MAKETOYS MTRM-15 ENDGAME: A HALF-ARSED REVIEW

 

Cosmic Toys reached out and asked us to do a few quick reviews of items that they have had traded in recently, we kick off with: Maketoys MTRM-15 Endgame, their take on a Masterpiece style Dirge.

This figure comes to me loose, with instructions but with a few of the accessories missing. Items that are missing are: 4 out of the 5 alt face sculpts and the short null ray tips. So what we do get, aside from the figure itself, it’s just the alternate null rays and that’s it.

Initial thoughts I have are centered around the plastic, it feels to be very different to what was used previously for MTRM-11, 12 and 13, less sharp with some flex to it. Paint application is minimal, mainly limited to detailing and highlights. This means that the figure is mostly coloured plastic which does ensure the various panels match but it does have the downside of making it feel cheap at times. The colours chosen are very reminiscent of the G1 toy with aspects of the animation model too. Minimal die-cast but I think the denser plastic does give it some heft and a solid feel in hand.

Aircraft mode looks nice, a few gaps to the underside but overall good proportions and the wings certainly look better with just the fatter more torpedo shaped weapons in place. Play features in this mode are the undercarriage and opening cockpit, the latter being more down to the transformation sequence.

Speaking of the transformation sequence, it’s a pretty straightforward affair, nothing taxing or apprehension inducing here.

Endgame has a descent enough looking robot mode, those Conehead proportions both attracting and repulsing my collectors gaze. A few gaps here and there break up the lines, some are down to the mold others are due to transformation. He poses well and has good articulation, although some bits are prone to pop out or pop off. I’d say this is again down to the transformation sequence and certain design choices rather than any QC issues.

There’s not really much to say about this mode, mainly as by now we are all more than familiar with the Seeker style Masterpiece Transformers, regardless of who has made them. Aside from one or two minor design differences, they are pretty much the same.

Maketoys produce some good figures but they have chosen a style that I don’t feel fits in comfortably with the other Masterpiece figures out there on the market. There’s a very stylised aesthetic to their designs, which in and of itself look real nice, and would they include a little more die-cast and a lick of paint, they’d be up there with other more popular offerings. My only two negative points for this figure, as was the same for their other Seekers, are the small heads and the outdated hand designs.

Overall I’d say that the Maketoys Coneheads are a good viable option for your shelf, certainly better than the older Takara offerings. However I feel it will be a short shelf life given that I fully expect both Takara and Deformation Space to bring newer versions of these characters to the market in the near future.

And that’s all I can be bothered to say about Maketoys Endgame.

(Maketoys MTRM-15 Endgame was loaned to us from Cosmic Toys, the link to which can be found in our 'Recommended Sites' section)

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