Hardhead
[Universe 2.0] (Wal-Mart Exclusive)
(NOTE: Because this is a repaint, this is not a full-blown review. This mainly covers any changes made to the mold and the color scheme, and merely compares it to the Universe 2.0 Ultra-class version of Onslaught. For a review on the mold itself, read the review of the Universe 2.0 Ultra-class version of Onslaught here.)
Hardhead here is a repaint
homage to the G1 Headmaster character of the same name, though he's not
a tank anymore and he's not a Headmaster. It's still a pretty good homage,
though, as the mold fits Hardhead very well, and the color scheme is pretty
much spot-on when compared to the original toy. Like Onslaught, his primary
color is green, thougha bit purer, more "primary" color of green. The pale
tannish gray-- which is mostly visible in robot mode-- really helps to
add a contrast color to the green. It's interesting, as neither are particularly
"exciting" colors by themselves, but they go quite well together. The black
and pale yellow-gold accents also work well enough, though the couple of
red paint apps really pop against the pale tannish gray. I wish there were
more paint apps like that spread across Hardhead's figure. I do REALLY
love the crossed-out Decepticon symbol and "kill notches graffiti" on the
figure's shield-- it's a REALLY nice touch, and gives the toy a lot of
character for a repaint.
No mold changes have
been made to Universe 2.0 Hardhead, though the siren sound effect has been
fixed-- it now loops as it was intended to.
Universe 2.0 Hardhead
is quite a decent repaint homage to the G1 Headmaster, especially considering
that the toy was intended to be an entirely different character. The "graffiti"
paint apps on the shield are ace, and the color scheme is varied enough
to keep things interesting. Still, given the slightly-inflated exclusive
price point and the fact that the colors are bit "flatter" than the more-metallic,
eye-catchy Onslaught, I'd recommend Onslaught over this version if you
want only one deco of this toy.
Review by Beastbot