KO HENKEI Skywarp, Thundercracker, Ghost Starscream

[astrana]

Got these yesterday. Here is a quick review

Pros:
1. All of them has excellent paint job.
2. Plastic quality is on par with the Classic 2.0 SS I have
3. Price is decent, 20 each, instead of 70-80
4. Thundercracker is perfect, tight joints etc

Cons:
1. Ghost Starscream is very loose.
2. Skywarp is loose too, but not as bad as Ghost Starscream
3. The wholes on the arm is too big for the cannons. I have to move the arm in an angle so the cannons can "rest" on the arms.
4. Chest piece on skywarp and Ghost Starscream does not close completely. But it does not effect in bot mode nor alt mode.

Overall: I was disappointed after i found out Skywarp and Ghost SS are loose. But then the more I look at them, the better they get. very nice paint job and price. If you need them to complete your Seeker collection but does not want pay 200-300 for it, then these are perfect.

here are the pics

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5250/5207514724_ac41761b8a_z.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4127/5206916207_b6b6a8fe46_z.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5290/5207513046_a89ccdf146_z.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5121/5207508040_c92475e169_z.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5241/5207507170_56aa3f9a9d_z.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4133/5206908583_9d93f6ffc2_z.jpg

[astrana]

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5244/5207508788_6fd321c963_z.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4085/5207509676_9591512ba5_z.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4148/5206912853_97c9bf3c6a_z.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4145/5206914501_a75d72ff8e_z.jpg

BIG ONE

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5050/5207515608_470c7e4666_b.jpg

[STI 2NV]

I'm going to fix my Starscream tonight.

I aswell am very happy with my purchace.

[astrana]

I'm going to fix my Starscream tonight.

I aswell am very happy with my purchace.

there are ways to fix them for sure, as for the wholes on the arm i guess some putty would work. But mine will be in display 99% of the time, wont be playing/transforming them, so i am just gonna be lazy and let them be

[shockwing]

I would by these if were not so loose

[STI 2NV]

Ill just play with the cone heads and leave the KO's on display.

[jourdo]

Those look really well done. Is there anything to distinguish them from the originals, because looking at them I cannot tell?

[astrana]

Those look really well done. Is there anything to distinguish them from the originals, because looking at them I cannot tell?

i dont think so. people are already selling these as the "real" ones on ebay. so be aware

[Quantum]

I picked up the Skywarp and Thundercracker. Both are excellent, and both also required only a few drops of glue in some joints to tighten them up. To get the null-rays to fit, I put a very light coat of clear nail polish inside the peg-holes in the shoulders and they fit perfectly now.

At the end of the day, 8 drops of super-glue and four tiny applications of nail-polish are a small price to pay for saving over $200 and completing my seekers.

And there are some ways to tell them apart. There are also two molds being used though, and one of them is not so easy to tell, but is being sold loose.

The ones in package are missing a detail notch in the knee-pads and the notch on the front of the shoulder is in a different place. This is of course only visible once they have been opened and transformed. I'm not sure about the package differences, but there's a thread at TFW that has a lot of info on the differences.

Can't believe I completed my seekers!!!!

[Cheers Ian]

I've got the Real Henkei Thurdercracker (Got a deal a couple years back) and if anyone is curious, his arm cannons were loose as well (which was a reported widespread issue, which many weren't happy about due to his higher cost) so it was a problem with the original mold that's probably gotten even worse with the Knock-Off.

I fixed it with the nail polish method as well.

Just an FYI if anyone was curious.

Really tempted to order that Ghost Starscream and the Clear Mirage.

[shockwing]

I good idea hasbro can do, is to sell all three in one box set

[racerguy76]

Here's the thread on TFW, lotsa photos.

http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-video-reviews/343867-optibotimus-reviews-ko-henkei-ghost-starscream-thundercracker-skywarp.html

[General Tekno]

I've got a set still in the mail. Hopefully they get here soon.

[dancybak]

Mine is on the way as well, just the TC though. I had the SW from the Magnus Target set, so I did not feel the need to get the Skywarp.

However I should mention, in terms of quality control, My "authentic" skywarp came with 2 upper left legs. So I had to use an extra seeker right leg, paint it black. So even with QC there will be issues.

I am thinking of getting the extremely cheap SW KO from KO Toys just to fix that, but over all I cannot wait for the TC and finally the Dirge release. Then all my seekers will be complete.

To be honest I truly believe that these are the real deal, but that they failed the QC, and some guy in China bought them, packaged them, and re sold them. I have no proof of this, but these are so strong in quality that it seems like a reasonable hypothesis.

[Stapler]

They look great and definetaly a great way to finish off the seekers, but I'm just not comfortable buying these. I think I'll continue to wait for Hasbro to come through but in the mean time, enjoy these great looking KO's everyone. :)

[Protoman]

I have the Thundercracker and Skywarp KOs, I compared it with my Ultra Magnus/Skywarp 2 pack and it is PRETTY dead on, yeah it's a little loose but it's nothing that ruins the toy. This is clearly the better option.

[brr-icy]

want to pick up the skywarp one, and maybe a henkei ramjet to make my seekers look cartoon accurate

[STI 2NV]

I fixed up my starscream last night. ended up being one of the screws they used on the back to hold his cockpit on. One was bigger than the hole. Super simple fix. Now they all look and transform awesome.

[fishtifer]

How long did it take you guys to get your KO's? I keep getting excited when the mail man comes, but he doesn't have any KO's for me yet... it's been about 2 weeks.

[STI 2NV]

Ordered Nove 9th arrived November 24th

[astrana]

How long did it take you guys to get your KO's? I keep getting excited when the mail man comes, but he doesn't have any KO's for me yet... it's been about 2 weeks.

u should have a tracking number.... calgary post office has been slow. mine arrived in Calgary on 21th but did not get it till 24th

[King Benny]

Ordered: November 9th
Shipped: November 18th
First delivery attempt: November 25th

I haven't been around to pick it up yet... hopefully this weekend!

[CETERUS PRIME]

Anywhere to get these besides KO Toys ?

[astrana]

Anywhere to get these besides KO Toys ?

ebay, but i am sure u will end up paying more than 20 per toy

[Akroyer]

Anywhere to get these besides KO Toys ?

chimungmung.com has KO Henkei Thundercracker and Skywarp. And there doesn't seem to be anywhere near as bad a rep as KOToys has.

I asked around here about the place a week or two ago and no one seemed to have an opinion on them. I couldn't dig up anything bad, with my googling. Which admittedly is not up to CSI level =)

[fishtifer]

Got my Thundercracker, Ghost Starscream and the little Menasor yesterday, they are pretty decent! I did the top coat to the ball joint trick on Starscream, man does that work well!

[King Benny]

I opened up my Ghost Starscream and Thundercracker today.

Ghost Starscream looks great... and then I picked him up. :) What a loose mess! :doh: Even his wings in alt mode are floppy. His chest doesn't close in robot mode either. And the guns don't fit in the pegs very well. Floppy wrists dangling around. The figure itself looks good though - perfect paint application. Based on what I read about the KO Ghost Starscream, I wasn't surprised it turned out like this. Considering the cost though, these flaws are a lot easier to swallow considering most can be fixed (not sure about the chest though).

Thundercracker looks great and his joints are pretty good overall. Perfect paint application. The only issue with him is the guns not fitting in the pegs, but that's an easy fix. I'm VERY IMPRESSED with Thundercracker and I fully recommend him as a much cheaper alternative to the official Henkei. :)

Out of the 2 KOs I ordered, Thundercracker was the one I wanted the most so I am very pleased overall with the purchase.

[dancybak]

Got my Thundercracker yesterday... same as everyone else. Definitley see the difference in the packaging, but as for the toy, almost flawless. Few things...

Like all the Seekers, the arms prevent it from closing completely in Jet mode, but I noticed it on all my jets, so what can you do.

If you are going to fix the pegs, apply in the arms not the pegs of the launchers as they will make it too tight to fit in the wings or hands (BTW my missles launch farther than the real things)

Decepticon symbols on both the lower and upper wings. Just interesting.

Over all just need Dirge and the seekers are complete... until I finish my custom generic seeker and Sun Spot.

[Croaker]

Got my Skywarp and Thundercracker.

Skywarp's hand are upside-down. Not the end of the world.

[max99d]

Got my set of Henkei KO Seekers

[King Benny]

Just an update for those who have issues closing the chest in robot mode. On my Ghost Starscream, the issue was the screw that sits underneath the hinge that connects the cockpit to the backplate. Either the screw head is too large or the hole it sits in is too small. Regardless, the screw head doesn't sit flush with the plastic which prevents the chest piece from closing. I just removed the screw and now it closes perfectly. :) A more complete fix would be widening the plastic hole but I'm ok with no screw being in there - the hinge is still very secure against the back piece via the top screw.

The hole under the hinge where the screw used to be:
http://benandwindy.smugmug.com/Other/Transformers/IMG3386/1114147137_bgknH-L.jpg

[Buhawi]

Ordered the ghost trio today. I can't stand having missing seekers after getting the last conehead.

[Akroyer]

I decided to go ahead and go for the KO Henkei Thundercracker and Skywarp. And after about 3 weeks they finally arrived today.

I'm pleased with them, I also got a KO Ramjet (I ended up getting a real one from a fellow board member in between) and the KO Ramjet is pretty cheap. Doesn't hold a candle to the original. I couldn't even get him to fully transform to plane mode without a small piece of plastic breaking off and his legs don't fully fold up and together.

But back to the KO Henkei, both TC and Skywarp have loose holes in their arms to hold their launchers. The right one stays in pretty well, where the left one is quite loose.

The paint app on one of their tail fins seems to be a little smeared. And TCers head is only painted on the front half. The back is still the mold color. When transformed into robot mode, neither of their chests will full close. I checked the screw as mentioned above and that doesn't seem to be the case here.

Joints are mostly pretty good, arms are maybe I'd say a little loose. But nothing that I would say is real bad compared to some of my Hastak figures. My WFC Soundwave is quite loose.

Over all they look great, were about $28 each $12 for Ramjet. Little pricey maybe, but seeing as how neither are really available. I'm happy with them.

TC also came with Acid Storms Instructions. And theres one picture with TC and Skywarp alongside my Hasbro Starscream.

I see they have Sunstorm out now, who looks like a yellow version of the same mold.

I ordered them from Chimungmung as KOToys seems to have such a bad rep. I didn't dream of trusting them. And I couldn't find any complaints about Chimungmung. Everything went pretty smooth. He shipped within 3 days after I ordered and paid with Paypal. And was in customs for about 3 or 4 days. About 3 weeks total by the time I ordered and they were in my hands. Once they left Hong Kong tracking didn't show a thing until they landed in Canada and were in customs.

[razin]

A different KO company has issued much better versions of the Henkei seekers, v2. This includes Sunstorm, which will also have a v2 in the next week or two using the e-hobby colour scheme. The new versions have corrected the looseness and chest issues. Skywarp is not yet avail, but coming.

[Akroyer]

A different KO company has issued much better versions of the Henkei seekers, v2. This includes Sunstorm, which will also have a v2 in the next week or two using the e-hobby colour scheme. The new versions have corrected the looseness and chest issues. Skywarp is not yet avail, but coming.

I read something about that, was it the CHMS ones??
I seen some shots of the new packaging as well, with those initials on them.
It's hard to keep it all straight.. I know just this evening I read one review where their Thundercracker had a painted on face, and no indents for the eyes.

[razin]

yea its CHMS

[Autobot_Lancer]

ok I'll be ordeing these for sure, I need to complete my seekers considering my Coneheads will soon be complete once i can finally find dirge.

Sorry if it's already been said but where can I find Skywarp and Thundercracker and which version should I get as people keep saying v2

[Buhawi]

Just an update for those who have issues closing the chest in robot mode. On my Ghost Starscream, the issue was the screw that sits underneath the hinge that connects the cockpit to the backplate. Either the screw head is too large or the hole it sits in is too small. Regardless, the screw head doesn't sit flush with the plastic which prevents the chest piece from closing. I just removed the screw and now it closes perfectly. :) A more complete fix would be widening the plastic hole but I'm ok with no screw being in there - the hinge is still very secure against the back piece via the top screw.

The hole under the hinge where the screw used to be:
http://benandwindy.smugmug.com/Other/Transformers/IMG3386/1114147137_bgknH-L.jpg

if you have an extra universe or classics seeker you can probably replace these parts.

[Oreobuilder]

I ordered Thundercracker and Sunstorm last night. I'll check in once I receive them.Ã*

OB

[Quantum]

Can't decide if I wanna order the yellow Rainmaker (Sunstorm) or not. See how I'm feeling in the new year. Love my Thndercracker and Skywarp though!

[jigga79]

Has anyone gotten the CHMS molds which are suppose to better then the first run of Henkei seeker KO.

[Buhawi]

:doh::doh::doh::doh::doh::doh:

http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-generations-classics-30-35/generations-thundercracker-forthcoming-171143/

BBTS
Our Price: $15.99

[Akroyer]

:doh::doh::doh::doh::doh::doh:

http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-generations-classics-30-35/generations-thundercracker-forthcoming-171143/

Damn.. :doh:

No matter how long you wait, something like this always happens once you bite..

[Ned1701]

So not only did they release these better CHMS KO for the same price as the version 1 they now have a generations Thundercracker...:argh: oh well I needed skywarp either way now I have all the seekers and I will just pretend the generations one does not exist.

[Oreobuilder]

Received my Thundercracker and Sunstorm yesterday. Merry Christmas to me! :D

The joints are tight, the paint apps are good and the chrome is nice. I think Sunstorm is my favorite of the two. Even though TC has been announced by Hasbro, I'm not regreting my purchase. I definitely recommend these.

OB

[bedtime]

call me crazy but considering kotoys has a nice looking sunstorm ko maybe hasbro's thinking the same thing? it just happened with thundercracker after all...

[Blackout4001]

Got my thundercracker a few days back, it is really quite good my only problem is the joint they use to secure the wings, it is quite loose.

[Buhawi]

call me crazy but considering kotoys has a nice looking sunstorm ko maybe hasbro's thinking the same thing? it just happened with thundercracker after all...

I hope both sides release and re-release classics ultra magnus. either way I'm extremely hopeful and excited.

[SanMiguel]

Got my thundercracker a few days back, it is really quite good my only problem is the joint they use to secure the wings, it is quite loose.


thats why its a KO....otherwise its not a KO toy anymore :primelaugh:

[jigga79]

From what I heard these CHMS mold are really high quality and the guys who makes them used to work for the hasbro factory. So they got the production down but maybe qc level isn't quit there yet. KO company, throw a way a toy that doesn't mean qc or just sell it anyways. I think they lean on just sell it anyways.