Nemesis
Strika
(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 Beast Machines Strika. For a review on the mold itself, read the review of Beast Machines Strika here.)
Strika has now been upgraded
to... *dun dun duunnnn*... NEMESIS STRIKA! Can you feeel the eevvil? Eh,
okay, so they probably just used it so kids wouldn't confuse her with Striker,
the Dinobot. Anyways, Nemesis Strika has been repainted to look more like
a heavy-duty construction vehicle, what with the yellow and brown colors
dominating her scheme now. And overall, the yellow and brown don't go together
too badly (although the yellow plastic probably needs a few more paint
apps in her robot mode). It's the purple used for some of her connecting
parts that really irritates the heck out of me. It really worked well with
Beast Machines Strika, but it just totally and completely clashes with
the yellow and brown here. I guess Hasbro wanted to give Strika at least
a hint of feminty... feminininty....uh... feminine characteristics. But
really, that's not Strika's style, and it never has been. Those odd brownish
black wheels also clash somewhat, too- a more solid black would have fit
better. (What's up with all these impure black colors lately? They NEVER
look as good as solid black!) The red and silver paint apps look nice,
so at least that's a small plus. What is Nemesis Strika's real draw, though,
is all the worn metal/Energon radiation paint apps visible in her vehicle
mode. There's at least two layers of paint apps on her front and rear areas,
with "regular" paint apps put down first and worn black paint apps put
over it. Hasbro really went out of their way to make Strika look like she's
been through a bunch of battles, and it really, really works. Even many
of the black "stripe" paint apps on her rear are very unevenly worn, and
it gives the toy a touch of realism. Unfortunately, all these paint apps
in vehicle mode mean less in robot mode, but that's not too big of a deal.
No mold changes have
been made to Nemesis Strika.
Nemesis Strika has some
great battle damage and a few nice color choices, but her purple plastic
just goes horribly with her other colors. And her main two colors- yellow
and brown- although not too bad, just don't look as nice as her original
color scheme. Thus, out of the two, I'd have to recommend Beast Machines
Strika over this one. But Nemesis Strika makes a decent substitute if you
can't find her former version for a reasonable price.
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Review by Beastbot