blades when I was careless opening his blister pack. At $20 US, that makes them about as expensive as a Voyager... which is what they are in terms of size (verging on Ultra). Of course the quality isn't the same though. However, I've noticed that the seller I linked to occasionally puts some of these figures on auction with a low starting bid, so if you keep your eyes open, you might be able to offset the $12 shipping with a nice low winning bid. zmog
I'm glad you like yours. I still have my Bulkhead standing right next to me beside the monitor. I still fiddle with him from time to time. It's best to buy a few KOs at once. You save on shipping that way.
