Transformers Encore #20A Anime Constructicon Devastator (Bonecrusher, Hook, Long Haul, Mixmaster, Scavenger, Scrapper)

Takara just released their latest Encore toy, and Anime version of Devastator.  I’m going to go through the toys one by one, but the differences are fairly straightforward.  He has a new head that is G1 animation accurate.  His overall color scheme more closely matches the animation, his purple is lighter in color and instead of the lime green he is now a yellow-green.  There are a few other color and paint app changes.  I’ll get to them as I go through the toys.

Like the previous Encore #20 Devastator, Takara did a really piss-poor job on it.  When combined, Bonecrusher, Mixmaster, and Scrapper will fall off if you look at them funny.  This is WORSE than my original Encore Devastator.  It’s pathetic.  If the mold is this degraded they should never have reissued him to begin with.  If they had new molds made (and I’m not sure if anyone knows for sure one way or another) then it’s even worse.  For this quality, at $130 he’s way overpriced.

As with the original Encore Devastator he comes with stickers.  When they started the Encore line, one of the great things was the use of tampos to replace at least some of the stickers.  That was great for a while, but Takara has gotten lazy and cheap (they are reminding me more of Hasbro every day).  The best example of tampos improving toys is the most recent release of Predaking (which was technically not part of the Encore line).  They used tampos to replace a number of stickers, and updated the stickers that they did include.  It was awesome.  Devastator still has Decepticon logos that go on top of factory-applied stickers.  They really should have made a new set of stickers and integrated the logos.

Bonecrusher

As you can see, Bonecrusher’s launcher is now black.  The only other change he’s had beyond the overcall color differences is his face.  Instead of the purple eyes on black plastic, he has a silver face with red eyes.  This looks really nice.

Hook

Hook is a good example of how a really small change can make a huge difference.  His silver face with red eyes looks fantastic.

Long Haul

Again, I’m going to be repeating myself a lot, Long Haul has a silver face with red eyes.  It’s one of the better ones.  Interestingly, his smokestack is black.  I’m not certain if it’s painted or a new mold.  All the black plastic parts that used to be another color feel slightly rough, not the smoother plastic I’d expect.  I’ve got to have a friend of mine look at it.  He is better at this sort of thing than I am, but I suspect it’s painted black rather than molded in black plastic.  This would also explain why the black parts are a little tighter when connected to other parts.

Mixmaster

Mixmaster’s silver face and red eyes are not as nice as some of the others, largely because his face is smaller.  The big difference with Mixmaster is the purple cement barrel.  Unlike the black plastic parts, it seems to be molded in purple plastic.  Oddly, it does not appear, to me at least, to be made from the same mold as the green barrel from the previous release.  Where it tapers off at the top, the edges seem more rounded.  It might just be me, but it seems different.  I suppose it could also be mold degradation, but it seems to uniform for that.

Scavenger

Scavenger, like Bonecrusher, now has a black launcher.  He also has a silver face with red eyes.

Scrapper

Other than his face and the overall color changes, Scrapper hasn’t had any changes.

Devastator

As you can see, the new Devastator looks pretty great in these colors.  I know the black forearms are more accurate to the animation, but they feel out of place on him.  That’s the one thing I wish they would have left alone.  The main change, and the only mold change in the whole set, is Devastator’s face.  He now has a G1 animation model face, nicely painted in silver and red.  This is the main reason to buy this set.  I believe there is a third party head, but I don’t know how it compares.  It really is hard to say he’s worth $130 for the head, but it’s hard to say it isn’t, as well.

Thanks for reading!