Back at San Diego Comic-Con 2015, Hasbro had showcased both Menasor and Superion as part of their Transformers G2 Combiner Wars offerings for 2016. Transformers G2 stands for Generation 2, which took place after Generation 1 from 1993-1995. At first they offered repaints of G1 toys and later on they offered brand new molds in the U.S. and European markets.
Interestingly enough, we found that the Combiners such as Superion and Bruticus were offered in the G2 line, but Menasor and Defensor (Protectobots) were unreleased, and an original unreleased G2 Menasor figure went for over $26,000 USD on eBay back in 2014. With Hasbro’s new Superion and Menasor offerings, we feel that there is a high possibility that it would be a matter of time before Bruticus and Defensor are also released in G2 colors. These would also be easy repaints for Hasbro to do, as these were also offered in the Combiner Wars line. Hopefully by San Dig Comic-Con 2016, Hasbro will have those figures on display just like they did for Superion and Menasor at SDCC 2015, and will have them into the hands of collectors by 2017. With the Titans Return brand name kicking off soon, these figure will likely fall under that title or something else, and probably not Combiner Wars.
Thank you to Entertainment Earth for providing the Transformers Combiner Wars Generation 2 Menasor Stunticons Boxed Set for review.
Availability: March 2016
Packaging:
Menasor comes as a boxed set and consists of six G2 Stunticons including Motormaster, Brake-Neck, Brakedown, Drag Strip, Dead End, and Blackjack. Most of these names you should be familiar with from Generation 1. Brake-Neck was renamed after Wildrider due to trademark issues. Also Blackjack is new to the Stunticons team and was also used for the G1 Combiner Wars Menasor figure and sold in the basic line.
Inside the box are the six Transformers in a tray with accessories and the feet and hands for Menasor. In a brown envelope, there is a poster of Menasor, a trading card, and an instruction sheet. The box art is very nicely done and shows a giant image of Menasor on the box, as well as the Stunticons in both vehicle and robot modes. In robot modes, each figure is holding an accessory, which is also your only reference as to which accessory belongs to which character.
Stunticons:
The Stunticons are made-up of Motormaster, Brake-Neck, Brakedown, Drag Strip, Dead End, and Blackjack, with deco inspired by Generation 2.
Motormaster:
Motormaster is the leader of the Stunticons, and is also a Voyager Class figure, which makes him the largest figure in the set. He combines to become the torso and head for Menasor, and can also hold Menasor’s sword. His vehicle mode is a truck capable of pulling a trailer much like Optimus Prime. In vehicle mode, he has blue windshield, exhaust pipes, and six wheels. In robot mode, he looks big and bulky, and has the appearance with size and strength to be a challenge for Optimus Prime. He is painted in bright blue, purple, red, silver, and black deco. For articulation, he includes a swivel head, swivel shoulders, hinged elbows, hinged-swivel hips, and hinged knees.
Dead-End:
Dead-End combines to form the left arm of Menasor. His vehicle mode is a supercar resembling a Ferrari 458 Italia. The windshield is painted in silver, with a large symbol on the hood, and the body is painted in a bright red. In robot mode, he is painted with a yellow face and red eyes, bright red and blue, black and white. His articulation includes a swivel head, swivel shoulders, hinged elbows, hinged-swivel hips, and hinged knees. Included with Dead End is a sword painted in bright blue.
Dragstrip:
Dragstrip combines to form the right arm of Menasor. His vehicle mode is a Indianapolis-style racer. There is no windshield and instead the seat is painted in bright yellow, and the body is painted in a bright blue and black. In robot mode, he is painted with a silver face and red eyes, bright blue and black, and birght yellow at the torso where the combiner part is. His articulation includes a swivel head, swivel shoulders, hinged elbows, hinged-swivel hips, and hinged knees. Included with Dragstrip is a sword painted in bright blue. There is also a small symbol on his chest.
Brake-Neck:
As we had mentioned above, Brake-Neck was renamed after Wildrider due to trademark issues. Brake-Neck combines to form the left leg of Menasor. His vehicle mode is a supercar resembling a Ferrari 458 Italia. The windshield is painted in bright blue, with a large symbol on the hood, and the body is painted in a bright yellow, black, and multiple colors on the roof . In robot mode, he is painted with a purple face, bright yellow and blue, black and grey. His articulation includes a swivel head, swivel shoulders, hinged elbows, hinged-swivel hips, and hinged knees. Included with Brake-Neck is a pipe painted in bright blue.
Breakdown:
Brakedown combines to form the right leg of Menasor. His vehicle mode is a supercar resembling a Lamborghini Diablo. The windshield is painted in gold, with a symbol on the hood, and the body is painted in a turquoise, black, and purple. In robot mode, he is painted with a blue face, turquoise, black, purple, and grey. His articulation includes a swivel head, swivel shoulders, hinged elbows, hinged-swivel hips, and hinged knees. Included with Brakedown is a sword painted in red and silver.
The deco is nice, but Hasbro did miss the mark as the more accurate colors would have been purple, silver, pink and gold that is based on the original unreleased toy.
This is also the first time that a G2 Brakedown figure is offered that is not a convention exclusive.
Blackjack:
Blackjack combines to form the chest of Menasor. His vehicle mode is a sports car. The windshield is painted in black, with a symbol on the hood, and the body is painted in purple and blue. In robot mode, he is painted with a silver face, and a red visor. The body is painted in purple, turquoise, and black. His articulation includes a swivel head, swivel shoulders, hinged elbows, hinged-swivel hips, and hinged knees. Included with Blackjack is a shield painted in turquoise.
Blackjack was not originally offered in the Generation 2 line, but was offered last year by Hasbro in the Combiner Wars line.
Menasor:
Offered for the first time as a Generation 2 figure, Menasor stands ready to fight G2 Superion. Menasor is made up of five Decepticon Stunticons – Motormaster, Brake-Neck, Brakedown, Drag Strip, Dead End. A sixth character named Blackjack was introduced to the team last year and makes up the chest of Menasor.
Menasor is a repaint of last years G1 colored release, and also includes the design flaws such as “…shoulder mechanisms that come untabbed due to weak lock tolerances if the arms are moved, a problematic waist swivel caused by the skirt flap being attached to the stomach instead of the pelvis, and the inability to keep Blackjack securely attached to the chest due to incorrectly-molded sizing in the tabs.” – Transformers Wiki.
Menasor is also prone to leaning backwards, and can fall over. The hip joints are updated for Motormaster, and the colors are off from the original G2 unreleased toy. Hasbro introduced some new colors to the character for this release and offroad was replaced by Brake-Neck.
His head sculpt is nicely done, and is painted with a silver face, red eyes, purple horns, and he comes with a giant sword that is also used by Motormaster.
Overall:
G2 Menasor is a nicely done redeco and Transformers fans will definitely want to own this one! Fans of Generation 1 and 2 will want to add this to your collection as it marks the first time that Menasor is released in G2 colors (more or less).
Highly Recommended!
Purchase:
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