Thoughts

+ I can see what people mean when they describe the Encore Constructicons as being of "KO" quality. These really are not excellent reproductions of the original Constructicons. They're not terrible per se, but they are certainly disappointing. The colours are brighter and the plastic quality does feel cheaper.

+ The sculpting really isn't as nice as the originals. This is particularly noticeable with the grooves on Mixmaster's cab roof and Long Haul's grille. Note that Encore Long Howl is based on the slotless grille/chest whereas my G1 Long Haul is the slotted version. Original G1 Long Haul was available in either slotted or slotless varieties, so this isn't an Encore thing.

+ Scavenger's toes are poorly made and are prone to falling out (this has never happened on my original G1 Scavenger).

+ For some reason, Hook's hook is "reversed" on the reissue. G1 Hook's hook points outward, whereas the Encore points inward.

+ There have been some design changes made in an effort to improve some toys. Hook has an extra tab added on the right side of the rear portion of the vehicle - this is intended to help the toy lock in better when transforming into Devastator's chest/head. Unfortunately it doesn't quite work out so well in reality because the tab's a tad too small and fails to sufficiently interlock.

+ Bonecrusher right arm panel has a small tab added - this allows Bonecrusher's arms to lock together in vehicle mode, and it works! I really like this feature as one of my long-running irks about Bonecrusher is how his arms don't have any locking feature in vehicle mode - it just relies on the arms to stay in place, and eventually when the arms get loose they just flop out of place. This is particularly frustrating when he froms Devastator's left arm as gravity makes the arms part. My Bonecrusher's arms had become pretty loose by 1987-88 after years of thoroughly playing with him... and it was around 1988-89 that I stuck a piece of Blu-Tac there to keep his arms in place when transformed as vehicle mode, and especially as Devastator's left arm!

+ I really do enjoying having all of the little accessories now - and especially having a set of Constructicons that I can play around with and combine into Devastator without having to tread on eggshells! :)

I used to have a set of KO Constructicons (it was a free gift) and in all honesty, Encore Devastator is still definitely superior to the KO by a long shot. The colours and sculpting on the KO are still much worse than on Encore. But having said that, the quality of Encore Devastator is still below par for a legit/official reissue. It's not as bad as Encore Bruticus - the mould doesn't seem to suffer from mould degradation issues that Bruticus does, but it does seem to suffer from quality issues.

Overall I am quite happy with Encore Devastator, but there are notable flaws with this set and I can understand how it might bother some people. I'd still recommend this set, but not for above RRP. If you're thinking about getting this set, get it now. Don't wait till later and pay some inflated aftermarket price for it, because it won't be worth it. If you can get it for below RRP then even better. (I got mine at 20% off the RRP) :)

I'll post G1/Encore vehicle comparison pics tomorrow.

We are dedicated to being to be the best resource for all your Transformers news and reviews every day. Keep your browser dialed to Tformers.com for updates as they happen.